<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

A few striped bass seemed to show up in the bay during the weekend, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Anglers had three or four days of boatable weather, because of calm wind, unlike lately. They bagged a few stripers at the stakes near Fortescue, near Miah Maul and at the Horseshoe this weekend. Surf anglers were also heard about who landed a few keepers at the Cape May ferry jetty. Trolling for stripers sounded pretty good on the ocean. Maybe those migrating bass will swim up the bay. Plenty of stripers still seemed caught far north in the state, so the migration would probably last some time. Many marinas required boats to be pulled from slips this weekend for the season. Much of the fishing on the bay would be from trailered boats now. Boaters on the bay mostly fish for stripers with fresh bunker and live eels this season. The shop usually stocks those baits and a large variety of others. White perch fishing was pretty good in brackish streams like Maurice River. The shop doesn’t get many reports about blackfishing, but quite a few green crabs were sold for fishing for the tautog. Some customers said they were catching the slipperies. The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, carries a large supply of bait and tackle, and is the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. It’s on the way to the bay.

<b>Money Island</b>

Some boaters sailed for striped bass on the bay from <b>Money Island Marina</b>, bagging some 28- and 30-inchers, this weekend, Bruce said. Nobody fished from the dock, and weather was rough for that. So no news came in about white perch fishing. Previously, anglers fishing from the dock plucked the perch from Nantuxent Creek, running past the shop. A half-bushel of fresh bunker, popular bait for the bay’s stripers, was stocked during the weekend. But demand for the bait was low, and the shop will probably wind down the supply. The marina will be officially closed for the season on December 15. But Bruce lives at Money Island, and if customers need anything after the closure, he’s glad to help.  Heads up: Reserve a boat slip now, and lock in 2015 rates. The marina features a boat ramp, boat slips, dry-dock boat storage, a fishing dock, gas, bait and a few items of tackle. A 12-foot aluminum boat with a 6 h.p. outboard is available to rent to fish the creek. The rate is $40 for 3 hours and $80 for a full day.  

<b>Cape May</b>

Striped bass, good-sized to 40 pounds and heavier, began to be heard about that boaters bunker-chunked on the bay, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. One boater reported eeling a good catch of stripers at Cape May Rips. Good catches of stripers were trolled, jigged and hooked on bunker snagged and then livelined for bait on the ocean. The fish seemed to be located from Atlantic City to all the way south off the state in 35-foot depths or deeper. Not much was heard about stripers from the surf, except a couple of throwbacks and keepers landed here and there. The fish stubbornly remained out of range from the beach, chasing bunker schools. But stripers from the surf began to be heard about from Brigantine, farther north, so they could arrive in the local surf any day, it seemed. Blackfish were tugged from Cape May Reef and other local reefs and were still hooked “inside,” including along jetties. Sea bass catches sounded good from the ocean in 120-foot depths.

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