<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Larger stripers like 40-inchers reportedly started being caught yesterday in the lower bay at the tip of 60-Foot Slough and such places, so maybe the bigger ones were starting to show up, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Over the weekend some were supposedly taken at Blake’s Channel, and the shop’s netter said he saw a number of 40-inch-class bass at the docks at Port Norris. Windy weather’s been the only problem lately, and even strong winds were forecast today. But if anglers get out for stripers, the lower bay is probably the best bet at the moment. Sharon spoke with someone from a Long Island tackle shop last week who said striper fishing was turning on there, and with the cooler weather lately the fish should be arriving locally. Fresh bunker for striper bait is stocked all the time, but demand is high, and the weather is sometimes preventing commercial boats from catching the menhaden. So it’s best to call the shop and order however much you want, and your order should be able to be filled. Eels are carried, and surf clams are stocked whenever the clam boats can sail and supply the bait. Shucked clams and live clams in the shell are carried when available, and the clams in the shell are available individually or by the dozen. Frozen clams are also on hand. The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and it’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats. 

<b>Newport</b>

A few boaters fished the 34 and 6 buoys through the week and came back with the first positive reports about striped bass fishing, said Mike and Mickie from <b>Sundog Marina</b> in an e-mail. While the fish weren’t big ones that anglers were waiting for, there were some steady catches. Lewis Patrick and crew fished the 34 and reeled in two stripers over 28 inches apiece and had a few run-offs. Kenny Frazier fished the 6 and landed more than 20 short stripers to 27 inches, so the fish seemed to be schooling up. Reports were also heard about a couple of keeper stripers, including a 40 pounder, taken at Blake’s Channel. Even Nantuxent Creek almost gave up a keeper when Larry Jordan lost one at the boat while going for the net on a night trip. Although stripers were a main target, this was no time to forget about other fish, such as blues in the bay and perch in the creek. The shop’s rental boats are available for targeting stripers and perch in the creek. Striper season slips are available starting at $50, probably until December 15, unless the water freezes. Duck hunting ramp passes are available for only $50 for the entire winter season. Outdoor and indoor spaces are available for winter boat storage, and boat winterization, power washing and shrink wrapping are available. Fresh bunker is stocked and can be reserved.    

<b>Fortescue</b>

Striped bass were apparently yet to migrate up Delaware Bay through the weekend, and sometimes stripers were landed, but those were resident fish, Capt. Ralph from the <b>Buccaneer</b> said Monday morning. Fishing at the Cape May Rips was the same situation at that time. The Buccaneer ran a trip Sunday that landed blues. Charters will sail this weekend, and maybe the migration will be turned on by then.

Nine short striped bass were reeled in Sunday on the <b>Karen Jean</b>, and one striper that was probably a keeper was lost at the boat, Karen Jean herself, whose husband is Capt. John who runs the boat, said. So the fishing was at least picking up. Another trip was cancelled during the week because of strong winds.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Alan Robins boated a 48-inch striper and a 40-inch striper, and Rocky Desiderie came back with a 36-1/2-inch, 20-3/4-pound striper, said Jessie from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. Tim Regan and Fred Hynes returned to the dock with a 39-incher. Rough weather kept anglers from boating the bay much of the week, and the Atco Hookers Striper Tournament had to be postponed once again till this coming Saturday. The event was weathered out the past two Saturdays. Longreach’s Striped Bass Tournament is under way and takes place through November 15. The entry fee is $30 per boat, and the crew from the boat who checks in the heaviest striper wins 80 percent of the fees, and anglers can still enter. Fresh bunker is stocked for striper bait.

<b>Dennisville</b>

The first significant catches of striped bass that appeared to arrive from the ocean were checked in  yesterday, said Rusty from <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish were clean-looking and silver, obviously from the ocean, and were boated at the south end of 60-Foot Slough, Tussy’s Slough, 20-Foot Slough and 14-Foot Light, kind of spread out. Previously stripers were occasionally landed here and there, but this seemed to be the first push of migrating fish. Coy Bagnel showed off a 33-1/2-pounder, and his dad weighed in a 48-1/2-pounder. New leaders for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the shop’s two-week striper tournament that lasts through Sunday were also weighed in. Bill Ludlam was now in 1st place with a 31-1/2-pound striper, and he also bagged a 27-pounder and released two throwbacks. Ed Dempsey was in 2nd place with a 30-pound-even striper, and he also landed six other linesiders. Chuck Pitt was in 3rd place with 30-pound, 48-inch striper, a long, lean fish, and Rusty wasn’t sure how many bass Chuck caught total. All of these fish were bunker chunked in the bay yesterday. Anglers can enter the tournament until the final day, and the entry fee is $25 per person, and the competition features a 100-percent payout, with 1st place taking 50 percent of the entry fees, 2nd taking 30 percent and 3rd winning 20 percent. Nobody reported fishing the Cape May Rips yesterday, but apparently a few anglers hooked decent catches of stripers there Sunday on eels and live spots, but anglers still had to contend with bluefish at the rips. Saturday’s rough weather prevented anglers from boating.  The back bays were giving up a few stripers, mostly shorts but a few keepers, on clams or lures like Bombers or soft plastics. Capt. Frank Breakell from the Brynnie B and his daughter fished Grassy Channel in the bay and pulled up tog to 26 inches along the sod banks on clam. Speckled sea trout, a southern fish, usually arrive in the back bay in fall, but Rusty so far only heard about two found,  a couple that George Spalding landed maybe 2 ½ weeks ago. Surf fishing was fair, and surf casters were sometimes reeling in stripers, mostly shorts but sometimes a keeper, and many of the fish seemed to grab lures, and bait was less productive. Tons of tog were holding along the jetties, and the bag limit is one per person but jumps up to eight on November 15. News from the ocean was scarce, but a few bigger boats got out Sunday in the ocean and chased working birds, but Rusty only heard about them catching small blues and no stripers. Tog could be claimed at the wrecks, but cooler water and a few weeks were probably needed to bring in decent-sized sea bass. No customers said they fished offshore for tuna, but tuna were supposedly still biting. Baits are fully stocked, including fresh bunker, live spots, eels and fresh clams.

<b>Cape May</b>

Two striped bass over 20 pounds apiece and one over 30 pounds were bunker chunked in the lower day Sunday with <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b>, so it was a good trip, and stripers seemed to be starting to appear, Capt. Ray said. One of the fish was definitely a migrator and not a resident, because the striper was clean-looking and bright. The boat was heading back out yesterday, and Ray hoped to fish the Cape May Rips with live spots or live eels for the fish. Some anglers seemed to put together decent catches at the rips Sunday in the morning and afternoon. On Jaftica’s trip the water was 58 degrees and clean, and seas were a little sloppy for a while. Ray thought striper fishing would probably be “on” now, based on Sunday’s trip and other reports he heard.

<b>Legal Limit Charters</b> fished the bay Sunday and landed a 23-pound striper while bunker chunking, and anglers in the area seemed to catch a bass here or there but not a whole lot, Capt. T.J. said. The water was 57 degrees and muddy, and winds were still blowing 20 knots after the storm. The boat was running another trip Monday, and T.J. preferred to fish the Cape May Rips for stripers, but winds might’ve kept him in the bay again.

Andrew Nyberg’s charter on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> bunker chunked for striped bass in the bay Sunday, and the fishing wasn’t great, but two throwbacks 25 or 26 inches were released, Capt. George said. A bluefish and some junk fish also bit, and so did an 18-inch flounder. Anglers in both the bay and the Cape May Rips seemed to catch a few stripers but nothing to get excited about. Lots of bait filled the water, but no huge number of stripers seemed around. But it could have been the effects of the storm that needed to calm down. Striper fishing could suddenly turn on any time. George heard from another captain whose charter landed three keepers and did well in the bay. George’s trip was his first striper charter of the year, and he would normally begin striper fishing the weekend before last, but the boat was weathered out that weekend and toward the end of this past week. The weather on the trip Sunday was a little windy after the storm, including winds against the tide in the afternoon, but seas were fishable. The water was 58 or 59 degrees. Dave, Amy, Cal and Ray were also on Nyberg’s trip.

Striped bass were starting to show up in the bay and at the Cape May Rips, and stripers to 40 pounds were beginning to be hooked in the bay early last week before the storm at 60-Foot Slough and Tussy’s Slough, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. A few reports also rolled in about catches from the Cock and Balls in the lower bay. At the rips stripers were landed Tuesday and Wednesday at Prissywicks Shoal at the top of the tides. Anglers on the Full Ahead scored two stripers including a 38-pounder around the northwest tip of 60-Foot Slough, and Chad Bartello boated three stripers to 20 pounds and a load of small blues around the Cock and Balls. The Desilu got into two keeper stripers at the rips. Surf fishing was starting to pick up before the weather, and a few 10- to 15-pound stripers were beached at the cove at the 2nd Street jetty. Plenty of 1- to 3-pound blues were also invading the surf. Offshore fishing was holding up when the weather allowed boats to make the trip. The warm water was at Wilmington Canyon and gave up yellowfin tuna, longfin tuna and swordfish.

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