<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Weakfish were hitting southeast of the turn buoys, and reports were heard every day about limits hooked, and Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b> took a trip herself that picked up 16 keepers on Sunday, she said. The trick was to wait it out, because the fish were biting sporadically in patches. Look for areas holding small fish like spots and baby drum, because that’s where the weaks will be found. Shedder crabs were the best bait, and fresh is best if you can find it, and the store is stocking frozen shedder and sometimes is able to stock fresh. Fresh and frozen strips of spots also work, and those baits are stocked, and bloodworms, also on hand, will also work. A few customers livelined spots at Miah Maul, looking for weakfish, and they found none Sunday, but they hooked small striped bass, and small stripers seemed to be around.  Out-of-season flounder still hugged the bottom, and Sharon and crew hooked four, including a 23-incher, that they released while anchored. Lots of small blues were swimming the bay. 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>Dividing Creek</b>

Crabbing was good, Ann from <b>Wildlife Boat Rentals</b> said, and two customers each filled a half bushel basket with blueclaws. A couple also scored three or four dozen keepers apiece. Some big crabs were crawling around, now that the hardshells have been through sheds through the season, so September can be a great month to put together a catch. Go now before the critters start to burrow in the mud to ride out the cold months. Wildlife will be open only two more weekends before closing for the winter. Fishing is also an option on Dividing Creek, and anglers can sometimes have fun catching and releasing small striped bass and small flounder, and croakers, sheepsheads and other fish roam the waters. Wildlife will be open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays the rest of the month before closing in October till next spring. The shop carries everything needed for a day of crabbing, including bait, traps, hand lines, nets and even items such as suntan lotion, bug spray and sunglasses. Fishing tackle is also on hand, and some fishing bait is carried, but the shop is only carrying whatever fishing bait isn’t sold out yet and won’t re-stock the rest of the season. Live crabs are sold for eating.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Anglers on the <b>Karen Jean</b> boated mostly blues and a few small weakfish near Fortescue, Capt. John said. Sometimes the blues were schooling near the surface with birds working above, and other times the blues swam toward the bottom. A few spots were landed, but spot fishing tapered off, and small porgies and small sea bass were also reeled up. No croakers were landed. A neighbor boated several small striped bass in inshore waters near Fortescue, and the fall run of larger striped bass, and fishing for them on the Karen Jean, should kick in by the second half of October.

Small blues and a few weakfish could be caught, said Capt. Ralph from the <b>Buccaneer</b>. The boat fished on one trip, and seas were rough, so the anglers stayed close to shore near Fortescue, and that’s what they caught. As many blues as you’d like to pick up could be found, and not too many weakfish were around, but if anglers want a nice day on the water, the fishing’s good for that. No croakers were biting locally. Striped bass charters should begin after mid October.

Weakfish were sometimes hooked off the Club House just north of Fortescue, but the fish were small, and a few were keepers, and anglers who fished hard caught the legal ones, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Early mornings were the most important factor for scoring the fish, and the best tides were just before the swing of either incoming or outgoing. Bluefish about 2 pounds were hitting, and croakers were moving out. Even the small fish like porgies and spots were dwindling, except for maybe very small spots and baby black drum that stole baits. Dave bet that out-of-season flounder were carpeting the bottom. Fortescue Creek held striped bass, and it won’t be long before they start pushing out to the bay. Catches of a few stripers from the bay should begin to be heard about before too long if the cool weather continues. All kinds of bait including peanut bunker and mullet schooled the creek. Minnows are no longer carried, because flounder season closed, and live shedder crabs are stocked when available, but they were becoming scarce. Plenty of frozen shedders are carried, and bloodworms are stocked, and bloods make a great bait for weakfish and nearly anything. Fresh bunker for striped bass bait should start to be carried toward the end of the month.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Strong winds kept many from fishing throughout the week, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. But John McGowan and Chuck Ramirez made it out and hooked two 21-inch and 21-1/2-inch weakfish, two porgies, a kingfish and a few sea bass. John Travis and Brad Phillips reeled in three stripers, four perch and two sheepsheads, and they threw back five big eels. Minnows are no longer stocked at the marina, now that flounder season is closed. But shedder crabs and fresh bunker are being carried.

<b>Dennisville</b>

A few weakfish held along the stakes about 4 miles straight off Reed’s Beach, and that seemed the best spot, said Rusty from <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. A few also hovered toward the 1 buoy and off Thompson’s Beach. Shedder crabs were the best bait, but shedders were becoming difficult to get, and even frozen ones were in limited supply. Some croakers were mixed in at the stakes off Reed’s Beach, and croakers and blues could be found throughout the bay. Ocean fishing was slow, but only because windy weather kept boats from fishing, but plenty of sea bass hugged the wrecks. Croakers were also pushing out to the waters near the beach front, and more bluefish were appearing along the shore than before. Kingfish were hitting in the surf, and back-bay fishing was slow, but stripers could be nabbed at night, and a few weakfish were pulled. On the offshore grounds, yellowfin tuna fishing was great at Lindenkohl and Wilmington canyons when boats could slip in a trip between the weather. Catches at night on the chunk were probably most common, but tuna were sometimes trolled during day. Trolling was better for marlins farther south like at Washington Canyon.  

<b>Cape May</b>

Weakfish were sometimes biting in the bay, and croakers and blues could be boated off Cape May Point, said Capt. Gary from the <b>Sea Fox</b>.

The mullet run kicked into high gear, and schools of the baitfish were stacked up in the corners of the jetties, and blues, small stripers and weakfish were moving in and attacking them, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The blues and stripers could be hooked on lures or chunks of mullet, and of course they’d smack live bait, but live bait wasn’t necessary. The weaks seemed to hit livelined mullet more than lures or dead bait. Jim Langhorn fished Cape May Point at the jetty at Stites Avenue and landed six weakfish to 5 ¾ pounds. Charles Meads was fishing the jetty at Alexander Avenue when he pulled in a 7.53-pound sheepshead. But the east end jetty of Cold Spring Inlet in the ocean seemed best, and some nice stripers were plugged there. Jim Cantare fished the Cold Spring jetty and fought 22 blues that he released and eight stripers to 18 pounds, and the report didn’t say whether he kept any stripers.

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