<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>Kayla Rose Charters</b> sailed for striped bass and blues this weekend, because that’s what the anglers wanted to fish for, but bluefishing was slow, and striper fishing was picky, but some stripers were landed, Capt. Darrin said. An open-boat blackfishing trip was sold out today and was kicking off New York’s blackfishing season that began today. Open-boat blackfishing trips will now sail every day when no charter is booked, and call Darrin to reserve. Bottom fishing will now be the main fishing done on the boat. But tuna charters are available.

Charters with <b>Frenzy Fishing</b> were still having a blast catching false albacore on light tackle and flies, Capt. Tommy Verderosa said. Trips were averaging three or four albies, but a trip Friday with three anglers walloped 24 of the speedsters. Rods were criss-crossing, and fish were speeding under and around the boat, and it was mayhem. A 38-inch striper was also fly rodded, and a couple of big, 10-pound blues were fought, and sometimes blues and stripers were mixed in with the rainfish that the albies were gorging on, and it was beautiful, Tommy said. He was finding the albies more toward Long Island, and the schools travel in circles, so he tries to guess where they’ll pop up, and he gets his anglers to start blind casting where he thinks the schools will appear. Frenzy will keep chasing the albies while they’re available, but charters are available for any species on tap. For example, one charter expressed interest in nighttime bluefishing, so one of that trip might take place soon. Tommy loves light-tackle fishing. He also fly fishes and is a fly tyer, and he builds custom rods. When the striped bass migration starts, he’ll start targeting trophy stripers, including on live bait, and fly rodding for them is also an option.

A bottom-fishing trip with <b>Outcast Charters</b> was weathered out Saturday because of forecasts for strong winds, Capt. Joe said. Bottom charters are on the books again for this Friday to Sunday, and they’ll target sea bass, and they’ll also try fishing for blackfish, and feel it out, see if the blacks are ready to bite, because New York’s blackfishing season opened today. If blackfish start hitting a lot, Outcast will start concentrating on them, but otherwise trips will probably go for a combo of sea bass and the tog. Eventually Outcast will certainly make tog the primary goal, and blackfishing is a specialty on the boat.

<b>Keyport</b>

Bluefish could be caught, and anglers were waiting for big stripers to move in, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. Boaters would normally be fishing for fluke now, and the early closing of fluke season was making business difficult for the industry. Choice dates are available for charters this month, and open-boat trips are sailing 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day when no charter is booked, and call to reserve the open trips and for info about them and prices.

The windy weather and small craft advisories kept the <b>Lucky Carm</b> from sailing on a charter Saturday, Capt. Carmine said. If the weather lets up in the next days, he plans to hunt around for striped bass at Flynn’s Knoll and the clam beds to see if they’re biting. If they are biting, charters will be available for them, and charters are also fishing for blues and bottom fish. Bottom fishing seemed slow recently, but sea bass, porgies, and a few blackfish could be caught. Some prime dates are available for charters.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Bottom-fishing continued to be challenging because of strong currents from last week’s full moon, and tons of tiny sea bass bit, with a few keepers mixed in, and some big porgies showed up at times, and many porgies were also small, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b>. The current was sometimes so strong that patrons had to dunk 10-ounce weights in only 30 feet of water to hold bottom. The current also made anchoring difficult, because although the anchor would hold, the boat would go one way, and the wind would blow another. Different spots produced either more sea bass or more porgies. Saturday morning’s trip was tough with the current and strong winds. The afternoon’s trip produced a mix of sea bass and porgies, and more keeper sea bass showed up than before. On Sunday morning a strong current again made fishing tough but better than the previous morning. But later the current let up, and there were signs of better porgy fishing than before. In the afternoon some real nice sea bass came up, but a load of tiny ones still bit, and some porgies were landed. Sea bass were so numerous lately that anglers would hook double headers or even triple headers if a rig included three hooks, and all of the fish were mostly small. Capt. Tom hopes the current slows down, and the boat will keep bottom fishing, and weakfishing is certainly finished for the year on the vessel. Eventually the boat will switch from two half-day bottom trips daily to one three-quarter-day trip daily. Tom was unsure when the change will be made, and anglers can call the boat to confirm the schedule. Until the schedule changes, the Atlantic Star is bottomfishing on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

Bluefish were the name of the game for the moment, said Capt. Mick from the <b>CRT II</b>. Bluefishing was excellent on the boat yesterday at the Mud Dump on peanut bunker baits in a chum slick of ground peanut bunker. Weakfishing was horrible in an attempt to trick up some of the trout in the bay Saturday, so Mick figured he was giving up on weakfishing. Weakfishing had improved in the bay Wednesday and Thursday but afterward dropped off again. Bottom fishing was producing sea bass but few big ones, and some nice-sized porgies were around, but they were also tough to rely on. His charters will attempt to start striped bass fishing this weekend, and once that action begins, striper fishing will be the majority of the focus during the rest of the CRT II’s season. Weekday charters are always available at a discount.

Customers tried clamming for striped bass Thursday morning on the <b>Fishermen</b>, but nothing bit, so the boat headed down the beach, and the anglers jigged big blues while the boat chased working birds the rest of the day, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s web site. Two short stripers also hit the jigs. An incredible amount of peanut bunker swam the harbor at that time, and blues were chasing them and could be caught right in the slip. Friday’s trip never made it out, because anglers were apparently scared off from the weather forecasts. But the evening bluefish trip did sail, and it was the first slow fishing on those trips in a long time. Fifteen blues were boated, and a dozen more were lost. On Saturday the northwest winds produced very good jigging for big blues, a handful of short stripers and two keeper stripers at large areas of bait, fish and birds on the boat’s daytime trip. On Sunday the daytime trip was nothing like Saturday, and the anglers started out clamming, bagging three keeper stripers and released two shorts during a slow pick for an hour. The boat ran back to the spot with the good jigging for blues the pervious day, and there was no life and a bad roll. A few bluefish were landed at the rocks, and the boat ran back up north at the end of the day, and a few blues were jigged near the beach, and it wasn’t a good day. The Fishermen is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Afternoon bluefishing trips are running 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.  

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass fishing was fairly slow, Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> said in an e-mail, but his anglers managed to jig a few 22- to 27-inch shorts under blues. Keepers an inch over the legal size were also boated on drifted sandworms meant for weakfish at Reach Channel. Weakfishing made a brief comeback, but nothing like the bite two weeks ago, and some weaks to 22 inches were taken, and anglers had to work the water column for them and not just fish the bottom. Bluefishing was very good for 5- to 10-pounders. Jigs, popper lures or bunker chunks got the bites, depending on the location. Sea bassing was good, and abut half the fish were keepers. Bob hoped that with the passing of the full moon and the cooler weather stripers will get more active. Some dates remain for charters this month, and prime dates are left in November and December.

<b>Sea Bright</b>

<b>Jersey Shore Fishing Charters</b> fished nasty seas for bluefin tuna at the Monster Ledge on the chunk yesterday, but the fishing was slow, and only a ling bit, Capt. Jake said. Jersey Shore is offering canyon charters on your own boat, and the crew shows you how to do the fishing, and one of the trips is heading out tomorrow. Striped bass charters will begin when the water cools.

<b>Belmar</b>

Bluefishing was good on the <b>Bandit</b> on both bait and jigs, and the boat fished a number of different places, and during the last few days the trips headed 12 miles north/northeast, and 12-pound slammers were the pool winners, Capt. Scotty said. An open-boat tuna trip was good last week, and the boat was running another one of the trips 12 noon today and again on Wednesday. Space is available on one of the trips that will sail at 12 noon this Sunday to Monday, Columbus Day, limited to 15 passengers, and call the boat’s office to reserve.

A couple of tuna trips fished on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> from last Monday to Tuesday and Wednesday to Thursday, and they were good, and a bunch of big, 70- to 100-pound yellowfins were boated at the southern canyons, Capt. Tom said. No longfin tuna showed up, but mahi mahi were bagged. Lots of flying fish were in the water, and some squid but not a ton appeared, and butterfish produced most bites, and the tuna even seemed to prefer butters over sardines. “Butterfish are back,” Tom said. A huge whale shark swam next to the boat 45 minutes on Monday, and it was incredible. A tuna charter was weathered out this weekend, and the boat will keep tuna fishing this month. Bottom fishing trips for sea bass and porgies will also be on tap, and striped bass and blackfish charters will sail in November.

<b>Brielle</b>

Windy weather made fishing difficult, but when winds were calm enough, boaters were sometimes finding bonito either close to shore or at the lumps farther off, either trolling the fish or stopping and jigging them a few minutes before the speedsters took off, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. Anglers fishing from the beaches and jetties were also lucking into fights. False albacore seemed farther from shore, and Dave knew that boaters were catching them at the Mudhole. Offshore boaters were pushing off to the canyons again yesterday after winds and seas were too brutal during the previous days. Before the winds some of the boaters caught tuna, and some didn’t. Some scored well on the troll on both longfin and yellowfin tuna, mostly at Hudson Canyon, but some at the Toms and Carteret. Some also tilefished when trolling was slow, and again, some hooked up, and some didn’t. George A. Lewis and George W. Lewis on the Cast Bronze nailed eight tiles, none weighing less than the low 20 pounds, and one was 52 pounds, and another weighed 49. Closer to shore, plenty of blues could be fought near the beaches, and most weighed a couple of pounds, but some schools held bigger ones, 5- and 6-pounders or larger slammers. A few striped bass held along the beaches, and a mess of schoolie stripers crammed the Manasquan River. Soft plastic lures and bucktails would catch them. Sea bass fishing was kind of off, and there was too much pressure. One customer was casting a Gulp on a bucktail and pulled up an 8-pound, out-of-season fluke.

Three tuna fishing trips on the <b>Katie H</b> were weathered out from Thursday to Sunday, Capt. Mike said. More trips are slated for this Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, and another might sail during the week. Boaters who managed to get out earlier in the week seemed not to do so great on tuna. The fishing seemed slower lately, but that doesn’t mean it can’t pick back up, because it certainly can. Few people also fished recently between the windy weather, so it was difficult to get a read on the fishing. Mike hadn’t looked at a temperature chart lately, but things sounded like Hudson Canyon’s water had turned cold, and he was thinking that his next trips were probably going to sail to the southern canyons.

Plenty of tuna were swimming several different canyons, but the bite was sporadic, and the fishing this past week was similar to the previous week, an e-mail from the <b>Jamaica</b> said. But a trip Saturday night produced the best catch of the season. The fishing was picking up slowly each night until then, and seas that night seemed like the anglers would be in for a bumpy trip, but the northeast winds diminished earlier than predicted, and the boat was able to steam full speed to the canyons. The boat was anchored by 10:15 p.m., and the first yellowfin tuna hit the deck 15 minutes later. Good action took place the next 1 ½ hours, and patrons boated yellowin tuna to 80 pounds and longfin tuna to 60 pounds. Then the action slowed to a pick of a couple of tuna every 20 or 30 minutes. A nice flurry of catches took place at 3 a.m.., and the bite really turned on an hour later. Fifteen tuna were hooked at once at one point, and the fishing slowed down after 5 a.m. Ron Taurick limited out on yellowfin tuna and bagged four longfins, and Mark Mitchell limited out on yellowfins and took two longfins, and Sam Dibner nailed six longfins. Earlier in the week Sunday’s fishing was good, but the action was slow Wednesday night. Thursday night’s fishing was fair, and Friday night was a slow pick. October and November are traditionally good months for tuna fishing, and space is available on trips almost every day, including every day for the next week. The boat and the 110-foot <b>Atlantis</b> are also available for tuna charters. The Atlantis is also sailing for Mudhole tuna at 3 a.m. Sunday, October 21. For info or to reserve any of these trips, call the Jamaica or visit bigjamaica.com.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Lots of blackfish hit along Manasquan Inlet over the weekend, and green crabs were the bait of choice, said Rob at <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>.  Porgies were also biting along the inlet on fresh mullet. Blues could also be pinned down in the inlet, and stripers swam toward the back of the inlet. Not much was happening in the surf yet. All of the baits mentioned and other baits are stocked. Gates also includes a hotel that’s popular with anglers, and the shop and hotel are within walking distance of the inlet, the surf and the Point Pleasant Beach party boat and charter boat fleet. Lots of anglers stay the night and make an extended fishing trip, including anglers who hop on a boat and stay at the hotel so they don’t have to get up so early and drive down.

Three anglers took a charter to look for striped bass, blues and sea bass with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> in the ocean Saturday, Capt. Allen said. Northwest winds were blowing early, and the boat ran up the coast to the ocean off the Belmar/Lake Como area, and lots of snapper blues were found, but they weren’t big enough to really target with jigs and plugs. They sailed farther north to waters off Long Branch, but nothing was doing, so they headed back to Deal and tried trolling for bonito and false albacore, then pushed farther south and kept looking. Weakfish showed up off Belmar and Lake Como, and a few were boated. Next the anglers headed south of Manasquan Inlet and trolled where a friend had caught bonito some time before, and a bunch of tailor blues, bigger than the snappers that showed up previously, schooled under lots of working birds and were caught. Another buddy did catch a couple of bonito there down deep with drail weights. Winds were progressively getting stronger, and seas were building, and the anglers next bottom fished off Mantoloking. Three out-of-season fluke bit and were released, and then the boat moved to the reef. Some nice sea bass were pulled up, but fishing was tough in a big roll, probably 4 to 6 feet. Lots of fish were hooked on the trip, and it was a good day, but things were tough. On Sunday four anglers were aboard and tried trolling south of the inlet for bonito and albies. A big northeast swell remained from the previous day, and the swells were packed tight together. Seas somewhat laid down by 9 a.m., and working birds were found 2 miles off Jenkinson’s Pier, but nothing bit. Then the boat joined a bluefishing fleet farther north, but the fleet wasn’t scoring much. The anglers pushed farther north and found big blues, 12- to 14-pounders, and battled a mess on jigs, plugs and light tackle. They got four shots at the fish, and in between the fishing was slow, and there was a lot of boat traffic, and boats were even wire-line trolling through the schools, so that wasn’t working out so well. The anglers switched to sea bass fishing, and the bite was slow, and a couple of small ones were landed. Next they jigged a few blues tight to the beach, and seas were nasty again, so the boat ran back to the Manasquan River. The anglers cast to the pilings and hooked short stripers, mostly 15 to 20 inchers, and landed a few, hooking a bunch more. A 24- or 25-incher was the biggest landed, but it was fun, and the rivers like the Manasquan and the Shrewsbury were loaded with small stripers at this time of year. Reel Class Charters will keep jigging for striped bass and bluefish the rest of the season, and if jigging is slow, sea bassing will be mixed in, if conditions allow. Bonito and false albacore are also a possibility at the moment, and bonito are definitely around, but they move fast, and anglers have to get right on top of them. False albacore are probably more numerous toward Sandy Hook, where they’re always more abundant at this time of year.

A bunch of reports about tuna trips through the past week were newly posted on the <b>Benchmark</b>’s web site, and not a lot of info was included, but here’s a rundown. A charter yesterday went in pursuit of bluefin tuna and indeed scored two, and stay tuned for photos of the fish that will be posted on this web site in the next day or so. On Wednesday night a charter only boated a few tuna but good-sized ones during the full moon. A group on Tuesday night put together a nice catch of yellowfin tuna, and a gang last Monday had a great night of tuna fishing. On a charter the previous evening a white marlin was caught, and then the anglers got into a steady pick of yellowfin tuna most of the night. On the prior trip on Saturday night, a tuna charter was skunked on the boat the first time in about five years, and Capt. Nick said he was disappointed but willing to admit it. He thanked the charter for their understanding.

On the <b>Dauntless</b> anglers were targeting porgies, and the fishing was okay, and the water was a little warm, but catches were alright, Capt. Butch said. Sea bass were mixed in, and when fishing for neither was good enough on a given day, the boat split up the trips with ling fishing. Customers were averaging 10 to 30 fish apiece, depending on the day. The trips will stick with this fishing as long as it lasts, even after November 15, when the tog bag limit increases to eight from the current limit of one. Tog can be caught where the boat fishes for sea bass and porgies, but most customers want the sea bass and porgies. But when that fishing drops off, usually by Thanksgiving, tog will become the target. Then the trips will stay with tog until chasing mackerel when mackerel migrate. The boat is also bluefishing on Friday and Saturday evenings, and bluefishing’s been great, and anglers scored well on 8- to 12-pounders this weekend. Bottom fishing trips are sailing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day.

Tuna fishing was pretty good a couple of weeks ago but was fairly slow this past week, said Capt. Bobby from the <b>Gambler</b>. The vessel is running five open-boat tuna trips per week, and a few were weathered out lately, but a trip was returning with Capt. Mike at the helm when Bobby gave this report yesterday afternoon. Bobby was going to turn the boat around and head out again last night. He thought the trip that was returning yesterday produced a couple of tuna for a couple of patrons, one of the fish for most customers, and none for some, but he still had to meet the boat at the dock and confirm. All of the fish were supposedly yellowfins. But longfin tuna were sometimes caught on the trips, and so were mahi mahi, and swordfish were showing up at times. A couple of big swords were hauled aboard on a trip a couple of weeks ago. The tuna lately were being marked under the boat for like an hour, and a few would bite, but most wouldn’t, and it was a little frustrating. The trips will keep sailing through October and maybe in November, and it depends on the fishing. Then striped bass trips will begin running daily, mostly jigging the fish. Afterward trips will sail for sea bass and blackfish, and later in the winter offshore bottom-fishing trips will target giant sea bass, ling, cod and pollock.

<b>Seaside</b>

Loads of blues were chasing mullet in the surf all over, and nobody reported blues blitzes, so anglers should keep their eyes open, because working birds weren’t the only sign of the fish, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. A few striped bass were tossed in here and there to keep it interesting. The number of keeper fluke pulled from the surf was impressive, and so were the number of complaints about the early closing of fluke season. No weakfish were reported beached. The site listed blues that were checked in Sunday that weighed 4, 10, 10.1, 11, 12.7, 14.9 and 15.4 pounds. An 11.2-pound striper was the only bass weighed in that day, and it sucked down a Grumpy’s clam. A 12-pound striper was checked in that hit a popper early Saturday, and a few short bass were also reported clammed that day, and blues were in and out of the suds during that time. They came in small schools that gave up short bursts of excitement. Mullet and cut bunker were the best baits for the blues, and popper lures and top-waters were also getting them to hit. The shop got a load of bluefish-friendly, inexpensive wooden plugs in assorted shapes and weights, nothing ornate, but they worked. A 21-6-pound striper was checked in that was landed Friday morning on a swimmer. Not many anglers were out before the weekend, so news was limited before then.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

The 7th Annual John Bushell Sr./George Cattano Jr. Memorial Surf Fishing Tournament will take place Columbus Day, this coming Monday, starting at 6 a.m., and entrants can sign up at the Down Under Bar in South Seaside Park on 24th Avenue below Berkeley Seafood, the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site said. The fishing will be limited to the stretch from Bay Head to Barnegat Inlet, and the entry fee is $35, and the event features a 100-percent Calcutta payout, with 50 percent going to first place, 30 percent to second and 20 percent to third. A buffet is included, and call the shop with any questions.  The south end of Island Beach State Park produced blues yesterday, and the Barnegat Inlet pocket was fairly quiet then. Nothing was biting in Seaside Park or even at old, reliable 24th Avenue. If any action other than bluefishing was going on yesterday, the folks at the shop weren’t hearing about it. The surf was 2 to 3 feet, 65 degrees and clean. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

<b>Waretown</b>

Capt. John from <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b> was taking a bit of a break between fluke season and upcoming striped bass fishing, he said. But he was down at the dock this weekend, getting the fluke gear off the boat and gearing up for fall stripers, and he spoke with a couple of anglers who seemed to catch plenty of weakfish in Barnegat Bay during the weekend. Nobody seemed to fish in the ocean with all the winds and rough seas. A number of weeks are probably left before striper fishing kicks in, and the water is warm. But when it starts, Perfect Drift’s charters at first will probably clam for the bass in the bay and then move out to the ocean to jig and troll the big migrators.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

<b>Legal Limit Charters</b> wreck fished at Little Egg Reef and picked up a few nice sea bass and a bunch of porgies while drifting clams in the 69-degree water, Capt. T.J. said. Charters are still tuna fishing, and catches that T.J. heard about seemed pretty good. The crew is getting ready to head to Cape May to fish the fall striped bass run toward the end of the month.

<b>Margate</b>

The <b>Jessie O’</b> spent both days of the weekend at the Margate Fun Fest, offering rides to festival goers, including those who wanted to check out the boat for future charters, and the weekend was very successful, Capt. Jay said. The vessel’s daily, open-boat bottom-fishing trips were resuming today. Mixed bags of sea bass, blues, triggerfish, porgies, weakfish and other fish were coming up on the trips. Patrons on the boat will jig for striped bass in the ocean when the migration begins, and they’ll sail for tog starting November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight of the fish from the current limit of one. Jay’s back-bay boat, the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>, will start running striper trips twice a day in the mornings and evenings toward the end of October, and stay tuned for details. The boat was recently re-powered with new Honda outboards to be in spic-and-span shape when the striper season begins. The Fish N’ Fun will be captained by Alf Alvestad, who recently joined the fleet.

Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> was hoping to tuna fish this week if the weather allowed, and a sea bass trip is supposed to leave the dock during mid week, he said. Windy weather was sometimes making trips difficult to squeeze in, typical during the fall. The boat will move to Cape May and start fishing for striped bass October 15, sailing to the Cape May Rips to toss bucktails or swim live bait for the fish or hitting Delaware Bay to bunker chunk the big, migrating stripers. A lot of the trips will bunker chunk the bay in the evenings, a popular time for that type of fishing. Tuna trips will keep sailing from Cape May, and shark fishing will also be on the menu at that time. Sharks pass the coast on their fall migration to spend the winter in warmer waters down south. Some people only fish for them on their spring migration along the coast on their trip north, but the fishing can be just as good in fall.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Bottom fishing was good on the <b>Captain Robbins</b> throughout the week, and patrons boated mixed bags of sea bass, porgies, triggerfish, croakers, amberjacks and bar jacks, Capt. John said. Pool winners included: Dave Gearhardt with a 4-1/2-pound sea bass on Sunday; Steve Bickner with a 7-1/2-pound false albacore on Monday; Sam Silverman with a 4-pound triggerfish on Tuesday; Barbara Conover with a 4-1/2-pound triggerfish on Wednesday; Kok Lok with a 4-pound triggerfish on Thursday; Mike Gardner with a 4-pound blue on Friday; and Tom Evans with a 4-1/4-pound sea bass on Saturday. The Captain Robbins is bottom fishing 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Joe and Bob Palumbo were aboard Sunday and fished all over, but the best action was at Sea Isle Lump, where a dozen blues to 3 pounds slammed Bass Assassins and Fin-S Fish on 3/8-ounce jigheads, Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> said. Small sea bass also hit the jigs, and so did sea robins to 3 pounds, and that was interesting. A 6-inch black grouper also grabbed a jig, and that was the first grouper that Joe believed he ever saw at those waters, and the southern fish was an unusual catch. Seas were decent, and winds were calmer than forecast. But winds honked on Saturday, so a trip with Rich Duffy and son Shane stayed inside and fished around Townsend’s Inlet. They fought 30 blues to 4 pounds on jigs with soft plastics and top-water poppers, and a 24-inch striped bass was also caught and released on a popper. Striper fishing in the bay slowed down somewhat in the past couple of days, maybe because of all the blues, or maybe because of lots of baitfish, but the fishing will pick up again, and fall is an awesome season for stripers. Lots of mullet were schooling, though the season was getting late for the baitfish, and all the bait was good to see. On Friday Joe and wife Marie fished Sea Isle Lump and reeled in 10 amberjacks, at least 15 blues and a couple of small sea bass on ¼-ounce jigheads with Bass Assassins in a variety of colors. This was the latest in the year that Joe ever saw amberjacks still around, and waters were warm or 71- to 72-degrees in the ocean and 70 degrees in the bay. The weekend was a good one for fishing, and lots of fish were caught on Jersey Cape’s trips.

<b>Avalon</b>

<b>Over Under Adventures</b> took advantage of the window weather through the middle of last week and ran nine offshore trips through Wednesday, and all but one of the trips produced four to 10 fish, a report on the boat’s web site said. The crew was expecting the fishing to be on again after trips could resume following the weekend’s weather front. Only one trip during the stretch was slow and produced one fish, and the crew felt fortunate, because many other boats, including party boats that were now out every night, had a difficult time. The moon was unfavorable, and lots of boat traffic made fishing difficult, and on several nights Over Under fished between canyons or off in the deep to get away. Over Under’s last trip during the stretch was an overnight, open-boat trip on Wednesday that was great. The anglers put nine tuna in the box, and a nearby head boat only claimed eight tuna, so the crew was pleased with Over Under’s results. Fishing during this past month’s moon was sporadic, and many boaters reported getting on the fish while a boat only a quarter of a mile away went without a bite. The VHF radio reception was exceptional recently, so the crew was able to talk with boaters up and down the edge, and trolling was slow. So trips were mostly going straight on the chunk, giving customers the option of chunking a couple of hours in the morning or trolling. But chunking in the morning was producing just as many fish as the few that could be hooked on the troll, especially because no time had to be wasted setting up for the troll. Radio reports also said wahoo and dolphin were sometimes caught inshore. The next two weeks should provide some great fishing when the weather allows trips to sail. The fish seemed spread all over, unlike earlier in the season, when they were concentrated in northern canyons. Baltimore Canyon was hardly fished this season and was ripe for good action. The crew wouldn’t be surprised if reports were heard about boats limiting out there soon, as bodies of fish push south through the month. Big bluefin tuna should start to show up again in good numbers from 30 to 40 fathoms, and longfin tuna fishing should turn back on as the moon fades this week. Check out Over Under’s schedule of <a href="http://overundercharters.com/?page=opendates" target="_blank"> open-boat trips</a>, and more dates will be added as groups call and ask about splitting costs with other anglers.  

<b>Cape May</b>

On the <b>Down Deep</b> Joe Faulkner’s charter put together a good catch of blues, weakfish, croakers and a surprisingly large number of kingfish along the ocean front yesterday, Capt. Bob said. Bob hadn’t seen that many kingfish there in a long time. Charters are still available for tuna fishing through mid month before striped bass charters begin October 18 or 19. An overnight tuna charter last week nailed six yellowfins around 80 pounds apiece, a mako shark, some mahi mahi and released a white marlin at Wilmington Canyon.

Winds blew 30 m.p.h. Saturday and forced a charter to be cancelled on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> that was going to bottom fish for croakers, weakfish and such in the ocean off Hereford Inlet, Capt. George said. Seas were beautiful Sunday. Croakers should stick around through the end of the month, and the weakies typically disappear after the first real storm. The offshore forecast was looking rough for the next several days, and a tuna charter is scheduled for this Saturday to Sunday, and that might be the boat’s final tuna trip of the year. Warm, tuna-holding water was still around, and George looked at a temp chart yesterday morning, and the warmest water seemed to flow from Spencer Canyon to Baltimore Canyon, and the warmest in that stretch held between the Spencer and the Wilmington, and Hudson Canyon farther north was cold and 60-some degrees. After the tuna trip George and crew will probably prepare for striped bass season. The boat’s first striper charter is scheduled for October 27, and some people striper fish before then, but a load of bluefish was swimming the Cape May Rips, and the blues were likely to be predominate till late October.

<b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> was catching a bunch of 5- to 8-pound blues at the Cape May Rips on mullet under working birds, Capt. Ray said. The boat was also fishing along the ocean front off Wildwood, where the anglers boated lots of 1- to 2-pound croakers and only croakers. Jaftica is still tuna fishing, and a tuna charter is supposed to sail at the end of this week, and the boat’s tuna trips should be finished within the next two weeks. Striped bass fishing will begin afterward.

Anglers with <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> fished along the ocean beach front a few times during the past week and landed lots of weakfish, croakers and sometimes blues mixed in, Capt. Mike said. Many of the fish were smaller ones but were fun on light tackle. Mike and crew were getting ready for striped bass season, and he expects the fishing to be good. Tons of bait including mullet and peanut bunker schooled the water, and some cooler weather should make striper fishing bust wide open. Charters will target the bass either at the Cape May Rips on live bait or bucktails or in Delaware Bay on bunker chunks, and the first trip is scheduled for October 20. A couple of fall shark charters are also slated, and fall sharking is available. The fish return to the area in fall, and the fishing can be just as good as during the spring migration, and the only difference might be that the fishing can last a shorter time in fall, because the fish are kind of high tailing it south to warmer waters. But makos and threshers can be battled.   

Croaker fishing was the bulk of inshore action, and the area around the buoy off Hereford Inlet and McCries Shoal were two good spots to find the hardheads, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Surf fishing produced mostly small fish but lots of action, and blues and stripers hit, and so did kingfish. No one spot was best for blues, and it changed from day to day. Along Cold Spring Inlet’s northern jetty was the only decent place to catch keeper stripers, and the fish could be hooked when they pinned mullet against the rocks. Mullet were still running, but the schools were becoming sporadic. Still, mullet was the bait of choice for the blues and stripers. The kingfish bit at Poverty Beach on bloodworms, clams and FishBites artificial worms on small hooks. Reports were being heard about weakfish boated in Delaware Bay at the 2 and 3 buoys. Good numbers of the weakies were bagged on some days, and the fishing was slim pickings on others, and the trout ranged from just keepers to 19 inches. Shedder crabs on top and bottom rigs got the strikes. Offshore tuna fishing was very good when the weather allowed boats to sail, and more and more swordfish were coming in. The crew on the Noreaster II came back with six yellowfin tuna, five wahoos and some nice dolphin that were taken at Wilmington Canyon on a combo of trolling and chunking.

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