<b>Staten Island</b>

Weakfishing took off at the Verrazano Bridge, and the fish, maybe 20 inches long, finally showed up, said Capt. Darrin from <b>Kayla Rose Charters</b>. Blackfishing was okay, and a trip for the tog was good yesterday. A few stripers were around, and Kayla Rose is now running open-boat striper trips Wednesday and Friday evenings from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. or so. Patrons will fish for the stripers with eels or maybe live porgies, and if bunker show up, they’ll also liveline bunker. If anglers are interested in open-boat striper or blackfish trips at other times, call Darrin, and he’s got other anglers that he can call and put together on a trip if they’re available.

Blackfishing started out decent on a trip with <b>Outcast Charters</b> on Saturday during outgoing tide, Capt. Joe said. Probably 20 blackfish to 6 pounds and maybe 20 sea bass were bagged, and plenty of shorts were released, and porgies were mixed in, and both an out-of-season winter flounder and fluke were released. But the fish turned off during incoming. Maybe a southerly roll from rough weather the previous day affected things. Previously blackfishing seemed to be picking up for Outcast with somewhat cooler water temps. Outcast is now focusing on blackfish, and blackfishing is one of the boat’s specialties, but clams will also be kept aboard for sea bass fishing. No trips tried for striped bass yet, and Joe will probably wait till water temps drop to 58 degrees before striper fishing. Often blackfishing trips will fish for stripers along the ocean beaches on the way home for a bonus.

<b>Bayonne</b>

A limit of 18 keeper weakfish was bagged by two anglers and Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b> at the Verrazano Bridge, yesterday morning, Akira said. Nothing bit from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., but then the fishing turned on during outgoing tide. The anglers also caught and released more of the trout after limiting out. More than 50 boats were fishing there during the trip, and 20 were fishing there in the evening when Akira passed by, and usually no boats are fishing there on a Sunday evening like that. So word had gotten out. Another trip with True World jigged false albacore off Breezy Point last week, but Akira went back yesterday, and no birds were working, and none of the fish was found. So he moved to buoy 10, where anglers on the boat landed sea bass and porgies. On Saturday Akira and two customers nailed four keeper stripers 40 inches, 38 inches, 35 inches and 33 inches at Diamond Reef on eels. The 40-incher weighed 28 pounds, and the water was 69 degrees. That trip also tried for weakfish at the Verrazano during incoming tide, but the weather was terrible, and none bit.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

<b>Evening Tide Charters</b> was on a mission to search for striped bass yesterday, but only blues were found rolling on the surface, and the water was 69 degrees, too warm for stripers, Capt. Kyle said. The water was very clear, and friends who are divers said visibility at the rocks along the lighthouses was 15 feet, better than usual. When stripers show up, Evening Tide will target them with clams, jigs and trolled shads and tubes.

<b>Keyport</b>

Jack O’Hara’s group fished with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> and put together a “small pick” of bluefish on the Staten Island side of the bay on a trip from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Capt. Joe said. The blues were maybe 7 or 8 pounds, and some dogfish also bit, and strong winds blew 20 m.p.h., and seas were choppy. Jack Jr., John Elia and Dave Brown were also aboard. Dates are still available for striper charters in November, and open-boat trips are currently running every day when no charter is booked, and call to reserve.

Blues on top of blues were the catch yesterday on the <b>Lucky Carm</b> in the bay with the David Moore party, Capt. Carmine said. Live and dead peanut bunker got the bites, but a piece of bologna on a string could’ve been used, because there were so many of the fish, Carmine said. The charter even decided to return early after all the action. The weather was beautiful, but a charter Saturday was cancelled because of strong winds. Carmine saw fish in the water at the dock that day, so he tossed out a line and started hooking 8- or 9-pound blues and small striped bass in the creek. The water on the trip yesterday was 66 to 67 degrees, so temps were dropping a little, but not enough to bring striped bass. Carmine did no fishing for stripers this weekend, because he heard that striper fishing wasn’t happening. But he’ll probably take a shot at stripers one evening this week to test the waters. The Lucky Carm is sailing for blues, bottom fish and stripers, and some open dates for charters remain this month, and prime dates are available in November.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Bottom fishing seemed okay on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, according to what Capt. Tom said about it, and some days were better than others, but all patrons were probably going home with fish. Porgies and sea bass were coming up, and some days produced more of one than the other, and the fish were mixed sizes, and sometimes lots of small sea bass bit. A few blackfish were also hooked, though no effort was being made to target them, because the bag limit is only one per person until it increases to eight in mid November. Sunday’s fishing all in all was pretty good, and so was Saturday’s. Friday brought nasty weather, but the catch was decent considering the conditions. Fish were landed at Sandy Hook Reef, the Mud Buoy and at the channels, so the vessel was fortunate to have several different areas to fish depending on the weather and conditions. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Striped bass fishing was a little slow over the weekend, and only a few were boated, but plenty of blues were jigged, said Capt. Rich from the <b>Teal</b>. Everybody was waiting for striped bass to arrive, and the water temp needed to drop. Baitfish needed a shock from colder weather to get them to push out of the harbors and inlets. The Teal is fishing for stripers and blues on two trips every Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Plenty of birds worked the water Sunday, but there was too much boat traffic, said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> in the report on the boat’s web site. The boat bounced around, both anchoring and drifting at readings, and fifteen striped bass including three keepers were landed. The shorts measured 25 to 27 inches, and a 17-pounder was the pool winner. Then patrons ended the day by jigging blues in the bay, and at first most of the fish were 2 to 3 pounds, but during the last 30 minutes big slammers hit. The water was still warm, and the air temp today was supposed to be 78 degrees. “Never thought I’d be the one to wish for the cold, but I could sure use the help,” Ron said. On Friday there was a terrible southerly roll in the ocean, and a few striped bass and blues were boated, and then the vessel anchored at a snag, and some beautiful sea bass, tog and a couple of more stripers were reeled in. Toward mid day the water was boiling with blues in three large areas, and patrons took their fare share and came home as rains and winds came on. On Thursday more blues than stripers were hooked, but a couple of keeper stripers were bagged, and a few shorts were released. The water was 65 degrees.  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>

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> jigged lots of blues, Capt. Derek said, and stripers, mostly shorts but occasional keepers, were mixed in. The fish bit anywhere from between the channels to Long Branch, and the blues were mixed sizes, weighing 1 to 3 pounds in the bay and 3 to 10 pounds in the ocean. The water was pretty much 65 degrees and warm everywhere. Derek was reading stripers at the channels yesterday, but they wouldn’t bite, probably because of warm water and the sun. But the fish seemed to be there, and he was talking to party boat captains who said stripers bit at night. Lots of bait filled the water, and Derek marked bait 15 feet thick yesterday. When the striper run begins, Fisher Price will target them, tossing clams, worms and eels or trolling or fishing for them whatever way is best at the time.

<b>Sea Bright</b>

Anglers with <b>Two Rivers Charters</b> fished the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers Thursday night and picked up a few 6- to 8-pound blues and a couple of 10- to 12-pound striped bass, Capt. Fletcher Chayes said. The fish hit plugs, and Fletcher was waiting for migrating striped bass like everyone else, and the water was warm.

<b>Neptune</b>

Both of <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>’ boats trolled for bluefish in the ocean yesterday and caught the fish, and a few striped bass to 20 pounds were mixed in, Capt. Ralph said. So it looked like some stripers were starting to show up, he said. One of the trips fished the Mud Buoy and also got into a smattering of sea bass. The season’s first open-boat striped bass trip will sail Wednesday, and space is available. Individual-reservation striper trips will run every Sunday in November, and open blackfishing trips will launch November 15, when the bag limit jumps to eight of the tog from the current limit of one. Afterward Last Lady is running a slate of individual-reservation blackfishing trips. An open-boat, mid-range wreck-fishing trip was weathered out yesterday because of strong winds, and the trip will be rescheduled. An open canyon trip last week bailed 19 yellowfin and longfin tuna on the chunk, and the yellowfins weighed up to 90 pounds. A couple of openings are available on an open canyon trip October 29 to 30, and otherwise spaces are full at this time.

<b>Brielle</b>

Blues and sometimes small striped bass were hooked in the ocean along the beaches, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. He heard about no bonito caught, although bonito fishing was good close to shore the weekend before last. On an offshore trip Wednesday Dave saw water temps that were 66.4 degrees 34 miles from shore, so the ocean was still warm. Small blues and small stripers filled the Manasquan River, and blackfishing was very good at the Point Pleasant Canal. Nobody was mentioning reeling in striped bass from the canal, but stripers were there. Dave was seeing reports in the newspaper about anglers catching stripers, and he knew the anglers and knew they were catching the fish in the canal, even though in the paper they were reporting the catches from other places like the ocean. Nobody mentioned landing any weakfish locally. Porgy fishing was the best bottom fishing in the ocean, and the porgies were good-sized. Bottom fishers could hook a load of sea bass, but the large majority were small.  Canyon tuna fishing was very good when the weather was calm enough for boaters to sail. Anglers were catching a mix of yellowfin tuna and longfin tuna at the Hendrickson, Toms and even Spencer canyons, and a few were running to the Baltimore. Apparently the water at Hudson Canyon was cool, so everybody was heading farther south, though maybe that was just the popular thing to do. He thought he remembered one boater saying he trolled longfin tuna at the Hudson. At the other canyons chunking was producing most catches, and usually a bite took place toward dusk and maybe an hour after sunset. Then things shut down by 10 p.m. until the fishing turned back on from 3 or 4 a.m. through daybreak. Tilefish were sometimes reeled up, depending on where the offshore boaters fished. Bluefin tuna continued to get landed from the Arundo wreck to the Monster Ledge, usually while anglers either chunked or jigged, but sometimes while they trolled.

Tuna fishing was excellent for yellowfins and longfins on a trip Wednesday to Thursday on the <b>Jamaica</b>, an e-mail from the boat said. The boat arrived at the 100-fathom line in 65-degree water, and squid, porpoises and mahi mahi were plentiful. A few mahi were landed, and then things were quiet until the first tuna hit the deck at 4 a.m. Another was landed at 5 a.m., and tuna began schooling under the boat and feeding at 6:30 a.m. The fishing was a slow pick for a while, but it really turned on a 8 a.m. Then the fishing was good until the boat headed home. Dennis Mulenforth was high hook with five longfins and two yellowfins to 100 pounds. Other notable catches included Mike Jung with five longfins and a yellowfin, Frank Graziano with three longfins and two yellowfins and Kevin Feaster with three yellowfins, a longfin and a 10-pound mahi. This month and next are traditionally good for tuna chunking, and the outlook seemed good for upcoming trips. Space was available today through Friday and also on October 31, and many dates are available in November. Call the boat or visit its web site for info.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> took the kids and family to the Monster Ledge yesterday and fought bluefin tuna to the boat, he said. Live peanut bunker were fished 40 to 60 feet down on 40-pound fluorocarbon. Andrea’s Toy also battled the bluefins on a trip that was reported last week, and Fred said a lot of anglers also struggled to catch the fish lately, but he wondered whether they were using live peanuts. The water on this trip was 66 degrees, clear and green. Andrea’s Toy will keep fishing for the tuna at the Mudhole until water temps drop and fishing picks up along the ocean beaches closer to shore. Fred heard that boaters along the beaches struggled to catch anything yesterday after the southerly roll turned over the water.

Jigging trips for blues and stripers in the ocean left the dock with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> on Saturday and Sunday, Capt. Allen said. On Saturday four anglers were aboard in a ground swell after rough weather the previous day, and they ran north and stopped at lots of bait that was marked between Belmar and Asbury Park, and tailor blues were hooked. Next they moved off Elberon and Deal for a slow, steady pick of bigger, 8- to 10-pound blues and one nice, 30-inch striper that also hit a jig. They finished the day at the Shrewsbury Rocks, where some life was found, and a false albacore was fought but got off. They ended up with a load of blues and the one striper, and they basically fished wherever marks were found on the fish finder, jigging white crippled herrings, Ava jigs and such along the bottom. On Sunday the weather was beautiful, and seas were flat but dirty, probably from run-off from the rivers and inlets reaching the ocean from the previous rains. The anglers onboard headed to the Shrewsbury Rocks, and there was very little life, but tailor and snapper blues were jigged from Manasquan to Monmouth Beach. A couple of sea bass were also jigged off Monmouth Beach. Then Allen got a call from a buddy about bigger blues, so the boat sailed between Sea Girt Reef and Axel Carlson Reef, and about a half-dozen 10- to 12-pound blues were fought, mostly on jigs, but one of the anglers was throwing a top-water. So this day was tougher, and maybe the fish were affected by the dirty water and the previous day’s southerly swell. The water on the trips was in the mid to low 60s, and there was a ton of bait, but no migrating stripers yet. Allen heard about a couple of false albacore caught but no bonito, and maybe the lower water temps were making the speedsters leave the coast after giving up good action the previous weeks. Reel Class will keep running jigging trips, especially for big, migrating stripers and blues when the migration begins, and sometimes the trips will also troll. Allen’s looking forward to the arrival of stripers, but cool nights are needed to start the push.

The <b>Benchmark</b> will run one last tuna trip this coming Monday to Tuesday, an open-boat trip, so call the boat if interested, the report on the vessel’s web site. Afterward the boat will move to the Highlands to begin striped bass fishing November 1. The crew expects a good but late striper run, and the boat will fish through December, first from the Highlands and then from Point Pleasant. A charter Wednesday tried for blues and found plenty of action on chunks and surface plugs, releasing scores of the fish. A tuna trip last Monday to Tuesday trolled for a couple of hours with no bites, set up for the chunk at night, and first boated five tuna. More tuna were picked through the night, and mahi mahi also bit, and the group came back with five yellowfin tuna, five longfin tuna and a dozen mahi.

On the <b>Dauntless</b> patrons were reeling aboard sea bass and porgies, and fishing was a little slow the past couple of days, and the current was strong, but the anglers averaged 10 to 20 fish per person, Capt. Butch said. Lots of the sea bass were small, but most porgies were keepers and good-sized. When sea bass and porgy fishing is slow, the boat sometimes heads to deeper, 180-foot water, so customers can hook ling in addition to the other two bottom dwellers. The sea bass and porgies come from 30 to 50 feet. Anglers were hoping the water cools to improve the bite. The boat is also bluefishing on weekends, and bluefishing went very well Saturday night. Bottom-fishing trips are sailing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day, and bluefishing trips take place 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. every Friday and Saturday.

<b>Seaside</b>

A 23-pound striped bass was checked in that was clammed in the surf Saturday night, and the angler who nailed the fish also beached several croakers and a nice, 15-pound puppy drum , said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. A few other bass were weighed in yesterday morning and Saturday, but no other specifics were given, and one angler threw Deadly Dicks to pick up four small stripers in the wash. Otherwise there was a little action here and there lately, but not like before, and the approaching full moon might’ve been a cause, and south winds last week might’ve hampered things. The surf was 1 to 2 feet, 65 degrees and cleaning up. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

Rain poured Friday afternoon, so not many surf anglers fished, and a couple of calls came in about small blues hitting the suds at Island Beach State Park, but that was about it, said the fishing report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. Blues surprisingly didn’t make much of a splash Saturday, but 3- to 4-pound weakfish showed up at the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights for quite a while in the afternoon. It might be a good idea to look out for them in the surf, and try tossing Gulp jerk shads or Fin-S Fish on jigheads. Striped bass, and keepers no less, were reported caught late in the day Saturday in the wash at the southern end of Island Beach State Park, and clams worked, and all different types of artificials were also getting the job done. Weigh-ins included a 33-inch 11-1/2-pounder and a 31-inch 8-1/2-pounder. Sunday gave up an odd mix of fish, and weigh-ins ranged from small blues to a red drum, a couple of triggerfish and a 16.9-pound striper that ate a Grumpy clam. One angler also checked in a mess of croakers and one kingfish that came from the Casino Pier. A supply of back-ordered Gibbs plugs arrived last week, and another order was expected today or tomorrow, and frozen mullet were in abundant supply. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates. 

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

The week was full of high and low action as well as high and low seas, said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. The first charter of the week started fishing at Barnegat Inlet, but the fishing slower than usual, so the boat headed to the ocean, where birds’ were found working the water. Weakfish covered the bottom and were even 20 feet thick at some spots, and the charter limited out quickly and played catch and release afterward. The next day was one of the sportier ones on the ocean, and a charter that day started a trip with fast-paced action with weakfish there again. But the plan was to do an inshore troll, so they switched to trolling soon, especially because the weather was deteriorating. Southerly winds were building to 20 to 30 m.p.h., and seas were 4 to 6 feet with a spicier wave every so often. Only one huge bluefish hit on the troll, and then the seas forced the anglers to head back to Barnegat Bay, where they finished with solid weakfishing and bluefishing. The next charter had the slowest action of the week. One bluefish was lost at the inlet, and then the anglers searched for fish in the ocean, covering lots of ground, but not much was happening. They ran back to the inlet and played catch and release with 2- to 5-pound blues to be saved from the dreaded skunk. With water temps in the high 60s, cooler weather is needed to spark what Capt. Steve believes will be torrid fall action. Think cool weather and northwest winds, he said.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Fishing was pretty good for sea bass, triggerfish and porgies on the <b>AC Lady</b>, Capt. Rich said. Bigger fish will bite when the water cools, but catches were holding up. Blackfishing will also kick in when water temps drop. The AC Lady is bottom fishing 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Wednesday and every Friday through Sunday.

<b>Margate</b>

Mixed bags of porgies, small blues, a couple of keeper weakfish and other fish made up the catches on daily, open-boat bottom-fishing trips on the <b>Jessie O’</b> in the ocean, Capt. Jay said. Less than a week is left before his back-bay boat the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b> begins open-boat striped bass trips twice daily. The trips will sail 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the prime feeding times for the fish. Reservations are being accepted for an 8-hour trip from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, November 17, that will compete in Captain Andy’s 8th Annual Striper Tournament in Memory of Jimmy Stewart. The anglers who catch the first, second and third heaviest stripers in the tournament will take the prizes. The trip price includes the entry fee, a T-shirt and a buffet at Maynard’s Cafe, where the weigh-in will be, and anglers must register for the trip by November 15.  A special Thanksgiving Day open-boat striped bass trip will take place 6 a.m. to 12 noon, getting anglers home in time for turkey dinner and football, and call to reserve.

<b>Longport</b>

Bottom fishing was pretty good on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, and patrons mugged triggerfish, hooking double headers, and Capt. Mike never saw so many triggers, he said. Porgies were also lifted up, and so were a bunch of sea bass, and many of the sea bass were small, but trips were coming back with 25 or 30 keepers. Blues, grunts, croakers and weakfish were also hooked, and the water was teeming with life, but anglers did have to work for keepers. “Can’t take a sandwich break if you’re going to come home with a cooler,” Mike said. Open-boat bottom-fishing trips are sailing daily, and call to reserve. Bluefin tuna were everywhere 8 to 12 miles offshore, and Mike must’ve seen 300 in the past few days. No patrons wanted to chase them, and they wanted to bottom fish, but charters are available for the bluefins, if anyone wants to catch tuna without having to make the run far offshore. A few bird plays were happening at the inlet, and blues were underneath. Open-boat striped bass trips will fish every Tuesday and Sunday when the migration turns on. Open blackfishing trips will begin November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight of the fish from the current limit of one. Stray Cat had a great blackfishing season last year at South Jersey’s reefs and wrecks with less pressure than up north.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

The <b>Captain Robbins</b> sailed on bottom-fishing trips all week with Capt. Mike Weigel at the helm, owner Capt. John Sullivan said. At the beginning of the week patrons bagged croakers and weakfish, and some sea bass, amberjacks and small blues rounded out the action. Some porgies, but not a lot, also made the cooler. During the past couple of days catches included more sea bass, some porgies, triggerfish, small blues and some croakers. Bottom-fishing trips are sailing 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> fished from Montauk this weekend, he said, giving some interesting news about the state of the striper migration in those northern waters. He fished with Jay Vonczoernig and Beare Baynard, and Joe said the striper run was happening there, and although the trip produced fewer of the fish than in past years, plenty of stripers were being caught. The water off that tip of Long Island was 65 degrees, and the warm water and weather was mind boggling, because normally Joe and friends freeze their tails off when fishing there at this time of year. But there were lots of blitzes as they fished off Montauk Point, and they could pick their bird play to fish, and bay anchovies were abundant. They caught stripers, blues and false albacore, an inshore slam, both Saturday and Sunday. Albie fishing was also a little slower than usual, and blues definitely dominated the scene. Joe and the others fished with jigs and flies, and on Saturday they hooked probably 30 blues from 5 to 12 pounds, a number of false albacore and several stripers, including a 37-inch 22-pounder, the biggest striper of the trip. On Sunday probably 20 blues to 12 pounds were reeled in, and one false albacore was landed on a fly, and an 8-pound striper was taken. More stripers probably would’ve been caught over the weekend, but Joe and crew were concentrating on fly rodding and jigging, while locals were usually trolling or fishing live bait like porgies. Other boaters using those methods were catching a lot of big stripers. Action was non-stop for Joe and the gang all weekend, and the trip was great. Back at home, fishing around Sea Isle was good, and the scene was still a summertime pattern. A mess of bluefish were running along the beaches, and striped bass smacked popper lures and flies in the back bay. The water was 67 degrees before Joe left for New York this weekend, and fall fishing will probably last late into the season with such warm water. Fishing for striped bass and blues will only get better, with more and bigger fish hitting, as the season progresses. Tuna fishing offshore will probably also last late into the season from the warm water.

<b>Avalon</b>

The boats from <b>Over Under Adventures</b> have been tuna fishing through the season, but one of the vessels, That’s Right, is being moved to Cape May to start striped bass fishing, a couple of e-mails from Over Under said. The vessel can accommodate 15 passengers and features a large, comfortable cockpit. But striped bass were yet to show up at the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay, and the season seemed like it was going to be late, so Over Under pushed the striper schedule ahead to begin striper fishing the first week of November at this point. In the mean time That’s Right will continue to tuna fish, and Over Under’s boat Low Profile will continue tuna fishing from Avalon through Thanksgiving. Over Under was also tuna fishing from Ocean Maryland, but the company’s Maryland season is now finished for the year. That’s Right had been tuna fishing from Maryland, and so was the Pretty Work, but Pretty Work has now returned to Islamorada in the Florida Keys to fish for the winter, and the fishing was supposedly pretty good for mahi mahi, some early season sailfish and some yellowtails. Over Under’s tuna fishing from Jersey and Maryland this month was once again great for yellowfin tuna at the canyons. The boats started the month fishing mostly at Lindenkohl and Spencer canyons, where they also fished most of August and September. They briefly fished Wilmington Canyon but soon returned to the Lindy and Spencer, where the fishing really went off during the week leading up the new moon. After a batch of bad weather during mid month, the boats wound up fishing Baltimore Canyon for the first time this season before heading back to the Spencer. During weekdays the boats had the best fishing mostly by themselves and among the northern party boats at the canyons. Weekends were crowded, and Saturday’s were definitely the slowest fishing. Over Under had a brief shot at big bluefin tuna behind scallop boats early in the month, landing ones to 221 pounds. This was the only shot at the fish this fall, so the crew was sure that the main body of bluefins will move down the coast in the next weeks. Trolling for tuna was mostly non-existent, and the boats were mostly opting to get on the hook early and chunk through daybreak. The tuna were beginning to bite on the chunk during daytime, typical for this time of year, so the trolling gear was probably going to be stowed away for the season. Over Under’s tuna fishing the rest of the season will mostly be make-up and open-boat trips, so drop Over Under a line if you want to get in on the action.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Boaters reeled in loads of croakers and blues from the ocean off Wildwood, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. They also pulled up croakers, blues and mostly small sea bass from Cape May Reef. North Wildwood’s surf fishing was red hot for blues that blitzed from 5th Street to 15th Street. Back Bay anglers threw top-water plugs or clams for catches of small stripers, and the shop is fully stocked with live eels and live spots in anticipation of the fall striper migration. Back-bay stripers are a blast to fight from kayaks, and 2008 Hobie Mirage Kayaks arrived at the shop and are ready for test rides.  Offshore anglers chunked good numbers of tuna at Baltimore and Wilmington canyons.

<b>Cape May</b>

Striped bass were yet to migrate to the Cape May Rips or Delaware Bay, and the bay was 69 degrees, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. The water needed to cool, but eventually stripers are going to move anyway, because the shorter days and time of year matter. So charters bottom fished along the ocean front. Bobby Smith’s group on Sunday landed plenty of blues, croakers and weakfish, and so did the Blue Linx charter on Saturday. The boat’s tuna charters are finished for the year, and Bob is now waiting to charter for stripers.

Capt. Mike from <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> took a fun trip yesterday and tried for striped bass with his dad at the Cape May Rips for four or five hours, even though Mike knew the water was warm, he said. They swam spots and eels and also threw rubber shads, but no stripers showed up. Some fish were marked, so Mike thinks they were probably waiting for the water too cool. The water was 68.5 degrees, and the temp needed to drop a few degrees. The water was very dirty after the blow at the end of the week, and before the blow, the boat sailed on bottom-fishing trips, and tons of croakers were reeled in from 30 to 40 feet off the ocean beaches, and the hardheads were piled up thick. Fewer weakfish bit than during previous weeks. Sea bass were also hooked at Cape May Reef and Wildwood Reef, but probably 1 in 10 was a keeper.

<b>Fine Line Fishing Charters</b> attempted to head up Delaware Bay to test the waters for striped bass Saturday, but west/northwest winds were too strong, so Capt. Dave sailed to the ocean beach front instead, he said. A bunch of croakers were boated off the Cape May beaches, even though the fish should be gone by now. The water was 67 degrees and warm.

A charter on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Wednesday to Thursday hauled in three swordfish, including one keeper, and landed a big blue shark on the chunk at Baltimore Canyon, Capt. George said. A tuna was also trolled in the morning. Boaters who fished the Baltimore the night before clobbered tuna, catching numbers in the teens and twenties, but on Wednesday night fishing was slower, and three tuna were taken on one boat, and a couple nailed two. Former New York jets center Joe Fields was on the trip with the Heavy Hitter, and so were Daryl Lindsley, Bill Hart and Tom Ebecke. A bunch of small swords were swimming in the slick, and the keeper showed up, and a bait was pitched to him, and he was brought to gaff quickly, probably in 30 seconds. But the fish went wild when gaffed until the crew was able to stick it with a second gaff and subdue it. Tons of bait and porpoises filled the water, but tuna were scarce. A charter from the Salem Fire Company bottom fished Sunday and landed croakers, blues and small sea bass but no keeper sea bass. There was lots of action, but not a lot of keepers. They fished at the Cape May Reef and the Cape May Rips, and the rips gave up 15 or so blues about 12 inches apiece, and fishing for everyone sounded slow Sunday, though the weather was beautiful. Fred and Jack Ayers, Dwayne Donaldson, Bobby Croff and Brett Mathers were the anglers on the trip. Charters on the boat were supposed to start striped bass fishing this coming weekend, but no stripers were biting so far. Traditionally charters on the vessel always start striper fishing the last weekend of October.

Not much changed in the past week, and the water was very warm, and striped bass were yet to arrive at the Cape May Rips or in Delaware Bay, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The best striper fishing was at the bridges and along the inlet jetties at night on plugs or live spot, mullet or eels around the top of the tides. The rips were home to loads of bluefish, and the waters at Hereford Inlet held plenty of big croakers, weakfish from 13 to 19 inches and blues. Schools of false albacore were starting to show up around the buoy off Hereford. Surf fishers were mainly finding bluefish, but some smaller striped bass were appearing, and kingfish bit at Poverty Beach. Sea bass swam a bit offshore at the 16- to 20-mile grounds, and Cape May Reef was loaded with small sea bass and porgies. Offshore fishing was very good, and big yellowfin tuna and swordfish were boated at Baltimore Canyon, and yellowfin and longfin tuna were taken at Spencer Canyon. Terry Simpson fished the Spencer for a catch of four yellowfins, six longfins and a sword. Sean O’Donnell on the Got Walls tackled his first-ever sword Tuesday night. The crew from the Miss Andrea brought back a 167-pound sword to the scale Wednesday morning. Both boats also got into 70-pound tuna. Matt himself fished on the Salty Susan with Tom Swider and Tom Engles on Monday night, and they drilled four swords, five tuna and 15 mahi mahi.

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