<b>Staten Island</b>

On the <b>Barbara Anne</b> anglers are focusing on blackfish, and they were picking away at the tog, and water temps needed to drop, Capt. Anthony said. Open-boat trips are sailing for them every Tuesday, and the last trip bagged 20 keepers to 3 pounds. Trips are also available for striped bass.

If anglers want proof that striped bass can now be caught, here it is, because Capt. Tommy Verderosa from <b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b> sent this awesome link to a You Tube video of him and one of his charters landing stripers, tog, a bluefish and false albacore on Friday. Check it out!  Stripers are around, he said, and the run isn’t full blast at all, but the action seemed to be picking up a bit. It’s also a good time to score a “slam” of a variety of species, such as stripers, blues, albies and tog, if charters are interested in that accomplishment, and again, take a look at the video for proof. Tommy’s charters in the past weeks have also been concentrating on fighting false albies on light tackle and fly rods toward Breezy Point and such, and Tommy thinks the albies are probably beginning to thin out, but they’re still around. He saw them splashing around near Brooklyn on a weakfishing trip this week but didn’t try for them. The weakfishing was good near the Verrazano Bridge on the trip, and 50 other boats were also there, so the word was definitely out about the trout showing up. Besides charters, open-boat trips are also offered with Frenzy, and Tommy’s got other anglers who want to go out, so call him if you’d like to be added to the anglers he keeps in the loop.

<b>Kayla Rose Charters</b> started going after weakfish when they suddenly appeared near the Verrazano Bridge in the past week, and a trip yesterday bagged a bunch, Capt. Darrin said. A 30-inch striped bass was also nailed. Trips will keep running for the weaks as long as the fish stick around. The boat is also targeting stripers and blackfish. Open-boat striper trips will leave the dock every Wednesday and Friday starting next week. Kayla Rose also offers open trips for any of these species, and if anglers are interested, call Darrin, and if other anglers on his list can make the date, he’ll put a trip together.

Customers boated weakfish to 9 pounds near the Verrazano Bridge, said Pancho from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Anglers who had been looking for false albacore toward Breezy Point were finding none anymore this week. Blues were fought in Great Kills Harbor, and lots of peanut bunker schooled the harbor. Some anglers headed out for striped bass Sunday before the weather, but none of the fish were weighed in. Neil Diamond fished the South Beach surf last week and hauled in stripers to 40 pounds.

<b>Keyport</b>

The <b>Lucky Carm</b> took no fishing trips in the rough weather the past days, Capt. Carmine said. He hoped the current nor’easter would bring in stripers, and storms like this either bring in fish or push them out. Lots of blues were around, and Carmine even heard about big ones, 8- and 9-pounders, caught right behind the boat at the marina last night. Carmine was down at the docks at another marina this morning and said the boats were rocking and rolling in the weather. The Lucky Carm is fishing for stripers, blues and bottom fish.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Capt. Mick from the <b>CRT II</b> heard about a few striped bass reeled aboard at the clam beds this week, he said. He hoped the fishing would only pick up now, and maybe the cold front that was passing through would trigger a change. Striper fishing was slow for Mick over the weekend, but his anglers were catching blues. Bottom fishing was poor, so that was no option for charters. Plenty of dates are available for charters in November.

Striped bass and blues were hitting at the clam beds and in the surf “as we speak,” Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b> said at 11 a.m. today. They love this weather, he said. Matt Tucker checked in an 18.84-pound striper that attacked a Danny swimmer in the surf this week. Don Miller stopped by this morning with a 15.3-pound striper that he walloped along with 30 other stripers in the river last night on popper lures. Peanut bunker will also fool the river fish, and Jimmy fished the river yesterday morning with peanuts and bailed bass and blues, and they were hitting as fast as the baits dropped to the bottom. So the river fishing was hot, and eeling or worming for the stripers at night was also producing. Bottom fish were getting boated before the storm, and weakfish were reeled in at the Verrazano Narrows. 

Striped bass fishing was good Tuesday morning in the ocean on the <b>Fishermen</b>, and a few blues were fought, and then the weather turned rough, and the trip returned to port, Capt. Ron said. No trip sailed yesterday because of bad weather, and the forecast for the next days was also looking tough. But the good news was that this cold front could help get striper fishing going. Until now, stripers were sometimes hooked by customers and sometimes not, often on clams but sometimes on jigs, but plenty of blues could be jigged. Jigging was excellent for big blues on the boat Monday. Tons of bait filled the harbors and bay, and that told Ron that bait and stripers were yet to move out to the ocean, where the boat is fishing. It’s only a matter of time before stripers start migrating down the coast. In the meantime, anglers on the Fishermen will mix up trips with clamming and jigging, targeting whatever’s best until all attention switches to the fall striper run. The boat’s also been bluefishing on evening trips on weekends, and the final few of those trips will probably sail this weekend, and then those evening trips might run for striped bass. 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.

Bottom fishing was pretty darn good on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said, although yesterday’s trip was tough, maybe because of rough conditions the previous day, with rocky, rolly seas and strong winds. But until then the fishing was productive for a mix of sea bass and porgies. Monday’s fishing was good for a mix of both species at the Scotland Grounds, and Tuesday brought rough weather and strong current, but porgy fishing was okay, and only a few sea bass showed up. On Wednesday after the unsettled conditions fishing was difficult in a swell, and even the loads of little sea bass that were usually hitting had lockjaw, surprising to the crew, because catches were normally consistent. But they hoped it was only a brief setback that would clear up quickly.  A few blackfish were beginning to bite, usually on clams, although some patrons were bringing crabs onboard to try for the tog. A couple of keeper blacks were boated Monday, and shorts were tossed back. On Tuesday the boat didn’t fish at spots where the slipperies were normally found. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> was jigging lots of blues from the bay to the ocean, and striped bass fishing actually picked up a bit from Tuesday to Wednesday and was decent, and the water had cooled somewhat from south winds,  Capt. Derek said. The stripers were pretty much found at the channels and off Sandy Hook Point. This storm should help striper fishing. A few dates are available for charters, and once striper fishing kicks into high gear, anglers onboard will jig and clam the bass. Blackfish charters will begin November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight fish from the current limit of one.

<b>Long Branch</b>

Big blues 12 to 15 pounds showed up right in the wash, and John from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> hit some himself two or three times, he said. But striped bass were nowhere to be found, and he fishes almost every day and saw none this week, and veteran anglers were stumped. The water was warm and 67 to 68 degrees, and seemed like John was starting to hear new excuses about the stripers, like maybe the wind direction was the cause. The last striper he beached was a 24-incher about a week ago. Maybe the storm will create a change, but anglers weren’t going to be able to do much fishing in the salt till things calmed down after a couple of days. River anglers were reportedly catching the heck out of porgies, and snapper blues were there, but they were actually bigger than snappers now. A couple of anglers said they picked up weakfish in the river and in the bay.

<b>Belmar</b>

Capt. Scotty from the <b>Bandit</b>’s almost always been fishing when he was called for a report lately, and the boat’s schedule was busy, but he was available during rough weather last night. He said open-boat tuna trips on the vessel were good until a slower trip Sunday to Monday. The fishing before then was usually producing one to three yellowfin tuna per angler, and often close to limits. On the trip Sunday to Monday the boat fished to the east, and tuna were there, but they didn’t want to chew. Bluefishing on the boat’s been very good. After the Bandit wraps up it’s Jersey fishing this year, it’ll head to Delaware to fish for tog for the winter. The boat tog fished there last winter and did well, and those trips allow anglers to bag the blackfish while Jersey’s bag limit is reduced a number of months.

An offshore charter loaded up on 20 longfin tuna, a yellowfin tuna and six mahi mahi on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> on a trip Sunday to Monday, and it was awesome, Capt. Tom said. The boat fished between Hudson and Toms canyons, and nearby boaters seemed to struggle, but the 66.5-degree water on the Nan Sea J’s trip was full of life, including whales, dolphins and quite a few squid. Some of the fish on the trip bit through the night, but the action really turned on from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and the anglers left them biting. All the fish were taken on sardines while chunking. The Nan Sea J will continue canyon fishing through the end of the month, and a tuna charter is slated for Sunday, and another might fish Tuesday. But the weather through the weekend was looking questionable, and a Friday charter was already cancelled because of the forecast. A bottom-fishing charter Tuesday was on the slow side, and lots of small porgies and some sea bass were hooked. The water was 58.5 degrees, maybe so cold because winds were from the south. Winds were strong, but conditions were fishable.

<b>Brielle</b>

The <b>Katie H</b> arrived back at port Monday after an overnight trip to Wilmington Canyon, and the anglers bagged eight yellowfin tuna and some mahi mahi, Capt. Mike said. Probably five yellowfins were also lost, because of the usual break-offs and tangles, and tons of squid swam passed, but the tuna, good-sized, 65- to 80-pounders, preferred sardine baits. Most of them showed up around 1 or 2 a.m. in the 67.5-degree water. The weather was beautiful, a rare window of great conditions at this time of year, and the forecast for the next days was looking rough. Offshore charters this weekend might get weathered out, and if so, the crew might consider taking the anglers bluefin tuna fishing at the inshore grounds, because that fishing seemed pretty good. The bluefins are an option for charters these days, especially on weekdays, when no canyon trips are booked. So if anyone’s interested in battling tuna without making the trip all the way to the continental edge, do it now, while it’s happening. 

Sea bass and porgy fishing was very good on some days and slow on a couple on the <b>Paramount</b> this past week, an e-mail from the boat said. Catching sea bass was no issue on most days, but keeping them was. Warm water was maintaining typical summertime fishing, with lots of action, but quite a few shorts that had to be sifted through to land keepers. Still, anglers were usually finding good fishing, though occasionally catches were slow. On most days customers averaged 5 to 10 keepers apiece, and on a few days they scored fishing that’s normal in the fall, with high hooks grabbing numbers of keepers in the mid to upper teens. On some days trips ran into nice shots of small porgies, providing similar action as sea bassing, with the number of keepers ranging fair to okay. The boat is mainly targeting sea bass and porgies every day except Wednesdays, when trips head to deep water for ling. The ling trips will continue through November 7 and have been decent. On yesterday’s ling trip catches were decent, and Ralph Maiorano took home 24 of the fish, and Laura Galante bagged 22. Joe Basciella pulled up a 6-pound monkfish from the bottom. On Monday, November 12, the boat will begin sailing on Deep Water Marathons specializing in ling every Monday and Friday at the 100- to 200-foot wrecks, rocks and reefs. Cod, pollock and other deep-water species should also bite. The Paramount is currently fishing for sea bass and porgies every day except Wednesdays, and sometimes ling and blackfish are reeled in. On Wednesdays the boat is leaving port on Deep Water Ling Specials.

Tuna fishing was slow on a trip Sunday night on the <b>Jamaica</b>, but 22 of the fish were landed, an e-mail from the boat said. There was little action at night and a slow pick after sunrise. But a trip Monday night was much better, and the boat’s anglers put together a good catch of 60- to 80-pound yellowfins and a few longfins. Fish were picked until early morning, so the boat made a short move. Soon after the anchor was dropped the scope lit up with tuna 80 to 180 feet down, and three to six of the fish were hooked at once for the next 1 ½ hours. As the sun rose the bite slowed down, but anglers picked at shots of three or four fish, and the vessel left for home by 9 a.m. Notable catches listed in the e-mail included a half-dozen anglers with three yellowfins, and some of those also caught one or two longfins. Several spaces are available on trips Sunday through Wednesday, and trips are also slated for November. Call the boat or visit its web site for info. The boat and the 110-foot <b>Atlantis</b> are also available for tuna charters.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

A charter on the <b>Benchmark</b> fished inshore for bluefin tuna yesterday, a report on the boat’s web site said. At first the fishing was slow, and only a shark bit in the morning, but a 35- to 40-pound bluefin was landed at 12:30 p.m. Then two more bluefins were caught and released, and three others were missed. The boat will head offshore one last time this season on an open-boat canyon trip for tuna this Sunday to Monday, and call the captain if interested. Then the Benchmark will move to the Highlands for fall striped bass fishing that will begin November 1. The crew expects a good but late striper season and will fish through December.

An open-boat tuna trip on the <b>Gambler</b> fished a shot of warm water at a southern canyon Monday to Tuesday, and patrons boated a good catch of yellowfin tuna, Capt. Bob said.  Most were hefty and 60 to 80 pounds, and a couple were 100 pounds. The vessel arrived at 11 p.m., and the fish started biting by midnight, and the action kept up pretty much through the night. One or two longfin tuna were also gaffed, and a small swordfish was released. A trip Saturday to Sunday was pretty good, and mostly longfins were hooked, and two swords were taken, including Chris Karbownik’s 275-pounder. The tuna were finicky and wouldn’t bite at night. But they began hitting during daylight, although they were line shy. Capt. Bob could look down and see the tuna slowly swimming past. One angler, Shawn McGinn, scored well on the fish, landing five of them. The key was that he used a lighter leader and no weight, and threw the bait away from the boat. Most patrons took home one or two tuna, and there was a shot of 8- to 10-pound mahi mahi, and a few customers fished the bottom and landed tilefish. Open tuna trips are running five times a week this month, and the next spaces are available for a trip Monday to Tuesday. Tuna fishing is still good, so the boat will sail on open tuna trips from Sundays to Mondays in November, and space is available, because those trips were recently added. On November 1 the boat begins its fall schedule of daily striped bass trips, some of the fishing that the boat has become especially known for. Striper fishing was slow so far, because of warm weather, but if the fishing is still slow at that time, the boat will target blues, weakfish or whatever else is available on the daily trips until stripers show up. Offshore bottom-fishing trips for sea bass and other species will begin sometime in December. In January the boat will probably run a number of Saturday bottom trips offshore before wrapping up its season.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Blackfish could be tugged up from the Point Pleasant Canal, and clams were stocked for bait, said Ray from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. Green crabs would also draw attention, but none of the crabs were carried. Stripers should be able to be fooled in the canal on floated sandworms, and blacks will also suck down sands. Ray’s reeled in the tog to 6 and 7 pounds in the canal that he at first thought were stripers. Small stripers should also be in the Manasquan River, and that fishing will only get better as the water cools. The surf was too filthy to fish because of the storm, and there was a roaring southern tide this week. Ray’s son and buddies fished the Shrewsbury Rocks in the ocean Monday and trolled two 18-pound stripers and one just under 28 inches on shad rigs. Ray heard about a few others who fished the rocks, and they either got into blues or caught nothing.

<b>Toms River</b>

Water temps were dropping 1 ½ degrees a week, and the surf was 66 to 67 degrees and warm, but the current storm should stir things up, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. A customer said he beached five weakfish from 18 to 21 inches in the surf at Seaside Park this morning on Krocodiles. If weaks were pushing out to the surf, that meant water temps were dropping. But weakfish were still hooked in Barnegat Bay, and Jeff from the shop told Dennis that 3- and 4-pounders were boated Tuesday at Meyer’s Hole, where the water was 68 degrees. Peanut bunker were still schooling the Toms River. Before the storm blues hit the surf periodically, and a few stripers were lifted from the suds occasionally. The shop’s striped bass tournament is under way, and only one striper, a 21-pounder, was entered among the competition’s 170 participants so far. The tournament is free to enter and ends December 15, and gift certificates are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize, and only one per angler is awarded. Dennis visited a big trade show in Atlantic City, and a bunch of new items will arrive at the shop probably by next week. They include a couple of new lines of surf plugs, new fishing line, rod and reel combos, tackle bags and other goodies.   

<b>Seaside</b>

The surf was rough an unfishable yesterday afternoon through today, and the town was deserted, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. If anglers had reels to spool or repair on the fly, this was a good time. The surf was 2 to 4 feet, 66 degrees and dirty. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

The weather was rough, but it would cause fish to start to migrate south to local waters, said the fishing report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. Few anglers braved the storm, but a 9-1/2-pound striper was weighed in Wednesday that grabbed a Grumpy clam, and a 16.2-pounder was checked in Tuesday that also sucked down one of the clams. On Monday two more stripers hit the scale that inhaled Grumpy clams, a 15.8-pounder and an 8.7-pounder. Good croaker fishing was going on Monday evening in the wash at Island Beach State Park, and bluefishing in the suds was very spotty lately. The shop was expecting a new shipment of Gibb’s plugs, and a fresh supply of Stillwater lures arrived this week. The staff visited a trade show this week and was expecting a lot of great new products to be stocked soon from the show. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates. 

<b>Waretown</b>

Good-sized weakfish were feeding at Meyer’s Hole in Barnegat Bay in the early mornings at the beginning of outgoing tides, and anglers were tossing soft plastic lures to nab them, and fly rodders were also connecting, said Lenny from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. No blowfish reports rolled in from the bay since a week ago, but previously blowfishing was going well. Not many striped bass were showing up yet, but sometimes stripers were eeled in the bay at night, and sometimes small keepers were plugged at Barnegat Inlet in the dark. Big blues could be found in the ocean south of Barnegat Inlet, and Lenny fought big monsters there Monday. The slammers were sunning themselves toward the surface. He and friends also fished Garden State Reef South and reeled up nice-sized porgies, and the five anglers each bagged a limit of one tog apiece and tossed back a few keepers. Sea bass were all small at the reef. Offshore boaters brought back lots of tuna through Monday, until the weather closed in. The southern canyons seemed most productive, and anglers on one boat at Wilmington Canyon drilled 24 yellowfins by 2 a.m. and went home early. Another angler battled a bunch of tuna south of Toms Canyon.

<b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b> was mostly taking a break until striped bass fishing begins, but Capt. John said weakfish and blues are the main catch at the moment. Most of the weaks were probably now in the ocean instead of Barnegat Bay, and blues could be found at Barnegat Inlet and along the ocean beaches. John was almost thinking about going bottom fishing on a trip until the striper run starts, but a friend bottom fished 12 miles offshore this week and landed five keeper sea bass, and that was about all, so John nixed those plans. Warm water seemed to keeping bottom fishing from producing, and there were lots of small sea bass but not many keepers. Striped bass were few and far between, although last year at this time Perfect Drift was already hooking stripers at Barnegat Inlet and Barnegat Bay on spots and clams. Striper fishing this year is a month behind, and the catches will probably be good in December and January, if the weather stays calm. Charters were scheduled to striper fish with Perfect Drift this week and next, so John postponed them three weeks. Stripers are being caught farther north off Montauk, and that fishing is a month behind. A friend fished at Montauk a month ago, when he would normally hook stripers there, but he only got bluefish.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Finally! Despite 20 to 30 m.p.h. northeast winds and driving rains that sometimes blew horizontally, Tony Schirro and friend fished Barnegat Bay today with <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b>, and Tony pinned down a 35-inch striped bass and a 31-inch striper, Capt. Steve Purul said in an e-mail. “It is time to fish folks!” he said. Tony’s friends also got a few striper bites but failed to hook up. Afterward the guys got into an all-out bluefish blitz in the bay, catching blue after blue as fast as their lures hit the water. Look for photos of the day that will be posted.  

Striped bass and blues stormed the surf this afternoon, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. He heard about 11-pound blues and 15-pound bass taken on bunker and clam. A few weakfish were plucked from the suds last night, and healthy sized kingfish were also dragged onto the beaches lately. Nothing was heard about weakfish in Barnegat Bay the past couple of days, but they were landed previously. Striped bass could be found at Barnegat Inlet, and try fishing live spots, and spots are stocked. Spots could also score stripers in the bay, and lots of birds were working the bay, though the weather was snotty today. Good catches of yellowfin tuna came from Baltimore Canyon on trips Monday to Tuesday. 

<b>Brighton Beach</b>

Some stripers were picked up in the surf along the northern end of Long Beach Island today, and the fishing seemed to turn on a little once winds shifted northeast, said Basil from <b>Oceanside Bait & Tackle</b>. A few croakers were grabbed in the surf lately, but kingfish were scarce. Kingfishing was good in the bay this season, but they seemed to never show up in the suds. A few bass were beginning to appear in Barnegat Bay toward the northern end of the island, and Basil knew about one angler who hooked a number of better-sized ones. Plenty of weakfish were stacked up off the Coast Guard Station and the fuel dock over the weekend. Tog were hitting along the rocks. Offshore boaters got out during a window of weather toward Tuesday, but nothing was heard back from them yet. Wreck fishing was good. Oceanside opened this spring and is located at 8201 Long Beach Boulevard on the southern end of Long Beach Island. Basil and his business partner own the shop and also own Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle.  

<b>Beach Haven</b>

A good catch of blackfish and big, plate-sized porgies came over the rails Sunday on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b>, Capt. Frank said. Rough seas kept the boat from sailing Saturday. A special, offshore bottom-fishing trip is sold out on Veterans’ Day, but another will take place Black Friday.  The 12-hour trip will run 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Frank hopes customers will land sea bass, ling, cod and pollock. Tuna charters are offered on the boat, and the fishing is very good. The Miss Beach Haven is bottom fishing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. A blackfishing trip will leave the harbor November 15, when the bag limit jumps to eight fish from the current limit of one, and afterward the boat will concentrate on blacks on its Saturday and Sunday trips, but the hours will be extended to 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Weakfish kept biting toward the mouth of the Mullica River and at the stakes off the Old Coast Guard Station, said Charlie from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Bloodworms will draw attention, and even clams will work. Porgies continued to appear, and striper anglers at the end of the road found them annoying. No big push of migrating stripers turned on yet, and the water was probably too warm. Charlie heard about one striper clammed at Little Egg Inlet yesterday.
 
<b>Absecon</b>

Striped bass fishing was beginning to pick up in the back bay, said Ray from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Capt. Dave, the shop’s owner, ran seven charters, and each boated at least one keeper, and the Gutter Guys were aboard yesterday and scored two keepers and a couple of nice weakfish. Plenty of weakies swam the bottom of the bay, though most anglers were looking for stripers. Dave’s charters were using live bait and Gulps for the stripers, but clams will also work. Seven keeper stripers to 19 pounds were checked in at the shop from the bay in the past week, and about half were clammed. The only problem with clams was that fish like porgies and sand sharks tear them up at this time of year until colder water pushes them out. Blues 1 to 3 pounds were everywhere, and peanut bunker continued to school the bay, but Ray was seeing few mullet anymore. Surf fishers were reeling in lots of kingfish and big ones, some more than 2 pounds. They were occasionally picking a few keeper stripers on Brigantine’s north end. In the ocean sea bassing was slow, and more sea bass hugged the inlet, bridges and such than the ocean reefs. Ray heard that white perch fishing up the rivers slowed down. The shop is carrying live spots, peanut bunker, mullet, eels, clams and practically every bait. No adult, fresh bunker is carried, because the menhaden isn’t a popular bait locally. Striper anglers in the local bay connect better with clams and other baits like herring than fresh bunker, for some reason, even though bunker chunks are the main bait for bass at other places such as Delaware Bay. The shop’s Do It All Night Striper Tournament takes place 12 noon Friday, Nov. 9, to 12 noon Saturday, Nov. 10.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Lots of kingfish were pulled from the surf on bloodworms, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Tog, blues and weakfish also bit in the surf, and sometimes stripers, but not many, were landed. Noel thought water temps were dropping, so he was expecting migrating stripers to start coming in heavily. The stripers now were resident fish. Peanut bunker schooled the water, but the mullet run was trickling down. Previously there were loads of mullet, one of the best runs Noel ever saw. Weigh-ins included: William Branch’s 2.4-pound kingfish; a 17-1/2-inch, 2-pound king; a 16-inch, 2-pound king; a 37-inch, 17-1/2-pound striper; a 29-inch, 5-1/2-pound weak; a 26-1/2-inch, 11-pound tog; a 25-inch, 7-1/2-pound tog; and a 22-inch, 6-pound tog. So fishing was on! Noel said.

<b>Margate</b>

Good news: The <b>Fish N’ Fun</b> will start open-boat striped bass trips twice daily this Saturday in the back bay, Capt. Jay said. That’s a welcome sign that the season is moving along. The striper trips will fish 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The baits used will include eels and clams and maybe mackerel or bunker if available. The water was 65 degrees, a good temp to begin the fishing, and Jay and crew were pumped up and excited to get started, and 20 passengers were already signed up to go this weekend. Jay’s ocean boat the <b>Jessie O’</b> is also bottom fishing daily for porgies, weakfish, sea bass, blues or whatever action is best. Be sure to sign up for a trip that will compete in Captain Andy’s Marina’s Annual Striper Tournament on November 17. The fare includes the tournament entry fee, a T-shirt, a buffet at Maynard’s Café, and of course a chance to win the prizes for the three heaviest linesiders. Reservations are also being accepted for a special Thanksgiving Day open-boat striped bass trip that will take place 6 a.m. to 12 noon, getting anglers home in time for turkey and football.

<b>Longport</b>

Anglers on the <b>Stray Cat</b> were plugging away at small blues, a few weaks and a few croakers along the ocean beaches this week, Capt. Mike said. Croakers really thinned out, and few were big. Open-boat trips are bottom fishing daily and will go after sea bass Friday to Sunday, and fish like triggers and porgies should show up. The water was staying warm at least until the current blow. Stray Cat does no back-bay fishing, but Mike said lots of stripers could be plugged at the bridges and along the sod banks at the top of the tides. A tremendous number of tog held along the deep holes at the sod banks behind Margate, and the tog were still inshore.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Kingfish were sometimes reeled in from the beaches, but more seemed to be gathering at Atlantic City, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. The water was still warm and 68 to 69 degrees before the storm. Small blues were in the area, and Dan heard a report about lots of 24- to 27-inch striped bass that were now hitting plugs in the back bay at night, and purple and black Bombers were the deal. In the ocean weakfish were boated before the blow in 15 to 20 feet on pieces of mullet or squid or on Gulps. Blues were mixed in, and a few croakers were a little deeper in water up to 40 feet. The weaks were smaller and seemed to like the warmer water in shallower depths. Lots of customers were heading to the reefs before the weather and finding mainly tog to 2 or 3 pounds, and sea bass on the reefs were small. Baltimore Canyon produced yellowfin tuna lately, and bluefin tuna could be found at the 750 Square and 28-Mile Wreck, especially if anglers could locate the scallop boats, where big bluefins to 150 or 200 pounds were on the hunt. Some anglers were fall shark fishing, and the beasts at this time of year chase bluefish on a migration south, just like they do while moving north in spring.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Popper lures and flies fooled striped bass in the back bay, and blues schooled the inlets and along the ocean beaches, and not much changed recently, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. A bunch of weakfish covered the bottom in 40 to 50 feet in the ocean this week, and clams on top and bottom rigs would get the strikes, and so would soft plastic lures or small bucktails. A few croakers were around in the ocean, but weakfish were predominant. “It’s been a weird year for croakers,” Joe said. Lots of kingfish were landed from the surf, although the season was late for kings. Bloodworms on size-8 or -10 hooks were the way to go. Striped bass could be taken from the surf, and cast popper lures or flies at dawn or dusk, throw swimming plugs during the day or fling out black swimmers at night.  Speckled sea trout, a southern fish that usually appears in the back bay around now, were yet to show up in this year’s warm water.

<b>Wildwood</b>

The hope was that this nor’easter would get rid of the small fish like kingfish that were stealing clam baits meant for striped bass in the bay and would trigger the fall run of stripers, said Fred from <b>No Bones Bait & Tackle</b>. Before the resurgence of striper fishing years ago anglers dreaded such a storm, because it meant the end of fishing for the small fish. Fred saw two keeper stripers on Sunday and one keeper on Monday that were boated in the back bay. When the run begins, chumming with clam bellies and fishing with the hooked surf clams will be the ticket for the linesiders in the bay. Anglers were also waiting for big, slammer blues that should normally be here by now, but warm water seemed to be delaying things. Lots of small blues were around, including all over the surf, and a 2-pounder was a big one. One angler clammed three weakfish in the bay during the past week, but Fred only saw a handful of weaks all season. Tons of tog were hovering near the jetty rocks, though the bag limit is only one of the fish until it increases to eight on November 15. Triggerfish were also around. A customer over the weekend fished Wildwood Reef and landed a mixed bag of weakfish, porgies, croakers and a few sea bass, but like in the bay, the fish were small, so small that the boater put his catch in a 5-pound bucket. No Bones specializes in striped bass fishing in fall, including on the shop’s rental boats. The 17-foot Carolina Skiffs are available through December 31, and the shop carries lots of clam bellies to target the stripers, and the staff can point you in the right direction.

<b>Cape May</b>

Charters were supposed to start striped bass fishing this weekend on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, but striper fishing was slow so far, even though the fish normally arrive by now, Capt. George said. So he was going to leave it up to the anglers whether they wanted to give it a shot. He guessed that the striper migration was late this year, but you never know, and the linesiders could be showing up right now in the storm. Utsch’s Marina in Cape May was starting a striper tournament today, and the late start of the striper run might make the annual competition difficult. Some anglers were going to compete and asked George where they should fish, and he told them to fish right off their dock, because resident stripers in the harbors were probably more numerous than migrating fish elsewhere. The Cape May Rips, where fishing for the migrators is usually popular at this time of year, were full of blues the last time George heard. But again, striper fishing could turn on any day.

<b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> is set to turn all attention to striped bass, and anglers onboard will probably try finding the linesiders this weekend, although the weather forecast was looking questionable, Capt. Ray said. But if the boat does get out, the anglers will probably target the Cape May Rips, working hard along the rip lines to try to find the bites. At the beginning of striper season Jaftica usually fishes the rips with live bait, usually spots and eels and maybe mullet. Charters later will probably bunker chunk for stripers in Delaware Bay. Ray would love to still run some tuna charters this season, because plenty of the fish were at the canyons, but the weather at this time of year makes windows of decent conditions scarce, and much of the boat’s schedule is now filled with striper trips, so Ray wasn’t sure whether he’d get more opportunities to head offshore. Anglers now could also catch croakers, lots of blues and beach-front weakfish.

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