<b>Brooklyn</b>

The <b>Big M Express</b>’s been bottom fishing for sea bass and porgies, and trips were gearing up to sail for tautog when New York’s tog season opens Monday, Capt. Steve said. A few tog were already biting while customers fished for sea bass, and both charters and open-boat trips will now immediately run for tog. Charters and evening open-boat trips are also sailing for striped bass, and previously those open trips were also targeting weakfish, but weakfishing seemed to end quickly.  On Sunday an open-boat sea bass trip started slowly with winds and currents too strong to drift, and the anglers had to fish a lot of spots to connect, but they ended up with a decent catch of the lumpheads and porgies, and a few nice tog were released, and so were out-of-season fluke. On Saturday a charter scored action all day with sea bass and porgies, and tog were released.

<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b> was fighting three to five false albacore to the boat on most trips toward Sandy Hook and Breezy Point and all over the area in the past several days, Capt. Tommy Verderosa said. He was just watching for the fish to bust the surface, and then his charters were either tossing epoxy flies to the speedsters or throwing Deadly Dicks on 10-pound tackle for a blast on the lighter rods. Larger Deadly Dicks were producing best on the spinning outfits. A charter yesterday drilled three of the fish, and trips were also losing a few, of course. Some other type of pelagics, maybe bonito or Spanish mackerel, were seen, and none would bite, but they were definitely there. Schoolie stripers were also landed and released on yesterday’s charter. Light-tackle and fly fishing is one of Tommy’s specialties, and the excitement could hardly be better when tackle-busting albies are around. The action doesn’t last long, so go now if you want to do it. Tommy marked a bunch of weakfish toward the Verrazano Bridge yesterday, and he couldn’t stop and fish for them at the time, but he was glad to find the fish and will surely go back. Catching a slam, or landing a mix of most of the major species available all in one trip, is certainly still possible, if anglers want to try for the accomplishment with Frenzy. Stripers, blues, weaks and albies are all a possibility.

Serge and Alex, regular customers on the <b>Barbara Anne</b>, bagged 40 sea bass and 15 jumbo porgies Tuesday, and the trip wasn’t even really trying for porgies, Capt. Anthony said. Out-of-season blackfish were also released, and that could be a good sign, because New York’s blackfishing season opens Monday. Trips will go right after blackfish starting then, and they might be combo sea bass/blackfish outings at first, until blackfishing really kicks in, but it depends on the fishing. The boat’s weekly, open-boat trips every Tuesday will probably start targeting blackfish, guaranteed to the leave the dock with a minimum of two anglers.

Sea bass and porgy fishing’s been great, and <b>Kayla Rose Charters</b> was fishing for them a lot, and blackfishing trips were about to start in a big way when New York’s blackfishing season opens Monday, Capt. Darrin said. An open-boat blackfishing trip will leave the dock that day, and call the boat to jump aboard. Blacks were around, and 15 were released Sunday on a sea bass charter, and blackfishing season’s going to be good, Darrin said. Kayla Rose is also starting to fish for striped bass, and two striper charters are slated for this weekend. “We’ll see what happens,” Darrin said. Anglers on the boat will largely focus on wreck fishing, now that blackfishing season’s opening, but tuna charters are still available, and Kayla Rose has been tuna fishing till now.

Blues were beached from the Staten Island surf, and blues were everywhere, said Vinnie from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Weakfishing was spotty, and fishing for false albacore and bonito was supposedly red hot toward Breezy Point, and light-tackle anglers and fly fishers were having a blast with the fights. Schoolie striped bass were landed here and there, but the season was early. A few nights gave up good tuna fishing for yellowfins on the chunk. A few people were still crabbing, like those who kept crab hotels at their docks, but it was difficult to say whether catches seemed good, because of lack of participation.

<b>Keyport</b>

Bluefishing and bottom fishing were possible, but otherwise not a lot was going on, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. Lots of bait held at the inlet, and that had to be a good sign for the coming fall fishing. The boat is available Saturday and Sunday for either charters or open-boat trips, and open trips run every day when no charter is booked. The open trips take place 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and call for reservations and info.

Capt. Carmine from the <b>Lucky Carm</b> was hearing that fishing was tough, he said. He was probably going to take a crew trip today and look around for striped bass and other fish and see what was happening. Now that the full moon had passed, maybe something would get started. Charters are bottom fishing, bluefishing and striper fishing.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Bluefishing seemed to be the main option now, until fall striped bass fishing turned on, said Capt. Mick from the <b>CRT II</b>. A charter yesterday battled lots of 4- to 12-pound blues, healthy sized fish, at the Mud Dump, and that’s where Mick’s been taking his bluefishing charters. He chums with peanut bunker and uses the peanuts for bait, and an unbelievable number of the baitfish still crammed the bay and back waters. A few porgies were also being picked, and Mick hoped sea bass would come in as the season progresses, and his anglers will target them if they do. A few weakfish held in the back of the bay, but weakfishing was no great shakes. Striped bass charters will begin in two weekends. So upcoming trips on the CRT II this season will chase stripers, blues and sea bass, if bigger sea bass show up. Discounts are always available on weekday charters.

Michael Kaplan plugged a 9.66-pound striped bass from the Sandy Hook surf, said Steve from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. A bunch of blues were holding off Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor and even in the harbor, where anglers fought them from docked party boats. Steve fished the clam beds off Sandy Hook two nights ago and found blues and stripers scattered about, and he boated 10 blues and two keeper stripers, and trolled umbrella rigs were the only thing they’d bite, until he tried jigging, and that also worked. One angler reported fishing with two friends and limiting out on nice-sized porgies at a lump off buoy 14. No reports were heard about sea bass.

Anglers on the <b>Fishermen</b> were sometimes jigging bluefish, sometimes clamming striped bass and other times bottom fishing, mixing up the fishing, depending on what’s biting, until the fall migration of stripers kicks off, Capt. Ron said. The boat would normally be fluke fishing this time of year, but the early closure of fluke season put the brakes on that possibility. But fluke were still hugging the bottom. Lots of big blues were around, and resident striped bass were plentiful and sometimes bit and other times didn’t. Bottom fishing was often difficult, and lots of small sea bass and such covered the rocks and wrecks, but sometimes keepers were pulled up. A few cold fronts are needed to get the larger, migrating stripers to start leaving places like Montauk, driving the fish down to Jersey. Last year the Fishermen started targeting the linesiders in mid October, almost a month from now. The resident keeper stripers were just about as large as the legal size limit or 28 inches, and the big bass will come with the migration. Last week on Wednesday patrons got into bang-up fishing for the residents, limiting out the boat, and that seemed like the fishing was going to start hopping. The weather was also cooler then, though Ron didn’t speculate the reasons for the good catch, and the reasons are unknown. But striper fishing yesterday was decent, and a half-dozen keepers and the same number of shorts were boated. The water was 68 degrees, and the migration will start when temps drop to 57. In the meantime trips are keeping the options open, targeting the best opportunity for a given day, and putting catches together.  The boat is also bluefishing in the evenings from Fridays through Sundays, and that fishing’s been great and no problem, and a few false albacore and bonito were popping up at times. Weakfishing is also usually an option for the boat at this time of year, but weakfishing never turned on enough this season. A few weaks filled the bay, but not nearly enough. 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.

On the <b>Atlantic Star</b> anglers were fighting the current from the full moon the past several days on bottom-fishing trips, Capt. Tom said. They were fishing between the channels, and some drops produced more porgies than sea bass, and lots of stops gave up loads of undersized sea bass. The first spot this morning, when Tom gave this report an hour into the trip, gave up some nice-sized porgies. A few nicer sea bass and a few porgies bit yesterday, and on Tuesday morning in lots of current almost all porgies were boated, and some anglers bagged 16 or 18, and one landed 12, and others only picked up a two or three. Anglers had to adjust to the fast-moving water. Only a handful of blackfish were hitting so far, and most were small, and a keeper was taken a couple of days ago. A couple of passengers brought crabs aboard to try for blacks, but nothing exciting was happening with the tog yet, and most of the slipperies were hooked on the clam baits meant for sea bass. Tom thinks the fishing will pick up after the full moon wanes. 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. 

<b>Higlands</b>

A trip bottom fished with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> today and pulled up some nice sea bass, a couple of blackfish and a few porgies, not a lot of porgies, at the reef in strong current from the full moon, Capt. Derek said. Anglers onboard wormed stripers at the Sandy Hook Rip the other night, but the moon was making the fishing tough. Plenty of blues from 3 to 10 pounds could be jigged, and Derek has written off weakfishing for the year, but he heard about weaks hooked yesterday. Charters are being booked for fishing for stripers and tog later this fall.

<b>Long Branch</b>

Blues were landed from the surf, and so were a few striped bass on clams, poppers or swimming plugs, said Joey from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The Shrewsbury River held weakfish and blues, but blues did seem to be moving out to the ocean. Crabs were still being caught from the river, and the water was warm.

<b>Neptune</b>

Anglers on a canyon trip on Monday drilled a swordfish and nine yellowfin tuna to 100 pounds with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, and the tuna were big, and fish bit most of the night, and canyon fishing’s been red hot, Capt. Ralph said in an e-mail. One spot is available for a canyon trip Tuesday to Wednesday. His last two shark trips fought two makos from 125 to 150 pounds to the boat within 25 miles from shore. Bottom fishing for sea bass, porgies and ling was good on most trips, and bluefishing was outstanding both day and night on bait. Last Lady’s striped bass fishing will start in mid October, not too long from now, and striper fishing earlier this year was one of the better seasons and lasted till August. An individual-reservation striper trip is on the books for 6 a.m. October 24, limited to 15 people. Blackfishing will begin November 15, and the schedule will be forthcoming. A mid-range wreck trip for cod, pollock, giant sea bass, porgies and ling will sail 3 a.m. October 21 with only six passengers, and call the boat to book. Ralph also gave an update on out-of-season fluke. “What can I say, we can’t fish for them now,” he said. “I haven’t seen this many fluke in all my years of fishing.” He said to join the Recreational Fishing Alliance or contact your politicians and let them know about the problems with fluke regulations for recreational anglers.

<b>Belmar</b>

Sea bass and porgies were coming up for patrons on the <b>Big Mohawk</b>, and some days were pretty good, and others were “eh,” Capt. Chris said. He’s looking forward to more porgies showing up, and the trips are looking for them every day. The water’s still warm, 71 degrees, and should be cooler, and the fishing’s going to run late. No particular depths seemed best, and there was no rhyme or reason, and it was just kind of unusual at this point. A handful of blackfish were biting here and there, and the boat will go right after blacks starting November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight from the current limit of one. The Big Mohawk is bottom fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day.

Party boat anglers were bagging good-sized sea bass pretty regularly, said Moe from <b>Fishermen’s Den</b>. A mess of blues could be caught from the surf to the party boats. Weakfishing was very slow in Shark River, and besides the bluefish, surf fishing was slow.

<b>Brielle</b>

The <b>Jamaica</b>’s been tuna fishing through the past week, and the boat e-mailed an update on the trips from Wednesday of last week through Monday. The fishing started with a big catch on Wednesday, so there were high hopes for the fishing on Thursday with great weather, the same water temps as the previous trip and the right current, everything perfect, except the fishing. Reports were poor from the bulk of the fleet that night. On Friday’s trip conditions were also good, and yellowfin tuna showed up under the boat at 2 a.m. Anglers hooked them on bait and jigs, but the fish were gone as quickly as they appeared, and only a few more tuna bit the rest of the night. But in the morning the trip hit the lobster pots, and customers bagged 20 mahi mahi. Saturday night’s conditions were also good, and a big swordfish was the first fish hooked but was lost. A couple of tuna bit every hour, but every one was lost, and the crew was beginning to wonder if any fish were going to be boated that night. Then yellowfins schooled under the boat at 4 a.m., and wild action took place for an hour. Matt Walenta was high hook with three yellowfins. On Sunday night the boat returned to the same area with conditions similar to the previous evenings except a little more wind. A 100-pound swordfish was landed at 1 a.m., and the first yellowfin hit at 2 a.m., and several of the tuna were boated, and several were lost. A half hour later chaos erupted, with three to seven tuna hooked at all times for the next couple of hours till early morning. Many of the tuna were lost because the yellowfins this year were generally larger or 60 to 95 pounds. Most of the tuna grabbed bait, but some smacked jigs. Things were quiet for an hour until 6 a.m., when longfin tuna schooled 40 to 90 feet down, and six were hooked, and four were bagged. Two white marlin were nailed at 8 a.m., one on bait and the other on a jig, and both provided quite a show. Frank Pogue was high hook with three yellowfins and a white marlin. Plenty of good water was flowing along the 100-fathom line from Hudson Canyon to Wilmington Canyon, and the fish were biting almost everywhere, some days better than others, and the outlook seemed good. Space is available for trips in October and November, and tuna charters are also available on both the Jamaica and the 110-foot <b>Atlantis</b>. Charters on the Atlantis are also available during day and night for any species available inshore and offshore for groups of anglers from 18 to 120. Bluefishing trips are also running on the Paramount every Saturday night, and bluefishing on the boat this past weekend was very good. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey, and the test-out option is also offered, and so are private classes at your own location. Visit njboatschool.com for the schedule and info.

Offshore trips were weathered out today to tomorrow and Friday to Saturday on the <b>Katie H</b>, Capt. Mike said. He hoped the weather would allow the boat to fish offshore this weekend. A boater from the dock fished Hudson Canyon from Tuesday to Wednesday and got his butt kicked on the way home, but 10 tuna were chunked on the trip. Mike knew nobody else who ran offshore, but the weather seemed decent enough earlier in the week. After tuna fishing drops off, charters will fish for blackfish starting in mid November, and the crew does a lot of blackfishing.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

The <b>Gambler</b> is running open-boat tuna trips five days a week, and the fishing recently was inconsistent, and the full moon might’ve played a part, and steady water temps with no breaks might’ve left no place for the fish to gather, Capt. John said. The last trip sailed two days ago to South Toms Canyon in 76-degree water, and a nice shot of 80-pound yellowfins came through at 4 a.m. and were marked, but most were reluctant to bite. An 85- or 90-pounder was probably the biggest that was caught. Swordfish were also being boated on the trips, and the swordfish population certainly seemed to have rebounded. On a trip two Monday’s ago two 140- and 160-pound swords were landed, and outdoor writer Nick Honachefsky tackled the biggest and won the pool, and seas were very rough that night. Openings are available for the trips in October, and probably five or six spots are left on many of the outings, and some are sold out, especially on weekends, but some openings remain on weekends. The dates of the trips are on the boat’s web site. It’s time to get out on these trips, and the weather will start to close in on offshore fishing as autumn produces unsettled seas more and more often, so don’t delay, or you’ll have to wait till next year. The tuna trips will end around November 1, and then striped bass fishing will begin on the boat. The Gambler is especially known for striper fishing, and quite a following jumps on the trips that sail every day. Bait might be used at first, but soon jigging with Krocodiles, Ava’s and such will take over, and it’s not uncommon for everybody aboard to limit out. In December the boat will start running offshore sea bass trips to the 60- to 80-mile wrecks, limited to 40 passengers. Jumbo porgies, pollock and other bottom dwellers are also caught, but giant sea bass are the main fish. The Gambler also runs a number of tilefish trips offshore during winter.

<b>Angela Rose Charters</b> was taking most of September off, doing annual maintenance on the boats after the mad summer rush, and Capt. Anthony was also serving some Coast Guard duty, he said in an e-mail. But the maintenance was just about finished, and some goodies were added to the fleet, and he was drooling at the thought of striped bass season right around the corner. Striper and bluefish charters are starting to be booked, and so are sea bass and tog trips, and with the fall season in its early days, open dates are available, and Angela Rose will sail seven days a week. It won’t be long before fall fishing flies off the charts, so stay tuned.

On the <b>Andrea’s Toy</b> anglers were now concentrating on offshore fishing on open-boat trips while the fishing was good and while good weather was still frequent enough to take a fair number of trips, Capt. Fred said. But those trips will probably end by October 15. However, if perfect weather rolls in during November, trips will run to the eastern wall of the Hudson, where squid boats work the water, and giant bluefin tuna are attracted and can be caught. Besides open trips, charters are also always available to fish offshore, and a charter Monday ran to Hudson Canyon and landed mahi mahi and a swordfish. Tuna fishing was slow, but the charter wanted to target a sword, so they spent a lot of time at night drifting for one, and eventually they were successful. Swordfishing is like searching for a ghost, a lone, single fish, but it’s exciting when one is caught. Andrea’s Toy’s web site said the trip began fishing from the tip of the canyon to the Elbow, where trolling for tuna was uneventful. So the anglers moved to the 100 Square and caught mahi mahi at the lobster pots. Next they set up for swordfishing on a drift from the 100 Square to Jones Canyon, and no swords bit, but a 50-pound longfin tuna was caught. So they started tuna fishing after midnight, and there was plenty of bait, but no tuna. Then a swordfish was caught! “Go figure,” the site said.  An inshore charter on Friday was aboard for the burial at sea of the charter’s father, a World War II veteran from major campaigns, including Normandy. The day was beautiful, and they fished afterward, landing blues to 8-pounds off Sea Bright on light tackle and sea bass to 2 pounds at a rock pile. Blues have been schooling along the beaches around Sea Bright, and sea bass and porgies could be bagged at the reefs. In November, charters, not open trips, will sail for striped bass and tog, and Andrea’s Toy always specializes in mixed-bag fishing for more fun, better chances at hooking up, and more variety to take home to eat. So for example a charter might chase stripers and then cast for blues and mix in a little bottom fishing. Similarly, offshore trips always mix up the options, running for tuna, casting light tackle for mahi, maybe swordishing or sharking, and maybe tilefishing.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Fishing was blowing open, said Bob from <b>Jersey Coast Bait-N-Tackle</b>, and more and more striped bass were beginning to be picked up from the surf, and lots of blues were coming from the suds. So things were starting to happen. Clams will take the bass, and so should bunker, and clams are available 24 hours on an honor system, and fresh bunker is usually carried on weekends for now. Anglers were whaling out-of-season fluke by mistake and releasing them, and this time of year is usually the best for fluking, and the early closing of the season was terrible. Weakfish were sometimes sandwormed in nearby Barnegat Bay, and cocktail blues roamed the bay. Lots of small black drum were in the bay, especially in the back bays, and that was unusual, because the fish hadn’t been around in years. Few people were crabbing since summer ended, but the ones who were still keeping traps at the docks seemed to be catching.

Ray Bukowski from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b> and buddy fished Sea Girt Reef yesterday and boated 14 keeper sea bass, three keeper porgies and quite a few shorts, he said. Only a single out-of-season fluke came up, and Ray was surprised that no more did. Ray passed through the Manasquan River and saw not one boat from the 35 Bridge to the canal. Small  striped bass were biting in the river, especially at night, and John Morris drifted at the bridge and landed five small bass on a black Bomber. A customer who plugs the surf almost every day was with a friend at the beach when they saw fish busting beyond casting range. So the friend took his kayak, paddled out and ended up fighting six bonito to the boat. The fish were over 5 pounds each and were landed on a plug, though Ray never heard of bonito hitting a plug before.  Local crabbing news was scarce, probably only because of lack of participation after the summer crowd. Ray’s son, Ray Jr., fished for tuna on the Voyager from Sunday to Monday and said the fishing was slow, and only five tuna were bagged. But his son for the heck of it grabbed a fluke rod with a 975 Senator from the mate and caught a 65-pound yellowfin tuna on 20- or 30-pound Power Pro in 1 ½ hours. Tuna fishing sounded slow for the whole fleet from Thursday to Sunday.

<b>Toms River</b>

Bluefishing that had been happening in the surf slowed down this week, and sometimes 2-pounders were hooked, but only when bait pushed into the suds, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Most of the fish were taken on mullet, and mullet were still schooling along the wash, and so were a few peanut bunker, anchovies and even adult bunker, a mixed bag of bait that sometimes hit the beaches. But the bluefishing was definitely bait-driven. A few striped bass were starting to come from the surf, and Todd Popek dragged two stripers to 19 pounds onto the beach that attacked a yellow Bomber plug. Dennis hoped that the coming cold front would pick up surf fishing, and warm water’s been the problem. Water temps were roughly 68 degrees, pretty warm, and friends said the waters at Montauk were the same temperature, and Montauk was on the edge of the temperature break. All kinds of weakfish still filled Barnegat Bay, and friends yesterday bailed 22 of the trout to 3 pounds, mostly on pink Fin-S Fish, but also on sandworms, and a few on Gulp shrimp. The BB marker’s been the hot spot. Loads of peanut bunker continued to school the bay, and spearing were all over. Peanuts and spearing were also in the Toms River, where weakfish, baby drum and kingfish bit mostly at Island Heights. Snapper blues were fought in the river near the Lobster Shanty.

<b>Seaside</b>

Not much was happening, except rumors of bluefish taken from the surf at night, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Lots of bait was further north, and the wash was 1 to 2 feet, 66 degrees and clean. The shop was getting a lot of reel repairs done, so if you need a reel serviced, now was a good time. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

Bluefish were scattered up and down the beaches, and mullet and poppers were getting the job done, said the fishing report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. Anglers at Barnegat Inlet’s north jetty took blues and also triggerfish, and the inlet area did seem the top spot for blues, but all of Island Beach State Park gave up the fish. But the speedsters were on the move, so you should also be. The best bet was to soak bait while throwing poppers, plugs or metal and then move and repeat. It beat doing yard work! Short bursts of action weren’t attracting birds, so watch the water and look for telltale signs. Short stripers hit on the early morning outgoing tides. The bass at this time of year key in on surface plugs and poppers. Put in your time and catch. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Waretown</b>

Weakfish kept biting in Barnegat Bay, and the BI and BB markers seemed the best areas recently, though previously the 42 was the hot spot, said Dale from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. The bite seemed to end a little earlier than before, and the action shut down by 9 or 10 a.m. Pink Fin-S Fish, sandworms or grass shrimp will catch them, and fresh grass shrimp are stocked. Mike Mole, who used to own the shop when it was called Mole’s Tackle, his wife Jo and his grandson Matt fished the bay and landed 25 kingfish and a bunch of blowfish Monday. Lots of kings filled the bay, and Dale headed out the other day and hooked kings, and smaller ones outnumbered keepers, and he must’ve reeled in 30 blowfish, but only three were keepers. The bay was loaded with bait, lots of peanut bunker and mullet, and Dale saw 5- and 6-inch mullet busting out of the water. A couple of customers had been surf fishing but seemed to stop with the warmer weather, but participation should increase within a couple of weeks with cooler temps. Boaters who were making the trip offshore seemed to score good catches of tuna, maybe six, seven or eight a trip, and maybe a swordfish or two at the Toms, Carteret, Lindenkohl and Spencer canyons.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Surf fishing for striped bass was hit or miss, but sometimes they were picked at the jetties on plugs or Fin-S Fish, and so were weakfish, said Rusty from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Barnegat Bay’s weakfishing was fairly hot and heavy, and peanut bunker or pink Fin-S got the strikes. Bottom fishing gave up decent sea bass and blackfish catches, and nothing was heard about Barnegat Ridge. Tuna fishing was very good offshore at Carteret and Lindenkohl canyons on the chunk.

<b>Brighton Beach</b>

Blow-out tides from the full moon slowed down surf fishing somewhat, but striper fishing in the surf had already begun, said Basil from <b>Oceanside Bait & Tackle</b>. Mornings and evenings were the best chance to hook them, and plugs will do the trick, and from 15 minutes before high tides to 15 minutes after was probably best. Bluefish sometimes blitzed the beaches during the week, and mullet were definitely leaving the bay for the ocean and surf. Mullet could be castnetted in the surf for bait, and so could peanut bunker. Small sea bass and some tog were hitting along the jetties. Weakfishing was on fire in Barnegat Bay toward the northern end of Long Beach Island. Offshore fishing was generally incredible, and there were a few slow days recently, but Basil thought the bite turned back on. Wilmington and Carteret canyons seemed to give up tuna, and swordfish and white marlin were also fought. 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 Nick own the shop and also own Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle. 

<b>Beach Haven</b>

Bottom fishing was pretty good on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b> on Friday and Saturday, and lots of shorts were hooked, but so were lots of keepers, Capt. Frank said. The catch was kind of a mixed bag of everything: jumbo porgies, sea bass, some nice blackfish and bluefish. Sunday’s trip also produced a mess of the fish, but most were shorts. A charter tuna fished Sunday night and boated a swordfish and a tuna at Wilmington Canyon, but the fishing was slow for the fleet, and a couple of boats caught nothing.  The Miss Beach Haven is bottom fishing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. A special, 10-hour, offshore wreck-fishing trip will sail Columbus Day, Monday, October 8, leaving 6 a.m., fishing the wrecks out to 30 miles, and reservations are required. Daily trips will start focusing on blackfish November 15, when the bag limit jumps to eight fish from the current limit of one, and the boat will fish till February. Tuna charters are currently available.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Porgy fishing kept going at Grassy Channel, and most of the fish seemed smaller than before, but catching them was fun, and the porgies were more numerous than usual, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The bay’s fishing for kingfish, blowfish and other small fish like porgies mostly never developed this year, but at least porgies showed up. Try anchoring and chumming with clam from the 132 to the 134 markers and tossing clam or bloodworms for bait. Big blues, not a ton, but enough, swam the ocean, and birds could usually be found working the water above within a mile from shore, and waters near the Little Egg Inlet bell buoy were a good place to start searching. Croaker fishing was good yesterday for the first time this season, and boaters on the radio were saying they loaded coolers as quickly as they could in the ocean off the Red Tower at Holgate. Depths from 18 to 35 feet should be a place to find them. No striped bass were biting yet, and the weather was too warm. Scott expects striper fishing to launch by October 10, and action last year started during the first week of the month. A handful of customers were weakfishing and finding catches, and Scott was calling them sharpies. Weakfishing was very location-specific, and Marshelder Channel gave up bites, and mostly peanut bunker that anglers castnetted or bloodworms are used for bait. One woman said she put together a solid catch of crabs, and that was the first good crabbing report that Scotty heard this season. Crabbing had been poor, and one report didn’t mean things changed, but maybe there was hope, and maybe this week’s full moon would trigger something. September is usually a very good month for crabbing.

<b>Absecon</b>

Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b> ran a charter today, and a new body of weakfish, larger ones than before, definitely moved in, he said. The two anglers aboard limited out at Main Marsh Thorofare on nice-sized keepers, none smaller than 14 inches. They probably threw back twice as many, and most of those were around the 13-inch size limit. Gulp Alive minnows on ½-ounce jigs with a teaser 1 ½ or 2 feet above were the rigs. He ran charters Monday and Tuesday that didn’t score as well on weaks. The charter today also caught and released two short striped bass, one on Gulp and one on a live mullet, along the banks of the Inland Waterway at the top of the tide after they were tired of landing weakfish. The charter Monday bagged a keeper striper and released a few shorts behind Little Beach. Striper anglers tossing top-water poppers at night in the bay were doing pretty well, landing mostly shorts but occasional keepers. Lots of bluefish, nice-sized ones 2 to 4 pounds, filled the bay, and they were blitzing on mullet along the banks on low tides, when surface poppers would draw strikes. Now’s a great time to take kids fishing to get a good pull on the line from the scrappy fighters. Surf fishers were finding lots of bait including mullet in the wash, and they were pulling up bluefish, and a few stripers were also around, but it was tough to compete with the bait. A few spots but apparently no large numbers of the bait fish were also in the surf, and kingfish were still taken along the beaches. The shop is carrying the full selection of live baits including spots, mullet and peanut bunker, and a big shipment of eels is coming, and anglers can get special prices on 100 eels during the next couple of weeks before prices are locked in for the rest of the season. Live and frozen clams are also carried.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf fishers locked up on kingfish, blues and quite a few small stripers, but sometimes keepers in the low 30 inches, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. Porgies, sea bass and tog hit around the jetties and rocks, and mullet schooled the surf and bay. Boaters could find croakers in 40 feet in the ocean, and a few weakfish should be mixed in. In the back bay stripers were plugged, and a handful of small weakfish but an occasional larger one came from the bay.  Offshore fishing was good from Lindenkohl Canyon to Wilmington Canyon, and lots of big yellowfin tuna to 100 pounds, a few decent wahoos and a mess of dolphin were fought. Swordfish and white marlin were also on the bite at times. The <b>Carly A</b>, the boat’s offshore charter boat, was supposed to fish today, but the charter cancelled. The last trip sailed Sunday, and Jack thought the boat fished the tip of Wilmington Canyon on the chunk and came back with four yellowfin tuna and a tripletail. The vessel also did a little trolling, and three white marlins were hooked but got off. The shop is filled to the gills with offshore baits, including flats of butterfish and sardines, two different sizes of ballyhoos, three different sizes of rigged ballyhoos, bunker chum and mackerel chum. Inshore baits that should be arriving include eels and green crabs, and live spots are carried, and so are fresh and salted clams, fresh and frozen mullet and frozen bunker, mackerel, squid and herring.

<b>Margate</b>

The <b>Jessie O’s</b> daily bottom-fishing trips were getting better and better and producing mixed bags of sea bass, porgies and blues in the ocean, sometimes on a drift, and sometimes while anchored, Capt. Jay said. The trips will continue to bottom fish, and tog fishing will begin November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight of the fish from the current limit of one. Anglers onboard will also jig for striped bass in the ocean when the fall migration begins, and 12-hour, offshore, bottom-fishing trips will also be announced soon, so get ready to have fun along the deep-water wrecks. Charters are also available on the Jessie O’. On Jay’s bay boat, the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>, daily striped bass trips will begin running twice a day when fall striper fishing begins, and the crew is excited. The hours will be in the mornings and evenings, something like 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and stay tuned for details. Jay welcomes a new captain, Alf Alvestad, who will be running the Fish N’ Fun. If you’re looking for entertainment this weekend, and if you want to check out the Jessie O’, the boat will be taking passengers for rides in the bay to the inlet all day long Saturday and Sunday at the Margate Fun Fest. Lots of food, music and vendors will be there, and it should be a good time.

<b>Longport</b>

Sea bass, porgies and triggerfish were biting 12 miles from shore, and nice-sized weakfish and some croakers were holding 5 to 6 miles offshore, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b>. The boat was undergoing maintenance and should be back fishing by Friday, but those were the fish that were being caught previously. Tuna were getting boated from Wilmington Canyon to Hudson Canyon, and tuna charters are available. Open-boat sea bass trips will start October 10, only two Wednesdays from now. Blackfishing open trips kick off November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight fish from the current limit of one. Mike’s looking forward to blackfishing and had a good season last year. He’ll also choose a few days a week to run open for striped bass when the migration turns on. Stray Cat fishes into the winter as long as possible and was one of the last vessels, if not the last, on this site to keep fishing last winter. Some of Mike’s best days of fishing have been in January, whether it’s for stripers or blackfish. Striper fishing especially started late last year, even after many anglers had hung up the fishing pole for the year, because traditionally the fishing took place earlier. But the migrations in recent years seemed to run later than in the past. Stray Cat was also putting customers into tog catches through late in the season last year.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The surf was full of blues, quite a number of kingfish and a few striped bass, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. One angler hauled in a 25-1/2-pound, 41-inch striper that he plugged from the wash near 11th street. Mullet was the bait of choice in the suds, and the store is stocking fresh and frozen mullet. Mullet were still schooling the surf, and peanut bunker recently appeared there. In the back bay stripers could be plugged along the sod banks, but there was so much mullet and peanuts that stripers were difficult to get to bite. Croakers schooled in 30 to 40 feet off Lucy the Elephant in Margate and off the Ocean City Ferris wheel, and spotty, small weakfish were mixed in, and lots were 11-inch shorts, and anglers were happy to catch one that just made the 13-inch size limit. One customer headed out to look for sea bass off Cape May, and ironically found nothing but big, out-of-season flounder. Dan fished offshore at Wilmington Canyon Sunday to Monday and caught tuna, and the fish were biting along both walls and the tip. His friend Paul Decker that night caught a humongous swordfish, a 400-pounder, and Dan’s friend Kenny Millevi on another boat landed a 250-pounder, no small sword itself, and Kenny’s crew also chunked an 80-pound wahoo, and the anglers on both boats loaded up on tuna. So offshore fishing was good, and another friend caught two white marlins along the 500 line of the Spencer on a trip Friday to Saturday. Tuna fishing sounded slow Saturday but seemed to rebound Sunday and Monday. Anglers probably took the trip offshore yesterday into today, but seas were rough.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Bottom fishing was pretty decent on the <b>Captain Robbins</b> last week, and customers were boating sea bass and mixed bags of triggerfish, croakers, porgies and blues, and weakfish started to bite, Capt. John said. Capt. Mike Weigel ran the trips, and pool winners included: Jim McPlumb with a 4-1/2-pound triggerfish Monday; (Tuesday was a blow day); Joe Williams with a 5-pound sea bass Wednesday; Bob Elsey with a 4-pound sea bass Thursday; Dave Chison with a 3-1/2-pound sea bass Friday; and Doug Wood with a 4-3/4-pound triggerfish Saturday. Bottom-fishing trips are sailing daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and daily blackfishing will begin November 15, when the blackfish bag limit jumps to eight from the current limit of one. The boat is also bluefishing on 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. trips, and bluefishing was tough. Lots of blues bit, but they were 1- to 2-pounders. That’s a perfect size for eating, but many customers would like to fight big slammers. Capt. John also runs a four-person charter boat that is currently sea bassing and will begin striped bass fishing when stripers turn on this fall.

Mike Greene was aboard in the back bay Tuesday night and nailed five striped bass and three blues on Skitter Pop lures, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Plenty of stripers were still biting in the bay, and popper lures were fooling them, and more good news was that Skitter Pops are being manufactured again after being discontinued previously. They’re one of Joe’s favorite striper lures for the bay, and when they stopped making them, he stockpiled a bunch. Tons of mullet kept swimming the bay, and peanut bunker were also there, and the mullet run was past its peak, but plenty of the baitfish were still around. Joe fished offshore with friends during the weekend and went 2 for 4 on 70- to 80-pound yellowfin tuna, nice, big fish, at Lindenkohl Canyon on the chunk. There was a temp break from 71 to 75.5 degrees along the 100-fathom line, and all the fish bit on the cooler side along the edge. Butterfish worked better than sardines, though sardines are usually the favored bait these days, and it goes to show that experimenting with different baits is important. Fifty-pound leaders worked best, better than heavier line. All the fish bit down deep on weighted baits, except one that was hooked on a free line. Joe and crew tried trolling a couple of hours in the morning with not even a knock down, and trolling hasn’t been happening, and the fish are deep. In other news, striped bass can be caught in the surf at this time of year, especially at first light. Poppers like a Gibbs or an Atom worked along the jetties will get hits, and at night a black Bomber retrieved slowly will get attention. Surf anglers should keep in mind that stealth is just as important along the wash as in bonefishing on the flats. Anglers never forget to be stealthy on the bonefish flats, but lots of surf casters just charge right into the surf, probably scaring all the fish away. Surf casters should also not ignore the shallowest water in the foam right along the beach, because often that’s where the fish actually are. Stripers seem to prefer that water, maybe because it shields the sun and exposure that they don’t like. It’s all important, and it’s important to hunt and sneak up on the fish. Joe always starts fishing the surf from land, working the water outward to the deeper areas, but often the fish are surprisingly close to the sand.

<b>Cape May</b>

Lots of small blues schooled the Cape May Rips, and croakers, small weakfish and blues were on tap in the ocean off Hereford Inlet, Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> said. A charter that bottom fishes for the croakers and other fish each year will take the trip off Hereford again this weekend. Charters are also tuna fishing, and George spoke to one captain who found very slow tuna fishing Sunday night. The anglers on the boat only got two bites, and the captain from the vessel said he’s never going tuna fishing again while the full moon is approaching. Tuna fishing also dropped off in a big way on last month’s full moon, and George though the bright light from the moon keeps the bait fish down deep.

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