<b>Brooklawn</b>

The storm and windy weather affected fishing a lot, keeping most anglers from boating, and croakers and small blues were banked from the surf, but nothing tremendous was heard about weakfish, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. But a few of the trout could be picked up from places like off Egg Island Point. Smallmouth bass fishing was turned on in the Delaware River north of the Schuylkill River, one of the better bets. Plenty of largmouth bass  hit in the river, but smallmouths overshadowed them. Schoolie striped are always a solid standby in the river during the season, and if Rick was just looking for a bend in the rod, like if fishing with kids, he’d target the stripers.  White perch fishing should start to gain steam in the river and tributaries as waters cool. Nobody could fish offshore in the stiff seas, but Rick saw a satellite shot that showed that offshore waters cooled. Warm waters remained on the southern grounds, so white marlin should keep being fought there.  Big Timber Bait & Tackle carries bait and tackle for all fishing from freshwater to offshore. That includes a complete supply of lures and baits for rivers and lakes; rigs, tackle and frozen bait for bays; and offshore lures, rigs and baits.

<b>Pennsville</b>

Some customers fished the bay, reeling up blues and small croakers, said Matt from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Nobody mentioned catching weakfish, but customers before the weather found weaks from Sea Breeze to Fortescue. Schoolie striped bass will keep biting in the Delaware River through the season along the sand bars, oyster beds and structure like bridge pilings. A few larger ones like 22- to 26-inchers will show up in the river during the fall migration, but most migrating bass in fall will stay in the bay, unlike springtime, when many large linesiders swim upriver to spawn. In fall the fish are only moving up the bay to feed a moment on a trek to southern waters for winter. But anglers on the river will have fun catching and releasing short stripers through fall, and fresh bunker becomes the popular bait, and the shop carries the menhaden when the action kicks in. White perch and catfish always hit in the river and tributaries through the season, and larger perch tend to show up in fall. Cooling waters in the tributaries and local ponds and lakes were perking up largemouth bass fishing. Slowly-worked spinner baits, plastic worms and Rat-L-Traps should get strikes. Crabbing was productive, and the owner of the shop nabbed 40 the other day. She crabs were more common than before.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Capt. Ralph from the <b>Buccaneer</b> took a trip with friends on Sunday after the storm, and they reeled in plenty of blues and good-sized croakers, and they caught and released seven short weakfish, all near Fortescue, he said. So the fishing was good for blues and croakers, and weakfish were around, but getting a keeper was tough. Ralph didn’t check the water temperature, but someone told him the bay cooled 7 or 8 degrees because of the storm, so the temp was probably 65 degrees or so. Too warm for the fall striped bass migration, but the season was early. A few small stripers, none big, were around, and the first reports about stripers usually come from the Delaware River, when the linesiders begin moving around. But Ralph heard no news from the river so far. His charters usually begin striper fishing on the bay around the second half of October.

Weakfishing was okay, and a few were boated on trips both Saturday and Sunday with <b>Andrea Charters</b>, Capt. Dave said. Seas weren’t bad, even on Saturday, at the tail end of the storm, and the bay on Sunday was flat as glass. But forecasts for worse conditions apparently kept most from fishing, especially on Saturday. Bluefish also kept getting hooked for the boat’s anglers, and a few blowfish were lifted aboard, and no kingfish turned up. On Saturday morning the anglers fished north of Fortescue and caught weaks, and in the afternoon they moved south of Fortescue. But not one fish was boxed there, if Dave remembered correctly, so he sailed back north of Fortescue, and more were landed. Sunday’s trip took a look around the lighthouses for drum that often bite at the structure at this time of year. No drum showed up, but weakfish were landed near the Elbow, and so were blues. Weakfish late in the season usually start to gather around the lighthouses and reefs, and they seemed to start doing that. Shedder crabs for bait were unavailable, because commercial crabbers stayed in port during the storm. But Dave’s anglers used pieces of she crabs soaked in shedder oil and tipped with strip baits like spots and croakers, and that worked. Out-of-season flounder were also caught and released on the boat during the weekend, including a 19-1/2-incher and a couple of smaller ones on Saturday. Funny, but the flounder population always seems to increase when the season closes. Waters remained fairly warm, though Dave didn’t check the exact temperature. Plenty of fish swam the bay, if anglers wanted to head out. Even trips on the party boats should be worth it. Andrea Charters will start to look for striped bass in mid October, not long from now. Charters at first usually fish for weakfish in the mornings and switch to stripers later, until the fall migration of linesiders is in full gear. The season’s first stripers are fish that summered in the creeks and back waters, making their way to the bay as fall gets them active. Those fish are smaller but include keepers, and the migration of bigger stripers from the ocean follows.

Weakfish could sometimes be rustled up from the first drop off, and they seemed a little bigger than before, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Plenty of blues schooled, and even white perch were out in the bay. So were lots of spots, and croakers around were small. A bunch of small striped bass started milling around in Fortescue Creek and outside of the creeks, and some were beached from the Fortescue surf. Anglers there also dragged in blues, weaks, spots, croakers and perch, a real mixed bag. Bloodworms worked well from the beach, and spots or mullet could be used. The fall striper migration should start gaining velocity in a few weeks, but the shop will try to carry fresh bunker this weekend, because customers will probably want to start dunking chunks for stripers. Frozen shedder crabs are stocked, and live shedders will probably be carried no longer this year. A full line of other frozen baits is on hand.

The weather kept the <b>Bonanza</b> in port until Sunday, and a few weakfish, a few blues, some croakers and a couple of short striped bass made the catch on the trip, Capt. Mike said. The bay was 73 degrees, still warm. An out-of-season, 7-pound flounder and a couple of 20-inchers were caught and had to be released the previous weekend. Daily striped bass fishing will begin on the vessel toward the end of October. Either drifting eels or anchoring with bunker chunks will be done, whichever works best. Charters will also sail for stripers, and dates were already going quickly, but several remained. The Bonanza is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The <b>Salt Talk</b> stayed docked through the weather, and seas might’ve been fine by Saturday, but anglers mostly seemed to stay home through the weekend, Capt. Howard said. He heard about someone who landed a couple of weakfish and a few blues Saturday. Those fish will probably remain the targets for now, and striped bass fishing usually starts on the boat toward the end of October, when patrons either drift eels or fish bunker chunks on anchor for the linesiders. The fishing usually turns on a lot by the time the bay drops to the mid 50s. Fortescue Creek was 68.6 degrees on Sunday. Howard drove down to the Fortescue surf that day, and seas looked flat.  The Salt Talk is sailing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, but call ahead to confirm at this time of year. Charters are also available.

<b>Bivalve</b>

The storm kept most from fishing, but anglers who did get out caught, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. Joe Pierce and Ben McDonald came back with five weakfish, two blues and a kingfish, and Anthony Albano, Connie Wood and Jimmy Wood Jr. racked up a mess of croakers, eight kingfish, some blues and two weaks. Fishing from the number 1 buoy to waters closer to shore probably remained the best bet. Shedder crabs, the favorite weakfish bait, are stocked, even though the crabs always become scarce by this time of year. Fresh bunker will be carried for striped bass bait as soon as a few bass start to be landed. Waters need to drop to the 50s, and the bay Friday was 62 degrees.

<b>Dennisville</b>

A few customers fished toward Fortescue and sometimes boated weakfish, but none said they fished the southern bay closer to the shop, because of strong, easterly winds that made seas more conducive to boating farther north, said Rusty from <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Previously weaks were taken in the southern bay off Reeds Beach and at the stakes in the area, nothing to write home about, but some catches. Some said they started to bunker chunk striped bass, mostly shorts but sometimes keepers to 30 or 32 inches, around the lighthouses in the northern bay toward Ship John. Anglers at Montauk on Long Island, New York, supposedly bailed stripers, and those fish should begin to arrive in a couple of weeks. Captain Tate’s will start carrying fresh bunker for striper bait this weekend if the weather is decent, because anglers will start to try for the bass. Stripers were caught at times in the back bays along the coast and the ocean surf. Tog were pulled from the bridges and rock piles along the coast, and kingfish were beached from the surf. Croakers probably kept schooling off the ocean front, but nothing was heard about the fishing since the storm. The weather and winds also put a halt to offshore reports. Be sure to check out Captain Tate’s new offering of meals. Anglers can call ahead and order bait, breakfast, lunch and dinner to have it all waiting for them when they arrive. Now that’s convenient!

<b>Cape May</b>

A boater from the marina came back with nine weakfish from the bay Sunday, Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> said, and the catch was slower than the angler had before the storm, but the trout were caught nonetheless. Weakfish and croakers usually gather in the ocean off Hereford Inlet at this time of year, and if the fish are there, his charters will chase them. Blues and stripers are often mixed in. A tuna charter was weathered out on the boat this weekend, and another was slated for this coming weekend. The Heavy Hitter’s trips for the fall migration of stripers usually begin during the last weekend of October, fishing the Cape May Rips with eels or bucktails and Delaware Bay with bunker chunks.

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