Welcome, everyone, to November. The sea bass are biting, when trips can be made, and with them more blackfish are being picked up. Soon it will be at the point where the bag limit for blackfish increases to five fish daily. That’s when things really get interesting and only get better as November moves to December. I won’t rush it too much. Let’s enjoy what we have now, and see who caught fish recently.
Captain Chuck, on the Sea Star III, reported a good week, but as has been the situation lately, not a full week for any of the local boats. The weather played tricks early in the week again, but the crew and anglers were able to get out and fish in the later portion of the week.
The results from those days were described as “strong,” with “good” sea bass clearing the rail, quality triggerfish being caught, and even some blackfish being taken.
Pool winners for the week were Ray Gramenzi with a 3.25-pound triggerfish, Tom Collins, who also won with a triggerfish, his weighing 3.7 pounds, and Vinnie Sallustio, who took home his winnings with a 4.1-pound blackfish.
When conditions allow, the Sea Star III sails daily at 9 a.m. and returns to dock at 3 p.m.
Captain Adam, from the Atlantic Adventure, had a good Saturday and Sunday of fishing. The weather cooperated, as did the fish, and his patrons reaped the benefits.
The Saturday trip saw a load of “jumbo sea bass” filling the box. They were joined by triggerfish, scup and as many, with legal limits, of bluefish as you would like. The action was “very good.”
Sunday had much of the same, with the difference being that the sea bass, scup and triggerfish were larger than on Saturday.
Captain Adam is excited because the bag limit for sea bass increased to 15 fish as of Nov. 1. Big sea bass, and more of them, await those who can make it out on a trip.
Captain Skip, from Stalker Fishing Charters, Cape May, reports that most of the days he’s been fishing in the backwaters have been good. Some days are leaner than others, but the good side is winning out. Stripers from 18 to 36 inches are regular visitors to his deck before being returned.
Some of these fish have sea lice, meaning there has been an influx of ocean fish. Captain Skip will run these trips till a few days before Thanksgiving, with many days featuring two trips. Call him at 609-972-5218 to set up a trip.
Full Ahead Sport Fishing, with Captain Bob, is sailing from Cape May. A recent trip during a favorable period had his charter heading back in by 9:30. They had a boat limit of sea bass, and one angler caught and released a 25-inch flounder. This trip, the third of the weekend, made for three quality trips in a row. Let’s hope the hot streak continues.
The Miss Avalon had a good Saturday of fishing as they sailed to the Deepwater Reef. It was a 10-hour trip that was worth effort, as those aboard finished a few sea bass short of a boat limit. Porgies also were caught and provided a nice addition to the boat’s fishbox. The previous part of the week was weather-affected and those trips were canceled, so being able to have a good day of fishing served as a definite bump for everyone’s psyche.
The Starfish, out of Sea Isle, was busy during the weekend with three trips. Sea bass, porgies and bluefish made up most of the haul on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the same species were caught, plus one other that has started to show up at the reefs. That fish was an 8-pound blackfish that was caught by Big John, winning him the daily pool. That’s a quality blackfish that any of us would like, regardless of the time of year. And remember, the bag limit on blackfish increases to five fish in 11 days.
Moran’s Dockside Bait and Tackle reported that Tony, who has been able to fish each day since the weekend, has been stopping by with a keeper blackfish at the end of each excursion. He’s been doing well with green crabs.
Moran’s recently closed for the season. I’d like to thank C.J, Jim and Ethan for providing reports from May through their seasonal closing. Enjoy your time off, everyone.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle had a run on reports of striped bass being caught once anglers got back on the water.
Tammy, fishing with her husband, Art, enjoyed a weekend afternoon behind Sea Isle. They were catching their bass on live spot, but the unfortunate part is that none of the stripers they caught were keepers. The silver lining in the story is that the back waters are holding stripers, and there are sure to be keepers among them.
Two fishermen who tallied keeper stripers were B.J., who also added a keeper blackfish, and Matthew F., who came in with a 28.5-inch, 8.5-pound keeper.
The captains at the Sailor’s Delight were able to get two trips in last weekend. Keeper blackfish were caught each trip, while those aboard received plenty of practice catching these tasty fish. The final total of those trips were 414 blackfish being caught. And you can toss in one bergall for good measure.
It was another week of dodging rain, but even more so, finding a place out of the wind. Unfortunately, that place was at the homes of the anglers and captains as boats sat tied to the local docks.
Well, for a good portion of the week but not every day. Fish were caught when boats sailed, but we just didn’t see that enough. Let’s hope the weather pattern gets better so those of us who love fall fishing can get out of work and out on the water. Take care, good luck if you get out on the water, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
