I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and holiday season regardless of whatever you celebrate. Hopefully, you got whatever you wished for and that it included some nice fishing gear, apparel or passes for future fishing trips. Now is the time to put them to use. Yes, it’s December, but a few boats are still running and fish, blackfish, sea bass, porgies and stripers are still being caught. You may want to hustle, though, as a visit to the dry dock, and winter maintenance, will eventually have everyone take a winter break. Let’s check out what went on recently.
The Starlight Fleet’s 12-hour offshore sea bass trip on Dec. 16 started slow, but finished strong. There were limits scattered about the boat, plus other anglers who managed to get close to their limit.
The daily pool went to Michael Teague with his 5.25-pounder. He also caught 12 other sea bass. Others with highlights for the day were Bill Teague (13 fish up to 4.5 pounds), Jay Cho, Michael Song and Stephen Lee with limits and sea bass to 5 pounds, and Joe Zeisweiss, who was just short of his limit, but had sea bass up to 4.5 pounds, plus an 18-pound Pollock.
The Miss Avalon sailed on Friday and Saturday, then took off on another rainy, foul Sunday. They were targeting blackfish as they checked out some areas of different reefs.
The Friday trip was tough as the blackfish developed a case of lockjaw. A nice morning with good conditions gave way to a windy afternoon with a heavy current that caused the catch total to suffer.
The Saturday trip had really good conditions for a December day. Unlike the day before, the weather remained nice and the ocean conditions were never an issue. In fact, the heavy current of Friday, which needed 8 ounces of lead or more to hold bottom, disappeared. Anglers were able to hold bottom with 3- to 4-ounce sinkers, and those using jigs were using no more than an ounce-and-a-half model.
The fishing was a little slow early, with some throwbacks, but one angler, named Henry, caught two keepers within the first hour. Fishing remained a steady pick throughout the day, with some drops providing action while others provided none.
For the day, about 15 keepers were caught with the pool winner, a 4.18-pounder, being caught by yours truly. It capped off a really nice, enjoyable day on the water where I was able to catch up with some of the anglers you read about here weekly.
The Starfish sailed for blackfish over a recent weekend and found some nice fish. Their patrons were kept busy with a steady supply of short fish, which kept them sharp for when the “quality” fish hit. There was a nice amount of those mixed in also.
The Starfish is still sailing as of this writing. They have their last scheduled 16-hour sea bass trip for 2023 scheduled for today, Wednesday, Dec. 27. There may be other trips in the pipeline, so go online to check out their schedule. You can also call 609-263-3800.
Capt. Skip at Stalker Fishing Charters, Cape May has been experiencing some great striped bass fishing during the recent run off our shores. The weather slowed things temporarily, but he is scheduled to get back at it. Call him at 609-972-5218 to check on availability.
Mike, at Sea Isle Bait and Tackle, was closed through the holidays, but if you need something after that give him a call at 609-263-6540 to see when he’ll be opening back up. If the stripers stay close to the shore, I’m sure he’ll be there to help you out.
Thanks go out to Bob Bransfield for his report of his recent striper trip on the Gone Fishin’ with Capt. Mark Jr.
A Friday morning trip found them off of Townsend’s Inlet where bunker, whales and birds helped to identify where the striped bass were. Some trolling, as well as jigging, resulted in multiple fish being caught. Bob caught 10, including two double headers, while others in the party had similar numbers. Probably 50-plus fish were caught during the trip. Most fish were in the 20- to 35-pound range, over the legal length, and were released. But, four were in the legal range and they were kept for the dinner table. When cleaned, it was noted that these fish had bellies full of bunker.
As the charter moved south, fish were also caught off of Hereford Inlet, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. Large bucktail type rigs, some with a teaser that allowed for double headers to be caught, and deep-diving Rapala rigs were the most effective baits.
You can reach Capt. Mark Jr. at 609-425-8302 to see if he has any openings available so you can get in on the action.
There will be two fishing and boating related shows soon in our area. It’s that time of year to go check out a new boat, some new gear or some fishing apparel.
First up will be the Wildwood Fishing and Boating Expo. It will be held Jan. 6 and 7 at the Wildwoods Convention Center. Seminars, boat displays and multiple vendors will be displaying their wares under one roof.
The Salt Water Sportsman National Seminar Series will have their New Jersey portion of their show in Atlantic City. The date is Feb. 3 and the venue will be at the Resorts Casino Hotel Ballroom. The show runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. This is the 37th year for the show, which will feature the return of the in-person tour after three years of nationally televised seminars.
I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. If you can get out to check out your new gear, then I wish you good luck. And, if you’re fishing with your everyday gear, well, good luck to you also. Take care and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
