When captains and anglers can get out, the striped bass fishing in the back bays is great, some nice sea bass are still being caught, and porgies and bonitos are also around. And the blackfish season is about to open, or more accurately the bag limit will increase, this Saturday, Nov. 16. Let’s see what those anglers who got out were able to do.
The Sea Star III, with Captain Chuck checking in, had a slower week than expected. The action, when they got out, was “still pretty good,” and a good number of keepers were caught. The drawback was the wind, on some very warm, summerlike days when you imagine fishing would be great. On the other days, few anglers showed up, making for a difficult decision on whether to venture out.
The lone pool-winner for the week was Walt Prawdzik, from Media, Pennsylvania, who won with a 2.85-pound triggerfish.
Captain Chuck will continue fishing for sea bass through Nov. 15. The following day, when the bag limit for blackfish increases as the fall season opens, he will switch to his favorite spots for that species.
The Miss Avalon started its week with a good deepwater trip. They had steady action with sea bass all day, but had to work for the keepers that they caught. They also caught some nice porgies, while the last hour of the day featured some bonito and bluefish.
The crew of the Miss Avalon will be sailing for tog on opening day, Nov. 16. They will leave the dock at 8 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. Book your trip online or call 609-967-7455.
The Starfish will be running 10-hour sea bass trips for the remaining days before tog season starts. That means for a few more days, since the tog season opens this Saturday.
Fishing for sea bass has been more challenging lately, but some nice fish are still being caught. An angler named Dave won a recent pool as trips were squeezed in around some windy days.
Call 609-263-3800 for information and to make reservations for upcoming trips.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle, with assistance from its customers, continues to report great striped bass fishing in the back waters. Many anglers are reporting lots of undersized fish that are providing plenty of practice while they fish for that keeper.
Those waters gave up nice fish to Ryan M., who caught a 30-incher after releasing a 33-inch specimen. Matthew F. joined in with a 31-inch, 12.85-pound keeper, Dave mentioned good afternoon fishing, and Chandler contributed a 30-inch keeper to the report.
If you got out in the morning, plugs and topwater lures worked well, while the afternoon was a good time to switch to spot. A couple fish were also caught by anglers whowere using eels.
Mike said that word of “a couple reports” about red drum being caught had been heard. No mention of keepers was made, but that’s not too surprising. If you’re lucky enough to catch a keeper it’s something that you don’t advertise. Maybe word of a keeper will leak out after a week or two, or once no more reds are being caught. It would definitely be nice if a population of these fish were able to establish itself here.
The Sailors Delight was out over the weekend, as they cozied up to some local rock piles.
Captain Stan didn’t have to go far as the anglers aboard were able to catch a boat limit of blackfish. Shorts, and the keepers just mentioned, kept everyone aboard busy, and happy.
A special trip to mention is one that Captain Andrew will lead. It’s scheduled for Wednesday, July 2, 2025, and will feature anglers fishing with hand lines only. It’s a throwback to an earlier style of fishing, and it sounds pretty interesting. There will be two 3-hour trips, with the early trip running from 8:15 till 11:15 a.m. followed by an 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. trip. Reach out to Captain Andrew to secure a spot on one of these trips.
The Starlight had a good trip from the weekend to report, as its Saturday venture resulted in a nice mixed catch of porgies, sea bass and bluefish.
That trip featured a pool win for Alex, of Washington Township, who caught a 4-pound sea bass, all while on his first fishing trip. Nice effort Alex. Also of note was the limit, with sea bass up to 3.5-pounds, that was caught by Adam Meyer.
On the following Tuesday, the Atlantic Star had its “best sea bass trip” this fall. Many anglers had bag limits of big sea bass. The pool winner was Gary McFadden, who nudged out David Ellison. Both of their fish were in the 5-pound range. Bluefish and porgies also provided action, and filets, for the anglers.
With sea bass still around, porgies being caught, bluefish buzzing around and the blackfish bag limit about to increase, it is a great time for fishing around the Cape area. Also, don’t sleep on the fact that the striped bass fishing in the backwaters has been really good lately. Staying in the back bays, or heading out to reefs and wrecks, should provide some nice action. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
