It’s the time of the year where the fishing is still good, and possibly even getting better, but there just aren’t as many anglers around to enjoy it. Yes, the weather pattern hasn’t helped as it has been a stretch of a couple good days, followed by a couple of less than stellar days, and so forth. Still, though, when captains and their patrons have gotten out they have had nice results. Let’s see what they have been up to.
The Starfish hosted a Veterans Day group of anglers that had a really good day of fishing. The weather may have caused challenging conditions, but the anglers aboard enjoyed the camaraderie, plus good results, and that made the day worthwhile.
Plenty of big sea bass, porgies and bluefish were caught on that day as well as during the other trips that the Starfish sailed recently. The fish are there and the anglers are reaping the benefits.
The Starfish is now sailing for blackfish, with the trips sailing at 8 a.m. from their Sea Isle dock.
Thanks go out to Tom Schad who also contributed a picture and report about the Veterans Day trip on the Starfish. The 25 anglers that day were just short of their limit, so that lets you know how good the day was. When you throw in the porgies and bluefish, it made for a busy day of fileting for Anthony, the mate.
Another submission from Tom was a report of a 4.5-pound triggerfish caught by Anthony G. while fishing aboard the Fin Advisor out of Sea Isle City.
The Miss Avalon is sailing for blackfish, but like all the boats listed here, would happily accept any sea bass or porgies that want to hit the bait being offered. They will be sailing most days, other than Mondays and Tuesdays. The best thing to do is check their schedule on Facebook or give them a call at 609-967-7455 to see exactly when they have an open boat trip. Private charters occur so check ahead to make sure the day you want is available.
Capt. Chuck reported that while he and son Chris were away, the anglers on the Sea Star III had a good early portion of the week catching sea bass. As the week wore on, though, the reef was taken over by a large amount of Dogfish.
The pool winners for the week were Mike Maziarczyk, with a 2-pound sea bass, and Diana Tatem, who won with a 3.5-pound triggerfish.
The Sea Star III is now sailing for Blackfish. They leave the dock each day at 9 a.m. and plan to fish until around Dec. 9. If you need any information call 609-884-3421.
Congratulations also go out to Capt. Chuck and his son, Chris, for their success on a recent deer hunting trip. Each was able to bag a nice buck during their recent break from fishing.
The Starlight Fleet recently hosted the annual 12-hour sea bass trip for Paul Guris and friends. The totals at trip’s end were a boat limit of sea bass up to 5 pounds, some anglers with their limits of bluefish, also up to 5 pounds, and a nice catch of porgies.
The opening of the Blackfish season was handled by Capt. Paul. He was scheduled to sail an eight-hour trip. You can book online for future trips at www.starlightfleetnj.com/offshore/ or by calling 609-729-7776.
Capt. Skip, from Stalker Fishing Charters, Cape May, will be fishing for striped bass in the back waters until the end of November. He will then switch over to the “big boat” and hit the ocean for striped bass until sometime in January. Check out his Facebook page to see what’s available, or call 609-972-5218 to grab the date of your choice.
Capt. Bob, from Full Ahead Sport Fishing, had a good trip over the weekend prior to the start of Blackfish season. He reported a great day that resulted in a boat limit of sea bass and an unexpected surprise of four nice weakfish. It’s nice to see some weakies showing up. The catch hasn’t been steady, instead coming as a nice bonus for the anglers who catch them.
A thanks for contributing to our column also goes out to Nick Holland who was in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, area and was able to save some time for fishing. Nick, who confessed to not fishing often, was able to land a 53-pound King Mackerel. Nick, it’s time for you to start fishing more often.
Thanks also go to Len Fenimore for his report, and pictures, of his recent fishing trip in Maryland during a recent Saturday.
He, and a group of anglers were fishing with Capt. Kane Bounds, from Fish Bound Charters, aboard the Fish Bound IV. The boat is docked in Ocean City, Maryland.
At trip’s end, the day’s haul totaled 35 fluke, with the largest weighing 8 pounds (yes, the Maryland fluke season runs until Dec. 31) and 20 nice-sized sea bass.
For those who want to continue fishing for flounder, it may be worth your while to venture out-of-state by calling Capt. Kane and setting up a trip. His boat is a charter boat while another boat in that area is an open boat. The Morning Star, with Capt. Monty, is another well-known boat. You should definitely call ahead to reserve a spot if you decide to go. The Morning Star also allows you to reserve the area along the rail that you want to fish from. If the spot is available, then you can reserve it for the day you’re fishing.
As I close this column I’m looking forward to hearing how the local anglers did with the opening of blackfish season. I’ve also heard of striped bass being caught at Island Beach State Park, which is encouraging because they are getting closer to us. As I’ve said in a previous column, we just need them to stay close to the shoreline as they come south, and just give us an opportunity to get involved in the great action that anglers to the north have experienced. Good luck if you get out, take care and I hope to see you out on the water.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
