It’s finally blackfish season! The opening, and the increased bag limit, are a nice shot in the arm for local anglers, as well as the captains, who like to hit the rocks and wrecks for these hard-fighting, challenging-to-catch and very tasty fish. Those who got out on opening day had a nice day and caught some nice fish. Some sea bass, and even a few triggerfish, were caught, so there was also a little variety. Let’s check out what occurred.
Capt. Chuck, from the Sea Star III, reported that he, and those aboard, had a successful start to the blackfish season. The action through the first three days was “good” but the number of keepers was less than desired. The story changed on Sunday as the amount of keepers saw an uptick. The nice bonus was that on each of the trips keeper sea bass were also being caught.
The pool winners, all with blackfish, were Gary Agness (3.1 pounds), Chris Sloan (4.05) and Frank Servocky, with a 3.55-pounder.
The Sea Star III leaves the dock each day at 9 a.m. Chuck, like us all, is looking for a nice stretch of weather and a continued increase in the number, and size, of keeper blackfish.
The Miss Avalon enjoyed a nice start to the fall blackfish season. The great weather, and favorable conditions, led to five limits scattered amongst those aboard. The largest on the boat for the day weighed in at 4.91 pounds. The steady action all day resulted in a count of “about 50 keepers.” A steady stream of shorts provided plenty of practice for the anglers who got out on the opening day trip.
The Starfish finished opening day with “several” limits mixed in for the anglers aboard. The steady action saw those who fished the opener end the day with at least a few keepers for everyone. It’s nice when the trip concludes and everyone has meat in the cooler to take home.
The Friday and Saturday trips saw multiple limits each day, plenty of action with shorts and keepers, and some quality fish mixed in as well.
Thanks go out to Cameron, at Boulevard Bait and Tackle, for his contributions to the column from early in the spring until just recently when he shut the shop down for the winter. Cameron, enjoy your break, take care, and we’ll start it up again next year.
Also taking a well deserved break are Capts. Andrew and Stan from the Sailor’s Delight fleet. They recently wrapped up their season that runs from April, for spring blackfish, until mid-November when they finish up by fishing for fall blackfish. Take care, guys, and I’ll see you at the January boat show in Wildwood.
The Starlight Fleet, with Capt. Paul, reported an opening day with plenty of action. Keeper blackfish, shorts and close to 15 nice sea bass kept those aboard busy. Most aboard had something, but a few didn’t get any elusive keepers.
The high hook of the day was Jason Thomas, with four keepers, while the pool winner was Joe Landis, of Cape May, who had two keepers, with one being a 4-pounder that claimed the winnings.
Capt. Paul reported that the desire is for cooler temperatures that should get more keepers moving to the wrecks and reefs. I’ll second that motion.
In addition to blackfish trips with Capt. Paul, the Starlight Fleet is offering 10, 12 and 18-hour sea bass trips. Go online and check out their complete schedule, which runs through Dec. 31, then book your trip.
Capt. Skip, who runs Stalker Fishing Charters, Cape May, reported that striped bass have arrived in our area. With that in mind, he is lining up trips aboard the Stalker II, his ocean-fishing vessel, for open boat or private party fishing for groups up to six people. Call him at 609-972-5218 with any questions and to arrange an outing.
Circle the dates of Jan. 6 and 7, 2024. That is the date of the Wildwood Fishing and Boating Expo that will be happening at the Wildwoods Convention Center. Boat dealers, 100 vendor booths and various services will be available for you to check out or for purchase.
It was a quiet week that was slowed by the weather and preparations for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, Black Friday and the days following, will be good for fishing and provide us with some good reports. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
