With fall becoming entrenched, the fishing, and what’s being caught, is following suit. Reports of sea bass, porgies, triggerfish, bluefish and weakfish dominated last week. Deep-water trips, as well as regular reef excursions, were both successful as anglers were able to fill their coolers. If the weather cooperates, it is a great time to get out on the water. When conditions were favorable some nice catches were recorded by those who took advantage of the opportunity. Let’s review what happened recently.
The Miss Avalon picked some good days to fish, including one that took them on one of their deep-water reef outings. The results were hard to argue with.
The Friday trip, one in a series of the deep-water reef trips, saw a boat limit of sea bass caught. Adding to the fun, and the workload of the mates aboard, were 75 keeper porgies.
A Wednesday trip, that took advantage of a really nice day, was able to put plenty of sea bass in the box. At the final count the anglers aboard came up six fish shy of a boat limit. They made up for that shortfall by adding some bluefish and porgies to the final tally.
If you want to get on a deep-water reef trip you will need reservations that can be made by calling 609-967-7455. Other six and eight-hour trips to closer reefs and wrecks are being run also. No reservations are needed for those trips and both leave at 8 a.m. You should still call just to make sure no private charter trips are scheduled.
The Starfish is hitting the reefs and returning with plenty of nice sea bass. They are also seeing some nice-sized triggerfish mixed in, which is a nice bonus.
The Starfish had a good trip on a recent Thursday as they hit their boat limit on sea bass and added porgies and bluefish toward their total haul.
Mike, from Sea Isle Bait and Tackle, reports that the local reefs continue to produce plenty of nice action consisting of sea bass, bluefish and triggerfish. There are also some quality tog being caught if you get through the other reef dwellers.
Also mentioned was Capt. Zig and Tom B., who took a quick trip to the reef before a recent day turned rainy. They returned with a quick limit of sea bass. They also were able to mix in some big triggerfish and some feisty bluefish.
The Sea Star III, with Capt. Chuck checking in, had a good week of action during their daily outings. They caught plenty of keeper sea bass, which allowed some anglers to catch their limit, and those catches were supplemented with some nice triggerfish.
Pool winners for the week were Jason Murray, who won with a 2.4-pound sea bass, while the other winners all caught triggerfish to claim their wins. They were Frank Servocky (2.3 pounds), Brian Overstreet (3.25) and Randy Hannings, with a 3.85-pounder.
Capt. Bob, from Full Ahead Sport Fishing, reports that sea bass fishing has been “very good.” His patrons have been busy with plenty of nice 15 to 17-inch fish. Those are nice sea bass, but even larger fish are showing up each trip. Porgies are also helping to provide action for the anglers, and even a “couple” of weakfish have been caught.
A Wednesday outing proved to be a special day as John caught a 25-inch fluke (returned) and followed that up with a 6.5-pound weakfish. Another angler, Bill, pulled in a 4.6-pound sea bass. He caught it on the last drop, and three fish before the boat hit its limit.
Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing Charters, with Capt. Tom, has also been doing well with sea bass. These are nice-sized keepers as well as some larger fish.
Capt. Skip at Stalker Fishing Charters in Cape May is setting up his backwater striped bass trips. These trips are on his skiff, which allows him to get to those hard-to-reach spots in the back.
Stripers are showing up at many of the spots Skip fishes, with one spot producing 20-plus fish. His best trip recently was one that had 40 stripers caught, while the largest fish were up to 30 inches.
To set up a trip, give Skip a call at 609-972-5218 and check out his Facebook page for a schedule of available dates. He offers both private and open boat trips.
The Sailors Delight is hitting the local rock piles focusing on tog, but also accepting any sheepshead or triggerfish that decide to bite. Check their Facebook page because trips are popping up as weather winds allow and openings need to be filled.
It’s a great time to be an angler. Fish are at the local reefs and wrecks, and if you want to venture a little farther out, then you can hit some deep-water structure. Those places will get you sea bass, triggerfish, porgies, bluefish, weakfish and maybe your one legal tog. If you want to travel a little, then you can run up the Garden State Parkway and hit a beach, or hop on a boat, and go out and try for some striped bass. Either way, good luck if you get out, take care and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
