Fishing Line for Nov. 2

Well, Mother Nature giveth and then she taketh. As in giving us a beautiful day as the weekend started, which was accompanied by great fishing, then following it up with a rainy, windy day that had captains waving the white flag and staying at the dock while the weekend closed out. It’s really a situation that is to be expected. Any amount of consecutive good days, as autumn deepens, should be welcomed and considered a bonus. One positive item to note is that the last segment of sea bass fishing for the year opened yesterday. The minimum size is still 13-inches but the bag limit increased to 15 fish. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the local anglers did recently. 
The Miss Avalon took advantage of the great Saturday conditions and had a great day on a deep water reef. The early returns centered around seabass which were “good” but then the action shifted to porgies. The rest of the day’s action was shared by both, plus enhanced by some bluefish. The final tally for the busy day saw two-hundred keeper porgies, sixty keeper sea bass and ten blue fish.
A mid-week deep water reef trip produced plenty of “action” throughout the day. The anglers who braved the last of the damp, foggy days were rewarded with stringers full of seabass, porgies and bluefish. Plenty of short sea bass were also caught, then released, which only served to add to the day’s frenetic pace. 
Check the Miss Avalon’s Facebook Page to see when they are running another end deep water trip. One was scheduled for yesterday, November 1st, so we hope the fish and the weather cooperated and provided another active trip. 
The Starfish has been busy, and remains so, as they have had their patrons catching sea bass, porgies, triggerfish and bluefish. Check out their Facebook page to check out their schedule and register online.
The Sailor’s Delight is busy targeting blackfish at the rock piles around the local inlets. They have also been keeping an eye out for bluefish that are chasing bait fish around the backwaters when going to and from the rocks. Keep an eye on their Facebook page so you can stay up to date on fishing opportunities on the “orange boat”. 
Captain Chuck reported that the anglers on the Sea Star III had a good period of fishing before the foggy, rainy weather returned and cut the fishing days of the weekend in half. 
Before the conditions changed the fishing was “still good”. The fish were biting, and the action kept the anglers busy. Sea bass, plus triggerfish, bluefish and even some blowfish helped to fill up the coolers and buckets of those aboard. Pool-winners for the past trips were Lara Sims with a 2.3-pound sea bass, Bill Buchecker with a 2.25-pound triggerfish and Harold Hill who also won with a triggerfish, a big 4-pounder.
A Wednesday trip to the reef provided action, just at a slower rate than prior to the rain. Regardless, some nice fish were caught including a blackfish that won the pool for an angler named George. Plenty of nice sea bass were also hauled over the rail so the anglers who sailed were glad they did. 
After the recent short break between sea bass seasons, the Sea Star III will sail till the end of November. Hopefully, the weather will be favorable during that time and another good month of fishing can occur. Captain Mike, from the Miss Chris, reported good results for his recent 8-hour trip as well as for his 4-hour trips. The longer trip provided “a lot of action” that was a result of a good mix of sea bass and bluefish.
The 4-member Beech family of Winslow Township went home with twenty-one seabass plus their limit of bluefish. The 4-hour trips focus on the Cape May Reef where they “experienced the same fishing”. Most anglers had a fair share of keepers plus plenty of action from the throwbacks. Highlighted catches were a 20-inch Chub Mackerel and some nice triggerfish that saw two being caught by Paul Black of the Villas. 
The Ocean City Fishing Club, founded in 1913 and the oldest, continuously operating fishing club in the United States recently held their 53 Annual Surf Fishing Tournament. About 120 anglers, consisting of teams and individual anglers, fished, two 2.5-hoursessions, at two different areas. They had 30 minutes to move from the first area to the second. Top honors for the biggest fish in the men’s division went to Rich Bergman who landed an 11.5-inch kingfish. Rich was also a member of the Fish N Fuzz squad that won the overall top team trophy. As a club they accumulated 13.5-points which bested the 6 points collected by the second-place American Angler Red Team. 
The female champion was Olga Monahan while the Top Individual winner was Patrik Martin. The Youth Division winner was Dylan O’Connell who also won this category in 2018,2019 and 2021. There was no tournament in 2020 due to Covid. The fall tournament is held in coordination with the Association of Surf Angling Clubs. The tournament is supported by businesses and organizations that donate the prizes that the anglers are competing for. 
Ed Parkinson, the OCFC Tournament Chair wanted to thank everyone who supported the tournament through their efforts and contributions.
It was another tough week due to the wind and rain, then the heavy fog. Still though, we persevered and fished on when opportunities arose. With hopes of favorable weather ahead we welcome the final sea bass season of the year while looking forward to the expanded blackfish season in two more weeks. Goodluck if you get out and I’ll see you around.