Fishing Line for Oct. 19

That collective noise that you may have heard was a big hooray, by anglers, captains, and shop owners alike as the weather cooperated and fishing kicked back in. The opening of the fall sea bass season brought excitement, plenty of action and a nice mix of species that helped to fill coolers and fish boxes alike.Let’s hope that this is an indication of what we can expect for the rest of the year and that this level of action continues. 
We also have a report of a big Wahoo being caught and news of an upcoming tournament.  Let’s check things out. The Miss Avalon, with Captains Irv, Brandon and Sam available, started the sea bass season off with a bang. A day with action like they had will cause that and result in a lot of happy anglers. 
Friday saw a sold-out trip that wanted to finish with a boat limit of sea bass. The day ended with 300 keepers so they were close to that limit. They also had over 300 sea bass that were thrown back, as they came up a little short on the measuring stick. For the day they also landed 150 keeper porgies plus more than a dozen bluefish that were in the 2 to 3-pound range. The crew, as you would expect, was very busy cleaning fish on the way back to the dock. Saturday was another day that saw them head to the deeper water. 
The trip out was knotty but worth the effort. The sea bass, porgy and bluefish triumvirate ruled again. One-hundred porgies, 50 sea bass and 30 bluefish crossed the rail. The Sunday fishing was a little closer in, and the sea bass grounds didn’t disappoint. The trip produced 150 keepers, over 350 throwbacks and a day full of action. The Miss Avalon will be sailing more deep-water trips throughout the season. Reservations will be needed so call ahead to 609-967-7455 to get a seat.
The Starfish is running daily 8-hour sea bass trips which leave the dock at 8 a.m. The trips will carry a max of 40 anglers so you’ll need to call 609-263-3800 so you can reserve a spot at the rail. You may also book online if you desire. 
Their Wednesday trip produced a nice day of action that was ruled by sea bass and porgies. Sea Isle Bait and Tackle reports that they received word of some nice striper action in the backwaters. Also, the news about crabbing was really good. Seems the cool weather has triggered a feeding frenzy and the crabs are hungry. That’s good news for anyone who wants to go crabbing.
The Sea Star III had a great opening day as “smiles” were all around the boat. The action was “fast” and resulted in many sea bass in the coolers of those aboard. There were also a number of 10-fish limits of sea bass caught. Some others missed out as they finished their day with 8 or 9 keepers.
The action continued on both Saturday and Sunday as sea bass, triggerfish and blackfish were caught. The reefs provided plenty of action on both days. The pool-winners over the weekend were scattered among the three species caught during the weekend. 
Walt Prawdzik won with a 1.85-pound sea bass, Ed Price won with a 3.2-pound triggerfish and Chris Gardner won with a blackfish, the one mentioned previously that weighed 3.05-pounds. The good fishing continued as the long weekend ended.
 The Tuesday trip, which sailed with some great conditions, produced some nice sea bass with a couple that were described as “beauties.” These are the big ones that were being caught during the end of the flounder season, but had to be released because they were out of season. The mid-week trip provided another quality day as the good fishing continued. Sea bass, as you would expect, bluefish and even a few triggerfish cleared the rail. 
The Sea Star III is sailing daily at 9 a.m. Call ahead at 609-884-3421 to reserve a seat so you can get out there and get fishing. The Miss Chris, with Captain John, reported good fishing for sea bass during the opening day weekend. Check out their full-day schedule at CapeMayFisherman.com then check the Wreck Special. You can also go to their Facebook page and follow the links. 
The Sailor’s Delight ran a holiday black and blue trip. They were fishing for blackfish and bluefish but only one of those got the news as the bluefish were slow to show up as only one bluefish was caught. Thankfully, the blackfish cooperated as 59 were caught. Captains Andrew and Stan will be making these trips through the fall. Check ahead at 609-827-8309 to check on the schedule and trip availability. Thanks go out to friend Jerry Rau who sent in a picture of his impressive stringer of seabass that he landed while fishing aboard the Starfish. Thanks, Jerry, for submitting and good luck on your future trips 
Congratulations go out to Robin Jung, from Peace Token Fishing Tackle, who recently landed a 7-foot, 100-pound (estimated) Wahoo while fishing from the Miss Barnegat Light party boat out of Barnegat Light. The Ocean City Fishing Clubs 53rd Annual Fishing Tournament is scheduled for October 22nd. The tournament is designed for six-member teams at a cost of $60.00 per team or for individual entrants who pay $15.00. Registration fees may be made payable to the Ocean City Fishing Club and mailed to OCFC Tournament Chair, P.O. Box 1215 Ocean City, N.J. 08226.Payments can be made by using Venmo @EParkVen.
Well, it sure was good to see the boats and anglers get out. Enough days were wasted sitting at the dock, so it was great to see some actual fishing take place. The sea bass, triggerfish and porgies bent many rods and provided plenty of action. Good luck if you get out, take care and I’ll see you around.