Fishing Line for Oct. 26

The local boats and captains are settling into a fall pattern of fishing whenever the weather allows. We all know that as we move deeper into the fall the conditions dictate when a boat will leave the dock, or when it won’t. The decent weather of the last week allowed for a nice amount of trips to be made and some nice catches followed. Let’s check out what transpired during those days on the water as well as after the weekend. 
Captain Mike, from the Miss Chris, reported that his patrons were focused on sea bass this past week and that the fish cooperated. Many anglers caught between four and six keepers each. Adding to the mixed bag were triggerfish and bluefish. Highlighted catches went to Mark Walters, of Cape May Court House, who won a pool with a 16-inch sea bass and to Jim McCready who collected his pool winnings after he landed a large triggerfish. 
Captain Mike is happy with the action so far and is looking forward to more good fall fishing. He has the Miss Chris sailing eight-hour trips during the week and 4-hour trips on the weekend. The 4-hour trips leave at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Miss Chris schedule is available at their Facebook page then by following the link to their calendar. 
The Sea Star III, with Captain Chuck, had plenty of action this week that resulted in a nice amount of keepers. The action for the anglers aboard consisted of sea bass, triggerfish, bluefish, blowfish and some pigfish. The pool-winners were shared by those who won with triggerfish like Kelli Dochterman (2.35-pounds) and Ryan Murray (3.3-pounds) while the other winners won with sea bass. They were Charlie Stier (3.0), Frank Servocky (1.55) and Gerry Heckler who caught a 1.9-pounder.
A late-week trip ended with plenty of nice sea bass being caught by those aboard. Among those were a good number of keepers that made the trip, on the cool sunny day, very rewarding. Just bundle up and get out and catch some fish. The Sea Star III sails six-hour trips daily at 9 a.m. weather permitting. Call them at 609-884-3421 to schedule a trip.  Both the Miss Chris and the Sea Star III are docked at the Miss Chris Marina in Cape May. 
The Sailor’s Delight is fishing for blackfish and other fish, namely bluefish. A nice weakfish or striped bass would also be welcomed aboard during any trip. The blackfish though are the main target for Captain’s Andrew and Stan. Check out their schedule on Facebook and then give them a call to grab a spot at the “orange” rail. Best wishes to Captain Irv of the Miss Avalon. They were absent from the report due to the captain being under the weather. Get well Cap so you can get back on the water.
Call 609-967-7455 to see when the Miss Avalon is sailing or to reserve a spot on one of their 10-hour deep-water trips. The folks fishing on the Starfish are also staying busy by catching sea bass and porgies. You can book your trip by going online or by giving them a call at 609-263-3800. Sea Isle Bait and Tackle has had some good reports of striped bass in the back bays. Spot was the hot bait for these hungry fish.
 In addition to that, the surf is proving productive if you want to try for bluefish while the local reefs and wrecks are the places to fish if you want to get in on some sea bass action. Some proof of the quality striper action was shared by Chuck and his son CJ. They picked up a dozen Spot, the bait mentioned above, during a morning visit to the store. The bite was so intense that they returned to the store rather quickly. Those Spot were also put to good use as the good fishing continued. The shop has plenty of bait if you’re planning on heading out but check ahead to make sure they are open. Their schedule is weather dependent which happens this time of the year. 
Captain Skip, from Stalker Fishing Charters, is having success with striped bass in the back waters. As the temperatures cooled the fishing heated up as a recent morning trip produced over 40 bass. Catching these fish on light tackle has proven to be a blast. Skip has some openings so contact him at 609-972-5218 to see if your availability lines up with one of his open dates. 
The week was a challenge because of the lack of action after the weekend. It wasn’t so much the weather but the fact that many people weren’t fishing. The initial shock of the cool weather had people moving slow and not going out. Hopefully, everyone gets their long johns out of the attic, grabs a sweatshirt and wool hat and gets down to the docks. The fish are here and ready to challenge you. Good luck if you get out, take care and I’ll see you around.