The Fishing Line: Keep the line in

Resting? Waiting for the stripers? There’s still plenty of news on the fishing scene.
Sterling Harbor reports that as the waters are cooling, the mullet are making their move out of the back-bays with plenty of bluefish chasing them. Look for bird-plays around the Inlets and along the beachfronts.
Tog fishing is excellent around the bridges and jetties using crab for bait. Schoolie stripers are still thick in the back-bays along the sod banks and can be caught using top water plugs such as Smack-Its or Storm Chug Bugs and the like. Crabbing is still improving, however time is limited, so hurry up and make another crabbing trip before they start burying in the mud for the winter.
Offshore, the yellowfin tuna, white marlin, and dolphin bite is excellent as the fish are feeding up before their migration south. Sterling Harbor’s end of season kayak clearance is in full swing. Stop by to check out the great deals.
Grassy Sound Marina is reporting tog behind Stone Harbor, stripers on surface plugs in Drum Thorofare, trigger fish in Cape May Inlet and kingfish on the beach. The Kirban Crew, Kintnersville, Pa. caught a 25-inch flounder in Turtle Creek on minnows closing day of the season. They also had a couple dozen crabs. Steve Haubois, Court House, reports catching some nice tog behind Stone Harbor on green crabs.
Weather and seas kept Stray Cat Charters from fishing the Canyons but the tuna are running now and weather windows look good. Stray Cat is booking striper trips for later in the month and into November. (391-9630).
Captain Ray, Tide Runner, Cape May, says the water is getting better at the inlet and he’s started getting some nicer fish again along with bluefish for fly anlgers. The best action has been in the ocean on synthetic bunker and canary yellow buck tail deceivers. It should get better as migrator fish start moving down. Water is still not back to normal but it is a lot better in the inlet and the ocean.
Ray also sent me some pictures from the third annual Casting for Recovery. SJCFA Members had a great day being River Guides for the ladies. SJCFA helps them with fund raising and ties flies so that all the participants will have a box full of good flies for their day on the water.
Club members showed up at Outdoor World Camp Grounds at 8 am for coffee and donuts and got equipment ready for when the ladies arrived. Outdoor World has donated the use of their private lake for the event each of the last three years which is perfect as some of the participants have some effects from their cancer ordeal, so tromping through heavy bush and mush is not an option.
For many of the ladies, this is the first time they have ever fished let alone fly fished. They all caught some fish. The key is for them to have a great time, so size and number are not the main focus.
This year L.L. Bean gave the club a super deal on starter fly outfits and each lady got a brand new outfit. The fly community really steps up and supports this effort. Chuck Furimsky a SJCFA member and owner of The Fly Show, and The Tying Symposium was there as a guide and provided them all with admission to the tying show plus he donated some special flies. Brad Buzzi, donated a special edition Pink Crease fly and helped the club get the fly boxes for all the flies given to the ladies. The club gave them all one year club memberships to make it easy for them to improve their fly fishing skills with their new equipment. It makes for a memorable day for all those involved.
Local resident Gary Rudy, IFPA executive director, just returned from a great 2 week fishing trip in Alaska. Gary had 3 days of helicopter fishing where they fly you out to a remote river, drop you off with a raft, tent, and a fly rod, then come back 3 days later and pick you up where they think you should be. He caught 3 kinds of salmon, rainbow trout and Dolly Varden. (Dolly Varden are a char. To tell a char from a trout, look at their spots—char have light spots (white or yellow to red) on a dark body, while trout have dark spots (brown to black) on a light body.)
Gary averaged about 20 fish a day with many of the rainbows being in the 25 inch plus range, and he never used any other rods except the fly rods that he built. “It was a blast.” Enjoy Gary’s photos. (www.rudysrods.com)
The Second Annual Striper Tournament sponsored by Mike’s Seafood and Dock Restaurant, The Lobster Loft, Cape Harbor Marine Service, LLC and Key West Skiff Mercury Marine will be held Nov. 11-13. Captain’s Meeting Thursday, Nov. 10, 7 pm at the Lobster Loft. Registration $250, boat up to 6 people, $40 for individuals. Weigh in at Mike’s Seafood, 4222 Park Road, Sea Isle City 7am to 7pm. Prizes for the 3 heavies stripers, 3 heaviest bluefish and youth under 15, largest striper.
And, just in case you haven’t heard, all shellfish beds in New Jersey are now open. NJ DEP has also extended the oyster harvesting season in Delaware Bay until at least Nov. 30 or until the annual quota is reached to help the industry make up for lost time and revenues resulting from the closure of beds due to Hurricane Irene. For details http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2011/11_0123.htm.
Send your fishing reports and pictures to cmiller@cmcherald.com. All pictures submitted, if they don’t make it in the print version, can be seen on the Herald’s Web site www.cmcherald.com, click on community, then fishing and boating.