Sunday, Oct. 22 dawned warm, but foggy. Very foggy. But not to worry, as local anglers got out and took advantage of the opening of sea bass season. That news has pumped new life into the local fishing scene, and awakened the local docks, marinas and bait shops. Sea bass were caught all around the Cape, a new leader emerged on the leaderboard of a local shop’s tuna division, a couple big swordfish were reported, and stripers are around, just not in full force yet. Foggy or not, let’s go.
Matt from Jim’s Bait and Tackle starts off with fresh information of the sea bass variety. There “seems to be good numbers of large fish” around the wrecks in the 30-mile range. A few anglers that “jumped” around the Cape May area, and others at the Delaware Reef #11, had nice catches of sea bass plus some triggerfish.
Looking to the offshore realm shows the main bite is still dolphin. A few tuna and wahoo were also in the mix. The crew from the “Team Player” did some daytime sword fishing and were able to boat two. One was a 200 pounder, while the other went 300+ pounds. This is the second year this crew has done this, and these fish are the best they’ve caught yet.
Perusing around the beaches and rocks of Cape May reveals that more keeper stripers are in the area. Some are coming from the Point area also. A 35-inch fish was caught on a squid head offering by an angler fishing at Sunset Beach. The others had hit plugs and bucktails. Mixed in with them are some small bluefish that seem to hit anything that is put in front of them. If you can’t get out on a boat, then a quick trip to the beach may satisfy your fishing urge.
Captain Chuck from the Sea Star III is happy to announce that as the sea bass season opens, they have returned to their daily fishing schedule, leaving at 9 a.m. They will be targeting sea bass, but if something else bites, well, all the better.
The foggy Sunday morning of the opening of sea bass season didn’t deter them. The action “was good,” and keepers were spread around the boat as all anglers got in on the action. Some triggerfish were also brought over the rail, and were happily welcomed aboard.
The pool winners for the weekend had two bluefish, a 1.5 pounder for Joe Lubin and a 1.2 pounder caught by Jim Brennan. Sunday’s pool winner was Marisa Leon who bested a 3.75-pound triggerfish.
Captain Skip who runs Stalker Fishing Charters has continued to have success with striped bass. He has been fishing in the back waters of Cape May, and his clients are catching their fish on top-water plugs. They have been catching a nice mix of throwbacks and keepers. Even on the trips that no keepers were caught, he reported seeing some nice-sized fish “chasing our lures.” That’s good news, as it means you always have a chance to boat a big one. You just have to get your lure in the water. Good luck.
The Miss Chris “is open and the fish are biting.” Sunday saw four-hour trips that had smiling patrons holding up their sea bass for the camera. Another photo had the fillet board on the boat covered with more sea bass, so it appears a lot of people went home happy.
Off The Hook Bait and Tackle reports that Kain Wentz has taken over first place on the leaderboard for the yellowfin division. He recently weighed in a 64.55 pounder. Also being mentioned was Harry Cowan Jr. and Steve Cowan who scored with a nice cooler of sea bass Sunday.
The Miss Avalon got out Saturday focusing on triggerfish, then Sunday they switched to sea bass. They got their share of sea bass and “had a very good trip.” They will focus more on sea bass as the season progresses, but be prepared to see some more triggerfish, as well as some tog. Remember though, it’s still only one of them till Nov. 16 when the bag limit increases. They leave the dock at 8 a.m. so be on time if you want to partake in the action.
Sailor’s Delight Back Bay Fishing was out over the weekend and started off with a nice tog. Don’t sleep on the back water, as I heard of many keeper size sea bass being taken before they came back in season. Add more tog, plus sea bass, weakfish and stripers, and you see the back is very much alive and waiting for you. Make your plans to get out.
Unfortunately it’s the time of the season where our contributors call it a season. I got word this week that the Royal Flush is putting a wrap on 2017. They wanted to give a “huge thank you” to their “regulars” and to their “new friends,” and look forward to fishing with both next season. They wish everyone a “happy new year” and are looking toward 2018.
I would like to thank Susie Q and the crew for their faithful weekly reports and pictures. Thanks for contributing to our newspaper column, and to Mark’s Fishing Line on Facebook. Enjoy the holidays and a much deserved rest.
Even though summer flounder have been out of season for a number of weeks, it seems that they don’t care, as they continue to reside in our area. A recent message from Bill Shillingford, a.k.a Bucktail Willie, revealed that in a recent Monday through Friday period, he caught 61 fish, with nine exceeding 18 inches. Seriously, it is good to see them still around, and in decent numbers to boot. All fish caught were tagged and released. This is Bill’s modus operandi even when these fish are legal size and in season.
The weekend before the flounder blitz saw Bucktail Willie catching striped bass. He had two in the 28- to 30-inch range, plus a number of short fish. All these, like the flounder, were released. From a previous discussion, I know that Bill doesn’t eat anything he catches. He’s a catch, tag and release kind of guy.
From the “it’s not too early to look ahead department” comes notice of the 2018 version of the Wildwood Fishing and Boating Expo. The show will expand to two days, and will occur on April 7 and 8. Boats, kayak, various fishing products and seminars are all planned for your enjoyment. More information will follow. Vendor space is still available. Call Gerry at (609) 377-1617 for your chance to participate.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
