This week finds things moving lethargically along the waterfront. Fishing is a slow but steady pick, but nothing fantastic. Weather has been basically good for getting out, and you just figure the fish would cooperate. I guess they didn’t get the memo. We did get word of some successful outings, and Nov. 16 marked the increase in the bag limit for tog. All is not lost. Let’s get to the report.
We start off this week with a new contributor to our column.
Welcome to Capt. Irv and the Miss Avalon. They got out on Saturday before the rain, and started by targeting sea bass which resulted in “great” fishing. They had a keeper-throwback ratio of 5-to-1.
After finishing with the sea bass, they moved inshore for blackfish. They caught “about 50 fish,” with nine keepers among them. The pool winner was a 5.6 pound tog.
They planned to run Veteran’s Day and Nov. 14 for stripers. That trip was be in conjunction with the Scott Bevan’s Memorial Tournament. Thanks for the report Capt. Irv, and we look forward to hearing from you on a continuing basis.
Next up is Capt. Chuck from the Sea Star III. Chuck finished out his sea bass season on a positive note. Plenty of sea bass, trigger fish, and blue fish filled the anglers’ coolers and buckets.
Some notable catches went to pool winners Steve Matthews with (2.5 pounds) and Nick DeRitis (3 pounds) seabass, while Adam Perlman (2.5 pounds) and Frank Servocky (3 pounds) caught trigger fish.
Chuck will now fish for stripers daily at 9 a.m. till sometime in mid-December. He will have a special Thanksgiving Day trip from 6 a.m. ‘til noon. That’s a good way to get your fishing fix, get home to see some football, and then fill your belly with turkey. Some like a winning plan.
The Cape Queen weighed in next with word of their early November trips. Nov. 3 found Andy Merendino Jr., plus his father-in-law, brother-in-law, and friends doing some wreck fishing.
They returned with 65 sea bass, 21 blue fish, and two nice trigger fish.
Vince Jackson and his group from Philadelphia went out Nov. 5. Their efforts produced 51 sea bass and four blue fish. The biggest fish award went to Jamal with a 3-pound sea bass. They also threw back over 200 shorts, so their day was action packed.
Finally, Iguana Roofing was out Nov. 7, and looking to do some wreck fishing. They succeeded by getting 50 keeper sea bass and two blue fish. They also caught and released about 150 shorts.
Terri checks in with news from the Starlight Fleet. This past week saw many sea bass and blues being taken, as well as some nice blackfish. The big fish of the week honor went to Spencer Sprague who claimed the pool with a 7-pound blackfish.
Also, a schedule change is on the horizon. Starting Nov. 20 Starlight will start running six-hour trips beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m. They will run on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and will be focusing on blackfish.
The other ship in the fleet, The Atlantic Star has been running 10-hour sea bass trips, and reporting many limits for those on the boat. Call ahead for schedule information, or check out the website.
Up next is Matt from Jim’s Bait and Tackle. He starts out looking at the local striped bass fishery, which remains about the same as last week. That translates to the best action being on the troll.
Fish have been caught on the Wildwood Lump, at Peacock Shoal, and at Cuma Lumps.
The best action though has been farther up the beach. One local fisherman, Charlie Rice, stopped in with news of a trip of 45 miles up to Long Beach Island.
They went five for seven on fish up to 28 pounds. He also mentioned that around Atlantic City it looked “pretty fishy,” but they didn’t have time to stop.
Reports from the Rips have been scarce. Actually only two, and from them, only one fish has been seen. The chunk bite in the Delaware Bay hasn’t materialized yet, as only a few fish have been caught, and as everyone knows, a few fish do not a real bite make.
Seabass? Well that’s another story, and a good one at that. The best fishing has been on the wrecks in the 30 mile range.
The Dry Docks, the Deepwater Reef, and the Jacob Jones have all been producing. Many of the charter boats are getting their limits, and returning to the dock early.
The tog are on the rock piles, bridges, and inshore wrecks with some nice keepers being taken.
The hope is that they remain on those areas till the number allowed to be kept increases. Nov. 16 was that special date, as the bag limit increased to six fish.
The last area to examine is the surf. The best action for stripers is occurring around the rocks on the Cape May Beachfront. Most of the fish being taken are shorts, but there have been a few keepers mixed in, just to keep it interesting.
The Point jetties are giving up some fish, but it has been an early bite. If heading there, do it early as the bite dies around 8 a.m. Hey, if you can’t get there then, at least get there when you can. You’re not going to catch any if you don’t get your line wet.
Thanks to Dave Slough of Villas who sent in word, and a picture, of the two big blue fish that he caught. They went 10 and 12 pounds. Good job, Dave, and keep the news and pictures coming.
Congratulations go out to the Generosi family of Somers Point. 11-year-old Alex contributed news of his first top-water striper. The fish went 24 inches, and approximately 8 pounds, and was caught on an off day from school.
That’s good use of a day off from class. His brother, Domenic, did his share with a 20-inch striper. Both fish were healthy, and went back to the water for another day. Job well done, gentlemen, and keep contributing to our report.
Reminder: The 11th Annual Fight Leukemia Fishing Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 21.
The tournament runs from 7 a.m. till 4 p.m. and covers the area from Absecon Inlet to Cape May Inlet, the back bays, and the surf.
To register go to http://events.lls.org/pages/nj/FTFL or to Tackle Direct by 6 p.m. Nov. 20, or to The Anchorage Tavern from 6 to 8 p.m. also on the 20th. If you have any questions call Sean Meyers at (609)-602-8957.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
