This past weekend was like Jekyll and Hyde. Saturday was summer-like with upper 60s, close to 70 degree temperatures. Sunday was windy and cold with temperatures in the 40s. What a shock to the system. We can hope the stripers get shocked and move south to our region, because they seem to be too comfortable up north. Some have moved south as you’ll read about, but we are waiting for the great migration to occur – soon, hopefully soon.
Captain Chuck from the Sea Star III starts with word of “some GREAT” fishing for stripers early in the week. Actually, the action started last weekend and continued through the beginning of the week. Then, the bite slowed, and half the weekend was lost to the Sunday blowout. Chuck echoed the feelings of many of us by saying that he hopes “this cold front will force some more (stripers) to the Cape.”
A couple of fish worth noting were a pool-winner for Gary Agness of Wildwood Crest who caught a 30 pound, 42 incher, and a 45 inch, 31 pound specimen caught by Captain Chuck on a personally hand-tied bucktail. For anyone who has made a lure, a bucktail or a teaser, then caught a fish with it, you know the satisfaction you feel when you see your efforts pay off.
Captain Fred from Utsch’s said that the past week was very good for sea bass. The charter boats out of the marina, plus some private boats, have been returning with their limits. Tog fishing, with the increased bag limit, “has not been good.” The anglers are catching fish, but it has been a little slower than hoped for.
There is not much to report on the striper front as Fred said they “are still well north from us.” They are getting closer as some have been caught, but it hasn’t kicked in as we all want.
Terri from the Starlight Fleet reports that with the passing weekend, the four- and six-hour fall trips for sea bass, triggerfish, porgies and bluefish have concluded for the year. Those trips were productive, but now it is time to focus on stripers.
The striper trips start on Friday, Nov. 25. Reservations are required, so call (609) 729-7776 for details.
Off the Hook Bait and Tackle was the location of the Cape May Striper Tournament. The weather was the “best” ever for the event, but the late arriving stripers made for challenging fishing. Some boats fished Friday, and the rest on Saturday as the captains had the choice of fishing one of those two.
First place with Captain Jonny Thomsen went to Team Overkill with a three-fish stringer of 96.2 pounds. They had a total of five fish. They also won Calcutta’s for the slot fish and the heaviest fish.
Second place went to Team Sea Dogs, led by Captain Charlie Rice. Their three-fish stringer weighed 93 pounds. One of their fish went 44.1 pounds. That is a “very respectable three-fish stringer any year.” Both of the two winning boats fish on Saturday.
Another nice catch reported from Off the Hook was a 2.94 redfish that was caught on the same weekend as the tournament.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle also got in on the striper action. An angler named Clay stopped in with a nice keeper, plus word of another keeper he returned to the brine. He also caught five other shorts. Another nice bass was caught while trolling by John. Who’s John? He is the tackle distributor who keeps Boulevard‘s walls stocked during the busy fishing season. Seems he had some time off and was out fishing off of Long Beach Island. It’s good to see he’s using his time off productively.
Captain Irv and the Miss Avalon got out and got a shot at some more tog. From the pictures with the report, looks like they succeeded. A lot of nice fish were seen, the weather was good and the cleaning station looked busy.
Checking on the sea bass front shows that two Cape May boats, the Gone Fishin’ IV with Captain Mark Elliott and the Fishin’ Fever with Captain Tom Daffin, had success in putting their fares on the fish. Both had boat limits on recent trips, with fish to three pounds, plus some keeper-sized porgies.
The Fishin’ Fever also got out on some tog trips that were “a little more of a grind” than normal, but were able to turn it on with a near-limit catch for their five-man charter. They had fish to 11 pounds, which is a good rebound effort.
Fall fishing should really be kicking in. Get out, enjoy it, photograph it and report it. See you out there.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
