The Fishing Line: October’s Looking Good

October already. Up for the challenge? If you’ve never tried your hand at fishing the fall season, this is the year to give it a try. Weakies, blues, stripers, sea bass, even sheepshead are ready to play with you.
Reports from Grassy Sound Marina remain inviting. Stripers are taking live mullet near the sod banks; sheepshead are near the bridges and kids are catching plenty of large spot off the pier along with snapper blues on Fishbites. The rocks in Anglesea produced some weakies. To round out the season, Sonny Ellison, Warrington, Pa. caught 2 keeper flounder in Grassy Sound and also had a bunch of throwbacks, sea bass and some blues. Clark Giberson, Bechtelsville, Pa. caught 4 bluefish and some sea bass on minnows and mullet off the fishing pier, outgoing tide. Results from the end of season flounder tourney are posted on www.grassysoundmarina.com.
Our friends at Sterling Harbor Marina tell me that the mullet run has begun and bluefishing in the surf is excellent; majority of the fish in the 1-2 pound range. Justin Fesler of Court House reported good catches while using whole mullet on a Mullet Rig. There have been a few reports of striped bass in the surf. Ray Pashuk of Wildwood Crest and Dale Hummel of Sydney, Australia had one keeper bass and good action with schoolie size while plugging the outfall pipes along the beachfront during the Northeast winds.
The back bays are showing good numbers of stripers that are hitting on mullet and while chunking sardines. Cape May Point is still showing good numbers of croakers with small bluefish in the mix, a chance for weakfish, too. There are still fish around the Reefs, but the pickings were slim.
Offshore, yellowfin tuna showed up at the Tea Cup for a day time trolling bite with scattered catches of mahi also. There’s plenty of white marlin action at Washington Canyon and some yellowfin also.
The cooler weather provided a little more striper activity in the back bay for Captain Ray, but most of the fish are small and you’ll have to work to find and area that holds them; best time near dusk or at night. Dark green and black popper flies caught best using floating lines and fished in 2 to 4 feet of water. Tan mullet patterns and chartreuse/white deceiver patterns worked well using intermediate lines. The cooler nights should group together the resident stripers and start the stripers from up north migrating southward.
Ray also did some freshwater fishing at a local South Jersey lake and caught some pickerel and large mouth bass on the fly rod. Most of the fish were caught on an all black gurgler surface fly using floating line and the second most productive was a orange/yellow Mickey Finn pattern. Again, the best fishing was near dusk and after dark.
Bill (bucktail willie) Shillingford fishing out of Whale Creek Marina found weakfish off and on and managed to find several in 18-22 inch range. Interesting enough the bite is on bottom of the tide. Rattletraps as well as white bucktail with purple worm was the bait of choice. With dropping water temps, Willie is hoping bass will begin showing up.
News: NJDEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife started its Fall Trout Stocking Program yesterday and will end it Oct. 9. The stocking schedule has been revised to help address a disease that affected a small portion of fish at the Pequest Trout Hatchery. Nearly 20,000 two-year old brook and rainbow trout, 14 to 16 inches and 1.5 to 2 pounds are distributed in 17 streams and 15 lakes and ponds statewide. For details, visit: www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2013/13_0092.htm The full revised stocking schedule is at: www.njfishandwildlife.com/flstk13.htm or Trout Stocking Hotline at 633-6765.
The public is invited to attend Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting, Philadelphia, Oct. 7-10, Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown, 21 N. Juniper St, 215-496-3200. For online access, enter as a guest at:
http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/oct2013/ Briefing materials available at http://www.mafmc.org/briefing/october-2013
Mark Your Calendars: Oct. 5, Pennsauken Surf Fishing Club Tournament, North Wildwood, teams and individuals, 856-231-9110 or e-mail drapple1@msn.com;
Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament, Oct. 6, Island Beach State Park, awards to winners with the largest fish of species and age group categories, www.njfishandwildlife.com/gsft.htm. Tournament anglers may be asked to verify compliance with the NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program. www.nj.gov/dep/saltwaterregistry
Oct. 12 NJ Beach Buggy Assn, Fall Tournament, North Wildwood, 856-457-5532 or e-mail bucket1740@comcast.net; Oct. 17-19, Ocean City Fishing Club, 3-day tournament, mikehayes325@gmail.com.
Of Interest: The winner of the Jersey Shore Beach N Boat Fishing Tournament Wildwoods Vacation Package is Steven Zdziebkowski from Forked River. View video at www.BeachNBoat.com. The Jersey Shore Beach N Boat Fishing Tournament is a season long inshore, statewide fishing tournament with cash and prizes valued at $ 30,000. Contact Michael Young,
myoung@beachnboat.com, 423-4002.
Reminder: Keep checking NJ fishing regulations: No flounder; sea bass until Oct. 14, 12.5 inches, 20 fish; tog, I fish at 15 inches; weakfish, I fish, 13 inch limit. Photos capture the end of the flounder season.
The Fishing Line runs year round so keep sending your reports and pictures to cmiller@cmcherald.com. Column and pictures are posted online at www.capemaycountyherald.com and on Facebook. Keep them coming.