<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Striped bass reportedly were hooked hit and miss in the surf along the state’s northern coast, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. In South Jersey, a few seemed to be angled at bridges in back bays. Lots of big sharks swam Delaware Bay. The shop’s netter talked about a 15-footer in a net. The sharks are feeding on something, and sharks usually go hand in hand with stripers in the bay. So do big bluefish that arrive in fall, but none of the blues was heard about. Some time is probably left before the striper migration arrives locally. The run, heading south in fall, seemed yet to reach the state’s northern coast much. November begins tomorrow, and that’s the month for the run to fully arrive. White perch fishing sounded good from Fortescue’s surf. A friend cleaned up on them. Fresh bunker are stocked regularly. Fresh clams are very scarce, and the clams just aren’t there for suppliers to harvest. Sharon picked up shucked clams from a supplier farther north in the state, and the clams came from Massachusetts, and some were meant for human consumption, not the surf clams commonly meant for bait. The shop salted and put the clams in pints and quarts, because there were too few to sell in bushels. They were good clams, though. The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, carries a large supply of bait and tackle, and is the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. It’s on the way to the bay.

<b>Fortescue</b>

One of Fortescue’s party boats seemed to angle a few weakfish and a couple of slot striped bass at the Elbow, said Capt. Howard from the charter boat <b>Salt Talk</b>.  Small bluefish and small striped bass were beached from Fortescue’s surf, “as far as I know,” he said. Howard knew about one keeper striper from the shore there. Otherwise, news was scarce. The Salt Talk used to be a Fortescue party boat. Howard sold that vessel, and the new Salt Talk is a charter boat for up to four passengers.

<b>Cape May</b>

A few striped bass were banked from the surf, said Joe from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. More might’ve begun to be hooked farther north in the state, but a few did come from the local beach. Bluefish 8 to 14 inches bit in the surf, and both the bass and the blues were found in the surf from the ocean to Delaware Bay. Cape May is at the confluence. Bunker and clams were fished in the surf, and fresh clams were stocked for the moment late last week, at least. Clams are scarce this season. Fresh bunker were also carried, and frozen mullet had just arrived. The mullet run seemed finished, and surf anglers saw them no longer. Blackfish snapped along jetties. In the back bay, stripers were fought from under bridges. Most anglers fished soft-plastic lures for them like paddle tails or grubs. “Anything on a jighead,” he said. Blues swam the back bay that were the same size as in the surf.

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