<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Boaters fished Delaware Bay for striped bass, but not much was heard about catches from the bay except spiny dogfish, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. She spoke with someone from a marina who said a good number of boaters headed for the striper fishing this weekend, and none caught them. The dogfish seemed abundant, and when they are, few stripers seem to be angled, and vice versa. But striper fishing can change quickly, if the migration swims to the bay. Stripers were boated off Townsend’s Inlet yesterday on the ocean. That was the farthest south heard about this season so far. Ocean boaters ran into the fish, lots of big, on Friday off Atlantic City and Margate. That was the first wave of the catches to reach South Jersey. Whether the southern migration will shove into the bay will be seen. Big stripers might’ve been landed at the Cape May Rips occasionally in the past week or so. That’s at the confluence of the bay and ocean. Sharon heard about none, but others reported some. This time of year, straggler, migrating stripers like that can seem to pop up at places like the Rips. Customers bought green crabs to fish for tautog, though no results were heard. Baits stocked also included eels, fresh bunker and bloodworms. Most marinas along the bay closed after last weekend for the season, before waters freeze. Many boaters who fish the bay now will trailer boats to fish. 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>

Eight striped bass, including a 29-inch keeper, were trolled on Delaware Bay on Friday on a trip that Capt. Howard from the <b>Salt Talk</b> took with a neighbor, Howard said. The rest of the fish were 20 to 26 inches, and the trip trolled from the Elbow to the Old House. Howard originally was going to take the trip to run out fuel from the fuel tank to winterize the boat. But now he plans to troll for the bass again, including on a trip or two this coming week. The stripers seemed to be local fish, not migrators from the ocean. They seemed to be stripers that swim out of local creeks and school the bay this time of year. Howard didn’t hear a lot about others striper fishing. He thought that maybe one of the local party boats caught some small on the bay, and he heard about a well-known Fortescue captain who fished for stripers with bait on the bay on two trips but landed none. Someone told Howard that two big stripers 40 inches or larger were docked from the bay at a marina on Maurice River from a trip. That was unconfirmed. On Howard’s trip, weather was cold but beautiful with no wind and flat seas. Ice was on the boat in the morning, and he salted down the deck. Howard didn’t know the bay’s temperature, but the water didn’t feel so cold. He knew the ocean was reportedly 50 degrees. 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>

The Cape May Rips began to turn on for striped bass catches on eels for boaters, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. A few stripers were also boated on Delaware Bay on bunker chunks. Dogfish filled the deep water of the bay’s sloughs, so fish tighter to shore for the stripers. Stripers were sometimes banked from the surf at Cape May Point on lures. Not much was heard about stripers from the ocean surf. The point is at the confluence of the ocean and the bay. The back bay gave up good striper fishing for mostly throwbacks, a couple of keepers, in early mornings and evenings.  Blackfishing seemed pretty good at inshore wrecks in the ocean.

Back to Top