<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

A couple of customers talked about a couple of striped bass boated from the bay early last week, but weather deteriorated afterward, preventing trips, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. The anglers said the trips fished bunker chunks and did a little trolling. That was all the info heard. Sharon saw none of the fish, you know, she said. Throwback stripers were angled from Fortescue’s surf. Before the rough weather, small bluefish and some weakfish were talked about from the bay. Anglers mostly waited to see if the migration of stripers will show up off South Jersey this fall. If a migration is going to develop on the fishing grounds off New Jersey this season, that should happen along the state’s northern coast by Nov. 1. Boaters sailed for sea bass on the ocean when they had the weather. That weather didn’t happen often in the past week. Fresh clams were difficult to obtain for sea bass bait, probably because the weather kept clam boats from sailing. Packaged, salted, frozen clams were stocked from Maryland. Bushels of fresh clams and fresh, shucked clams were difficult to obtain. Crabbing seemed about finished for the year, and this was a usual time for that. Water begins to cool, and crabs look to burrow in mud through winter. 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>

No fishing sailed on the <b>Salt Talk</b> in rough weather this past week, Capt. Howard said. Weather was sometimes calmer, but was extreme, often including fierce wind, most of the week. Wind often blew westerly or northwesterly, an autumn pattern, beginning last week. That direction builds seas across the bay that slam into its New Jersey coast. Howard heard about no fishing on other boats locally, except he thought one of Fortescue’s party boats sailed one day. But he heard no results. 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>

Surf fishing was pretty good, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. He fished the ocean surf, tackling bluefish. Popper lures with a teaser worked well, and he tried the new Ocean Born poppers that Patrick Sebile developed. They were the easiest to use that Nick ever fished, had a good design that floated high in the water. Throwback striped bass swam the surf. Surf anglers fished a lot of lures and fresh mullet. The mullet migration remained thick, and until the run departs, surf anglers who fish bait for blues or stripers should probably fish mullet. Blackfishing was slow along surf jetties. In Delaware Bay’s surf, a few kingfish and weakfish could be nabbed, along with the same blues and stripers as in the ocean. Cape May is located at the confluence of the ocean and the bay. In the back bay, fishing for small stripers was good in early mornings and in evenings on top-water lures along the sod banks or on soft-plastic lures around bridges. Boating for sea bass was productive on the ocean, and 100 feet of water or deeper seemed best. But closer to shore, a few sea bass and some triggerfish could be bagged. Fresh mullet were in good supply at the store usually. Green crabs, bloodworms and eels were carried.

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