<b>Keyport</b>

With the <b>Down Deep Fleet</b>, striped bass fishing was slow on Saturday in boat traffic but “came back alive” on Sunday, Capt. Mario said. Open-boat trips are eeling the fish daily at New York Harbor. Watch for special open trips for sea bass and porgies on <a href=" http://downdeepsportfishing.com/reports/" target="_blank"> Down Deep’s website</a> and <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/downdeepsportfishing/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. Charters are available for up to 15 passengers. The company runs two boats that each feature full galleys and large cockpits for comfort.

Raritan Bay dropped 3 degrees and was 66 to 67 degrees the past two days, so it’s ready for the striped bass migration to invade, said Capt. Greg from <b>Manicsportfishing</b>. His trips have been eeling the bass in New York Harbor, and the next striper trip was slated for today aboard, but was weathered out. Stripers in places like the harbor – that’s the mouth of Hudson River – hold stripers this time of year that dump into the bay next. Bottom-fishing trips sailed Saturday and Sunday and smoked catches aboard. The fish were still being cleaned from Sunday’s trip when he gave this report that evening in a phone call. My goodness, he said. The three anglers on the charter that day limited out on sea bass, bucketed 50 porgies and bagged two or three triggerfish. They released lots of false albacore, bluefish and small weakfish. The population of albies is nuts off Sandy Hook. Fishing for sea bass and porgies is phenomenal. Take advantage: <b><i>Mid-week charters for porgies are discounted 30 percent</b></i>. Greg expected fishing to be weathered out today through Wednesday.  

Striped bass fishing was tough during the weekend, Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> wrote in an email. Current ran strongly at 3 ½ knots, and westerly wind just made the fishing tougher, or made tough getting the boat to drift the way that was needed. Just a few stripers were decked aboard, but not for lack of trying. Got to report the good and bad, he said. Trips aboard have been eeling stripers in New York Harbor. The fishing was canceled today and tomorrow because of weather forecasts. The next open-boat trip for stripers will be on Wednesday, and a few spots are left. One spot is available for Saturday. Telephone to reserve.

<b>Leonardo</b>

Capt. Joe from <b>Sour Kraut Sportfishing</b> did minor maintenance on the boat, he said. But friends nearly limited out on sea bass, axed large porgies and limited on one blackfish per angler in past days. Sour Kraut is doing that fishing. Friends also tuna fished mid-shore on a trip, tackling one bluefin, not big, and a bunch of mahi mahi. They saw thresher sharks jumping. Exciting day. Joe is also waiting to fish the striped bass migration when it arrives. The channels are loaded with bait for the stripers to forage on. This is it, Joe said: fishing should begin to change for the season.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Excellent bottom-fishing from the start, a report said about Sunday on the <b>Fishermen</b> on the party boat’s website. Loads of porgies, a good mess of large sea bass and some blowfish, bluefish and a couple of blackfish were bombed. The ocean was calm in perfect weather. Saturday’s conditions were nasty all around, including a hard incoming tide against northwest wind that roughed up seas. But that day’s trip still managed a good catch for the few anglers who showed up. Trips are bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

One three-quarter-day bottom-fishing trip will fish daily beginning today on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. That’s instead of two half-day trips for the fishing that sailed daily until now aboard. The trips are sailing for sea bass, porgies and blackfish, and the schedule is changed each year like that about now, because the longer trip enables the boat to reach the fish that are migrating farther and deeper out. Maybe he’s making the change slightly early, but the fishing’s been good, no matter. The change also enables the the boat to escape strong current between the channels, where the half-day trips fished, and could enable the vessel to target sea bass a little more than before. Catches of porgies were good on the half-day trips in past days. A few sea bass were clocked on those outings, and sometimes blackfish were. Clams are provided for bait, and anglers can bring crabs to target blackfish. Not all places fished will hold blackfish. Crabs are provided once five blackfish becomes the bag limit beginning Nov. 16, from the current limit of one. Trips are fishing for sea bass, porgies and blackfish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. 

<b>Neptune</b>

Two good friends trolled striped bass heavier than 20 pounds Sunday, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> wrote in an email. Won’t be long before striper fishing breaks open. Book a charter now, and individual-reservation trips aboard for stripers will be announced soon. On Saturday, practically no boats fished on the rough ocean. On Sunday, everybody who owned a boat seemed on the water in flat-calm seas. Last Lady fished Saturday in the seas. The charter was a great crew who worked the whole trip and smashed fall fishing at its best. They bagged triggerfish, porgies, sea bass, blowfish and blues, and most drops gave up catches. On the trip Sunday for the same fishing in traffic, the charter searched many wrecks that were occupied. A few good ones were finally found. The anglers worked hard and ended up with a good catch. Many, many sea bass bit, though the keeper ratio was badly lopsided. Many, many porgies were nailed. Individual-reservation trips will fish for sea bass Friday and Sunday and for cod, pollock, big sea bass and big porgies Oct. 28. Contact Ralph to jump aboard.

<b>Belmar</b>

Here they come: Some 30-pound-class striped bass were trolled yesterday on the ocean in the area, Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> wrote in a text that day. The migration began to arrive, he wrote, and dates are available for trips aboard this month to December. Book while they are. Those were the first apparently migrating stripers reported from the ocean off New Jersey on this website this season. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Book an individual space with a charter who wants more anglers. <b>***Update, Monday, 10/15:***</b> Stripers 20 to 30 pounds began to chew in the ocean yesterday a little, like clockwork, Pete wrote in an email today. He got word about some hooked on livelined bunker yesterday morning on slack tide. Trollers also picked away at them. Now that the water’s cooler, he expects the fishing to improve each day and break open around the full moon on Oct. 24. Plenty of dates are available this month to troll or liveline the fish. But the dates are filling quickly. Dates available for charters or for individual spaces with charters are Friday, Sunday, next week on Monday through Wednesday, and the Monday through Wednesday of Oct. 29 through 31. Be the reports, don’t just read them. Sign up for the email blast on <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to keep informed about fishing aboard.

Lots of sea bass, and a few porgies mixed in, were shoveled aboard yesterday, good fishing, with <b>Celtic Stoirm Charters</b>, Capt. Mike said. The trip got away from the fleet and fished by itself. Everybody seemed to catch sea bass in 100 feet of water. Trips are still being booked aboard for sea bass and striped bass.

Drop-and-reel sea bass fishing was crushed yesterday on the <b>Katie H</b>, Capt. Mike said. The anglers limited out and also reeled in bluefish, porgies and chub mackerel, a smorgasbord. False albacore were also seen, and the anglers decided to hook and land a couple. The trip’s fishing and the weather made an unbelievable day. Weather was beautiful, the ocean was calm and the boat drifted nice and easy, and wasn’t anchored, didn’t need to be. Mike heard nothing about tuna except bluefins. He’ll probably bottom-fish like this until striped bass show up.

Good fishing for 3- to 8-pound blues and plenty of porgies and sea bass were cracked Saturday on the <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report said on the party boat’s website. On that night’s trip, bluefishing was great for 4- to 12-pounders. On Sunday’s trip, pretty good fishing was mugged. Quite a few small blues and some false albacore, monster sea bass and sizable porgies came in, all on jigs. Trips are fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays. A tuna trip was canceled today, and a trip was going to bluefish instead.

Anglers picked away at a few bluefish and a good number of sea bass and porgies Saturday in the Mudhole on the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, an email said from the party boat. At mid-day, the trip pulled inshore and north “and had better fishing,” it said. “We were able to pick away with some shots.” On Sunday’s trip, fishing was decent. Blues 2 to 5 pounds bit most of the morning and a little at mid-day. They hit again later in the trip. A good catch of sea bass and porgies was also made, and a few bonito were pitched aboard. Trips are fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Fishing was hot for bluefin tuna to blowfish, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. Surf-fishing began to show life. Mostly small striped bass and bluefish were slid onto the beach, mostly on plugs, in some instances on clams or mullet. Blues, stripers and false albacore were fought from inlets and rivers. Blackfish bit well along Shark River Inlet. Blackfish were also boated from the ocean, and Skip Rosati from Morrisville, Pa.’s, 12-pound 4-ouncer was the biggest seen at the shop. “Winter flounder are starting to show but no keepers,” he wrote apparently about the inlet or Shark River. Blowfish, tasty catches, hovered in the river and Barnegat Bay. Belmar’s party boats docked large numbers of sea bass and porgies. Other head boats from the port caught blues and albies. Boaters socked good fishing for bluefins on popper plugs. Fish are hungry – get out now, he said!

<b>Brielle</b>

Terrific fishing continued yesterday on the <b>Jamaica II</b>, the party boat’s Facebook page said. Lots of sea bass and limits of porgies were pounded around the vessel. Trips are fishing 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Beginning this weekend, 14-hour trips will sail every Saturday and Sunday.

A few striped bass were finally reported from the ocean, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. A handful of 20- to 30-pound-class stripers were reported trolled off Long Branch. Not many were, but that seemed a good sign that the fall migration began dropping south to New Jersey. Surf anglers picked a few small stripers on clams, rubber shads, bucktails and popper lures, and catches of stripers should only improve from the beach, including because of northwesterly wind forecast for this week. Fifteen tuna were chunked at night at Hudson Canyon on a Point Pleasant Beach party boat on a trip. Maybe a few tuna were moving into the canyons. A few tuna, not many, a mix of yellowfins and longfins, were chunked at the canyons previously. Plenty of mahi mahi and squid swam the waters. Lots of bluefin tuna moved into the Shark River Reef area. Customers trolled, jigged and popper-plugged them. Abundant false albacore held there. From there to the ocean near Manasquan Inlet harbored lots of bonito and 2- to 3-pound bluefish at lumps and structure. The bonito were trolled and jigged. Chumming with spearing worked well. Albies and bonito were everywhere. Bonito shoved into the surf near Manasquan Inlet yesterday and were hooked on small metal. Sea bass fishing was good at Sandy Hook, Shark River and Axel Carlson reefs. Bait and slow-pitched jigs hooked them. Porgy fishing was good at Sandy Hook and Shark River reefs on clams, squid or slow-pitched jigs. The shop carries jigs, reels, rods and lines, the whole system, for slow-pitch jigging that’s become popular. The crew can educate you about the sport. Plenty of blackfish held at rough bottom off Long Branch in 30 to 40 feet. A few triggerfish remained there. Blackfishing was good at Manasquan Inlet. The tautog heavier than 5 pounds were reported from there. Point Pleasant Canal was loaded with blackfish. Stripers were landed at the canal at night on rubber shads and eels. They were caught along Route 35 Bridge and the Railroad Bridge on Manasquan River the same way. 

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Back-to-back trips fished Sunday and loaded up with sea bass, porgies, triggerfish, jacks and bonito with <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b>, Mushin’s Facebook page said. Good fishing for a variety of catches, and the anglers left with full bags of fillets. “The fish are still in close,” the page said.

No tuna were caught but fishing for mahi mahi was incredible on a 30-hour trip that returned Friday on the <b>Gambler</b>, a report said on the party boat’s website. “I don’t know what to say about the tunas,” it said. The water looks prime, and looked great where the boat fished. That was at a 71-degree temperature break, and lots of Sargasso filled the water. The fishing kicked in late last year, so the crew hopes the catches break open soon. At night on the trip, a small swordfish and a small mako shark were released, and lots of squid swam. Jigging for the squid was amazing. Two or three extra-large could be jigged at once. Anglers caught the squid for bait, and some kept the squid to take home to eat. After daybreak, no tuna bite broke open, so the trip pot-hopped for mahi. That angling was incredible. Some spots are available for <a href=" http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.php" target="_blank">upcoming tuna trips</a>. The <a href="http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshore-sea-bass.php" target="_blank">offshore sea bass schedule</a> has been posted on the boat’s website. Daily striped bass trips will begin on Nov. 1.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Cooler weather this week is hoped to pull baitfish into the ocean from bays to spark bigger fish to push into the surf, <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>’ Facebook page said. That apparently meant bigger striped bass, and previously the shop was reporting small blues and a few throwback stripers in the surf. That was covered in previous reports here. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, a café, a dock for fishing and crabbing, and, in season, boat and jet-ski rentals.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

The anglers limited out on mahi mahi and bagged one yellowfin tuna and some golden tilefish and blueline tilefish on a trip last weekend on the <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, the party boat’s Facebook page said. Schools of tuna were read from 4:30 to 6 a.m., but no bite developed.  One 30-hour tuna trip is sailing each weekend, and see the <a href=" http://missbarnegatlight.com/offshore-tuna-trips/
" target="_blank">tuna schedule</a> online. Striped bass trips will begin on Nov. 2, sailing every Friday through Sunday.

One trip fished between rough weather this past week on the <b>Super Chic</b>, Capt. Ted said. A mix of bluefish 2 to 4 pounds, sea bass and a few false albacore and bonito were lit into on the ocean. A trip is supposed to fish offshore for tuna Thursday to Friday. Ted will see if the outing gets the weather.

<b>Longport</b>

On the <b>Stray Cat</b>, sea bass fishing was pretty good. Bluefish, a few porgies, blowfish and even a couple of false albacore were mixed in. The albies grabbed sea bass bait on the way up. All customers caught well, and trips now will sail farther offshore for sea bass. The fish are migrating out. Open-boat trips are fishing for sea bass every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Telephone to reserve. Mike’s looking forward to blackfishing beginning Nov. 16, when the bag limit is increased to five of the tautog from the current limit of one. Can’t wait, he said. Striped bass fishing will begin aboard when the striper migration arrives. A few rat stripers are being banked from the surf. But the water’s warm for stripers here. It’s 70 degrees and still giving up kingfish, a warm-water fish.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Annual traveling charters to Montauk wrapped up this weekend aboard, and walloped grand slams of striped bass, bluefish, false albacore and bonito, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. The two trips Saturday and Sunday fished with Doug Gillespie, and went out with a bang. The fish were mostly beaten on Albie Snax, except the stripers, measuring up to 33 inches, were jigged. Some of the other fish were also fly-rodded on Clouser Minnows. The trips each year fish the migrations of stripers, blues and albies from mid-September to mid-October. Sometimes they clean up on sea bass and porgies, too. The next traveling charters each year aboard fish from the Florida Keys from Christmas to Easter.  See the <a href="http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page3.html" target="_blank">traveling charters webpage</a> on Jersey Cape’s website. See photos of some of the Montauk fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Blog</a>. Joe now will turn all attention to fall fishing from Sea Isle. He’ll fish for smaller, resident stripers on the back bay, and for small blues that currently schooled the bay or inlets, at first. He expects to fish for albies in November on the ocean from Sea Isle. They should migrate to the local area by early that month. He’ll also work the ocean for sea bass now through mid-November. The migration of large stripers and large bluefish could reach Sea Isle by mid-November. That angling aboard is usually gangbusters by Thanksgiving. Book those trips while dates are open. The dates fill when the fishing begins.

<b>Avalon</b>

Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> would expect the striped bass migration to arrive in the second or third week of November in the ocean locally, he said. His charters will get after them. He also guides duck and goose hunting from New Jersey after Thanksgiving. This past weekend, he showed guests at his <a href="http://www.sjlodge.com/" target="_blank">lodge</a> in upstate New York how to fish for salmon in nearby Salmon River. He hooked five king salmon on Friday, and he can help guests hire a guide, can show them how to do the fishing so they can do the angling themselves, or the guests can fish on their own. They had a great time last weekend, he said. He’d say the fishing will last another two weekends. A discount is available for the lodge, but only on Airbnb. Many of the salmon in the river were fresh from Lake Ontario. Some were dead and floating after spawning in the river, too. The river ran at 335 cubic feet per second, and weather was 75 degrees on Friday but 31 degrees on Saturday morning. Big difference. The hatchery was going to begin taking eggs from some of the salmon today. The water became cool enough. 

<b>Cape May</b>

Sea bass fishing was okay Sunday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> on a trip with four anglers, Capt. George said. The anglers boxed one sea bass less than their limit, and worked through lots of shorts, but many of the keepers were sizable or 15 to 17 inches. Many anglers speaking on the radio seemed to take time to limit. The ocean cooled and was 68 to 69 degrees along the beach. Telephone George if interested in fishing for sea bass or, later this season, striped bass. Some dates are available. The boat will sail from Atlantic City from a slip for striper fishing. The angling’s been better closer to there in recent years. George knew about trips that fished offshore in past days that caught mahi mahi and found tuna fishing slow.

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