The big cool-down moved in last Sunday morning with air temperatures settling in around the mid-50s. It may feel like fall, but the fishing continues to be hot. The normal fish species for this time of the year are settling in – and they are plentiful, including small blues, tautog and stripers. Some areas are more active than others, but everyone is catching something.
Tautog season will continue with one fish per angler per day through Nov. 15 followed by a two-fish limit beginning Nov. 16. Bluefish minimums remains at 15 per day at no minimum size, and one weakfish at a minimum of 13 inches is still in effect throughout the rest of the year. Two stripers are permitted per day at a minimum of 28 inches per fish.
Brennan Marine in Somers Point reported an influx of small bluefish in the back bays and said great tautog action continues. Stripers have been hitting the poles at night, and kingfish have been aggressive along the surf in the Ocean City area. They are also being caught in increasing numbers.
Brennan Marine also reported that bloodworms are catching some nice perch in the rivers and kingfish in the surf. Tautog have been going after green crabs, and clams are catching a lot of stripers. Some anglers, they said, are catching bass by using top-water plugs along the sod banks.
Tammy Carbohn of Avalon Hodge Podge reported that kingfish are red-hot in the surf on the Avalon and Stone Harbor beaches. She said that tautog is very good right now at the inlet bridge between Avalon and Sea Isle City as well as at the Eighth Street Jetty.
Debbie Mooers of Grassy Sound Marina in North Wildwood has had many anglers reporting that a lot of tautog are being caught behind Stone Harbor and stripers on surface plugs in Drum Thorofare. There has been an increase in the catch of sea bass in the Grassy Sound area, and triggerfish are being caught out of the Cape May Inlet.
Some notable catches weighed in at Grassy Sound Marina include a 25-inch flounder caught by the Kirban crew of Kintnersville, Pa., out of Turtle Creek on minnows on the closing day of flounder season a couple of weekends back. They also had a couple dozen crabs to take home for their dinner. They were fishing the incoming tide on a rental boat.
Steve Haubois of Cape May Court House caught some nice tautog behind Stone Harbor on green crabs as well as stripers and sea bass in the back bays. E.J. Pellecchia of Hatboro, Pa., caught triggerfish near the Cape May Inlet.
Cathy Algard at Sterling Harbor Marina in Shawcrest reported that mullet are making their move out of the back bays, and as a result there are plenty of bluefish chasing them. She said to look for the seagulls working the inlets and along the beachfronts for schools of bluefish.
Tautog fishing in the Wildwoods has been excellent, especially around the bridges and jetties. The schoolie stripers, Algard said, are still thick in the back bays and along the sod banks. There has been much success using top-water plugs such as Smack-Its or Storm Chug Bugs and the like. Crabbing is still improving; however, time is limited, so hurry up and make another crabbing trip before they start burying in the mud for the winter.
Capt. Ray Szulczewski, a local fly fisherman who has a charter called Tide Runner out of Cape May, is reporting some improvement in the water quality around the inlet areas and the ocean in the Cape May area. He said he has caught some small stripers and some blues bigger than the 6 to 8 inches using bunker and canary yellow bucktail deceivers on sinking lines in the early evenings until after dark.
Anglers fishing offshore are still finding some nice yellowfin tuna, white marlin and dolphin. The fish are feeding up before their migration south.
Avalon Hodge Podge's offshore report includes yellowfins being caught at the canyons. Chris Carr, fishing aboard the Over Under Charter boat, pulled in his share of 17 yellowfin. Also, Tom Iwanicki fished aboard the Allure and weighed in a huge 66-pound wahoo he caught on the chunk.
The folks at Brennan Marine said all of their reports came in from offshore this last week. On three separate overnight trips, three of their customers did well. Overnight on Sept. 29, Larry Stout and crew on his boat Diamond Girl traveled to the Spencer Canyon and limited out on yellowfins. They had a total of 18 fish ranging from 30 to 80 pounds. They were chunking butterfish and sardines.
Ed Reese and crew on his boat Hatt Aweigh made the trip to the Spencer overnight Sept. 30 and went two-for-three on swordfish, with one weighing 70 pounds and the other 150 pounds. They also caught seven yellowfin and five mahi-mahi.
The high boat of the week for offshore fishing was the Bonnie Lee with Bob Cummings and crew onboard including Bruce, Brian, Jason, Bob Jr., Jon and Bruce Jr. They fished the Lindenkohl Canyon overnight Sept. 26 and caught and released two swordfish and caught 26 yellowfin. They kept 21 fish ranging from 30 to 50 pounds.
This is the last fishing report of the season. Have a safe, relaxing winter and I already look forward to starting back up in the spring.
Fishing News Notes:
- Sterling Harbor is having an end of season kayak clearance. Stop by to check out the deals.
- When heading out to fish, don’t forget to inquire about a saltwater fishing registration. See www.countmyfish.noaa.gov or call (888) 674-7411 for details. Local bait and tackle stores can also provide detailed license information.
- The Royal Flush is sailing three trips a day: 8 a.m.-noon, 1-5 p.m. and 7-11 p.m. The Royal Flush is now booking fall and winter private charters; Call (609) 522-1395 for information.
- There are many fish in Cape County waters with a yellow tag from the American Littoral Society on their tail. Anglers are asked to record the data and turn it in to the address on the tag.
- Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle outside of Wildwood on Route 47 is now an official state kicensing station for fishing, hunting and shellfish licenses.
Fishing reports and photos can be emailed to Heather Holtzapfel James at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or faxed to (609) 465-9155. Reports need to be in by Sunday evening of each week.
Tides > Week of Oct. 7
Wildwood
AM Low AM High PM Low PM High
Friday none 5:52 12:05 6:07
Saturday 12:38 6:39 12:55 6:52
Sunday 1:19 7:19 1:41 7:33
Monday 1:56 7:56 2:22 8:11
Tuesday 2:30 8:31 3:01 8:47
Wednesday 3:03 9:05 3:39 9:23
Thursday 3:35 9:38 4:16 9:59
Ocean City (Ludlam Bay area)
AM Low AM High PM Low PM High
Friday none 5:51 12:07 6:06
Saturday 12:40 6:38 12:57 6:51
Sunday 1:21 7:18 1:43 7:32
Monday 1:58 7:55 2:24 8:10
Tuesday 2:32 8:30 3:03 8:46
Wednesday 3:05 9:04 3:41 9:22
Thursday 3:37 9:37 4:18 9:58
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