<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Winds kept boaters docked the last couple of days, but when they sailed, they tackled striped bass, good catches, on the bay, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Some scored better than others, as usual. But catches were heard about from places including 60-Foot Slough and Miah Maull. Chunks of fresh bunker were the popular bait. Big bluefish 8 and 10 pounds arrived in the bay. A bunch – big, beautiful fish, Sharon said – were seen at the docks toward the end of the week. Toward the E.P. Tower was one place that produced them that was heard about. Little was heard about blackfish, but the bag limit was increased to six on Friday from one, and more anglers than before started to head out for the tautog. One customer said the tog no longer held at the bridges this season, and anglers needed to fish the wrecks for the slipperies. Boaters left port for the bay today for striper fishing in beautiful weather. Forecasts for Friday’s weather look good, but predictions for Saturday look like a blow-out, calling for 20 to 25-knot winds, currently. If anglers want fresh bunker for Friday, they should call to reserve soon to ensure a supply. Few bunker boats will likely sail on Thursday, Thanksgiving. Reserving the bait is always recommended, anyway. Not many fresh clams were available recently, because northeast winds kept clam boats from sailing the ocean. Not much was heard about striper fishing on the ocean because of the wind direction. The bay generated most news. The shop will be open 5 to 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving. The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, stocks a large supply of baits and tackle. It’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right, with plenty of parking, including for trailered boats.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Trips steamed a few times through the past week on the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>, Capt. Howard said. A couple of the trips cranked in good catches: a few keeper striped bass and some big bluefish to 12 pounds. The blues showed up for the first time this season. Anthony Formica won a pool with a 16-pound striper. A couple of trips ran into throwback stripers, no keepers, at the Ditch. Keepers came from the southern stakes, and trips mostly fished there. Anglers dunked bunker chunks for bait. No livelined eels were fished, and Howard likes eeling, but conditions weren’t conducive for it. Northeast winds and the tide failed to combine for the best fishing conditions for four days through the weekend. But the anglers made out okay, considering. Howard’s nephew ran a trip on a smaller boat that socked four stripers around 40 pounds apiece on the southern bay during the weekend. The bay on the Salt Talk’s trips was 49 to 51 degrees. Open-boat trips are fishing for striped bass daily when no charter is booked on the Salt Talk. Call to confirm. 

<b>Cape May</b>

Fishing for striped bass was good Saturday on the bay on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. John Grimmie’s charter bunker-chunked nine of the bass 12 to 20 pounds and missed quite a few. Seas were somewhat bumpy in the morning but calmed afterward. Winds blew from the northeast for days. Two or three sharks and a skate were hooked and released.

Striped bass, very good catches, were slugged on the <b>Down Deep</b>, Capt. Mario said. The fish were bunker chunked on Delaware Bay and livelined on spots and eels at Cape May Rips. The Down Deep will begin blackfishing once the striper run ends or on December 21, through winter. See the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/special-trips/" target="_blank">Down Deep’s winter blackfishing schedule</a> online.

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