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Delaware Bay Fishing Report 11-19-13


<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Keeper striped bass were sometimes boated from the bay, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Many throwbacks swam the waters, and the migration of larger stripers to the bay seemed late, and some anglers seemed disappointed about that. But some weeks remain to fish for them, and the shop is usually open to mid-December. Striper fishing reportedly turned on farther north toward Long Beach Island, and that seemed a good sign that stripers were on the way. One never knows when the bass will swim south to the bay, after they reach farther north like that. Sometimes they show up quickly, even in a couple of days. Many anglers said stripers hooked from the bay sometimes had sea lice on them. That’s believed to be a sign that they migrated from the ocean. Again, a few stripers were already bagged from the bay. One angler talked about boating three off Reed’s Beach, for instance. Most keepers that Sharon heard about were 30 or 32 inches, not very large yet. Anglers waited for large. The bay was 47 degrees, cold for the time of year. Many anglers fished the bay this weekend. Marinas will begin to close for the season before long, and that’s a concern for boaters docked at them, if the striper migration arrives much later. But anglers with trailered boats will still fish, launching from boat ramps. The blackfish bag limit was increased to six on Saturday, from the previous limit of one. Blackfishing sounded good along jetties and rocks. The shop’s been stocking fresh bunker, the favorite bait for the bay’s stripers this time of year. The supply depends on whether bunker boats get the weather to sail. All the shop’s bunker has come from farther north in the state, toward Long Beach Island. Bunker seemed scarcer in the bay this season. The store’s also been stocking fresh clams, eels, green crabs and nearly all baits that are common in fall. The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, stocks a large supply of bait 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 fished for striped bass Saturday and Sunday on the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>, Capt. Howard said. The angling was slow on Saturday’s trip, or stripers hardly bit. They bit better on Sunday’s trip, but all were throwbacks that were hooked. One boater reeled in two 34-inch keepers at the 34 buoy before the Salt Talk arrived there Sunday to fish. No keepers were heard about from anybody on Saturday. The Salt Talk’s trips fished at the 34 and the 32, mostly with chunks of bunker, sometimes with clam. Maybe the full moon slowed fishing during the weekend. The bay was 50 degrees on Sunday’s trip. Open-boat trips are slated to fish for stripers daily when no charter is booked, but might be likely to run only on weekends and around holidays, because of demand, this time of year. Anglers can telephone to confirm.

<b>Cape May</b>

Trips fished the bay for striped bass Friday through Sunday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, and a bunch were hooked, but were throwbacks, Capt. George said. The biggest probably measured 27 inches, and the smallest were about 18 inches. Bunker chunks were fished, and a few keepers were bagged on the bay on other boats. When they were, they were large, about 30 pounds. Someone from the docks landed a 35-pounder. Nothing good was heard about striper fishing at Cape May Rips. On the Heavy Hitter, the number of stripers hooked was best on Friday, and was mediocre on Saturday, and on Sunday’s was “subpar,” George said. He hopes the fishing picks up soon. The blackfish bag limit was increased to six on Saturday, from the previous limit of one. George heard conflicting reports about blackfishing from the ocean during the weekend. Some talked about slow blackfishing, and others reported good catches of the tautog. Good fishing for sea bass was heard about from a good way offshore. A couple of boats from the dock rounded them up. Fishing for blackfish or sea bass are options aboard.

Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> might fish the bay for striped bass next week, he said. The striper migration might be late, and the fishing seemed to start late farther north, and was now happening there. Friends fished for stripers on the bay Saturday and Sunday at Tussy’s Slough, only hooking a couple of throwbacks. They saw photos of larger stripers bagged from the bay, but not many large stripers seemed around yet. Fins and Feathers also guides duck and goose hunting on the bay, and a trip aboard might hunt ducks on the bay next week. Customers can even enjoy a combination of striper fishing and waterfowl hunting on the bay over a series of days. Jim just wrapped up a waterfowl hunt in Pennsylvania that bagged four geese and three mallards. Fins and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures that include Pennsylvania hunting like that, fly fishing for trout on Pennsy’s streams like the Yellow Breeches, and  salmon and steelhead fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River, from Jim’s lodge. On the Salmon, salmon fishing is finished for the season, but steelhead fishing is under way, and will last until April. The angling is world-class. 

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