Striped bass keep fishing season going

It's not over.

Friday was a good day for striped bass fishing off Atlantic City and the southern end of Long Beach Island. It was a slower Saturday. Even though it's cold, Don Brown, at Gifford Marine in Northfield, reported some outstanding catches off the Atlantic City Convention Hall. Ted Rosner of Margate had 30 bass up to 15 pounds on Friday while jigging and trolling off Atlantic City. He went back Saturday and picked up six more.


Brown said there were other boaters who caught bass off Atlantic City and Brigantine.

Brown said Rosner was working around some lumps off Atlantic City on Friday and chased the birds on Saturday.
Gifford said some boaters have been using a deep-running lure called a Stretch 25 and Stretch 30, which has a big lip that puts the lure down 30 feet.

According to Scott Albertson at Scott's Bait Tackle in the Mystic Island section of Tuckerton, much of the focus of the outdoors set is on hunting season: Monday's opening of the six-day firearm deer season and just-concluded black power deer season on Monday and Tuesday. But Albertson reports great striped bass fishing in front of the towers in 20 feet of water off the southern end of LBI.

Albertson said most of the fish are undersize schoolies, but there are a few keeper fish mixed in with them. He estimates a six release to one keeper ratio.

Boaters off LBI troll with umbrella rigs with tubes lures or shad lures. Black tube lures have been one hot rig along with six-inch shad lures. They also jig the lumps with Diamond jigs, Hopkins or 4-ounce Crippled Herring.

Other boaters troll with bunker spoons or large-lipped plugs.
Scott's is weighing in a lot more deer than fish. Albertson said 199 deer have come to the scales at Scott's.

The heaviest so far was a 105-pound deer taken by Paul Sikora, of Rickerton. Scott's also weighed a 103-pound, 12-point buck taken by Fred Ellenberg at New Gretna.

Meanwhile, bass fishing from the beach is excellent at Wildwood Crest.

Matt Slobodjian at Jim's Tackle in Cape May said Chris Pocher caught 15 casting Rattletraps there on Friday. John Dales of Philadelphia picked up bass weighing 18 and 20 pounds while fishing with eels at Poverty Beach.

Slobodjian said while there is some good bird action along the beaches, boaters and surf-casters should't wait for the birds to concentrate.  He said Pocher caught his fish with little bird action to give away the presence of bass
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Slobodjian said Overall Shoals and Middle Shoal at The Rips off Cape May produced Friday, but it was rocky there Saturday.

The Press Fishing Contest is over for the 2000 season. The date for publishing the winners will be announced later.

There are two recent entries. Danny Tran of Northfield caught a 28-pound striper in Absecon Inlet. Chris Vohden of Beach Haven got a 7.3-pound tautog off Beach Haven. Jingle's Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven weighed it.