This Fall has been very tough from beach out to the 3 mile line. The jetty has also been very tough which pretty much zero Striper life – most of the action has been from trolling. Of course, there have been anglers playing catch-n-release with them outside the line, but the USCG has been on them – flying daily to spot anglers fishing for Stripers beyond the 3 mile mark.
Here’s the rundown from some of our most recent charters (most recent 1st):
Yesterday, I had return clients Doug Wainwright, his sons Doug Jr. and John on a 5hr Striped Bass charter. We started working the same area as the previous trip, but the fish were much slower on the bite. We had to grind it out and were finally rewarded with a 27inch and 36inch Striper. The guys went 2 for 3 before the conditions got a little too sporty with building seas. The waves were 4 to 5 feet with 3-4 seconds between waves. A tough day, but we boated a couple.
Over the weekend, I had return clients Mike Pollina, John Lucas, and John Krause on a 5hr Striped Bass charter. We started working some areas that we had fish the trip prior, but after an hour without a touch – we moved. The move paid off as the trio went 7 for 10 on Striped Bass 36 to 42 inches. Great job by the guys!
Earlier in the week, I had return client Rich Sanborn and his son Ryan on a pre-Thanksgiving charter. We worked with another charter captain Mikey Villanova and got right on the fish as we got got a late start. The father and son duo ended going 8 for 11 with Striped Bass up to 38 inches. They kept 4 Stripers, including a 25-inch SBBP tagged bass and released the rest which averaged 32-34 inches. We worked close to the beach for the last few hours of trip to find some of the tag Bass, but unfortunately only had a few bites from Bluefish on live Spot. The guys had a great time and all of the Stripers were caught on the Mojo’s and Bunker Spoons.
We had a relatively tough week as the Striped Bass bite has been very spotty. You have to put your time in trolling as there hasn’t been the usually jetty bite or jig bite that we typically get. We worked areas as far north as the Axel Carlson, and we had some Tog but most were in the 14 to 14.5 inch range. Mike Pollina’s charter scored a solid 25 pound bass, and then we finished the trip Tog fishing which Mike brought up a nice 8 to 9 pound Lobster which let go as it hit the surface. Another charter had short Tog and Striped Bass to 22 inches caught on the jig. We trolled for 3 hours without a touch, it seems the morning trips have had more action as they have been shutting down in the afternoon. It can only get better!
I do have a few dates remaining as I plan on running charter for the rest of the month as long as the weather and fish stay good!
If interested in booking a charter, book our site (reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, live spot (20-30 per charter), tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.
Capt. Brett Taylor ~ www.reelreactioncharters.com ~ Call or Text: 609-290-7709