The wind was out of the west on Thursday, but the ocean wasn’t in bad shape after a day of rough weather that brought the water up. In fact, the west wind had flattened it along the beaches.
The party’s boats were tied up at the pier for a couple of days, but they intend to resume bass fishing today, hoping the fish haven’t moved too much. Early indications are that the fish remain in range. Intrepid skipper Capt. William Egerter Jr. went out of Manasquan Inlet Thursday morning to throw some empty shells and watched the bass break up just off the north pier.
Egerter said the ocean was good enough to surf for bottom fish, but he didn’t have enough anglers coming down to the dock in the morning to get the boat out. Instead, his crew spent their time shelling 40 bushels of clams for bait.
Went out last Tuesday and ran 12 to 15 miles offshore where the porgs are still holding. He said his rates ranged from 20 to 40 tapas along with a fair amount of sea bass and blackfish.
He intends to sail this weekend. Saturday may be questionable if the wind picks up too much from the southwest, but he said that’s a decision they’ll make in the morning. Sunday, he said, looks good.
As for the bass fishing, there was a group of surfcasters on the beach Thursday at Bay Head. The water temperature was about 54 degrees and the wind was pushing the water off the beach. The press did not know if the group had landed anything. Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park had solid reports of good bass fishing in the surf early Wednesday before conditions became too poor to fish. Anglers were landing keeper-sized fish.
There was action on Long Beach Island, North Beach, Ship Bottom and Surf City where several striped bass were landed, according to live results from the LBI Surf Fishing Classic. Almost all were trapped in the bunker. One of them was big enough to pip the leader of the nine-week contest and take first place.
James Worobetz of Tabernacle is now the angler to beat after he brought in a 19-pound, 9-ounce bass at noon Wednesday off North Beach. The fish weighed four ounces more than the previous leader. The contest ends on December 11.
The last day the ships went out to sea was Tuesday. Captain Rich Falcone on the party boat Golden Eagle seemed very pleased with the catch in his fishing report. Falcone said they had a boat limit of bass and released a lot of fish.
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel isn’t reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he teaches history. Get to him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; [email protected]