1) Long Beach Island/Great BayThe kids fishing the back bays from the docks and street-end bulkheads are still getting small bluefish and blowfish, reports Margaret O'Brien at Jingle's Bait and Tackle in North Beach Haven. She said the beaches are very flat and the blow-out low tides have exposed a lot of beach. Chestnut Neck Boat Yard has had no reports from anyone out fishing as of Tuesday afternoon.
2) Atlantic County
Anthony Pitucci fished the extreme low water in the surf at Brigantine on Monday and brought a striped bass and a flounder back to Absecon Bay Sportsman Center in Absecon. Dave Showell reported from Absecon Bay Sportsman Center in Absecon that Pitucci caught both fish on live mullet. Showell said a lot of keeper flounder were caught in 30-40 feet of water off Brigantine and Atlantic City before the hurricane. He said the fish did not get three days of pounding like they get in a northeaster, so he is expecting them to be right there when things get back to normal. Fred Hynes from Riptide Bait and Tackle in Brigantine said the water had cleaned up a little in the surf on the north end of Brigantine by Tuesday and a few kingfish were caught on bloodworm. Hynes said some small bluefish were in there, too. It is an indication they they have not been chased away.
3) Cape May County
Flounder did not vacate Grassy Sound. Debbie Mooers reported Tuesday that several were caught from the Grassy Sound Marina pier there, including a 19 1/2 pounder, plus other stuff such as sea robin. She said when her husband Jim was scrambling at the last minute to get things tied down and otherwise prepared for the approaching hurricane the other day, he saw striped bass splashing and popping all over the creeks while feeding and filling up in advance of the storm. Obviously, he did not have a chance to investigate. Debbie said they dismantled their brand-new fuel pump on the dock and were re-installing it on Tuesday. She said they came through the storm okay and they even have bait. Budd's Bait and Tackle in Villas had no fishing report, but Mike Hodges said they pulled their crab traps before the storm and have plenty of hardshell blueclaws.
4) Delaware Bay
No report due to recent weather.
5) Offshore
No report due to recent weather.
