sports

outdoors Surf Fishing Becomes Productive Fall Fun

Surf fishing is the least productive of all kinds of fishing and the least productive of all of the kinds of recreational angling. And. here in Cape May County, we are just beginning to see an upswing in surf fishing for the season. Surf fishing usually picks up in the late summer and fall. All of the bait that is in the inland waterways and back bays pours out of the inlets and follows the surf line south to warmer water. All of the fish — weakfish. fluke and blues in particular — also head out of our waters for the winter. ALL OF the migratory fish north of us also move down and out into the

ocean. Much of this transient fish traffic invades our waters in the fall. It is the activity which makes surf fishing the best it is going to be all year. Not only will there be more fish in the surf, but also pier and jetty fishing will pick up. As for striped bass, more likely than not we will see few, if any of them this year and for years to come. The Chesapeake Bay produces the bulk of the stripers caught on the East Coast. That bay is all but a dead sea when it comes to producing the quantities of stripers we were used to. So, the striper fans can look longingly at their photo albums and search their memories for the

good old "striper blitz" days for they will see no more for a while. AS FOR WHAT to expect. here, look for big blues as well as smaller snapper Blues in the surf. When a school of blues hits the beach there is a lot of action no matter what the size. Cut bait, whole mullet, or a wide assortment of lures works for the surf angler into bluefish. Some type of a bluefish float rig (they come in a variety of names and styles) helps keep the bait above the bottom and away from the crabs. The float also imparts some motion to the bait and gives it action as the water and wave action moves the float around. A TWO TO three-foot leader is customary for blues in the surf. Use a short wire leader at least ahead of the hook unless the entire rig is made from wire. Bluefish have teeth which will destroy about anything except metal. As for surface poppers and swimming plugs, generally the plug itself is big enough to avoid the teeth of an attacking blue. They generally hit from the rear, anyway. If you decide to use a short wire leader ahead of the plug you will suffer a few more problems in casting because the plug and the leader may get tangled a little more often. Also, some plugs lose a lot of action if they are affixed to the line with a snap or a snap swivel. WEIGHTED popping plugs and swimming plugs cast further. Another good bluefish lure is the Hopkins or the Hopkins type lures which are made in a variety of weights. These cast extremely well and have to be retrieved at a fast rate to work best. Because of the construction of the lure, it is best to attach a snap at the end of the line (a short wire leader helps, also). One nice part about fall bluefish action is that it also turns into fine light tackle fun when a school of snappers moves into the surf. Casting to these small fish with a light or ultralight rod can have an added bit of excitement if and when a big slammer blue decides to grab the lure. SMALL bucktails. small Hopkins or any small shiny lure work on surf snappers Scale down the lure to meet the line test and the rod action in your light rig. We see a lot of surf anglers who have overloaded their spinning rods with line that is entirely^ too heavy. Tackle should balance. If you are fishing heavier than 17 lb. or 20 lb. test on your spinning outfit you are fishing line which is much too heavy. The heavier the line the shorter the distance you can cast. IF YOU ARE losing fish and breaking line there are several things to look for. First and foremost, the drag on your reel must be smooth and working. If the drag sticks it is as if you have no drag at all. Drag should be set at about 20 percent of the line test you are using. If your drag is working, the next place to look is the condition of the line. Frayed spots or nicks in monofilament weaken the

line. If your line shows signs of chafing, look for grooves in your guides, rooler on the reel bail or on the tip. If there are grooves any or all of these places, replace the faulty units. Going to heavier line only delays the inevitable and the line will still break. IF YOU HAVE eliminated drag and line chafing as a reason for breaking off fish, the next place is in the knots you tie. Bad knots in monofilament weaken the line. If you have any doubts, tie a simple overhand knot in mono and then pull on it. If you do not know how to tie good knots, get a knot book or have someone show you. We have a supply of a fine knot book which lists any number of good knots for mono line. It is put out by Dupont, the makers of Stren line. If you send us a stamped envelope with your address, we'll ship a book to you. The address is 6 N. Main St., Cape May Court House, N.J. 08210. There is no charge for the booklist. REPORTS: Dave Cicchitti of the Wildwood III In Wildwood Crest said fluke catches have been good around No. 9 and No. 10 buoys in Delaware Bay. Weaks to five pounds are mixed in. Fluke go one to three pounds. The Wildwood III sails daily through October. The starlight has been producing loads of blues on night trips. Blues go eight to 14 lb. The Miss Cape May has switched to all day fishing at South Jersey Fishing Center, leaving at 8 a.m. Capt. Bob Schumann's Sea Star II is doing well on fluke and scattered weakfish at 14 Ft. Light. HAPPY DAYS fares are also catching fluke Pool fish have been around four pounds. The Happy Days starts its fall schedule Monday. Sept. 9. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the Happy Days will sail at 8 a.m. on all days trips with a special fare. Call Capt Solley at 886-7725 for information. At Sea Isle City. Bernic Wright of Burlington boated 52 sea bass on a recent trip on the Capt. Robbins, Capt. Neil Robbins said night bluefish catches are still producing plenty of fish. FRESH WATER: At Dennisville Campground. Kathy Beltz. manager, reports some good catches of fish from the lake. James Kerezsi of Highland Park caught a 5L4-lb. pickerel on a worm. Gabriel Kerezsi of Browns Mills brought in a 54-lb. largemouth bass Jack Jacobus of Laurence Harbor. caught a 13-Ib. catfish on liver. Surf Report : Weakfish are moving into the surf, as are kingfish and small blues. Joe Cosulich of Manahawkin caught a 9-lb. weakfish in the surf at Cape May on a bucktail. Richard Kurian of Avalon brought in a 1-lb. 9-oz. king from the surf at Avalon on bloodworm bait. Spotted trout as well as regular weakfish are also being caught around the inlets. BACK BAY Catch: Small sea bass have invaded the back waters with some big enough to keep. Anglers can look for fluke closer to

the inlets. Warm water has moved most of the fluke out of the back bays, but weakfish and small blues are replacing the fluke. Anglers can find weakfish on the drop-off edges of the deep holes. Use squid on a small bucktail or top and bottom rigs. Bait with squid, bloodworm or shedder crab. Some "pro's" are using grass shrimp. Others are

sweetening the squid baits with minnows. Another good back bay weakfish bait (they work in Delaware Bay. too) is spot. Some anglers prefer to use them alive. Catch spot around docks, piers and bulkheads on tiny hooks and bits of bait. A goodsized minnow bucket will keep them alive for a while. Strips of spot also made a ( Page 52 Please >

^355 Cape May County ALMANAC SEPTEMBER 1985 (

MOON PHASES/POSITIONS The Moon's effect on the Tide it greatest when closest to Earth (in perigee) and when in direct alignment with Sun * Earth (full k new moon phases I On and about their dotej. low pressure systems and/or strong winds (depending upon dirrc ti on l may result in flooding and/or extremely low tides. Moon Phaser. Full Moon »/M I j*l Quarter ' New Moon II First Quarter 21 Apogee • Peri nee 16 TIDE TABLE Computed for Cape May City beachfront, for other areas, see Correction Times. DATE HIGH LOW a.m. p.m. a.m. p.m. 28 Wed 7:12- 7 30 12:46-12:57 29 Thu 7:56- 8:13 1:36- 1 48 30 Fri 8:38- 8.S3 2:20- 2:34 31 Sal 9:16- 9:31 3:00- 3:15 1 Sun 9:54—10:08 3:36- 3:S3 2 Moo 10:30-10:45 4:11- 4:32 3 Tue 11:09-11 24 4 45- 5:09 4 Wed 11-46— 5:11- 5 46 5 Thu 12:02-12:23 5 46- 6:26 6 Fn 12:44- 1:08 6:23- 7:24 7 Sal 1:32- 1:56 7:13- 8:34 8 Sun 2:28- 2:52 8:22- 9 40 9 Mon 3:37— 4 00 9:32-10 :» 10 Tue 4:46- 5:05 10:31-11:28 11 Wed 5:48- 6:04 11:2812 Thu 6 40- 6 56 12:19-12:21 13 Fn 7:26- 7:42 1:04- 1 14 14 Sal 8:11-8:25 1:51-2:03 15 Sun 8:54- 9:09 2 36- 2:54 16 Mon 9:39- 9:55 3:18- 3:41 17 Tue 10 26-10 43 4:01- 4:29 18 Wed 11:17-11:38 4 45- 5:19 19 Thu —12:10 5 32- 6 15 20 Fn 12:34- 1:08 6 26- 7:21 21 Sat 1:35- 2:10 7:30- 8:33 22 Sun 2:42- 3:15 8 44- 9 42 23 Mon 3:54- 4:23 9:53-10:42 24 Tue 5:07- 5:29 10:54-11:36 25 Wed 6:06- 6:24 11:5©26 Thu 6:S3— 7:10 12:25-12:41 27 Fn 7:36- 7:51 1 09- 1:27 28 Sal 8:14- 8:27 1:50- 2 12 29 Sun 8:47- 9 02 2 27- 2:52 30 Mon 9:20- 9:38 3:03- 3:29 XMumaauMBMmM— MM i

CORRECTION TIMES Compute approximate times of hlfh k low water for your area by addinf or subtractinc the following number of minutes for each tide phase in the Tide Table LOW HIGH J Great Egg Harbor Inlet ' Plus 12 pluslO , Ocean City ( 9th St. Bndge i plus 35 plus 22 Corson Inlet (bridge) 6 plus 21 plus 7 Sea Ule City (Ludlam Thoro Bndge ) plus 66 plus 43 Sea Isle City Beach minus 2 minus 21 Townsend Inlet plus 21 plus 4 Seven Mile Beach plus 15 0 Stone Harbor (Great Channel Bridge < plus 43 plus 40 Hereford Inlet (Anglesea) plus 19 0 Wildwood Beach Minus 2 minus 17 West Wildwood (Grassy Channel bndge i plus 46 plus 43 Cape May Harbor plus I minus 4 Five Fathom Bank J plus 11 plus 1 Cape May Point plus 46 plus 34 McCne Shoal i plus 28 plus 22 Delaware Bay Bay shore Channel <Bay-Canal Junction' plus 47 plus 36 Miami Beach plus 75 plus 61 Dennis Creek Entrance plus 114 plus 97 Brand ywine Shoal Light plus 77 plus 52 V

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