by The best may be yet to come for anglers entered in the Fisherman magazine Dream Boat Challenge. October is a prime time for several species involved in that contest which is open to subscribers and extends to Nov. 15.
As of the Sept. issue, Rashawn Williams was leading for the rigged Steiger Craft 21 center console with 150-hp Yamaha with 17 points earned with entries of a winning 13.06-pound fluke and a fourth-place 2.41-pound porgy. However there were no entries at all for bluefish and blackfish.
That will change in October when party boats start making trips to far offshore wrecks where sea bass over the 4-pound minimum should be abundant while tautog exceeding 7 pounds are a target inshore.
Bluefish used to be biggest in the fall, but when a spring run of 15-pounders developed the minimum was increased to 15 pounds. However, the huge spring blues have stopped appearing.
Blues in the teens should be available on the sea bass wrecks, but the 15 pound minimum may be a problem. Those wrecks also often have plenty of porgies over the 2-pound minimum. Surprisingly, they occasionally produce weakfish well over the minimum of 5 pounds.
There are lots of fishing tackle prizes for all of the species, and the overall second place prize is a trip to Tropic Star Lodge in Panama.
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The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported mostly fussy bluefish ranging from 2 to 10 pounds yesterday as both plain and tailed diamond jigs worked and a few anglers limited.
The marine forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for northeast winds at 20-25 knots before dropping to 10-15 in the afternoon. Seas may range up to 13 feet, and there’s a small craft advisory up through Wednesday.
Tight Lines 
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