It was over half a century ago, but one of my fondest fishing memories occurred on a Halloween night.

I was making good will calls on New England tackle shops for Garcia, and left Cape Cod during a surprise snowy northeaster– heading west for some R.I. calls on my way home to Long Island. A cold northwest front roared in on the way and cleared everything up, leading to a decision to fish at Charlestown Breachway that evening.

I had only fished there once before when the regulars told the young stranger that I’d have to wait my turn to cast into the outgoing water at the breachway mouth in order to avoid tangles. Thus, when my turn came, I cast across the narrow opening and retrieved my plug so it would pass through the school striper “feeding station” where bait was heading out to sea. There was little action that night, but I was anxious to try it again.

Checking the tide table revealed the outgoing tide would conveniently start after dinner, so I went to my motel room and donned layers of clothing to guard against that cold wind. Upon arriving at the parking lot. I was pleased to see very few vehicles before walking out the path to the opening. There wasn’t an angler in sight, and I understood why as water was pouring into the breachway. I had forgotten that the outgoing tide doesn’t turn out for about three hours after it starts falling!

I started heading back to my car along the path when I looked to the east and saw big waves left over from the northeaster racing toward the surf before being “stood up” by the northwest wind that created white water in depths well offshore of the beach. I was a very inexperienced surfcaster at that time, but that situation looked good to me and I decided to make a couple of casts before returning to the motel.

There was no problem in making a long cast with 20-pound mono, and the full moon was so brilliant that it was more like daylight than dark. I watched the swimming motion of my Junior Atom plug — and then saw a sight that’s forever locked into my memory as a seemingly huge striped bass rose up behind it and sucked the lure in without any hesitation!

I had the shore fishing fish of my dreams hooked. but then surveyed my situation. Though I was at one of the most popular spots in Rhode Island, I was all alone as the regulars wouldn’t be showing up for the outflowing water for three hours. I hadn’t brought a gaff since there would be lots of them at the Breachway among the pros fishing there. Below me there was a steep drop covered with large rocks which I wasn’t about to attempt, especially with a rod in hand. There didn’t seem to be any way I could land my prize.

Then, as if God had answered my prayers, I heard –“I’LL GAFF THAT FISH FOR YOU”.

It wasn’t God, but unbeknownst to me there was an angler, fishing a live eel, tucked out of the wind at the base of the water line below my location.

That’s exactly what he did, and I was able to get close enough to grab the end of his gaff handle with which to drag my trophy up to the path.

Going back to casting, I hooked another large bass that was landed in the same manner. I was almost relived when the only other hit was from a schoolie that shook off.

Though well satisfied with what I had caught, I woke up at the motel in time to check what the regulars had done at the Breachway. Though the water was pouring out and conditions were perfect, nothing was being caught. I had enjoyed the Halloween of my life only because I had miscalculated and then was able to improvise!

At Sea Isle Tackle in Freeport later that morning, Ron Fuerhing put those bass on his scale where they weighed 34 and 38 pounds. A big thrill for an angler who hadn’t caught anything larger than a schoolie from shore before.

NY/NJ Bight boat fishing for stripers could hardly be any better. Capt. Ron Santee said bass came up as soon as the tide turned this morning, and many fares on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had over 10 released bass. Top waters and shads worked fine.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported a fine striper bite with keepers outnumbering the overs. Bunkers and many types of lures all produced,

The NY/NJ Bight striper bite has been hot, and more boats are getting into it

At Belmar, both the Miss Belmar Princess at 6:30 a.m. and Royal Miss Belmar at 7:30 will be seeking stripers. The Golden Eagle reported “awesome” striper action during Capt. Greg’s first trip as bunkers, Flutter spoons, Crocs and shads all worked during an all-day bite of mostly bass too big to keep plus some smaller keepers.

Capt. Ron Santee got into mostly smaller stripers on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as everyone went home with fish. Top water plugs and shads proved most effective.

Capt. Vinny Vetere has been concentrating on trolling big bass with his TGT bunker spoons. and is adding afternoon rips with his Katfish out of Great Kills. Sunday morning’s trolling produced 22 bass up to 35 pounds.

The forecast is for southwest winds at 5-10 knots with morning showers likely.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. & Jr. were fishing with Chuck Many on his Tyman from Highlands last week when they placed a Sat Tag on a healthy striper that was given the name Berkeley in honor of the Berkeley Striper Club.

the one sure thing on even a marginal weekend during the fall striper run is that they’ll be plenty of boat traffic.

Capt. Ron Santee had to make many moves with only a pick of legal stripers before getting into some surfacing bass with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands after the change of tide and going into overtime to put a catch together. There was a high hook of seven, and the pool bass was 36 inches.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar found stripers on top when they started in the morning, but boat traffic kept putting them down. Some keeper stripers were caught — and “overs” released.

Winds move to the northwest tomorrow at just 5 knots, but patchy fog is predicted –which is very unusual when the wind is northwest .

Golden Eagle striper

It wasn’t the nicest of days, but that probably worked out best for Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. His report follows:”

Fished a New area this morning, took my customers out to the Snot and they were glad I did!

Found the Bass and they were Hungry, up to 35 pound fish that we had to toss back with everyone getting their keepers. All on Shads, large or small it didn’t matter.

Moved off to another area when that bite died and had fish busting on top along with the first Giant Blue fish of the season…Actually left the Blues and found the bass again.

Very good fishing up till the end of the tide, bite didn’t turn back on but it didn’t matter, everyone went home Happy!  Total opposite of yesterdays bite when the morning was picking here and there and the afternoon was on fire…go figure!

Can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow! Open boat, No Reservations Just come on down. Fare is $90.“

This is just the start of the migratory run, as Mike Monte got word from his Nantucket home that an unusual abundance of bunkers there is holding quantities of big bluefish plus 35-inch stripers. Mike says those blues will probably head out into the Atlantic, but the bass should be closer to shore as they head south.

Monte continues to struggle in the Monmouth County surf, and I got the same report from Vinny D’Anton. However, it’s early for that surf run as the water temperature is 62 degrees.

Northeast winds continue Sunday, but at only 5-10 knots with 2-4-foot seas.

The offshore tuna bite continues to be great when boaters are able to get out. Capt. Mark De Blasio reported his last trip with Blue Runner produced a 300-pound, 78-inch bigeye tuna, while another broke a rod after an hour-long battle. A limit of yellowfins was added.

Hans Kaspersetz with a bigeye on End Game.

Capt. Jim Freda took friends out on Shore Catch for a couple of hours one afternoon and didn’t find the bunkers he was looking for off Manasquan Inlet. He switched to the dependable Tony Maja bunker spoon and soon broke the ice!

Joe Lambarski caught this 7 1/2-pound red drum on an SP Minnow this week at Island Beach State Park. It was nothing like the 40-pound “channel bass” that frequented the central NJ surf during the fall a century ago, but the first northern red drum I’ve heard of so far this year.

NOAA Fisheries has warned NJ anglers that they should learn how to fish for red drum as climate change was going to push them north in warmer waters. Yet, 100 years ago anglers from all over the country were flocking to the Jersey Shore to catch the biggest channel bass which were the primary large inshore game fish of that time. Instead, we’ve seen cold water seals and whales moving south to New Jersey while red drum remain a rarity above southern Jersey.

Today’s northeast blow resulted in some party boats cancelling trips, but Capt. Ron Santee figured it was going to be fishable with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands and filed the following report: “

Found some life in the AM and managed a pick on the Bass….Fish were in shallow water so the bite was tough. Knew we had a couple hours before the change of tide so I did some searching.

Couple patches started to show at the change but not a good bite…Took a ride and found some life, started to Run & Gun slugging away. Once the boats came around the bite went to hell so we went in search mode one last time.

Found the Mother load of fish busting on top. Some big girls in the mix with a couple 35 pound babies going back. Tyler lead the way with more than a dozen fish. Pool fish went 36 inches. Patience paid off once again as I told all the guys, never quit!!!“

The Golden Eagle from Belmar will be sailing early for stripers at 6:30 a.m.

Small craft warnings are through late tonight, but the morning forecast is for the northeast winds to be down to 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 and 3-5-foot seas.

Vessel Speed Restrictions Will Cripple Coastal Communities, Fail to Protect Right Whales Recreational fishing and boating community cites flaws in Right Whale protection proposals  Earlier this month, the leading organizations representing recreational fishing and boating in the United States urged the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to pause its proposed North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule, citing numerous significant flaws with the proposal. The proposed rule would broaden the current 10-knot (11.5 mph) speed restriction to include vessels 35 feet and larger (down from 65 feet); expand the go-slow zones from discrete calving areas to essentially the whole Atlantic Coast out as far as 90 miles, and extend these zone restrictions as long as seven months a year. As America’s original conservationists, recreational anglers and boaters proactively support science-based efforts to conserve our marine ecosystems. In many cases, our industry has offered the constructive input that was ultimately used to develop management solutions that meet conservation goals and allow for the continued social and economic contributions our sector provides to the nation.While this proposed rule has been in development for more than a year, NOAA’s Office of Protected Resources did not conduct any formal engagement with stakeholders. A pause would allow time for additional analysis of significant flaws within the rule and potential new alternatives to be developed in collaboration with the recreational fishing and boating industry.“Protecting right whales is urgent, and we are ready to do our part. NMFS’ failed due diligence excluded from the conversation America’s recreational anglers and boaters – the most affected stakeholders. The agency needs to get it right,” said Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy. “Based on actual interactions between recreational boats and right whales, the proposed restrictions on vessels 35 – 65 feet are unjustifiable, ineffective and unnecessarily costly to America’s economy.”” While we all support the intention of this rule to protect right whales, by not consulting with the recreational fishing and boating community at any point during its development, NMFS has put forward a deeply flawed rule that will have severe economic impacts and provide little benefit to right whales,” said Glenn Hughes, president of the American Sportfishing Association. “The fact that the proposed rule fails to meet 6 of the 12 criteria NMFS is using to justify selecting this option is clear evidence that a pause is necessary.”“NOAA’s proposed rule unfortunately underestimates the very real economic impacts on the recreational boating and fishing industry, the largest contributor to the nation’s $689 billion outdoor recreation economy. The rule will bring the vast majority of boating and fishing trips along the Atlantic Coast to a screeching halt, impacting millions of Americans who go boating each year,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. “We urge the agency to pause its rule making process and engage with our industry to determine a better path forward that protects the North Atlantic right whale and the health of the recreational boating and fishing industry.”“Safeguarding our natural resources is always a priority of boaters, but it shouldn’t come at the risk of human safety. We believe the current proposed rule needs to be paused and redesigned,” said Chris Edmonston, president of the BoatUS Foundation. “We look forward to working with NMFS on boater education and more effective ways to avoid whale strikes because we strongly believe boats can safely operate and avoid whales.”Among the recreational fishing and boating community’s many concerns with the proposed rule, most notable are:An analysis of NMFS data found approximately 5.1 million recreational fishing trips were taken in this region by vessels 35 – 65 feet in length since 2008. Assuming all five right whale strikes during that time were from recreational vessels, and that all these vessels were on fishing trips, the chance of a 35 – 65 foot recreational vessel striking a right whale during an offshore fishing trip is at most 0.000098%, or less than one-in-a-million. Attempting to predict risk on a one-in-a-million chance of a vessel strike is simply not an effective management strategy and highlights the futility of expanding the Seasonal Speed Zones (SSZs) to address such a small possibility of vessel strike interactions. NMFS is using unrepresentative whale density values in their risk modelling, thereby creating a significant bias that may overestimate risk to whales from small vessel strikes. NMFS’ own technical memo states that, “the high densities predicted along the mid-Atlantic may not be realistic.”The model assumes 10-meter draft depth criteria when calculating vessel strike risk. However, recreational vessels in this size class rarely have a static draft that exceeds 2 meters. This also creates bias that may overestimate risk to whales from small vessel strikes.NMFS underestimates the number of recreational vessels that will be impacted by the proposed rule at 9,200 vessels. However, based on 2021 vessel registration data analyzed by Southwick Associates, there were more than 63,000 registered recreational saltwater vessels measuring 35 – 65 feet in states across the proposed SSZs. NMFS estimates the positive economic output from whale watching in the northeast at $95.1 million. In contrast, NMFS estimates $46.2 million in negative impacts for all vessel size classes and regions combined. It is difficult to understand how the economic benefits of whale watching operations in the northeast exceeds the proposed rule’s economic harm to all recreational vessels.Enforcement of the proposed rule using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) would be impractical and could lead to significant human safety risk. AIS is mandatory for certain vessels over 65 feet to improve the navigational safety of the vessel and other vessels operating in the area. AIS is not required on recreational vessels 35 – 65 feet although many boat owners voluntarily carry and operate AIS for the added safety-at-sea benefits. It is a very real concern that operators of boats less than 65 feet may decide to turn off their AIS systems in fear of triggering a speed restriction enforcement action. This would have the unfortunate consequence of reducing navigational safety, boater safety and hampering efforts during search-and-rescue operations.Vessel speed is a significant safety feature on a recreational boat. Most recreational boats lack high displacement hull design that often provides ocean-going and commercial vessel stability and the ability to operate safely in significant sea states. The 10-knot speed limit would force recreational boaters to operate in conditions that would compromise safety of the passengers and vessel.The organizations believe more exploration of technology that can deliver real-time monitoring of individual right whales is needed. It is feasible to gather real-time location information on a significant portion of the right whale population and disseminate information to mariners and other vessel operators, which would apply empirically-based, targeted precaution instead of excessively severe measures that do not accurately reflect actual risk nor can be adequately enforced. Developing ways to distribute this information to vessel operators will only occur through direct engagement with the industry and fishing and boating organizations.As part of pausing this rule, the organizations are calling on NMFS to work with the recreational fishing and boating community on more scientifically justifiable management solutions that are less severe and more effective options to protect right whales.The coalition of groups calling for NMFS to pause the Proposed North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule includes American Sportfishing Association, Boat Owners Association of the United States, Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, Center for Sportfishing Policy, Coastal Conservation Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, International Game Fish Association, Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, National Marine Manufacturers Association, Recreational Fishing Alliance and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Great advice from Dave Lilly: “Was out yesterday foggy as hell ! Fish were on top . Trick was shut down engines and listen . You could hear the birds working when all was dead still and quiet and sneak into them . You didnt hear birds ? run a mile shut down and listen again ! you darn sure couldnt see them ! once found was very easy fishing . just flip a Maja casting mojo into the mix and game on . lotta fish in the 15 to 25 lb class . left them biting and all alone in the pea soup . fishing in the fog ? run less listen more !  “Fog was no problem today. The Golden Eagle from Belmar got out early to find bunkers and big bass on top with many keepers plus overs. However, they are cancelling tomorrow due to the forecast A small craft warning goes up at 11 a.m. through the evening. Northeast winds on Friday will be 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25. Capt. Ron Santee did well in the last northeast blow, and will be sailing Friday with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. He had to wait for the tide change before stripers came up. Some fares caught five to seven in the 28-32-inch class with a 35-inch pool winner. The surf news wasn’t as good. Allen Riley fished Sandy Hook from the entrance to D Beach with no hits — and got the same reports from others as they watched boaters catching bass n bunker schools that never came in. Mike Monte has been back from Nantucket for five days of plugging the Monmouth County surf without a bass. There have been some rainfish in the surf, but only hickory shad have been attracted so far.

Fog the last couple of days has been a problem for most boaters, though some have appreciated the lack of visibility when they got into stripers. The wind shift to northwest should clear things up as 10-15 knot winds with gusts to 20 are forecasted.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle reported a good day with many keepers while also releasing bass over the size limit. They sail again at 6:30 a.m.

Capt. Ron Santee will be glad to see the fog gone as it’s been a problem on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. His fares came up with a dozen keeper stripers today with a high hook of four. At one time there were bass on top around the boat. but few hit the variety of lures cast to them. They were feeding on peanut bunkers. and smaller shads and Crippled Herring worked best.

Capt. Frank Masseria said he had a hot bite on shads in Tuesday’s fog on Vitamin Sea from Keyport. He has openings on Saturday and Monday mornings.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. and Jr. were tagging large stripers Tuesday with Chuck Many on Tyman out of Highlands.

There were mixed reports on striper fishing today from NY/NJ Bight

Jim Hutchinson Sr, and Jr., along with Cesar Carranza had no problem putting Grey Fish Tags into big bass off the Monmouth County shore while fishing with Chuck Many on his Tyman from Highlands. Andreas Toy was into a hot bite on poppers for Cary Busick and his son. Yet, Capt. Ron Santee sad he had a “painful” day on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as bait was hard to come by in dense fog and bites were few even when he got into surfacing bass. His anglers threw everything t them, but few responded. A 32-inch striper took the pool.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar got into many keepers plus some overs as a few fares caught two or three bass.

The forecast is for east winds at 5 knots with a dense fog warning to 11 a.m. when the wind shifts south.

Shimano rep Doug Rusch with a steelhead trout he caught recently on a

trip to Kispiox River in British Columbia

Most boat striper reports remain very good. Chuck Many reported from his Tyman out of Highlands that the bad news was that the ocean was nasty — but the good news was that big stripers were blasting his eels. After releasing many bass, they tried to come in early but ran into striper schools on top that were all over swimming plugs cast to them.

Capt. Ron Santee said he had a dismal start to seeking stripers on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands Yet, after 4 1/2 hours of looking, he finally located a willing school that produced bass for almost everyone — with a high hook of six.

Capt. Frank Masseria reported a tougher Sunday of striper fishing, but was back to his usual boat limits on Monday with Vitamin Sea from Keyport. He has availability Saturday morning and afternoon. Call 917 439-6448.

Tuesday’s forecast is for east winds at an ideal 5-10 knots with patchy drizzle.

It appears that the northeast wind forecast cut back on fishing activity today because there was a lack of reports. Even the Big Mohaw from Belmar had cancelled, but Capt. Ron Santee went “Fishing in the snot” with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands.

Santee started in more protected waters, and had a few keeper stripers before dealing with the wind on a rough ocean. Fortunately, his anglers got into lots of big bass up to 40 pounds.

A small craft advisory remains up tonight for NE gusts to 30 knots. Fortunately, the morning starts better with the same wind direction, but at only 5-10 knots plus morning rain.