Hillyer's Tackle

Ed at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle said he heard of good fishing from customers who had been catching blackfish, striped bass, false albacore and squid. Early season fall togging was off to a pretty typical start. His customers caught plenty of fish though, they had to weed through lots of shorts on their way to fill a three fish limit. Jigs have been popular with customers in shallow water and this season has been no different. Striper fishing has been good for those customers he’s talked to that have focused on it. There are fish around the mouths of the major rivers, points and reefs throughout the region and they can be caught a variety of ways. Pods of albies are still cruising through the bay and beyond to both the west and east at least, for the time being. Other customers were in to buy squid jigs to take over to the mouth of the Thames River where the nighttime squid bite was reportedly very good. Ed says as we move in to November, the list of species local anglers are focused on will narrow. Blackfish will become the top priority for the majority of his clientele, though good fishing for striped bass should still be on the table as well. He said as the water cools, heading to deeper reefs and rock complexes will be the move if you’re looking to stay on top of the tog. If you find yourself fishing during times of heavy wind or current, it’s a good idea to be prepared with heavier lead and rigs as the light jigs of the early season have less times of the tide to shine. They will be open right through the end of the tog season.

Ed at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle said it had been a wild weekend at the shop with the blackfish fall season opener taking center stage. Folks were in to buy crabs, rigs, jigs, lead and just about any kind of tackle used to tame tasty tog and from the amount of folks that came through, it must have been busy on the water. Early returns from customers indicated fishing was good and Ed always encourages folks to fish as shallow as they can to start the season. The shop special jig, four for $10, has been a winner with customers reporting that they were very effective in lighter weights in the skinny water. Other than blackfish, striped bass seems to be the other bite folks are focused on. There is a well-known bite going at The Gut where anglers dropping three-way rigs are catching a mix of bass and bluefish of various sizes. Most of the bass seem to be over the slot size and the blues range from harbor to gators. Other boaters have been chasing bird and catching stripers ranging from schoolies to over slot sized. Bottom fishing for both scup and sea bass is still solid and should get better for a couple of more weeks.