Canadian Geese have been flying overhead all week. It's funny how that coinsides with the arrival of Fall Striped Bass. I am not implying that they are catching tons of fish, but that there were quite a few keepers caught this week. Most of the anglers have been concentrating their efforts in the area of 120 marker buoy in the inland waterway and along the banks between Big Sheepshead Creek and Little Sheepshead Creek, ocean side. Most of the fish were caught on live eels, but enough requests were made for small live bunkers this week that I set up a tank and stocked little bunkers. Bunker can be fished on the same type of rig that you would use when fishing live eels for bait. You can either put the Bunker on the hook by passing the hook through the eye sockets staying real high in the cavity preventing too much damage and keeping the bunker as active as possible or pass the hook through the main body just forward of the dorsal fin. When fishing small live bunkers, it is not necessary to wait for the Stripers to run with the bait. Set the hook as soon as possible. Other anglers have also added Bloodworms to their bait arsenal. It's necessary to give the Stripers a choice of baits, because many times they can be finicky eaters.

Fluke are still being caught on the ocean. The windy conditions kept most anglers from really giving it a try today, though. Of the few reports I have received this week, 60+ feet of water was the minimum depth that proved to be good fishing. The Garden State South Reef sight produced another 8 pound 8 ounce Flattie caught by Capt. Dave Koehler aboard the Krusher II Charter boat. Squid and minnows on a top and bottom rig are still the way to go.

Weakfish are still hanging out in front of Wreck Inlet/Brigantine Inlet. Some anglers had the fish shortly after heading down the beach from Little Egg Inlet. Eighteen to twenty five feet of water is where the Weakies have seem to be hanging in the past few weeks. Long thin cuts of squid baited on a top and bottom rig weighted with a 4 to 6 ounce diamond jig or hopkins will catch these fish for you.

I really don't have a current Kingfish report from this week, but before all the wind, the Orange ball area on the North West side of the Fish Factory in Great Bay still gave up a decent catch on the incoming tide.

Crabbing is still active. It seems like there is a lot of smaller but keeper size crabs still around. If crabbing is your thing, it surely will be a pleasure this weekend with the cooler weather eliminating all the bugs.