Striper action really kicked into gear the past few days. What's likey a fresh batch of bass has been working over scads of sandeels schooled up at the Bay mouth. Anglers report stripers coughing up sandeels when brought aboard, with stomachs stuffed full of the slender lances. Several flounder were caught with stripers, and the flatties had bellies packed with sandeels too. Captain Ted on the Pirate King told me that when the current slacked up Tuesday, stripers pushed sandeels to the surface southeast of Overfalls, and bass were boiling on the baitfish. He instructed his customers to cast unweighted eels into the feeding frenzy, and they were immediately gobbled up by hungry rockfish. His group ended up with a boat limit of 20 big rock. Captain Brian's bassers aboard Lil' Angler II drifted eels in the Overfalls area late Tuesday afternoon to capture a limit of 10 quality keepers. Captain Brent's crew on Katydid trolled Stretch 25+ plugs to take home their limit of 14 linesiders to 25 pounds Tuesday. There was a good troll bite at 8B Buoy Tuesday morning. J.D. and Connie Miller, and John Whelen towed chartreuse Bomber CD25s there for a quick limit of 6 bass to 27.9 pounds. Dave Potter fished up the Bay a little ways at Brown Shoal both Monday and Tuesday, remarking that there were other boats around. Stripers were active there due to light traffic and pressure, and Dave's guys enjoyed good catching both trips. On Tuesday, they kept 7 fish to 39 inches and released several others while pulling Stretches. There were signs that things were about to bust loose at the end of last week. After a little shot of northeast wind, boaters were able to get back on the Bay Friday, and there seemed to be more fish around than in previous days. Keith Orendorf and the boys on Miss Five O found a school of stripers on structure south of Overfalls Friday, and proceeded to troll up their limit of 8 big beauties. Mike Trestka drifted spot at Overfalls Friday to take a 28.6 pounder. Tom Kirk was eeling at Overfalls Friday when he hooked a 27.6 pound rock. Bill McMahon braved marginal conditions on Overfalls Thursday, but ended up boating a 42.8 pound trophy using an eel. Tom Lobozzo used a jumbo spot to tempt a 41.5 pound whopper from 8B Buoy Friday. Bruce and Josh Buchalter, Alex Wartman and Jerry Wert chunked bunker near #2 Buoy for 3 bass to 20 pounds Friday. Just when things were shaping up, cold temps and strong winds shut down activity over the weekend. It was still quite chilly and breezy Monday morning, but diehard John Joe Kabino made his way out to the rips, where he had his hands full with hungry stripers. There were no other boats around, and fish pounced on his trolled Stretch plugs, even during slack water. John Joe said often he had two or three bass on at a time, and figured he'd caught 25! News of the wild bite was welcomed by other anxious anglers after the windy weekend. As noted earlier in the report, many fishermen got out Monday and Tuesday to take advantage of the fish that are here now. Another front blew in Wednesday, and it's still crankin' 20 knots out of the WNW as I'm writing this Thanksgiving morning. But, good weather is forecasted for Friday through Monday, and with the word out, the Bay mouth will be a busy place! It might be beneficial to check out lumps and rips where there's not as much boat traffic. Jig fishing should be good with all the sandeels around. Diamond jigs mimic sandeels, and tube tailed AVA 27 or 47 models are favorite choices. Soft plastic imitations by Storm or Savagear should be effective, as should jerk shad or Slug-Go style plastics, with their slim profile. A sandeel-like teaser fly on a dropper rigged ahead of a bucktail should get a look from stripers too. The annual Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament ended up November 26th, and here are the final standings. Evan Falgowski finished First with his 47.2 pound bruiser bass. Brian Seglem secured Second with a 41.6 pound slob. Tom Lobozzo landed a 41.5 pound lunker to wrap up Third. Congratulations, and of course, bragging rights, go to the winners, and many thanks to all who competed. Striped bass have been getting most of the attention, but tautog are still available too. A recent trip with Captain Pete aboard Top Fin produced a 30 tog limit for Mr. Chung and friends. Captain Carey's toggers on the Grizzly also returned with a limit of 30 keepers last Friday. There's plenty of fishing left this fall, so get out when you can to put some fillets in the freezer. They'll taste especially good this winter. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!