Posted on October 31, 2019October 31, 2019 Scales n Tales found Raritan Bay stripers Capt. Erwin Heinrich  faced difficult conditions with his Scales n Tales from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands this morning as light fog made it hard to spot bird action. Jim Hutchinson Jr. and John De Bona of the Fisherman, Jerry Gomber of Folsom Fishing Tackle and  I were intent on casting and jigging for stripers even though trollers were doing best on the scattered bait and fish marks. It took lots of moves before Erwin found some birds diving on surfacing fish in the west of bay. It wasn’t easy fishing, but we hooked up during the few shots on the surface while also scoring  by casting Tsunami Shads blind in the area. Though the volume wasn’t great, almost all the bass were of legal size. I spent some time fighting a 46-incher that hit a 5 1/2-inch weighted Tsunami Shad on a 7-foot Tsunami Maxell  Platinum rod with a Tsunami Saltx spinning reel.  Erwin revived that bass alongside after the long fight before it started biting down on his hand took off with a slap of her tail. Gomber later caught a bass almost as large — and also caught others on a popper and a Tsunami Sand Eel. Erwin can be contacted at 908 477-7537   Capt. Vinny Vetere fished his Katfish from Great Kills even further back in the bay, and had steady action trolling with his bunker spoons producing best. Unfortunately, the weather is turning on us, with small craft warnings up tonight before going to a gale warning tomorrow night. South winds at 15-20 knots start tomorrow before going to 20-25 with gusts to 30 in the afternoon. Showers and fog are other morning conditions. Below is a shot by Jim Hutchinson of my 46-incher before release.