Atlantic City's Eloy Otero holds the 57.2-pound striped bass

Atlantic City's Eloy Otero holds the 57.2-pound striped bass that he caught Sunday in the back bay of Atlantic City.

Catino earns the Best Catch Division prize of a $100 gift certificate from The Press Fishing Contest presenting sponsor TackleDirect.

Catino's catch blew away the old record of 17 pounds, 3 ounces caught in 2003 by Paul Lowe in Manahawkin Bay. Catino was fishing in the back bay from the public fishing park at the Longport Police Station on Oct. 14.

Ray Scott's Dock in Margate certified it. It measured 29 inches in length with a 24 inch girth.

This is the first year for the Best Catch category, and it was a super way to launch it.

The story had another aspect to it: Catino lost his job at the Revel and used the time to get back into fishing.

Another first for The Press Fishing Contest, is the launch of a Catch and Release division. To promote the release particularly of bigger fish, two $50 prizes were established.

They go to Sharon Bigwood of Woolwich Township for a 50-inch black drumfish that weighed more than 50 pounds on May 18, and Ryan Sherwood of Manahawkin with a 48.5-inch striped bass on June 6.

We had a couple of other entries. Catch and release is a growing trend among anglers, so this division is a work in progress and should grow in scope.

The Press Fishing Contest also promotes youth in fishing. This year we had two prizes in both Youth Freshwater and Youth Saltwater. And since we had only two kingfish entries, which reflected the way the season went, and both by a 14-year-old, we had five youth winners.

Ryan Ferdinand of Merchantville fishes from the Avalon Fishing Pier and the Avalon back bays a lot. He had an outstanding year with other entries including 4.5- and 3.66- pound summer flounder and a 1.08-pound bluefish. The kingfish weighed .86 and .49 pounds. All of those were registered at Avalon Hodge-Podge.

Ferdinand is a freshman at Bishop Eustace Prep and a member of the Merchantville Fishing Club. He is on the Prep's robotics team, plays piano and searches the sand for sea glass.

T.J. Kepner II of Somers Point won a Youth Freshwater prize for the second straight year. The 6-year-old pulled a 3.91-pound largemouth bass out of his favorite fishing hole - Birch Grove Park in Northfield - weighed it at Brennan Marine in Somers Point and returned it to the water live. Kepner also entered a 3.52-pound large-mouth bass.

Nathan Mangold of Cologne topped the Youth Freshwater division with a 5-pound, 5-ounce large-mouth bass he caught June 25. Captain Howard's Bait and Tackle in Egg Harbor City weighed it. Nathan is a 10-year-old fifth grader at the Hess School in Mays Landing. In addition to his love of fishing, he is a hunter and plays the drums. He is also a an active camper and outdoorsman, and is a Cub Scout in Pack 254 in Mays Landing.

Dennis Cluff Jr. of Cape May is one of the Youth Saltwater champs with an 80.6-pound black drumfish. It was weighed at Jim's Bait and Tackle in Cape May. Robert Schlear of Lansdale, Pa., had a mahi that weighed 16.79 pounds when entered at Captain Andy's Margate Fishing Center on Aug. 21.

All of the winners receive store gift certificates presented by TackleDirect, located on Tilton Road in Egg Harbor Township, worth $50 in addition to the $100 Best Catch. The Press Fishing Contest ran from May 5 through Oct. 31 with 15 categories.

The complete winners list appears on Page A4 of today's Press. And we will have more details on the initial Catch and Release, other notable contest catches and a season retrospective in Shep on Fishing columns over the next few weeks.

57.2-pound striper

Just because it is colder, it does not mean the fishing season is over.

Eloy Otero of Atlantic City got the buzz going again when he hauled a 57.2-pound striped bass out of Absecon Inlet back by Harrah's Atlantic City on Sunday night. He put in his time that day, starting at 2:30 p.m. and hooking up with the big bass at 7:30. He took it to Noel Felicianoat One-Stop Bait and Tackle in Atlantic City on Monday morning. Noel entered it into the Jersey Shore Beach N Boat Fishing Tournament, and it took the lead for a $3,000 first-place prize. That contest continues to the end of the month.

Feliciano is running a 48-hour Striper Happy Hour that began 4 p.m. Friday and runs to 4 p.m. Sunday for surfcasters on the beaches of Atlantic City. There is no fee to sign up at One-Stop and at Ducktown Tavern in A.C. The top prize is $300 for the heaviest fish. The contest wraps up with the "happy hour" at Ducktown Tavern in A.C. after the weigh-ins at One-Stop. Feliciano said he had more than 125 signups by Friday afternoon.

According to a report from Jim Hutchinson Sr. and the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association, stripers have moved down to off of Long Beach Island. One of the BHCFA captains, Gary Dugan of Irish Jig Sportfishing, had a crew of three limit out with the biggest weighing 30 pounds.

Blackfish and sea bass are also on the menu for South Jersey boat captains and crews.

Mike O'Neill had a crew of rugged fishermen fishing for tog inshore and then inside the three-mile limit for striper on Friday. He said conditions were rough. They picked up 10 keeper and 20 throwback tautog and were setting up inside to try for striper when I called midday. He runs the Stray Cat charter/open boat out of Seaview Harbor. He had 12-foot seas at one point, but said the winds dropped to 20 knots.

The Atlantic Star partyboat with Capt. Jim Cicchitti had two 10-hour offshore sea bass trips recently that resulted in limits for all 45 on board each trip. Some of the sea bass hit and topped the 3-pound mark. The Atlantic Star sails from Wildwood Crest.

It looks like all we need is a decent break in the weather for the fall season to get cranked up.