<b>Pennsville</b>

The population of flounder swam farther south than some weeks ago, migrating toward the ocean, but plenty remained in the bay, said Wade from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Weakfishing seemed spotty because some anglers would limit out on the fish to 20 inches, and others would hook a few spike throwbacks. Fishing on the Delaware River near the shop remained about the same as all summer, typical for the time of the year, giving up catfish, white perch and schoolie striped bass. But spots and croakers appeared in the river lately. No blues roamed the river, but if rains that dump in freshwater hold off, blues should move up from the bay. Commercial crabbing took a turn for the worse for unknown reasons, but whether that meant recreational crabbing slowed was unknown. A few shedder crabs, not a ton, are stocked, and call ahead to order them. Fresh bunker is on hand when available, and bloodworms and frozen baits are carried.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Customers on a trip last week boated seven keeper weakfish, a few snapper blues and some spots near the 1 buoy, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. She guessed that flounder still swam the bay, but the weather kept anglers from fishing, and nobody mentioned specific catches of the flatties. Fishing news was scarce in general. Anglers wanted to take a last shot at flounder before the season for them closes on Saturday, if the winds would ever stop. The weather was breezy around the shop in the last days. Nobody mentioned finding croakers except a stray bagged here or there. Or nobody ran across a large population of the hardheads. The supply of live shedder crabs, a favorite weakfish bait, was hit or miss, carried at the shop when available. But frozen shedders are stocked, and so are bloodworms and minnows. Fresh bunker is usually on hand, and fresh clams, a great bait for many fish, arrive on Thursdays. The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and it’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats.

<b>Newport</b>

<b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b> closed Friday because of the storm and was “essentially closed” on Saturday, Linda said. But one person showed up for crabbing on Saturday, nailing seven-eighths of a bushel. Crabbing wasn’t bad, was fairly good, afterward. The blueclaws could likely shed on the full moon Thursday, and crabbing usually slows down around the full moon, because the crabs will refuse to eat when shedding. Full and new moons often trigger sheds, but not always, and not all crabs shed at once, so some can always be caught. Crabs are now some of the biggest sizes all season, because they’ve shed and grown since spring. When the weather begins to become cold, they’ll move to the bay to burrow in the bottom to spend the winter, a sort of hibernation. Many pregnant female crabs were currently around, typical of the time of the year, and crabbers should release them for the future population. Pregnant females have a purplish bottom that changes shape. They’ll eventually have a “sponge” in November or December. The mature females become pregnant all at once during this time of the year, and they carry their young for quite some time, including through the “sponge” period. Beaver Dam actually encourages crabbers to release all females, no matter whether they’re pregnant, for the future population. Customers at Beaver Dam crab at Oranokin Creek that runs along the property. They get towed up the creek in rental boats, and the staff checks on them every hour. But if the rental boaters want a break in the meantime, they simply cell phone the shop, and the staff picks them up. Kayaks and canoes are also available to rent for sightseeing on the creek. Beaver Dam will be open for crabbing through October 4, because haunted creek rides will begin October 8, lasting through Halloween. Beaver Dam is providing applications for the lottery for fall turkey hunting permits until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday and is a licensed agent for fishing, hunting and other outdoor licenses. Fill out the turkey application now for the best chance at claiming a permit to hunt. Only leftover permits will be up for grabs afterward. The shop is also a turkey and deer check-in station, including for fall bow deer season, starting soon. Beaver Dam carries everything needed for a day of crabbing, including all different types of traps, hand lines, nets, bait, bug spray, suntan lotion, drinks and snacks. The shop is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Customers should call ahead to reserve rental boats, kayaks and canoes to ensure they’re available. Beaver Dam is available to host groups like scouts for nature education. A gazebo with a grill is available for events like birthday parties and family reunions.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Flounder trips fished just about every day, despite storms, and catches went well on some days and were slower on others, but weren’t bad overall, said Capt. Howard from the <b>Salt Talk</b>. Sixteen keepers were boated on Sunday, one of the better days. Sizeable flatties like a 4.7-pounder on Sunday, a 4.9-pounder on Saturday and another 4.7-pounder on Wednesday were sometimes clocked. But the fishing was day to day without apparent reason. Like whether the right spot or something else was the difference was impossible to say. Trips generally fished from the Fortescue Rips to the shipping channel as far south as Miah Maul, looking for the day’s best bite. Bluefish were sometimes mixed in. No croakers or weakfish turned up, but trips didn’t target them. Open-boat trips are flounder fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday, the last day of the flounder season. But always call ahead to confirm that no charter is fishing instead. After flounder season, trips will chase whatever fishing’s best, like for weaks, croakers or spots.

Fishing for flounder tugged up an all-right catch with two anglers aboard the <b>Buccaneer</b> last Tuesday, “a nice day” on the flatties, Capt. Ralph said. A trip slated for Saturday or sometime next week will target weakfish or croakers, because flounder season will be closed by then. South of the number 1 buoy sounded like a good place for weakfishing, and Ralph heard about a catch of the trout at the wreck buoy. But nobody talked about creaming large numbers of weaks. Croakers were around.

Boaters cranked in weakfish at the 6 buoy and the 1 buoy, but a fair number of the fish seemed to start coming from around the 1, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Many anglers seemed to start looking for weaks more than flounder, but plenty of flounder carpeted the bay. Many bought shedder crabs for weakfish bait more than minnows for flounder, and maybe they were simply tired of flounder or eager to jump on something new or the trout. Deeper waters or along the shipping channel gave up the better flounder fishing, and more of the fish seemed to gather a little south toward Miah Maul around the channel. Lots of croakers and spots schooled along the first drop-off near Fortescue. Surf anglers at Fortescue beached spots and blues while fishing with bloodworms, crab or mullet. White perch fishing served up decent catches in the creeks, and crabs flooded the creeks, including Fortescue Creek. Shedder crabs were becoming less and less available for bait, and the supply will probably dry up in a week or two. Shedders are stocked, and the shop had no problem keeping up with demand so far, but anglers should call ahead to order them. Plenty of frozen shedders are stocked, and so are minnows and the full array of frozen baits.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Boating was a washout for customers at <b>Longreach Marina</b> on Saturday because of the storm, but not a bad crowd showed up Sunday in better weather, Pat said. Weakfish were reeled up at the number 1 buoy and Miah Maul, and flounder were taken from the 1, the Maul and near the E.P. Tower. Shedder crabs were unavailable for weakfish bait, but customers used small hooks to catch spots in the bay for bait, because weaks love spots. Minnows and frozen baits including spearing and mackerel are stocked. Anglers and their catches included: Bill Garren and Scott Mitchell, nine flounder, four weaks and two croakers; Jack Felton, Philly, six weaks, four flounder and three spots; Bob Brown, Gloucester, five weaks, three flounder and two blues; Bob Hills, Gibbstown, 15 spots, 10 blues and three weaks; Brian Smurlo, Voorhees, two big flounder; and Jim Tistoe, Franklin Township, one large flounder.

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