<b>Hudson River</b>

Striped bass, no huge ones but plenty, were pummeled on trips on the river from Saugerties on Friday and Saturday, said Capt. Chuck from <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b>. Then the fishing became poor on Sunday because of the heat wave, but should bounce back in a day or two. Sometimes a sudden change in the weather will sort of shock the fish, like it does people, he said. The days were almost too nice. But the linesiders should acclimate after a moment. A trip during the daytime Friday with John Schneider’s crew pounded 17 stripers to 28 pounds. Most were 18 to 20 pounds, no huge ones that are expected to migrate to the area. In the evening a 5-hour trip with another charter stuck about a dozen bass including some in the 20-pound range. A half-day charter on Saturday put the brakes on nine stripers, including a couple that weighed 22 to 23 pounds and four that weighed 18 to 20. The rest were smaller. On Sunday, after the warmth had settled in a day or two, only two stripers were caught the whole day with Chuck’s anglers. He knew nobody who scored well. His trips fished with live and chunked herring, and both seemed to work equally. Plenty of bait filled the river, and Chuck expects a good number of big bass to arrive, especially because the river failed to be affected by much runoff from snow pack this spring. The boat’s anglers fish for trophy stripers from Saugerties during the Hudson’s spring migration. The run is one of the biggest concentrations of large, mature breeders, one of the best chances to land stripers of a lifetime. Chuck’s been fishing the run 30 years, and targets the angling through the first week of June. The fish will still be around then, but catches will become less reliable. Angler Sportfishing held New York’s record in 2001 for the largest striper hooked on inland waters with a 54.6-pounder, Chuck said. That fish also tied the year’s record for the largest bass caught anywhere from the state, he said.

<b>Staten Island</b>

A winter flounder trip racked up 14 of the fish on Saturday with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. The fishing was slow, and Outcast will probably switch to striped bass trips. But if anglers want flounder, fishing for the flatties might still be offered. A few were around. A few stripers, including a keeper, were pelted on the flounder trip, and some rods were set out with clam baits for the linesiders. Outcast will also sail for sea bass this spring, probably starting the second or third week of May, when the fish usually arrive inshore, though last year they came in a little later. Catches hadn’t really started yet this year. Open-boat trips are available every Wednesday, because anglers kept requesting them, and space must be reserved. Special trips for parents with kids are also available, featuring a lower rate for the youngsters. Birthday trips for kids are also on tap. See Outcast’s Web site for details.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Peter Sinclair and son Paul jumped aboard a trip on Paul’s eleventh birthday on Saturday, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b> in an e-mail. They tried fishing for winter flounder at the Keyport Flats on the bay. Then they trolled for striped bass near the 19 can at Reach Channel, picking away at shorts and keepers. Next they clammed for stripers in the same area. Ten stripers—five keepers and five shorts—were landed by the end of the day, and the anglers released all but two.  The stripers were the first big fish they ever caught. Evening Tide is fishing seven days a week on charters and open-boat trips. 

<b>Keyport</b>

Crazy action should begin on the bay because of the warm weather, said Chris from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Besides striped bass that anglers should continue to hang, they might begin to run into a big drumfish or a monster, tiderunner weakfish. But if a large weak turns up, take a pic and release the fish, because the trout are spawners that could  especially use protection. Lots of the shop’s anglers said they nabbed stripers. Capt. Frank Brindley trolled 10 stripers to 15 ½ pounds at the Keyport Flats. Bill Bowser trolled the same area to catch bass to 14 pounds. Tommy Russo trolled around Reach Channel to dust up nine keepers, including a 29-1/2-pounder, the biggest of the past week at the shop, and two more that topped 20 pounds. Richard Glowcynski fished at Cliffwood Beach, banking a 40-inch 22-pounder. Joe Campone waffled a 24-pound striper at the Cliffwood rock wall. He also fought a fish for 45 minutes but never got to see what it was. The Aberdeen Fishing Tournament, a free contest, will take place 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and anglers can call the shop for info.  
   
<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

The <b>Atlantic Star</b> switched to bottom fishing instead of winter flounder fishing, and the bottom trips cleaned up on ling, a few blackfish and several whiting at Scotland, Capt. Tom said. The ling were healthy sized, and patrons went home with decent bags of fillets, and some scored better catches than others. A handful of the blackfish were keepers, and quite a few short blacks got hooked and released. Friday morning’s trip kept trying for flounder, after no trips got out Thursday. The vessel had been flounder fishing so far this season. On that morning the boat ran to the Cedars in the ocean off Sandy Hook, and no flounder showed up, but some ling did. So Tom moved to Scotland for bottom fishing, and a few sea bass and ling were picked. On the afternoon trip a couple of flounder were found at the Navy Pier, and a couple of more were located at Romer Shoal. On Saturday Tom decided to head straight to Scotland, and that paid off. The morning and afternoon trips on both days of the weekend bottom fished at Scotland with success. Trips will probably keep bottom fishing until switching to fluke when fluke season opens May 23, unless weather makes trips fish in the bay for flounder. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing for ling and blackfish on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Catches of striped bass were difficult in the past days, said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> in an e-mail. Today was no different, and weekend boat traffic couldn’t even be blamed, and the ocean was empty. Shorts and a couple of keepers were pumped in. 
 Not much bait was read, and although bass were marked at each spot fished, few were willing to eat. Sunday’s Magic Hour Trip put up the best catches since the end of the week, impressive keepers and plenty of shorts. Ron thought the action would’ve lasted as the downside of the new moon continued today. But he hoped tomorrow’s report would be better. Stripers bit from the get-go on Wednesday’s trip, good fishing. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and on Magic Hour Trips 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

A limit of six striped bass for three anglers got smoked on the bay Sunday on trolled Stretch plugs on the first trip of the season with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>, Capt. Brian said. The keepers weighed up to the high teens, quality fish, and probably eight shorts were released. The trip only fished 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. until the limit was hammered. The boat ran well, and everything was ready to roll. 

The bay’s striped bass fishing got better every day, and bluefish showed up in the waters, said Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> in an e-mail. The striper fishing started slowly last week with a finicky bite with the Hagel party aboard. But things began to perk up with an evening trip afterward with the Sanchez group. They boated bass to 35 inches, and one of the anglers limited out on three with a bonus tag. Bob then hosted a Take a Soldier Fishing Trip that lambasted stripers on an afternoon outing. Lieutenant Colonel Ken Tavares, Technical Sergeant Andy Silworth and Specialist First Class Kevin Moore from McGuire Air Force Base limited out on bass 32 to 39 inches, including bonus fish. Full-day, afternoon and evening striped bass trips are being booked.

Fishing for striped bass on the bay looted loads of the fish on trips Friday and Saturday but fell apart on a trip Sunday for no apparent reason, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Friday’s trip clammed maybe 25 or 30 bass including five keepers around 14 pounds apiece. Saturday’s trip clammed a limit of bass to 17 pounds. On Sunday the fishing was terrible, and clamming got not hits, so the anglers aboard started trolling. The only stripers hooked were trolled. Fisher Price is finished with winter flounder fishing and will concentrate on stripers. The linesiders will probably be mostly clammed until enough bunker show up, and then trips will fish live or chunked bunker. Bunker had been around but got scarce. Derek knew anglers who saw bunker schooling along the ocean front Sunday, and maybe south winds would push them into the bay. Derek is running open-boat trips whenever possible between charters and will try to offer open trips this Friday and Saturday. He’ll be able to confirm the schedule later this week. Call to climb aboard.

<b>Neptune</b>

Individual-reservation trips broke the inlet for blackfish Saturday and Sunday in great weather, and the catch was better on Saturday, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail. On Saturday half the patrons or three anglers caught a limit or more of the fish, keeping no more than their quota, and the rest of the patrons boated one to three. The angler who grabbed the biggest released the fish. Sea bass and a decent-sized flounder were in the mix, and lots of small tog kept things busy. On Sunday one angler limited out, and two first-time toggers swung a’ship two or three keepers apiece and are now hooked on tog. Many shorts chomped in the morning. One final individual-reservation blackfish trip will run 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, before the season closes. Capt. Ralph will scope out striped bass fishing Friday on a trip with his nephew and his nephew’s dad. Then he’ll schedule individual-reservation striper trips.   

<b>Belmar</b>

Here’s why it’s called fishing. After difficult angling for winter flounder on Shark River most of the season, and after the rest of the state this weekend reported an apparent, final downturn in the angling for the spring, Shark River’s flattie fishing heated up today. Catches were the best in some time, said John from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. A trip with Ed Klump socked 15 of the fish. The warm, clear spell seemed the difference, after the storms, cold and winds this season. The river’s flounder are usually the first in the state to migrate to the ocean, and in recent years, they had already left by now. Go figure! A few striped bass started to be claimed around the surf. A 31-1/2-incher was beached at Sea Girt, and some were picked up at Shark River Inlet. Blackfishing on the weekend seemed slower than before on the party boats. The shop’s rental boats are available to fish the river, and all the baits are stocked.

<b>Brielle</b>

Some anglers who winter-flounder fished said catches went badly, and others said the angling went well, and one customer loaded up on the fish in Barnegat Bay at the mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal, and one of the party boats targeted the flatties on the Manasquan River, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Difficult to know what to make of the fishing. But he heard about a couple of trips that plugged striped bass on the upper river, including on the wounded peanut bunker by Ocean Lures, Mambo Minnows, Bombers and so on. Stripers could start to be dragged from the surf any day, and few sharpies tried so far. Anglers farther north around Sandy Hook beat the fish. No bluefish seemed to migrate to local waters yet, and no anglers apparently landed weakfish, but gill netters picked up the trout. Good reports about bottom-fishing rolled in. Joe Nowak clobbered a 12-pound blackfish on his brother Rob’s boat the R&R. They also decked a few other keeper blacks and a dozen sizeable sea bass. Joe Vezzosi checked in a 9-pound blackfish. The <a href=" http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank">Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a>, spearheading the movement to prevent the summer flounder or fluke season from closing and from harsh bag limits that are essentially a closure, very much needs the continued support of anglers. See the fund’s Web site for details and how the fund is attempting to solve the crisis.

Charters should start fishing the migration of striped bass by mid May in the ocean, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b>. That’s when the run should begin in the local area, and the vessel’s anglers should then be able to snag bunker from schools of the menhaden and drop it back down for bait. Bottom-fishing for sea bass should also begin in May on the boat. Waters needed to warm to bring them in from the deep. Shark trips will fish in June, and tuna fishing, the main event on the Katie H, usually starts in July. At first the fish will attack on the troll during the daytime, and by late summer they’ll be willing to feed on bait in the dark on overnight trips. Make-up trips will be available for tuna in addition to charters. Don’t have enough anglers for a tuna charter? Call Mike, and he should be able to schedule a spot or more on a make-up trip. 

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Winter flounder fishing probably finished for the year with <b>Reel Class Charters</b>, Capt. Allen said. Catching the flatties became tough on trips on Manasquan River during the weekend, and the boat’s outings will now probably chase resident striped bass or go bottom fishing until the runs of migrating stripers and blues heat up. Still, flounder angling might rebound, and one never knows. The Paul Lukus charter on Saturday flounder fished on the river, ending up with five keepers, slow fishing, only a couple of brief flurries of action, one on the change of the tide and another on outgoing. On Sunday Steve Hamby’s charter picked up two flounder on the river. The anglers switched to striped bass fishing at the bridges. But  currents were too strong from the tides around the new moon. Reel Class sails on both charters and open-boat trips, and check the boat’s Web site for availability on the open outings.

Trips at the wrecks 25 to 50 miles offshore got back under way Friday through Sunday on the <b>Gambler</b>, Kara said. The boat was docked the previous week for maintenance. On Friday and Saturday, with Capt. John at the helm, action “wasn’t very fast,” she said, but a good number of cod, some pollock and big ling were boxed. Steve Morck from Normandy Beach wrestled up a 31-pound cod, three more that weighed 21 pounds, 10 pounds and 8 pounds and six big ling. The 31-pounder’s stomach held a 1-pound bergall and a cell phone! Barry Freisma and son Trevor caught eight cod and 12 ling between them. Capt. Bob was at the helm on another one of the trips Sunday when Kara gave this report, and the results were yet to come in.  The Gambler is fishing the wrecks 25 to 50 miles offshore for cod, pollock, ling, hake and maybe sea bass 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Trips for blackfish are sailing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. today through Wednesday, before blackfish season closes Friday. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 4/28:***</b> Check out a <a href=" http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/04/28/klekamp.cod.cell.news12nj
" target="_blank"> news story about  the cod that ate the cell phone</a>.

<b>Toms River</b>

Barnegat Bay’s winter flounder fishing is probably done for the year, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Customers tried hard for the fish at places like the BB and BI markers and Meyer’s Hole but picked one here, another there, not much. But Jeff from the shop said striped bass swam all over the place, including in the bay, the Toms River and the surf. Most anglers on the bay and along the surf dunked fresh clams, but some used fresh bunker. Bloodworms were popular on the river. Jeff tackled nine bass and a white perch on the river, and perch could be found in the waters. The perch he landed was fat and full of roe, so he released it. People kept saying they saw bluefish, like at Barnegat Inlet, but none said they caught them. He heard about no weakfish found, and waters were cold. All the baits including fresh clams and fresh bunker are stocked. 

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

The season’s first bluefish showed up on the boat’s catches, and striped bass could be hooked, said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. Fishing “was by no means stellar,” he said, but the warm weather should begin to turn that around. Huge schools of stripers and blues were sometimes marked on Barnegat Bay during the daytime, but getting them to strike was difficult.  Night owls could find a mess of stripers willing to pounce on artificials, worms or clams. Matter of right time, right place. One or two spots are available on an open-boat trip Friday for stripers and blues on the bay, and Steve is sure that the current warmth should get them active by then. Call to jump aboard.   

<b>Beach Haven</b>

The <b>Miss Beach Haven</b> left port on trips for the second weekend this season, and fishing was slow, but a few hefty sea bass and some blackfish were boated, Capt. Frank said. Sunday’s catch was better than Saturday’s, but on Saturday, Dave Agar hauled up a 12-pound blackfish to win the pool. According to the report on the boat’s Web site, the bottom-fishing on the previous weekend was a pick in rough weather on the boat, and the catch on the vessel definitely improved by this past Sunday, and the high hook bagged seven fish. The Miss Beach Haven is bottom fishing 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Charters are on tap for any species available during weekdays. 

<b>Mystic Island</b>

The first bluefish of the year, a 7-pounder, a long, skinny fish, was weighed in this morning at <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>, the report on the shop’s Web site. The angler clocked the fish and three more from 5 to 7 pounds at Pebble Beach around 8 p.m. Sunday, winning the store’s $100 gift certificate for checking in the first. The angler said a decent number of short stripers, no keepers that he saw, were angled in from Pebble at the time. The migration of blues traditionally scares away stripers around Pebble and Graveling Point, so don’t delay to get down there. But striper fishing will later turn on in the ocean, when the run of big breeders pours out of the rivers and bays, storming north along the coast. Striper fishing sounded off and on around Pebble and Graveling through the past days, according to the report, like with slower fishing during the weekend but catches at dusk the previous couple of days. One angler said he boated 10 stripers and a drumfish at Grassy Channel in 1 ½ hours on Saturday morning. Several people talked about drum hauled in lately. Weakfish should start to appear in Little Sheepshead Creek near Great Bay Boulevard, and none was reported caught so far. The season’s first blackfish usually start to show up in Great Bay when bluefish arrive. Get in the last licks at the tog before the blackfish season closes Friday.

<b>Brigantine</b>

At least 30 striped bass, mostly 25- to 30-inchers, were reported pulled from the surf Saturday, and a slew were creamed this morning, and the fishing in the past days was some of the best in some time, said the report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. A 15-pound 13-ouncer was the biggest weighed in since the weekend. Bunker will soon start to school along the coast, and then big bass should move through.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Lots of striped bass, many of them shorts, but a few keepers, were banked in the surf at the T-jetty, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Clams, bloodworms and fresh bunker drew them in. Tog, plenty of the blackfish, crunched green crabs around the T-jetty and near the Flagship. A reliable source said a few kingfish turned up, the first report about kings on this site this season. Bluefish started to be fought in the bay last week, but none was angled during the past days. Fishing was definitely on. “Finally!” Noel said. All the baits mentioned and more, a full supply, are stocked.  <b>***Update, 11 a.m.:***</b> Soon after Noel this morning gave the above report, a customer checked in a 15-1/2-pound weakfish that was ransacked from the T-jetty today! The trout was 36 inches long and 19 inches in girth and was the second tiderunner of the season to be reported on this site. One Stop also reported the first: a 6-1/2-pounder hauled from along the T-jetty last week. Those two were the only first-hand accounts of tiderunners so far this season.

<b>Longport</b>

“Gangbusters,” said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b>. He was talking about bottom-fishing on Friday’s and Saturday’s daily, open-boat trips. Sea bass couldn’t be kept off the hook, he said. “Heavy duty.” Big tog were also clobbered, including some 9-pounders, a 15-pounder and one that was bigger that wasn’t weighed. The boat fished deeper pieces 15 miles offshore in 51-degree waters. Fishing was 10 times better than last year, he said. The number of sea bass that migrated inshore was the big news. A couple of customers limited out. But tog season closes Friday, and the daily trips will keep chasing them through Thursday, though sea bass could be in the mix. Crabs for tog bait were almost gone for the season, but cooked shrimp caught the  heck out of the smaller, 14- to 16-inch slipperies. Call to get on deck for the open trips. In other news, Mike heard about no bluefish showing up, but he saw birds working the waters among porpoises 1 ½ miles off the bell buoy. Maybe blues were among them. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Back-bay fishing on Saturday served up a good catch, an okay day, with John Martin and Julio Rojas aboard, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Jersey Cape’s first weakfish of the season, a 2-pounder, was landed, and so was a 26-inch striped bass that was released. About 10 out-of-season summer flounder were also hooked and released. The flatties paved the bay, and Joe looked forward to the opening of the fluke season May 23. Space is available that day, and call to claim. The warm, shallow bay around Sea Isle attracts some of the season’s first flatties in the state. The early season is typically best for the fishing. The flounder on the trip preferred new-penny Gulp shrimp, unlike previously, when they mostly inhaled Bass Assassins. They seemed to want the scented Gulps this time. Fishing was totally different on a trip on the bay Sunday, though. Catches became very slow, for some reason. One thing different was that the heat wave increased surface water temps to 64 or 65 degrees. Maybe that affected the fish a moment. Bluefish should slam the bay any day. Joe always looks forward to the fierce fights, and his anglers have a blast fighting them on soft-plastic lures, popper plugs and flies. Blues will overshadow the bay’s striped bass fishing a few weeks until most of the blues depart for the ocean for summer. Striped bass were currently biting on the bay at specific times. None of Joe’s anglers in the past days could fish at the ideal times, but stripers were on tap during the right conditions. Jersey Cape tosses soft-plastics, flies or clams to the fish at this time of year.   Jersey Cape is offering after-work special trips on the back bay from 4 p.m. to dark, a great time to fish, when nobody else is on the waters, and action can be best. Convenient, too. Joe this season is also offering striper and drumfish charters on Delaware Bay on a 26-foot Regulator. His back-bay charters fish on his flats boat. Looking ahead, offshore charters will be on the menu in the coming months that will troll for tuna in the mornings and pitch live or dead baits or flies to mahi mahi later in the day. The blue-water fishing can be done on the Regulator or on a 42-foot Liberty, depending on the size of the group and the type of fishing, like whether a charter wants to fish with flies or conventional tackle.
 
<b>Wildwood</b>

Customers said they wrangled up plenty of striped bass from the North Wildwood surf and from the back bay near the bridges and dock lights, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. The shop is back open seven days a week for the season. Most of the bass were shorts, but a few were keepers. Clams claimed the bites in the suds. Excellent fishing for tog to 6 and 7 pounds was scored. She didn’t say where the fish came from, but probably anywhere from the ocean wrecks and reefs to the surf jetties to the back-waters like at the bridges, where the fish gather. Quality catches of sea bass were made at Cape May Reef and at the wrecks to 20 miles from shore. From Delaware Bay a few reports about drumfish that were copped began to filter in. Fresh clams will be available this weekend, and call to reserve. The shop’s annual penny-per-yard line sale is under way. Fill your spools for the beginning of the season at a great price. The new Hobie Pro Angler Kayak will arrive at the store this week, and stop by to check it out. Sterling Harbor is a kayak-fishing headquarters, featuring kayaks, all the accessories and expert advice. 

<b>Cape May</b>

A charter that was supposed to run for striped bass on Delaware Bay on the <b>First Cast</b> opted to sail for tog instead, because stripers became scarce, Capt. Rob said. So they bucketed tog on the bay on clams and green crabs. Both baits seemed to work equally. Tog season closes on Friday, and drumfish charters on the bay will be next on the vessel. A few of the boomers were reeled up, and boaters kept marking fish that appeared to be drum. The same thing happened last year: Marks were read, and the fish seemed to refuse to bite until they were ready, and then all mayhem broke loose, the best-ever drum season that anglers remembered. Rob also heard that people on a spotter plane saw drum entering the bay. Crews on the planes spot bunker schools. Dates are booking up for drum charters, but trips are available. Reserve to lock them in.

Striped bass moved up the Delaware River to spawn, and Delaware Bay anglers waited for them to return, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b>. He hoped combo striper/drumfish charters would be possible in a week or two. His first drum trip of the season will fish this weekend, and angling for the boomers should only get better around the full moon on May 8. Open-boat drum trips will be one of the next monthly specials on the boat. The specials get listed on <a href=" http://www.obethfishingcharters.com " target="_blank">O-Beth’s home page</a>. Bottom-fishing trips to the inshore wrecks should kick in around mid May, when sea bass should carpet the pieces. Waters needed to warm a little. Coming up, the best shark fishing usually goes down during the first three weeks of June. O-Beth loves sharking, and now is the time to reserve preferred dates. The numbers and sizes of sharks were good in recent years. Space is also available for overnight shark trips that will fish later in June. 

A limit of tog to 19 inches got knuckled in by the Superior Builders charter on the <b>Down Deep</b> on Saturday, Capt. Bob said. Anglers aboard will begin to hunt drumfish on Delaware Bay in about a week. Waters were cold, needed to warm a few degrees. The fish were marked, were there, but refused to bite. Openings remain for drum charters.

Kevin Driscoll’s party limited out on tog to 6 ½ or 7 pounds on Saturday on the Delaware side of Delaware Bay on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. They released about 15 throwbacks and fished with green crabs and clams. Both baits worked equally well. Delaware game wardens were out checking boats, and anglers should be aware that Delaware’s tog limit is three fish and a 15-inch minimum size, compared with four fish at 14 inches in Jersey. But Jersey’s tog season closes Friday. Fishing for drum on the bay will be next on the boat, and anglers on the bay wrestled in a few, not many, so far. Somebody said a crew on a spotter plane saw drum entering the bay. 

A two-person charter limited on blackfish to 19 inches on the ocean on Friday on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b>. They also released a bunch of shorts, and afterward tried for drum on Delaware Bay, sticking one that pulled the hook. Speaking of the bay, Tom’s eager for striped bass to return to the waters after spawning in the Delaware River. When they do come down, the majority will be large, around 20 and 30 pounds, big breeders. The run is relatively short but a chance for a trophy. Nobody can say when the bruisers will return, but anglers can call Tom to be kept in the loop about the time to hop on a trip. Getting back to tog, on Saturday morning five anglers aboard limited out on the blackfish, including two that weighed more than 9 pounds apiece, four that weighed between 8 and 9 pounds and more than a dozen that were 5 ½ to 7 pounds. About 20-some were released, around the same number of keepers. In the evening first-time toggers were aboard, beating eight keepers to 6 ½ pounds among 25 of the fish landed. Lots of big tog were around lately, although the season closes Friday. Tom’s thinking that sea bass should be thick on his deeper wrecks, because a few were pulled from shallower, 50- to 60-foot depths. The boat is available for the lumphead fishing. Bluefish charters should be possible by the weekend, and shark trips will launch around late May and early June. Anglers interested in tuna fishing shouldn’t count out the early season. Sometimes a bunch of the fish can be creamed in the first warm-water eddies that push in. Tom will keep an eye on the temperature charts,  jumping on the eddies as soon as they develop. If anglers want to be kept informed about the tuna, telephone Tom to be on the call list.

Delaware Bay was sometimes home to striped bass, but the fish refused to feed, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. A few lucky anglers convinced an occasional one to strike a clam or a swimming plug in the shallows. But surf fishing for stripers started to pick up. The suds at Poverty Beach produced shorts and a few keepers on Saturday, and high tide during the afternoon was best. More keepers and a couple of drumfish were dragged in then. Harry Renfield from Green Creek bagged an 8-pound bass and released four shorts that sucked in clam at Poverty. Vito Stabone from Philly hoisted in a 45-pound drum that Hoovered a clam there. A huge school of drum was seen swimming into the bay from one of the spotter planes. That fishery should kick in any time, and the full moon in May, around the eighth of the month, depending on the calendar looked at, is traditionally a good time to try. Blackfish were cooperative at the Cape May Inlet jetties, Cape May Reef and the inshore wrecks. Quite a number that topped 10 pounds were checked in during the week. Pete Corbo from Morristown showed off a 10.69-pounder that came from the inlet. Barney Bershaw from Villas stopped by with an 11.83-pounder and two cod he plundered at Cape May Reef.  Art Hamler from North Cape May fished a wreck 25 miles offshore for an 8-1/4-pound blackfish, a load of ling and some sea bass. No great numbers of sea bass turned up, but they started to appear from farther offshore.

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