<b>Staten Island</b>

Striped bass got pounded on the bay, even though anglers had to fight through bluefish, said Capt. Anthony from <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>. Weekly open-boat trips for stripers on Tuesdays and Thursdays are sold out this week, and charters are also striper fishing. A bottom-fishing charter on Saturday picked sea bass and ling, and the sea bass population increased a little as the migration continued inshore. Barbara Anne refunds bridge tolls with a receipt.

<b>Bayonne</b>

The Hudson River at the Tappan Zee Bridge was fished during a striped bass tournament among a few boaters from the True World Company, but the river was muddy from rains, and only three keepers were landed in the whole event, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. He also competed in the contest, and the entrants dunked bloodworms and bunker for bait. Bulkhead anglers on the river at Hudson River Park had been grabbing stripers on bloodworms, sandworms, bunker or clams, but dirtied waters also put the kibosh on that fishing. But boaters could mug stripers at Romer Shoal, mostly on clams, but some use bunker.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Carl Fishl’s trip for striped bass on the bay Saturday turned out more like a bluefish trip, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b> in an e-mail. First a run was made to Great Kills Harbor to net bunker for bait. The population of the baitfish improved compared with another effort to net the menhaden on Thursday, but the number remained spotty. Then waters at Old Orchard were fished without a touch. The boat moved to the Keansburg Flats, and blues appeared right away. Probably 20 or 25 were landed, and Kyle lost count, and a dozen were kept. He expected the moon that just passed to improve the bunker migration and the striper run, although striper fishing “sure has been good so far, and only getting better,” he said. Evening Tide is fishing seven days a week on charters and open-boat trips. Contact Kyle to be added to the open list.

<b>Port Monmouth</b>

A striped bass trip was nixed Sunday because of forecasts for winds, said Capt. Justin from <b>Parksea Fishing Charters</b>. Striper fishing seemed to slow down somewhat with the full moon toward the end of the week but should recover by the weekend’s trips. Space is available on an open-boat outing Saturday that will probably clam or the fish. Lots of blues swarmed the waters.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Patrons shoveled up ling, good fishing for the second year in a row, at Scotland on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. The boat got out between the weather Friday morning and on both the morning and afternoon trips Saturday and Sunday, and was forced to stay docked Thursday. Only one drop had to be made on both of Sunday’s trips. A few anglers on Sunday beat more than 20 of the fish, including double-headers. A few sea bass came up through the trips. The ride to the grounds was a little long, an hour and ten minutes or longer, depending on seas. Sunday was windy, and forecasts were ominous, but winds blew from the west, so seas were calm, protected from the land. Easterly winds are a different ball game, but westerlies can blow 30 knots, and seas can remain okay. All patrons kept going home with dinner, and the boat will stick with ling fishing until switching to fluke trips when the flattie season opens May 23. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing for ling daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Incoming tide against hard northwest winds created tough conditions at the start of Sunday’s trip, but striped bass were picked anyway, and all but one were keepers, said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> in an e-mail. Fishing slowed when the tide slowed, and the boat looked around at a couple of areas during the wait for the change of tide. The vessel ran south, then ran north for the change. “Glad we did,” Ron said. Patrons smoked very good fishing the rest of the day, and several landed multiple stripers. June Benson won the pool with a 15-pounder. Saturday was a different story, the first difficult striper fishing in five days on the boat. A handful of keepers and some blues were caught. The only highlight was that Mike Reynolds celebrated his 15th birthday by winning the pool with a 14-pound striper. 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>

Wow, the sun finally shined! said Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> in an e-mail during the weekend. That was after a week of stormy weather. But the week was a good one for striped bass and bluefish trips, he said. The fishing was getting better and better, and the stripers bit clams, live bunker, chunked bunker, on the troll or on jigs. The Parker family trip limited out on bass to 36 inches and subdued a few slammer blues on a rainy day. A trip with the Clark brothers fought 4- to 9-pound blues almost non-stop, filling the box. Jeff Joy and son Mike Joy scored a healthy catch of stripers and blues, and Mike, 13, boated his first-ever striper, a 29-1/2-incher. Anglers from the Mongo Hunting Club took an evening trip, limiting out on stripers, including bonus-tag fish. A 39-inch beauty was the pool winner.  Full-day, half-day and evening trips are being booked for stripers and blues. Fluke fishing on the boat will begin May 23, opening day of the flattie season.

Bunker became difficult to net for bait for striped bass, maybe because freshwater runoff from last week’s storms scattered the menhaden, so anglers aboard soaked clams for the linesiders instead, limiting out on four trips on the bay Friday and Saturday, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Fisher Price typically offers an a.m. trip and a p.m. trip each day, like on these days. The bass weighed up to 18 pounds, and the bay’s abundant bluefish were no problem when fishing with clams. But others who fished with bunker had to weed through blues. Derek heard about a few schools of bunker seen along the ocean front so far this season by boaters who ran south. Eventually Fisher Price’s striper trips will move to the ocean, when the fishing there out-shadows the angling on the bay. That’s when many schools of the bass migrate north along the coast, sometimes blitzing bunker. A few openings remain for striper charters this month and next. Derek will squeeze in open-boat trips when possible, and the next ones will sail Thursday and Friday for stripers, and space remains. Act quick. Bottom-fishing charters are also available, and lots of ling could be landed, with a few sea bass mixed in. <b>***Update, 9:30 a.m.:***</b> A trip this morning bunker-chunked for bass and had already limited out on the fish to 28 pounds on the bay by the time Capt. Derek telephoned from the waters to give this update at this time. He’s going to try to bunker chunk from now on, including on the open trips Thursday and Friday.

A charter wanted to fish the rivers on Friday, and got busy with small blues and some striped bass on surface poppers and small plugs, said Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>. Trips are available on the rivers. On Saturday Brian, Paul Eular and John Luchka competed in the Hudson River Fisherman’s Association Tournament. At first they trolled stripers on Stretch plugs. Then blues attacked, so the anglers switched to bunker chunking, and bigger bass to the low teens were nabbed. The fish were all respectable-sized, looked like the run was moving in. Brian believed the boat came in fourth place at Twin Lights Marina and in tenth place overall in the tournament. Jersey Devil this week will compete in the Fisherman’s Conservation Association’s Manhattan Cup striper tournament. Brian is vice president of the FCA. Later in the week he’ll compete in the American Striper Association Tournament at Bahrs Landing in the Highlands. Brian is an experienced striper tournament angler, has often placed or won and focuses on trophy stripers.

Surf fishing with <b>Skylands Angler</b> fly-rodded more striped bass than blues in the past days, Bill Hoffman said. Previously blues were more predominant, and maybe the blues, less tolerant of freshwater than stripers are, scattered a moment because of runoff from storms. The stripers, a mix of shorts and keepers, were pelted on Toad flies where the Shrewsbury River meets the bay. Blues were around but were less numerous, though more of them could be located at Union Beach on the bay.  If beginners want to learn saltwater fly fishing in the surf, this is the time. Or if experienced anglers just want the best chances to catch, this is it. But it won’t last long. Skylands Angler guides surf fly-fishing trips during the spring and fall migrations in the Sandy Hook area and farther south at Island Beach State Park. Skylands also guides freshwater fly trips for trout and nearly all the major species in New Jersey.

<b>Neptune</b>

With <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> anglers fished on two trips for striped bass on Friday, but the fishing was slow, Capt. Ralph said. Catches were also slow for others he talked with who fished that day, but the good news was that those who fished Saturday said the fishing was phenomenal. That seemed a positive sign. On the morning trip clamming for bass was tough, so the anglers jigged a bunch of blues and even belted a 25-inch cod on bait on the way home to bail out the trip. On the afternoon trip two 20-pound bass were clammed under working gannets, but otherwise the clamming was slow. Individual-reservation trips for stripers are running every Wednesday until fluke fishing in the ocean picks up sometime after fluke season opens May 23. Fluking usually gains steam sometime after the opener, and then individual-res trips will sail for them.

<b>Belmar</b>

On the <b>Nan Sea J</b> a decent catch of striped bass to 34 inches was clammed at the clam beds off Sandy Hook on Saturday, Capt. Tom said. “I wasn’t unhappy,” he said. Many of the fish, including many shorts, chomped, and so did a couple of blues. On Sunday in stiff northwest winds a mess of big blues 6 to 12 pounds and one striper, but sizeable, 22 pounds, were jigged in the ocean. Seas were calm enough despite the winds, because they blew from the west. Still, the trip stopped short of the clam beds because of the blow. The anglers on Sunday also bottom-fished at the Shrewsbury Rocks about an hour, reeling in sea bass, releasing out-of-season blackfish. Trips sometimes mix in bottom-fishing if there’s opportunity. Charters can also exclusively bottom-fish. The ocean during the weekend was 52 degrees. Looking ahead, the Nan Sea J’s shark season is around the corner. Sharking is Tom’s favorite, and besides charters, he offers open-boat shark trips every Wednesday in June and July, a rare opportunity to hunt the monsters on an open trip.

Little fishing was done in last week’s rains, but trips got back on track during the weekend, starting with the season’s first nighttime bluefishing trip Friday, said Capt. Greg from the <b>Golden Eagle</b> in an e-mail. The catch was slow that night, and only a handful of 5- to 9-pounders were decked. Plenty of the fish were found but didn’t want to bite. But on Saturday night many patrons whacked 6 to 10 blues apiece that weighed 5 to 9 pounds. The night fishing was apparently a go! What’s more, fishing for striped bass and blues during daytime trips broke wide open on the vessel Friday through Sunday. The fish attacked jigs at a good pace in the mornings, becoming picky later. Sunday’s fishing was awesome for good-sized blues and stripers to 30 pounds on jigs. Many of the boat’s anglers drilled double-digits by 9:30 a.m., including several impressive-sized stripers. The Golden Eagle is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for blues 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily starting Friday.

<b>Brielle</b>

Striped bass and bluefish kept storming around Manasquan Inlet, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Anglers fought them on lures like Fish Traps, Hammershads and D.O.A.’s. A 33-incher was the biggest bass Dave saw. Fish were also socked in the suds at Long Branch on Saturday, when bunker schooled through. Some anglers who livelined bunker along the jetties put the skids on large bass there. That was the first bunker school of the season that Dave heard was found along the ocean front. Stripers were also trolled at the Shrewsbury Rocks on shad rigs or bunker spoons. An angler who tried for stripers and blues around the inlet on Saturday saw blowfish swim past. No numbers of the puffers were seen locally in a few years. As an aside, another shop reported blowfish caught around Great Bay in the past week. Dave also heard about out-of-season fluke reeled up and released along Manasquan Inlet through the week. Blues and bass were also played at the mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal. No customers mentioned landing weakfish in the area, but surely some were around. Bottom fishing kept improving, with lots of ling landed, and more sea bass migrating to the inshore pieces than before. 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.

A couple of trips wrangled up combos of striped bass, blues and ling on Saturday and Sunday with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. Saturday’s trip first ran north to Romer Shoal at the mouth of Raritan Bay. The anglers, fishing with clams, picked short stripers but also seven keepers, including a 22.5-pounder and a 20.7-pounder. Next the trip bottom fished, picking ling, including big ones, among very good flurries. Small, out-of-season blackfish were released. On the way home birds were found tearing up the waters. The vessel stopped, and a thick population of blues, feeding on herring, slammed jigs right away. But two quality stripers, including a 27-pound 40-inch beauty, were lambasted on jigs. The anglers ended up with 58 ling, nine keeper stripers and a few blues they kept. Sunday’s outing was an open-boat trip that sailed in brisk winds, first heading for bottom-fishing. But bird plays popped up, so the anglers jigged on a few drifts. Lots of blues pounced, but one of the anglers bagged a striped bass. Then they moved offshore and anchored up for bottom fishing in dumpy seas. Ling got picked, and a couple of keeper sea bass were taken, and three keeper-sized blackfish to 6 or 7 pounds were released. A few drops were tried on the way home in 50 to 60 feet to try for sea bass, but were void of the lumpheads. The five anglers wound up with 50 ling, a keeper striper and a couple of blues kept. “Tough conditions,” Jerry said, “but we made the best of it.” Anglers had options at the moment: Lots of jigging for bass and blues, clamming for stripers and good bottom-fishing. More combo trips will be slated soon. Call to jump on a charter or open-boat trip.

Fishing had to be cancelled during the weekend because of a death in the family, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b>. But angling for striped bass and blues was definitely on along the ocean beachfront, he said, and trips for them are up and running. A friend was surf fishing every day at Deal, lambasting stripers 18 to 20 pounds on clams. Bottom fishing is also on tap on the boat, and striper/bluefish trips this weekend might mix in bottom dunking for ling. Trips can do that if striper fishing turns out catches in the morning, for example. When fluke season opens May 23, fluking could be mixed in with striper trips. Of course, fluke charters will also run. Shark trips are about to kick off on the boat in June. Tuna fishing, the main event on the Katie H, usually begins in July. Don’t have enough anglers for a full tuna charter? Call Mike, and he can probably arrange an individual spot or spots on a make-up trip offered on the boat.

Several areas held bluefish and striped bass in the ocean on Saturday’s trip for the fish on the <b>Jamaica</b>, and anglers aboard beat a good catch of 6- to 10-pound blues with striped bass mixed in, an e-mail from the boat said. The vessel fished 16 miles from port, and sometimes the fish were found under working birds, and other times the boat stopped on readings. Jigging was best, but clams are carried on board, in case clams work best for the stripers. Jeromie Anderson from Philly won the pool with a 15-pound striper. A trip was also supposed to sail the next day, but no results rolled in so far. Daily trips for stripers and blues will launch Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., and nighttime trips for blues will begin 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Check the boat’s Web site for the latest schedule, and also visit to be added to the vessel’s e-mail list for additional info, including about special trips. Reservations are being taken for canyon tuna fishing that will begin at the end of August.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Jigging trips for striped bass and blues got going on the weekend on the ocean with <b>Reel Class Charters</b>, Capt. Allen said. Three anglers were aboard a trip Saturday, first stopping at marks off Spring Lake and Belmar. They waited for fog to lift, then shot to the Shrewsbury Rocks. Two good-sized stripers, a 21-pounder and a 13-pounder, were jigged on the first drift, then blues took over.  Probably 24 to 30 blues were walloped during an hour of great action. The trip followed the fish to Deal, but the fishing petered out. A good trip, though. On Sunday with another group aboard in strong, northwest winds, Allen got a call about fish found off Deal. The boat ran north, and fish were everywhere, a blitz like November, working birds blackening the sky. Almost all blues attacked, three or four at a time. One striper got off that was hooked only by the skin of its mouth. But Steve Magyari whacked a 30-pound 44-inch striper. A beautiful fish! A bass also followed a jig that Allen fished but failed to commit. Scores of blues were fought. Most of the fish were jigged, but a few were trolled. The anglers’ arms got worn out, a good day. The jigging on the trips was done on Krocodiles, Ava 47’s and butterfly jigs. Reel Class runs both charters and open-boat trips, and check the boat’s Web site for the latest open schedule. Look for Reel Class to begin fluke fishing in a big way after the flattie season opens May 23.

Some good-sized cod, a few pollock, some big ling and “a showing of sea bass” got waffled on trips to the wrecks 25 to 40 miles offshore on the <b>Gambler</b> this past week, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. On trips this weekend Anthony Scardino, Linden, stuck a 25-pound cod, a 16-pounder and 10 big ling, and John Chiavarini, Brick, clubbed two cod 20 and 14 pounds. Only six more of the trips will run before the boat switches to two fluke trips daily when fluke season opens May 23. A special, 24-hour trip will fish the 50- to 90-mile wrecks, leaving at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, limited to 30 or fewer passengers, reservations required. Wednesday, May 20, is the rain date. The Gambler is fishing the wrecks 25 to 40 miles offshore 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays for cod, pollock, ling, hake and sea bass.

<b>Toms River</b>

Short striped bass, but a few keepers, were scattered in different areas of Barnegat Bay, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Anglers just had to find them, and everything from fresh clams or fresh bunker to soft-plastic lures or rubber shads got attention. Lures like Mambo Minnows and Smack-It Jr.’s also worked. Bluefish had been rampaging all over the bay, but little was heard about them Sunday. Otherwise they got trolled on Ponytails or were banged on soft plastic lures or popper plugs. Short stripers, not many keepers, also filled the Toms River, and most anglers soaked bloodworms for them, but some fished clams. White perch were sometimes creeled from Huddy Park on the river, mostly toward dinnertime. Surf fishing was mostly slow in cold waters, but a few stripers, mainly shorts, were banked, and Jeff heard about no blues in the suds.

<b>Seaside</b>

Surf anglers clammed striped bass, and weakfish started to show up in the suds, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Eleven stripers 6 to 14 pounds were weighed in Sunday, and so were two weakies 4 and 5 pounds. Not a bad day, and all the bass inhaled Grumpy clams, and the weakfish were both plugged. Nobody mentioned catching blues from the wash. Surf temps were slowly rising, approaching 60. That meant anglers should get ready to start tossing plugs to the bass. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Forked River</b>

Trollers hung striped bass in 50 to 55 feet in the ocean off Seaside today on bunker spoons, said Jana from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Weigh-ins included Doug Itjen’s 32-pound bass, Tom Boyce’s 26-pounder, Sheldon Kay’s 18-1/2-pounder and Dereck Labatch’s 13-pounder.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Another solid week of catching striped bass and big, slammer bluefish on Barnegat Bay, said Capt. Steve Purul from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. Jay Simmons jumped aboard for a trip that started out slowly. He worked popper plugs on the mainland side of the bay, and fish knocked around the plugs but failed to commit. Pretty cool visuals, though, Steve said. So they moved to Barnegat Inlet, and the bite was on with stripers and blues! “Exhausting action,” Jay reportedly said. The fishing was so fast that only two rods could be kept in the waters at once. Fresh bait was key, and if nothing was hooked in 5 minutes, either the bait was covered in seaweed or a hit was missed. Bill Caulin, president of STS Tire Company, jumped aboard another trip that began with birds found working the waters over a shallow flat with V-wakes from cruising fish, maybe large weakfish. But the shallows and very clear waters seemed to make the fish refuse to grab a bait. So the boat was moved and anchored, and clams, bunker and artificials were fished. Action was non-stop with large blues, and one striper was landed. Sometimes the rods were doubled up with two fish on at once. Great success, Steve said.  

<b>Barnegat</b>

The boat will get splashed Tuesday, and trips will begin to fish immediately, said Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> in an e-mail. Good reports about fishing for striped bass and blues in Barnegat Bay were already around, and trips on the vessel will be all about anchoring and clamming for 10-o to 20-pound stripers on the bay for the next six or seven weeks. But anglers on deck on the bay will also run and gun to cast surface lures on light tackle to 2- to 5-pound blues, and will drift while casting soft-plastic lures for big, tiderunner weakfish. When the migration of stripers and blues along the ocean front kicks in to high gear, trips will go after them. The Hi Flier will fish hard every day, and call to pick a date and time to go. “It’s finally here!” Dave said.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Four or five wrecks in the ocean gave up sea bass, not a lot of keepers, but some, on Saturday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. Lots of dogfish grabbed baits, and the anglers decided to head in early when seas built up. Legal Limit’s other boat from Cape May angled in nine drum to 45 pounds on Delaware Bay.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

 A little striped bass activity went down at Pebble Beach in the evenings, but not much happened during the day, said the report today on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. Even boaters had difficulty locating bass, and bluefishing wasn’t much better. Small schools of 5- to 7-pound blues popped up in Great Bay, and if boaters lucked into them, the action lasted 20 minutes. But the blues started hitting lures in addition to mackerel that they were already biting. Fishing sounded similar Friday through Sunday, even if details changed, like when the stripers cooperated. “Full moon?” the report asked. Or maybe freshwater runoff from rains, or dropping water temps, or a combo of all. No word was heard about weakfish, and the rains seemed to wash them away. A 14-pound striper was weighed in Saturday from Graveling Point, but pickings were slim when the angler fished. One bite, one fish. Drum sometimes showed up, like a 57.9-pounder that one angler boated off Graveling Point in the middle of the day Saturday. Things should straighten out as conditions change.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf casters clobbered lots of striped bass, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Sean Silverman from Brigantine, as Noel gave this report this afternoon, stopped by to check in a 19-1/2-pound 38-inch striper and a 16-pound 36-incher he pulled from the T-jetty. Fresh clams, fresh bunker and bloodworms got hits lately. Herring schooled the ocean front and were netted today. Blues, larger than cocktails but not too large, swam the back waters, including along the channel, but out of reach of casts from the inlet. They swiped cut baits like bunker, mullet and mackerel. No more tiderunner weakfish were checked in since a 15-1/2-pounder and a 6-1/2-pounder were weighed in during the previous two weeks. But one smaller one was. All the baits mentioned and more are stocked.

<b>Longport</b>

Sea bassing stayed the same as before on daily, open-boat trips on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. Previously he said the lumpheads were “tight” along the bottom, lots of them, and the new size limit, a half-inch larger, was more difficult, but keepers were plucked. The open trips, running  7 a.m. to 3 p.m., will continue through May 30, until charters take over the schedule for summer. Shark charters were booking up, and the first was supposed to break the inlet within days.

<b>Somers Point</b>

An 11-pound 31-inch striped bass got beached at the Longport jetty by Dominic Marino, said T.C. from <b>Brennan Marine</b> in a fax. A clam got the bite, and stripers were also landed at Anchorage Point on the bay over the weekend. Mike and Rumi Wroblewski clammed two 29-inch bass there on Saturday. Puppy drum sometimes sucked in clams meant for stripers in the same area. Striper fishing slowed down on the Great Egg Harbor River compared with before, as the fish migrated to the bay, but some were occasionally hooked on the river. White perch fishing slowed a little on the river but offered reasonably good catches on bloodworms. Patcong Creek also put out perch on bloods.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Chase Kneeland fly-rodded eight bluefish and an out-of-season flounder that was released on the back bay on a trip Saturday, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Chase cast an Electric Chicken, a chartreuse-and-pink Clouser fly that Joe ties, on a sinking line, and the beginning of outgoing tide gave up the best fishing for the 2-pound blues, until hard south winds came on. The bay was 58 to 67 degrees, depending on location and tide. Bluefishing on the waters so far was a pick on outgoing tides. But the fish were there, and the best news was that a few striped bass began to smack popper lures and popper flies on the bay’s surface. The season was early for that action. Joe specializes in popper fishing for stripers on the bay through summer. Striper fishing with clams on the bay behind Sea Isle served up very good catches. Joe also heard that striper fishing in the surf at Sea Isle lit up on Sunday, and linesiders to 40 inches were shellacked. Fish were definitely around now. Joe looked forward to the opening of flounder season May 23. The flattie population was thick in the bay, and the early season is usually the best time to target them, and some openings remain around the opener. Grab them while possible.  Jersey Cape is offering after-work special trips on the 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. Delaware Bay’s drum fishing seemed on the upswing, and Joe runs trips for them on a 26-foot Regulator. His back-bay charters fish on his flats boat. When summer approaches, offshore trips will begin fishing for big game including tuna. Anglers should think about going tuna fishing in the early season, because Joe’s lambasted some of the best catches of yellowfins at the canyons in June and July. Joe will also offer mixed-bag offshore fishing, trolling for tuna in the mornings, then casting lures, bait or flies to mahi mahi in the afternoons. Offshore trips fish on either the Regulator or a 42-foot Liberty, depending on the number of anglers and type of fishing, like angling with conventional tackle or fly gear.  

<b>Wildwood</b>

Excellent drum catches were made on Delaware Bay, mostly at Tussy’s Slough and the Pin Top, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Jim Baker weighed in an 81-pound drum he muscled aboard on the bay on the Accipiter from Wildwood. Healthy numbers of summer flounder carpeted the back bay, and the opening of the fluke season is only two Saturdays away. Surf anglers picked up great catches, and the shore at North Wildwood and at Cape May’s Poverty Beach were hot spots.  Charlie Labar hit the North Wildwood suds for two keeper stripers and a 20-pound drum that all sucked in clams. At the same stretch Rob Cruz pinned down a 14-pound striper that he clammed and weighed in, and Justin Fesler tackled two drum to 25 pounds. Sea bass were pumped up from the reefs and the inshore wrecks. Stop by for the shop’s Hobie Kayak demo and test rides from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, weather permitting. Sterling Harbor is a kayak-fishing headquarters, featuring kayak sales, accessories and expert advice.

<b>Cape May</b>

Drum fishing on Delaware Bay seemed to taper off by the weekend with the full moon at the end of last week, although previously a load of drum maybe 30 to 40 pounds got waxed, said Capt. Ray from <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b>. But the fishing should rebound as the moon wanes. Besides drum fishing, Jaftica’s got a couple of striped bass trips slated on the bay, as the linesiders drop back down to the bay after spawning in the Delaware River. Ray already heard about catches of the bass smoked on the bay, so the migration of the fish to the ocean must’ve been under way. His trips will probably bunker-chunk for the stripers. Jaftica striper fished in the river along the channel edges a couple of weeks ago, while the migration up the river was in high gear, and the angling was great. He’ll probably give it a shot again next year. He keeps the boat in Philadelphia during winter, and normally he would splash the vessel in Cape May off the bat in spring. But in recent years the striper migration apparently moved through the bay up to the river early in the year. While bay boaters used to catch the bass in May, the fish in recent years already left the bay for the river by late April. Few charters fish the run on the river around Philadelphia, although an awesome population of the fish swims through. Here’s the opportunity to get on them.

Charters on the <b>Down Deep</b> rounded up decent catches of drum from Delaware Bay, Capt. Bob said. Thirty-five pounds, pups, was the average size, and Bob thinks waters needed to warm a little to get drumfishing rolling more. The bay was 57.5 to 58 degrees and needed to get passed 60 degrees to make the fish more active. Still, the fishing was a good start, and drum were marked all over. The Barnett group on Wednesday boated drum to 35 pounds, and the Cochran gang on Friday drilled drum to 40 pounds. Harvey Miller’s group on Saturday morning creamed a catch of the fish including Harvey’s 60-pounder. Everyone aboard the trip caught a drum, and small ones were also released. A trip Saturday night got chased back to port because of winds. Some openings remain for drum charters, and May is fairly full, but a couple of good dates are left at the beginning of June.

Something like nine drum to 45 pounds were ransacked on Delaware Bay on Friday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, all on outgoing tide, Capt. T.J. said. The boat must’ve been moved eight times to find fish, but marks could be found, and the catch ended up all right. Legal Limit’s other boat from Tuckerton sailed for sea bass on Saturday, putting the anglers into a slew of the fish, not a lot of keepers, but some, at four or five wrecks. The charter decided to head in early when seas built up.

Thirteen drum to 55 pounds were pummeled on a trip Saturday morning on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> on Delaware Bay, Capt. Tom said. But only one drum was cranked in on a trip in the afternoon, when the fishing seemed to fall apart for everyone. Maybe the barometric pressure from the storms that night turned off the fish. The trips fished anywhere from 10 to 40 feet and found 57- to 60-degree, fairly clear waters. Drum charters and shared charters are running. Striped bass started to be located in the bay, after the fish began to drop back down after spawning in the Delaware River. But striper fishing sounded slow on Saturday, when 21 boats in Cape May’s American Striper Association Tournament reportedly only entered four bass. Fishin’ Fever targets the bass that drop back down from the river, and the fish are big, averaging 20 to 30 pounds with bigger ones around. A chance to bag a trophy. Plenty of sea bass could be pumped up from the reefs and wrecks on the boat, and trolling trips for bluefish are on the menu, with the speedsters swimming along the ocean beaches. Thresher sharks should haunt the ocean quickly, and mako shark charters usually launch at the beginning of June.

Drumming became slow on a trip on Delaware Bay on Saturday afternoon, and only one of the boomers, a 30-pounder, was boxed, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. He knew some boaters who caught none, and others who clocked a couple. Anglers who fished Friday said a bunch were boated. George was running another drum trip this afternoon and will try to give an update.  <b>***Update, 7 p.m.***</b> Four drum were boated by this time on today’s trip, with several hours left to go, Capt. George said from the waters then. One of the fish weighed 40 pounds, and the rest were 25 to 30 pounds. He had gotten called in to the spot by a couple of other boats that were catching there, and they had put six and eight in the box respectively so far. Fish were heard drumming under the boat and were marked, and things might’ve been about to get going. Boats in the morning hardly caught any of the fish, and the afternoon put out catches. Fishing for most of the fleet, parked in another area where George originally fished, were into slow fishing in the afternoon. But the three or four boats where George had relocated were doing better.  George wouldn’t be surprised if the fish turned on tomorrow, several days after the full moon. He said all along he prefers three or so days on either side of the moon and has often found fishing slower right on the moon, even though some drum anglers swear by the moon.

Drumming was a slow, steady pick on Delaware Bay through the week, said Capt. Joe from <b>Schmedley Charters</b> in an e-mail. Although some might only blame the full moon, he thinks freshwater runoff from all the rains dropped off the fishing. Plenty of the fish were marked, but getting them to bite was another thing. But he does believe that “when it pops, look out, because it will be game on, big time,” he said. Some prime dates remain for drum charters and open-boat trips. Give a call if interested.

Drum kept boaters busy on Delaware Bay until around the weekend, when most catches only came in the mornings, and anglers during the afternoons hunted and pecked for a fish, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The fish kept holding along the same areas: Tussy’s Slough, the Pin Top and sometimes in the deeper waters on the east side of the 16 buoy near the shipping channel. John Hanstein from Philly weighed in a 72-pound drum muscled in from the Pin Top. Art Hamler also fished at the Pin Top, tackling a 68-pounder. Sea bassing put out plenty of the fish, mostly in 80 to 100 feet,  tons of undersized ones in some areas, but bigger ones mixed in. Murray Camphere checked in a 4.2-pounder he reeled up from Reef 11. Striped bass were dragged from the surf, and most anglers gathered at Poverty Beach. But the fish were banked all along Cape May’s shore. Drum, pups 10 to 30 pounds, but sometimes bruisers to 75 pounds, were wrestled from the surf at times. The 75-pounder was hooked at the cove near 2nd Street. The angler, whose name the staff forgot to get, had to let the fish swim all the way around the point of the jetty before hauling it in. Reports actually started to come in about small weakfish beginning to be hooked around the jetties at Cape May Point on floated bloodworms, earlier in the season than in recent years. 

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