<b>Hudson River</b>

The river warmed to 62 degrees, so striped bass should soon spawn, and some large bass were around, and one tide would produce catches, but another would give up few or none, said Capt. Chuck from <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b>. He began telling charters the situation, leaving it up to them whether they wanted to fish. They had a chance at tangling with the big linesiders that swam the waters, and a trip could be great, or it could be slow. Most catches came from shallows like 5 or 6 feet, and tons of bait schooled the river. 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>

The bay’s fishing was status quo: fight through bluefish to reach striped bass, said Capt. Anthony from <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>. But stripers were boated on bunker chunks, and if anglers wanted blues, they could whale away. Out-of-season fluke sometimes engulfed the bunker. No bottom-fishing trips sailed in the past days, but the boat is up for bottom fishing. Besides charters, Barbara Anne is running open-boat trips for stripers every Tuesday and Thursday.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

A half-day charter tried livelining bunker for striped bass on the bay this week, but bluefish couldn’t be beaten off, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b> in an e-mail. Still, the speedsters gave up lots of action, and the night was fun. The bunker were netted in the back of the bay at the beginning of the trip, an experience in itself. Was good to see the bunker there, and that meant more stripers should swim the area soon. Two or three stripers did obviously bite, because the baitfish came up scaled. A drift was made where the bunker schooled, and bluefish attacked. Moves were made all around to different spots, but then the trip stayed in the back of the bay, and blues kept slashing through. Evening Tide is fishing seven days a week on charters and open-boat trips, and contact Kyle to be added to the open list.

<b>Keyport</b>

The bay’s striped bass fishing remained the talk of the shop, and anglers just had to get passed the blues to get a bait to the linesiders, said Chris from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Blues were everywhere, but some big bass were around. Tommy Salintno and crew limited out on bass to 32 ½ pounds near Old Orchard Light. They also fought all the blues they could want, all while fishing bunker. But the West Bank was the hot spot for stripers that many anglers talked about. Lots of big stripers were moving up the Hudson River to spawn, stopping at the West Bank on the way. Anglers should just remember that the waters are in New York, so New York’s regs apply. Louie Canlone fished there and would only say the striper fishing was the best he ever had. Beach anglers on the bay had no trouble limiting out on blues on cut bunker. But they scored good catches of bass at night. Todd Finkel fished the shore from Cliffwood Beach, tackling an 18-1/2-pound bass and eight blues. Out-of-season fluke started to appear in the shallows of the bay near Keyport. The opening of the season should be good on May 23. Then the shop will start opening at 5 a.m. every day.  All the fluke rigs and bait will be stocked.

The bay’s striped bass fishing turned sporadic, and bluefish tore up waters, but stripers were landed on some days, and on other days were not, said Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>. A trip Wednesday battled blues but no stripers, the report on the boat’s Web site said. Another on Monday clammed four keeper striped bass, 10 shorts and a few blues, mostly at Romer Shoal, but one of the keepers came from the back of the bay. That fish might’ve been bunker chunked, the usual method in the back, but the site didn’t say. On Saturday another trip clammed seven keepers to 14 pounds and eight shorts at Romer. Then the anglers tried bunker chunking for bass in the back of the bay, but that was a bust, and not even blues bit, because waters were dirty.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Capt. Ron from the <b>Fisherman</b> wouldn’t call striped bass trips good fishing in the past several days, he said in an e-mail. The angling seemed to be in a lull, and the big females were likely spawning, but the same situation apparently happened last year, when, after a slow moment, all heck broke loose on May 16. “Just have to tough it out and pay our dues for the next couple of days,” he said. A new body of fish seemed to be making its way up the beaches. Plus the spawning should end soon. “(Both) should have things back to normal by next week,” he said. On Wednesday’s trip action was better than it had been, but blues made up much of the catch. Still, they made a difference. A couple of keeper bass were boated, “nothing to brag about,” he said. 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>***Update, Today:***</b> “You’ve got to fish the nasty days, and today proved it once again,” Capt. Ron said in an e-mail this evening. Stripers got hungry on today’s trip in 25-knot winds from the south, and sometimes excellent catches were walloped. One angler landed five bass including two keepers in 15 minutes. Many of the trip’s bigger fish were spawned out, “which tells me it can only get better,” he said. Don’t let the forecasts scare you into coming down only on the nice days. “Hope it blows like hell tomorrow!” he said.

Ling were waffled on trips the last few days at Scotland, nice fishing, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Monday morning’s catch was probably one of the best so far, and the high hook clobbered 30. Under normal conditions anglers could wrangle in 12 to 15. Seas were somewhat crummy on Wednesday afternoon’s trip, but one patron bagged 15, and some picked up eight or nine, and others scored five or six. All trips, both the morning and afternoon outings, sailed Monday through Wednesday, and the fishing held up on all. Forecasts called for rough weather today and maybe Friday, but that should fail to hurt the fishing much. 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. The trips will switch to fluke fishing when the flattie season opens in two Saturdays, May 23.

Good striped bass catches were made on the bay on bunker and clams, and the fishing slowed a little in the better weather, but should rebound with the rough weather, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Lots of blues swarmed around the bay. They also crammed the river, and stripers and sometimes weakfish were also pulled from the river. Tom O’Brian from the Berkeley Striper Club weighed in two weakfish 15.82 pounds and 13.8 pounds that he sandwormed on the river. He also whacked lots of blues on the waters. Surf casters creamed bass and blues, and ling, quality numbers, were swung aboard at Scotland. On the freshwater front, Tyler Robinson from Rumson checked in a 5.7-pound brown trout from the North Branch of the Raritan River. All baits are stocked.

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass fishing on the bay served up lots of catches on the boat most of the week but turned tough on a trip Wednesday afternoon, even though anglers aboard limited out on the fish that morning, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. They also limited out Monday, bailing 18. But some anglers also found the bite difficult Monday, returning with no bass. The stripers with Fisher Price weighed up to 28 pounds in the past days, and all were hooked on bunker. Bunker became easier to net for bait than before. Anglers always pretty much had to fight through bluefish to 10 and 12 pounds to land bass. Now was a great time to go bluefishing. Some anglers really struggled with striper fishing on the bay this week, maybe just a lull that sometimes happen. Fisher Price will eventually move to the ocean for striper fishing, after catches there become better than on the bay, but <i>when</i> was difficult to say. Last year Derek moved to the ocean during the last week of May, but after a week he returned to the western side of the bay, where the fishing became best a while. He heard about a few catches along the beach front already at places including the Shrewsbury Rocks, off Asbury Park and off Spring Lake. But one day seemed good, and others seemed slow. The fishing had started to happen but now sounded slower. A friend who bottom fished said ling catches were incredible. Fisher Price is also up for bottom fishing. Derek will squeeze in open-boat trips for stripers whenever possible, and he tentatively planned open trips this coming week on Sunday afternoon, Monday morning and Thursday morning, if no charters book the dates. Some dates are available for charters in May and June but are filling up.

<b>Neptune</b>

Boaters ran across striped bass in the ocean off Shark River Inlet the last couple of days, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. Individual-reservation striped bass trips are fishing every Wednesday until they switch to fluke fishing, sometime after the flattie season opens, whenever the bottom huggers begin to respond in the ocean.

<b>Belmar</b>

The boat headed to the clam beds off Sandy Hook so a charter on Tuesday could clam for striped bass, but nothing much happened, except a bite off from a blue, some skates biting, and a couple of other hits going down, Capt. Tom from the <b>Nan Sea J</b> said. All the boats seemed to run around looking for a catch. So at 12:30 p.m. the trip switched to bottom fishing, reeling up a decent number of ling in a couple of hours. A winter flounder was also railed, and a couple of small blackfish were released. Water temps remained the same as before at 52 to 55 degrees. The countdown is on for shark season, Tom’s favorite fishing. Shark charters will begin soon, and open-boat sharking will fish every Wednesday in June and July, a rare opportunity to fight the monsters on an open outing.

Sea bass got socked on the <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. Very good catches, including sizeable lumpheads, were reeled up from the 50- or 60-foot shallows. Cod were sometimes clocked, including four on Wednesday. A few ling were mixed in, but the boat concentrated on sea bass. Sea bassing could take more moving around, but anglers preferred them. An occasional winter flounder got decked. The Big Mohawk is sailing for sea bass 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

On the <b>Golden Eagle</b> anglers belted away at 6- to 10-pound blues, very good catches, after the weekend, and striped bass fishing’s been hot and cold, Capt. Greg said. But the fishing was coming along well, and the season was just beginning. All the fish were jigged on the ocean.  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. Two trips already sailed for blues at night last weekend, and the first was slow, with fish around but refusing to feed, but the next was gangbusters.

Daily trips ran for striped bass and blues, and a bunch of blues kept patrons busy, and sometimes stripers were waxed, while other times they were scarcer, said Capt. Alan from the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>. On Saturday 40 stripers were bagged, while on Sunday nine were, and that’s the way it’s been. Both the blues and the stripers were jigged. The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Night trips for blues will begin Friday and Saturday, and will run daily starting Memorial Day weekend, all sailing 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Both beach anglers and boaters got into better striped bass fishing every day, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Lots of the linesiders started to get beached, mostly on clams, but herring was also a popular bait. The beach anglers also awaited the onslaught of striper fishing that should come with the spring migration. Boaters jigged the fish pretty well on some days in the ocean, and they also plundered blues on the jigs. Now if the weather would only cooperate for boaters, and today was a blow out with strong winds and a storm. Paul Mazorlig from Neptune boated a 25-pound striper off Sea Girt on a livelined herring that he snagged for bait. Youngster Tom Brown clammed a 9-pound bass in the surf at Spring Lake, and many stripers that size, around 10 to 12 pounds, were checked in from the surf. Not many blues swam the surf locally, but they swarmed the waters farther north, like at Sea Bright and Sandy Hook. Fishing for sea bass and ling was good on the Belmar party boats. The head boats also whacked blues and sometimes stripers. Many fluke seemed to line the bottom of Shark River, and the out-of-season fish were caught by mistake and released. If the population holds up, the opening of the fluke season in two Saturdays should be killer on the river. The shop will have about 25 rental boats ready to fish the river on the opener, and all the baits and rigs will be stocked.

<b>Brielle</b>

A last-minute open-boat trip with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> broke the inlet Tuesday, and the anglers lambasted ling, all going home with jumbo bags of fillets, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The fish started flying over the rails as soon as the anchor came tight. Some big ones were looted, and so were double-headers. The trip sat at one drop until lunchtime, only making one move afterward, when the current died. Awesome fishing, and the weather was great. Besides ling fishing, Fish Monger is sailing for striped bass and blues in the ocean. The stripers are being jigged or clammed, and the blues are getting jigged. When either enough stripers and blues are hooked on a trip or fishing for them is slow, bottom fishing can be mixed in. Such combo trips sailed a couple of times in the past week and smoked the catches, covered in the last report. The crew also saw the first signs of schooling bunker in the area, and a fair amount of bird life was happening daily, so fishing for big striped bass that follow the baitfish should break open soon along the beachfront. Then livelining bunker for trophies will kick in. Both charters and open-boat trips will go after them on a.m. and p.m. trips. Fish Monger always runs a busy schedule of fluke charters and open trips, too, and fluke season opens in two Saturdays. Fluke Marathons every Tuesday already sold out in July and August, and quickly. Some openings remain for the trips on Thursdays. In July and August 3- to 5-hour trips for families with children will run in the middle of the week, educational outings that are hands-on, getting kids and families more involved in fishing and boating. The trips, on the Manasquan River or the near-shore ocean, will teach the kids about fishing, crabbing, boating, safety and all aspects of the water. Snacks and prizes will be given out, and a Junior Fishmonger Web Page will be included on the boat’s site. Fireworks at the end of the trips will be an option. Families don’t have to charter the boat, and Fish Monger can match up families together. Contact the crew if interested.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Bottom-fishing on the <b>Dauntless</b> pumped up excellent catches of ling, 25 to 50 per angler, in the 60- to 80-foot shallows, Capt. Butch said. A little showing of sea bass turned up, as the lumpheads migrated inshore, but waters chilled in that area, dropping to 49 degrees by Wednesday, making sea bass scarce. The grounds had been 54 degrees. A handful of bluefish usually bit each day, and an occasional striped bass showed up. One striper was boated Tuesday, and another was hooked the day before or so. But ling were the thing. Dog sharks were pests in deeper waters, and one boat tried fishing in 120 feet, but the dogs were unbearable, and the vessel moved to shallower waters within 5 minutes. A few dogs inhaled baits on trips on the Dauntless. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Everyone caught their fill of bluefish, fabulous fishing, on Sunday on the <b>Sea Devil</b>, Cindy said in an e-mail, but striped bass were also angled up. The trip started at the Shrewsbury Rocks and followed the fish south toward Manasquan Inlet, making a few drifts. Tom and Jared Epper totaled 23 blues, but Sal Costa might’ve landed the most blues. The season’s first striper on the boat was a short hooked by another angler. But Paul Sperco nailed the first keeper striper of the year, a 30-pounder. Ed Mackin also grabbed a 30-pounder. Daily trips will begin Friday, but a charter is slated for Saturday, so no open trip will sail that day.

A trip Monday clubbed so-so catches of bluefish and some striped bass to 37 inches on the <b>Cock Robin</b>, but good catches were pounded Saturday and Sunday on the boat, Capt. Jim said. That’s how the fishing went: some good days, some slower. But the fishing was definitely a good start, and began a little earlier than last year. Anglers waited for the schools of big bass that eventually come through at times, like a couple of days last year when 50-pounders were in the mix. All the fish on the Cock Robin were jigged, and some boats clammed the bass farther north. Waters were full of bait, sand eels or bunker or something, lots of it marked. The Cock Robin is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.

Sea bassing was picky on the <b>Norma K</b> but got better every day, and a few cod and ling were in the mix, Capt. Matt said. The boat is bottom fishing for sea bass on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The season’s first nighttime bluefishing trip ran Saturday for an okay catch, picking away. Trips for blues will sail 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and will begin fishing every day during the same hours on Memorial Day weekend.

“Looks like (fishing) is starting to turn on,” said Chuck from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. Catches gained steam from the ocean to Manasquan Inlet to northern Barnegat Bay around the Mantoloking Bridge. In the ocean striped bass and blues were found up and down the beaches, both by surf casters and boaters, and the boaters seemed to connect close to shore. On the boats, jigging for the fish, like with Krocodiles, worked out well. From the beaches stripers were clammed, and blues chased any kind of lure. Poppers hammered away at bass and blues around the inlet in the early mornings. Lots of action filled the inlet, and a healthy population of out-of-season fluke got hooked by mistake from the inlet walls. Fluke season opens in two Saturdays. A ton of out-of-season blackfish lined the Point Pleasant Canal. Weakfish were landed in the northern bay like around the Mantoloking Bridge. That seemed a good sign, and waters must’ve been warming. Floated sandworms, Rat-L-Traps, Fin-S Fish or other soft plastics on jigs got the strikes. Fresh clams, sandworms, fresh-frozen bunker right off the boat and more baits are stocked.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

A steady flow of striped bass weigh-ins from the surf were reported by now on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Six of the fish from 6.8 pounds to 12.6 pounds were checked in Wednesday, and considerably more hit the scale on some days. Grumpy clams claimed the large majority. Bluefish were beached here or there, but that’s it. Surf temps were slowly creeping up and hung around 60. Scattered reports about baitfish came in, and schools of adult bunker were yet to get serious. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Forked River</b>

Trollers in the ocean began to boat striped bass on Friday, and a few of the fish, not a lot, kept getting stuck since then, but it was a start, said Grizz from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Barnegat Bay was fairly active with bluefish, and stripers could sometimes be boated on the bay on clams, eels or herring at Oyster Creek and Double Creek channels and along the sedge banks. Weakfish were picked up from the docks at Berkeley Island Park on pink Fin-S Fish, pink rubber shads or sandworms. Fluke should be lining the bottom of Barnegat Bay, and always are at this time of year, and the countdown was on for the opening of fluke season in two Saturdays. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, eels, bloodworms, sandworms, nightcrawlers, trout worms, meal worms and all the baits are stocked.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Not a lot of surf casters got out in the weather today, but they pummeled catches, mostly striped bass but some blues, the past couple of days, said Nick from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. He heard about stripers caught to 18 and 22 pounds now, and most sharpies started to fish with bunker. Catches were also healthy off the Barnegat Inlet jetty, and a 22-pounder was the biggest reported banked there, and the fish grabbed a bucktail. But actually the big talk was about stripers, large ones, that started to be trolled along the ocean front on bunker spoons, Mann plugs and Stretch plugs. A couple topped 40 pounds, and a handful were in the 30-pound class. Basically 40- to 60-foot depths were fished, and bunker schooled. Boaters came across blues from time to time in the ocean, and Barnegat Ridge gave up a good catch of 6- to 8-pounders and occasional 10s two or three days ago. That’s the first report about the ridge on this site this season. Barnegat Bay boaters who clammed for striped bass scored fair success. Blues also swam the bay and everywhere. A few weakfish were scattered around the bay at places including Tice’s Shoal, along the sedge banks and at Oyster and Double Creek channels. Lots of fluke hugged the bay bottom, and Nick heard about 20-inchers caught and released in the past days, and fluke season opens in two Saturdays. Fresh bunker is stocked but runs out fast, and fresh clams arrive daily at the shop. Eels and frozen baits are on hand.

<b>Barnegat</b>

The boat got splashed Wednesday, after constant delays from the weather, like the torrent of storms last week, said Capt. John from <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b>. Barnegat Bay’s fishing had been picking up all around. Bluefish had stormed in, and striped bass fishing had heated up, and some tiderunner weakfish had moved in. But now the word was that the bite shut down, and John thinks the tons of freshwater runoff from the storms did the damage. But when the waters and the fishing clear up, trips on the boat will get going after the blues, stripers and weakies. The blues will get trolled on Ponytails or hooked on cast popper plugs or soft-plastic lures. The stripers will be clammed on the bay, until the migration of the linesiders fills the local ocean front, usually a little later in the season. Then the bass will be jigged, trolled or caught on livelined bunker that should migrate along with the stripers. The weakies--big tiderunners--will smack the Ponytails or the soft plastics used for blues. John also heard rumors about out-of-season fluke lifted from the bay while anglers targeted blues. The flattie season opens in two Saturdays, and Perfect Drift is a big-time fluke boat. Fluking in the bay is best in the early season, before the bottom huggers scatter or move to the ocean. Fluke are landed in the bay throughout summer but are more of a by-catch then. The early season is best for specifically targeting them in the bay.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

Sea bassing wasn’t good, wasn’t bad on the open-boat trip Saturday on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b>, Capt. Frank said. Some of the fish were landed.  Sunday’s open trip stayed docked, but a charter Tuesday pummeled quite a catch of sea bass, pretty good fishing. The Miss Beach Haven is bottom fishing on open trips 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>

Angling was mostly tough in the past couple of days, but some fish were around, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. One customer trolled hard in the bay from the 139 marker to big Creek and landed one bluefish. The report on the shop’s Web site said that a captain with 50 years experience said blues swam the bay, but waters needed to warm a bit to get them feeding. Bay anglers banged away at blues earlier this season. But shore anglers at Pebble Beach reeled up two keeper stripers, three throwbacks and a dozen blues the other night. Evenings sometimes gave up shore catches at places like Pebble and Graveling Point. That striper fishing will end any time, and was already phasing out. But fishing for migrating stripers along the ocean front will kick in, and usually starts by May 10 in the Little Egg Inlet area. So it was overdue, but already began a little farther north off Long Beach Island. Two stripers were weighed in yesterday, one of them coming from the deep at the mouth of the Mullica River, and the other, a 35-incher, taken from Grassy Channel on the bay. But the shop’s Web site said snot grass and sharks started making fishing impossible at Grassy. Deep waters were the place to find stripers during the daytime. Drum were occasionally beached or boated from the bay. A few weakfish were hooked at Sheepshead Creek yesterday morning on pink Fin-S Fish. Shore anglers were lined up and catching plenty of white perch on the Mullica River at Lower Bank. So perch were apparently far up the rivers. Boaters should also be able connect at Lower Bank. Fresh clams, bloodworms, grass shrimp and all the baits are in good supply except minnows. Scott got out to hunt minnows but found slim pickings. That made him nervous about the supply for the opening of flounder season in two Saturdays.

<b>Port Republic</b>

Bluefish got scarce on Great Bay, though they should be around now, said Mary Ann from <b>Chestnut Neck Boat Yard</b>. They were in before, and maybe they’ll return. Fishing generally turned slow, for some reason, but a few more striped bass than before were checked in that were landed on the Mullica River. Pete Jonson showed off a 32-incher, and Bob Mulholland brought in a keeper, the size unknown when Mary Ann gave the report. A few white perch were reeled from the river, but even they seemed tougher to find for the moment. Bloodworms, fresh clams, eels and frozen baits are stocked. Catch the shop’s Kids Bluefish Tournament on Saturday.

<b>Absecon</b>

Back-bay striped bass fishing tossed up decent catches of mostly smaller fish during the day, mostly on clams, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. But bigger bass were hooked on live baits like bunker or herring at night around the bridges. Live herring ran out at the shop, now that the commercial season closed. Not many blues swam the bay, but drum were occasionally hauled in from the waters. A big, tiderunner weakfish could be scared up from the bay on occasion. Curt’s been fishing for white perch up the rivers, and the angling was hit or miss, but the slabs could always be found somewhere. They were creeled on the Mullica River at Lower Bank, and seemed to be farther up the rivers like that. The Mullica and Great Egg Harbor rivers still held a few stripers. One customer wreck-fished for sea bass in the ocean and caught, but not like he expected, and waters were cold, in the low 50s. Fresh clams, bloodworms, eels, minnows, frozen baits and trout worms are stocked. Live spots will be carried as soon as they’re available.

<b>Brigantine</b>

“They’re slamming them,” said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Surf fishing for striped bass was the best in a long time at Brigantine, steady catches about three weeks now, with brief lulls in between. Big bass were around, too, and Libo Mei checked in a 40-pound 47-incher, the shop’s first to reach 40 this year. He muscled in the fish in front of the Brigantine Hotel, probably on a bunker he snagged for bait then livelined. Bunker sometimes schooled the wash, and fresh bunker is stocked. Tom Leehan beached a 26-pound 10-ounce striper to take over second place in the Fish for Life Tournament that ends Friday. He was holding second and third place, and Mei was in first with the 40-pounder. Drum, a by-catch for striper anglers who fish clams, were all over. Atlantic City firefighter Albert Stella banked a 76-pound 3-ouncer at the entrance to the island’s north end. Drew Hemrick was at the cove behind the island, saw something moving, threw a castnet, and came up with a 79-pound drum. Not many bluefish were around, and nobody mentioned kingfish, but everyone fished for stripers, and kings wouldn’t be able to inhale the larger striper baits. But the striper fishing couldn’t be beaten. Besides fresh bunker, the shop is carrying fresh clams and frozen baits.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

The surf, the bay and everywhere was loaded with striped bass, and anglers mugged them, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. Big ones were around, too, and the fishing was going off. Clams got bites, and so did herring and bunker, because the baitfish were schooling. Bluefish began to appear, but not many. Little was heard about sea bass, so that fishing seemed slow. No sharks were reported caught yet, but shark season was coming. Fresh clams, live spots, live eels and all the frozen baits are stocked.

<b>Somers Point</b>

For back-bay anglers striped bass were the main catch, a fax from Rob and Joan from <b>Dolfin Dock</b> said. The beach on the bay behind the Somers Point Circle near the bridge and the Ocean City Pier were productive spots. John Finnegan from Somers Point beat five stripers to 35 inches on fresh clams in a bass blitz. No location was given, but the bay was a guess. Mary Bowden from Egg Harbor Township fished the pier to clam a 10.18-pound drum. Richard Coe from Somers Point tried fishing for stripers on Delaware Bay but came up with a 25-pound drum instead. Not a bad alternative.

<b>Ocean City</b>

More and more striped bass got pulled from the surf and the bay, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Clams got attention in the surf, and lures could be used in the bay, such as Yozuri swimmers and darters, Calcutta shads, soft-plastic lures and Mir-O-Lures. Only a few bluefish were around, mostly at the inlets, and Corson’s Inlet put out the most. Scattered drum were beached from the surf here and there, but more of them than during most years. Last week one or two per day were heard about. One angler said he hooked kingfish well today in the surf in deeper waters on bloodworms. Waters probably warmed. A couple of customers slammed solid catches of sea bass at the wrecks or reefs. The opening of flounder season in two Saturdays seemed promising. Anglers hooked and released impressive catches of the flatties on the bay. Baits are just about fully stocked at the shop by now, including fresh clams, bloodworms and all the frozen offerings. Minnows will be carried for the flounder opener.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Catches began to improve, and Capt. Joe Hughes, from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, liked what he saw, he said. Some of the springtime’s fishing had come on slower than usual, and slower than other parts of the state, in the back bay around Sea Isle. Bluefish usually slam the bay by early May, and the fast action that the scrappy fighters give up on light tackle is a favorite for the boat’s charters. Blues had trickled in this year, instead of the mass invasion all at once like normal. But the tide seemed to turn in the past days, and the fishing wasn’t the best it gets, but was better, the best in a while. Dick and Mark Murphy on a trip Wednesday fought a dozen or so blues to 3 pounds on jigs with soft plastic lures on light tackle, casting up-current, bouncing the leadheads along the bottom on a swing. Incoming tide was best, and the bay’s temperature lately ranged about 55 to 63 degrees. Now was a good time to battle blues on flies in the bay, too, with Jersey Cape. Joe decided to hunt large striped bass earlier in the week with Dusty Laricks around Cape May, targeting a spot that usually holds them. They whacked two good-sized stripers to a 15-pound 34-incher while fishing with fresh clams and fresh bunker snagged on the trip. Success, and again, Joe liked what he saw. So things in general seemed to be coming along, even if the start was a little later than typical. Big dog sharks to 20 pounds grabbed many of the striper baits, but the stripers were there. Joe had originally thought about drum fishing that day with Laricks on Delaware Bay, but drumming seemed in a lull, though that should turn around. Most stripers in the back bay at Sea Isle were clammed, but the fishing for smaller ones that Joe often does with soft-plastic lures and flies or artificials was also decent, although high tides that give up the best catches never lined up with when trips on the boat had to fish in the past days. But that’ll change, and angling for the linesiders on the bay with popper lures and flies that’s especially a focus for Jersey Cape in the warm months was poised to happen. Joe already caught some on poppers, earlier in the year than usual, and water temps were approaching the point where the fishing was becoming more of a possibility. Just a few weakfish swam the bay. 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 is on tap with Joe 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.  

Thirty striped bass got weighed in from the surf this week if one did, and sharpies were hammering the fish, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Striped bass to 44 inches were checked in from the suds, and 90 percent of catches were made on clam, and some were taken on bloodworms, lures or bunker. Kingfish also gobbled bloods in the suds, and waters along the shore warmed to 57 degrees today from 53 yesterday. No bluefish roamed the surf, and only an odd blue at most showed up at the inlets, but the number of blues, small ones, increased in the back bay. Small stripers could be hooked on bait or lures in the bay, and just a few weakfish held in the bay, though a few more were around earlier. Crabbing began to produce blueclaws in the back, and frozen bunker is stocked for catching the hardshells, and a full variety of traps are carried at the shop, starting at $3, so anyone could get started. Fresh clams, bloodworms, eels and more baits are stocked. Minnows will be carried for the opening of flounder season in two Saturdays, and flounder baits like frozen mackerel and herring, favorites in the early season, will also be on hand. Plenty of flounder skittered around the bay.

<b>Cape May</b>

A drum trip turned out pretty good on Monday on Delaware Bay, said Capt. Ray from the <b>Jaftica</b>. Fishing for the boomers was slow in the morning, and began slowly in the afternoon among the fleet. But then Ray moved the boat to a spot where a few vessels got on some catches, and then the fishing picked up. The drum boated were small but weighed up to 45 or 50 pounds. Last week’s deluge of rains and the full moon at the end of the week seemed to affect drum fishing. Ray thinks that the more time that passes since the rains and the moon, the more drum fishing should kick in. Waters all around the bay seemed loaded with drum, and Ray apparently marked the fish wherever he went. But they were slow to feed for whatever reasons, like maybe they were spawning. That’s not uncommon with drum. The fish frequently become reluctant to chew at some point during the early season, and then one day all heck busts loose, and the fishing is on. Ray thinks the fishing isn’t a matter of “if” the bite will pop open, but “when” it will. Plenty of striped bass could be found on the bay, now that the fish were dropping back down to the waters after spawning in the Delaware River. Fishing for them might’ve also slowed a moment like for drum, but should get going again as the days pass since the storms and the moon. A striper charter is booked Saturday morning on the boat, and trips will chase them two or three weeks, as the bass migrate from the river through the bay to the ocean. That’s a chance to catch the big breeders coming through. Some dates remain for trips for drum and stripers in May and the beginning of June. Striper trips will likely fish in the mornings.

One angler who drum fished on Delaware Bay on Wednesday told Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> that the fishing was a struggle for boaters that day, George said. But the angler got lucky, and his trip landed four. George last ran a trip Monday afternoon to night, and four drum were boxed. On nearby boats 12 were reeled up on one vessel, and six were taken on another, and, if George remembered, four or five were stuck on another. That fishing was covered in the last report, and George had moved to an area where his anglers grabbed the four, while most of the fleet sat elsewhere with slow catches. He had gotten called in to the bite. Plenty of the fish bit until the angling slowed down Saturday. The bay’s anglers hoped the current drum fishing was the calm before the storm. That does take place with drum fishing at times. Last year George ran a drum trip one day that was slow, and on the next day boaters started ransacking the fish, and the action was on from that time forward. His next drum charter leaves port Friday.

Three drum trips are slated to fish Delaware Bay this weekend with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Eric said. Shark charters will kick off within two weeks, and Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the beginning of shark season, when waters warm enough for the monsters to migrate through. O-Beth loves sharking. Some spots remain for the fishing, and the peak usually lasts through June, a short but action-packed season. Sea bass responded a bit on the reefs, and O-Beth is available for bottom-fishing for them. Check out the monthly specials on the boat’s home page, featuring drum trips, including open-boat outings, this month.

Cape May surf casters put a beating on striped bass, lots of fish, including keepers, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Clams and bloodworms copped the linesiders, and Fran Walsh from Norrisown, Pa., clammed a 35-incher, a 29-incher and seven shorts in the suds. A few weakfish sucked in floated bloodworms around the jetties, and little was heard about bluefish. Plenty of out-of-season flounder carpeted the back bay, caught and released by some who tested the waters, and the flattie season opens in two Saturdays. Delaware Bay’s drum fishing was mostly tough, but some customers connected. One boated four, and the fishing should take off at some point. Sea bass hovered around Cape May Reef and Wildwood Reef. Fresh clams, bloodworms and all the frozen baits are stocked.

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