New Jersey Fishing Reports

With Outcast Charters anglers socked a slow pick of striped bass to 15 pounds on the bay Saturday, Capt. Joe said. They also muscled in blues that were around but were somewhat scarcer than before, not a bad thing for striper fishing. Aggressive blues can be impossible to fight through to get a bait to stripers. A charter was supposed to fish Sunday but rescheduled because of winds and rains. Open-boat trips are sailing every Wednesday evening, whether one angler or six show up. Call to reserve.

Striped bass got picked on the bay, and the bluefish population on the waters seemed to thin out at times and come back at others, said Capt. Anthony from Barbara Ann Fishing Charters. The stripers were hooked on chunked or live bunker, and the catches became less consistent than before, but that changes day to day. A couple of bottom-fishing trips scored okay on sea bass, again a pick. Charters are running for stripers, blues and bottom fish, and open-boat trips for stripers are sailing every Tuesday and Thursday, and call to reserve. Space this week is available on Tuesday, but Thursday is booked.

Bayonne

Three anglers on deck wanted to fish at Romer Shoal for striped bass on Sunday, but the weather was too rough, so they stayed in New York Harbor, first fishing at Diamond Reef, said Capt. Akira from True World Tackle and True World Tackle Charters. Bluefish and a 24-inch striper bit, so they moved to the waters off the U.N. Building. Eels are normally drifted for stripers there, but the weather seemed too rough for eeling, so the anglers chunked bunker instead. A 45-inch 25-pound striper, a 38-inch 22-pound striper and a 36-inch 17-pound striper were lambasted! Other bites were also missed, and other boaters fished with eels in the area despite the weather, but they seemed to hook nothing. The bunker chunking was great, and the anglers were satisfied. Striper fishing in general slowed down, wasn’t that good, for some reason. But anglers fishing from the bulkhead at Hudson River Park cranked in stripers on bunker chunks during the weather.

Laurence Harbor

An open-boat trip fished the bay Sunday in strong winds with Evening Tide Charters, Capt. Kyle said in an e-mail. Bunker were netted for bait in the back of the bay at the beginning of the outing. The anglers started fishing off Perth Amboy, landed a short striped bass, got no other bites, and moved to the Triangle. One bluefish was boated. They made a bunch of moves from there to Great Beds Light without a touch. A slow trip but lots of laughs and a great gang, Kyle said. On a charter Saturday with Anthony Stankovich and friends from Montreal, winds blew again and fog was thick. Bunker were netted, and the anglers set up off Perth Amboy to begin fishing. Short stripers and a bunch of blues attacked. The trip moved to the Triangle and to Great Beds Light, and more blues and one striper were caught. The anglers trolled toward the end of the day, picking up more blues. On a charter Friday with Chris Trebus, his two sons and his father, bunker were netted for bait at Great Kills, a little tough to find the menhaden, but enough were located. The trip first fished on the west side of Old Orchard, and blues and a short striper were decked. The boat was motored to the east side during slack tide, and more blues were picked up. By the end of the trip the boat trolled shads, and something bit off some of the tails of the rubber baits, but nothing was hooked. Evening Tide is fishing seven days a week on charters and open-boat trips, and contact Kyle to get on the open list.

Keyport

Three striped bass, including one keeper, and a bunch of 6- to 10-pound blues were drilled on a bachelor party trip for Doug Richards on Saturday with April Ann Charters, Capt. Ed said. A charter two Saturdays ago with the NJ Hunters slammed lots of big blues. Both trips fished the back of the bay with clams and bunker. Fluke season opens Saturday, and openings are available for trips for the flatties.

Atlantic Highlands

Rough weather sometimes affected trips, but anglers on the Atlantic Star boated ling, still a decent catch, and everybody went home with dinner, Capt. Tom said. He wasn’t asked where the trips fished, but the boat’s been sailing to Scotland, and that’s probably where. Conditions such as 25- to 30-knot winds from the south on Saturday afternoon’s trip made the fishing tougher than at calmer times, like on the morning’s trip, but again, everybody still bagged fish. A few more sea bass showed up than before, most of them a half-inch shorter than the new, 12-1/2-inch size limit. So they would’ve been keepers in the previous 12-inch limit. If anglers want ling, the fishing’s been better than many types, a good season for them for the second year in a row, and the boat will only fish for ling through Friday, until fluke season opens Saturday. 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. On Saturday the trips will begin fluke fishing.

Heavy-duty winds, tough for angling, were battled Sunday on the Fishermen, but a decent catch of striped bass was belted anyway, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s Web site. Patrick Mculla on his 11th birthday won the pool with a 26-pounder, and an even bigger one was lost at boat-side. Tom Krakow rounded up a 21-pounder. A few smaller bass were also in the mix. On Saturday in pea-soup fog all day, the boat first fished in the crowded fleet, but fishing was no good. The vessel took a ride down the beach, and some life was found, and the anglers picked away all day. A couple landed four large ones, and some put the brakes on two or three, and a bunch reeled up none. Naturally when the boat docked, the sun was out, and the weather was perfect and warm, and Ron’s eyes “were bugging out of my head!” he said. On Friday the bite only put out two bass in the morning. So the boat went in search mode. “Glad we did,” Ron said. Bass were found swirling on top with only a couple of birds on them, and a shot of seven stripers, all beauties, were nailed. The anglers ended the day with a good catch, and one landed four. Tommy Krakow bagged three quality ones. A 16-pounder was the pool fish. On Thursday’s trip, covered in the last report, excellent striper fishing went down in rough weather, after slower fishing during pleasant weather on the previous days. 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.

Highlands

Capt. Bob and crew from Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures took time off to fish for cod from Green Harbor, Massachusetts, on a 16th annual trip with family and friends, he said in an e-mail. Hopping on two boats, they limited out on cod and reeled in a mess of haddock. Back at home before the trip, striped bass fishing was getting back to normal on charters with Bob, after the full moon seemed to affect the fishing. Two evenings trips with the Hardy family and a gang from Bucks County limited out on the linesiders to 37 inches. A 5-pound, out-of-season fluke was hooked on the troll and “thrown back for another week,” Bob said. Fluke season opens Saturday. Trips on the boat were supposed to get back in action today, running for stripers, and fluke trips will begin on the opener. Afternoon and evening outings are being booked for both.

Anglers with Fisher Price Charters whaled striped bass to 29 pounds on the bay on bunker chunks until the fishing became difficult on a trip Sunday, mostly because of winds that blew 30, Capt. Derek said. A new body of stripers, somewhat larger than before, entered the bay, apparent because of sea lice on the fish and because of ling and winter flounder in their stomachs. Stripers in the 20-pound range seemed somewhat more common. Tons of blues kept swarming the bay. Catching bunker for bait on the bay was hit or miss, and when conditions were favorable, they were easier to locate. The baitfish were difficult to get during Sunday’s winds but were usually easier to find in better weather. A big tournament with probably 150 boats during the weekend also made bunker scarce. In addition to charters, Fisher Price is squeezing in open-boat trips for stripers whenever possible, and the next one is slated for Thursday morning. The boat is also available for bottom fishing.

Neptune

Trips for striped bass were tough until Sunday for Last Lady Fishing Charters, because of winds, cold waters and fog, Capt. Ralph said in an e-mail. But on Sunday morning, a very good catch was pounded on his smaller boat, and in the afternoon, the best striper fishing of the season so far was hammered on his bigger boat. Seven keepers that all were about 15 pounds were walloped. The bigger boat also ran for the fish that morning, but strong winds kept it from fishing where the smaller boat lambasted the linesiders. The fishing will only get better if the weather is fair. Individual-reservation trips are targeting stripers every Wednesday, and charters are also sailing. Striper trips should last until July, and fluke fishing will be done, including on individual-rez trips, as soon as the ocean warms enough. Bottom-fishing is currently available for sea bass that now moved in to the inshore pieces.

Belmar

Action on striped bass trips at Romer Shoal was up and down on the Nan Sea J in the past several days, Capt. Tom said. Friday was good, Saturday was not and Sunday was so-so. Waters were 56 degrees, pretty much consistent with before, not colder like the ocean became in the south winds. A few bluefish bit, but not many did, because the anglers mostly fished with clams. The boat will keep striper fishing and is also up for bottom fishing. The clock is ticking down to shark season, Tom’s favorite fishing. Charters will hunt down the beasts, and so will open-boat trips every Wednesday in June and July, a rare chance to get after the monsters on open trips.

Water temps dropped a few degrees in the ocean by the end of the week, slowing down fishing for striped bass and blues, after great jigging for the fish early in the week, said Capt. Greg from the Golden Eagle in an e-mail. He didn’t mention the cause of the declining temps, but south winds were apparently the culprit. Over all, the week turned out not the best, but the season was early, and the best was yet to come, he said. On Saturday’s trip fog didn’t help, made running through the small boats without radar difficult. A handful of blues and no stripers were landed. On Sunday strong northwest winds blew, but fishing was somewhat better. A radio call made the crew steam far north to work a good school of blues. The speedsters weren’t the most aggressive they’d been, but the catch was better than on the past several days. 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.

Brielle

South winds plummeted ocean temps to 49 degrees on a striped bass charter Saturday, and that seemed to screech catches to a halt, said Capt. Mike from the Katie H. A 38-inch, 22-pound striper was trolled within the first half-hour of the trip, and he thought the fishing was going to be great. But that was the only bass that chomped all day, and not even a single bluefish showed up. The amount of bait in the waters was unbelievable, and bunker kept getting hooked on the troll. So the trip switched to bottom fishing, but even that was slow, and dog sharks were pests. The crew got called in to a bottom-fishing bite, but by the time the vessel arrived on a slow sail because of pea-soup fog, the action was over. Boaters from the marina scored a donut on Sunday, and the ocean that day was 45 degrees. Whether the chill caused stripers to move offshore or inshore or wherever couldn’t be known, but Mike’s friend kept pummeling stripers in the surf at Deal on clams. Maybe all the fish were in close, but the fog Saturday was too thick to make the run toward the beaches at Deal. Fluke season opens Saturday, and Mike looks forward to sailing for them, and space is available for a charter to compete in the Elks Fluke Tournament. The traditional beginning of shark fishing in June is less than two weeks away, and Mike also looks forward to chasing the monsters. Tuna fishing on the boat, the highlight of the year on the vessel, usually begins in July. Don’t have enough anglers for a full tuna charter? No problem. Call Mike, and he can probably arrange an individual spot or more on a make-up trip.

A 29.4-pound striped bass and a 23-pounder were weighed in that pounced Tony Maja Bunker Spoons in the ocean off Mantoloking on Saturday on a trip that Bob Lake, Andy Montana, Joe Esposito and Joe Sargus took, said Dave from The Reel Seat. Patty Muly checked in a 35.4-pound striper she trolled with her husband John Muly on their boat Charmer on Wednesday or Thursday in the ocean off Spring Lake on a Montauk Bunker Spoon. Rob Jenkins and Tammy Higgins limited out on sea bass on Shimano Lucanus Jigs on Saturday on Rob’s boat Moby’s Mistress. More and more sea bass showed up in inshore waters, and plenty of ling were looted in the area. Rob also weighed in two pollock 28 and 30 pounds that he stuck on butterfly jigs at a wreck Wednesday. Last but not least, Dwayne Sherard from Queens Village, New York, weighed in a 59.2-pound tilefish that’s the pending New Jersey record, beating the old record by about 4 pounds. He mugged the fish on a tile trip on the Atlantic Star from Wildwood Crest. Closer to the shop, striped bass and bluefish swarmed the waters around Manasquan Inlet like they’ve been doing for some time. Fish Traps, Big Hammer Shads and Hogy’s were the hot lures, and a few weakfish to 5 or 6 pounds were in the mix. Stripers and blues also swam the Manasquan River and the Point Pleasant Canal. Local surf anglers beached striped bass on clams, but not a lot were going, and that made it difficult to say how the fishing was. One angler might go and say it stunk, and then anglers would think the fishing stunk. Then another might score, hitting the angling at the right place and right time, and then anglers would think the fishing was great. Out-of-season fluke were caught and released in Manasquan and Shark rivers, and the season opens Saturday. The shop carries an exceptionally large selection of fluke jigs, bucktails and rigs. A new shipment of bucktails just arrived, and ones up to 10 ounces are on hand. In other news, The Reel Seat is a weigh-in station for the magazine On the Water’s season-long striper tournament. 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.

After hard fishing for striped bass and blues on Saturday and a slow catch at first on Sunday, the bite picked up, an e-mail from the Jamaica said. Some decent shots at schools of blues with striped bass mixed in got scored from the middle of Sunday morning until it was time to go home. The high hook racked up 10 blues and three striped bass. Tom Scott from Bayonne won the pool with a 15-pound striper. Gold Ava 47 jigs with green tails were the hot lure, but silver Ava 47s with green tails out-fished all the other lures. The weather looked good for trips this week, and the Jamaica is sailing for stripers and blues at 7:30 a.m. daily. Clams will be aboard to be prepared for whatever works best: clamming for stripers or jigging for stripers and blues. Nighttime trips for blues will begin Friday. Check the boat’s Web site for the complete schedule or to be added to the e-mail list for additional, special trips. Reservations are being booked for canyon tuna trips that will begin at the end of August.

Point Pleasant

Reel Class Charters ran none of its striped bass and bluefish trips during the weekend, because Capt. Allen had other commitments those days, he said. But a few buddies fished for the linesiders, catching absolutely nothing. Striper fishing was supposedly terrible along the beach front both north and south. Allen heard about factors like cold, 48-degree waters off Manasquan Inlet. He mentioned no cause for the chill, but southerly winds apparently were to blame. His trips will get back to the fishing this weekend, and if stripers remain scarce, he’ll bottom fish. Sea bass should be able to be pumped up from the reefs and wrecks. Reel Class is fishing on both charters and open-boat trips for stripers and blues in the ocean, and see the boat’s Web site for the latest open schedule. Trips for fluke, a main event on the vessel through summer, will also launch after the flattie season opens Saturday. Those will include annual, open-boat Fluke Till You Puke Marathons.

Toms River

The weather and the dropping ocean temps from southerly winds put a beating on fishing, said Jeff from Murphy’s Hook House. But previously striped bass were trolled in the ocean on bunker spoons. Blues and stripers had also been taken on Barnegat Bay, but again the weather made things tough. Bay anglers at the Route 37 Bridge pinned down bass at night on rubber shads, popper lures or Mambo Minnows. Drifted eels along the sod banks tricked up a pick, no great numbers, along the sod banks. A few bass were also nabbed in the northern bay around the Mantoloking Bridge, probably on lures like Mambo Minnows. Weakfish sometimes hit lures like Fin-S Fish at the bridge. Jeff even heard about a 15-pounder that engulfed a bunker chunk at the bridge. Closer to the shop, the bay at Berkeley Island Park was the only place that gave up weakies that he heard about. Crabs started to be plucked from the back waters. One crabber caught nine in an overnight pot. Surf casters yanked in a few short striped bass that ate fresh clam or fresh bunker. They only beached an occasional bluefish. All the fluke rigs and baits will be ready to go for the opening of fluke season on Saturday, and the early season is usually the best time for the fishing on Barnegat Bay.

Seaside

Surf fishing was slow during the last several day, but striped bass and other fish were sometimes weighed in, and short stripers were sometimes beached, said the report on Grumpy’s Tackle’s Web site. Anglers were scarce Sunday, probably because of weather forecasts, but seven stripers from 10 to 19 pounds, including some quality ones, were checked in. Plugs grabbed three, and Grumpy clams took three, and bunker claimed one. Fresh clams and fresh bunker were stocked. One or two drum 8 to 20 pounds were also checked in from the surf every day since Thursday, and that’s unusual. No more than one or two were ever seen at the shop more than once and a while before. Bluefish and weakfish were scarce in the suds, but a 12-pound weakie was weighed in Friday that mouthed a Fin-S Fish in the wash. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

Barnegat Light

Fishing began fast for striped bass and blues on Barnegat Bay on trips at first during the week with Reel Fantasea Charters, Capt. Steve said in an e-mail. But winds, a southerly blow, built when the week wore on, and snot grass became as abundant as Steve ever saw, filling the waters on outgoing tides, almost impossible to keep off the lines and the baits. Karl Steffan Sr. and Jr. early in the week doubled up repeatedly on bass and blues, solid fishing. They actually couldn’t get more than two rods in the waters before one was hooked up. Next, Peg Glenze was aboard in wicked winds with snot grass of Biblical proportions. But she battled lots of 6- to 8-pound blues nonetheless, and multiple numbers of the fish followed the hooked ones. Then Joe Franke, his friend Ed and Cy Collins took a trip when the blues bit so subtly that they were difficult to hook. Maybe the short strikes came from small fish. A huge school of bunker was afterward found at Barnegat Inlet, and the anglers livelined and chunked the bait, but there were no takers. The gang ended the day with 2- to 3-pound blues in the box. Sean Castle, wife Sandy and nephew Sam then took a trip in dense fog but perfect fishing conditions, and Steve had high expectations. But the fish didn’t cooperate. A couple of sizeable, out-of-season blackfish were released, and Sam landed his first-ever striper and blue.

Beach Haven

Huge seas met the Miss Beach Haven at the inlet in thick fog on Saturday’s trip, but the ocean calmed down once the boat cleared the inlet, and visibility got better, an e-mail from the boat said. The boat made its way to 85 feet of waters, and got anchored. Fishing for keeper sea bass was a slow pick, and the new ½-inch increase in the size limit was difficult this day. Several limits could’ve been bagged in the old 12-inch limit, and lots of 12-inchers floated away dead. A 3-pounder was the pool winner, and Ted Alves was high hook. But Sunday was a different story, and every day’s been different for sea bassing on the boat this season. “You never know what to expect,” the e-mail said, “(and) some days the bigger fish bite, and some days they don’t. I guess that’s why they call it fishing.” Only a handful of anglers were aboard, apparently scared off by forecasts, but the crew decided to fish anyway, and they were glad they did. The weather was rough most of the day, with 20-knot, northerly winds and lots of rains. But the fishing was awesome, and a couple of patrons came close to limiting out. 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.

Tuckerton

Probably 25 sea bass and half a dozen ling were coolered Saturday with Legal Limit Charters, Capt. T.J. said. The catch came from about 10 different wrecks, no one particular spot, in 60 to 80 feet. So the sea bass were clocked, although the anglers had to work through dog sharks. Legal Limit’s other boat in Cape May was busy drum fishing on Delaware Bay, and see that report under that port. Open-boat trips are running every Tuesday and Thursday on both vessels so long as no charter is booked. Sea bass and drum will be the targets, and flounder fishing will be added when the flatfish season opens Saturday. Call for openings.

Mystic Island

Small, 1-1/2-pound blues, fish that normally appear in the bay in spring but were late this year, finally showed up, said the report on Scott’s Bait & Tackle’s Web site. Two anglers caught them Friday and Saturday, one of them off Little Beach, and the other at an undisclosed location. That was almost the only news about catches that rolled in to the shop in the past days, and fishing sounded difficult. “When the weather clears,” the report said on Sunday, a day with rainstorms and strong winds, “fishing will get better.” The site also reminded anglers to follow the rules and be respectful when fishing from shore at Pebble Beach on the bay. The area “is so very close to becoming off limits to anglers,” the report said. “It may already be too late.” Keep the area free from trash, and don’t drink alcohol. No public urinating, and park in the proper places. Keep the noise down, everything from talking too loudly at 2 a.m. to slamming car doors. Sound carries.

Atlantic City

Weigh-ins from the surf included eight striped bass from 13 pounds to 26 pounds, and that’s not to mention all the smaller, legal-sized bass and the shorts that customers banked, said Noel from One Stop Bait & Tackle. Fishing was definitely on! he said. Specifically the eight checked-in fish that he gave as examples were 26 pounds, 25 pounds, 20 ½ pounds, 20 pounds, 19 ½ pounds, 16 pounds, 14 pounds and 13 pounds. Plenty of stripers flooded the waters. A 65-1/2-pound drum was also checked in from the suds. Clams, bloodworms, bunker and herring got the striper bites, and big pods of bunker schooled through, and herring swam around. A few bluefish, not many, popped up in the wash. So did a few kingfish, but water temps probably fluctuated too much for kings. Somebody said a big, tiderunner weakfish was landed at the T-jetty, but the fish wasn’t weighed in, and until Noel sees the weak, it’s a rumor. Two tiderunners 15 ½ pounds and 6 ½ pounds were checked in earlier this season that were wrenched in near the old pump house at Albany Avenue. Big, 4-foot dog sharks also roamed the surf lately. The T-jetty was the most reliable spot to fish. If anglers fished at the T, they’d catch. But all along the surf and along the inlet gave up strikes. Go now! All the baits mentioned and more are stocked.

Longport

Daily, open-boat trips picked away at sea bass on the Stray Cat, and 6- to 10-pound blues showed up on the trip Sunday at the Ocean City Reef, Capt. Mike said. The blues beat up on the sea bass, and a couple of blowfish were hooked, and sand sharks moved in. Out-of-season, 18 and 18-1/2-inch, keeper-sized flounder also grabbed baits. “As I remember, they taste pretty good,” Mike joked. Flounder season opens Saturday. Then trips will begin targeting sea bass, flounder and whatever else shows up. A special trip on Memorial Day will chase the fish on extended hours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at no extra charge to give anglers a holiday break. Now that IS a special trip! Nobody’s getting an economic break anywhere this year, but here you go, the real deal. Only six spots remain, and the trip will probably be limited to 12. The season’s first shark charter was supposed to break the inlet Sunday, but seas were wicked. Even Mike was scared. Open trips will only last through May 30 before charters take over the entire schedule for summer.

Somers Point

Summer flounder season kicks off Saturday, and plenty of reports rolled in about the flatties paving the bay, said Rob and Joan from Dolfin Dock in a fax. Chaz Keller from Egg Harbor Township ran into a small school of 1- to 2-pound blues while fishing the bay off Kennedy Park. White perch anglers could load up on the Egg Harbor River. On the ocean the Ocean City Pier was the hot spot for striped bass fishing with fresh clams. At Reef Site 11 in the ocean sea bass 12 to 14 inches hovered around.

The bay’s striped bass fishing, including around the bridges, kept improving, because the fish were leaving the rivers, making their way to the ocean, said T.C. from Brennan Marine in a fax. Fishing for them around the surf jetties got better for the same reason. On the bay Bruce Gosser on the Captains Lady boated a 30-inch striper near Anchorage Point on a drifted clam. Around the surf anglers connected with stripers at the Ocean City Pier and the Longport jetty. White perch sucked in bloodworms up the rivers, and short stripers could still be hooked and released on the rivers. Small drum were grabbed on the bay and near Great Egg Harbor Inlet. Bay anglers caught and released flounder while fishing for bass, so the flatties were around in time for the opening of flounder season on Saturday.

Sea Isle City

A very good catch of blues got fly-rodded on the back bay Friday with Jay Vonczoernig aboard, said Capt. Joe Hughes from Jersey Cape Guide Service and Gibson’s Tackle. Fifteen or more of the speedsters to 3 pounds were fought on Electric Chickens, a chartreuse and pink Clouser fly that Joe ties, on sinking lines on a slow, stop-and-go retrieve along the bottom. On a trip Saturday on the bay with Chip Grimes and friend Bruce, the catch was much slower in south winds and difficult conditions while the anglers fished with both jigs and flies. A big striper smacked a jig and was lost, and a couple of blues were landed, and several were lost. If all the fish that bit would’ve been caught, the catch would’ve been okay. Joe did no fishing in Sunday’s fierce winds. Fishing on the bay was “sporadically great,” Joe said. Blues were there, but they bit inconsistently, sometimes cooperating. That could change quickly, like with better weather. The fast action with the blues is a favorite for Jersey Cape’s charters and only lasts weeks, before most blues move to the ocean. Striped bass could be angled up from the bay on the right tides, namely high tides. Fishing for the bass with top-water popper lures or flies, one of Joe’s specialties through summer, usually kicks in by the end of May or the beginning of June, and he already nailed a few on poppers. A healthy population of flounder carpeted the bay, and the flattie season opens Saturday. The fishing is best in the early season, and anglers should book trips quickly if they want to lock in dates around the opening, before they’re gone. The bay was 63 to 64 degrees. Joe heard that local surf fishers beached striped bass during the weekend. Check out Joe in the new book Fly Fishers Guide to the Northeast Coast by Phil Shook. He’s featured in the chapter on Sea Isle City. 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.

Wildwood

Striped bass to 42 inches got beached from the surf in North Wildwood and Cape May during mornings and evenings, probably some of the best spring surf fishing in years, and that was the hot news, said Cathy from Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle in an e-mail. Aaron Hoffman from Cape May clammed a 42-1/2-incher from the North Wildwood suds. Drum were mixed in with the stripers. Drum fishing for boaters on Delaware Bay had slowed around the full moon during the weekend before last. But in the past days it got back on track with good catches around the Pin Top. Plenty of sea bass were reeled up from the reefs and the inshore wrecks. Flounder season opens on Saturday, and the shop will be open early that day, stocked with the favorite rigs, baits and Gulps for the flatties. A $100 gift certificate will be awarded to the angler who weighs in the biggest flounder by 6 p.m. that day at the shop. No registration is necessary, and just bring in the fish.

Cape May

Fifteen drum, a limit of the fish for the five anglers, were boxed on Delaware Bay on a trip Saturday, said Capt. George from the Heavy Hitter. Twelve of the fish, a limit for the four anglers aboard, were bagged on another trip Sunday. So the fishing was good, although some boats struggled. A trip Friday on the boat decked three of the fish to 70 pounds. Many of the drum on the charters were medium-sized, but up to 70- or 75-pounders were hauled in on each. Many of the fish landed seemed spawned out. Space remains for drum charters, if anglers want the boomers. Howard Bly headed up the trips Friday and Saturday. On Friday his group was made up of himself, Eddie, Red, Ricardo and Wayne. On Saturday he fished with Al, Larry, Ricardo and Ron. Ron Dyfus’s group from the Piney Hollow Gun Club fished on Sunday’s trip.

Delaware Bay seemed to warm, and eight drum were boated there Wednesday with Schmedley Charters, Capt. Joe said in an e-mail. The 30- to 35-pounders, not big but good eating size, turned on fairly late, starting at 8:30 p.m. Thursday was too rough for a trip to sail, but the boat got back out for the boomers on Saturday, and nine of the fish, including a sizeable one 68 pounds, were knocked down. The bite began at 7:30 p.m. The bay was 61.7 degrees on the flats north of the Pin Top. Joe only expects drum fishing to get better from here on out. Available dates for charters or open-boat trips next week include Monday to Tuesday and Thursday to Friday. Back-bay fishing is also available for the first time this year on a 19-foot Center Console for one or two anglers.

On Delaware Bay anglers went 4 for 8 on drum 40 to 55 pounds on Saturday afternoon’s trip, and another crew shoveled up two drum 30 to 35 pounds on the morning’s trip, said Capt. Tom from the Fishin’ Fever. The fish bit specifically at a certain stage of the tide, and the afternoon’s trip would’ve made out even better if winds against the current hadn’t kept swinging the boat all over during that period of the tide. A solid blanket of the fish, an incredible amount, was marked on the fish finder 10 minutes before the drum were caught on the afternoon trip. Waters were 62 degrees, pretty steady through both tides. Drum catches could really go off around Saturday’s new moon. Striped bass fishing on the bay sounded difficult during the weekend, and Tom heard about long trips that only came up with a couple of the fish. A few blues began to appear along the ocean front, and the Fishin’ Fever runs trolling trips for the slammers. Bottom-fishing is also available for loads of sea bass covering the inshore wrecks. Trips on the vessel will soon begin to search for thresher sharks, some of the first sharks to migrate to local waters. A buddy got quickly spooled on a 30-pound outfit along the beach front, and a thresher could’ve been the culprit. Another buddy reeled up a sea bass that got chomped in half, and the attack looked suspiciously like from a mako shark. Makos usually become abundant soon after threshers.

The weather was beautiful on a trip for drum Friday on Delaware Bay, and lots of the fish were marked, and two of them around 40 pounds apiece were bagged, and most boaters in the area that day sounded like they did about the same, said Capt. T.J. from Legal Limit Charters. The trip fished in the afternoon until 9 p.m. during outgoing tide. No trips fished for drum Saturday and Sunday, but nine back-to-back trips for the boomers were about to begin now, with a break or two in between. T.J.’s other boat in Tuckerton ran a bottom-fishing trip that coolered about 25 sea bass and a half-dozen ling in 60 to 80 feet at probably 10 different wrecks, no one particular spot. So the sea bass were socked, although the anglers had to work through dog sharks. Open-boat trips are running every Tuesday and Thursday on both vessels so long as no charter is booked. Drum and sea bass will be the targets, and flounder fishing will be added when the flatfish season opens Saturday. Call for openings.

Drum trips fished on Delaware Bay all week except Thursday on the Down Deep, and all caught pretty well, Capt. Bob said. Smaller fish were landed toward the beginning of the week, but now bigger ones started to appear. Groups that each hauled up drum to about 55 pounds included the Randy Roach, Dan Hullings, Mike Gardner and Ron Duby gangs. On Sunday the Tom Hoban crew beat nine drum to 65 pounds. A few openings remain for drum charters, if anglers want to go after them.

Fishing for drum turned on along Delaware Bay, with better numbers and bigger fish to 70 pounds pumped in, said Capt. Ray from Jaftica Sportfishing. Space is available for drumming on the boat this Memorial Day weekend. A few striped bass were reeled up, like far up the bay on eels near the lighthouses, but the fishing sounded slow Saturday. The southern bay where drum anglers fished was probably in the low 60s. Flounder season opens Saturday, and if space remains between drum trips over the weekend, Jaftica might mix in flounder fishing.

Waters around the Pin Top started giving up drumfish again on Thursday, said Matt from Jim’s Bait & Tackle. The deeper waters there, just on the Jersey side of the shipping channel, churned them out, and catches of up to a dozen a trip were heard about. Early in the week the fishing was slow, and Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side was the only spot that produced then. An 88-1/2-pound boomer was the biggest at the shop so far this season, and Jim Young from Wildwood Crest subdued the behemoth. Lyle Rutty Jr., 7, wrestled in a 62-pound drum. Striped bass were yet to show up in the southern bay near the shop, after they spawned in the Delaware River. But bass 25 to 35 pounds were boated far up the bay from Blakes Channel to Ship John. The best local striper fishing came from the Cape May surf, all along the beach front. Two hours before and after high tides served up bites, and so did the evenings, no matter the tide. Hal Peters from Ocean City dragged 11 stripers to 23 pounds and a 15-pound drum onto the beach at Brooklyn Avenue. Sea bass gathered in 80 to 100 feet, getting picked over pretty well by now. Keepers were thinning out, getting harder to come by. Some anglers prospected for flounder in the back bay, getting ready for the opening of the flattie season Saturday. The fish were there, and anglers hoped they’d still be there then.