<b>Keyport</b>

Raritan Bay’s striped bass fishing became sporadic, slow for <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, and anglers had to work hard, Capt. Fred said. So the crew next week will make the annual move to Point Pleasant to begin combo jigging for bass and blues/bottom-fishing trips on the ocean. Dates are available in June. On Tuesday a trip on Raritan Bay livelined bunker for stripers, lost a couple near the boat and broke one off, but managed to land two sizeable linesiders to 20 pounds, the report on the boat’s Web site said. On Sunday Fred took his kids fishing to compete in the American Striper Association Tournament in pea-soup fog, the site said. Tons of blues to 12 pounds attacked on the bay, and after a long day, Fred took the mate’s advice to fish up the Hudson River. A 15-pound striper, the only bass boated all day, was finally scored, and the kids won second place in the junior division with the fish. They were disappointed not to win first after competing in the event the second year in a row. But Fred told them that life is about working hard to the last minute, like how they finally landed the linesider, and that he was proud of them for fishing all day, fighting bluefish one after another and getting up at 3 a.m. at the first sound of the alarm. 

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Customers came out in droves Wednesday after reports about good striped bass catches on the boat on the previous days, said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> in an e-mail. Too many of the anglers went home without dinner, but Mitch Jevic, on his first trip of the season on the vessel, bagged three bass 15 to 20 pounds, and two other anglers combined for six keepers and a few shorts. “Big Bob” won the pool with a 22-pounder, one of two keepers he creeled. Currents roared, unusual because the new moon, when strong currents would be expected, was several days from coming. On Tuesday the fishing was often a one, two pick, but a quality catch was made, including a few 20-plus-pounders. Billy Horn won the pool with a 23-pounder, one of two of his keepers. Don Wistuk grabbed three keepers, and a couple of others limited out, and a few went home with no stripers. Monday’s trip had to bounce around to a few drops but produced good fishing.  Four customers landed four sizeable keepers apiece, and the captain’s dad, Capt. Ron Sr., pumped in three. Capt. Ron was glad to see the bigger bass spawned out, but the smaller ones were yet to drop their eggs. Around this trip the stronger currents were key, and the angling stopped when the tide petered out, just the opposite by Wednesday, when unusually strong currents gave up slow fishing, and the better bites came when tides were slower. 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. However, no open-boat trip will leave port Saturday morning, because a charter is booked.

Fluke fishing will launch on Saturday, the opening day of the summer flounder season, on the twice-daily trips on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. But for now the trips kept fishing for ling, and patrons kept catching them, with a few sea bass mixed in. The bite did become more difficult on the most recent trips, maybe because of the weather, but over all, lots of ling came up this season. No trips sailed Monday, but both the morning and the afternoon trips fished Tuesday, and catches were good. Catches were somewhat slower on Wednesday morning’s trip, but all patrons went home with fish for dinner. Wednesday afternoon’s trip became a struggle, maybe because of south winds. Out-of-season blackfish were sometimes reeled up and released on the trips, too. 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. through Friday. On Saturday the trips will begin fluke fishing, and spearing and squid will be supplied for bait. <b>Update, 5/24:</b> The boat’s first fluke trips on the opening day of the season yesterday caught the fish, Capt. Tom said. Quite a few of the flatties were shorts, but some were keepers, and the start was better than last year’s. A 6-pound 2-ouncer and a 4-pound 8-ouncer were sacked.

On the rivers, blues, striped bass and weakfish were rounded up, and on the bay blues and bass were hooked, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Fish were really clubbed all around, from the rivers to the ocean. Surf casters clammed, bunker chunked or jigged striped bass. Boaters had no problem landing stripers and blues. “They’re catching fish,” Jimmy said, meaning everywhere! Excellent catches of ling were also pulled from the ocean.

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass fishing was sort of up and down but a little better than before, and some bigger ones were landed on board, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. A 25-pounder was probably the biggest boated on the vessel in the past days, and one that was in the high 30s or low 40s was broken off. Large ones were around. Anglers had to weed through bluefish to grab the bass. Trips were now bunker chunking for the fish toward the mouth of the bay, and will eventually move to the ocean. Reports that Derek heard about the ocean said stripers were sometimes found and other times disappeared, so he might begin looking around the ocean in a week or two. He usually fishes for stripers until early July, and the bass that show up between now and then are usually the largest of the season, big, mature, breeding-age migrators that dumped out of the rivers after spawning, making their way north to cooler waters for the summer. Charters are sailing, and open-boat trips are running whenever Derek can squeeze them in. The next open trip might fish Sunday. Bottom fishing is also available, but Derek did no bottom fishing in the last days.

Boating a striped bass was tougher than before but was starting to shape up, and the bunker population somewhat started to increase, becoming easier to catch for bait, said Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>. He competed in Sunday’s American Striper Association Tournament from the Highlands, and only 16 of the linesiders were entered. Jersey Devil placed 11th in the event out of 30 boats entered. Brian, as vice president of the Fishermen’s Conservation Association, participated in the running of the FCA’s Manhattan Cup Striper Tournament on Friday. Between 50 and 60 boats were entered, a good turnout, and they caught lots of blues with a few bass mixed in. But again, striper angling was beginning to shape up. Trips will get back after stripers Friday and Saturday.

<b>Neptune</b>

No trips sailed since the weekend with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said, and striped bass fishing was tough for his trips toward the end of last week until Sunday, when his anglers mugged the fish, covered in the last report. Trips will get back out Friday and Sunday, and individual-reservation trips are running for stripers every Wednesday. Those trips will switch to fluke fishing when ocean fluking heats up, sometime after the flattie season opens and the ocean warms.

<b>Belmar</b>

Bluefish were hammered, great fishing, and striped bass were sometimes socked, hit or miss angling, on trips that fished daily on the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, Capt. Alan said. On some trips a few stripers were boxed, and on others 15 or 20 were. The season’s first nighttime bluefishing on the boat was decent Friday and Saturday, and those trips will begin leaving port every evening this Friday. 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 run 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily starting Friday.

On the <b>Big Mohawk</b> anglers pounded sea bass, excellent fishing, although trips will switch to fluke angling on Saturday, the opening of the flattie season, Capt. Chris said. Still, sea bassing was better than in recent years, healthy numbers of the lumpheads, and quality-sized. A few cod, not many, were in the mix. The Big Mohawk is bottom fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Friday, and the trips will switch to fluke fishing on Saturday. Squid and spearing will be supplied for bait for the fluking.

A ton of blues and one striped bass, a keeper, were reeled up Wednesday on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. The trip fished at Romer Shoal, where nothing bit, and tried the bay and the ocean outside the bay, mostly with bunker chunks. Trips will keep hunting striped bass, and bottom-fishing is also on tap. Tom is also looking forward to sharking, his favorite fishing, in June and July. No sharks were around so far, and waters were cold. Water temps need to top at least 60 degrees to draw sharks, and about 62 or 63 to bring in makos. Blue sharks could arrive before then. The first sharking on the vessel is slated for June 10, one of the Nan Sea J’s weekly open-boat shark trips that fish every Wednesday in June and July. A few spaces remain on the outing, and some anglers already booked spots for that day. Tom each year runs the trips, a rare opportunity to battle the beasts on open trips. Charters also get after the monsters.

Bunker schooled all over the ocean, and striped bass were dusted up among the schools, mostly by boaters, said Mike from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. But sometimes surf anglers drilled the bass. The fish were yet to blow up all over the bunker like they should at the peak of the run, but they should when waters warm a little, probably by June. Many of the stripers were small, but some weighed up to 35 pounds. Belmar party boats lambasted bluefish today, and striped bass probably made up half the catch. Anglers on the party boats also waffled lots of sea bass and ling. Quality catches of out-of-season fluke were already mongered and released from Shark River, and the shop is locked, loaded and ready to go for the opening of the flatback season on Saturday. The rental boats will be in the waters, and all the baits and rigs will be on hand. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, eels, killies and more are stocked.

<b>Brielle</b>

Anglers on the <b>Jamaica</b> creamed 5- to 10-pound blues, including some limits, by the end of Wednesday’s trip, and the fishing ended up very good, an e-mail from the boat said. In the morning, just a few miles from the inlet, blues and striped bass were found, but the fishing was slow. The boat moved north, and decent catches of bluefish were made. But bluefishing really turned on after noon. Shawn Kelly won the pool with a 16-pound striped bass. Many schools of fish were seen working the surface, and big readings were marked on the scope at times. The outlook is excellent through the weekend. On Tuesday’s trip customers slammed plenty of 5- to 10-pound blues. Schools of bunker moved along the beaches in the morning, and the boat tried fishing several pods, but no fish bit. But reports were heard about blues and bigger stripers taken among the bunker late in the afternoon. The Jamaica is fishing at 7:30 a.m. daily, and night trips for blues will begin to run daily on Friday at 7:30 p.m., except no night trip will sail on Memorial Day. Visit the boat’s Web site for the complete schedule of trips and to join the e-mail list for special trips. Reservations are being booked for canyon tuna fishing that will start at the end of August.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

The ocean was a little cold, but anglers caught fish all around, and the weekend outlook seemed good, said Chuck from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. Action for customers especially came from around Manasquan Inlet. Striped bass to 19 ½ pounds and a few big, tiderunner weakfish swam from the ocean near the inlet to the inlet itself to the Manasquan River and up the Point Pleasant Canal. Chuck heard about a couple of tiderunners knocked down around the canal. A load of out-of-season blackfish lined the canal. Bluefish previously had swarmed around the inlet but became scarcer there now. But boaters along the beach front banged away at both blues and bass, and surf anglers said they saw them catch. Boaters probably chased bunker schools to locate the fish, snagging the bunker for bait and dropping it back down either live or chunked. Surf casters also banked striped bass and occasional blues. Clams were the predominant bait for the bass in the wash, but lures like any metal jigs, Vision sand eels or various plugs also worked.  All the rigs and baits will be fully stocked for Saturday’s opening of fluke season, and Chuck heard about a few of the flatties plucked from the inlet by mistake and released. Some were big, too, like a 29-incher one angler pulled in. Fresh clams, fresh-frozen bunker right off the boat, worms and other baits are stocked.

After cold waters, the ocean finally warmed above 54 degrees, and plenty of large schools of bunker paraded through, said Cindy from the <b>Sea Devil</b> in an e-mail. A trip got out Tuesday, making the first drift just minutes from Manasquan Inlet. One striped bass was boated, and a couple of anglers caught bunker for bait. The vessel moved north near Asbury Park, and several patrons whacked big stripers on the second drift. Lots of stripers were hooked on the next drifts, though “not as many (were landed),” she said. But the day ended up “pretty terrific,” she said. She even went 1 for 2, landing her first striper of the season. Another trip sailed Wednesday, and a very good catch of 5- to 8-pound bluefish got plundered near the Shrewsbury Rocks. Weather forecasts looked great through Memorial Day, and the Sea Devil is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Bottom-fishing looted catches, mostly ling, on the <b>Dauntless</b>, a very good week, and trips ran every day, including during Sunday’s strong winds, Capt. Butch said. Patrons averaged 15 to 20 fish apiece, and sometimes sea bass showed up, and so did a few cod, a few blues and occasional striped bass. One striper was boated each day for the past three days. One trip, on last Thursday if Butch remembered, shoveled up quite a few sea bass, including limits for a couple of anglers. But the trip had to work for the fish, moving a lot. A few big ones would come up right away, and then little ones and dog sharks would take over. But the boat usually fished shallower than most sea bass would hold right now. Dog sharks became thick at the deepest waters where the vessel fished or in 80 feet, and became too numerous in deeper waters. When the boat fished at 80 feet a dozen or two dogs would be hooked per trip. Water temps started slowly to creep back up, after sustained southerly winds made waters frigid toward the end of last week. Waters were 53 degrees by yesterday where the boat fished lately in 65 to 80 feet, and previously plummeted to 47 to 49 degrees. The season’s first nighttime bluefish trips will sail this weekend through Memorial Day. Afterward the trips will run on weekends until fishing every day later in the season. Blues seemed to bite at night. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily and is bluefishing 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. this weekend through Memorial Day and on every weekend until the trips run daily later this season.

Reports rolled in about bunker schooling the ocean and striped bass and blues becoming more aggressive among the baitfish with waters warming up, an e-mail from the <b>Cock Robin</b> said. The weather forecast looked favorable, and trips will begin sailing for stripers and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily on Friday. Nighttime bluefishing trips will run 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

<b>Seaside</b>

It’s time to fish, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Thirteen striped bass from 8 pounds to 36 pounds, including a couple of 20-some-pounders, were weighed in from the surf Wednesday, typically a slow day at the shop. Grumpy clams scored most, but some were taken on bunker and plugs. A 10-pound weakfish was also plugged. Bluefish were scarce but should pop up sometime. Fresh clams and fresh bunker are stocked, and a new supply of Hogy lures came in, including fat doubles, pre-rigged singles, skinnies, jigheads, Texas rigs, rattle eyes and a bunch of others. The weather was finally beautiful. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Forked River</b>

Barnegat Bay boaters trolled bluefish on Ponytails, said Dave from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. They sometimes clammed striped bass at Oyster and Double Creek channels and trolled the linesiders in the ocean near Barnegat Inlet. Weakfish sucked in sandworms near Berkeley Island Park. All the baits and rigs are stocked for the opening of fluke season on Saturday. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, killies, spearing, squid and more are on hand.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Both surf casters and boaters pelted great striped bass catches today, said Nick from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. A 24-pound 6-ounce bass that swiped a plug was the biggest checked in that was beached from the surf, and the fish inhaled fresh bunker. A 17-1/2-pounder was weighed in that was plugged in the suds. The catches from boats that trolled bunker spoons along the beach front among schools of bunker was really the big news. A 45-pounder was walloped from a boat. Barnegat Inlet anglers also plugged plenty of bass and blues in the mornings and evenings. Barnegat Bay boaters who anchored and clammed picked away at steady catches of stripers to 36 or 40 inches. Ones who drifted live bait also scored all right. Big weakfish could be sandwormed or hooked on Fin-S Fish in the bay. Fluke fishing should be great on the bay when the season opens this weekend, and reports rolled in about a fair number of 18- to 21-inchers caught and released already. The shop is fully loaded with fluke baits including killies. Loads of fresh clams, fresh bunker and eels are also stocked.

<b>Barnegat</b>

The boat is in the waters, geared up, ready to launch fluke fishing on Barnegat Bay on opening day of the summer flounder season Saturday, said Capt. John from <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b>. The bay’s flattie fishing is definitely best in the early season, but angling for blues and weakfish on the bay might also be done that day. No striped bass fishing will likely go down on the boat during the holiday weekend, because boat traffic should make the stripers shy at the channels at Barnegat Inlet where they get clammed. In fact John will probably run the trip Saturday to get on the fluke on the opener and then take a break until after Memorial Day because of crowds. Then trips for fluke, blues, weakfish and stripers will be under way. Fluke hug the bottom of the bay throughout summer, but swim the waters abundantly enough to target specifically in the early season. Afterward they become an ever-present by-catch on trips for other fish on the bay, but most of the fluke population moves to the ocean in summer. Perfect Drift will also chase them there, and fluking is a main affair for the boat’s trips through the season. Blues were already around in the bay, and John did troll around briefly, landing some on Ponytails when he took a fuel run one day. A few weaks were also around in the bay, and so was a larger number of stripers. Eventually big, migrating stripers should travel through the ocean, and then trips will go after them there, jigging, trolling or fishing live or chunked bunker for them, while the fish feed on bunker schools. That fishing should especially unfold in the coming weeks in the Barnegat area, later than some places in the state, for whatever reasons. Waters were cold for this time of year, but fish were around. Anglers just needed stretches of fair weather like this week’s to keep them biting, after rough weather this spring.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Angling was like the change of fishing seasons, when bluefish move in to the back waters as the bays warm, and striped bass move to the ocean, chased off by the blues, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Things were mostly slow in the interim, and the bay’s striped bass fishing backed off. Big, migrating bass should appear in the ocean off Little Egg Inlet any time but so far had not. A mess of them, as good as the fishing gets, were looted farther north off Barnegat Inlet. Only dog sharks swarmed around Little Egg. Flounder season opens Saturday, perfect timing, will probably give anglers a good fishery to target. The early season is absolutely best for flounder catches on the bays, usually giving up the most keepers in the first 10 days, before many of the keepers are bagged. Mackerel works well on the flatties in the early season, but spearing, minnows and squid will also connect, and all are stocked. Anglers usually fish strips of mackerel, like on a bucktail, or combos of minnows or spearing with squid strips. Not too many blues were around, but a few of the 1-1/2-pounders that usually invade the bays in spring did appear. Many anglers tried for weakfish in the back waters with no luck, and probably four of the trout were taken from Little Sheepshead Creek this season. Drum disappeared in the bays, although they were caught before, and drum in past years were hauled up in early May, vanished a while, then were hooked again in June. Maybe they spawn during the slow period. No kingfish and blowfish turned up, although a few did before. Maybe they also spawned. White perch fishing was great on the Mullica River at the Lower Bank Bridge. Lots of customers bought the shop’s live grass shrimp in the mornings and late in the days for perch fishing, and either those were the best times for the angling or those were the times when anglers fished, before and after work. Sea bass fishing at the ocean wrecks was fair, because waters were cold, only 53 degrees. Catch-and-release fishing for out-of-season tog was hopping, lots of the blackfish hooked. Some anglers who landed them for sport said it couldn’t get any better. Fresh clams, bloodworms, live grass shrimp, minnows and all the usual baits are stocked.

<b>Port Republic</b>

At <b>Chestnut Neck Boat Yard</b> Keith heard about a few out-of-season flounder reeled in by mistake and released on Great Bay, and he hoped plenty would be coolered when the fluke season opens Saturday, he said. Bluefish, small ones, were beginning to appear in the bay and surrounding waters. The shop’s Kids Bluefish Tournament was a success this weekend, and Keith thought the winner entered a 2.8-pounder. Striped bass could be found from the Mullica River to the bay to the ocean. Plenty of white perch filled the river. Minnows, frozen mackerel, frozen bunker, fresh and frozen clams, bloodworms, frozen squid and live eels are stocked.

<b>Absecon</b>

Boaters racked up big striped bass that chased bunker schools off the ocean beaches, despite cold waters, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. The fishing turned on pretty well. Capt. Joe Fichetola ran a trip with Sean Fox that clubbed two big ones that weighed 38 pounds and 30 pounds. Bunker was the bait. Surf anglers pinned down lots of stripers on clams and a healthy amount of drum. A 75-pound drum was weighed in. In the bay stripers seemed to be coming in, following bunker, and anglers hooked them on bunker snagged and dropped back down for bait or on live spots, and high tides were best. Spots are stocked and should be through the rest of the season. Clams could also draw in the bay’s stripers, and dog sharks had to be picked through to reach the linesiders. Bluefish were mostly scarce everywhere, but a few small ones trickled in. Dave heard about no weakfish landed, and waters were probably too cold. Weaks usually show up with blues. Flounder were around in the bay, and anglers will target them when the flatfish season opens Saturday, and Dave wasn’t overly excited about potential results, because of cold waters. Minnows are on hand for flounder bait, though the baitfish will probably be scarce like usual in the early season. They’re more difficult to catch then, and dealers who catch them to supply to shops usually get rolling only after demand picks up, when flounder season is up and running. Fresh clams, bloodworms and other baits are stocked. No fresh bunker was available but will be carried as soon as possible, likely within a week.

<b>Brigantine</b>

One angler beached a 40-pound 49-inch striped bass from the surf, took a photo and released the fish, and surf angling was a little slow today but pounded out stripers through the past week, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. A bunch of 16- to 21-pounders were hammered on fresh bunker, fresh clams and bloodworms. Bunker sometimes schooled the surf, not usually long enough to snag for bait except a few times. A few drum were banked from the suds, and no bluefish really showed up so far this season. Fresh bunker, fresh clams and bloodworms are stocked, and so is all the flounder bait for the opening of the flattie season Saturday.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Tons of striped bass filled the surf and the ocean, and surf casters belted the most, but boaters also fought the fish, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. Clams got most strikes in the surf, but some anglers soaked bunker to hook up, and both bunker and herring schooled the ocean. Drum from medium-sized to large were also beached. Occasional bluefish, not many, came through. Sometimes a big weakfish could be located. Sea bass seemed difficult to find for boaters. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s charter boat, will be splashed next week and will probably begin fishing for sharks first this season. Live spots, eels and minnows are stocked, and fresh clams and fresh bunker are carried.

<b>Margate</b>

Capt. John from the <b>Keeper</b> tested the back bay for flounder fishing on Saturday, and plenty of the fish were hooked and released, he said. The outlook appeared promising for Saturday’s opening of flounder season, and two trips daily will begin fishing for the flatties that day from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A bunch of striped bass also roamed the area, and bluefish were scarce in the waters so far this season. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Tons of striped bass got cranked in from the surf, great fishing, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Bait & Tackle</b>. A 38.14-pounder was checked in that was pummeled on a whole surf clam at 4 p.m. this week at 44th Street. Middle of the day, middle of the island. Clams were the bait to use, and some anglers didn’t want to hear about any other bait. The back-bay’s bluefishing took off, small ones attacking anything and everything, lots of fun. Wes was on the hunt for weakfish on the bay, casting Electric Chickens rubber baits, and a few of the trout were around. A friend clocked a 27-incher. Flounder fishing will be excellent on the bay when the season opens Saturday. Use minnows for bait, giving them something they haven’t seen, Wes said. Minnows were scarce around the state, but the shop’s got a bunch. Mackerel strips will also be popular for flounder that favor such meat when waters are cool. Frozen herring is another option and is stocked, and the shop’s other flounder baits include squid and Berkley Gulps. Fresh clams are also on hand, and no fresh bunker was available but is stocked when it is. Sea bass bit at the reefs, and even mako sharks will begin to haunt the ocean soon. Crabs started to be plucked from the bay, and the store carries all kinds of traps and supplies for crabbing.

Back-bay fishing turned excellent, great catches, and the angling had probably just needed a stretch of good weather like this week’s, weather that so far this spring had never shaped up until now, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Previously the weather was always winds and storms with little more than a day of fair conditions at a time. John and Mark Chase jumped aboard Monday on the bay, clobbering at least 18 or 24 blues, solid action like it should be at this time of year. They threw soft-plastic lures on jigheads along the Intracoastal Waterway. Then they moved farther back in the bay on the flats to throw top-water Skit-R-Pops for surface action, landing fewer blues but bigger ones, three fish to 3 pounds, and a 26-inch striped bass that they released. Fishing for stripers on the bay with popper lures and flies, a specialty through summer with Jersey Cape, started early this year, and Joe’s taking that as a good sign for the season. The fishing is unique, as Joe poles the flats on his skiff, like angling in Florida or in tropical locales that people travel 1,000 miles to do. Yet it’s available right here on South Jersey’s back bays, and it’s also cool to land stripers in a T-shirt, when anglers typically think of striper fishing as a cold-weather sport. The anglers got into constant action the whole trip, the way it should be now. Joe ran no trip on Tuesday, and Dave Hall and Mike Hicken were on deck Wednesday on the bay for another excellent catch. Mike even reeled up a back-bay slam, scoring a striper, bluefish and flounder, only a weakfish short of a grand slam. He and Dave fought bluefish along the Intracoastal on jigs with plastics, and Joe lost count of the speedsters. A beautiful, 4-pound, out-of-season flounder was jigged and released, and so was another keeper-sized flounder and a short striper. They moved to the back of the bay, where Joe poled the flats, and picked up a couple of more blues, this time to 5 pounds, and released two more stripers to 26 inches, all while fishing jigs. The blues on the flats were somewhat scarcer, more spread out, than along the Intracoastal but were bigger. The bay averaged 62 degrees, a normal temp for this time of season. Joe’s looking forward to running flounder trips on the bay this holiday weekend with the opening of the flattie season on Saturday. Fishing for the fluke is always best on the bay in the early season, including around the opener, and he’s definitely got an opening for a trip on Memorial Day, and might be able to fit in more of the fishing on the rest of the weekend. Call to claim a spot. The opening of flounder season works out well with the holiday weekend, because boat traffic fails to bother the bottom huggers, and the three-day weekend coincides with the best time to chase them down, when anglers have yet to pound the fishery. 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.  

<b>Wildwood</b>

On the bay anglers caught and released out-of-season flounder, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. A healthy population of the fish was apparently ready to be bagged when the season opens Saturday. Strips of mackerel fillets on bucktails seemed to work well. One of the rental boaters last week released two 21- and 22-inchers. Lots of 1- to 2-pound blues swarmed the bay, so fishing was pretty good through the week. A few weakfish could be found in the waters, and Mike knew a couple of anglers who targeted them, dialing in on 3- and 4-pounders, quality-sized. Surf anglers bailed lots of striped bass, and Mike saw several large ones caught Monday.  Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. The shop will be open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. this weekend through Memorial Day, and afterward the doors will be open during the same hours on days when there’s demand, such as weekends, until opening seven days a week when the season kicks in. All the baits for fishing the bay are fully stocked, including whole and filleted, frozen mackerel and frozen spearing, bunker, mullet, shedder crabs, squid and more. Mike hopes to stock minnows if available, but the supply is always scarce in the early season.

<b>Cape May</b>

A few drum, a real mix of sizes from 15 to 90 pounds, were hauled from Delaware Bay in the past days, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b>. Three of the boomers 20 or 30 pounds were decked on a trip on the boat Wednesday. A friend who fished alongside beat an 87-pounder that day. Charters and shared charters are drumming on the Fishin’ Fever. Sea bass were pummeled at the wrecks, and the boat is available for trips for them. A few blues swam the ocean, and trolling trips for the slammers are sailing. Flounder season opens Saturday, and Tom will fish for them anywhere from Delaware Bay to the back bay to the ocean.

Six drum around 30 to 55 pounds were already boated on Delaware Bay when Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> gave this report in a telephone call while on the waters on a charter at 8 p.m. today, with a couple of hours left to go on the trip. Three of the fish were hefted in from the Delaware side of the bay, and three came from the Jersey side, and hooks might’ve been pulled from a couple of more. Sharks and skates also bit. Some boaters caught drum, and others did not. George hoped his anglers wrenched in more of the boomers before the charter was finished.

Drum trips will fish Delaware Bay on Friday and during the weekend, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>. The boat will be available for flounder fishing as soon as the fluke season opens Saturday. O-Beth will return to Margate, its summer home, on June 1, sailing first from there for flounder and sharks.

Surf casters smoked striped bass, good catches, at Cape May, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. The ocean side was best, and clams were the bait of choice. Fran Walsh and crew bagged three of the linesiders from the wash. Nick heard about one bluefish banked from the suds. A few weakfish were hooked along the jetties on floated bloodworms, and drum were sometimes dragged from the surf. Anglers geared up for the opening of flounder season on Saturday, and the early season is the best time for the flattie fishing on the back bay. Meat or baits like mackerel are a favorite while waters are cool. But in addition to mackerel, the shop will stock minnows, squid and a few spearing for the bottom dwellers. Fresh clams, bloodworms and fresh bunker are also on hand. Delaware Bay’s drum fishing was okay, somewhat tough, but catches were made at the Pin Top and Tussy’s Slough, and should improve as the new moon comes around. Sea bassing seemed to keep getting better at places like Reef 11 and the inshore wrecks, and one of the local party boats ran successful trips for the knotheads. 

Back to Top