Welcome to the first Delaware Bay Fishing Report of 2010!

<b>Brooklawn</b>

Anglers on the Delaware River walloped fish: striped bass and catfish, said John at <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. Bloodworms beat the stripers, and cut baits took the cats. Rick from the shop last week said the cats, including big ones like a 14-pounder that was hauled from Big Timber Creek, inhaled chunks of herring or even white perch and such and also inhaled chicken livers. At the time, he said the stripers were knuckled in from usual places including Salem, Pennsville, Riverview Beach Park, National Park, River Winds and the Tacony/Palmyra Bridge. The shop, carrying bait and tackle for all fishing from freshwater to offshore, is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 8 pm. Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Pennsville</b>

Striped bass fishing turned slow on Sunday, but previously produced plenty, and lots of the fish were around, said Matt from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Customers clocked them practically anyplace they could access the Delaware River, including at Carney’s Point, at Pennsville and off the DOD. They mostly fished with bloodworms, but some dunked bunker, and boaters began to sail, and they favor bunker. White perch were sometimes plucked from the tributaries, usually on bloods. On the crabbing front, Jeff, the shop’s owner, will probably begin commercially crabbing around April 20, dropping the pots to the south toward Fortescue at first. The shop is stocking bloodworms and fresh bunker.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Cooler weather probably caused the slow down in striped bass fishing on Sunday, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Few anglers fished Friday and Saturday because of winds, but they pulled in stripers hand over fist last week and the past couple of weeks from the upper bay and the number 1 buoy to Miah Maul. Surf clams were the common bait. Sharon heard about the season’s first bluefish: The netter who supplies bait to the shop found four or five blues in the catch on the bay. Nobody mentioned seeing weakfish, the big breeders that migrate in during spring. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, bloodworms, occasionally fresh herring and all the usual baits are stocked. The shop is open at 5 a.m. daily, except when the weather’s poor. The doors are open until 5 p.m. on weekdays, 6 p.m. on Fridays, 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and it’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Boaters from  Fortescue returned to port with no striped bass on Sunday, said Capt. Ralph from the <b>Buccaneer</b>. But previously they whacked the fish. He’ll probably splash the boat for the season next week and begin charters for stripers. Drum fishing on the boat usually takes off around May 1.

Catches of striped bass dropped off, potentially weather-related, maybe because of strong winds Friday and Saturday, or maybe because many of the fish migrated up the Delaware River to spawn, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing was definitely still worth doing, and the bass were hooked Monday, for example, though practically none was landed Sunday. The fishing might’ve become hit or miss. But water temps by now did rise, reaching 56 or 57 degrees, because of the warm April, and those temps could trigger the linesiders to move upstream. Boaters decked the stripers right off Fortescue, and some traveled south to the number 1 buoy, but that seemed unnecessary. Fortescue beach anglers also banked the bass. The best bait depended on who was talking, but boaters used clams, bunker or even bloodworms, one of the three. Bloodworms were popular from the beach, but clams were also tossed there. No drum, bluefish or weakfish were heard about, but the warm waters could cause drum to arrive any day. Here’s a good sign: Out-of-season flounder – big flounder – were hooked by mistake on clams, bunker or such baits meant for stripers. Flounder season opens May 29, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Check out <a href="http://alsbaithouse.com/default.aspx" target="_blank">Al’s new Web site</a>. The shop opens for the season Wednesday, and the doors in April will be unlocked at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays and 6:00 a.m. on weekends, but will probably be closed Mondays and Tuesdays. On May 1 the shop will open seven days a week for drum fishing. When flounder season begins, the hours will be extended even more.

<b>Cape May</b>

On the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> a charter Sunday bagged striped bass 32 to 38 inches on the bay, Capt. George said. The fishing was slow that day, but a catch was made on clams. Some anglers on other boats nabbed none that day, and George’s friend ran a trip that grabbed five that day. The friend ran another trip on the bay Saturday, saying the anglers knocked the heck out of the fish. George wasn’t asked what time of day that was, but other sources said lots of stripers were boated early Saturday, and then the bite died, and winds began to howl. Three trips that George ran on the previous weekend, his first charters of the season, pounded a bunch from that Thursday to Saturday. Most of the bass were 29 to 35 inches, but one was really big, about 30 pounds. The southern bay on Sunday was probably 54 or 55 degrees, and the linesiders bit softly, pecked at the clams, and anglers had to pay attention. Most of the fleet was located toward Miah Maull, but George kept away from the crowd. Someone on the radio reported catching a 65-pound drum. George started charters early this season, and the Heavy Hitter usually begins trips this coming weekend. By that weekend, drum are often hooked while the anglers striper fish. Drum often turn on early in the season, go through a lull a moment while they spawn, then turn back on again.

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