<b>Brooklawn</b>

Customers found lots of summer flounder in the bay, but only a few keepers, three to five per boat, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. Probably 1 in 6 of the fish hooked was a keeper. On the Delaware River, Rick held a largemouth bass tournament on Sunday at Gloucester City Marina, and almost all entrants limited out. Twelve-pounds twelve-ounces was the winning weight for the five heaviest fish combined, and a 4-1/2-pounder was the biggest single bass in the event. The river’s largemouth fishing was on, and Rick holds the tournaments once a month. Anglers can call the shop for info: 856-456-6622. Carp and catfish chomped up and down the river, in some places more than others, like in all fishing. In coastal waters, kingfish gathered in the surf at Atlantic City and Brigantine. Sea bass fishing seemed better in 70 to 100 feet or so, producing more keepers than closer to shore. Big bluefish covered up the bluefin tuna grounds in 20 fathoms, almost giving anglers no chance to hook a tuna. Rick fished the waters Monday, and blues constantly knocked down all six rods in the trolling spread, and no tuna was hooked. Shark anglers seemed to have the same problem. The difficulty with the blues seemed to keep boaters off the waters, and Rick saw five other boats in the area all day on the trip. Not much was heard about fishing for yellowfin tuna farther offshore at the canyons so far, except from southern waters like Washington Canyon. Most of the fish were yet to migrate within range. Big Timber carries a complete supply of bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from freshwater to bays to offshore.

<b>Pennsville</b>

Lots of throwback summer flounder, a few keepers, were tugged up from the bay, said Zach from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b>. On the Delaware River white perch and catfish were toggled in, the perch on bloodworms or shedder crabs, the cats on cut bait like bunker. Some of the tributaries shoveled up hit or miss striped bass fishing, catch and release angling for shorts. Zach caught them at a couple of the bridges, returned to the same waters another day, and landed none. He fished with lures like flash-foil soft baits. Crabbing was good toward the bay, and not much was heard about crabbing closer to the shop. Fresh bunker, shedder crabs and bloodworms are stocked.

<b>Newport</b>

Crabbers averaged three to four dozen keepers, great catches, and some nabbed more, said Linda from <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>.  Some of the first-times even totaled three dozen. Good-sized crabs 5 or 5 ½ inches skittered about, and size was no problem this season. Plenty of the blueclaws just undersized crawled around, and those will become keepers when the crabs shed next. Some of the rental boaters fished, and one caught and released a 23-inch striped bass. A 15-inch flounder was caught in a crab trap and released, and more were probably around. Crabbers and anglers in the shop’s rental boats are towed up Oranokin Creek to several saltwater ponds teeming with crabs. The staff checks on the boaters every hour, and if some want a break in the meantime, they cell phone the shop and get picked up. Everything needed for a day of crabbing, from baits to traps to suntan lotion, snacks and cold drinks, is supplied at the shop. Call ahead to reserve a rental boat, because they can become full. Beaver Dam rents kayaks and canoes for sightseeing on the creek, filled with wildlife. Fish and wildlife licenses are sold, and Beaver Dam is a deer and turkey check-in station. Beaver Dam hosts groups like the scouts in educational, fun outings on weekdays. A gazebo and grill can be reserved for functions like birthdays and family reunions. Beaver Dam is open Fridays through Sundays and will be open seven days a week starting June 28. Look for a special to be offered on crabbing for the Fourth of July. Visit <a href="http://www.crabulousnj.com/Home_Page.html" target="_blank">Beaver Dam’s Web site</a> for hours and more info about the business.

<b>Fortescue</b>

“We’re fishing,” said Capt. Mike from the party boat <b>Bonanza</b>, when he was asked how the boat’s daily summer flounder trips went. Many of the flatties were shorts, and a few were keepers, and trips fished near Fortescue at the stakes and the Ditch. The weekend’s angling was a little slow. “Did winds blow against the tides?” he was asked. “That’s a given,” he said. Those conditions hamper the proper drift, making the angling more difficult. Scarce blues were around, and two to six were hooked on some trips, and none was hooked on others. A drum was hauled aboard on Saturday’s flounder trip. Squid and minnows worked well for bait, but cut bait connected, like when anglers cut strips from blues or sharks. Tap dancer rigs worked well, and green ones used with white Gulps were effective. Mike’s been believing more and more in Gulps. The bay was 72 or 73 degrees, and maybe that was warm for the time of year, but not extremely. The first of the vessel’s annual, open-boat trips for flounder at the Old Grounds, located in the ocean off Delaware, is slated for July 7, and many spots are full, but a few remain, and reservations are required. To reserve spots call: 609-381-2978. More of the trips will probably be scheduled after this trip runs. Last year the first Old Grounds trip sailed July 8, and a body of big flounder then held at the Elbow in the bay. Maybe bigger flounder will move into the bay as the warm weather continues. The Old Grounds is an area of rough, rocky bottom that attracts flounder, and the fish tend to be bigger. The fishing there is in deeper waters, around 80 feet, compared with 15 or 20 feet in the bay. Other fish like sea bass and ling can be mixed in at the Old Grounds. Flounder trips on the bay are sailing daily, no reservations required, and charters are available.

Lots of throwback summer flounder and a few keepers came up on trips, said Capt. Howard from the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>. But one better-sized one was clocked: a 6-pounder that Wes Sparks reeled up. The boat fished close to shore, and junk fish or skates and sharks bit in the deeper waters around the shipping channel. Squid is provided for bait on the open-boat trips, though minnows are also supplied on charters. If minnows are leftover from a charter, they’re offered on the open trips. But the crew lets the open-trip anglers know that they can provide their own minnows or other bait if they’d like. Anglers sometimes fish with strips of bluefish and sharks that are caught. Open trips are sailing daily unless a charter is booked.

The boat had undergone maintenance, but that was now finished, and trips for summer flounder will sail again, said Capt. Ralph from the <b>Buccaneer</b>. Many of the fish were shorts, and 1 in 10 was a keeper, but a few were keepers. Blues were yet to invade the bay heavily.

Fishing for summer flounder  was becoming good, and lots of the fish were shorts, but the number  of keepers was up, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Flounder checked in weighed up to 5 or 6 pounds, none huge, but quality numbers of the fish were around. Waters all over gave up the flatties, anywhere from the stakes to Miah Maull to Flounder Alley to the second drop off from Fortescue. Bluefish 1 to 2 pounds were around, and weakfish, good-sized ones 20 or 22 inches, began to be hooked toward places like the Maull and Flat Top. The fish were weaks landed during daytime on usual baits like shedder crabs on top-and-bottom rigs, not weaks that are sometimes caught at night around the lighthouses at a certain time of year. Fishing from the beach at Fortescue put out okay catches of short flounder, short striped bass and bluefish, not clobbering fish, but catching something. Excellent white perch fishing came from Fortescue Creek. Small, 1-1/2- or 2-inch peanut bunker appeared in the creek, and spearing schooled the waters. A few spots started to turn up in the creek, and no mullet were seen yet. Healthy crowds of people showed up at Fortescue during the weekend. Construction on the marina is 99 percent finished, and boaters could get around the marina with ease.

<b>Port Norris</b>

Summer flounder season “is looking a lot better than last week,” an e-mail from the <b>Bodacious</b> and <b>Port Norris Marina</b> said on Sunday. A charter holding a benefit for someone jumped aboard the boat on Saturday, and the flatties bit steadily all day. Everyone had lots of fun, the e-mail said, and the trip raised $2,500 for the benefit. Another charter sailed for flounder on Sunday, on a seventh annual trip for Father’s Day. The weather was scorching, with a 110-degree heat index, and the fish were slow to bite at first. The right drift finally developed toward the end of the trip, then keepers were coolered. The anglers made it through the hot weather with no problem.  

<b>Bivalve</b>

Summer flounder were scattered around spots including the number 1 buoy, Little Egypt off Egg Island Point, and Miah Maull, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. Anglers and their catches included: John Frank, Lansdowne, Pa., 3 keeper flounder, lots of throwbacks; Joe Hackett, Philly, 4 flounder, 3 blues; Anne and Joe Kane, Williamstown, 3 flounder; Gene Abbott, Pittsgrove, 4 flounder, 3 blues; Bill Ehrler Sr. and Jr., Franklinville, 3 keeper flounder 19 to 21 inches, lots of throwbacks, a few blues; and Jeffrey and Joe Kovacs, Phillipsburg, 3 flounder 18, 20 and 22 inches. Kim Plummer, Milliville, plucked 10 white perch over 11 inches apiece from one of the creeks along the bay, motoring out to the bay then up the creek. Plenty of minnows and frozen baits including minnows and mackerel are stocked. Fresh bunker is no longer stocked this season.

<b>Villas</b>

Customers talked about waters around Miah Maull churning out more summer flounder than other areas on the bay, said Jim from <b>Budd’s Bait & Tackle</b>. They boated more flounder, a better keeper ratio, a keeper for every five or six throwbacks,  from the back bays along the coast. Flounder and kingfish were banked from the shore of Delaware Bay at Higbee’s Beach. A handful of weakfish were plucked from the bay. Along the ocean occasional striped bass were dragged from the surf at Poverty Beach and North Wildwood, but stripers mostly migrated away for the season. Kingfish were claimed from the suds at North Wildwood and Anglesea. Sea bass were taken from the ocean wrecks, and farther from shore, a few bluefin tuna were drilled at 19-Fathom Lump. Little was heard about sharks, but makos and threshers were on the hunt. Fresh bunker is stocked now and then, and fresh clams are no longer carried this season, because demand drops off. Minnows, shedder crabs and frozen baits including mackerel and mullet are on hand.

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