<b>Brooklawn</b>

Striped bass were still angled from the Delaware River, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. Boaters now decked them on all the different baits: bloodworms, bunker and clams. A friend hooked a 45- or 50-pounder from a boat, releasing the fish without removing the bass from the waters. Shore anglers mostly fished for the stripers with bloodworms, but fresh clams worked well. Rick heard about stripers to 45 inches banked from the shore. On the bay, drum began to be caught near Delaware’s Slaughter Beach. Stripers were boated on the bay on the Jersey side like at the southern end of 60-Foot Slough. Fresh bunker became the popular bait, after fresh clams previously were. Not much good was heard about summer flounder fishing, though flounder season opened Saturday. Maybe the season opened a week or so early for the fishing to take off. Surf anglers beached stripers and drum. Bluefish sometimes swarmed up the coast. Bloodworms, fresh clams, fresh bunker, all the different types of frozen squid for flounder, other flounder baits like frozen mackerel, mullet and peanut bunker, and the full supply of baits for saltwater and fresh are stocked. Big Timber carries bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from freshwater to bays to offshore.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Anglers reeled in striped bass, and the big bass especially came from the northern bay, like at the 32 and 34 buoys and Ship John, said Sharon from <b>Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. But stripers were found throughout the waters, and catches were heard about all the way down to Poverty Beach, along the ocean in Cape May. In the bay, fresh bunker became the favorite bait for stripers, but fresh clams, the favorite early in the season, still worked. Stripers were also tugged from the Maurice River, usually on bloodworms or grass shrimp. A 25-pounder that was weighed in a couple of weeks ago grabbed grass shrimp. A couple of other large ones were heard about from the river. Big white perch schooled the river. Lots of customers showed up for opening day of summer flounder season Saturday. But not many flounder were reported caught. One here, another there seemed to be angled. But winds were an issue, and winds against the tide created poor drifting for the boats. The bay was also cold for flounder, around 55 degrees. Stripers, a fish that likes cooler waters than flounder, remain plenty active in even 58-degree waters. Anglers will probably begin to hone in on drum more often in the bay this weekend. The full moon is Tuesday, and anglers usually expect to see drumming amp up around May’s full moon. Bluefish around 3 pounds swam along coastal waters. Fresh bunker arrives at the shop almost every day, and fresh clams are carried. Bloodworms, sandworms and eels are on hand. All the flounder baits including minnows and frozen squid, mackerel, mullet, spearing and smelts are on tap. The shop stocks a large supply of baits. 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>

A call came in about good catches of drum that began on the Delaware side of the bay, and the first charters for drum are booked to start on the weekend on the <b>Buccaneer</b>, Capt. Ralph said. But he’d like to sail for them this week, if anyone’s interested. Give a call, and Ralph is a pioneer of drum fishing. He began targeting the boomers on charters in the 1960s, before the rest of the fleet. Once his booked drum trips begin this weekend, the schedule is pretty full. Take advantage of the openings this week. A trip Saturday heaved aboard three good-sized striped bass 44, 37 and 35 inches at Ship John on bunker. A great deal is offered on combo drum/striper trips on the Buccaneer. Not much was heard about summer flounder landed on the bay since flounder season opened Saturday. Maybe the season was early, or maybe the boats were yet to find the fish. The opener, on May 7, was earlier than the May 23 opener in recent years.

The year’s first weekend of fishing on the party boat <b>Bonanza</b> is finished, and the score card was not what the crew envisioned, the report on the vessel’s Web site said. “The fish hold all the cards,” it said. The boat sailed for summer flounder Saturday, the first day of flounder season, and about a dozen throwbacks and no keepers were landed. The fishing sounded slow all over the bay. “But that is only day one,” the report said. “We will keep at it.” No trip sailed Sunday, but flounder trips are slated to fish daily when no charter is booked. Charters available include drum trips, and the outings should be booked promptly, because dates do fill. The season’s first open-boat drum trip is on the books for 4 p.m. Wednesday.

<b>Port Norris</b>

Not much was heard about fishing through the weekend, said Jim from <b>Port Norris Marina</b>. Summer flounder fishing sounded slow, though flounder season opened Saturday. The season opened earlier than the May 23 opener in recent years, so maybe the fish were yet to build up in the bay. Flounder catches including a 9-pounder and a 5-pounder were heard about from the back bays along the coast, and those shallower, warmer waters always give up the fish first. One angler from the docks belted a 37-inch striped bass at the 34 buoy, and a few stripers seemed around. Little was heard about drum, but drum fishing should take off any time. Minnows, mackerel and all the flounder baits are stocked. Fresh clams and fresh bunker are on hand.

<b>Villas</b>

Drum fishing, a fair bite, turned on toward Slaughter Beach, the report on <b>Budd’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. The fish were marked on the Jersey side, but catches were slow there so far. The fish are often marked before they begin to bite each year, because they seem to gather to spawn and begin biting afterward. Nothing was mentioned in the report about the Ho-D-Doe, the boat from <b>Budd’s Tackle Charter Services</b>, sailing from Cape May. But the vessel is fishing for drum and stripers. At the shop weigh-ins included Jeffrey Stanton’s 22.4-pound striper, Destiny Williams’ 12.8-pound drum and 10-pound striper and Russell Hinnershitz’s 9.1-pound striper. No location was given for the catches, but they seemed to come from the surf. The shop this season’s been reporting plenty of stripers and sometimes drum weighed in that were banked from the surf from the ocean at Cape May to the shoreline of Delaware Bay in the Villas.

<b>Cape May</b>

Drum trips were launched for the season on the bay Saturday and Sunday nights with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b>, and a couple of drum to 30 pounds, averaging 20 to 30, were heaved aboard both trips, Capt. Eric said. The run was just starting, and should only get better. Summer flounder season opened Saturday, and trips can also fish for them. Flounder trips often sail in the mornings, while drum trips run in the afternoons to nights. Thought yet about big game this year? Anglers should, because shark fishing will begin later this month on the ocean. O-Beth, who specializes in sharks, usually begins sharking on Memorial Day weekend, and now is the time to reserve dates.

No trips sailed with Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> in the last days, but a friend borrowed the boat, running a trip that came up with 11 drum from the bay Friday night, George said. George heard about drum boated from the bay Friday and Saturday nights, and talked with a friend on a trip at 6 p.m. Sunday that had already hauled in three or four drum. Some drum began to be caught, and the fish weren’t yet big, were 15 or 20 pounds to 45 pounds. A few striped bass were lifted from the bay, and anglers had to be at the right place at the right time, and they might bag one or two. A friend fished for stripers, turning up a half-dozen of the fish in shallower waters off the southern bay. George heard nothing about summer flounder caught since flounder season opened Saturday.

Trips stayed docked in the past days, including because of weather, with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, but the boat will begin sailing for drum Thursday on the bay, Capt. T.J. said. He heard about a few reeled in through Sunday, when he gave this report over the phone. From Tuckerton, where his other boat sails, he heard about a few summer flounder, mostly shorts, plucked since flounder season opened Saturday.

Trolling for striped bass began decent on the ocean Monday morning on a trip, until winds began, so the trip escaped back to port, said Capt. Dave Bart from <b>Relentless Sport Fishing</b>. One 48-inch striper was bagged, and one runoff was scored, and a couple of knockdowns were popped. The fish were found 2 miles from the coast in 50 feet, and reports had started to be heard about stripers caught there during the weekend. News also began during the weekend about stripers chunked on Delaware Bay. A trip this week might fish for drum on the bay, after news about drum catches started to pick up in the last days.

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