<b>Staten Island</b>

Nothing but big blues bit at first on a trip Saturday evening on Raritan Bay with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. Then a shot of striped bass, not big, but 12 to 14 pounds, swiped the bunker-chunk baits 1 ½ hours during the change of tide. Another trip was set to fish for stripers this evening, and a trip Sunday might run for a combo of stripers and sea bass. Outcast pays bridge tolls with a receipt. Anglers can also be picked up and dropped off in New Jersey for charters. Call for info.

<b>Keyport</b>

A 36-inch striped bass had just been crushed, and blues to 10 pounds had been beaten, on a trip aboard Raritan Bay today, when Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> gave this report on the phone on the outing. The anglers, John Santillo’s party with Mike, Neil, Geno, Tony and Joe, fished with fresh bunker and clams. David D’Amore’s trip on Wednesday was heavy into blues to 15 pounds and some short striped bass on the bay Wednesday evening, when Capt. Joe gave the report for that trip on the phone during the outing. The trip also fished with clams and fresh bunker. Space is available on an open-boat trip for fluke at 7 a.m. Sunday. Open trips are available 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily when no charter is booked. Call to reserve open spots.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Boaters clammed striped bass, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. They traditionally dunk the bait at places like the clam beds in the ocean, but sometimes in the bay, where they also fish bunker chunks. In the back of the bay, lots of blues and a few stripers hit. Boaters also livelined bunker for stripers from the ocean to the bay. Surf anglers wormed, bunker-chunked and plugged stripers. Stripers were slugged in the river at night and in the mornings. “Otherwise, it’s all blues,” Jimmy said. Fluke fishing turned out good catches on certain days, “when they could fish where they wanted,” Jimmy said. Fluking was good in the river. Plenty of ling were looted from the ocean, and sea bass season is opening. Lots of sea bass swam around the ocean. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, worms and all the baits are stocked.

One angler aboard Wednesday’s trip pumped in four striped bass, and other anglers in the small crowd caught the fish, “but all in all, it was lousy fishing,” Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> said in a report on the vessel’s Web site. The ocean had dropped to 56 degrees, holding a fair-sized swell, and that probably didn’t help. “Tomorrow is another day …!” Ron said. On Monday aboard anglers picked away at stripers in the morning – “finally,” Ron said – and copped “a killer bite on blues (in the afternoon).”. A 23-pound striper was the pool-winner, and a couple of anglers limited out on the bass. Watch a <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GaBkYANpTrU" target="_blank">video of Monday’s trip</a>. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. However, the boat is chartered this Saturday morning.

For anglers aboard both of Monday’s trips, fluke fishing was slow, even for throwbacks, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. The vessel was kept docked Tuesday in rainstorms. Wednesday morning’s trip was cancelled because of forecasts, through the weather turned out fine. On the afternoon’s trip, a handful of keeper fluke were tamed, and action with throwbacks definitely improved. Tom hoped that meant the fishing would keep picking up, but would see. That trip fished at Flynn’s Knoll, off Sandy Hook, at the Ammo Pier and other places on Raritan Bay. On Monday aboard, fluking was tried down the ocean beaches, as well as on the bay. The drift wasn’t right along the ocean, but some of the flatfish were caught from the ocean Sunday aboard. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. Check out the <a href=" http://www.atlanticstarfishing.com" target="_blank">Atlantic Star’s re-vamped Web site</a>, still under construction. <b>***Update, Thursday, 5/17:***</b> Though this morning’s trip’s fluking was slow in winds against the tide, not the best conditions, this afternoon’s trip’s fishing for them was somewhat improved, Tom said. Not great, but better. Spro jigs and bucktails caught the fluke better than other tackle did on the trip, the first time that happened this season.

<b>Highlands</b>

One of the charter boats from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b> put anglers on striped bass and blues on livelined bunker at Reach Channel on Raritan Bay on Sunday, an e-mail from the marina said. The trip also bucktailed fluke at the Reach. A trip the previous day on the boat put a charter on stripers and blues between the 10 and 12 buoys at the Reach on bunker chunks. On the Late Meeting from the marina, John and Peggy Schepsi on Saturday bagged two 20-pound stripers and two 12-pounders at Romer Shoal. The full-service marina features boat slips and rack storage, ship-store supplies, bait and tackle, and a fuel dock, and is located on Shrewsbury River, with no bridges before the bay. Convenient, fast access to fishing. Baits include live bunker, bushels of clams, 2- and 4-gallon buckets of clam bellies, and big killies from a southern state, where they grow big in the long warm season.

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> was slated to steam for striped bass today and Friday, and Capt. Ralph will probably give an update on results Friday, he said. If he does, that will be posted here Friday afternoon. An individual-reservation trip for sea bass was added on Sunday, May 27, and three spots remain. More of the trips are full on May 20 and 26. A few spaces are left on an individual-reservation trip for cod offshore at 2 a.m. Monday, June 18. An individual-rez trip for stripers will run Wednesday, May 30, and individual-reservation trips for fluke and sea bass will begin to fish every Wednesday starting June 13. One space is left to compete aboard in the South Jersey Shark Tournament. <b>***Update, Friday, 5/18:***</b> Fishing for striped bass was poor on Thursday afternoon’s trip, Ralph said, but was excellent on this morning’s trip. Six stripers to 35 pounds were bagged then. Another trip was set to fish for stripers this afternoon.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fishing for striped bass last sailed during the weekend on the <b>Katie H</b>, covered in the last report, but the angling remained good this week, Capt. Mike said. Two spaces are available for an open-boat trip for stripers Sunday, and call to jump on. A charter for stripers is booked on Saturday. The bass this week were on bunker, and a friend beat up on a good catch of the linesiders Wednesday morning, “(and) didn’t have to go far,” Mike said.

Striped bass fishing scored well on the ocean Wednesday with <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Pete said. After the trip broke the inlet, plenty of bunker schooled to catch for bait, though fog had settled in. The trip fished a little to the south, and stripers swarmed all over the bunker. The anglers livelined the baitfish, catching stripers, good-sized, in the mid 20 pounds. Occasional bluefish pounced on the menhaden. The angling slowed, but gave up catches again in the early afternoon. After the trip was docked, Pete heard from a friend who was picking away at stripers on the ocean that evening. Trips will keep sailing for stripers, and the year’s first sea bass trip is booked for Saturday, opening day of sea bass season. Parker Pete’s sails for any fish available. Charters and open-boat trips are running. For availability on the open trips, see <a href="http://parkerpetefishing.com/belmar-fishing-trips/open-boat-trips" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s open-boat page</a> online, and sign up for the e-mailed newsletter on the site. Dates are announced in both places.

Snagging bunker then livelining it squashed good catches of striped bass  to 42 pounds on the party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. A morning trip will sail one more time on Friday for them. Then night trips will run for the bass, and day trips aboard will start sea bass fishing on Saturday, opening day of sea bass season. The Big Mohawk is sailing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for striped bass through Friday then sea bass daily. Once the sea bass trips begin, striper trips will sometimes fish from afternoons to nights, and call for the schedule, or watch <a href="http://www.bigmohawk.com" target="_blank">Big Mohawk’s Web site</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BigMohawkPartyBoat" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> for the sched.

The party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> sailed almost every day for striped bass and blues on the ocean, Capt. Alan said. Jigging for blues was very good, and on some days, stripers were decked, and on others, they weren’t. So, more blues than stripers were sacked. None of the trips sailed the last couple of days, because of weather, but today’s trip was out when Alan gave this report over the phone from land. No results were heard yet. The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and on Friday will begin fishing for them also 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. The party boat <b>Tropical Adventure</b>, Alan’s other boat, this weekend will begin fishing for fluke and sea bass 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The trips will run daily starting Friday, May 25.

Plenty of striped bass were boated on the ocean one day, then none were on another, said Bob from <b>Fishermen’s Den</b> in an e-mail. Erratic, he said, and bluefishing was the same. But stripers to 49 pounds were weighed in from the trips. Surf fishing was slow, and fluke catches were good on Shark River. Ed Klump, Wall, limited out on the flatfish to 5 pounds. So did Norm Irons, Neptune. In freshwater, Capt. Chris Hueth from the party boat Big Mohawk zonked a 10-pound 8-ounce trout from Spring Lake. The shop’s rental boats are available for fluking on the river.

<b>Brielle</b>

A special trip for sea bass is set for 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, Capt. Joe said in an e-mail. Sea bass season will open that day, and the vessel is booked in the morning. Fluke and sea bass trips will get underway starting Sunday.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Friday, 5/18:***</b> The party boat <b>Gambler</b> was fishing for striped bass on the ocean daily through today, and catches were sort of hit or miss, Capt. Bob said. During the last two days, fishing was slow in the mornings, but turned on during afternoons. Bluefish to 15 pounds and few stripers to 30 pounds were cracked, either on lures, like Krocodile spoons and Ava jigs, or livelined bunker, when bunker could be snagged for bait. Starting Saturday, the Gambler will fish for fluke 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. Trips are also sailing 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. for stripers and blues every Friday and Saturday and for wreck fishing every Thursday and Sunday.

Ocean fluke fishing seemed to be picking up each day, a report on the party boat <b>Norma K</b>’s Web site said. A few more keepers were tugged in during every trip aboard, and throwbacks were let go. The crew hopes that waters will become warmer within a week or two, and the fluking will become steadier. Bluefishing was somewhat tough on a trip aboard Saturday night. The fish were read on the fish finder, and sometimes big schools were seen on the surface, but the blues were reluctant to bite. Sometimes a good number were hooked at once on the boat, looking like a good catch was about to begin. “But as soon as it started, it was over,” the report said. The Norma K is fishing for fluke 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. Bluefishing trips are running 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and will begin to sail daily  on Friday, May 25.

Ling, phenomenal catches, were scooted aboard the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. The angling improved, became very good, serving up 20 to 50 fish per angler. A few cod were shoveled in during the last days. Five were axed Wednesday, and two on Monday, and two per day during the weekend. A few fluke and winter flounder were bagged. Out-of-season sea bass and blackfish were let go. Sea bass season will open in state waters on Saturday and in federal waters, beyond 3 miles from land, on Tuesday. That might change, but when sea bass season opens, the fish will be targeted on the boat. Trips fished in 65 to 100 feet or shallow. Friday’s trip tried fishing deeper, and dogfish and silver eels, mostly dogs, were a nuisance. Waters were 52 degrees on the fishing grounds. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Nighttime bluefish trips might begin on Memorial Day weekend, depending on demand.

Not killer catches of striped bass, but pretty consistent ones, were creamed from the ocean with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, Capt. Fred said. Most were whacked on livelined bunker that was snagged for bait. None of the bass topped 40 pounds, but all were 20 to 40, good-sized. Charters will keep fishing for them, and combo trips for stripers and sea bass, including open-boat, will begin in mid June. In June, offshore fishing for sharks and tuna will become a focus aboard.

Fishing on the whole was picking up, after slower angling a moment last week after the full moon, said Chuck from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. Fluke fishing on Manasquan River was good, putting up considerably more keepers this week than before. Fluke bit in the river since the season opened for them, but throwbacks were abundant. Bluefish also swam the river. Fluking was improving in Manasquan Inlet, though lots were throwbacks 1 ½ to ½ inch short, or 16 to 17 inches long. Fluke began to be boated on the ocean. Surf fishing for striped bass had been slow because of the moon, but seemed to be amping up, Chuck guessed, especially around Asbury Park. A 40-pounder, the first of the season, was heard about that was beached from there. Quite a few blowfish were nabbed from the surf. Loads of bunker schooled the ocean, and boaters clocked lots of striped bass that chased the baitfish. Sea bass season will open Saturday, and many good-sized sea bass were already caught and released. Fresh clams, killies and all the frozen baits, including bunker and mullet, are stocked. The shop is within walking distance of the surf, charter boat fleet and party boat fleet. The grounds include the Gates Motel, popular with anglers. <b>***THIS TACKLE SHOP IS FOR SALE! CALL: 732-899-5760.***</b>

<b>Toms River</b>

Bluefish 5 ½ to 10 pounds invaded Toms River starting Sunday, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Plus blues could be found all over, including from the river to the Route 37 Bridge on Barnegat Bay to Good Luck Point on the bay. Fishing for them finally “came to,” Dennis said. One angler on the Toms at Island Heights was catching five or seven blues per trip. A 10-pound 8-ouncer and a 9-pounder were his biggest. Dennis trolled a few blues, missing lots, on the bay, including at the Route 37 Bridge and Good Luck Point.  Small blues were hooked in mornings at Berkeley Island Park on Mister Twisters and Fin-S Fish. Blues schooled the bay off the Forked River power plant, too. A few blowfish gathered near Berkeley Island, and fishing for them was a bit better at the BI marker on the bay. Anchor and chum for them. The bay’s fluke fishing was somewhat tough, because slime filled waters. The bay was yet to turn over, so the slime was the past year’s sediment, but that should disappear in a week or so. So anglers who fluke fished concentrated on waters at Barnegat Inlet. Justin Murphy checked in a 2-1/2-pound fluke that came from the ocean off Manasquan. The slime slowed crabbing, fouling the traps. Striped bass fishing was good on the ocean on the troll and on bunker snagged and livelined for bait. From Manasquan to the north was the hot bite Wednesday. Jean Murphy, Justin Murphy and Abigail weighed in stripers 24, 26 and 36 ½ pounds, Abigail’s fish, from the ocean. Keith Sleezer checked in a 30-pound striper caught on bunker off Spring Lake. Tony Tampuu brought in two stripers 30 and 27 pounds he bunkered off Point Pleasant Beach. Jeff Argue showed up with a 36-pound striper he clammed. Surf fishing for stripers was decent on clams. Not a lot of people fished the surf, but the bass were there. Bunker schooled the ocean a little ways off the beaches. Kayakers snagged the baitfish to liveline for stripers with success.  Fresh clams, fresh bunker and eels are stocked, and bloodworms will arrive Friday for blowfishing.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Tons of striped bass were boated and kayaked on the ocean on snagged and dropped bunker, said Scott from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. No bluefish were run into there in the past week. A few stripers were dragged from the surf, “but nothing crazy,” Scott said. No blowfish were seen from the surf in the past week, though good catches of them were lifted from the waters previously. Blowfish must’ve swam Barnegat Bay. Fluke fishing was pretty good on Manasquan River. Bluefish were scattered around the bay. Crabbing began to pick up on the bay, not great, but giving up keepers. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, a few live bunker, while the supply lasts, and all the frozen baits are stocked. Scott hopes to stock killies by the weekend.

<b>Forked River</b>

On Barnegat Bay striped bass were clammed at the sod banks, said Jana from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. On the ocean stripers were trolled or taken on bunker snagged and livelined. White seemed the color for bunker spoons that were trolled. Not many keeper fluke were heard about from the bay at usual places like the BI and BB markers, off the mouth of Oyster Creek and at Double Creek Channel. Bluefish swarmed all over the bay, including off Oyster Creek and toward Barnegat Inlet. They were trolled on Pony Tails or popper-plugged or were caught on metal. Blowfishing was fairly good on the bay toward Oyster Creek. Anchor, chum with clam and fish with pieces of clam or sandworms. Crabbing was good. Fresh clams will be stocked for the weekend. Sandworms, chum and all the frozen baits are carried.

<b>Waretown</b>

Winds and sporty seas made striped bass fishing tougher on the ocean today with <b>Relentless Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Dave said. But the catch, three keepers, was okay, and one of the bass was trolled, and two were pasted on snagged and dropped bunker. Winds made finding bunker difficult until 10 a.m., when the weather began to calm. But stripers are out there, getting caught. “All’s on the up and up,” Dave said. More trips aboard are headed out for stripers Friday through Tuesday. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing. <b>***Update, Saturday, 5/19:***</b> Four striped bass were decked and two were lost at boat-side on Friday’s trip, Dave said. Some of the fish were trolled, and some were clapped on livelined bunker that was snagged for bait. Bluefish 5 to 10 pounds were sometimes hooked. Bunker pods schooled everywhere. The trip fished off Seaside, and seas were calm in the morning and became rough in the afternoon. “Not a bad day,” Dave said.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Bluefish were found in the ocean during the weekend on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Not many of the fish appeared, but more did than on the previous weekend, and the blues were migrating north to the coast. The crew hopes the angling keeps improving. The blues on the boat this weekend were 8 pounds, good-sized. The Miss Barnegat Light is bluefishing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

The ocean was full of bunker previously, but none of the menhaden was found today, said Vince Sr. from <b>Bobbie’s Boat Rentals</b>. Striped bass were boated on the ocean, and were sometimes clammed on Barnegat Bay at Oyster Creek Channel, off the point of the Dike toward Double Creek Channel, and along the sod banks. The bay’s fluke fishing was a little slow, but blues were fought on the bay. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, minnows, spearing and all the baits are stocked. Bobbie’s includes boat and kayak rentals, a fuel dock and a tackle shop.

<b>Surf City</b>

Big bluefish stormed the surf Tuesday, and a 23-pound 9-ounce striped bass was checked in from the beach Wednesday, a report on <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. During the weekend, the site reported that few stripers swam the surf, but the bass to 38 inches were bunker-chunked at times, and the middle of Long Beach Island was best. Blowfish held in the surf, the site said then. Weather is supposed to be terrific on the island through Tuesday, with warm days and east winds. Keep up with news in <a href="http://www.surfcitybaitandtackle.com/" target="_blank">Surf City Bait & Tackle’s fishing reports</a> on the shop’s Web site. Or keep in touch on <a href=" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Surf-City-Bait-and-Tackle/207533229268619
" target="_blank">Surf City Bait & Tackle’s Facebook page</a>.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Chatter on the radio said summer flounder fishing was pretty good at the clam stakes today until noon, a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. That was outgoing tide, and a slight breeze and cool temps “made it a nice morning,” the report said. The chatter also talked about blowfish landed at the stakes and at Graveling Point. Bluefish schooled Grassy Channel that could keep anglers busy. Rumors said bunker pods swam the ocean off Little Egg Inlet, and striped bass and drum worked them, but that was unconfirmed. Sea bass season will open in state waters, within 3 miles from the coast, on Saturday. The fishing will open in federal waters, beyond 3 miles, on Tuesday.

<b>Absecon</b>

At <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>, owner Capt. Dave’s charters this week each eeled keeper striped bass up the rivers, Curt said. Surf fishing reportedly bailed the bass at the jetties on artificials at night and clams during daytime.  Summer flounder were sometimes wrenched from the back bay in shallow, warmer waters. Nothing spectacular was heard about the catches, and no large flounder were known about, but a couple of limits were made. Small bluefish, no large populations,  popped around the bays and rivers here and there. Curt, a white perch angler, boated not so great a catch of the slabs on his last trip. But a 36-inch striper he tugged in was a consolation. However, he came in with a good catch of the perch on Wednesday from Reeds Bay. Fresh clams, minnows, eels and all the frozen baits are stocked. Fresh bunker is carried when available. Live spots are expected to arrive any time.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A run of drum plowed through the surf Wednesday, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Drew H. beached the biggest weighed in, a 66-1/2-pounder he clammed. Bruce L. banked a bunch of the drum, puppies to 35 pounds, on Tuesday. Striped bass checked in from the surf included a 25-pounder from a trip that John Kates III took with his father and son, Jim P.’s 20-1/2-pounder beaten today, and Phil Moore’s three stripers to 16 pounds. Stripers like that were sometimes checked in, but the angling was mostly slow, and the last big number of them came in on Thursday, from off the Seagull Hotel. They were caught on clams, because no bunker were stocked at the time. Stripers began to be caught from the surf this morning, so maybe the fishing was lighting up again. Bill Kepport stopped by with a 9-pound blue from the surf.  The shop will be loaded up with fresh clams, fresh bunker, bloodworms and more.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Loads of kingfish snapped in the surf, and striped bass fishing was yet to ease up from the rock wall and jetties along Absecon Inlet, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. The kings nibbled bloodworms, and the striper fishing was better at night, but also gave up catches during daytime. Four hours before high tides were best. The bass were mostly clammed, but were also plugged on any pink lures. Bluefish 1 or 1 ½ pounds sometimes entered the inlet. A slough of them rolled in Wednesday. Fishing at the inlet was lit up. Summer flounder were dredged up from off the Flagship to farther back in the bay, including toward Harrah’s. Minnows, spearing and squid hung them. All the baits mentioned and more, the full supply, including fresh bunker, are stocked. Catch deals on three bunker for $5 and a dozen bloodworms for $10.

<b>Margate</b>

Back-bay fishing was great for summer flounder on the party boat <b>Keeper</b>, Capt. John said. Not bad at all, he said. “Lot of good trips.” The keepers were mostly larger than 18 inches, so they were good-sized. Only flounder bit, and mackerel and Gulps worked best. A few, not many, of the fish began to jump on minnows. Mackerel and minnows are supplied on the boat. The Keeper is fishing for summer flounder 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The fare is only $25 per adult, $20 for seniors and $16 for kids.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Lots of striped bass ran the surf, said Phil from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. He took a trip that clubbed 10 stripers, all of them 20 to 27 inches, except one that was 18 pounds 36 inches, in the surf at night. Night seemed the best time, and the stripers could be clammed, bunker-chunked, or caught on swimming plugs or soft-plastic lures. Drum were mixed in, chomping clams. A good number of kingfish appeared in the surf, nipping bloodworms or bits of clam. Nothing was heard about blues in the surf and back bay. Summer flounder were yanked from the bay in shallow, warm waters. Gulps, cut baits like mackerel or herring, and long strips of squid hooked them. A decent number of weakfish held among the flounder, grabbing baits like Gulps. Fresh clams and fresh bunker are probably going to be restocked today. Bloodworms, minnows, eels and all the frozen baits are on hand.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

A couple of days of better weather, and summer flounder fishing really picked up on the back bay, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. A couple of “common threads,” he said, were heard: the fish swam shallow waters 2 to 6 feet, and pink was the color to use. Anglers kept buying tackle like rigs with pink hair and pink bucktail jigs and Gulps. Blues, mostly cocktails 12 to 16 inches, moved into the bay “in full force,” Mike said. Fishing for the bay’s striped bass, throwbacks, but fun, produced at dawn and dusk on top-water plugs and swimming lures. Stripers, mixed sizes, were sometimes banked from the surf. Nothing was heard about drum from the surf locally, though drum were heard about from the beaches elsewhere. More and more surf anglers targeted kingfish, and a few of the fish were whoppers. The kingfishing wasn’t like in late summer, but an angler might pluck eight for good dinners. Sea bass season will open Saturday, and anglers were saying catches should be good on the ocean. The shop is loaded up with sea bass supplies like rigs, hooks, squid and clams. Fresh clams, bloodworms, minnows and all the frozen baits are stocked.

Summer flounder fishing was good on the back bay, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. A trip began to fish for them aboard when he gave this report Thursday evening over the phone, and youngster Dustin Laricks Jr. had so far reeled in a keeper flounder. A bunch of throwbacks and a weakfish were also landed. On Thursday evening Tom Scranton and son Alex aboard jigged blues on the bay. Winds blew too strongly for popper fishing for them. But blues and stripers in the bay were smacking popper lures and flies, a specialty for Jersey Cape. Blues bit at all different times or stages of tide. Stripers hit the poppers at the tops of the tides. Clams could also catch the bass. Clams usually crunched the bigger stripers, and poppers usually crushed more of them. Take an After World Special Trip from 4:30 p.m. to dark, a convenient, productive time. In other news, a friend banked shorts stripers in the surf Wednesday on clams. Keepers were surely around in the waters, too.  Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

<b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b> will open for the season daily starting Saturday, Andrew said. Summer flounder were reported reeled in from usual spots like Turtle Creek. A few were keepers, and many were throwbacks. Nothing was heard about other fish in the bay, including striped bass, weakfish and blues. Stripers were scooped from the surf, including at Poverty Beach. Small drum were in the mix at Poverty. Minnows, all the different types of squid, mackerel and more frozen baits are stocked.

<b>Cape May</b>

An angler aboard was hooked up with a drum on Delaware Bay as Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit</b> gave this report over the phone at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the trip. The trip was fishing the Delaware side of the bay, and drum lately bit pretty well, T.J. said. Charters are fishing, and open-boat trips might run for drum, including next week. Open sea bass trips are on tap on T.J.’s other boat, fishing from Tuckerton.  The open schedule gets posted on <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">Legal Limit’s open-boat page</a>. The boat from Tuckerton is also fishing for summer flounder and striped bass.

Daily trips for sea bass will launch Saturday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, Capt. Paul said. That’s opening day of sea bass season. The boat did a little summer flounder fishing on Delaware Bay, and seven keepers were boxed among the 12 anglers. The Porgy IV on Saturday will begin fishing for sea bass at 8 a.m. daily.

Surf fishing for striped bass was on, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. A bunch of stripers were banked, mostly on clams, all around Cape May, including at Poverty Beach, Cape May Point, 2nd Avenue, Higbee’s Beach and at the Cape May Canal or ferry jetties. Incoming tides seemed best at Poverty. But some anglers did the job on outgoing at the Point. A couple of reports said kingfish were bloodwormed from the surf. Weakfish showed up at the rocks at Higbee’s, getting hooked fairly steadily on bloodworms and nightcrawlers floated under bobbers. Most seemed to weigh up to 4 pounds, but a 10-pounder was heard about. They weren’t small. Drum fishing was good on Delaware Bay on the Delaware side. But one customer heaved in a 60-pounder on the Jersey side at 20-Foot Slough. The back bay was the place for summer flounder. One of the crew from the shop bagged two keepers there this morning. But flounder are usually found in Delaware Bay at places including Brown Shoal and Brandywine by now. Fresh clams are stocked, and Nick is trying to stock fresh bunker. Bloodworms, minnows and all the frozen baits are carried.

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