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<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Anglers on the Shinyo bagged 14 flounder east of the 19 buoy, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Berkley Gulp hot pink mullets were a productive bait for some who flounder fished near Miah Maul. Bob Vee latched into a 25-pound striper near Flat Top, broke his reel and ended up hand-lining the big fish to the boat. A few stripers still swam the bay, and no reports rolled in about drum. The shop is carrying the new SeaBaits that everybody’s demanding. The store’s large selection of baits also includes minnows, fresh bunker, fresh clams, bloodworms, salted herring strips and all kinds of squid, including whole, strips and scented. 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>Newport</b>

Fishing heated up this past week for customers at <b>Sundog Marina</b>, Mike said. Customer Bob and his son boated two 19-1/2-inch keeper flounder and four shorts at the wreck buoy on shedder crabs, and Rich Holloway on the Fishing Netty weighed in a 2-1/2-pound flounder that he nailed at the wreck buoy on shedder. That fish was leading the flounder division this month in Sundog’s season-long fishing tournament. Shedder crabs, available at Sundog, became the popular flounder bait, because minnows were scarce in South Jersey. No minnows were available at the marina, and Mike heard that they were in short supply from Brigantine south. Louis Patrick, Neil Strang and Sam Fukoyama on the Sea Script picked up three stripers from 33 to 35 inches Friday, and Louis and Sam fished again Monday and brought back a 36-incher. They were catching the stripers at the 34 buoy on bunker. Bill Penn and wife over the weekend fished a mile inshore of the 34 buoy and fought blues and also lost a big weakfish at the boat that hit bunker. Perch and lots of small stripers could be landed in Nantuxent Creek on the shop’s rental boats, and Daniel Boutot, 14, reeled in his first-ever striper, a 23-1/2-incher that took salted clam and was released, in the creek from the dock. Small crabs were being caught in the creek, and a rental boater yesterday grabbed two keeper blueclaws among 12 nabbed. Baits in stock include live and frozen shedder crabs, fresh and frozen bunker, fresh and salted clams and Pro Cut squid. Call ahead to check availability of minnows and bloodworms, because the supply was off.

<b>Dividing Creek</b>

Crabbing is underway at <b>Wildlife Boat Rentals</b>, Ann said. Wildlife opened for the season this weekend, and one group bailed 30 keeper blueclaws on a day out, so the number of keepers was good. The store will now be open 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays until extending the hours later this season to probably Thursdays through Sundays or Mondays. Frozen bunker is stocked for bait, and minnows, frozen grass shrimp and squid are carried for fishing. Perch, catfish, small weakfish and decent-sized stripers can be pulled from the creek at times. More baits will be stocked as the season progresses, including fresh grass shrimp and shedder crabs when available. Live crabs will be sold for eating a little later this season. All supplies needed for crabbing are available at the store, including crab traps, handlines, nets, weights, string and products such as sunglasses and bug spray.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Flounder fishing was excellent during the opening of the season this weekend, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Customers scored very well on the flatties in inshore waters within 3 miles from shore right off Fortescue and at the stakes toward Egg Island Point. Minnows and squid were the ticket, and so were Tap Dancer rigs. But mackerel and bloodworms could be used. Bluefish from 1 to 3 pounds also swam the bay, and drum were still caught at the Pin Top. The number of stripers was dying off, but the ones that were hooked in the bay were big. A 40-pound striper was weighed in that was tackled in Fortescue Creek at night on bunker. Short stripers were beached in the Fortescue surf, and perch fishing was picking up there, and bluefish were beginning to show along that beach. Bloodworms were excellent bait for surf casters. One 2-pound 4-ounce weakfish was weighed in that was caught at the edge of the shipping channel while an angler drifted for flounder. Baits in stock include minnows, really nice bloodworms, frozen mackerel, chicken in shedder crab oil, and four different types of squid. Fresh bunker is stocked 90 percent of the time, depending on availability from the supplier, and fresh clams are carried on the weekends.

Drum fishing was good on the <b>Buccaneer</b>, and charters were pulling up three or four a night, Capt. Ralph said. A big one was landed that was probably 95 pounds, one of the largest Ralph has caught, and the rest usually ranged 40 to 70 pounds. Anglers weren’t bailing the fish, but they were catching them. The boat had to sail to the Delaware side for the fish Sunday night. No stripers were hooked during the week, but lots of sharks bit. Charters will continue to target drum, usually through mid June.

Anglers on the <b>Karen Jean</b> were reeling in a mix of flounder and blues, Capt. John said. A few drum trips are booked for later this week.

The <b>Miss Fortescue</b> started flounder fishing this weekend on the opening day of flounder season Saturday, the report on the boats’s web site said. Opening day produced more than 50 keepers on the boat, and several anglers took home three or four each. Les Kyle brought in the first keeper and landed three more. Last Tuesday morning’s trip returned to the dock with 10 keeper tog to 10 pounds, and many more “got away,” the report said. In the afternoon a charter netted nine drum from 50 to 65 pounds. Patrons last week on Sunday bailed lots of blues from 2 ½ to 3 ½ pounds. The Miss Fortescue runs open-boat trips 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily and also sails on open trips at 4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Charters are also available.

<b>Bivalve</b>

The <b>LegalEase</b> fished the bay Saturday through Monday, Capt. Marty said. Saturday was a family trip with his son, his son’s two children and Marty’s young daughter, and it was a short, 2-hour trip and somewhat of a shakedown cruise. His daughter, Kaylie, caught an 18-inch flounder, and the other children landed throwbacks, and the fish were hooked near the turn buoys. On Sunday Blaine Weiner was treated to a birthday charter by Scott and Brian, and they started fishing in the early morning, looking for drum. But big dog sharks invaded, and the gang had a ball catching them, and they even steaked up some of the shark to take home. Next they drifted for flounder near 14-Foot Light, and probably 1 keeper was caught out of every 4 or 5 shorts. Next they wanted to give drum another shot, so they headed to the Horseshoe, and there was one run-off, but Marty thinks it wasn’t a drum. The anchor was pulled, and the anglers drifted inshore with fluke baits in the water, and Blaine nailed a 20-incher. On Monday Elliot Gruskin and children Noah, 13, Zach, 11, and Zoey, 7, were aboard, and again the flounder-to-throwback ratio was probably 1 in 5. Zoey was high hook and also caught the biggest flounder, a 22-incher. They started the trip near where flounder were hooked toward the Horseshoe the previous day. Marty noticed that all the flounder on these trips were usually either clearly throwbacks or clearly keepers 18 inches or larger, and there were hardly any fish in the middle of that range. Minnows and squid were the baits for all the flounder, and the fish Sunday and Monday preferred squid that was died a color that was almost chartreuse and was kind of green. Marty buys his squid and bulk, cuts it in strips, dies it the green color and also some in pink and some in yellow, and he also keeps some in natural white, soaks all of it in shedder oil and freezes it in plastic butter containers. No stripers and no bluefish were hooked on any of these trips. Drum and flounder will be the focus of charters for now, but Marty doesn’t doubt that some stripers will be caught. A Get Out of Work Early Special Charter is available at a discount that sails around noon or 1 p.m. and returns at dusk.

Most drum during the past week were found in the southern bay, anyplace from Bug Light to 60-Foot Slough and Tussy’s Sough, said Pat at <b>Longreach Marina</b>. Customers were brining in some flounder during the opening of the season over the weekend, and none was really big, but keepers were being bagged. Plenty of customers showed up Saturday, and the crowds tapered off Sunday and Monday, apparently because of Memorial Day picnics and events. Fresh bunker is still stocked for striper fishing, and frozen clams are on hand. Other frozen baits like spearing and herring are also carried when available. The Cumberland County Fishing Tournament takes place on the bay June 9 and 10, also the dates of the annual Delaware Bay Days. Longreach’s annual Kids Fishing Tournament will be held sometime in August. Customers and their catches included: Jon Thomson, Paul Biddick, Chip Pitt and Rusty from Vineland, 4 drum to 58 pounds; Louis and Jose Esquilin, 6 drum to 74 pounds; Richard Davis from Brandywine, Del., an 80-pound drum; Donald Haught and Jim Wood Jr., a 97-pound drum; Jim Wood Jr. and Sr., Greg Erber, Kyle Gleason and Bailey, 6 stripers to 48 pounds; Rich and Claire Andrus, 2 weakfish 23 inches each; Jeff Frankel and Steve Pierce, 4 drum to 62 pounds; Matt Frankel, Jeff Frankel Sr., Anthony Riley and Gomer Riley, 5 drum to 72 pounds; Steve Pierce, Jeff Frankel and Christie Riggins, 6 stripers to 45 inches; Kea Merriman from Elmer, 55-1/4-pound drum; Bill Showack and Joe Saiia, 55-pound drum; Bill and Charlie Mills from Franklinville, 72-and 57-pound drum; Harry Larcomby, David Ali, Tim Schaefer and Greg Sawyers, 9 drum to 58 pounds, 25-pound striper; Carey Dastoffo and Gus Serveck, 90- and 65-pound drum; Kevin  Boulder from Gloucester City, 78-1/2-pound drum; Wayne Riback, John Wolanski and Charlie, 3 drum; Mike Bradley, 47-pound drum; Connie Wood, 44-1/2-inch drum; Kaylie Dietz, 7, daughter of Capt. Marty Dietz from the LegalEase, 18-inch flounder; Gary Wilson and George Wengert, 38- and 39-inch stripers; Brandon Silva, 13, 68-pound drum; Ralph Carlton, 65-pound drum; Kim and John Plummer, 7 flounder to 22 inches; and Philip Hanoka, limit of 3-pound weakfish.

<b>Port Norris</b>

Paul Gerstle and Ken and June Pacitto boated 16 keeper flounder, said Jeff from <b>Port Norris Marina</b>. Bobby Carrol and friends bagged 14 keepers, and Ernie, Joe, Michelle and Don from Philly checked in 10 keepers to 21 inches and released 21 shorts. Joe Haywood and wife reeled in 8 keepers, and Andy Kupcuicz caught two stripers and two drum. Customers landed lots of flounder, and everybody was fishing for them between the 19 buoy and Miah Maul. A charter boat from the marina flounder fished Saturday and brought back 15 keeper flounder, and the boat was also catching drum fish on trips. No weakfish were reported found yet. Minnows and different types of squid are stocked, and so are fresh clams and fresh bunker.

<b>Dennisville</b>

John Cisternino hauled in a 6-pound, 26-inch flounder at 20-Foot Slough, said Tim Hand from <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Flounder were hooked in the bay, and more shorts came from Delaware Bay than from the back bay behind Sea Isle and Ludlam Bay, where flounder anglers smoked ‘em. But Delaware Bay’s flounder fishing was still decent. Drum fishing was okay this weekend in Delaware Bay, and it wasn’t phenomenal, but Tim thought that was because of boat traffic. Paul May and crew won the Crooked Horn Tournament with an 86-pound drum and a 75-pound drum, and they also boated 10 others. A few stripers bit in Delaware Bay tight to the beaches, including off Pierce’s Point. Tim and Frank Breakell from the Brynnie B loaded up on 40 bluefish at Hereford Inlet on Shimano’s new flat-sided butterfly jigs, and an angler next to them fished with regular jigs and only caught two. “I’m a believer now,” Tim said. The jigs and the whole rod and reel system used with the jigs are carried at Captain Tate’s. Tim thinks the jigs will also be deadly on stripers under the right conditions.  

<b>Cape May</b>

Drum fishing was alright, not bad, and some were being caught, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. A charter Friday night hauled in nine, and another Saturday night pulled up three, and Saturday’s fishing was slow, and the Heavy Hitter seemed one of the few boats to land any drum. George knew five or six other charter boats that were blanked on drum trips that evening, and probably 200 to 300 boats were fishing the area, on the Jersey side of the bay. On a Sunday night George switched to the Delaware side, the first time he fished off Delaware this season, and 10 drum were reeled aboard. The drum on the trips were averaging 30 to 70 pounds, and drum charters are booked on the Heavy Hitter at least through this Sunday. The fish should still be there through the following week, if anyone wants to book a charter. The anglers on Friday night were Ray and Rob Kessler, Mike Cresci, Ed Chester and Pat Montgomery. On Saturday night they were Steve Roberts, Harry Moore, Mike Firth, George Krebs and Brian Richter, and on Sunday night they were the George Parker family with George Sr., George Jr., son Billy, brother Brian and friend Ed. The drum charters are sailing from the afternoons to nighttime, and charters are also available in the mornings, targeting flounder, sea bass or bluefish. Flounder season opened this weekend, and reports sounded like seven, eight or nine keepers could be bagged on a trip. A sea bass charter already sailed and landed a decent catch, and blues were schooling at least along the ocean beaches, and one angler said he boated a bunch at Sea Isle Ridge.

On the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> drum were landed in the bay over the weekend, and the bite wasn’t great, but a few were boated each night, Capt. Tom said. The fish were up to 70 pounds, and most were 50 to 70 pounds, nice fish, and were picked up on the Jersey side of the bay in 20 to 25 feet, and the water was 65 to 70 degrees. Stripers were starting to show up fairly well in the bay after heading down from the Delaware River after spawning. Tom heard about one caught the other day that was just less than 60 pounds, and this is the time to catch the big ones. For a shot at a 50-pounder, get in on the action now on the boat. Charters and open-boat trips for stripers will start Wednesday, and call to reserve the open trips. Fishin’ Fever will sail from Cape May probably until mid June and then move to Brigantine to start targeting sharks and tuna offshore. Offshore fishing was already beginning, and Tom heard about a 160-pound bigeye that one boat brought back, and he heard about another that bagged 13 mahi mahi to 30 pounds, and the fish were getting hooked straight off Wilmington Canyon, around 100 miles from the coast.

<b>Legal Limit Charters</b> got into good drum fishing in the bay during the beginning of last week, and no trips targeted them since then, Capt. T.J. said. One of his boats is also fishing from Tuckerton and is coming back to port with plenty of sea bass from the ocean. 

The <b>Sea Fox</b> headed out on its first flounder trip of the season Sunday, and the fishing was successful near Miah Maul in 64-degree water, Capt. Gary said. The Shinn Express Trucking Company bagged the flounder to 22 inches on the trip, landing more than 30 on squid and minnows. They fished in the morning on outgoing tide, Gary’s favorite tide for the flatties. No blues were hooked, but a lone oyster cracker was. Drum fishing on the bay on the boat was a bust Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and apparently the fish were either scattered or moving around. Gary fished the Jersey side, and some boats caught them, but they had to be sitting right on top of a patch of drum. Drum fishing had been good Friday. Charters will continue to drum fish, and charters for flounder, sea bass and bluefish are also available. Shark season is also coming up, and charters can target sharks. On another note, Gary came across acres of dead bunker, stripers and drum floating on the surface of the bay, apparently discarded by commercial boats. He also said the Coast Guard was out checking recreational boats on the bay.

Patrons on the <b>Lady Chris</b> scored lots of flounder action with keepers and bluefish mixed in on 4-hour trips, a fax from the boat said. Michele Frank boated a 2.8-pounder, and Darrel Bates picked up a 2.3-pounder. On the <b>Miss Chris</b> nighttime drum fishing remained good, and some customers limited out on fish to 65 pounds. Stan Minionta limited out on drum to 52 pounds, and Dan Morris limited out on drum to 57 pounds, and Derk Henderson landed a 67-pounder and a 52-pounder. On the Miss Chris’s daily sea bass trips at 8 a.m., the humpbacks weighed up to 4 pounds, and some anglers limited out. George Rillilo limited out on sea bass to 4 ¼ pounds, and Carl Kirkson limited out on sea bass to 3 ¼ pounds, and Wally Landord also limited out on sea bass to 3 ¼ pounds.

Flounder season opened with a bang in the back bay this weekend, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Rob Haines and crew limited out on flatties to 4 pounds in the channel behind Wildwood Crest, where Charlie Danowski also limited out on flounder to 3 pounds, and both Gulp shrimp and shads worked well for him. Drum fishing on Delaware Bay was best when crowds were light early in the day and very late at night, and Tussy’s Slough, Brandywine Slough, the Pin Top and Slaughter Beach all produced fish at different times. At the Pin Top Gene Craig wrestled a 72-pounder onboard, and Pete Stanko tackled a 69-pounder. At Slaughter Beach James Sullivan nailed a 92-pounder. Surf fishing was decent at Cape May, especially from Pittsburgh Avenue to Poverty Beach, and stripers were biting consistently, and clam was the bait. Dawn and dusk were best, and daytimes were giving up a pick. Weakfishing was improving a bit at Cape May Point and at Higbee’s Beach on bloodworms, buctktails with a pink trailer or a black-and-chartreuse trailer. Mike Plummer limited out on the trout to 12 pounds on bloods at the Central Avenue jetty. Russell Purdy beached a 13.52-pound weakie at Stites Avenue on bloodworm. Sea bass were holding 16 to 30 miles off Cape May, and Delaware Reef No. 11 was also home to nice sea bass, but dogfish were there. Matt himself and crew limited out on sea bass at Reef 11 on Tuesday and heard good reports about the spot.

Drum fishing was best when crowds were light early in the day and very late at night, and Tussy’s Slough, Brandywine Slough, the Pin Top and Slaughter Beach all produced fish at different times, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. At the Pin Top Gene Craig wrestled a 72-pounder onboard, and Pete Stanko tackled a 69-pounder. At Slaughter Beach James Sullivan nailed a 92-pounder. Surf fishing was decent at Cape May, especially from Pittsburgh Avenue to Poverty Beach, and stripers were biting consistently, and clam was the bait. Dawn and dusk were best, and daytimes were giving up a pick. Weakfishing was improving a bit at Cape May Point and at Higbee’s Beach on bloodworms, buctktails with a pink trailer or a black-and-chartreuse trailer. Mike Plummer limited out on the trout to 12 pounds on bloods at the Central Avenue jetty. Russell Purdy beached a 13.52-pound weak at Stites Avenue on bloodworm. Flounder season opened with a bang in the back bay this weekend. Rob Haines and crew limited out on flatties to 4 pounds in the channel behind Wildwood Crest, where Charlie Danowski also limited out on flounder to 3 pounds, and both Gulp shrimp and shads worked well for him. Sea bass were holding 16 to 30 miles off Cape May, and Delaware Reef No. 11 was also home to nice sea bass, but dogfish were there. Matt himself and crew limited out on sea bass at Reef 11 on Tuesday and heard good reports about the spot.

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