<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

The crew at the <b>Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b> were just returning to the shop today after yesterday’s storm, quite a strong storm, and rough weather over the weekend, so little was heard about fishing since last week, Sharon said. But a few drum catches were reported last week, and so were striper catches sometimes. On the drum front, the full moon takes place Monday, and this month’s moon and next month’s are traditionally the best times to expect drumfish to bite. Sharon heard that people in a spotter plane saw drum moving into the bay. On the striper front, one angler from a local marina reportedly bailed 17 stripers near Miah Maul last week, and another woman said she reeled in three keeper stripers near the Maul on Wednesday. Stripers were surely finishing spawning in the Delaware River by now and starting to return to the bay, a little later than usual. Large stripers also probably sometimes moved into the bay as they migrated up the coast. Fresh clams are stocked and should be in full supply for the weekend, especially for a drum tournament from Middle Township then. Fresh herring is on hand when available, though the supply might be tough for a moment after the weather. Fresh bunker is also carried, and so are eels and lots of other 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>Newport</b>

“Best two-day report of the season,” an e-mail from <b>Sundog Marina</b> said. Boaters from the docks started landing healthy catches of striped bass on Tuesday and Wednesday, though the bite tapered off by Saturday from rougher weather. But on Tuesday one customer nailed a 44-inch striper, and another reeled up five keepers. On Wednesday Lewis Patrick and crew returned with a 31-inch keeper and had several run-offs. Also on Wednesday, another customer decked two keepers, and another crew limited out with six bass. A load of bunker and a fresh batch of bloodworms were stocked during the weekend.

<b>Fortescue</b>

A few striped bass started to be caught again, and reports were heard about the fish sometimes landed from the 32 to 35 buoys, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Sometimes a catch of the bass was also made in the southern bay at places like the Punk Grounds. Fortescue surf fishers beached good numbers of stripers, mostly shorts, but occasionally a keeper, and also perch. Dunk a bloodworm for a bite from either. Drum fishing was yet to really take off, but it should turn on soon. A few weakfish, 3-pounders, and some blues were checked in that came from Egg Island Point. Flounder season opens in two Saturdays, and anglers fishing chunks of bunker for stripers pulled up hefty flounder, 22-, 24- or 26-inchers by mistake and released them.
That gave up for a productive opening of the season. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, bloodworms, and frozen bunker, clams, mullet, herring, pre-cut shedder crab, pre-cut squid, boxed, whole squid, squid fillets and other baits are stocked.

A trip drum fished on the <b>Albatross</b> on Saturday but scored no luck, Capt. Ziggy said, and he saw two drum caught on other vessels, but that was all. So the fishing was slow, but anglers hoped that changed soon. Striped bass fishing might pick up on the bay any day, as the linesiders slide back down from the Delaware River after spawning, but you never know. Fishing for the bass can last till the beginning of June in the bay after the spawn, and the stripers usually stick around only a moment then, because waters are warming. Lots of bunker, a main food for stripers, schooled the bay. Drum charters, both 8- and 10-hour trips, will keep sailing, probably until the beginning of June, and striper fishing will be available through about the same time, if the bite turns on. Flounder charters will kick off when flounder season opens in two Saturdays.

A drum was boated on the <b>Buccaneer</b> on Saturday night, and a trip for the boomers was cancelled Sunday night because of rough weather, Capt. Ralph said. A few drum were being caught, “not a great big catch,” he said, but some boats returned to port with two or three. Ralph runs 10-hour trips for the behemoths to catch two tides, because the fishing is a matter of setting up at a spot where drum come swimming through while feeding. It’s like deer hunting, he’s said in the past, and drum anglers shouldn’t move from a spot unless someone reports that the fish are biting somewhere at that moment. Otherwise it’s a waiting game, and the fish will come, but nobody can know when. He’s been targeting drum since 1961, when hardly anyone else in the fleet chased the fish. Now they all do!

On the <b>Salt Talk</b> a drum charter was weathered out Sunday, Capt. Howard said, and he heard about a few small drum, 20- or 30-pounders bagged Saturday night. The smaller ones are better-eating fish, and no word came in about larger ones tackled, like 70- or 80-pounders. Open-boat striped bass trips are sailing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, but call to confirm at this time of year, when the trips are more likely to run on weekends, but weekdays might attract too few anglers. Open-boat drum trips will run 1 a.m. to 9 p.m. when enough are interested, and anglers can call to confirm whether those trips will leave port, too. Customers can also call to confirm whether a charter is booked on the vessel during any of the open-boat times. Daily flounder trips will begin when flounder season opens in two Saturdays. The crew is also considering offering women-only, open trips from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, a chance for the women to get away from the family and the daily grind, drop down a line and relax.

A charter on the <b>Bonanza</b> sailed for drum Saturday night, but the fishing seemed slow, and Capt. Mike thought he heard about only a handful of boomers boated, and only skates and more skates stole baits for his anglers, he said. More of the fish were supposedly caught earlier last week, and somewhat of a bite took place later Saturday night, after the Bonanza returned. Special, open-boat drum trips will sail 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. the next two Saturdays, and space is available. Reservations are required, and call 609-381-2978 to book. During a daytime trip Saturday with Gene Soloman’s group, Don Gallagher nailed a 31-inch striped bass. Ted “The Fish Pit” McDaniels, who’s fished twice a week on the boat for years, caught and released a short, out-of-season flounder on the outing. Capt. Mike’s looking forward to flounder season opening in two Saturdays, hoping that plenty of the flatbacks are carpeting the bay. Open-boat trips are fishing daily for striped bass when enough anglers show up and the weather allows. Open trips will target flounder daily when flounder season begins.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Nels Peterson and Travis Hall from Millville returned to the dock with a 29-inch, 25-pound striped bass they boated at Cross Ledge, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. They also fought a mess of blues that they released. Stripers were just beginning to drop back down to the bay after spawning in the Delaware River, later in the season than usual. Loads of bunker, the favorite striper forage, schooled the bay. Pat heard no first-hand reports about drum caught during the weekend but heard second-hand about a few taken last week. Flounder season opens in two Saturdays, a big event for the bay’s anglers. Pat and crew were battening down the hatches in yesterday’s storm and reminded anglers that they should check their boats in the water during storms. The crew does a good job of keeping an eye on vessels, dock lines and whether any boats need to be pumped out during a blow, but it’s a courtesy, and boat owners should stay aware of the importance of keeping an eye on a vessel during a storm. Speaking of vessels in the water, slips are available at the marina, and grab them before the summer rush. Fresh bunker is stocked, and so are frozen clams and all the frozen baits.

<b>Dennisville</b>

The drum bite at least started, and if the weather calms a few days, a few more should be reeled up, said Tim from <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The weather was brutal in the past days, and the shop was closed in the storm yesterday, so not a lot was happening. Some kept saying striped bass bit in the northern bay, and anglers who took the trip said stripers held there, but others who were from the area said nothing was really doing with the linesiders. The back bays along the coast were full of blues and sometimes gave up stripers and weakfish.

<b>Cape May</b>

Three 30-pound black drum were loaded aboard on a trip Saturday evening and night with <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> on the Jersey side of the bay, Capt. Ray said. A single drum was also taken on the boat in the middle of the day Sunday on the Jersey side in the 60-degree waters. These trips might’ve produced some of the better catches of drum this weekend, and the bite seemed somewhat slow. The fish seemed to turn on all at once, for an hour or so, and anglers parked at the right spot connected with a few, and others didn’t. Lots of fish were marked, but not a lot of drum bit. No striped bass were hooked with Jaftica, but Ray heard about a couple landed in the lower bay at the end of the week. All kinds of bunker schooled the bay. 

A 32-pound drum was boated with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> right in the middle of Tussy’s Slough, probably mid morning, when incoming tide just began, on Sunday, Capt. Eric said. Drum fishing was just beginning, and an unbelievable number of dog sharks covered the bottom in the 59- or 60-degree waters. Eric heard about one striped bass that a boater reeled in from the bay.

Fishing for drum slowed down this past week compared with before, and big piles of readings kept being marked, and the fish might’ve been spawning and refusing to bite, Capt. Rob from <b>First Cast Sport Fishing</b> said. Readings were stacked up at Tussy’s Slough, for example. But he thought the fishing was probably about to break loose. John Hable’s charter on Thursday or Friday nailed five drum, including a 70-pounder. Drum fishing Saturday night with the Derek Morris gang was slow, and on Sunday with Steve Fowler’s group produced “a few fish,” Rob said, and lots of sharks and skates. Most charters were able to land a drum or two here or there.  A striped bass or two were mixed in with the drum, but trips last year at this time were pulling up both drum and stripers at the same time. That never really happened this year, and either drum or stripers came up. Drum can spawn in a couple of days and then completely go on the feed. A spot is open for a charter this weekend.

<b>Daisy May Sport Fishing</b> headed out for drum on the bay Saturday night, read fish on the fish finder, heard drum booming, but no takers, Capt. Dave said. Fishing for them seemed to be just starting, and he thought they were spawning. The fish were there, no doubt, he said. The only striped bass catches he heard about came from far up the northern bay, like around Ship John. Charters will keep targeting drum in the near future, but the trips always look for both drum and stripers, fishing bunker chunks far in the back for the bass, along with clam baits dropped closer to the boat for drum.

Charters fished for drum Saturday and Sunday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, and catches were kind of slow, Capt. George said. Joe Faulkner’s gang on Saturday afternoon landed a couple to 40 pounds. On Sunday a Take a Vet Fishing Trip with Dan Romano, Jim Stadlar, Frank Snock and Jim Dorn from McGuire Air Force Base got into sharks and skates. Unfortunately no drum showed up, but George tried his best, and he sends his gratitude to the men for serving the country, and enjoyed spending time with them. The drum that were hooked were full of roe, so the fish weren’t finished spawning. Sometimes boaters seemed to find them and get a quick shot at three or four, but that was all, and otherwise anglers might’ve landed one or two per trip. Maybe the fishing would take off after yesterday’s storm. Last year the fish suddenly turned on, and one trip on the Heavy Hitter bailed 30 of them, and then the fish kept biting. Drumfish so far were at least hooked sometimes, but nothing hot and heavy. About the only striped bass that George heard were hitting were lots that were reeled in from the Delaware River at Pennsville.

Drumfish, mostly 20- to 40-pounders, but a few 60- to 70-pounders, were caught mostly around the Banana Peel Slough and Tussy’s Slough on fresh surf clams, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Don McDaniels and Fred Jacobs fished the Banana Peel on Wednesday and hauled aboard six drum to 50 pounds, and Carmen Lanza and crew took a trip to the bay and came up with three drum to 40 pounds. Striped bass fishing was slow in the bay, but some were landed in the far northern areas, including Reef Site 2 toward Cross Ledge and the northern tip of Joe Flogger Shoal. Anglers on the Clean Sweep reeled in 17 bass at Reef Site 2, and Jim Cleaver took down three stripers to 30 pounds at Joe Flogger. The Cape May surf gave up stripers, and weakfish bit a little more than before along its jetties. Ryan Miller weighed in a 30-pound striper that he banked at Poverty Beach on clam, and an angler next to him tackled and released a 15-pound drum. Dan Olsen bucktailed three weaks to 5 pounds at the convent jetty at the bottom of the tide, and John Kornick caught his first weak of the season at Cape May Point. Sea bass held pretty thick along the 25- to 30-mile wrecks. Howard Stenberg and crew bagged scores to 5 pounds at the Dry Docks, and Pete Marle and gang took a mess from the Jacob Jones wreck.

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