<b>Brooklawn</b>

On the Delaware River tournaments began for largemouth and smallmouth bass, so more started to be heard about catches, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish were knuckled in from the river around places like Ron Jaworski’s Riverwinds Golf Club, the Coast Guard Station at Gloucester and the mouth of Big Timber Creek on pigs-and-jigs or small crank baits fished 5 or 6 feet down. Small, resident striped bass always swim the river, and big catfish prowled the waters, and so did large carp. Rick saw a photo of a 44-inch carp. In offshore waters plenty of sharks, including lots of makos, were caught during Cape May’s South Jersey Shark Tournament during the weekend, and waters from the Ham Bone to 28-Mile Wreck seemed best. Nothing solid was heard about tuna yet, except rumors, and few tuna fished, but that will change soon. Big Timber carries bait and tackle for all fishing from freshwater to offshore. That includes a complete supply of lures and baits for rivers and lakes; rigs, tackle and frozen bait for bays; and offshore lures, rigs and baits.

<b>Pennsville</b>

Customers kept saying Gulp Alive mullet and shrimp did a job on flounder, said Dave from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Strips of fresh bunker fillet also worked well. In the Delaware River small striped bass, white perch, catfish and carp were fought. Small pieces bunker, like pieces of fillet, attracted the stripers, too small to inhale a bunker chunk like bigger bass do. The juvenile linesiders also chomped bloodworms, and so did the perch. The catfish and carp were attracted to anything smelly like a chunk of herring or Power Baits. Crabbing was improving for the owner of the shop, who commercially crabs on the bay. He picked up a few number 1 blueclaws. The hardshells should begin to fill the local streams and ditches soon, so private crabbers can get after them. Fresh bunker is carried when available, and all the rains lately hampered the bunker boats from sailing. Bloodworms are on hand, and so are frozen baits including bunker, herring, mackerel, clams, squid and more. The Gulp Alives for flounder and other fish and the Power Baits for the river’s catfish and carp are stocked.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

At <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b> customers scored okay catches of flounder around Miah Maul and the 19 buoy last week, Sharon said. She heard no news from the weekend to Monday, because she was away, but she knew that minnows, the favorite flounder bait, were in great demand at the shop in the past days. A customer this morning said he smoked flounder in the back bay at Wildwood. Drum fishing came to a standstill in the bay, and reports said the fish showed up in waters farther north, and that would seem to mean the bay’s drum left for the season, started appearing elsewhere. Striped bass fishing also pretty much ended for the year, and little was heard about weakfish, except that a few kept being found in the netter’s catches last week. Shedder crabs, minnows and a large supply of frozen baits, including herring, are stocked. Fresh bunker arrives almost daily, so long as the bunker boats get out. Bloodworms are on hand, and so are sandworms, a less expensive but similar bait to bloods, and effective. 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>

Crabbing was kind of spotty during the weekend, and a half-bushel seemed the most anyone caught, and some customers nabbed plenty, and others did not, said Linda from <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>. Difference in skill could be a factor, or maybe wasn’t. The size of the blueclaws was good, though, and one kid scored a 6-1/2-incher. Linda expects crabbing to pick back up this week, and less rains than last week should help. Last week’s full moon seemed to trigger no full-fledged shed like it often does. The crabs seemed “confused,” Linda said, and maybe the storm around the full moon affected them. Few carapaces were seen round the boat launch and docks, and when lots of the shed shells appear, that tells the staff the shed is going strong. Crabs refuse to eat when shedding, so that affects crabbing, but not all crabs shed at once, so some can always be caught. Crabbing will only get better as waters warm this season, although it was already good last week. White perch and striped bass, including keeper stripers, were hooked on Oranokin Creek, where Beaver Dam is located.  Beaver Dam’s rental boats for crabbing get towed up the creek, and the staff checks on the rental boaters every hour. If crabbers want to return in the meantime for a break, they simply cell phone the shop, and the staff picks them up. Kayaks and canoes are available to rent for sightseeing on the creek, a wildlife wonderland. Call for details about this weekend’s Fathers’ Day Special on crabbing. Beaver Dam carries everything needed for a day of crabbing, including all different types of traps, hand lines, nets, bait, bug spray, suntan lotion, drinks and snacks. The shop is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Customers should call ahead to reserve crab boats, kayaks and canoes to ensure they’re available. Beaver Dam is available to host groups like scouts for nature education. A gazebo with a grill is available for events like birthday parties and family reunions.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Drumfish mostly left the bay, departing for the ocean or wherever they go for the rest of the year, though some always summer in the bay at places like holes near the lighthouses, said Capt. Ralph from the <b>Buccaneer</b>. So trips on the boat will switch to fishing for flounder and blues. More about that in a moment. Excellent catches of drum were made this season, Ralph thought, and he’s been sailing for the boomers since the early 1960s. However, fewer drum than last year swam the bay, and they used to remain in the bay through this time in June, departing unusually early this year. The decline in the population, the early departure, the tremendous fleet that fished for them day in and day out, and the large numbers that boaters kept, concerned Ralph. There’s practically nothing else to fish for during drum season, because other fish populations have declined on the bay, apparently at least partly because of fishing pressure. Hardly anyone fished for drum when Ralph first started targeting them, and now maybe hundreds of boats go after them, many nearly every day. The number of drum in the bag limit should be decreased, and the size limit should be increased, Ralph thinks. The bay’s flounder anglers hauled in very good catches, lots of shorts, but some keepers, and a few small blues were around. No substantial weakfish population showed up so far, though the trout used to come in by now. They’ve been coming in later in recent years, though not in the populations of the past. No croakers arrived yet. Flounder might also get pounded because no weaks or other fish were around for boaters to catch.

A decent week of flounder fishing, not bad at all, with some keepers bagged, went down on the <b>Salt Talk</b>, Capt. Howard said. Some days could be tougher than others, like on Sunday, when winds against tides messed up the drift. But usually lots of the fluke came up, including a few keepers. Fourteen keepers were clubbed both Wednesday and Saturday, and Saturday’s catch included some healthy sized flatties, including a 6-pounder. A few small blues, not many, were hooked on trips. Minnows, squid and cut baits were fished. Drum charters finished for the season on the boat, because drum catches mostly stopped. But flounder charters are on tap. Open-boat trips are sailing for flounder 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, unless a charter is booked. So always call ahead to confirm open trips will sail.

Drum fishing came to a halt, so flounder trips, daily, open-boat outings that were already running since the season opened, will be the focus on the <b>Bonanza</b>, and the crew will wait for the arrival of croakers and weakfish, seeing whether enough come in to target, Capt. Mike said. Good drum catches were boated through the season, and then they just stopped. Charters fished for them on the Bonanza, and so did annual weekly, open trips. The last open drum trip sailed last week. Flounder fishing was alright on the vessel, and 60 were bagged Saturday. Winds against the tide hindered the drift Sunday, somewhat throwing off the fishing. Ken Takahi, a retired Fortescue captain, clobbered a 24-inch flounder last week on the boat. The Bonanza’s annual, special, open flounder trips to the Old Grounds will definitely sail this year, as soon as Mike hears about good catches, and he’s already planning the first outing. Call him to jump aboard on that trip or to be kept informed about the future schedule: 609-381-2978. The Old Grounds, located in the ocean off Delaware, feature rough bottom that attracts the flatties, and catches can be great during the right conditions. The Bonanza is flounder fishing on open-boat trips on the bay 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, so long as no charter is booked. Anglers can check the schedule on the vessel’s Web site for the charter schedule. Flounder charters are currently running.

Flounder anglers seemed to start drifting the stakes closer to shore for better catches, instead of the deep around the shipping channel, and the fishing was good, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Frozen herring worked especially well, and other baits like minnows and squid picked up bites, but not like herring. Tons of snapper blues swam all over, and drum fishing was pretty much done for the season. Lots of bunker schooled, and only a few weakfish bit in the bay, taken near the lighthouses on shedder crabs. Fortescue surf anglers sometimes creamed a decent flounder, and small stripers swarmed the shoreline, sucking down bloodworms. Stripers also filled Fortescue Creek, and so did big white perch. No peanut bunker were seen in the creek, but the season was early. Crabbing began to produce fairly well in Fortescue Creek. Minnows, shedder crabs, frozen herring and a large supply of baits is stocked.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Anglers somewhat avoided Bay Days held in the area during the weekend, but those who fished boated flounder at places including the number 1 buoy, Little Egypt, Miah Maul and the 19 buoy, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. Minnows for flounder bait are scarce at this time of year, are stocked when available. But other offerings such as spearing or strips of mackerel on rigs or  squid on bucktails worked well. Fresh bunker will be carried until the current supply runs out, because demand drops off once the bay’s striper fishing tapers off for the season. Anglers and their catches included: Frank Jones and Roy Bittle, Sicklerville, 11 flounder to 22 inches; John Swydersky and Todd Appolito, Pittsgrove, eight flounder; George Donley and Bob Labree, Pine Hill, six flounder to 22 ½ inches and four blues to 21 inches; and Bob Carroll, Port Norris, two flounder and a weakfish. Kim and John Plummer from Millville apparently fished one of the creeks, reporting a catch of seven white perch over 11 inches apiece and a dozen striped bass including one keeper. Another angler fished near the barge where the Maurice River meets the bay, tackling 42 perch and a 31-inch striper.

<b>Cape May</b>

Drum fishing slowed down , and anglers on only a few boats picked up two or three fish apiece, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The shop was a weigh station for the weekend’s Jersey Coast Anglers Association’s Fluke Tournament, and most of the biggest fluke entered were hauled from the Old Grounds in the ocean. But some came from the back-waters. The top anglers and catches were: 1st place, Mark Christopher, 6.33-pound fluke, Old Grounds; 2nd place, Jeff Whalen, 5.92-pounder; and 3rd place, Carl Haines, 5.74-pounder. Even the 10th place fish was a respectable 4.71-pound summer flounder. Daytime surf fishing for striped bass tapered off, and now the better catches usually happened at night. Weakfish were around in the surf, but not too many. Most were hooked along the inlet jetties, but a few were found along the jetties at Cape May Point and Higbee’s Beach. The shop’s 27th Annual Shark Tournament will take place Saturday.

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