<b>Pennsville</b>

Plenty and plenty of flounder paved the bay, and anglers had to pick through lots of shorts, but the keeper ratio seemed improved, said Wade from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b>. He heard about catches made from Madhorse Creek to the 6 buoy, and Gulp mullets or minnows did a job on the fish. For natural bait, Wade fished squid, shedder crabs and strips of fresh bunker. Small striped bass to 26 and 28 inches suddenly seemed to move into the back creeks, fun on light tackle. Wade tossed 4- or 5-inch swim shads to fight the linesiders on a 5-foot largemouth-bass rod. Shedder crabs, bloodworms or fresh bunker should also work. In the Delaware River white perch and catfish can always be picked up in summer. Try fishing bloodworms or shedders for the perch or dunking bunker, bloodworms or shedders for the cats. Wade heard no news about crabbing in the past days, and crabbing previously was slow, but that could’ve changed. Shedder crabs, fresh bunker, bloodworms, nightcrawlers, trout worms, frozen baits and more are stocked.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Plenty of flounder were boated, excellent fishing at least from Fortescue down to the number 1 buoy, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Friends loaded up on the fish off the E.P. Tower during the weekend, and Sharon heard about catches made offshore of the 1 buoy when boaters tried to get away from the crowds.  Five or so weakfish were pulled up on one trip on a boat, and a few of the trout showed up in the commercial nets. But anglers had to work for them, couldn’t casually bounce around. Anchoring and fishing with shedder crabs was the way to go. Small blues occasionally appeared in catches, and a handful of croakers, not many, were around. The shop’s minnow supply is in good shape, after the baitfish were scarce earlier this season. Gulps were the only baits beginning to be difficult to obtain, and Berkley apparently struggled to make enough, something that happened last year, too. Shedder crabs are carried, and so is fresh bunker. Fresh clams either shucked or in the shell are on hand, and so is a large supply of frozen 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>

Results from crabbers were all over the place at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b> during the weekend, and catches probably ranged from six keepers to sixty, depending on the person, Paul said. Individual skill might’ve been the difference, but crabbing was definitely spottier than before at the time. However, catches on Monday ranged from a half-bushel to a full bushel, impressive numbers, and Paul hoped that continued. Still, crab shells were seen at the boat ramp, and that probably meant the crabs began to shed, and crabbing can slow during the shed, because the shedders refuse to eat. But not all crabs shed at once, so some can always be caught. Crab sheds usually take place on the full and new moon, but none seemed to shed on the last full. Conditions like unusual tides and highly fluctuating water temps might’ve thrown off the shed. Tides recently kept occurring at different times than the tide tables predicted, for some reason. Also, although the bay was warm, and the bay temperature was probably steady, Paul noticed very cold waters at some point during a tide at Oranokin Creek, where Beaver Dam’s customers crab, until the creek warmed again on another tide. The creek’s salinity was at a normal level, and that was good news. This year’s rainy, stormy spring had sent a flood of freshwater into the creek, dropping the salinity level for a time. The salinity matters for crabbing. A few small striped bass, mostly undersized, were angled from the creek, so they seemed to remain. Eventually waters will become too warm for the linesiders to feed there. White perch could sometimes be hooked from Oranokin.  Customers crab or fish from Beaver Dam’s rental boats that get towed up the creek, and the staff checks on them every hour. But if the rental boaters want to take a break in the meantime, they simply cell phone the shop, and the staff picks them up. Oranokin is an unusually rich creek for crabbing, and the season is in full swing. Kayaks and canoes are also available to rent for sightseeing on the creek, a wildlife wonderland. 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 rental 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>

Anglers whaled away at flounder, and the fish seemed to spread out a little, even moving a little north, getting hooked around the 32 and 34 buoys, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. But they were also south and all over, including at the stakes off Fortescue, at the first drop-off and near the E.P. Tower. All baits seemed to work, though Gulps were awfully effective. But everything from minnows to squid, spearing, strip baits and even shedder crabs got crunched. Spearing seemed an effective dead bait. All rigs also worked, no matter whether a bucktail, a top-and-bottom rig, a single-hooked bottom rig. But tap-dancer rigs were the biggest seller by far. Anglers often hook a minnow on the top hook and a strip bait on the bucktail. Big baits were an advantage for bigger flounder but fewer. Tie on something like a 2-ounce bucktail with a 4-inch Gulp or a big ole’ strip bait. Small blues were mixed in throughout the waters, and a few small croakers were landed here or there near Fortescue. Bigger ones held farther south, yet to move up. A few weakfish, not many, were found. Fortescue surf anglers bailed lots of flounder and some blues. White perch fishing produced on some of the creeks, though the slabs in Fortescue Creek were smaller than at other places like Dividing Creek. Same thing with crabs: The blueclaws were small in Fortescue Creek but bigger in Dividing Creek and other streams. Peanut bunker began to appear in Fortescue Creek. All baits are fully stocked, including minnows, shedder crabs, mackerel, spearing, sand eels, herring and more.

Flounder, quite a few, were beaten on the <b>Buccaneer</b>, and the weather usually cooperated, and conditions created not much of a drift Sunday afternoon, but anglers aboard still caught, and so did the fleet, Capt. Ralph said. None of the fish was huge, but they measured up to 22 and 25 inches, and charters seemed to enjoy themselves. Small, snapper blues were sometimes mixed in, and one was boated Saturday, and 10 were hooked Sunday. No croakers turned up on the vessel’s trips so far this season. The boat mostly fished near Fortescue, but the flatties seemed spread throughout the bay. Ralph heard about catches that came from along the shipping channel toward 14-Foot Light on Sunday. On that day he also pushed north of Cross Ledge and out toward the channel at the 32 buoy to try catch a drift. That’s where the 10 blues were belted. So everything’s fine, Ralph said.

Fishing for flounder made for a good week on the <b>Salt Talk</b>, and all trips caught the flatties, no huge numbers, but the anglers seemed satisfied, Capt. Howard said. Winds were sometimes an issue, like strong winds that kicked up seas Saturday afternoon, and winds against the tide that messed up the drift Sunday. The flounder seemed to be moving north, were boated around the shipping channel north of Fortescue, like at the sloughs, and that was unusual, because normally by now they’d begin heading south on the way to the ocean. But that wasn’t a bad thing and meant the fish were sticking around. The bigger flatties averaged 3, 4 or 5 pounds, and Howard nabbed a 6-pounder. He fishes for flatties that get stripped out for bait for customers. An angler on one of the charter boats nailed an 8-pounder. Minnows, flounder strips or bluefish strips, when patrons wanted to sacrifice blues they caught, were the baits. A few small blues and one small croaker were reeled in on the Salt Talk. The bay was probably 76 degrees, a productive temp for the fishing. Open-boat trips are flounder fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., but always call ahead to confirm that no charter is fishing instead. Charters are available.

On the <b>Bonanza</b> pretty good flounder fishing, sizeable numbers and some healthy-sized fish, went down, Capt. Mike said. Trips started fishing a little north of Fortescue, including to get away to new spots that were less pressured. An occasional croaker began to be seen in the local area, but the boat didn’t target them, because flounder fishing was so happening. The hardhead population should build any time. Some of the charter boats began searching for weakfish seemed not to find a substantial body of the trout. Another few weeks probably had to pass for a chance at better weakfishing. If the croakers and weaks come in, the Bonanza will go after them. One of the vessel’s special, open-boat flounder trips to the Old Grounds put patrons on decent catches, no big bail, but decent, on Wednesday. One more open trip to the Old Grounds, an area in the ocean off Delaware with rough, flounder-holding bottom that can shovel out some of the better catches during the right drifting conditions, will probably sail during the third or fourth week of August. Call to be kept informed about the trip: 609-381-2978.  The Bonanza is flounder fishing on open trips on the bay 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, unless a charter is booked. The charter schedule can be checked on the vessel’s Web site.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Customers found flounder spread out from Miah Maul to the number 1 buoy to Little Egypt between number 1 and the E.P. Tower, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. The minnow supply became a little better at the shop, after the baitfish were tough to get earlier this season, but anglers caught the flatties well on frozen spearing and mackerel stocked at the marina anyway. Anglers and their catches included: Ross DelRossi, three keeper flounder in 2 hours; Mike Vass, three flounder; Steve Leusner and Larry Freed, six flounder to a 24-inch 5-1/4-pounder; Nick Emigholz, 7-pound flounder; the Williamson crew, another 7-pound flounder; and Kelly, James and Jerry Suloff, six flounder. Longreach Marina’s annual Kids Fishing Tournament will take place Saturday, August 8.

<b>Cape May</b>

Keeper flounder started to fill the Cape May Rips and McCries Shoal, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Short flounder and a few keepers hugged bottom at the drift areas of Cape May Reef in the ocean, and the bigger flatties gathered around the bridge rubble and the wrecks. They lay tight to the structure, so the fishing was tough, but some big doormats were there. The south Old Grounds was another spot for large ones. Flounder were banked from the surf at Alexander Avenue and along all the jetties at Cape May Point on squid or Gulps on slowly retrieved bucktails or jigheads. Croakers began to appear in the surf, and anglers racked up a fair catch Saturday morning.  Capt. Steve London and Jeff Glenn weighed in a 9.03-pound flounder and an 8.59-pounder respectively after a trip to Cape May Reef on the Stanley Rose. Matthew Broderick won the pool on a Cape May party boat with an 8.14-pounder.

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