<b>Staten Island</b>

Striped bass, good to excellent catches, were plowed with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>, except Sunday produced the slowest fishing for them in a while, Capt. Anthony said. The blog on his Web site said big blues never stopped biting on the trip on Raritan Bay, the best bluefishing all season so far. The anglers landed five keeper stripers to 16 pounds and lost some at the boat. On Saturday, the blog said, a half-day trip pounded 13 keepers and 25 blues, a great catch, on bunker chunks. The fishing’s been a short ride from the dock, making the half-day, 4-1/2-hour trips convenient for those who cant’ stay a whole day. Nighttime trips for stripers are also on tap for those who can’t fish during the day. Annual, open-boat trips that fish at twilight are about to really get off the ground. Charters are also running, and only two spaces are available in the next two weeks. Barbara Anne pays bridge tolls with a receipt.

With <b>Outcast Charters</b> anglers on Saturday limited out on striped bass fairly early, catching and releasing more afterward, coming home early, Capt. Joe said. So the fishing was really good, he said, and the bass were a little smaller than on the previous trip, but weighed 10 to 15 pounds, and one was about 20. The trip fished on Raritan Bay, but Outcast is fishing from the bay to the ocean, wherever necessary. Some trips clammed, and others bunker chunked, and sometimes trips jigged. Again, whatever was necessary. Blues were around, but not too much. If blues become a problem, a trip might have to fish with clams.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

After a good catch of striped bass, limits around the boat, was clobbered on Thursday morning’s trip down the ocean beach in strong but west winds that kept seas fishable, the afternoon’s trip did get weathered out, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Friday morning’s trip started fishing at the same place, and a shot of bass gave up bites. When that dwindled, the boat was moved to Romer Shoal, and a few more stripers came up. On Saturday morning’s trip the boat was sailed down the beach, and the anglers picked at keepers and shorts, until the action quit. Then the trip fished at Romer Shoal and Flynn’s Knoll, and more stripers were taken. The afternoon’s fishing was some of the toughest of the season so far. On Sunday morning’s trip the boat was motored to the same place on the ocean, but nothing was doing. The vessel was headed back to Romer, and some bass were cranked up. On the afternoon’s trip the boat fished at Flynn’s Knoll and stayed put, and catches seemed better than when moving around. Blues and stripers were caught, and some of the crowd, a small group, apparently because of weather forecasts, limited out on stripers. Fishing was a pick when staying in one place but was bearable, and better than when bouncing around, at least for the moment. All the trips dunked clams for the catches, and stripers that could be jigged swam to the east and Rockaway, a long ride for a half-day trip. But anglers aboard will jig for stripers when that’s the better option.  The Atlantic Star is fishing for striped bass on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

This spring put up banner striped bass fishing so far on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, but the angling was slow on Sunday’s trip, Capt. Ron said in the report on the vessel’s Web site. A couple of the anglers limited out, but most caught none, and no bluefish were around to fill out the catches. A few stripers were jigged during the first hour in plenty of readings and birds working the waters, but the angling was tough while the bass chased rainfish. The boat was sailed back from the east so the anglers could try clamming for stripers. A couple of bass were hooked, and the boat was returned east. A couple of shorts and a keeper were rounded up. Life was seen starting to make up along the beach, and the trip took a last shot there. A couple of keepers were hung, and the fish moved off quickly. Certainly can’t complain after one tough day, Ron said. On Saturday Shrimpman Steven boated four good-sized bass, and some scored very well, including several others who limited out, and many customers bagged none. Plenty of stripers and life swarmed all around on several drops, but the bass again fed on rainfish, making them difficult to catch. The boat would be stopped, but the fish would quickly move off, chasing the baitfish. Two keeper cod were taken on jigs with tails. Nowhere near the bluefish action happened like previously on the boat. Friday’s trip had to cover lots of miles, and the local bait pushed out, for some reason. But once the bass were found, the bite was on. The first wild shots of bluefish this season were seen, and patrons who could fish through them landed stripers. But striper fishing ended up very good the rest of the trip for mixed-sized linesiders, and a 16-pounder was the pool fish. Check out a <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ1J0xm7iRQ
" target="_blank">video of the day’s fishing</a>. Jigs – Ava 47’s with tails, Krocodiles, Crippled Herrings and Storm Shads -- were the hot ticket for the fishing on the boat this season. The Fishermen is striped bass fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

Fishing cleaned up on striped bass, a bunch, on the ocean toward Monmouth Beach and the  Shrewsbury Rocks on Saturday with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>, at first on Storm Lures and Shimano Butterfly Jigs, Capt. Brian said. When the catches somewhat tapered off, the trip switched to trolling. But then the bass appeared on top again, and they were jigged on the Storms and Butterflies again but were also nailed on Guides Choice M-80 Popper Lures. On Sunday a trip fished the rivers, shellacking blues, loads of the fish, on the M-80’s, different Guides Choice swim baits and the new Storm Peanut Bunkers. None of the peanuts was left afterward! So fishing was good, and Brian also motored out the boat on Friday but mostly to set up the vessel for the season. The boat is now chartering for striped bass. Open trips are also available, and call if interested. The more who do, the easier to schedule.

The spring run of fish was in full swing, and not every day was a homerun, and on some days anglers had to work for hook ups, but on other days fish flew into the boat, said Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> in an e-mail. Pete Smith and son A.J. took an evening trip for striped bass, and catches started off slowly, but the angling gained steam when daylight started to fade. They boxed bass to 30 inches and fought a few blues. Bob hosted a Take a Soldier Fishing Trip on Saturday, allowing military members to relax and enjoy a great day on the waters. “The fish were a bonus,” he said. Bob, Chip and Anthony from New Jersey Hunter were on deck Sunday, boating stripers to 36 inches and a couple of chopper blues. A couple of weekend dates remain for charters at the end of May. Space remains on open-boat, evening trips for stripers 5:30 to 11 on May 14-15, 21-22 and 28-29. Four people are needed for the open trips to sail, and rods, reels, bait, tackle and fish cleaning are included.

<b>Skylands Angler</b> shoveled up bluefish, big ones, from the surf all week, Bill Hoffman said. One weighed 12 to 12 ½ pounds, and the slammers were bigger than in recent years, many of them 9 to 12 pounds, according to the Boga grip. Any long, skinny plug caught them, and Bill’s trips had luck with a yellow Bomber 17A. But he was sure black or other colors would work. The trips slugged many on flies, but only big flies that imitated bunker. The fish refused smaller patterns. Color didn’t seem to matter, but size did. Other bait or rainfish began to be prevalent, so the blues could begin to key in on smaller patterns. Every single cast hooked a blue for an hour on two on Saturday, and everybody on the beach probably hooked up. The fish were thick and seemed to outnumber stripers in the surf this season. The big slammers were heck on wheels, awesome to fight. Anglers should go now if they want to catch in the surf, and the wash at Sandy Hook was hopping. Bill also boated for stripers at Romer Shoal during the weekend, soaking clams for bait. The fishing wasn’t fast, but was steady, and the four anglers probably hooked a striper every 30 minutes, totaling a dozen landed. Skylands Angler guides surf-fishing trips on the ocean and bay during the spring and fall migrations. The trips fish at Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park with conventional or fly tackle. Bill also guides fly-fishing trips for trout on New Jersey’s freshwater streams. He aims to teach anglers, whether beginners or advanced, even so they can return to catch on their own. He also offers trips for other freshwater fish, such as pike, hybrid striped bass, carp and largemouth bass.

Striped bass, lots of them, were bunker-chunked Thursday through Saturday on trips, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Fishing for the linesiders was slow on Sunday for everyone he heard from, but the angling was generally good this season, and up to 25-pounders were knocked down with Fisher Price during that stretch of days. Sixteen keepers were landed on the boat Friday afternoon, and 15 were on Saturday, and only two were on Sunday. The trips fished on Raritan Bay, where stripers chased bunker all over. Charters are sailing, and Derek will determine the week’s open-boat schedule soon. Call him to find out or to be kept informed.

<b>Neptune</b>

Anyone who could jig could belt as many striped bass as they wanted in 50 to 60 feet in the ocean on Saturday, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. Anglers on both his boats wiped up on loads of the fish on jigs and on the troll that day, and no bluefish showed up. The only bad thing was that now that tog season closed, and sea bass season is yet to open, boats that would normally bottom-fish, including party boats, pounded the stripers. Whether the government takes that into consideration when making the regulations seems unlikely. A trip for blackfish on Friday, the last day of the tog season, produced a pick with Last Lady. Steve Kim was high hook with three keepers to 5 pounds, and a couple of other blacks around the boat came close to 5. Blackfishing seemed mostly slow in cold waters before the season closed.  Limited space is available for an individual-reservation trip offshore on Wednesday, May 19, for cod, pollock and ling. Room is available for one of the trips for sea bass on Sunday, May 23. Individual-rez trips for fluke will sail every Wednesday starting June 23. Charters are available. <b>***Update, Monday, 5/3***</b>: An individual-reservation trip will fish for stripers on Sunday, May 16, because so many of the linesiders swam around, and space is available. The anglers will probably mostly jig for the fish, but clams will be on board in case fishing with them is better.

<b>Brielle</b>

The last bunch of trips limited out early on striped bass, catching and releasing more afterward, outstanding fishing, said Capt. Jerry from <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> in an e-mail. A six-person charter Saturday limited out on the fish to 22 pounds by 8:30 a.m., multiple hook-ups instantly. Birds dove, fish busted the water surface, and the fish finder marked crazy readings. A little lull settled in by 10:30 a.m., but the anglers eventually picked away at more of the fish after some moves. Big blues also showed up on the trip. On Friday anglers on a trip set out for blackfish on the final day of the season for the tog. But they ran into stripers and birds blowing up, and crazy readings, and broke out the jigging rods. Multiple hook-ups were whacked right away, and the group of six limited out by 8:30 a.m. They caught and released more, and fought a few blues, then switched to blackfishing. The tog were reluctant to feed in a south current that continued, and only a few keepers and shorts were hooked. The crew decided to run south to a different area, and that paid off. A good shot of cod bit only 2 miles from shore. Most were shorts, but seven were keepers out of the probably 25 that were landed.  Blackfish began to grab baits, and life built, and the fishing wasn’t good, but the anglers picked and plucked a limit for the boat, “a nice way to end the season,” Jerry said. The anglers ended the day with limits of striped bass and blackfish for all, seven keeper cod and a ling. Jerry hopes the great striper fishing keeps up. Space is available on open-boat trips Tuesday through Thursday.

On the <b>Big Kid</b> Nick Stolti’s charter limited out on striped bass, including a couple of 43- and 42-inchers, by 8:30 a.m. Saturday on the ocean, catching and releasing numerous others afterward, Capt. Ken said. Most of the fish chomped Tony Maja’s bunker spoons, and a trip Sunday with members of the Seaside Heights Fishing Club scored an early morning feed on stripers,  mostly on Maja’s, but a couple of shorts were jigged. The fishing totally shut down once winds turned southerly, and the day’s angling was considerably slow compared with lately. But the anglers limited out and tossed back eight shorts. A minimal amount of blues bit on the trips, because of the spoons. Mid-week striper charters are available, and cod fishing is also on tap. A friend picked up some 24-inch cod and released a blackfish, out of season now, close to shore during the weekend.

Local boaters bailed outstanding catches of striped bass through the past week, mostly on the ocean to the north, while jigging and trolling, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Some traveled all the way to Elberon and Long Branch, but the fish popped up closer, off Spring Lake, one day last week. Blues, decent-sized, were mixed in, and surf fishers also ran into the fish at times. Action went wild in the surf Wednesday at Manasquan Inlet’s north pocket. Big striped bass were belted a couple of hours, and blues slammed the lines most of the day. Stripers and blues were fought inside the inlet all week. On the bottom-fishing boats, ling angling was slow, but cod were clocked, including close to shore. Two different customers landed cod at the Shrewsbury Rocks while jigging for stripers. John who works at the shop hooked and released an out-of-season fluke at the Rocks while bass fishing. The Reel Seat is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays and will be open seven days a week starting May 17.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Fishing will get underway Friday on the party boat <b>Cock Robin</b>, an e-mail from the vessel said. The vessel’s Web site said trips will run for bluefish. But the boat is known to target stripers whenever the linesiders are around in spring. Specials on the boat will include: $1 of every fare donated to the Recreational Fishing Alliance; Captain Jim’s Customer Appreciation Program, where every 12th trip is free; pay up front for eight adult trips and get two free; Captain Jim’s Camp Cock Robin, featuring a dedicated mate for kids 8 to 15 from Mondays through Fridays; moms sail free May 7 to 9 when accompanied by a paying adult in celebration of Mother’s Day; dads sail free June 18 to 20 when accompanied by a paid adult in celebration of Father’s Day, limited registration; children sail free on their birthdays when accompanied by a paying adult; the new program Captain Jim’s Jersey Mike’s Lunch Plan – pre order lunch to arrive from Jersey Mike’s at  the dock at 7 a.m.; PinkDay every Wednesday, when women sail for a child’s fare, in partnership with the Komen Foundation, and this program can be supported by purchasing a pink Cock Robin/Komen Foundation T-shirt; and a fireworks and ice cream cruise every Thursday, when passengers will enjoy fireworks seen from the ocean, and the fixings for an ice cream sundae will be available to everyone. Captain Jim’s Grog is included on those trips.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

A 74.55-pound black drum weighed in from the surf kicked off lots of activity in the wash heard about Sunday at <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>, the report on the shop’s Web site said. The behemoth Hoovered up a Grumpy clam at Lavallette. Lots of action with blues happened everywhere in the wash that day. But they were less intense than before, so striped bass were somewhat easier to find. Plenty of clams and bunker are stocked for bait. Bluefishing was intense at times Saturday from the beach, after a slow day Friday from shore. Good surf fishing for stripers was certainly had Saturday, but many anglers couldn’t work through the blues. Bluefish often schooled abundant in the surf in previous days, covered in the previous report posted here. Check out these two videos of the bluefish that a customer shot: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFvegLTKwLs
" target="_blank"><b>video of Wednesday’s bluefish</b></a>; <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VEqTRVnAWQ
" target="_blank"><b>another video of the bluefish in the surf</b></a>. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishing_reports.cfm" target="_blank">Click here</a> for updates. Grumpy’s is shifting to summer hours: 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 4:30 a.m. to 12 midnight Fridays and Saturdays; and 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Yet another week of non-stop catching went down, and fishing just keeps getting better, said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. Big, slammer blues and blackfish, before blackfish season closed Saturday, gave up the most action, and a few striped bass bit. Joe Franke hopped aboard first, taking his first trip of the season, wrenching in big blues non-stop, a limit of blackfish and a keeper striper. Next, Jay Simmons climbed aboard, also tackling non-stop slammers and great blackfishing. He must’ve landed more than 25 blues 8 and 10 pounds. Bill Dabney, Bill Jann, Tony Mercuro and Steve Cook from the Village Harbor Fishing Club also wrestled with gator blues non-stop and a solid blackfish bite, just before the season ended. Joe Kinlin from the Ocean Air at Greenbriar Fishing Club and sons Joe Jr. and Tom took advantage of a 3-hour trip, waffling phenomenal fishing for the big blues, doubled up on most of the trip. Steve Sweeney’s party tore into another solid  trip on blues and blackfish, bagged a striped bass and lost another at boat side. <b>***Update, Monday, 5/3***</b> Space is available on this week’s open-boat Friday Night at the Fights Trip, a 5-hour outing, Steve said in an e-mail. Big blues are running rampant throughout Barnegat Bay, and stripers are swimming Barnegat Inlet, and the anglers will mix up the fishing with bait and artificials.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Anglers aboard hunted bluefish Sunday on Great Bay, piling up a mess, with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. The bay was crammed with the fish, as many as anglers could want, all trolled on small Rebel plugs and spoons. T.J. heard about no striped bass landed in the local area. His other boat will begin drum fishing from Cape May on Friday on Delaware Bay. Besides charters, shared trips will be offered on both vessels, one sailing from Tuckerton and the other from Cape May, whenever possible this spring. Call for dates, or keep an eye on the online <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx " target="_blank">shared trip schedule</a>. Later in the season shared trips will run every Tuesday and Thursday when no charter is booked.

<b>Mystic Island</b>
Howling winds and threatening storms kept most anglers off Great Bay today, though barely a sprinkle fell, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. Winds also chased anglers off the waters most of Sunday, and ones who got out early were the only who fished. Even shoreline anglers at Graveling Point and Pebble Beach called it an early day Sunday after waves sprayed them. But previously 2- to 10-pound bluefish worked the waters heavily on the south side of Great Bay through the week. Grassy Channel and along the Intracoastal Waterway were good places to search for them by looking for birds working the waters or by trolling. One angler pulled a drum and four blues from Grassy. But plenty of grass fouled lines at Grassy, others said. Another drum was reported caught from the ocean surf off Little Beach, and that was the only drum heard about through last week. Just when Scott from the shop keeps thinking stripers finally moved on from the bay, one is caught from Graveling or Pebble. Fish clams for them or soak mackerel for the blues from there.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Surf fishing turned on for striped bass at Brigantine’s south-end jetty and just north of there Sunday morning, the report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said at 9 a.m. that day. One angler called and said he saw at least five stripers beached, and another who weighed in two Saturday called and said he dragged in two more in that area Sunday. Reports were heard about snot grass fouling lines on the north end then. On Saturday only three stripers were entered in the Fishlanders Tourney surf-fishing contest on the island. But anglers not in the tournament weighed in five stripers to 15 pounds at the shop that day. No bluefish turned up that were heard about.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf casters put the breaks on bluefish and big striped bass, and some said they plucked a few kingfish, but Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b> saw none of the kings yet, he said. The kingfish supposedly came from Sea Isle and Atlantic City, but until he sees some, the catches are unconfirmed. But he saw plenty of the other fish, and ones that were weighed in included: a 26-pound 32-inch striper; a 23-1/2-pound 32-inch striper; a 13-pound 35-1/2-inch striper; two blues 8 ½ pounds and 7 pounds, and a 7-1/2-pound 22-1/2-inch tog, before the tog season closed Saturday. For the blues, anglers fished fresh bunker or frozen mullet, but sometimes when they fished clams for stripers they picked up a blue. They fished for stripers with fresh clams or fresh bunker. Bunker were sometimes snagged from the surf for bait. All the baits mentioned and more, a complete supply, including bloodworms and minnows, are stocked. 

<b>Longport</b>

Open-boat fishing on the <b>Stray Cat</b> wrapped up tog fishing on the final day of the season for the slipperies on a trip Friday, and the anglers coolered a good catch of them and a few cod on the ocean, Capt. Mike said. The tog weighed up to 7 pounds, and the cod were 22 to 27 inches, and a couple were shorts, and a half-dozen out-of-season sea bass were reeled up and let go. Daily, open-boat trips will resume on May 22, the opening of sea bass season. The trips will go all out for the lumpheads, and the first two days of the season are sold out. Until then, charters that troll for striped bass and blues will fish the ocean. Bluefin tuna tuna charters are coming quickly, starting in June.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The boat will be  splashed on Wednesday for the season, so long as the weather holds, said Capt. Craig from <b>Fish Tale Charters</b>. Charters will be able to run immediately. A few bluefish intermittently popped up in the bay, and blues and stripers unpredictably appeared in the ocean and inlet. The fish in the ocean are migrating from the south, and if anglers intercept them when they happen to chase bait along the ocean front or inlet, they connect. But, for example, tackle shops reported blues and stripers littering the beach front one day last week. Anglers ran out to catch them the next day, and the fish were gone. Charters will begin to fish for sea bass when sea bass season opens May 22 and summer flounder when the flattie season begins May 29. The sea bassing will hunt the ocean reefs and wrecks, and the flounder fishing at first will target the bay. Later the flatfish trips will follow the fluke to the ocean, as the bay warms. Now is the time to book trips for the season, because openings are available, but the dates will fill once things become active.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Harry Franks and son Harry, 5, tackled a bunch of blues 2 to 4 pounds on the back bay on a trip Friday afternoon on Bass Assassins on jigheads on spinning rods, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. On Saturday brothers Joe and Matt Cairone put a beating on the same-sized blues on the bay, Joe fishing a Clouser Minnow fly, Matt working a Bass Assassin. The fly socked most at first, but then the Bass Assassin caught up. Chase Kneeland and daughter Stephanie on Sunday banged up the blues, too, Chase casting a Clouser, Stephanie tossing a Bass Assassin. The Clousers on the trips were white and chartreuse, fished on a sinking line. Both the jigs and flies were worked slowly on the bottom in the cool waters at this time of year, and the bite was subtle, not the hard grab blues are known for later in the year. But they took off like wild once hooked. Outgoing tides were best for now, but that will probably change. Plenty of striped bass could be claimed from the bay, but the action with the blues was hard to pass up for these anglers. But if anglers want to chase stripers, Joe’s trips catch them on jigs with plastics such as the Bass Assassins, the same types of Clousers and clams. The bay’s bluefish usually begin to smack top-water popper lures and flies by mid May, and the stripers usually become willing to jump on such poppers starting in late May. The big concentration of blues in the bay will last a couple of weeks or so longer, before boat traffic begins to put them somewhat down, and before some of the blues head to the ocean for summer. But some blues remain in the bay all summer, and striper fishing in the bay lasts right through to fall. Flounder trips will begin fishing on the bay as soon as flounder season starts May 29, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The fishing is best in the early season, before waters warm, and the trips, including during the holiday weekend, should be booked now to lock in dates. After-work charters are currently fishing the bay, and tides are perfect for them this week. The trips are especially a good option while so many fish are packing the bay. Charters will sail for drum on Delaware Bay starting mid month, and the boomers should begin to chew soon. Night trips can fish for them on Memorial Day weekend. In other news, surf anglers continued to bank striped bass on clams and bunker like they’d been doing in the past weeks.  Keep up with Joe’s fishing and photos on <a href=" http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

The season’s first drum trip on Delaware Bay is on the books to fish Friday, so long as the fish turn on by then, said Capt. Ben from the Ho-D-Doe from <b>Budd’s Tackle Charter Services</b>, sailing from Cape May, but affiliated with Budd’s Bait & Tackle in the Villas. Ben owns both, in other words. He’ll keep the trip docked if the fish are yet to bite, but during last year at this time, one trip had already heaved in five drum, and another on May 5 had angled up eight. Boaters said they marked drum like crazy on the fish finder recently. The boomers usually begin to bite a week or two after they’re first marked. Surf anglers brought in some quality striped bass at Cape May Point and Poverty Beach, even if they had to wade through sharks. Plugging early in the mornings nabbed the fish on any lures from yellow to red-headed to pearl Bombers. But clams could also be fished. One angler said he beached a dozen croakers from the wash, but waters were awfully cold for that. Nobody mentioned hooking out-of-season summer flounder by mistake yet this season, but usually the flatties have already grabbed baits meant for other fish. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, bloodworms and practically all the baits are stocked at the shop.

Drum fishing will launch around May 22 on Delaware Bay with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>, and the angling should begin any time, Capt. Eric said. Sea bass trips will be able to fish the ocean reefs starting the same day, the opening day of the sea bass season. Summer flounder trips will become available May 29, the opening day for them. Shark fishing, a specialty for O-Beth, should start toward the end of May to the beginning of June, depending on when water temps become favorable to the monsters. Tuna trips will start to steam soon afterward.

Fishing trips were kept docked on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> in the past days, and the crew was waiting for Delaware Bay’s drum charters to take off, Capt. George said. The boomers should begin to bite any time. A few catches were heard about here and there, including four puppies 20 or 25 pounds that were docked on one local boat during the weekend. The season’s first drum charter is booked for Friday on the Heavy Hitter. During some years the fishing kicked in before now for George, and during others, including in recent years, the fishing really became good by May 15 for him. Dates remain for drum charters, and call if interested, and claim them before they fill.

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