<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Striped bass fishing seemed to improve for surf anglers at Fortescue, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Lots of customers headed out for the fishing during the weekend, and the shop was the busiest so far this season. Bloodworms are most popular to fish there, but bunker and clams are also used. Stripers were also banked from Reed’s Beach, but Sharon was unsure whether Reed’s was closed now. Some of the bay’s beaches are closed to the public in spring to protect red knots, threatened birds. The birds feed on horseshoe crab eggs, and Delaware Bay hosts the largest spawning concentration of horseshoe crabs on the East Coast. The crabs come up onto the beach to lay eggs in spring. Any beach closures usually happen from the beginning of May into June. Sharon couldn’t say she heard much about boating for stripers on the bay. But the season’s first few drum seemed to be boated. Anglers will begin to sail for them now, or a combo of drum and stripers. Clams are usually fished for drum, but crabs, including green crabs, will also catch them. Green crabs are stocked, but probably won’t be reordered once they run out, because blackfish season will close on Wednesday. Green crabs are a popular blackfish bait. Shedder crabs will also catch drum, but the shedding blueclaw crabs won’t become available until at least mid May. No significant shed happens before then. If anglers want large numbers of clams, like a bushel for drum fishing, ordering them a couple of days ahead is strongly suggested, to ensure a supply. The surf clam supply has gotten scarce in recent years from overharvesting. The clams have also been smaller. The shop’s been able to get the clams, but it’s important that anglers order them ahead like that. Speaking of green crabs, blackfishing was good at places like jetties or other structure, though the season for them is closing, mentioned above. Speaking of blueclaw crabs, customers geared up to trap them, but no results were heard. A few of the crabs were surely around, but Memorial Day is really the kick off to crabbing season. Sharon saw good-sized weaks that were netted in the bay, but heard about none caught on hook and line. Weaks bite softly in cold waters this time of year, and nobody really hooks them unless specifically targeting them. Hardly anyone targets them in the current one-weakfish bag limit. Large, spawning weakfish appear this time of season. Smaller but more numerous ones enter the bay in summer. The bay’s weakfish population seemed to be growing since that bag limit. Few tried for them last summer, but quite a few of the trout schooled the bay. Nothing was heard about out-of-season summer flounder caught by mistake in the bay yet, but some should have arrived. The flounder season will open on Saturday, May 18. White perch fishing was okay or pretty good on brackish rivers. Some anglers bailed a bunch, and lots of small stripers were mixed in. Fresh clams and fresh bunker are stocked when available. Again, order the clams ahead, like described above. Bloodworms will arrive for the weekend, and practically all baits are on hand.   The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, stocks a large supply of bait and tackle. It’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right, with plenty of parking, including for trailered boats.

<b>Fortescue</b>

The party boat <b>Salt Talk</b> was in dry dock for maintenance to prepare for the fishing season, Capt. Howard said. He’ll shoot for splashing the boat in two weekends, and had thought about launching sooner. But weather delayed maintenance, like three days of rain forecast for this week that will probably prevent painting. Summer flounder will probably be the first fish possible to target aboard, and the season for them will open on Saturday, May 18. One of the other party boats from Fortescue landed a few blackfish during the weekend, but blackfish season will close on Wednesday. Surf anglers caught plenty of striped bass at Fortescue. But the boat fleet didn’t seem able to find stripers from Fortescue. Howard heard nothing about drum fishing on the bay. But if drum turn on, the Salt Talk will be able to fish for them. Open-boat trips and charters will sail on the vessel. Open trips will probably begin with summer flounder fishing.  

<b>Cape May</b>

A handful of drum were known to be decked from the bay so far this spring, and drum charters are being booked, Capt. Mario from the <b>Down Deep</b> said. 

The season’s first drum charter is booked for Saturday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said.  He heard nothing about drum, and if the fishing seems slow this week, he’ll let the charter know.

Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> spent a solid day Wednesday searching for striped bass on the bay, despite strong, 25 m.p.h. winds, he said. But none bit his clam baits. Areas fished included 20-Foot Slough, right off the beach in Villas, Bug Light and the stakes nearby. Drum charters are being booked that will fish the bay soon. Puppy drum were tugged in along the ocean coast, including along Townsend’s Inlet Bridge. Jim knew about two from there that were weighed in at a marina in past days. Was unusual that drum were arriving while the bay’s boating for stripers seemed tough. Fins and Feathers fishes Delaware Bay in spring and fall and the ocean from Avalon in summer. The company offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including duck and goose hunting on Delaware Bay, when the seasons are open. Customers can even combine striper fishing and duck hunting over a series of days. Fins and Feathers also fishes for salmon and steelhead on upstate New York’s Salmon River from Jim’s lodge, and guides fly-fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches.  

Surf fishing for striped bass was fairly good at Cape May, including along Delaware Bay, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Sometimes a drum was mixed in, and no bluefish caught were known about first-hand from anywhere, but some were around reportedly. A couple of good-sized stripers were beached at Alexander Avenue at Cape May Point. A couple of stripers were landed from shore at 2nd Avenue on the ocean. Stripers were banked from shore all along Delaware Bay in Cape May. Stripers in all those areas were clammed, and sometimes bunker caught. Stripers in the surf were also plugged on top-water lures at night and on shallow swimming plugs like Bombers during daytime. Bunker and herring sometimes swam the surf. The shop’s netter picked up weakfish on Delaware Bay. Nobody talked about boating for stripers on the bay last week, because of weather. But good catches were boated previously at Bayshore Channel. Fresh clams and bunker are stocked when available. Bloodworms and frozen baits are on hand.

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