<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Drum began to be boated, apparently, especially off Slaughter Beach, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Surf anglers beached striped bass, good catches, at Fortescue this past week. Thursday and Friday seemed to give up the bass especially, and several anglers talked about 40-inchers caught. A few croakers and kingfish were heard about for the first time this season. Some said both were sometimes in the mix in Fortescue’s surf. The shop’s netter found one croaker in the catch. Striper fishing seemed to improve all along the state’s coast. Sharon traveled north to Manahawkin yesterday, and people said striper fishing picked up near there. Drum were also slid from the surf in that area.  The netter found weakfish in the nets in the bay, and weakfish usually do swim the bay this time of year. Weaks also held toward Corson’s Inlet. Nobody mentioned summer flounder from the bay, but flounder carpeted back bays, and flounder season will be opened on May 23. Sea bass season will be opened on Monday, and boaters will fish for them on the ocean. Crabbing started to improve. If anglers want clams, like a bushel, for drum fishing, telephoning to order ahead is a good idea. Clams haven’t been in abundant supply, but the store’s been stocking them. If anglers decide they don’t want the clams after ordering, the shop asks that they telephone to cancel as soon as possible. The supply of fresh bunker’s been okay. Jumbo bloodworms started to be a little more difficult to obtain, apparently because the worms were spawning. But regular-sized bloods, good-looking ones, were stocked this week. One never knows the condition of worms that will arrive at stores. Anglers can always telephone to reserve any bait available. Minnows are on hand, and large ones might be difficult to find. Demand for the baitfish will take off once flounder season is opened. Eels and other baits, a large supply, are carried. The Girls Place is located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, on the way to the bay. It’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right, with plenty of parking, including for trailered boats.

<b>Newport</b>

The boats will become available for crabbing this weekend for the season at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>, Linda said. The crabbing always begins the weekend before Memorial Day, and the boats will be available on Saturdays and Sundays through late June, but also on Memorial Day. The vessels will be available daily starting on Monday, June 30. That’s the usual schedule, and the crew from the shop did no crabbing yet, so Linda couldn’t know how crabbing was. Anglers were seen fishing the creek, but what they caught was unknown. Birds like eagles were seen stalking fish. Fish must’ve been around, and catches can include white perch, small striped bass, spots and more throughout the season. Customers crab and fish from rental boats towed up Oranokin Creek, running past the shop. The staff checks on them every hour, and if customers need a break in the meantime, they simply cell-phone the shop to be picked up. Everything needed for a day of crabbing is available at the store, from bait, traps and nets to snacks, drinks and suntan lotion. The staff loves to teach customers how to crab, if customers want.  Take advantage of the Frequent Crabber Card: Rent any size boat four times during the season, and get the fifth trip for only $20 that season. The annual crab contest will be held again this year. The rental boater with the year’s biggest crab will win a free rental next year. Rental canoes and kayaks are available to paddle the scenic creek. Beaver Dam hosts groups like scouts and family reunions, and can offer an educational day about the environment. <a href="http://www.crabulousnj.com/" target="_blank">Visit Beaver Dam’s Web site</a>.

<b>Fortescue</b>

The party boat <b>Salt Talk</b> will begin fishing when summer flounder season is opened on May 23, Capt. Howard said. That’s next week on Friday of Memorial Day weekend, and daily open-boat trips for flounder will begin then. But trips could fish for drum sooner, if enough drum begin to be caught on the New Jersey side of the bay. A few drum were known about that bit on the Delaware side off Slaughter Beach. Another party boat that fished on the Delaware side docked a couple of small, puppy drum on Saturday, Howard thought. He didn’t hear about results on the boat Sunday. Drum in recent years began to hit off Slaughter at first during the season, before being boated on the Jersey side toward the Pin Top afterward. That’s all on the southern bay. Some boaters fished for decent-sized striped bass landed toward Ship John, on the bay farther north from Fortescue. Fortescue surf anglers continued to latch into stripers, fairly good catches, including keepers, the past two weeks. The fishing won’t last much longer, and some of the keepers were 40 inches or larger. Fishing was elbow to elbow there. Bunker netters found sizeable, 3- to 6-pound weakfish in the nets. Charters are also available on the Salt Talk.

<b>Cape May</b>

Drum fishing began to produce, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. A few small drum, like 30 pounds, but a start to catches, were boated in past days on both the New Jersey and Delaware sides of the bay. Trips will start drum fishing on the Heavy Hitter, and a friend ran trips that heaved in five or six of the fish on Friday and four or five on Saturday. George heard from nobody who fished for drum on Sunday, Mothers’ Day. Every now and then striped bass were caught from the bay, at places like off Pierce’s Point. Someone might land three, and the angling was a matter of right place, right time. Charters aboard will sail for sea bass on the ocean once sea bass season is opened on Monday.  Shark fishing is impending on the boat any time for blue, thresher and mako sharks on the ocean.

Drum started to bite in the bay, said Capt. Frank from <b>Melanie Anne Sport Fishing</b>. A trip aboard during the weekend decked a few from the middle of the bay. The drum were small but keepers, and bit one after another. Then the catches stopped, and Frank knew about boaters who fished for them on the Delaware side of the bay that day, catching none. His trip also tried for striped bass on the bay, and none was hooked, but other boaters grabbed some farther north in the bay. Trips on the Melanie Anne have been catching a few stripers from shallows close to shore on bunker in the bay. The bay on the trip was 60.8 degrees, and is warming quickly. Another trip will sail aboard Tuesday for a mix of drum and stripers. Sea bass trips will begin once sea bass season is opened next Monday, and trips for summer flounder will start when flounder season is opened on May 23. A flounder trip is already booked for two days later.

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