<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Summer flounder fishing seemed to slow a little during the weekend, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. But sometimes wind blew against tide, preventing boats from drifting effectively for the fishing, and sometimes seas were rough in strong wind, and sometimes boats drifted too quickly. Until the weekend, customers were especially pleased with the fishing, or happy with the numbers of fish, and the keepers bagged. Maybe the slow-down was only a lull, but anglers will see. Flounder were still caught, and probably will be. Croakers were boated around the bay, and nothing was heard about weakfish. Sharon joined a trip on Dividing Creek where she usually lands croakers and weaks, but the fishing was slow. One blackfish could be kept starting Thursday, and nothing was heard about fishing for the tautog. No green crabs are stocked for bait for them, because they’re never in demand in the one-fish limit. For customers who crabbed, some scored alright on the blueclaws, and others not so good, for unknown reasons. Commercial crabbing picked up, but wasn’t good as expected. Plenty of minnows are stocked. Shedder crabs are carried here and there when available, and when commercial crabbing is slower, the shedder supply is, too. The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, carries a large supply of bait and tackle, and is the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. It’s on the way to the bay.

<b>Newport</b>

All trips boated crabs during the weekend at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>, Linda said. Results varied entirely, like six or seven keepers for one crabber to a trip that busheled out. Everybody seemed to catch dinner, and inexperienced crabbers are always more challenged to put together a catch than experienced are. The shop loves to teach crabbing, when customers want. The sizes of crabs was creeping up as the season went on. Linda thinks that when the blueclaws shed next, that will really start to make a difference in sizes. Customers who fished continued to hook croakers like before. One reeled in a keeper striped bass. 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 want a break in the meantime, they simply cell phone the shop to be picked up. Nine days remain for law enforcement workers to get a 25-percent discount on the rental of any size boat this month. That’s because law enforcement won a crabbing contest between them and emergency workers during Fourth of July week. Linda expects to think of another special to run, now that this one is ending, and the law enforcement vs. emergency workers contest will probably be held again in the future. 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. A 7-inch crab, trapped during the shop’s first day of crabbing this year, is the one to beat in the season-long contest for the biggest. The rental-boater with the largest will win a free rental next year. Rental kayaks and canoes are available to paddle the scenic creek. Beaver Dam hosts groups like scouts, birthday parties and family reunions, and can offer an educational day about the environment. Cumberland County 4H will hold a camp at Beaver Dam in late August, and space remains, and contact the 4H if interested. Minnows are still stocked, and they’re bigger than nearly anywhere, because the shop raises them. Anglers are raving about the catches on the baitfish, including flounder. Minnows are the favorite flounder bait. <a href="http://www.crabulousnj.com/" target="_blank">Visit Beaver Dam’s Web site</a>.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Conditions weren’t great for summer flounder fishing around the weekend, including wind, rough seas, sometimes wind against tide that hampered the boat’s drift, and sometimes a drift that was too fast, said Capt. Howard from the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>. Wind against tide can prevent the boat from drifting. A few keepers, not a lot, and throwbacks were reeled aboard. Even the number of throwbacks was off Sunday, in rough seas in the morning and wind against tide part of the day. The boat drifted at 2.2 m.p.h. at one point, and that’s fast. Trips fished at the stakes and the Miah Maul Rips, and most flounder on Saturday and Sunday probably bit at the stakes. Small bluefish were sometimes hooked, along bottom, not along the water surface. The Salt Talk did no croaker fishing, but one of the other head boats caught quite a few. Nothing was heard about weakfish. Open-boat trips are fishing for summer flounder daily when no charter is booked.

<b>Cape May</b>

A trip totaled six keeper summer flounder, including a 30-incher and a 29-incher, none smaller than 20 inches, on Saturday with <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>,  Capt. Jim said. Great trip, he said, and probably four dozen throwbacks were released. The trip fished at the stakes near Fortescue, and even the 17-inch throwbacks “had shoulders.” Jim started using a 4/0 hook to try to prevent the throwbacks from swallowing the bait. Small bluefish were also hooked, and the trip fished a double-hooked rig Jim ties with a 36-inch leader with a plain hook on bottom and a 12-inch leader with a dressed hook on top. A Gulp with a minnow was fished on bottom, and a minnow was fished on top, and the fish grabbed both equally. A trip Friday tried for flounder at Cape May, Wildwood and Ocean City reefs on the ocean. But the angling was slow there, and only three flounder were landed at a spot Jim knows offshore of Ocean City Reef. So the trip moved to the back bay, reeling up two keeper flounder and 30 or 40 throwbacks, along the Intracoastal Waterway. The angling was relatively slow, so the trip the next day fished Delaware Bay. The two days were great. The ocean was clear and beautiful, and Jim will scope out inshore fishing for mahi mahi, wahoos and bluefin tuna there this coming weekend, ahead of a charter that’s supposed to troll for those fish afterward aboard. Clear water is key to the angling. Fins and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including duck and goose hunting on Delaware Bay during the waterfowl seasons. Anglers can even enjoy a combo of striped bass fishing and duck hunting on the bay in fall during a series of days. Trips also fish for salmon and steelhead on upstate New York’s Salmon River from Jim’s lodge. The salmon run is coming up, can start as early as late August. Trips also fly fish for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches.

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> most recently fished for tuna, but the boat is also fishing for summer flounder, and Capt. George heard about anglers who picked away at the flatfish on the bay at Flounder Alley, he said. None of the fish was huge, but there were keepers 18 to 22 inches. The fishing was pretty good, and the Heavy Hitter also fishes for flounder on the ocean, often at the Old Grounds, off Delaware. Nobody was known about who fished the Old Grounds during the weekend, and George thought the water held a big swell. But the angling there sounded like it had improved, became decent, previously. The tuna trip bagged a 56-inch bluefin tuna and three sizeable mahi mahi on Saturday near the Elephant Trunk, in 30 fathoms along hills. A tuna trip Sunday aboard was cancelled because of rough seas.

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