<b>Newport</b>

Crabbing will become available this weekend for the season at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>, Paul said. The rental boats will be on tap Saturday through Monday, Memorial Day, and afterward will be available every Saturday and Sunday, until becoming available daily on June 29 for the season. Good signs for crabbing seemed around. Crabs shed this past week, apparent because crab shells littered the water. That seemed a good sign, and so did a 7-inch, freshly-shed Jimmy that sat atop the minnow trap that Paul placed in the water. That’s a big crab, and Paul dunked the trap just to see what showed up. The creek was 72 degrees, definitely crab water, he said. Crabs can be trapped in water 60 degrees and warmer. Paul couldn’t say how crabbing’s been, because crabbing hasn’t been available yet at the shop. But he was pleased about those signs, and they were better than last year. Commercial crabbers also began to trap the blueclaws. Paul also couldn’t say how the creek’s fishing was, because no customers fished the water. But white perch and small, schoolie stripers often swim the creek in the early season. Later, as the water warms, croakers can school the water, and throwback summer flounder even showed up there last year. 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 store to be picked up. Paul heard that drum fishing was good on Delaware Bay, close to shore, off Cape May. An 87-pounder was reportedly boated. Beaver Dam provides everything needed for crabbing, from bait, traps and nets to suntan lotion, soft drinks and snacks. A police versus firefighters crab-off will be held again this year, like last year. Crab catches from customers who are police or firefighters are counted for about a week, and the side with the most wins a discount for all police or firefighters, depending on who wins, the rest of the month. The contest was held during the week leading up to Fourth of July last year, and Paul was unaware whether those will be the dates this year. He believed the shop will hold a Father’s Day special again this year, and different events like this are held throughout the crabbing season, at the store. Summer flounder season will be opened Saturday, and Paul raises minnows, a favorite flounder bait, that the shop sells. The minnows are especially large, because he raises them, while most shops get minnows from suppliers, who catch the baitfish in the wild. A few minnows are currently stocked, but Paul was working on the livewell, so he didn’t carry the full supply yet. But the full supply will be on hand afterward. Visit <a href=" http://www.crabulousnj.com/Home_Page.php" target="_blank">Beaver Dam’s website</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Fishing whaled drum on the bay aboard, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins & Grins Sportfishing</b>. Nine were decked Saturday, and six were on Sunday, so far, when he gave this report at 7 p.m. aboard the trip in a phone call. A drum was hooked as he spoke, but got off. The angling, right off North Cape May, was pretty consistent now.  Hardly any junk fish bit, except one shark on Saturday. A couple of horseshoe crabs were hooked. If anglers got a bite, that was a drum. The fish all weighed 50 pounds on Sunday’s trip, so far. Some puppies were mixed in on Saturday’s trip, but so was an 85-pound drum. The water was 60 to 62 degrees, and weather was good. Clams for bait were scarce from suppliers during the weekend, but Jim managed to obtain a bunch. Fins & Grins is trying to drum fish every day, and the fish schooled not far away. Fishing is available daily aboard, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

Lots of drum bit, and fishing for them was good, on the bay on two trips Saturday and Sunday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. Jay Guarneti’s party fished on Saturday’s trip, heaving in 45- to 55-pounders, and one 70-pounder. Bill Clark and crew sailed on Sunday’s trip, scoring a similar catch, mostly 45- to 55-pounders, and a 70-pounder. The trips fished on the New Jersey side of the bay, and George hopes the angling holds up.

Surf anglers lit into good striped bass fishing, including on Delaware Bay and along the ocean, at Cape May Point and the 2nd Avenue jetty, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. They fought some blues, not giant, but 6 and 8 pounds. Sometimes they were able to cast bait for stripers on a bait rod, then cast plugs on a plugging rod, while the bait rod sat in the holder. Pretty cool, he said. Two customers the other day limited out on four stripers from the surf, including a 35-pounder and a 30-pounder, and released five more that were keeper-sized. They couldn’t believe the big stripers they released. A few weakfish were picked up at inlets and along jetties on bloodworms under floats and bucktails. For boaters on Delaware Bay, drum fishing was good, on both the New Jersey side and the Delaware side, last week. On the Jersey side, the fish were found off Coxhall Creek, close to shore, where they showed up last year for a time. Also for boaters on Delaware Bay, stripers chased bunker, so were difficult to pinpoint at a reliable location. But when trips found the bunker that stripers followed, the angling produced. Bluefish swam the bay, too. Summer flounder season will be opened starting Friday, and flounder had been heard about from the back bay at Ocean City, but now began to be mentioned from the back bay locally, too. Fresh clams were difficult to obtain last weekend, but Nick hopes to stock more. Fresh bunker should be stocked, and bloodworms are on hand. 

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