<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Drum fishing fell off in past days on the bay, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. The reason couldn’t be known, but the angling seems to undergo lulls like this at times, and wasn’t finished, anglers hoped. Sometimes anglers think the lull is because of spawning, when the fish don’t feed. Drum enter the bay to spawn, after all. Sometimes the fishing seems to come on like gangbusters a moment at first, lull afterward, and come back on again. The full moon is coming up, and the fishing can be good around this full. The angling began late this year, like much fishing did, apparently because of cold water this spring. So whether spawning was the reason for the current slowdown couldn’t be known. Trips had caught 10 or 12 drum apiece last week. That slowed starting about Thursday. Drum could’ve moved to other locations. But the fish were still marked, and customers who fished for them two or three times a week said they read the drum, but the fish wouldn’t bite. Drum do move during the season, and might be caught deeper, at places like Tussy’s Slough or the Pin Top, if they bite again. Until now, they were boated in shallows 10 or 12 feet on the New Jersey side of the bay. Nothing was heard about the Delaware side, because customers caught on the Jersey side, had no reason to sail to Delaware.  Wind was pretty relentless lately, maybe another reason for the slowdown. Wind might’ve been calm in mornings, but built up strongly during the day into afternoon, sometimes calming in evenings. Drum bite softly, and wind could make the fishing difficult, when boats bob like a cork in a storm. Lots of sharks and skates began to bite. That could be an indication that drum moved. Almost all the bay’s boaters drum fished until now. Summer flounder season was opened starting Friday, and some keepers were heard about, mostly from back bays. Croakers sometimes schooled Delaware Bay. Big bluefish swam all around, like before. Big striped bass were caught at Atlantic City and Brigantine. So some of those remained locally, and one woman hauled in a 58-inch striper from the surf at Cape May in the Delaware Bay area. A few weakfish bit along the jetties. Clams, the favorite bait for drum, were stocked but scarce last week. They were scarce throughout the state, for several reasons. One was that clams simply seemed over-harvested. That seemed a reason large clams were especially difficult to obtain. Smaller were more common. The supply of fresh bunker was okay, though bunker was in less demand. The supply of minnows, a favorite flounder bait, was also okay. Minnows might become scarce in June sometime. Spawning seemed to cut back on the supply then in past years for a moment. 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>

Crabbing was kicked off for the season this weekend at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>, Paul said. Many small crabs were trapped, rental-boaters said, and maybe 1 in 10 was a keeper. But most boats averaged three dozen keepers on Saturday, and two dozen on Sunday. The blueclaws were caught, and “signs” seemed good. Many of the throwbacks were a quarter-inch undersized, and when crabs shed on the next moon, those should grow larger than keeper-sized. Crabs shed to grow on full and new moons. This beginning of crabbing was much better than last year’s, and water froze less during this winter than the previous winter, maybe a reason. Maybe the cold killed more crabs during last year’s winter. Not much happened with fishing on the creek this weekend, probably because low tides happened in the middle of the day. Customers on one of the boats made a serious effort at fishing during the weekend, landing two large white perch. Good catches this time of year can include the perch, throwback stripers and sometimes croakers in the creek. Croakers usually arrive somewhat later, but have appeared this time of season, in the past. Croakers caught were heard about from Delaware Bay, currently. A few minnows are stocked, and a strong supply will become available soon. The minnows are known for large size, because Paul raises them. The store doesn’t get the baitfish from suppliers, who trap them in the wild, like most stores do. Paul had to do maintenance on the livewells, so the supply became limited, but is coming back strongly. 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. The annual largest crab contest will be held this year again. The rental-boater with the year’s largest blueclaw will win a free boat rental next year. A Father’s Day Special will be offered this year, like in past years, and details will be announced. A police versus firefighters crab-off will be held, like last year. Whichever side docks the most crabs during about a week wins a discount on boats for all police or firefighters for the rest of the month, depending on which side wins. Last year, the crab-off was held in the week leading up to July Fourth. Beaver Dam stocks everything needed for a day of crabbing, from bait, traps and nets to suntan lotion, snacks and drinks. Rental kayaks and canoes are available to paddle the scenic creek. The rental boats, kayaks and canoes are currently available every Saturday and Sunday, and will become available daily on June 29 for the season. Visit <a href=" http://www.crabulousnj.com/Home_Page.php" target="_blank">Beaver Dam’s website</a>.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Drum trips caught zip Friday and Saturday aboard, but so did trips on most other boats, said Capt. Tom from <b>Erica Leigh Charters</b>. The fishing was great previously, and he assumed the drum now began to spawn. This happens every year. The catches light up a week or two, and suddenly stop, about five days, apparently because of spawning. Then the fishing kicks right back in. Erica Leigh fished off the Villas. The angling was the same, slow, on boats that fished elsewhere. One of the party boats, and a party-boat sized charter vessel, fished another spot. Many boats fished at Cape May Channel. A friend fished at Little Egypt. Drum fishing lasts about five weeks on the bay. By mid-June, the angling’s not worthwhile. Puppy drum can be caught toward the lighthouse rock piles through summer, but that’s not fishing worth targeting, except as an extra on a trip. A few clams might be fished for them on other trips, like for flounder. If anglers telephone for drum fishing, Tom will wait to sail until catches turn back on. But that could be soon. After drum fishing ends, trips aboard will home in on summer flounder and other catches, like weakfish, on the bay. Flounder season was opened starting Friday, but nothing was heard about the angling on the bay. The fleet drum fished. But flounder trips are available currently, if anglers want. Flounder trips are more economical than drum charters, because flounder trips don’t need to sail as far.

<b>Cape May</b>

A couple of drum were boated Friday on the bay on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. But that was a much slower catch than previously aboard, when trips cleaned up on good catches of drum. A trip aboard Sunday returned to port early, because drum fishing was dead. Maybe the fish were spawning, and the angling should pick back up. Drum could definitely be found, were marked. A few trips on other boats landed drum Sunday that were known about. Three were decked on a boat from the docks, biting immediately, when the trip began fishing. Two or three were taken that day on a larger, party-boat-sized charter vessel, after none was bagged on the boat on the previous several trips. On Friday’s trip, with Doug Ahn, on the Heavy Hitter, one of the drum weighed 50 pounds, and the other was small. Summer flounder season was opened starting Friday, and the Heavy Hitter begins flounder fishing later this year, when waters warm. The boat usually fishes for flounder on the ocean, at places like Reef 11 and the Old Grounds.

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