<b>Money Island</b>

Summer flounder fishing’s been picking up on the bay, said Bruce from <b>Money Island Marina</b>. Some good-sized were seen at shop this weekend. The fishing was steady, and most boats landed at least one that was 18 inches or larger, the marina’s Facebook page said. Fishing for white perch and croakers slowed from the dock on Nantuxent Creek, running past the marina, in past days, for unknown reasons, Bruce said. Juvenile striped bass were more commonly caught from the dock this past week, the Facebook page said. The marina features a boat ramp, boat slips, dry-dock boat storage, gas, bait and a few items of tackle. Bait stocked currently usually includes minnows and frozen bait, like spearing and mackerel. Live grass shrimp are usually carried on weekends. A bushel of fresh bunker is normally kept on ice on weekends to sell. A 12-foot aluminum boat with a 6 h.p. outboard is available to rent to fish the creek. The rate is $40 for 3 hours and $80 for a full day. The boat was available for a special rate of $20 for 3 hours last Saturday and Sunday.

<b>Neport</b>

Crabbing wasn’t as good as Paul from <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b> hoped, but the blueclaws were trapped, he said. On Saturday, all the rental boats were booked, by only four groups, because one of the groups was large. The large group might’ve paid more attention to having fun than crabbing. The boats that day probably averaged one to two dozen keepers apiece, and some scored better. On Sunday, results varied a lot, and some boats nabbed a dozen or fewer keepers, and others claimed nearly a half-bushel apiece. Any crabs around now were big, and many were 5 ½ and 6 inches. Any small crabs around, and not a lot were small, were definitely throwbacks, usually. So, Paul would say crabbing was spotty, and the size was decent. Though crabbing wasn’t as good as he’d like, catches were better than this time last year. One group of customers seriously fished on the creek this weekend, but Paul didn’t hear results. Lots of schoolie striped bass were seen in the creek. White perch have swum the water all season, so they probably still did. Whether croakers roamed the creek currently was unknown. Croakers had appeared earlier this season. Customers crab and fish from rental boats towed up Oranokin Creek. 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. Rental kayaks and canoes are available to paddle the scenic creek. Reserve all these vessels ahead of time, because they can book up. The rental boats will be available daily, like they have been all season, through this weekend. Afterward, the boats will be available on Saturdays and Sundays, starting Saturday, September 5. They’ll also be available on Labor Day, Monday, September 7. The shop is now open at 6 a.m., and will be open at 6:30 a.m. starting Saturday, September 5, because the sun is rising later.  Visit <a href=" http://www.crabulousnj.com/Home_Page.php" target="_blank">Beaver Dam’s website</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Some good catches of summer flounder were known about from Flounder Alley and the 9 and 10 buoys on the bay, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Flounder were beached at times from the surf on the bay and ocean around Cape May Point, at the confluence of the two bodies of water. Kingfish, bluefish and croakers sometimes nibbled in the surf. Sharking from the surf gave up catches of sandbars and duskies, both required to be released. The fishing had slowed a moment, and baits they bit included mackerel, or croakers that surf anglers caught then used for bait. Boaters usually find kings, blues, croakers and small flounder at Cape May Channel. Bayshore Channel surely offered up croakers for boaters. Sounded like flounder fishing on the ocean fishing turned up some good catches at wrecks. Flounder bit along the Intracoastal Waterway and bridges. Lots of snapper blues showed up in the back bay last week.

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