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Delaware Bay Fishing Report 5-3-16


<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Striped bass were landed, actually pretty well, at places like Elsinboro and near the Salem power plant, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Most were caught from shore, but boaters do fish that area and like toward Ship John. Shallow water like that seems to fish better than deeper for the bass this time of year. Some stripers seemed to finish spawning in Delaware River and begin migrating toward the ocean. Sizable stripers were heard about from the beach at Fortescue sometimes, too. Some large were taken in brackish rivers, mostly on bloodworms or bunker. White perch fishing was pretty good in brackish waters like Maurice River, Dividing Creek, Tuckahoe River and Great Egg Harbor River, and stripers swam places like those. A few drum to 70 pounds were boated on the bay toward Cape May and Brandywine. Bluefish schooled back bays, and photos of large were seen. Weather wasn’t great this past week. Strong wind blew, and rain was falling. Fresh clams, scarce in recent years, were difficult to obtain, because the strong east wind often kept clam boats from sailing. The clams were stocked, but how many could be obtained was a question. Fresh bunker were stocked pretty regularly, and the shop carries a large supply of bait. 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>Money Island</b>

Three boats were motored to the bay this weekend from <b>Money Island Marina</b>, Bruce said. Most of the weekend was a washout in rough weather, but one of the boats fished near Salem power plant for striped bass. None was caught on the trip, but Bruce previously reported the catches from there. Small stripers sometimes swam around the marina’s fishing docks and farther up Nantuxent Creek, the marina’s Facebook page said. The docks are on the creek, running past the marina. A few white perch just began to swim near the docks, but weren’t plentiful yet.  Fishing from the docks has been free in the off-season, but will now be $5 per adult and free for kids, the same rate as last year, because this is May, and fishing is picking up. Good catches along the docks can include small stripers, the perch and croakers during different times of the fishing season. The marina features a bait and tackle shop, a boat ramp, boat slips, dry-dock boat storage, the fishing docks and gas. A 12-foot aluminum boat with a 2.5 h.p. outboard is available to rent to fish the creek. Additional fishing docks and rental boats are expected to be launched later this year, the Facebook page said. Baits stocked throughout the season can include fresh bunker, minnows and all the frozen baits, like spearing and squid. Live grass shrimp are usually carried on weekends when in demand, and sometimes on other days, when in demand or someone wants.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Drum fishing on the bay will be some of the next fishing aboard, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>. Four blackfish trips on the ocean were weathered out in April aboard, and blackfish season was closed beginning Sunday. Jim used to gillnet and find drum and weakfish in the nets in early April in the bay. Drum seem to begin biting a hook when the water reaches 55 degrees, and the water was probably 53 or 54 degrees currently. Drum were also heaved from the bay’s surf. Trips will also sail for striped bass now, and stripers were also landed from the bay’s surf. A buddy lives at Sunray Beach, and the fish were sometimes banked there. Places like along the Cape May ferry jetty also gave up the catches.

<b>Cape May</b>

Three or four trips were known about that sailed for drum Saturday on the bay, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. But the angling was slow, and sharks and skates were a nuisance. A few drum had begun to be boated from the bay, he reported here a week ago. They were decked on the New Jersey side, and the season’s first drum trip is slated for May 14 on the Heavy Hitter. But George might get a couple of anglers together and scope out the fishing this weekend. Weather was rough Sunday in the rain, and few boats fished that day.

Good striped bass fishing seemed to begin to take off in Cape May’s surf, mostly along Delaware Bay, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>.  Lures caught well, but clams and bunker also scored. Mostly stripers were angled from the shore, but a few big blues were socked there. Sometimes drum were clammed there. Boaters had little opportunity to fish for drum on the bay in weather this past week. But some were definitely boated already this year, and they should be able to be caught.

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