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Delaware Bay Fishing Report 9-6-16


<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Few fished because of weather forecasts, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Forecasts had called for severe weather from remnants of Hurricane Hermine this Labor Day weekend. Weather turned out calmer, and the ocean and surf were too rough to fish, but maybe the bay on the New Jersey, leeward side still could’ve been boated. Nobody was heard about who tried, but the bay’s fishing was good previously. Catches then included weakfish, croakers and maybe still a few summer flounder.  Croakers had schooled off Reed’s Beach. White perch fishing was good on Maurice River, and some customers fished there during the storm forecasts. A perch tournament will be held this weekend. The store was busy with customers buying crabbing supplies throughout the weekend, and the weather might’ve been good for that. Days were cooler than in some time, and a breeze could keep bugs from biting, though greenheads usually stop being a nuisance after early August locally. Crabbing’s been pretty good. 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>

Weather was more pleasant than forecast, but forecasts kept anglers from boating the bay, said Bruce from <b>Money Island Marina</b>. The storm failed to assault the local coast, at least. The dock was somewhat bouncy in wind, sometimes keeping customers from fishing there, too. But about a dozen people fished the dock yesterday. White perch, sometimes croakers and other catches like oyster crackers were swung in. Enjoy a <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/events/101302236993630/" target="_blank">Fall Feast Barbecue and Aquaculture Talk</a> from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, September 17, at the marina. The marina’s been holding barbecues and talks this season that’ve been a success. The marina features a bait and tackle shop, a boat ramp, boat slips, dry-dock boat storage, fishing docks and gas. The fishing docks, $5 per adult and free for kids, can offer angling for white perch, small striped bass, and croakers, at different times of year. A 12-foot aluminum boat with a 2.5 h.p. outboard is available to rent to fish the creek.

<b>Newport</b>

Crabbing was open Saturday but closed Sunday and Monday because of severe tides and windy weather at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>, Linda said. “Safety first,” she said, and crabbers Saturday trapped from a handful of keepers to 40-some in a trip. Considering that the new moon was at the end of the week, the catches were a pleasant surprise, not bad, pretty good. New and full moons can trigger the blueclaws to shed and mate, and crabs refuse to eat then, slowing crabbing. But not all crabs shed or mate on every moon. Crabbers also fought wind that day, and that can hinder crabbing. Beaver Dam told the customers to use heavy weight in the traps. Neither bunker nor chicken, the two most popular baits, seemed to catch best. This year’s been good for crabbing at the shop, and catches last week weren’t bad at all. Some crabbers trapped 70-some keepers then. For anglers, catches of white perch and croakers improved a bit lately. Customers crab and fish from rental boats towed up Oranokin Creek, running past the shop. Crabbing will now be available Fridays through Sundays, after being available daily through Labor Day. Beaver Dam in past years was only open Saturdays and Sundays beginning after the holiday, but the shop will try being open Fridays now, too. Autumn is an excellent time for crabbing, and crabs can be big then, and weather can be pleasantly cooler, though forecasts are calling for heat later this week. Crabbing will be available through Columbus Day, weather permitting. Though crabbing, after the height of summer, becomes available only on certain days, the shop remains open daily for supplies. Beaver Dam stocks everything needed for crabbing, from bait, traps and nets to snacks, drinks and suntan lotion. Hunters also stop by beginning in about fall, including for duck hunting on the creek. Visit <a href=" http://www.crabulousnj.com/Home_Page.php" target="_blank">Beaver Dam’s website</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Weakfish including sizable to 5 pounds and croakers schooled near Brandywine and Bug Light before the storm, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Little was heard about flounder from the bay. When boaters last fished the ocean for flounder, mixed reports came from Cape May Reef. Some talked about only throwbacks caught. But Nick recommended a rig the shop ties to a customer headed to the reef, and the trip boated five keepers, only on that rig, with a large Gulp grub on the top hook. The rig features a bait-holder hook on top and a bucktail on bottom and seemed the ticket for better-sized flounder. Lots of spike weakfish and croakers turned up in the surf at Cape May Point, at the confluence of the bay and the ocean, before the storm. One angler landed 10 to 15 of the weaks in a couple of hours per trip, keeping no more than a limit of one. Snapper blues had schooled the surf, and so had blues a little larger than snappers. Mullet had begun to appear in the surf. Small summer flounder had been mixed in from the surf, but one customer brought in a 26-incher from the surf at the point, before the weather. On the back bay, large weaks to 5 pounds, some numbers, were hooked at bridges at night on soft-plastic lures.

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