Newport

The 34 buoy was the most productive place for striper fishing near Sundog Marina, Mike said. Clams were the popular bait, and frozen clams are stocked, but he’ll wait a moment before stocking fresh clams. Plenty of anglers prefer fresh bunker for the stripers, and the menhaden are stocked. Lots of white perch to 3 pounds were swimming Nantuxent Creek, and catfish could also be hooked there, and rental boats were available to fish the creek. Fresh grass shrimp and bloodworms will fool the perch and are stocked. Eventually rental boaters will crab in the creek, and Mike saw no crabs scooting around yet. A few short stripers were also landed in the creek from the dock on bloods. Mike heard no first-hand reports about drum catches from customers, but he heard second-hand reports about drum landed in the southern bay. The marina is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.

Dividing Creek

Wildlife Boat Rentals will open Memorial Day weekend, Ann said. Crabbers will then be able to sail the creek for tasty blueclaws. All supplies will be stocked, including round-net traps, two-door metal traps, handlines and bunker bait. Fishing for white perch and other favorites is also an option, and grass shrimp, worms, minnows, squid and other fishing supplies such as hooks are carried. Shedder crabs are also carried for fishing bait when available. All other supplies like bug spray, suntan lotion, and sunglasses are also stocked for a good day on the water. Live blueclaws for eating are usually also available for sale through the height of the season.

Fortescue

Five striped bass to 33 inches were nailed on the Buccaneer on Sunday, Capt. Ralph said. The fishing was generally slow on all boats, so he felt good about landing the five. No drum were hauled aboard yet, but drum fishing usually gets going around May 1, so the bay should produce drumfish within the next week. Combo striper/drum trips on the Buccaneer usually run through June 15.

The Miss Fortescue started sailing this season on Saturday, and patrons boated two keeper striped bass, released one throwback and lost a keeper that was probably over 36 inches and put up a good fight, an e-mail from the boat said. The party boats were basically skunked that day. But it was a beautiful, calm day on the bay, and the Miss Fortescue is now sailing 7 a.m. daily, although no open-boat trip will take place Saturday, May 12, because a charter is booked. Open-boat trips in the afternoons will be added to the schedule Friday, May 11.

Port Norris

Most customers landed stripers at Bug Light, but some reported catches from the first drop-off near the E.P. Tower, said Jeff from Port Norris Marina. He hoped bigger stripers would show up. Puppy drum but not many were caught. Joe Pio boated a 34-inch striper and several throwbacks, and Andy Kupczyk scored two 30-inchers and seven or eight throwbacks. Jim Dougherty, Tom Zimmerman and Elia Mosteller bagged two 34-inchers and let go 16 shorts. John Eberle limited out on two 29- and 31-inch stripers and released a couple of throwbacks.

Bivalve

The LegalEase should splash this week, and then charters will start targeting striped bass and drum, Capt. Marty said. Customers will mostly toss bunker chunks for the bass, but a few clams are usually also onboard for bait. When drum fishing picks up, mostly clams, the best drum bait, will be carried on the trips, but a few fresh bunkers will probably be stowed on the vessel. Be sure to catch the “Out of Work Early Specials,” sailing at a discounted price and leaving port around noon and returning at dark.
 
Customers from Longreach Marina were boating stripers at the E.P. Tower and at Bug Light, Pat said. Not many drum were hooked yet, but a few were, so drumfishing seemed promising. Lots of debris and junk filled the water that floated from the meadows from recent storms. Fresh bunker is stocked for bait, and so are frozen clams. Customers and their catches included: Hal Batdorf and Kevin Boulder, 14 stripers including 4 keepers to 35 inches; Russ Schapfert and Ken Dubois, 32-inch striper; John Kupskey and Rich Andrus, 4 stripers to 31 inches; Michael Viens, 32-inch striper; Tom Smith Sr. and Jr., 28- and 31-inch stripers; Ty and Stephanie Plummer, 58-pound drum and 40-pound striper respectively, and they landed 14 stripers total, including 4 keepers; Jason and Scott Mitchell, 29-1/2-inch striper and lots of skates; and Jack Milick and Bucky Lynch, 9 stripers including 4 keepers to 38 inches.

Dennisville

Striper fishing slowed down a little, but it always does a couple of days before the full moon, said Tim from Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle. He heard rumors about mostly small drum reeled in at Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side of the bay. Ken Raker and Bob and Ed Ash hooked 50 stripers, including probably 25 keepers, at Bug Light. Bob Cope hauled in five drum from 20 to 40 pounds near Bug Light. In other news, Sterling Price nailed a 7-pound 3-ounce tog in the back bay at one of the bridges. Chick Chickatelli and crew fished an ocean wreck and limited out on tog and caught a bunch of sea bass.

Cape May

On the Jaftica anglers nabbed 12 stripers including three keepers to 32 inches on the bay in 25 feet on Sunday on clams while chumming, Capt. Ray said. The water was 53 to 54 degrees and still held debris that was prevalent since the nor’easter two weeks ago. No drum were hooked on the trip, but Ray heard about some landed at Slaughter Beach on Saturday night. Lots of drum charters are coming up on the boat, and drum fishing should turn on with this week’s full moon.

Copacetic Sportfishing ran a few trips on the bay that reeled in stripers on clams in the past days, and the fishing was a little tougher than before, but the catches wound up decent after some searching, Capt. Mike said. Each trip probably produced 15 bass including five or six keepers, and lots of other boaters seemed to struggle. The bite continued to be very soft, and anglers had to hold the rod or miss the fish. The trips fished in 20 to 25 feet on the Jersey side of the bay, and the water was 50 to 53 degrees, coldest in the lower bay closer to the ocean. A mess of spiny dogfish moved in, and no drum were landed, but Mike heard that drum were boated on the Delaware side of the bay Saturday night. He might start fishing on the Delaware side on upcoming trips to try to pull up drum.  

Billy Cox, Tom and his father Ernie were aboard the Sea Fox on Sunday and put together a good day of striper fishing while clamming on Delaware Bay, Capt. Gary said. It wasn’t awesome, but they scored keepers to a 32 incher that weighed 13 ½ pounds, Billy’s first striper, and not too shabby for a first. The water was 51 degrees and still held debris but less than the middle of last week, and its clarity improved. In keeping with Gary’s tradition of landing an unusual catch each trip this season, a 3-1/2-pound, 19-inch sea bass was boated. “I’ve got witnesses,” he joked. On the past two trips a sundial was caught, and two 19-inch, out-of-season flounder were landed and released, the first fluke reported on this site this year. No drum were hooked on the trip, and drum charters are slated to begin on the boat this coming weekend. Drum were already being caught in the bay by this time last year. 

A charter was soaking clams for stripers on Delaware Bay on the Heavy Hitter when Capt. George gave this report Sunday night. The anglers seemed to be starting to get into action, and a 31-inch keeper was boated as George spoke, and a 30-inch keeper had already been boated, and so were six shorts. Joe Viglione Sr. and Jr. and Paul Houlis were the anglers and were fishing in shallow, 57- to 58-degree water near Bug Light. A charter in the morning grabbed a 34-inch keeper striper. On Saturday morning Ryan Moore, Tim Roberts, and Jim Sr. and Jr. from Bud’s Bait & Tackle caught stripers to 34 inches, and in the afternoon Andrew Nyberg, Terence Brennan and Mike Cavanaugh landed one keeper and one throwback. No drum were hooked on the trips, but George heard about a few boated Saturday night at Slaughter Beach, and one person said four or five were caught there, and that’s a good sign, George said. He also heard about schools of drum reportedly seen swimming along the water surface elsewhere in the bay that wouldn’t bite, potentially another good sign that the drumfish were arriving. His charters are supposed to start targeting drum Thursday, and they usually catch drum in the bay until early or mid June, when the fish might still be around, but charters start wanting to chase other fish, such as blues.

On the Miss Chris’s striper trips at 8 a.m. daily, anglers took home linesiders to 20 pounds, a fax from the boat said. Dan O’Mally boated a 22-pounder, and Steve Carelli bagged a 21-pounder and a 17-pounder, and Cal Killen nailed an 18-pounder. Drum trips have now been added to the schedule, running 7 p.m. every day.

Striped bass to 20 pounds could be clammed in the bay, and some were starting to take bunker, said Capt. Fred from Harbor View Marina in a fax. Bigger bass should show up this week, and good numbers of stripers also turned up at the Cape May Rips from Prissy Weeks Shoal to Overfalls Shoal. A few black drum were around, and more should be boated this week with the full moon. Blackfish to 8 pounds could be reeled in from the inshore wrecks, and a few sea bass started to show at those spots. Local anglers were still waiting for the first signs of bluefish this season. The store is open daily and is carrying a full supply of fresh baits.

Striper fishing started off well last week, and good numbers bit at the Cape May Rips on bucktails with mackerel strips or on drifted clams on a fish-finder rig, said Matt from Jim’s Bait & Tackle in a fax. The action was best at inshore rips like Prissy Wicks, EPH and the Top of the Hill, mostly on high tides. Stripers were still hooked in Delaware Bay, mostly on clams, although the action slowed quite a bit by the weekend. Anglers who fished far up the bay at spots like Miah Maul and Flat Top scored well, and about 1/3 of the fish were keepers. The bay’s black drum fishing was spotty, but most drum were landed at Tussy’s Slough and Deadman’s Shoal. Most drum were 20 to 30 pounds, but Bob Wurm weighed in a 74-pounder and a 66-pounder that he nailed at Tussy’s. Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side of the bay held dirty water loaded with debris from the Delaware River, but look for drum fishing to turn on there when the water improves. Blackfish were holding pretty thick at the jetties and inshore wrecks. Greg Unkle boated a 13.05-pund tog among a limit that he and his crew scored at the inlet rocks in 20 minutes.  Gene Smith’s party limited out on tog including two knotheads over 8 pounds apiece at the Rope Barge.

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