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<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Drum fishing turned on and should build to a peak during June’s full moon, and fresh clams are well stocked for bait, said Sharon from <b>The Girl’s Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Someone who answered the phone conveyed this report from Sharon, whose hands were full, cutting fresh herring into strips for bait. The shop is filled to the gills with supplies for the opening of flounder season this Saturday. Flounder baits available include minnows, squid, chicken strips and the herring, a great bait that the shop strips fresh, salts and freezes. Loads of flounder rigs are also stocked, including Hurricane rigs, Fin Strike rigs, Custom Tackle rigs and brand new rigs from Aqua Clear. In other locales, lots of blues schooled Townsend’s Inlet, and a few stripers were mixed in, and reports about weakfish swimming the back bay were heard. Tog fishing was top-notch, and four can be kept until June, when the bag limit drops to one until November. Green crabs are carried for tog bait, and The Girl’s Place carries a large selection of baits, including fresh bunker, and no shedder crabs are available yet. The shop is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends. It’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats. On a final note, not only fish but also strawberry flies were biting! <a href=" http://hometown.aol.com/scg2326/myhomepage/business.html" target="_blank"> Click here</a> to visit The Girl’s Place web site.

<b>Newport</b>

Rental boaters at <b>Sundog Marina</b> landed good-sized white perch and some schoolie stripers in Nantuxent Creek over the weekend, Jim said. He heard about no catfish reeled in, but catfish should be able to be found in the creek. Bloodworms will get the perch and stripers to bite, and Berkley Gulp chicken liver will get the catfish to strike. A few searched the creek for crabs over the weekend, but Jim was unsure whether they grabbed any, but he hoped crabbing would pick up soon, and the rental boats are good for crabbing.  Customers tried for stripers in the bay yesterday at several spots in somewhat windy weather but caught none, and more customers were out looking today in gorgeous weather. Fresh bunker was usually the bait customers tossed for the fish. Nobody reported boating drum lately. Flounder season opens Saturday, and the store will be stocked with minnows, squid and rigs for the flatties. No-see’ems were already flying around and pestering everybody.  Fresh bunker is stocked, even though bunker was generally starting to be scarce, and pints and quarts of salted clams were carried, and so were bloodworms. The marina is open every day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. but will extend its hours to 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Thursday.

<b>Dividing Creek</b>

<b>Wildlife Boat Rentals</b> will open for the season this weekend, Ann said. All the crabbing supplies will be stocked, including round-net traps, square wire traps, hand lines and more, and bunker should be available for bait. Small blueclaws were seen swimming around, but the weekend will tell how crabbing will go. Fishing tackle will also be on hand, and Dividing Creek anglers can sometimes catch white perch, catfish, small stripers and weakfish. Worms, minnows and grass shrimp will be available for bait later this season. Sunglasses, bug spray and all supplies for a day out will be on the shelves. The fleet is made up of 15-foot boats with 4- or 6-horsepower outboards. Wildlife will be open Saturday through Monday this Memorial Day Weekend and afterward will be open Saturdays and Sundays until extending its hours sometime in June. The doors this weekend will probably be open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and later in the season will open at 5 a.m. Most customers wait for the sun to rise somewhat before showing up this time of year.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Drumfish started biting, and anglers on the <b>Buccaneer</b> were catching them every trip, Capt. Ralph said. The only bad part was that they only bit on the tides, and a trip Sunday fished till 11 p.m. to get into the action. The drum, all spawned out, were 30 to 60 pounds, nice fish, and if you’re experienced, you can find them. Boaters landed them on both sides of the bay—both the Jersey side and the Delaware side—on Sunday, and Ralph was going to try fishing the Delaware side today. He was catching no stripers but was fishing on the Jersey side, so “we’ll see what happens,” he said. But basically his charters are now targeting drum, and Ralph hoped the bite would last into June. “Are they late?” Ralph was asked. He said he was unsure, and normally Memorial Day Weekend, or this coming weekend, is prime time.

The <b>Karen Jean</b> is ready to start charters, Capt. John said. Drum fishing kicked in, and he spoke with a captain who did well on the fish on several trips. Charters on the boat will target drum and stripers, and a few stripers were being caught, but bluefish were around. Flounder season opens Saturday, and charters will sail for the flatties. John has already hooked some flounder and released them, and it seemed at least a few entered the bay.

A charter was drum fishing on the <b>Miss Fortescue</b> this evening when Kathy gave this report, and seven huge ones were already boated, she said. Another trip with 13 anglers aboard pulled up 10 keeper tog. No other trips sailed in a week because of rough weather and lack of anglers. But the Miss Fortescue starts sailing for flounder this Saturday on two open-boat trips daily.

Anglers were pulling up a mess of striped bass at the first and second drop-offs right off Fortescue, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Fresh bunker was the best bait and is stocked, and the fish kind of came off the clam bite. Boaters were bailing black drum in the southern bay, like at Tussy’s Slough, and fresh clams are stocked for bait. In the Fortescue surf, stripers, white perch and sometimes bluefish were getting reeled in, and horseshoe crabs were starting to pop up. Surf casters were dunking bloodworms, clams mullet and maybe bunker. All these baits are on hand. Dave heard about a 6-pound, tiderunner weakfish hooked in the bay off Fortescue Creek weeks ago, and the netters had been catching a few weaks, but that seemed to be slowing down. Flounder season starts Saturday, and flounder were already being landed by mistake and released, and it seemed like flounder fishing was going to be very good during the opening. Dave even reeled in flounder when trying for stripers on bunker, and all the flounder supplies are fully supplied, including Pro Cut squid, boxed whole squid and squid fillets, large minnows, frozen spearing, rigs, bucktails and all tackle.

<b>Port Norris</b>

Eric Streale boated two striped bass and two drum, and O’Connell Brown bagged a 38-inch striper, said Jeff from <b>Port Norris Marina</b>. Buster Garton nailed a pair of 38- and 31-pound stripers, and John Eberly and John Howard tackled two drum last night. Drum fishing was good, and a charter boat at the marina was reporting plenty of catches. Flounder season opens Saturday, and the marina will be fully supplied with minnows and all bait and tackle for the bottom dwellers.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Drum fishing seemed good, and one of the charter boats up the river was hooking lots, and customers were finding the fish at Tussy’s Slough, 60-Foot Slough, Bug Light and such places, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. Customers were picking up stripers at places including Bug Light, the number 1 buoy and the E.P. Tower. Flounder season starts Saturday, and the marina will be fully stocked with flounder baits including minnows and squid and flounder rigs. Customers and their catches included Brad Phillips and Nina Scott, 10, and Nina caught a 36-1/2-inch striper. Russ Schopfer and Ed Osen came back with a 42-inch striper, and Joe Bohley, Howard Minnich, Capt. Ben Scholl and Joe Cervonka from Philly fished together and bagged four stripers over 35 pounds, and Joe nailed a 51-1/2-pound drum. Joe Pierce was fishing off the bow of his boat at the marina and reeled in two catfish and a toadfish, and Pat said she thought he needed Ben McDonald to come back and help him. Her thoughts are apparently with you, Ben.

<b>Dennisville</b>

Loads of drum bit at spots including Tussy’s Slough, the Pin Top and Slaughter Beach, said Tim at <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Rusty from the shop wrestled six aboard, and Mack Cox checked in a 73-pounder, a 60-pounder and a 54-pounder. Chuck Pitt claimed a 51-pounder, a 40-pounder and a 38-pounder, and Jose Equuiria drilled three going 72 pounds, 65 pounds and 59 pounds. No striper catches were reported, but stripers were heading down the Delaware River toward the bay after spawning. Back-bay anglers occasionally talked about catching weakfish, and stripers also swam those waters. Plenty of blues could be found from the back bay to the inlets, and sea bass were blanketing the ocean wrecks and reefs.

<b>Cape May</b>

Black drum fishing picked up, and the fish were big and up to 70 and 80 pounds, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. A charter was cancelled Friday because of forecasts for rough weather, but other boaters smoked the drum that day, and the weather turned out fine. But two parties limited out on drum on the vessel over the weekend: Dave Flood’s charter Hank Stargil’s gang. On Mark Scott’s charter over the weekend 13-year-old Bill Bleda nailed his first-ever drum and four more to 72 pounds, and his cousin, Melissa Scott, 14, boated a couple to 65 pounds. So the drum were late, but they finally showed, and the Down Deep only fished on the Jersey side of the bay, but the fish also seemed to bite on the Delaware side, as far as Bob knew. He saw no stripers from the bay lately. Dates are available for drum charters, and so are dates for sea bass charters, and sea bassing is good. Plenty of bluefish are schooling along the ocean beaches, and charters can chase blues if they want. Reservations are being accepted for charters for flounder, sharks and tuna. 

The drum bite was “off and on,” and some boats landed a couple, and some bagged five or six, and lots of boats absolutely bailed them Thursday, said Capt. Tom from <b>Fishin’ Fever</b>. But anglers just need to fish, and they can’t wait for a good report, because if they do, they’re going to miss the action. A drum trip on the boat Saturday night was slow, and one drum was landed, and a trip Sunday evening got two. The trips were fishing on the Jersey side of the bay in 20 feet, and the water was 61 degrees. No striped bass hit, but Tom heard about a few good-sized ones taken far up the bay, and a 40-pounder was the largest he heard about. He thinks striper fishing will take off again when the fish return from spawning in the Delaware River. Fishin’ Fever will keep fishing for drum for a while, and eventually the boat will relocate to Brigantine and start running offshore for sharks and tuna.

Some big drum moved in, and not a ton were big, and 40-pounders were more prevalent, but the bite turned on, said Capt. Mike from <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b>. However, the fishing was sporadic, and 15 might get boated one trip, and 5 might get hooked the next. Drum to 82 pounds were nailed with Copacetic on Thursday night, and a couple of the fish were 70-pounders, and the rest were in the 40-pound range. The boat was fishing at Tussy’s Slough, and the whole fleet seemed there in 60-degree water. Tussy’s on the Jersey side of the bay and Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side seemed the spots that produced, and the fish were hitting mostly in the late afternoons. Mike really heard about no stripers caught in the bay. Flounder season opens Saturday, and dates for flounder charters are available. Sea bass charters are also an option, and shark season is coming up, and book a spot while prime dates remain. The shark grounds were 55 degrees according to a satellite chart, and the temps should hit 60 within a couple of weeks and get makos and threshers on the hunt. Copacetic will compete in the South Jersey Shark Tournament that traditionally is the first shark competition of the season. Mike might troll the inshore lumps this weekend to poke around for bluefish and maybe bluefin tuna, and see what’s happening.

<b>Legal Limit Charters</b> was putting together good catches of drum to 80 pounds Friday night and Saturday night, and the bay was 61 degrees, Capt. T.J. said. Nighttime fishing was best, and daytime produced slim pickings or no drum, and T.J. saw no stripers caught from the bay lately. Legal Limit will keep targeting the drumfish, and one of its boats is also fishing from Tuckerton and lately was running for bluefish to 10 pounds in Great Bay on trolled metal and Rebels. A few drum, but not a lot, could be found in Great Bay, and sea bass were supposedly hitting at the inshore wrecks and reefs, and sea bass charters are available from Tuckerton. Flounder charters from Tuckerton will also sail in the bay and ocean when flounder season opens Saturday.

Drum fishing turned on well by Thursday night, and nobody probably sailed Tuesday and Wednesday because of rough weather, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. The fishing wasn’t as good as last year for him, but sometimes it was, and a charter Friday night bailed them, hooking 28 to 75 pounds, keeping 12, and 24 of the fish were caught by 4:30 p.m. Tom Cloonan, Dan Smith, Jim Beslanovitz and Dave Brook were aboard that trip. A charter Saturday with Dennis Davis, Sean McNicholl, Jerry Lauderd, Keith Lex, Jack Speas and Jack Eckerdt boated 11 drum from 50 to 70 pounds, a nice catch but not the phenomenal fishing like Friday. Ray and Rob Crane caught drum on the boat Saturday night, and a charter was fishing Sunday night when George gave this report, and five drum had been landed so far. The fishing seemed best in the afternoons and evenings, and George was finding the drum in about 20 feet, sometimes a little shallower, sometimes a little deeper. He was fishing in 17 to 18 feet Sunday night, and all the local boats were targeting the Jersey side of the bay. So drum fishing was going on, and if you’re interested, it’s time to go. The drum charters sail in the afternoons and evenings, and charters are also available in the mornings for other species. Sea bass charters are one of the possibilities, and so are bluefishing trips. Plenty of blues are at the inlets, but George heard about none yet at inshore spots like 5-Fathom Bank. Flounder season opens Saturday, and anglers will then be able to target flounder in the mornings, too.

Drum fishing turned on hard Thursday night for <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b>, and anglers were scoring double and triple headers for hours on fish to 55 pounds on the vessel, Capt. Ray said. The bite turned on a little late on the boat Saturday but eventually got going, and it’s been phenomenal. Daytime fishing’s been slow, but night’s been good, and Jaftica’s been fishing on the Jersey side of the bay. Ray was fishing the bay when he gave this report Sunday night, and the water was 63 degrees. No striped bass were hitting on the trips.

The best news was that drum fishing came on hot and heavy in Delaware Bay, and anglers on some boats were landing double digits, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The good news was also that the drum bit on the Jersey side of the bay. Tussy’s Slough was best, but the fishing slacked off there during the weekend, probably because of heavy boat traffic. Fish were also showing up at the Pin Top and Deadman’s Slough. Those who caught drum at Tussy’s included the crew of the Bar Gull with a 78-pounder, Pete Sarconce with a 78-pounder and Kim Catera, 12, with a 62-pounder. Blackfish kept biting like mad dogs at the rock piles and inshore wrecks, and limits of nice slipperies were the norm. Bob Sullivan on the Fiesta boated a 9.59-pound tog, and Bill Neville nailed an 8.27-pound tog at the Lehigh Avenue jetty. Weakfish were here, and Bob Semick and Clay Smith caught eight to 7 pounds at Cape Avenue on bloodworms and released a 31-inch bass.  Getting through small stripers to reach the weakfish was a problem for anglers, but some of the stripers were keepers. The jetty at Higbee’s Beach was also producing some nice trout, and bucktails with a trailer would also catch them. Surf casters were also catching plenty of stripers from Poverty Beach to Pittsburg Avenue, and clams were the best bait. Pete Hanover weighed in a 21-pound striper that he beached along with four shorts that he released in the surf at Baltimore Avenue on Thursday.

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