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<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

A few more weakfish started to move in, and a couple of anglers from Anchor Marina picked up 24 and 13 weaks, and apparently the trout were usually found inshore off Thompson’s Beach and East Point, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Flounder apparently still bit, because customers were buying plenty of minnows for bait, and that’s usually an indication. The keeper flatties seemed to be caught in the northern bay, the last Sharon heard, but she also heard about keepers landed from the southern bay around Brandywine. The middle of the bay seemed to give up more shorts, but it was difficult to tell. One angler said someone loaded up with flounder to 9 pounds on the Delaware side of the bay at the G buoy, west of Brandywine. More croakers were pushing in and held in deep water, and the Punk Grounds supposedly gave up a bite. Customers were starting to buy more tuna baits such as butterfish and ballyhoos, and everybody seemed excited about bluefin tuna fishing, but yellowfins were mixed in. All the usual offshore baits are available at the shop, and call to order them several days in advance. Nearly all bay or inshore baits like squid, frozen herring strips, mackerel and Gulps are stocked, and the store carries a large selection. Sharon took a trip on the Relentless from Marshfield, Mass., and bagged plenty of good-sized pollock and probably reeled up a dozen cod, but most of the cod were shorts. She said the trip was great, and the captain and boat were very good. She fished 375 feet down with a 1-pound weight! The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and it’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats.

<b>Newport</b>

Lewis Patrick fished between the wreck buoy and the number 6 buoy on Saturday and bagged two flounder 22 inches and 19 inches on Berkley Gulp new penny shrimp and minnows, said Mike and Mickie from <b>Sundog Marina</b> in a fax. Also on Saturday John Chico fished the same area and boated 14 flounder including three keepers that were 18, 21 and 22 inches on the new penny shrimp, and he also reeled in a handful of blues and croakers that bit the shrimp combined with shedder crabs and minnows. Bill Penn on the same day at the 6 landed a cooler full of 1-1/2- to 2-pound blues that hit squid. On Thursday Ken Fraizer’s party broke out of a slump and bailed six nice, keeper flounder to 22 inches and also ran into sharks and skates south of the 6 on minnows and shedders. On the previous day Lewis Patrick picked up one keeper flounder. Rental boaters from the marina during the week reported mixed results from crabbing along Nantuxent Creek but saw lots of the blueclaws showing up around the docks. They were also getting into loads of perch in the creek, and most filled coolers with plenty in less than an hour. They were also scoring a nice pick of short stripers with an occasional keeper, making a fun day for the family. Rental boaters all go home with no less than a dozen crabs gratis from the marina. Mike from the marina joined a tuna trip with O-Beth Sportfishing from Margate on Wednesday, and a 60-pound bluefin was trolled at the 750 Square. Afterward the anglers headed to 28-Mile Wreck and the Cigar, but no other tuna bit, and the 20-some other boats in the area seemed to have similar results. Bloodworms, shedder crabs, minnows and all the frozen baits are stocked, and the shop is open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

<b>Dividing Creek</b>

At <b>Wildlife Boat Rentals</b> crabbers averaged two to three dozen keepers, not a bad catch, and pretty good, Ann said. Catches from rental boaters ranged between a dozen and three quarters of a bushel, and the folks who caught a dozen left early at 11 a.m. The full moon took place this weekend, and the action always slows during the moon. The moon also triggers the crabs to shed, and they were certainly shedding. That also meant the crabs were growing larger, and this coming month offers some of the best blueclaw crabbing of the year, with the greatest sizes, largest numbers and best weather usually combining to create the best catches. If you were thinking about going, the time has come. Although rental boaters nabbed plenty of crabs in Dividing Creek and at the pond off the creek, the action right at the docks might’ve even been better. One of the rental boaters returned to the dock with a good catch and started catching more blueclaws there than on the boat.  Customers can also fish the creek for perch, catfish, small stripers and such. Grass shrimp and squid are stocked for fishing, and so are fishing supplies like hooks and rigs. All supplies needed for a day of crabbing are also carried, including bunker bait, traps, handlines, nets and even supplies like suntan lotion, bug spray and sunglasses. Live crabs are sold for eating. Wildlife is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays and 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.  

<b>Fortescue</b>

Anglers on the <b>Karen Jean</b> continued to land mixed bags of flounder, blues and croakers near Fortescue, but some larger croakers to 14 and 15 inches showed up this past week, Capt. John said. Other boaters sometimes found a few weakfish in local waters, though none were hooked on the Karen Jean. If weakfishing turns on, charters will certainly target them.

A trip on the <b>Buccaneer</b> on Friday produced probably 75 croakers, some blues and some flounder, Capt. Ralph said. So fishing was about the same as before, but some of the croakers were larger than before or were good-sized and 14 inches. Many of the hardheads were smaller and probably 8 to 10 inches, but they were something to catch. The blues were small, and customers usually tossed them back. No weakfish were hooked on the boat, but few skates and sharks bit, and that was good. The Buccaneer fished near Fortescue, and skates and sharks apparently plagued the southern bay. If decent numbers of weakfish show up, you can bet that the Buccaneer will charter for them.

Big croakers started showing up around the shipping channel, and quite a few 1-1/2- to 2-pounders bit, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Waters closer to shore were full of small croakers, and try dunking shedder crabs, bloodworms or chicken to draw the strikes. All those baits are stocked, and the chicken comes in boneless, skinless breasts soaked in shedder oil that anglers cut for bait. The areas around the 6 buoy and wreck buoy still gave up flounder that inhaled minnows, squid and mackerel—all in stock—in addition to shedders. A few weakfish started appearing farther from shore at the first and second drop-offs straight off Fortescue, and shedders are the favorite bait, but they’ll suck down the same baits that flounder and croakers do. Lots of small blues continued to hit everywhere while people targeted the other species. Fortescue surf fishing was kind of slow, but if you want to try the surf, you might come up with small croakers or sandsharks. Undersized stripers from 20 to 26 inches could always be fought for fun at the creeks including Fortescue Creek. Dave threw top-water plugs in Fortescue Creek the other morning for stripers that attacked four and five at a time.  He was seeing peanut bunker in the creeks.  

<b>Port Norris</b>

Carl VonRhein bailed 15 croakers and a flounder, and a few croakers swam locally, but they weren’t thick, said Jeff from <b>Port Norris Marina</b>. Bernie Simkins found six weakfish and a flounder, but no real population of weaks arrived yet. Flounder hugged the bottom at the usual spots, and Bobby Walker and John Eberly boated six flounder and 14 blues, and Ernie Cinnamore came back with six flounder to 6.2 pounds. The marina stocks shedder crabs, minnows, squid and a full supply of the usual baits and tackle.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Some croakers started being caught locally, and customers traveled throughout the bay to find flounder, some going north and some south, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>, and some going to the lighthouses along the shipping channel in the middle of the bay. Adrian McManus bailed 23 weakfish including five keepers off East Point and a blue, a spot and a mess of sharks. Everybody was complaining about abundant sharks. Jim Wood Jr. and Don Haught reeled in 14 weakfish, and they were consistently catching weakies but were keeping the location to themselves. Mort Burg and Frank Cameron tackled 30 croakers, a blue and a weakie, and Brad and Travis Phillips picked up 25 flounder but only one keeper and 15 blues, a croaker, lots of sharks and two porgies. Pat from the marina wondered if porgies might start to show up in the bay like in the past. Tony LaGrotta and John Price bagged six keeper flounder and some blues. Few anglers fished Sunday because of forecasts for bad weather, and those who tried headed back soon because of thunderstorms and lightning. Shedder crabs, minnows and all the usual frozen baits are stocked. Longreach Marina’s Annual Kids Fishing Tournament takes place Saturday, August 11, and the entry fee is only $10 per youngster, and the event features prizes for the largest weakfish and flounder. First, second and third prizes are awarded in both the weakfish and flounder divisions. First prize wins a $100 savings bond, and second wins a $50 savings bond. Third wins a $25 gift certificate to Toys R Us. Each participating youngster is entered in a drawing for a boy’s bike and a girl’s bike that will be given away. Each youngster also receives a goodie bag with a hat, candy and other items.

<b>Dennisville</b>

Flounder fishing was picking up, and waters around the 9 and 10 buoys, Flounder Alley, 14-Foot Light and Miah Maul were producing keepers to 6 and 7 pounds, said Tim from <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Sixty Foot Slough and off Capt May Point held croakers, and weakfish including some keepers were taken south of the number 1 buoy, and small blues were everywhere. Along the ocean the inlets still put out quite a few flounder, and plenty of striped bass swam the back bay, and sometimes weakfish bit toward the Pig Pen. Farther from the coast, bonito could be caught at places such as South Shoal and Sea Isle Ridge, and cobia were sometimes pinned down at the Old Grounds. Offshore tuna fishing was fantastic for bluefins at 19-Fathom Lump, Massey’s Canyon and the Ham Bone on Shimano Butterfly Jigs, butterfish or sardines. The shop is carrying fresh butterfish and frozen sardines. Canyon tuna fishing for yellowfins was improving, and Tom Fanelli trolled Wilmington Canyon for an 80-pound yellowfin, eight good-sized mahi mahi from 15 to 20 pounds and three white marlin. Tim himself was going to hit the canyons this week. The store also carries a large variety of baits for the bay, including minnows, shedder crabs and lots of frozen baits.

<b>Cape May</b>

Big croakers showed up in good numbers at Sunset Beach and Higbee’s Beach and bit clams, squid or nearly anything fished on the bottom on small, 1/0 or 2/0 hooks, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Small weakfish sometimes showed up, and small bluefish chasing herring were moving in and out off Cape May Point throughout the day. Flounder fishing was holding up pretty well, and the 9 and 10 buoys at the end of the shipping channel in southern Delaware Bay was a good starting point. Good reports also rolled in about flounder boated around 14-Foot Light and Brandywine Light. There were lots of throwbacks, but keepers were also bagged. Some nice ones were also coming from Reef Site 11, and flounder fishing was starting to show signs of life at Cape May Reef.

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