This report was posted on a Tuesday instead of the usual Monday because of Memorial Day.

<b>Hudson River</b>

Big striped bass swam the river at Newburg, and the run had a ways to go, maybe another couple of weeks, said Capt. Don from<b>Hook-Em Charters</b>. Schools were starting to ball up in what locals call black-outs, when the fish-finder marks them solid from 14 to 40 feet. Previously only five or six of the fish would be found together. The Keller charter fought stripers to 24 pounds to boatside on Friday, and the Albanese charter that night bagged bass to 17 pounds. The Vicone charter on Sunday landed about 20 stripers from schoolies to a 20-pounder. The fish on trips were swallowing bloodworm baits, but the bigger females mostly hit eels. The river was 59 degrees, and the bass spawn when it reaches 62 or 63 degrees. Then fishing will last about another week, before the stripers drop back down to the bay. Hook-Em fishes the river’s migration of stripers every spring, one of the best opportunities to land a trophy.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Fishing for striped bass in the bay produced inconsistent catches, and anglers onboard would limit out one day and eek out three or four another, Capt. Anthony from <b>Barbara Ann Fishing Charters</b> said. Sometimes the anglers anchored and fished chunked bunker, and other times they drifted live bunker. Bluefish let up tremendously that had been harassing striper anglers previously. In addition to charters, open-boat Blue Collar Specials are sailing for stripers every Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The open trips fill up, and call ahead to ensure preferred dates.

An excellent catch of striped bass was pinned down Saturday, and fishing was slow for the linesiders on a trip Friday, said Capt. Joe from <b>Outcast Charters</b>. On Saturday 10 were bagged, including a few that weighed in the 20s and others that weighed in the mid to upper teens, and some were lost, and bluefish attacked. On Friday two bass that probably weighed 15 to 18 pounds were boated, and lots of blues hit. Both trips fished from mid bay to the ocean side of the bay with live and chunked bunker. A combo striper/sea bass charter, the second one of the season, was fishing yesterday. The season is prime time for both species.

<b>Keyport</b>

What a great start to fluke season, said Chris from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Tons of reports about catches rolled in, and lots of the fish covered bottom around the sailboats on the Keyport Flats. Joe Calone bagged seven keepers to 3 pounds among 22 flatbacks he landed at the flats on a plain rig with simply a killie on a 2/0 fluke hook. Killies were in short supply for many shops, but Crabby’s carried them, but more should be available after they spawn. Tommy Finnley checked in a limit of the flatties to 7 pounds that ate jumbo spearing on a spinner rig. On the striped bass front, nighttimes gave up good-sized stripers from the bay. A group of three anglers limited out on the fish to 28 pounds at the West Bank on fresh bunker. Chris Feldman nailed a 38-pound striper at Reach Channel on bunker, and Ray Montano also drilled a 38-pounder at Old Orchard on fresh bunker. Bluefish kept fighting non-stop on the bay, hitting metal or bait. Crabby’s is now open seven days a week. The hours are 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the doors stay open until 8 p.m. on Fridays.

The Steve Sacks group with six anglers reeled in a pick of blues and the season’s first keeper fluke on the bay Saturday with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. Clams were the bait and were fished in a bunker-chum slick. Steve’s son Michael and friends Mark, Steve, Stanley and David were the other anglers, and Michael was high hook, and Stanley nabbed the fluke. Fluke charters are now available in addition to striped bass and bluefish trips. One space is available on an open-boat trip Saturday, and open trips are also running daily when no charter is booked, and call to reserve. Papa’s Angels is available for a charter or open-boat trip on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 15.

Striped bass trips with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> moved out of the bay and to the ocean to chase linesiders that started running along the beaches, Capt. Fred said. A charter Saturday slammed 10 big bass to 40 pounds on live bunker, and the fishing was slow at first, but then the bite busted loose the next two hours. Stripers broke the water surface all around, and at one point bunker heads were tossed overboard, and 30-pound stripers came up and inhaled them. Striper fishing on the bay was hit or miss or picky. A combo striper/sea bass trip sailed Sunday and connected with both fish, including two dozen sea bass to 4 pounds, and the combos are available. No charters requested fluke trips yet, and fluke season opened Saturday, and boaters tried to land the summer flounder in the ocean, but waters were cold.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke trips launched on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> on Saturday, the opening day of the season, and fished Raritan Bay, Capt. Tom said. The bite was off to a slow start in his opinion, and a few keepers were bagged, but three times as many probably would’ve been taken if the size limit hadn’t been increased to 18 inches this year, compared with 17 last year. Customers sometimes landed 12 to 15 flatties with only one keeper or none. Tom Nagel from Sayreville knocked off a 5-1/2-pounder yesterday that was the biggest on the boat so far. The trips fished a bunch of places on the bay, including from Flynn’s Knoll to Bug Light to off the Navy Pier. Waters were still cold and in the high 50s, and the fluke were cold to the touch, and all different sizes of the fish bit. So a few keepers were hitting, but not as many as Tom would’ve preferred, and the size limit seemed a problem at this point. Spearing and squid are provided for bait, but patrons might want to stop at a shop on the way down and pick up a few killies, not a lot, maybe a half-pint or so, to bring. Sometimes, but not always, killies can make a difference, and Tom was surprised about that, because the season was a little early for killies to sometimes work better. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The bay’s striped bass fishing dropped off, and even bluefishing slowed on the waters, but Capt. Mick from the <b>CRT II</b> hoped the striper fishing was only a temporary set back, he said. So he switched to fluke fishing on the bay Saturday and landed a couple of keepers. But all charters on the books in the near future are striper trips, and the fishing usually lasts through June, and Mick will keep targeting stripers so long as the action picks up. The CRT II also runs lots of fluke trips.

Blues, blues and more blues, said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> in an e-mail after the boat’s trip yesterday. The vessel fished the Shrewsbury Rocks in the ocean in the morning, and blues attacked from the start. Another drop was tried farther inshore, where bunker were found, and Ron thought patrons would be into striped bass, but blues were even more ferocious. “Looked like they wanted to eat through the boat,” he said. There was lots of action, and some kids on the trip caught at least 10 apiece. Then strong, south winds came up hard during the second half of the day, and seas started to become nasty, “and that was it,” Ron said. The bunker that were finally schooling up the beaches were an encouraging sign. “I only hope the bass are not far behind,” he said.  The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Magic Hour Trips are running for stripers 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> started catching striped bass and blues in the ocean around the Shrewsbury Rocks on live bunker and trolled bunker spoons, Capt. Derek said. So he made the move to the ocean from the bay for the first time this year. The stripers weighed up to 29 pounds, and waters were 55 degrees. A few dates remain for striper charters, and fluke trips are now available with the opening of fluke season.

The <b>Katie H</b> left port on its first trip of the season yesterday, mostly a shakedown trip, but a striped bass and some big bluefish were trolled along the ocean front, and a little fluke fishing along the beaches produced big, fat, 16-1/2-inchers, Capt. Mike said. So the fluke didn’t make the new, 18-inch size limit, and waters were cool, 58 degrees, chilly to begin with, but also colder from south winds. The boat ran well and is ready to keep fishing. Charters for stripers, blues, fluke and wreck-fishing are on tap, and shark fishing will begin in June, and tuna fishing will follow. The boat runs lots of tuna trips when the offshore season kicks in.

The week was kind of crazy, because the <b>Tuna-Tic</b> ran two trips a day, but on a couple of days only bluefish swarmed in the ocean, but on other days big stripers were tackled there, Capt. Mike said. For example, on a charter during the daytime Thursday, some blues but nothing else showed up, but a charter that evening slammed eight stripers, including two that weighed more than 40 pounds apiece, and three that weighed more than 30 pounds each. Friday’s fishing was mostly slow but produced a couple of bass, and Saturday night’s striper trip loaded up at the Shrewsbury Rocks. On a charter Sunday morning a 25-pound striper was bagged, and then a zillion bluefish forced the anglers to switch to sea bass fishing. Lots of stripers generally swam the ocean now, and not many held in the bay, where the boat previously striper fished. Striper charters will continue through the first week of June, and only a few spots are open on June 2, 3 and 5. The boat will relocate to Waretown on June 9 to start shark charters that will sail from Barnegat Inlet from June 12 through 23. Bluefishing will be offered on trips between sharking. Then the boat will undergo maintenance a moment before starting open-boat, three-day tuna trips, the ultimate in fishing. Many of the open trips are full, and only a few spaces are left.

Striped bass were boated on the bay Wednesday through Saturday with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>, but Capt. Brian planned to fish the ocean for the linesiders yesterday, because he knew about impressive catches there, including a 42-pounder that a friend nabbed, Brian said. On the bay Bennett Green’s party on Wednesday put together a decent pull of three or four bass with blues mixed in on live, drifted bunker, and Joe May’s charter on Friday bunker chunked six stripers from 25 to 35 pounds. On the bay Saturday Brian fished with friends from the Hi-Mar Fishing Club for a catch of five bass to 25 pounds and one blue. Fishing for trophy stripers is one of Jersey Devil’s specialties.

<b>Neptune</b>

Few striped bass were feeding Saturday, so a charter switched to bottom fishing for a fairly decent catch of sea bass and ling, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. But a bunch of stripers were boated on other recent trips, and bunker, the favorite striper forage, were schooling along the coast, and a few openings remain on an individual-reservation striper trip Wednesday. If stripers fail to turn on that day, the anglers will switch to bottom fishing for sea bass and ling. Individual-reservation fluke trips will start sailing every Wednesday on June 11.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fishing was a struggle on a trip Saturday in the ocean, but on Sunday it was like a light switch flipped, and anglers on a charter clobbered blues and stripers a little north of the inlet all day, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Nan Sea J</b>. Both trolling and jigging worked, and catches could hardly have been better. An algae bloom made the waters brown, dirty and ugly in 50 or 60 feet, but the fish ate anyway. The ocean was 55 degrees at first and warmed to 60 in the afternoon. A trip was going to try fluke fishing yesterday, though the ocean was kind of cold for the flatties. Charters will keep fishing for stripers, blues and fluke, and bottom fishing for sea bass and such is also available. Annual, open-boat trips will once again shark fish every Wednesday in June and July, a great opportunity to fight the beasts without having to charter the whole boat. The open trips will probably launch June 11, when a good shot at makos is probably possible, though blue sharks might start haunting the area before then. The popular open trips, some of the only open trips for sharks that anyone runs in the state, do fill up, and book your dates before they’re gone. Shark charters are also available, and sharking is Tom’s favorite fishing.

On the <b>Bandit</b> anglers bottom fished for sea bass and ling through the last week, because bluefishing turned off, and catches ranged from good to excellent, Capt. Scotty said. The trips fished anywhere from 45 to 125 feet, and a trip that fished the Mudhole for 5 hours on Saturday produced from three-quarters of a bucket to a couple of buckets of fish per person. Bites were a little slow Sunday because there were no anchoring conditions, but patrons scratched together a catch, actually impressive considering conditions. When bluefishing turns around, the boat will resume sailing for the speedsters, surely this week.

<b>Brielle</b>

Boaters trolled unbelievable catches of striped bass Saturday in the ocean from Asbury Park to Long Branch on bunker spoons, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Tony Maha and Tournament Grade Tackle spoons were hot, and bunker sometimes schooled in the morning, and anglers tried snagging the bunker and livelining them, but had difficulty hooking a bass that way, and trolling worked better. But in the afternoon, bunker were all over, and stripers came up, and live bunker connected. Catches from the day included Tony Accardo’s 39-1/2-pounder and Bob Lake’s 25-pound 10-ouncer, and Bob’s bass inhaled a live bunker. Blues were still around, and they were swimming Manasquan Inlet on Sunday morning. Fishing at the Point Pleasant Canal for stripers, blues and a few weakfish was hot and cold and was hampered from boat traffic during the holiday weekend. Fluke fishing kind of got off to a slow start, and the ocean offered slim pickings, was cold and kind of dirty, apparently from all the windy weather. The only reports heard about good fluking came from Shark River, where flatbacks to 5 pounds were bagged, mostly on bucktails. Sea bass fishing was fantastic, and Dave fished for the lumpheads with the new Shimano Lucanus jigs with Shimano rep Doug Rush and Rob Jenkins, and the jigs worked incredibly. They were as easy to use as billed, and basically the anglers dropped them to the bottom, and the fish pounced on them. Twenty-one keepers and a slough of throwbacks were landed in only two hours, before winds kicked up and forced the group to sail back to port. Here’s probably the first offshore report of the season: A number of customers fished from North Carolina, including the crew on the Intrepid, with owner Dr. Andrew Fanelli, sons Matt and Andy, Captain John Krohn and mate Pat Bowland. They left port from Morehead City on two days and totaled one white marlin released, four blue marlin released, 16 mahi mahi and five wahoos. Trolling with Shimano Torsa 40 outfits, they caught most of the fish on ballyhoos, but two of the blues smacked Black Bart lures. The Reel Seat is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Mondays through Fridays, 6:30 .m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. Next month the doors will also be open till 8 p.m. Fridays.  Sign up for the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund’s <a href=" http://ssfff.org/raffle.html" target="_blank"> raffle for a boat, motor and trailer </a> for only $20.  Get a chance at a 17-foot Mako with a motor and trailer donated by the American Sportfishing Association and electronics donated by Henry’s Tackle, and support the SSFFF.

Patrons jigged very good catches of 6- to 12-pound blues and striped bass to 30 pounds Sunday and Monday on the <b>Jamaica</b> in the ocean close to shore, an e-mail from the boat said. Schools of stripers chasing schools of bunker were first seen in the area on Saturday, and that was the beginning of the action that anglers were awaiting. Plenty of blues were also fought on bait on Sunday night. Recent pool winners included Chris Norman with a 30-1/2-pound striper and Bill VanBuskirk with a 23-pound linesider. The Jamaica is sailing for stripers and blues at 7:30 a.m. daily and for blues at 7:30 p.m. nightly. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course and certificate required in New Jersey. The next one-day classes take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 7 and 22, and the next two-day class takes place 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 25 and 26, all at Bogan’s Basin.  The test-out option ends after Monday but is available through that day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily at Bogan’s Basin for those born before 1979. Private classes are available at your own location for groups of eight or more, with a discount for 10 or more, on weekdays or weekends during daytimes or evenings. Simply select two 3-hour blocks and arrange an instructor.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Anglers with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> headed out Saturday to try fluke fishing on opening day, Capt. Allen said. They first targeted the ocean a little south of Manasquan Inlet, and a short fluke was the first fish that came up. Then skates bit, so the group moved to the reef and put together decent bottom fishing for sea bass and healthy sized ling. Then a friend called Allen about a striped bass bite going down near Shark River Inlet, and the boat ran there, and the anglers jigged a few 35- and 40-inch stripers at the tail end of the action. Other anglers also fooled the bass on bunker, and lots of the linesiders hit earlier there.  So the trip turned out pretty well, Allen said, and fluke fishing was slow, but waters were cold, and striper fishing picked up a bit in the ocean, and bottom fishing was good. Reel Class is offering all of this fishing, and fluking will become more and more of a focus as the season progresses, including on open-boat Fluke Till You Puke Marathons. Openings remain, and grab the spots while they’re left. Availability is listed on Reel Class’s web site. In other news, Allen spent time at his family’s vacation home in Ortley Beach over the weekend, and kept his eye out for surf catches there and at neighboring Lavallette, but saw no sharpies land anything. He heard that stripers were beached at Bay Head on Sunday.

An angler on his fifth trip with <b>Angela Rose Charters</b> this year was on deck for the boat’s first attempt at fluke this spring on Saturday, the opening day of the season, Capt. Anthony said in an e-mail. The vessel broke the inlet early and met a waveless ocean with minimal northwest winds. The vessel motored 5 miles northeast to drift the reef. A mess of sea bass, a bunch of ling, a beautiful pollock and a couple of bluefish were landed on squid and spearing combos. No fluke showed up, but the slam of four species made an awesome day. The waters were cool and 55 degrees and pretty clean. On Sunday a couple of anglers were onboard for their second trip of the year, and they ran back to the same spot in the same type of beautiful, glassed-over ocean. Fish were hooked almost immediately, and sea bass were flying over the rails, and the first fluke of the season, an 18-inch keeper, was taken, and ling and blues were reeled up, a grand slam. The 3- to 10-pound blues were fought on top-water poppers. Ever see one annihilate a popper? It’s awesome! Anthony said.

Two daily, half-day fluke trips started running on the <b>Gambler</b> on Saturday, the opening day of the season, and catches of the flatties were somewhat slow that day, but a few were reeled up at every place, Capt. Bob said. He thinks that more might turn up with better conditions for drifting. The fish were found from tight to the beach to 55-foot depths, and on Sunday the boat also fished in deeper waters, and better catches of sea bass came up in the lack of drift. Sea bass were holding at some of the rough bottom. Bob was worried that dog sharks could be a problem in deeper waters, but they weren’t. On the way back from a trip, working birds were spotted, and a few blues and a big striper were boated. The Gambler is fishing for fluke on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

<b>Seaside</b>

After disappointing surf fishing during the daytime Saturday, catches hit the wall, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. Striped bass weigh-ins started to come in that night, then on Sunday 263 pounds of stripers were weighed in! On Monday it got even crazier, and the shop had to list all the weigh ins on four different web pages. Scores of the fish, many in the 20-pound class, were checked in, and most were taken on bunker, but plenty were also belted on plugs, and a few swallowed clams. Blues were sometimes among the catch, but bass dominated by far. A memorable Memorial Day, the site said. “A once in a lifetime fishing day?” Grumpy himself asked on the site. “I think so.” Surf temps bumped up to 61 and 62 degrees, and the action started. Could it happen again today? Not likely on that scale, “but wouldn’t it be something if it did!” the site said. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Forked River</b>

“What a day!” said Capt. John from <b>Seafood Fishing Charters</b>. Two back-to-back charters yesterday bailed big striped bass in the ocean off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park. The first left at 7 a.m., trolled a couple of large, gator blues in the ocean, and then John got a call from a friend about a school of stripers. He ran the boat to 18 feet off the bathing beach, and the six anglers started nailing lunkers, bass from 30 pounds to just under 40 pounds, on bunker that was snagged from among the fish and either dropped back down on the snagging hooks or fished on live-bait hooks. Stripers and bunker were everywhere. Then the fish moved deeper, and seas were getting rough, making the blitz difficult to see, so the boat went on the troll, and catches were just as good. The anglers nearly limited out but missed plenty of other bites on the bunker baits. Another trip sailed at 3 p.m., headed back to almost the same spot, just a little north, and got right back into the action, and limited out on stripers. They returned 2 hours early because of the good fishing but also because seas were becoming quite rough. Anglers were also lined up on the jetties and bailing the fish. The fishing finally took off, and John hoped it would continue. John and crew <i><b>also spotted a thresher shark</b></i>, apparently a sizeable one, among the bunker, and that is the first report of the season about a thresher shark seen along the beaches! More striper fishing is slated for later in the week. Seafood will keep sailing for stripers, and fluke fishing is also available. Shark trips are about to begin in June, and tuna charters are now starting to be booked, and reserving preferred dates is a good idea. Seafood’s boat makes it to the tuna grounds probably quicker than any other charter in the state. The 33-foot HydraSports features three 250 h.p. engines, cruises at 45 m.p.h., tops out at 60 m.p.h. and arrives at the canyons in 2 hours in fair seas. Anglers can spend more time fishing than traveling. Besides charters for all these species, a bunch of <a href=" http://www.seafoodfishing.com/Rates_Info.html" target="_blank"> open-boat dates</a> are available. One space remains on a two-day, open-boat trip that will compete in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club Tournament.  Boats in the tournament are allowed to fish two days from July 30 to August 2. Last year’s purse was $365,000, and 20 percent of any winnings go to the crew on the trip, but the rest goes to the anglers.

<b>Waretown</b>

Capt. John from <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b> tested Barnegat Bay for fluke on opening day, Saturday, with friends, and 18 were landed, but only one was a keeper, he said. The new, 18-inch size limit seemed the culprit. They fished all over, including the Intracoastal Waterway and the channels. Perfect Drift usually fishes for the flatties in the bay through July Fourth, when most of the fish escape the warming waters and move to the ocean. Then charters chase them there the rest of the summer.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Trophy striped bass fishing turned on in a big way along the ocean front, said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. Regular customers Jay Simmons and Ernie Rosenburg joined a trip and scored a “career day” on stripers, limiting out on the biggest ones they ever caught. Ernie boated a 28-pounder and got into a 32-pounder before he could even catch his breath. That one was fought on a light, bunker-snagging rod, a sporty battle! Jay landed a 25-pounder and minutes later a 24-pounder. Both also swung and missed a few others. Another regular, Chris Spring, was out the next day, but bunker schools were scarcer and more spread out, and stripers were even more difficult to find. Glenn Deahnke’s crew were on deck for a Barnegat Bay trip for lots of action with 1- to 3-pound blues on light tackle. They also released hefty, out-of-season blackfish and some fluke.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Lots of striped bass were beached from the suds on Brigantine on Saturday, said the report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. A 39-pounder was weighed in that sucked down a Riptide Rotter clam, one of the shop’s “aged, seasoned” clams, offered at a discount, and some swear they’re effective. Five of the fish to 18 pounds were also checked in. Then on Sunday, fishing went dead, one of the slowest days in a long time. The only report that day came from a crew on a boat who snagged bunker in the ocean, dropped them back and belted two 37- and 33-pound stripers. Flounder season got off to a slow start, not with a bang like last year, in the back bay over the weekend, and nobody caught much. Blues swarmed the bay. Two reports also rolled in about 150-pound tuna found behind scallop boats. “Could this mean the beginning of an early tuna season?” the report asked. “Why not?” it said. “Everything else in the fishing cycle has been wacky.”

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf casters loaded up on kingfish, sometimes 15 or 18 per person, on bloodworms, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Good-sized flounder were taken from the surf and in front of the Flag Ship, and a few striped bass still showed up in the suds. Stripers weighed in included an 18-pounder, a 15-1/2-pounder and an 11-1/2-pounder. Dunk clams, fresh bunker or eels for the stripers. A handful of blues appeared along the beaches, but not as many as before, and they were moving offshore. Noel also heard about a few out-of-season porgies that were hooked and released in the wash. All the baits mentioned and more are stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

The boat was relocated to Margate after fishing from Delaware Bay this spring, and a charter headed out for sea bass from Margate on Saturday, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>. The anglers bagged a good pick of the lumpheads at inshore wrecks in 55.9-degree waters. But charters will concentrate on flounder fishing in the back bays at Margate  a moment before shark fishing begins, and that should be any week now. O-Beth does lots of sharking, and openings are available to fish the Cape May shark tournaments, and call for info.

<b>Longport</b>

Big sea bass and large, baseball bat ling made up the catch on the <b>Stray Cat</b> on the daily, open-boat trip yesterday, Capt. Mike said. “Big sea bass,” Mike said. “I mean 2-, 3-, 4-pounders, and lots. Very nice fishing.” Sea bassing had been a struggle a while after the blow three Mondays ago, but now it bounced back a few days ago. Customers averaged 15 or 20 apiece. A trip looked for flounder on drifts a couple of hours, because flounder season opened, but none of the flatties showed up. The waters were cold and 50 degrees. But the good news is that dogfish vacated.  When flounder appear, the trips will become combo sea bass/flounder ones. Charters will dominate the schedule starting June 7 for the summer, but open trips then will keep sailing every Thursday and Sunday.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Father and son John and Jake Martin mixed up sea bassing and drum fishing on two trips through Sunday and Monday, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. On Sunday they hit Delaware Bay for drum in the morning but found the fishing unproductive, so they ran to Cape May Reef and tackled a mess of sea bass in the afternoon. On Sunday they went back to the reef and boated more sea bass and then went to the bay and nailed a 70-pound drum around noontime at the Pin Top. Success. The sea bass on the trips were hooked on clams on top and bottom rigs. On Saturday father and son Pat and Patrick Farley were onboard for flounder fishing in the back bay on the opening day of the season. They probably reeled in 20 to 25 of the fluke, but unfortunately none was a keeper. Lots measured 17 ½ or 17 ¾ inches and would’ve been keepers last year. This year’s 18-inch limit was suddenly looking tough, and Joe couldn’t expressly strongly enough that the regs hampered the fishing. Another aspect of the regs that he’s mentioned before is that flounder season now opens later than when the best flattie fishing usually takes place in the bay. The charter also fought a bunch of blues, smaller ones than swam the bay earlier in the month, but the action was better than expected, considering the holiday boat traffic.  The flounder bit best on minnows on a plain hook on a bottom rig with a long leader, but they also swallowed herring, squid and mackerel strips. The blues attacked jigs with soft plastic lures. Overall the holiday weekend was great, and the weather was mostly beautiful, despite some strong winds.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Flounder season opened, and fishing for them was excellent in the back bay, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Tom Klevecka weighed in an 8-pound 12-ouncer that swallowed a Gulp bloodworm fished under a bobber. Mike Hanson checked in an 8-pound 10-ouncer that ate a mackerel strip on an Aqua Clear rig. Scattered blues and weakfish cruised the bay, and Trish Bulifant stopped at the shop with a 9-pound monster that punched a minnow. Excellent drum catches were made on Delaware Bay, and Denny Brown, 10, weighed in a 55-pounder that was his first-ever. Jerry Salvatore hauled in drum to 70 pounds, and Butch Moss, John Shields and Stevie Lerario on the Split Second took down two drum to 44 pounds. Surf fishers beached striped bass at North Wildwood, and the linesiders blitzed on Friday evening, and anglers reported catching ones to 39 inches. Sea bass fishing was picking up on Cape May Reef. Crabby Jack gave crabbing three claws.

<b>Cape May</b>

Dave Smith’s charter on the <b>Daisy May</b> hauled aboard four drum near the shipping channel on Delaware Bay on Saturday, a slower catch than on previous drum trips, but actually a better catch on a day when drum fishing turned tough for most, Capt. Dave said. A charter last Tuesday night bailed 10 drum.  On Wednesday a charter wanted to bottom fish and loaded up on scores of sea bass and released a dozen out-of-season tog. Daisy May does lots of tog fishing, including on Delaware Bay, when the season is open. Tog fishing’s relatively uncommon on the bay, but the waters can be an underfished honey hole.

A charter with Tony LaGratta’s group picked off nine drum to 60 pounds on Thursday with <b>First Cast Sport Fishing</b> on Delaware Bay, Capt. Rob said. Joi Ann “Potato” Flinn, Joe Santo, Mike Bambrick, and father and son Ray and J.P. Lavoie were also aboard. Jack Herman’s gang on Friday put together another good catch of boomers to 50 pounds with Wayne Pulliam, Fran Bratton, Brian Kirchner, and Frank Aquing. On Saturday with the Mike Ryan charter another good catch of drum to 77 pounds was boated, this time with Joe Ryan II and II, Pat Ryan, and Kevin Jordan, who nailed the biggest.  Ryan’s group is also slated to compete in the South Jersey Shark Tournament on the boat.

Drum fishing screeched to a halt Saturday through Monday on the bay, and nothing but junk fish were hooked on trips those days, and 9 billion boats on the grounds probably didn’t help, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. On Friday a charter connected with a half-dozen drum, nothing great, and T.J. didn’t see others land many. Previously catches were good. Waters were 61 degrees and a little dirty, but not like chocolate milk. The cause of the slow down couldn’t be known, and maybe the fish went back on the spawn, but that’s only a guess. A charter on T.J.’s other boat in Tuckerton was sea bassing in the ocean today, and a trip on that vessel Thursday limited out on sea bass to 2 ½ or 3 pounds in 60 feet off the coast. Another drum charter will fish from Cape May tomorrow.

Last week gave up probably the best drum fishing fishing in a long time, even if catches tapered off by the weekend, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. All big ones swam around, and he hoped a couple of more weeks of the fishing were left, and a few dates are open for charters for the boomers. Bob heard nothing about flounder fishing on the opening weekend of the season, but his anglers had been hooking flounder by mistake on clam baits meant for drum.

Catches of drum dropped off somewhat on Saturday, and on a trip Sunday evening, no boaters seemed to catch any, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. Previously the fishing was dynamite on the boat, despite winds and rough seas. Howard Bly took two back-to-back trips on Thursday and Friday, and on Thursday he fished by himself and landed five drum on a short trip because of rough seas. On the second trip a friend joined him, and they limited out on six drum. Roy DeCrain was onboard Saturday night and caught drum to 50 pounds. Anglers over the weekend could also practically walk boat to boat on the drum grounds. Delaware boats were among the fleet, so apparently not much was happening in Delaware. But drum charters will continue, and George hoped catches would kick back in, and a few dates remain open for trips.

A trip flounder fished on the back bay on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> and scored a good catch to 6 pounds on Sunday morning on bucktails with spearing and cut bait including bluefish, Capt. Tom said. One-pound blues also hit. Drum fishing became tough, and none was reeled up on a trip Saturday night, and a 70-pounder was taken Sunday night when Tom gave this report on the water, and no further word was heard about whether more were found.

Fishing for drum was slow Sunday for <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b>, for some reason, Capt. Ray said.  There was lots of winds against tide, making poor conditions, but whether that was the cause couldn’t be known. The bite also seemed slow Saturday night, when the fish bit all at once in about 45 minutes on a trip. Previous trips were usually dusting 12 to 20 of the fish. The first flounder charter of the season was supposed to fish yesterday.

Delaware Bay’s drum fishing held up until slowing down considerably Saturday night, probably because of crazy amounts of boat traffic, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b>. But the fish were still there, and previously the Pin Top Slough and Tussy’s Slough put out most catches, but reports were also heard about catches from Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side of the bay. Drum that were checked in included Jason Bates’ 78-pounder, Ashley Schmincke’s 67-pounder, 13-year-old Steven Bowen’s 66-1/2-pounder and Dan McGanahan’s 53-1/2-pounder. The weekend’s opening of flounder season was productive in the back bays, and being on the waters before the boat traffic helped anglers score lots better. Plenty of flounder hugged bottom, but finding ones that met the new, 18-inch size limit was a little tough. Catches made along the Intracoastal Waterway included Charlie Peters’ 6.26-pounder and Bill McGannon’s 4.38-pounder. Pretty good reports about flounder found on Delaware Bay came from around the 19 buoy to Miah Maul in the shipping channel. William Hartford and crew fished there and landed 35 flounder, including six keepers. Surf casters picked a striper, often a short, here or there. Sunset Beach gave up a bit of a catch on Saturday, and weakfishing was decent at Higbee’s Beach in the early mornings on incoming tides, mostly on bloodworms fished under a bobber. Tony Matarese bagged a 4.8-pound weak at Sunset, and Larry Rossi beached a 6.9-pound weak at Higbee’s.

Back to Top