Despite the conditions of late the fishing here at the Cape has really been good. The regular spring species are all represented whenever you read a fishing report. And it’s not only the quantity of fish, it’s also the quality. Let’s get right into our report.
The Miss Avalon opened their sea bass season on a good note. Plenty of fish were caught, there were a few limits around the boat, and everyone left with filets for dinner.
The Sunday trip was even better as more limits were recorded and some ling and porgies were also caught. The biggest sea bass of the day pulled the scales to 4 pounds. A bass like that would be real good baked whole. Just a thought about how to prepare it.
The Starfish is now sailing for sea bass. You’ll need to call ahead or book your trip online so they know you are coming. Trips leave the dock at 8 a.m.
Capt. Chuck reports that the anglers aboard the Sea Star III had good fishing by day and then good fishing by night. As an angler, you can’t ask for much more.
Sea bass, the day target, provided plenty of action with both shorts and keepers on all the daily trips since their season opened on May 17. The pool winners during those trips were Gary Agness with a 3.55-pounder, John McGough (2.6), and John Donely (2 pounds).
The nighttime saw trips that focused on drum fish. The action has been steady, but Capt. Chuck is waiting for it to really take off. Drum fish can be heard, so the crew knows they are there and everyone is just waiting for things to “break loose.” Pool winners on the drum trips were Joe Garrity with a 43.36-pounder and John Schmidt with a 40.5-pound fish.
The Sea Star III sails a six-hour trip, leaving the dock at 9 a.m. daily. The drum fish trips sail on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at 4 p.m. and return around 10 p.m. Call 609-884-3421 to make a reservation for the drum fish trips.
The Miss Chris had a good weekend with drum fish. The steady, sometimes described as slow, bite picked up this weekend. As a result, the anglers on the Miss Chris had plenty of bites, which had some anglers capitalizing and then landing drum fish up to 60 pounds.
The Miss Chris will have limited availability for their drum trips, so make sure you go online and make your reservations as soon as possible.
The Miss Chris is also sailing four-hour trips for sea bass. The fishing improved over the weekend, and figures will only get better as the season progresses. You’ll need to go online to schedule your trip for either the 8 a.m. or 1 p.m. trip.
The Sailor’s Delight was out over the weekend, despite the conditions, and were able to show some nice keepers for their efforts. In addition, plenty of smaller flounder, and some skates, contributed to the action. The anglers should be ready as they could also drift into a nice bluefish blitz. That would always be a welcome occurrence.
News from Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle is that George, Cathy, and Bill are happy to announce that they are now open for the 2024 season. They will be adding new items daily, so stop in and say hello.
Grassy Sound Marina reported that David Dunleavy hooked up with, and landed, a nice striped bass. He was jigging for flounder, but hey, you never know what’s swimming around down there. Another good catch went to Ken McDermott who caught a 7-pound, 28-inch flounder. Gulp was the bait of choice that attracted that flounder.
Don’t forget that the 18th Annual Grassy Sound Flounder Tournament will take place on June 22. More details should follow soon.
The quick report from Cape May Bait and Tackle is that there are stripers on both the ocean and bayside beaches, and that drum fish can be caught in the Delaware Bay.
The recent days have been very busy in the Sea Isle area. The beaches and the bays were both very productive with striped bass, drum fish, flounder, bluefish, and weakfish.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle saw plenty of good action with some highlighted catches going to Jason with a 33-inch, 9.73-pound bluefish, a 31-inch striper for Chris, and a 27.5-inch, 6-pound weakfish for B.J. Some nice flounder were also caught by those who were targeting them.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle saw plenty of action as anglers stopped by to weigh-in, or some sent in pictures, of the catches.
Drum fish were still being pulled from the surf as proven by Kevin, Gary, Ted (36 pounds), Karl, and Mike while striped bass (all in inches) went to Tony, Jake (35), Paul (29.5), Cale (45), Tony T. (twice), Gary (with a 43- and 34-inch doubleheader), a 40-incher for Andrew and Levi, Luis (34), Ted (44), and another Tony with two on separate days (28.5 and 30.5).
Multiple blue fish were caught with an 8-pounder for John and a big one for young Hunter Gonzalez leading the way.
Right before closing this column, word arrived that an angler named Joe had pulled a red drum from the Sea Isle surf. That’s the first one I’ve heard of from the area this season.
A limit of flounder went to Joey G. and Mikey B. who fished the back bay, while other anglers also picked some nice flounder, and finally, a nice weakfish went to an angler who was fishing at a local inlet.
As you can see, it’s been busy, there are plenty of fish around, and it’s a good time to get out on the water. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
