Borrowing from the Beatles and changing it a little, let’s say goodbye and let’s say hello. As in, goodbye to the 2025 spring blackfish season and hello to the opening of the 2025 summer flounder season.
Yes, we’re already into May. Looking back, in January and February these two fishing seasons seemed far away. Now, we’re through one and opening the next. And don’t forget that sea bass season opens in 10 days. Time rolls on. Let’s see what happened recently before it’s old news.
The Atlantic Adventure, with Captain Adam, completed its first spring blackfish season. They ran a mix of chartered trips and open boat excursions. They had a very good blackfish season and look forward to rolling that success into the following fishing seasons.
They will now prepare for drum fish and sea bass. The drum fish could arrive at any minute, and the captain will be prepared, while the sea bass season opens on May 17. The first segment will run till June 19 and will have a daily 10-fish bag limit.
Call Captain Adam at 609-435-3119 for any information you need, plus to make your reservations for any trip he is running.
The Miss Avalon, with Captain Irv leading the way and Captains Brandon and Sam available, got out for three trips during the past week, as the wind kept them at the dock. When fishing for blackfish, a little wind is actually good, but too much is a pain.
For their efforts they caught plenty of blackfish, with many throwbacks, plus a nice number of keepers. Limits were caught, while many others finished their day with two or three fish. Friday had three limits, including fish to 4 pounds. After finishing out the blackfish season the Miss Avalon will prepare for sea bass while the Avalon Lady, the other boat in the fleet, will prepare for back-bay flounder trips. Those started on May 4. Check out their schedule by calling 609-967-7455 or by looking for their page on Facebook.
The Sea Star III had a good week, as fishing went from decent early in the week to “roaring back” as the weekend arrived. The fish seemed hungry, and the bite mirrored that, as they “wanted to eat” before Saturday’s predicted wind and rain arrived. Plenty of keepers, and lots of practice with the short fish, throughout the week.
Pool winners for the week (all with blackfish) were Renee Doersch (3.75 pounds), Vinnie Sallustio (4.2) and Jay Wilkes, who landed a 5.75-pounder.
Captain Chuck continues to prepare for the start of his drum fish trips that were scheduled to commence May 5. Give him a call at 609-884-3421 to reserve your seat.
Cape May Bait and Tackle announced that striped bass have arrived. They have the bait you’ll need, whether it’s fresh clams, bloodworms or other baits you may want. Call them at 609-898-6001 to check on their hours of operation.
Hands Too Bait and Tackle reported that anglers Dave and Gordon stopped in with two puppy-drum caught from the local surf.
Jim’s Bait and Tackle is open and getting clams in as they are available. Since the supply of these desired baits can fluctuate, give Bob a call at 609-884-3900 to place your order.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle reported on some nice action last week. That included drum fish catches for Kevin, who caught his first black drum from the surf (16 pounds), a nice one for Darren, a 31-incher for Gary and a 25-pounder for Alycia.
The striped bass activity in the surf increased, as fish were caught and released by Anthony, Tony T. with a 37-incher, and an angler named Luis. Two other unidentified anglers also caught stripers. The bite has really kicked in recently, and fresh clam has been the bait of choice during this run.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle reported a limit of blackfish caught by Basil from Townsends Inlet. He was fishing from the Avalon side and went home with 18-, 16-, and two 15-inch blackfish.
Bobby D. checked into the store from the beach to report on the nice striped bass he caught. The report went on to say that more “life” is showing up each day. Those beaches in the Sea Isle area are the place to be if you want to try your beach-fishing luck.
Captain Bob, from Full Ahead Sport Fishing, Cape May, finished out the last 10 days of blackfish season on a high note. His patrons, on the final six trips, caught their boat limit by noon. Each day featured plenty of action, with both shorts and keepers, with the big fish of that stretch topping out at 9 pounds.
A friend, Len Fenimore, who fishes with Captain Tom on the Fishin’ Fever, caught the largest tog I heard about in the short spring season. It weighed in at a solid 13 pounds. Congratulations on a nice fish, Len. I’m still doing my drops and searching for my first double-digit fish.
Captain Skip, from Stalker Fishing Charters, Cape May, is running trips in the back bays for stripers and bluefish. He’ll run two, four-hour trips daily. If the fishing is really good, he may add a third trip for that day. Reach out to Captain Skip at 609-972-5218 for more information or to make a reservation.
The Sailor’s Delight, with Captains Andrew and Stan, is prepared for the 2025 summer flounder season. I’ll be checking in to see how they did on the opening weekend. We just need the weather to cooperate.
Reach out to Captain Andrew at 609-827-8309 to make a reservation on a fishing, crabbing or combination trip. They sail twice daily, and can be fishing within 10 minutes of leaving the dock if the fish are close.
The spring blackfish season was pretty good when captains could get out, but now it’s done. Flounder season is here, sea bass is on the horizon, and life is good. Drum fish are starting to show, and we hope some weakfish and bluefish will be cruising around the Cape, and be hungry. Take care, good luck if you get out, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
