The Fishing Line May 18

Another rainy, windy week that slowed us down, but that didn’t stop the hardy anglers in our area. The weekend dawned a little better, and now Mother’s Day is here, sunny and actually warmer then recent days. With the better weather, we hope fishing results will follow. Let’s take a look at the recent reports, and see who caught what.
Let’s start with Matt from Jim’s Bait and Tackle. The drum fish action picked up on the Delaware side of the bay near Slaughter Beach, while “spotty reports” from the Jersey side drifted in. With time, the action should pick up.
Striper fishing, also in the bay, was “pretty good” as those who were in tight to the beaches did well. From the bayside jetties and around, plus up on the beach to the north, stripers were caught. John Mansfield of Moorestown, N.J. weighed in a 38 pounder amongst the five taken aboard his boat. He was up towards the Reeds Beach area.
The surf did produce some fish, although it wasn’t “on fire” and the water clarity wasn’t what you would want. Missy Alcorn caught her first bass of the year, an 18 pounder, taken on Saturday while using bunker. Also on Saturday, Cape May Point gave up a 21 pounder to Art Delancy of North Philadelphia. Bunker was the bait of choice there, also.
Matt concludes with the statement that the weather is supposed to improve this week, and if that occurs, they are expecting the fishing to follow.
Captain Fred from Utsch’s brings notice of a very good recent Friday of drum fishing for Captain Bob Cope on the Full Ahead. Some of the larger drum were pushing 60 pounds. Overall, they had nine drum taken on their trip to the Delaware side. The following day, they picked up two more drum. On Wednesday, May 11, another successful charter occurred with multiple drum being caught.  Another drum was taken by Captain Jeff, who fished the Jersey side. Fred feels the big turn-on of drum is about to happen this week.
Captain Tom Daffin on the Fishin’ Fever returned to the dock with a “good catch” of stripers recently. Another successful day of striper fishing occurred on May 10 as some very nice bass were taken. Fred mentioned another option if your short on time for a boat trip. Those who wish to surf fish for stripers are being directed to the ferry rocks and the beaches north of there, where some small drum are also mixed in.
Save May 28 for Utsch’s Boardwalk Sale which will feature new and used items from the tackle shop. Shimano TLD reels, already line spooled, will be featured. The Ship Store will have items for sale, also. Finally, Fred mentioned that if you need lead, then you need to see him. All bank sinkers are on sale, and you can buy at the bulk price of $44 for 25 pounds, on the sizes of your choice.
I received word from a couple of regulars who had a tough week getting out due to the weather. The Sea Star III with Captain Chuck stayed at the dock (through Friday, with no luck on a Saturday trip), as did Captain Ray from Tide Water Fly and Light Tackle Charters. As Captain Ray said, “The fish don’t know it is raining, but it is just tough on the anglers.” Another reason was that it was tough to get “out in a small boat to fly fish.” With better weather, both boats should be back at it this week.
Stalker Fishing Charters continues to rack up successful striper charters. Trips on the May 6 and 9 had plenty of nice stripers for the patrons. The trip on May 6 was in the rain, but it didn’t slow the action.
Another Cape May area contributor, Off The Hook Bait and Tackle, sent in word of some nice stripers that were brought into the store by Frank and Jack. It seems that the stripers and drum are starting to increase, albeit ever so slowly. It’s almost like a “hurry up and wait” situation. As a few captains and shop workers have said, once it warms a little, things should take off.
Up toward Sea Isle, we are getting reports of plenty of nice size blues. Two regulars, First Fish Adventures and Boulevard Bait and Tackle, sent notice of some hefty blues that were taken recently. Bill and Bob Boggs, William Nunes and Weligton Alves caught nice blues during their charters with First Fish Adventures. Meanwhile, anglers Mark and Tomcame into Boulevard B +T with their catches. Also stopping by was Bryan who weighed in the first striper of the year. His catch went 36.5 inches and 15.5 pounds. Finally, Tony T. brought in a 20 pound striper from the beach.
Late word of a catch from another Sea Isle boat reached me Thursday night as the Bayhound with Captain Al Crudele sent word of a nice striper, along with some shorts, perch, ling and many snagged bunker that were used for bait. 
A topic of interest among those who traverse the ocean off our coast is the arrival of Mary Lee, a 3,456 pound, 16-foot long great white shark. She was tagged off Cape Cod in 2012. By following her travels, you can see that she has travelled extensively between Georgia and the Massachusetts coast, with a couple pings in the extreme northern Florida area. She has also looped out to Bermuda, then arced back parallel to southern Florida before turning back north. The “pings” occur whenever her dorsal fin breaks the water’s surface. There is a tracker attached to her that allows for her movements to be recorded. On May 7, Mary Lee pinged 10 miles off of the coast of Wildwood, so if you’re heading offshore, keep your eyes open and a camera nearby.
I’m passing on a notice from the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife concerning applications for the Striped Bass Bonus Program. They are available now for you to print and fill out. Just go to www.njfishandwildlife.com, print and fill out the form, and mail it in per the instructions. Applications will be processed in the order of receipt. Mail your application in by October 31, 2016. Any applications postmarked after that deadline will not be processed. Permits will not be valid till September 1, 2016.
Good luck fishing this week. See you out and about. 
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.