The Fishing Line May 23

Hey! We’re down to two days till the opening of the 2018 summer flounder season. Before that though, some nice keeper-sized stripers are starting to show up, and the drum fish really took off this past weekend. Throw another option into the mix and fishing will get even more interesting. Speaking of more in the mix, we have the return of two of our regular contributors as they sent in their first reports of the season. It’s that time where everyone is getting into the swing of the season. Let’s see what we have.
The lower portion of the Delaware Bay has been the hot area of the weekend. Lots of pictures of drum fish have come in. The Cape May Lady got out and did her job of getting anglers on the fish. One catch went to a lady named Gina who caught her first fish ever, a nice drum that looked to be in the 35- to 40-pound range. Good way to start your fishing career, Gina. On Saturday, anglers of the Cape May Lady had “the lines in the water for five minutes and they had two in the boat.”
The Cape May Lady is an open boat, but call ahead to reserve a spot for drum fish or one of her sea bass trips. Both trips have a limited number of openings.  
The Fishin’ Fever with Captain Tom, and the Full Ahead led by Captain Bob were two boats that didn’t have to run far from home to load up on drum fish. They had pictures with nice catches for their charters. The captains have to love these relatively quick and easy days of short travel and solid catches.
These two boats are charter boats, so you need to call ahead and get your outing booked in advance. They fish for a variety of fish, so call the captains and see what they are going to be targeting.
The Sea Star III and Captain Chuck have been catching their share of drum fish for their patrons. They run an open boat, so just make sure you have a reservation and grab a spot when you get on. The Friday and Saturday evening trips were described as “our best of the season.” The drum “are still biting better in the evening than the day time.” This plays into Chuck’s desire to fish for sea bass by day, as that fishery is now legal, and drum fish by night. Sounds like a solid plan, captain.
Recent pool-winners, all with drum fish, were John Frasca with a 21 pounder, Dave McLoughlin and his 56 pounder, Frank Servocky who had two big fish, and Jim Gleason who also had two fish.
Lots of fish and a variety of ways for you to get involved, so decide if you want drum fish, sea bass or a trip for both.
Captain Ray had the Tide Runner out once over the last week as the high winds played havoc with his schedule. He and his friend Paul hooked up with 13 stripers up to 23 inches, five sea herring and a blackfish. All fish were caught in the ocean and released. The ocean is the area right now to be using your fly-fishing skills. The Tide Runner does fly-fishing and light-tackle trips.
Off The Hook Bait and Tackle reports that they have a new leader in the Beat the Board Tournament, Black Drum section. Patty Link now leads with a 46.6 pounder. Also getting involved with striper and drum fish catches is Tom Sermarini. A picture showed him holding a drum that probably weighed 40+ pounds. He also had a striper that appeared to be in the 15- to 20-pound range. Jim McCloskey got involved as he had a striper that tipped the scales at 28.7 pounds. It was caught in the “lower bay” area. Welcome back to the gang at Off The Hook Bait and Tackle.
Stalker Fishing Charters was hitting the backwater recently. They were catching some big bluefish while on their skiff charters. They recently brought their bigger boat back home from its early spring home. They will be running some charters for drum fish and will probably go after some stripers as they increase their presence in the area.    
Boulevard Bait and Tackle was a hotbed of activity this past weekend. Bluefish, weakfish and even the first keeper striper of the season crossed the scales. An angler named Art won that honor with a 31-inch, 9.5-pound fish. Another guy, Jim, bought a “new lucky reel” that he christened with a 30-inch striper. He also lost “a cow in the wash.”
Bluefish were in the inlet and also in the backwater. An 11 pounder was weighed in for John Mel, while “Mike” followed with a nine pounder. Other blues weighing up to seven pounds were also caught and weighed.
Arlene, who “just got here for the summer,” hooked into a nice keeper striper. She didn’t let the rain stop her. Another keeper striper, a 30 incher, went to Jack on a rainy Thursday morning.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle is now operating on their summer-hour schedule. Monday through Thursday is 6 a.m. till 6 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, the doors open at 5 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Sunday’s hours are from 5 a.m. till 4 p.m.
The Miss Avalon got out on the opening day of sea bass season. They had a visitor from Fish and Game who counted 136 fish between three anglers. Obviously, that’s well over their bag limit, so after they met that they then had some fun catching and releasing. Other anglers also caught their fair share as the pictures showed. Give them a call at (609) 967-7455 to see when they are running their sea bass trips.
Avalon Hodge Podge reported several nice-sized bluefish that were caught by Bill Wrubel who was fishing at the 8th Street Jetty. He caught them while tossing a metal lure. Also, summer hours will start on May 24. That’s 6 a.m. till 8 p.m. from Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. till 6 p.m. on Sunday. 
Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle checked in for the first time this year. They start with word that the striper bite has started along the beachfront, near the Ferry jetties and then north along the bayshore. Short stripers are in the backwaters and are hitting clams or lures. In the same areas are bluefish in the two- to 12-pound range. They are scattered and no big run has started yet. They were joined by a few weakfish, but again nothing in great force.
Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle also reported the better drum fish action that occurred over the weekend. The bite was “good” on the Jersey side of the bay with a lot of the action occurring just off the beaches.
They concluded with word that the crabs are “starting to emerge from the mud.” As the water warms, their activity level will increase, and you know what that means. Some good-eating steamed crabs are not far away. I can almost taste them.
Don’t forget that Grassy Sound Marina has an Opening Day Flounder Tournament. Catch a nice flounder and swing by to have it weighed. If it’s big enough, it may win you a prize. Weigh in is between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and there is no registration or fee.
For anyone who enjoys making your own fishing pole from a blank to the finished product, this is for you. Get over to Smugglers Cove in Stone Harbor. Pete is selling a lot of extra blanks, reel seats and assorted sizes of pole grips to help you complete your project. I picked up two blanks and want to put together a couple of flounder poles, one for the back and a slightly heavier one for out front. I wonder if Pete has any extra time for sale. I’ll definitely need some of that with everything else that is going on.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.