Another week has passed, and a rainy one at that, but not much has changed. Drum fish are still red-hot. The rainy weather couldn’t stop them, and the only thing that slowed the process down a little was Friday’s windy weather. Some took a break from fishing, while others got a quick trip in and succeeded by loading up on fish before calling it a day. Stripers are here, but still haven’t kicked in with full force. And as of now, flounder are legal. A few more regulars are now up and running, or reporting in, so it’s good to hear from them.
Matt, checking in for the first time this year from Jim’s Bait and Tackle, mentions stripers first. They are on the North Cape May beaches from the Ferry Jetty up to Cox Hall Creek. Plugging or tossing bunker chunks at them are the best options. Some stripers are coming in from the Cape May beachfront, but big sand sharks are also in the surf.
Drum are being taken from Cox Hall Creek north to Reeds Beach. Double-digit catches are common for the charter and head-boats.
Sea bass are on the wrecks at the 20-Fathom Line. Small fish are mixed in, but a “good catch” can be put together.
Weakfish are at the Higbee’s Beach Jetty and also at the sea wall in North Wildwood. Floating bloodworms or throwing a bucktail have been the best methods.
The Cape Queen had Phil Gianinio and his gang out on Friday, May 18, and Mike Wahl and friends crew out on Saturday, May 19. The Friday group of four caught one fish for each angler in the 30- to 45-pound range. Many drums were caught and released with the biggest going to 70 pounds and caught by Jason Weaver. The action “made being out on a soggy trip worth it.”
Captain Ray with Tide Runner charters got out only once due to the weather. Fly-fishing and light-tackle fishing was extremely tough in the recent weather. On the day they got out, they were able to get “small stripers to 25 inches.” They even caught a keeper tog. All the fish were released either due to size or seasonal restrictions.
The Gone Fishin’ with Captain Mark got into the drum-fun recently. Billy and his friend got six fish to 45 pounds. Another group they had out, Bruce and his “crew,” caught fish up to 65 pounds. It was “another rainy day” but that didn’t stop the fish from being gaffed by Captain Mark after “brushing the dust off his gaffing skills.”
The Sea Star III was out and enjoying “another good week in the bay.” On one particular night anglers had over 30 drum fish. They still have some openings on their drum fish trips, so call ahead and grab a seat. They were also chasing sea bass. They were a little slow coming over the rail, but they are still being caught. For the week, sea bass pools went to Chuck Nagel (2.5), James Trojano (2.5) and Biff Pein (2.25) with all weights in pounds. Drum fish pools in pounds went to Neil Kosilla (54), Dawn Krider (42) and Frank Servocky with two at 76 and 82 pounds. The last two were the largest of the year.
Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle reports “some of the best fishing of the season” despite the rainy weather. Drum “lit up” the Delaware Bay off of North Cape May. Large striped bass were also being caught along the bay shore area on lures and bait. Joe Landis caught a 46-inch striper on a darter from a bayside beach. Reports of “large stripers” also came in from the Cape May and North Wildwood beaches.
Weakfish catches from the local jetties picked up as fish were caught on various rubber baits or by floating bloodworms under a bobber.
When the boats could beat the weather, sea bass catches were good at the local reefs and wrecks.
Crabby Jack gave the start of crabbing season a solid four claws and described it as “a great start to the crabbing season” for him.
Stop in for all your flounder fishing baits and other needs, as Sterling Harbor is “fully stocked” and ready to go.
The Royal Flush sent in their first report of the season. They are now fishing daily and the ocean is their hunting ground. They are pursuing sea bass and snapper blues. Nice sea bass went to Matt Sutherland and Robert Young, and bluefish were caught by Thomas Wright and Martha Wells. For more information, call (609) 522-1395 or visit them on Facebook at Royal Flush Fishing.
The Sailor’s Delight Back Bay Fishing Boat was preparing to pursue flounder and other backwater denizens. They’ve been catching bluefish and throwback flounder the last few weeks, but can now keep any legal-sized flounder that they get.
Congratulations to Tammie and Dave as they celebrate their 20th year as owners of Avalon Hodge Podge. They “really can’t believe it has been that long” and “it seems like yesterday when we first took over.” They also wanted to thank everyone for their continued support.
The area around Townsends Inlet was providing action with small stripers and snapper bluefish. “A few anglers got lucky and landed larger fish” while they were fishing the surf.
Ryan Firsker caught a 30-pound, 43-inch striper from the inlet area while using clam as his bait of choice.
The Laughran Family caught a total of six drum fish. The Delaware Bay has been the hot area for these fish. 10-year-old Shane took top angler honors for the family with his 44.22-pound, 44-inch black drum.
The Miss Avalon has been running sea bass trips and doing it pretty well. A lot of double-headers were caught, which kept the anglers happy. Cindy caught “the big sea bass of the day.”
The Avalon Lady has started hitting the backwaters for summer flounder, and I’m waiting to hear how they did over the recent opening weekend of the season. They’ll also be targeting bluefish and stripers while on their daily trips.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle continues to weigh in some nice fish. Two recent drum fish that hit the scales weighed in at 62.8 and 58.5 pounds. Other drum fish also came in as well as some bigger bluefish. Bill got one that went 10.5 pounds.
Another hot species lately has been striped bass. Cameron, the owner, hit the beach and was rewarded with a 42-inch fish that went back to the ocean. Earlier that day, Brian Owen caught a 41-inch, 22.6-pound fish. Bill Owen went out Tuesday and landed a 36-inch, 16.1-pound fish. In the early weekend rain, Jack caught a nice 30-inch fish.
Another angler, Cathy, stopped in with a few kingfish that she caught.
There’s plenty of variety up in the Sea Isle area, so that might be an area to consider if you get a chance to get out and get the line wet.
Fin-Atics was awaiting the opening of summer flounder season after hearing of many pre-season catches in the Ship Channel and Corson Inlet areas. Bluefish are also in the inlet and hitting strip baits or lures. Small stripers can be caught off the bridges and in the back bays of Ocean City. The surf has an occasional striper or kingfish, but nothing steady.
Well, there’s lot out there to fish for, so try to get out and get something. Let me know how you do and I’ll see you around.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
