The Fishing Line: Time to Fish

Really is a good time to go fishing. Little traffic and the fish are moving in.
Sterling Harbor is in full swing and says that the striper action in the surf is as good as it gets from Cape May to Reeds Beach along the shores of the Delaware Bay and stripers are also being caught along the Wildwood beaches. Most fish are being caught on Bombers, Sebile Magic Swimmers, Shimano Waxwings and the like. Black drum up to 40-pounds have also been caught along the Delaware Bay beaches and Wildwood beaches for those using clam for bait.
Tautog fishing was excellent right up to the close of the season. Stripers, bluefish and fluke are being caught in the Back-Bays.
Crabby Jack says the crabs have come out of the mud from their winter hibernation and each day has shown more and more healthy crabs. Sterling Harbor is now an official NJ State Licensing Station for fishing hunting and shellfish licenses.
Grassy Sound Marina reports blue fish and stripers caught off the fishing pier. Stripers are also being caught in Turtle Creek along the sod bank. There are reports of drum fish being caught in the surf at North Wildwood.
Tony D’Adamo, Villas, caught three nice bluefish using mackerel and clams during incoming tide and David Snyder, Doylestown, Pa., caught two short stripers from the pier on clam during slack tide. Grassy Sound’s tackle shop is now open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are still some slips available on their new docks.
TAKE NOTE: Every Wednesday for this 2011 flounder season the Grassy Sound Fishing Pier’s user fee is FREE for all Veterans and Active Duty Military.
The weather co-operated and Captain Ray got a couple of days in when they weren’t getting blown off the face of the earth my mother nature. Mid-week he got out on a short trip and caught the first striper on a fly for the season. Water was very brown from all the wind and as the wind shifted they were chased off the water. Sunday afternoon was as perfect as it gets this time of the year; light wind, clean water and a cloudy afternoon. It was a pleasure to get out on the water, especially late afternoon when all the crowds were heading home.
Ray says he had the whole inlet and ocean front to himself. He fished for four hours catching 12 stripers on the fly with two keepers and two very close to keeper size. It really didn’t matter as Ray released the keepers anyway. All the bass were caught on chartreuse/white clouser fly on sinking 400 grain line.
NEWS: The NJ DEP has launched the state’s free web-based saltwater fishing registry keeping recreational saltwater fishing in NJ a sport that anyone can enjoy without having to pay fees. The DEP’s free, web-based saltwater fishing registry replaces a fee-based federal registry that NJ was required to participate in and which has been in effect since January. All saltwater anglers and for-hire vessel operators will now be able to register through the no-fee State system rather than the fee-based federal system.
Anglers still must register with the state system even if they have already registered with the federal system.
Those who fish from a for-hire party or charter fishing vessel that is registered with the NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program are not required to file for an individual registration. Everyone 16 or older must register and carry the printed registration with them when fishing.
The web-based registration system that anglers can use to register and print their registration is available any time of day or night. This registry allows New Jersey to comply with a federal mandate to have a system in place to collect better data from recreational anglers and better manage fishery resources, at the same time exempting anglers from fees and keeping saltwater fishing in New Jersey free. To view a DEP news release about the program visit http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2011/11_0062.htm; to register http://www.saltwaterregistry.nj.gov
WELCOME: This week Capt. Chuck, SEA STAR III, signs in for the first time. Captain runs a 6-hour, 65 foot party boat in Cape May. He reports that the water temperature on the flats in the Delaware Bay is in the low 60s and that fluke generally get active at approximately 60 degrees. He‘s hoping for some good action soon. Call 884-3421.
Here’s a shout-out to Tom who caught a beautiful striper on the North Wildwood beachfront between Eighth and Tenth avenues on Sunday, May 1. I caught the action as I was walking the beach.
Send your fishing reports and pictures to cmiller@cmcherald.com. All photos appear online.