<b>Brooklawn</b>

A few summer flounder, not many, began to be managed from the stakes and inshore of Miah Maull, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. Drum, fairly good catches, started to be cranked from off Delaware’s Slaughter Beach. Striped bassing turned on along the Cape May surf from the bay, including at the Cape May Canal or ferry jetties, to Cape May Point and Poverty Beach on the ocean in the town. Sizeable ones were clammed or bunker-chunked. Near the canal or ferry jetties, anglers waded out to a lump that produces this time of year. Boaters who striper fished mostly motored to the 32 buoy for catches. In Delaware River stripers were clammed, and a few were bloodwormed, upstream from Ben Franklin Bridge, and were bloodwormed farther upstream, toward Tacony-Palmyra and Burlington-Bristol bridges. Baits stocked, the full supply, include fresh clams, bloodworms and the whole frozen selection, including everything for flounder. Big Timber carries bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from fresh to offshore.  

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

The bay seemed cold for summer flounder, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Few were caught, so they were probably yet to migrate in. Drum were sometimes hauled aboard, mostly from off Delaware’s Slaughter Beach. More and more anglers seemed to be drumming, and the month’s full moon, the traditional time when catches takes off, was early this year. Lots of customers this weekend bought clams for drum or stripers and bunker for stripers. One customer clammed a striper from the surf at Poverty Beach on the ocean at Cape May. Plenty of white perch and lots of short stripers swam Maurice River. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, bloodworms, minnows and all the frozen baits, including a large variety of flounder baits, are stocked. The shop is trying to stock shedder crabs, but the crabs were yet to be in good supply. The season was early, but the crabs could become available any time.  Located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, The Girls Place carries is the long, one-story, yellow building on the right, with a large parking lot, including plenty of room for trailered boats.

<b>Newport</b>

Crabbing will become available on weekends on Saturday at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>, the shop’s telephone voicemail said. Apparently nobody was manning the store in today’s weather. Crabbing will become available daily starting in late June. But Beaver Dam is already open for crabbing and fishing bait and supplies. Fishing bait includes minnows. Crabbers at Beaver Dam get towed in rental boats up Oranokin Creek, running past the shop. The staff checks on the boats once an hour, and if crabbers need a break in the meantime, they cell phone the shop to get picked up. <a href="http://www.crabulousnj.com" target="_blank">Visit Beaver Dam’s Web site</a>.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Drum to 60 pounds were eased aboard, said Capt. Ralph from the <b>Buccaneer</b>. Two were decked one night, and there were crushed on another, and several were missed on the trips. “So they’re there,” Ralph said. The trips fished off Delaware’s Slaughter Beach. Ralph is a pioneer of drum fishing, going after them starting in the 60s, when none of the rest of the fleet did. He’s explained in the past that drum fishing is like deer hunting. The boat is anchored at a spot where drum were caught lately, and the trip stays there and waits. The boomers will move past at some point in the tide. His trips fish with a tandem-hooked rig to hold lots of bait like fresh surf clam or shedder crab that drum forage on.  Charters on the Buccaneer are only $400, compared with $500 or $600 on other vessels.

The bay was warm or 65 degrees on a couple of summer flounder trips aboard the past week, Capt. Howard from the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b> said. But flounder seemed yet to flood the bay, and the season was early. But that could change any moment. One trip fished Friday in winds and rough seas that prevented good drifting, and few flounder bit. Another fished Saturday in good weather, and the fluke fishing was slow again. The trips fished the stakes, the rips, the edge of the shipping channel and the Ditch. Trips on local boats heaved in a few drum. On one of the charter boats, a couple drum apiece were taken on trips Friday and Saturday off Delaware’s Slaughter Beach. Another one of the party boats came in with a couple of drum from the Pin Top on the New Jersey side. A drum trip might run on the Salt Talk this Friday, if anglers want to go. Call to climb aboard. Open-boat trips are fishing for summer flounder daily when no charter is booked. But the trips this time of year might only run on weekends, and call to confirm.

<b>Cape May</b>

A few trips sailed in the past week on the <b>Down Deep</b>, “and drum were snapping,” Capt. Bob said. The trips fished for drum on the bay, and included Al Knitzell Sr. and Jr’s charter. Al Jr. hauled in two 80-pound drum. On Bill Ludlum’s charter, Fireman Bob cranked in three drum 40 or 50 pounds. Bob heard that summer flounder fishing was slow from Cape May, except in the back bays. The season was early.

Delaware Bay’s fishing for drum was slow on Saturday, and one of the boomers, a 30-pounder, was pumped in during John Stonick’s charter that day on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. Fishing off Delaware’s Slaughter Beach, the trip’s anglers also included Mike, Al, Riley and Ryan. Some boats that day totaled two or three drum, and George knew about a few that caught none. But he knew about trips that scored decent on drum Friday. George heard nothing about summer flounder. Back waters like creeks will hold flounder this time of year.

Anglers aboard will run for drum on the bay starting today through the rest of the week, Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> said. Drum were being picked, and the only striped bass heard about were stripers boated far up the bay.

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