<b>Brooklawn</b>

Not a lot was heard about the bay’s summer flounder fishing, but ocean flounder fishing seemed to slow down because of dirtied waters from the storm, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. The catches will pick back up as waters clear. Nothing was heard about weakfishing from the bay, but weaks were reported caught here and there, scattered, from the back bays and the ocean. Small, bait-sized croakers swam Delaware Bay and the back bays. They could be used for tuna bait. Tuna fishing was good on the ocean at the Hot Dog and Hambone on jigs and chunks of sardines or butterfish. Rick was on a trip that scored well on the tuna Monday, but anglers had to work for them. The fish on his trip were butterfly-jigged, and that caught much more than others who chunked. Sea bass fishing fared fairly well at the wrecks. Triggerfish hovered around the buoys. Ocean surf anglers banked 4-foot sand sharks, brown sharks and dusky sharks, fishing with bunker chunks. Browns and duskies must be released. On Delaware River, catches of crabs began to be heard about as far upstream as National Park. Plenty of catfish and carp were dragged from the river. Big Timber stocks bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from fresh to offshore.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Few customers were around Saturday in rough weather, but the shop was busy Sunday, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. The weather broke, and customers were going fishing, but results were yet to be heard. Many were going to fish for summer flounder at places like the Old Grounds, on the ocean off Delaware. Not much was heard about flounder from the bay recently. Good catches of flounder were clubbed from the ocean, and the back bays along the coast, like at Avalon, supposedly turned out flounder, but that was unconfirmed. Weakfish were boated from Delaware Bay, though one was the bag limit. Traditional areas like off Thompson’s Beach and near the 1 buoy and the E.P. Tower will probably hold weaks. Lots of small croakers were heard about from the bay. In the past, larger croakers usually came from deeper waters on the southern bay, but nobody reported catching large croakers lately. Bluefish and lots of small spots schooled the bay. For big-game anglers on the ocean, tuna fishing sounded good at inshore spots like the Hot Dog. Crabbing seemed to hold up in the back waters. Many customers were going crabbing. Baits are well stocked, including shedder crabs, minnows and bloodworms. For tuna fishing, a few flats of butterfish and sardines are on hand, and all offshore baits can be ordered, if anglers call ahead. The baits usually arrive on Thursdays and Sundays.  The Girls Place is located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends. It’s 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 was good, said Linda from <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>. During the weekend, catches were spottier, because the new moon had just passed, but crabbers still caught well. The sizes of crabs were good this season. Not a lot of female crabs were around, but that will change soon. Females will swim in from the bay to mate. Many crabbers prefer to keep males, releasing females for mating. Some customers fished for white perch on the creek, Linda thought. But whether they caught was unknown. Tides were high around 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. during the weekend. More can be heard about fishing when high tides, best for fishing, coincide with the middle of trips on the rental boats. Crabbers at Beaver Dam are towed up Oranokin Creek, running past the shop, on rental boats. The staff checks on them every hour, and if crabbers want a break in the meantime, they simply cell phone the shop to be picked up. Beaver Dam carries everything needed for a day of crabbing, from bait, traps and nets to suntan lotion, snacks and drinks. The staff will teach customers how to crab, if customers would like. Kayak and canoe rentals are available to paddle up the scenic creek. Crabs for eating are sold when available.  <a href="http://www.crabulousnj.com" target="_blank">Visit Beaver Dam’s Web site</a>.

<b>Fortescue</b>

A few summer flounder bit, and blues schooled, and a croaker charter is slated to fish Monday on the <b>Buccaneer</b>, Capt.  Ralph said. Small weakfish were heard about. But in the one-weakfish bag limit, charters aren’t fishing for them. Charters on the Buccaneer are only $400, compared with $500 or $600 on other vessels.

Four trips fished from last week through the weekend on the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>, Capt. Howard said. Two ran Tuesday and Wednesday in very hot weather, and one sailed Saturday in rough seas from the nor’easter, and another fished Sunday after the storm. The fishing went well, and the weather seemed to cool the bay, improving summer flounder fishing. But the trips caught a good variety of fish. Tuesday’s trip was a charter, and Wednesday’s was an open-boat trip, and both returned early, because the anglers were ready to escape the heat. The anglers at first fished close to shore on anchor, catching weakfish and blues. They also landed spots and small croakers, using them for bait. The boat also drifted a bit for flounder farther from shore, and one or two were angled. So the fishing wasn’t bad, served up a variety of catches, including some fish in the coolers. Saturday’s trip was a charter, and weather was too rough, and the crowd was too large, to anchor for weaks in the morning. So the boat was drifted, and small blues and a few flounder, mostly throwbacks, maybe a keeper or so, bit. Anglers could fill the box with the small blues swimming around lately. The trip drifted at the stakes then the rips then up the bay. Nothing bit at the stakes.  An open-boat trip headed out Sunday with nine anglers. First the trip anchored inshore, and a few weakfish were bagged, and more throwbacks were let go. Bluefish were also tackled. Next the trip flounder fished, and 10 flounder were bagged. Mike Buehler caught the biggest, a 4-pound 7-ouncer, and two more keepers. The bay had dropped to 83 degrees, after the storm, compared with 89 on Wednesday. The drop seemed to make a difference in flounder fishing. Lots of different baits were fished on the trips, including minnows, bloodworms and crabs supplied aboard, and spots, small croakers and sharks caught and used for bait. Open-boat trips are scheduled daily when no charter is booked. Call to confirm. 

<b>Cape May</b>

If anglers want summer flounder from the bay, Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b> would search deeper waters, like along the shoals, he said. Weakfish probably schooled shallow at the stakes and Bug Light. A couple of boaters raked up good catches of small, spike weakfish, croakers and a few kingfish from Cape May Channel. Good fishing for croakers and weakfish were bloodwormed from along the jetties in the bay’s surf, including at the Concrete Ship and the Cape May Canal or ferry jetties. In the ocean surf, kingfish and sizeable spots were bloodwormed, and sharks were fought. Ocean boaters axed flounder mostly from the Old Grounds and Reef 11. Cape May Reef on the ocean seemed to have its days, when the drift was right, when good fishing for flounder and sea bass was boated.

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