<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Summer flounder fishing seemed to improve a little, Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b> guessed, she said. Not as much was heard about flounder from the bay as from the back bays and ocean. Lots of throwbacks bit, and the weekend’s full moon wasn’t the best for angling. But back-bay flounder fishing’s been good since flounder season opened, at places like Avalon and Sea Isle City. The catches seemed to begin picking up from the ocean reefs, like Cape May Reef. A customer this morning reported a good catch of flounder from there. From Delaware Bay, more was heard about a mix of fish, like a few flounder, plenty of croakers and spots, and some weakfish. Weakfish might’ve been plentiful. Just not a lot was reported about them. Places like off East Point or at the turn buoys and the number one buoy gave up the mix. The one buoy seemed to fish well for that. Small bluefish swam around the bay. A mix of these fish is typical in July and August, instead of June. Croakers, swimming all over the bay, were lots more numerous than last year. Hardly any showed up last year. No drum catches were heard about anymore. Fishing for them seemed finished for the year. Crabbing kept improving. Minnows were stocked nearly every day, though the baitfish were scarce around the state. They’re always in shorter supply in June, but were especially scarce this year. But lots of tidal marshes that hold them are nearby, and the shop’s usually been able to carry them. They were tough to find one day last week, probably Friday. When minnows, a favorite flounder bait, are unavailable, many other baits can be substituted. That can include strips of mackerel, bunker or chicken, or Gulps. Shedder crabs are usually carried, and a few fresh clams and fresh bunker are usually on hand. Not as many as either are carried now as before, because demand drops off, because striped bass and drum fishing are pretty much finished for the season. Sea bass fishing is excellent at ocean reefs, and clams are bait for them. Speaking of the ocean, many anglers boated for sharks, and nothing was heard about tuna. Not a lot is heard about offshore fishing like that, because most customers fish inshore. But offshore baits are available, and telephoning ahead to order them is best. The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, stocks a large supply of bait and tackle. It’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right, with plenty of parking, including for trailered boats.

<b>Newport</b>

At <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b>, crabbing wasn’t so good during the weekend’s full moon, Paul said. That was the so-called super moon, and crabs were shedding. Lots of shells littered the boat ramp. The blueclaws won’t eat while shedding, making them difficult to trap. But not all crabs shed at once, so some can always be nabbed. Trips on rental boats averaged two-dozen keepers during the weekend. Better crabbers caught a few more, and novices caught less. That was relatively good, compared with other places, Paul said. Beaver Dam’s environment is rich with crabs. A crabber Monday picked up four-dozen good-sized ones. “So they’re there,” Paul said, and crabbers probably just needed to wait for a better moon phase. The moon is waning now, and the phase should be good this weekend for crabbing. Full and new moons can trigger crabs to shed. They shed to grow, and crab sizes were pretty good. Lots were 5 ½ inches, and some were 6 ½. Paul saw one that was probably 6 ¾. Though crabbing was off during the moon, fishing was good. Lots of croakers and schoolie striped bass swam the waters. White perch were around. Customers crab and fish from rental boats towed up Oranokin Creek, running past the shop. The staff checks on them each hour, and if customers 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 traps, bait and nets to snacks, drinks and suntan lotion. Crabs for eating are sold when available, but none was available this weekend. Even commercial crabbers trapped hardly any during the moon. One commercial landed only 30 crabs in 300 pots. Rental kayaks and canoes are available to paddle up the scenic creek. Take advantage of the Frequent Crabber Card to rent a boat four times this season and get a fifth rental for only $20. Beaver Dam hosts groups like scouts or events like family reunions. The staff can host educational days about the environment. Beaver Dam became open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on Friday, after being open on weekends previously. <a href="http://www.crabulousnj.com/" target="_blank">Visit Beaver Dam’s Web site</a>.

<b>Fortescue</b>

The party boat <b>Salt Talk</b> fished four times this past week, on a charter last Tuesday and open-boat trips Friday through Sunday, Capt. Howard said. A few summer flounder were bagged, and throwbacks were released. The throwbacks were mostly small, the size of a hand. So trips mixed in fishing for kingfish, decent-sized. Bluefish were sometimes caught among the flounder. The flounder were mostly landed along the edge of the stakes, but sometimes bit along the shipping channel. The kings were caught along the channel. So the trips fished for a mixed bag, and catches were okay. All the croakers and spots anglers could want could be reeled from the bay, but were small. Weakfish could be caught from the bay, and private boaters targeted them. But the Salt Talk didn’t target them in the one-weakfish bag limit. Lots of sharks and skates seemed to swim wherever the boat fished. The bay was 75 degrees Sunday, according to the boat’s machine. But Howard guessed the bottom was cold at the channel, because a ling, a cold-water fish, was landed aboard there. Several ling came in from there the previous week aboard. Nobody drum fished on the bay that Howard knew about. Drum fishing seemed finished for the season. Open-boat trips are fishing for summer flounder daily when enough anglers want to go and no charter is booked. Anglers can telephone to confirm.

<b>Cape May</b>

Drum fishing was finished aboard for the season on the bay, and trips, including marathon, open-boat ones, sailed for sea bass on the ocean on deck, Capt. Mario from the <b>Down Deep</b> said. The angling was super, and tuna fishing on the ocean, including on open trips, will launch aboard this weekend. Sign up for the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s Web site to be kept informed about dates for open trips. Four, 6- and 8-hour charters are also fishing.

A few drum were hauled from the bay last week, and the year’s final ones would probably depart around the full moon, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. The moon was full this weekend. Nothing was heard about flounder from the bay. But flounder seemed to begin to be boated from the ocean, and flounder catches were fairly good in the back bay along the Intracoastal Waterway. Inshore reefs probably fished better for flounder on the ocean, and deeper reefs probably did for sea bass there. One customer last week boated for flounder on Delaware Bay, caught none, and decided to drum fish. But the angler kept hooking kingfish and weaks. From Cape May’s surf, specifically along jetties, near Cape May Lighthouse and at Sunset Beach, croakers, weakfish, kingfish and a few flounder were banked. Bloodworms hooked the croakers and kings. To catch the weaks, fish bloods on float rigs or toss bucktails with soft-plastic lures. Minnows are stocked but scarce, so the price went up slightly. Fewer fresh clams are stocked than before, and telephoning to reserve them is best, always. Shedder crabs are carried, and can be fished for weakfish. Shedders will also nail drum, though clams are popular bait for them.

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