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Anglers having fun with stripers and blues

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The fishing is good at the Jersey Shore. By Dan Radel. Wochit

The fishing is good at the Jersey Shore. By Dan Radel. Wochit




A couple more for the board as Phil and Konor had a 13 pound drum and a 19 pound bass. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

A couple more for the board as Phil and Konor had a 13 pound drum and a 19 pound bass. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)



While we wait for the backwaters to warm up and ignite the fluke bite, anglers are having a ball with stripers, bluefish, weakfish and black drum. A fantastic week of fishing should barrel right on through this weekend.
 
“The Brigantine surf is going off like crazy as a variety of bass, blues and black drum are hitting the shores,” said Andy Grossman, Riptide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine. “The time of day or tide doesn’t seem to matter, but more drum are being caught at the North End while bass and blues seem to be mid-island and the South Jetty.”
 
This week’s weigh ins included Willy Lakes with a 22-pound boomer, Phil Moses with a 13-pound drum and 19-pound bass, Eric Patrikia with a 29-pound bass and Lou Schiavo on a 10-pound bluefish. Also noteworthy, kingfish began to infiltrate the surf this week as customer Gary landed 12 of them using bloodworms during the low tide hours.
 
“It was a very good week of fishing in Avalon,” stated Tammy Carbohn of the Avalon Hodge Podge, Avalon. “Fluke finally bit hard and the largest was a 4.73-pounder taken by Bruce Quigley from State College, PA while fishing behind Stone Harbor with a bucktail/squid combo.”
 
  Nichole's big blue she caught recently in Brigantine. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

Nichole's big blue she caught recently in Brigantine. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)


 
Carbohn also reported that tiderunner weakfish finally moved into the area as three very large spiketooths were checked in this week, the heaviest being an 11.7-pounder taken by Ken McDermott of Avalon using bucktail and purple worm. “Bluefish and bass are still around however with the rising water temps, the stripers fishing is starting to turn into a night bite using fresh bait or swimming plugs,” added Carbohn. “The blues are not quite as big as earlier but they are still here in good sized schools.”
 
Talk about beating the drum. It sounds like the Delaware Bay shores lit up with black drum activity this past week according to Cathy Algard of Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle, Wildwood. “Drum are everywhere along the Delaware Bay shoreline from the ferries up to and beyond Reeds Beach.
 
There is also a good drumfish bite over at Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side of the Bay,” said Algard. Just to name a few weigh ins, Eric Tomasello of Woolwich, nailed a 79-pound boomer, Jim Tomasello of Woolwich battled a 50 pounder in Bayshore Channel, and Luke Dombrowski of North Cape May, decked a 67-pounder. “Some large linesiders are also in the mix, especially on the North Wildwood, Stone Harbor and Cape May beaches,” added Algard.
 
Alexa with her first keeper bass at 37" in Brigantine. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

Alexa with her first keeper bass at 37" in Brigantine. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)


 
Thomas Baker of Spring Hill, Fla., weighed in a whopper 51-pound striped bass caught on bunker from the North Wildwood surf. Bill Collins of Glendora scored a 36-pounder on a clam in North Wildwood and Brian Ritchie of North Wildwood checked in with a 21 pound striper from the Cape May wash.
 
Weakfish have moved into the Hereford inlet area as anglers are hooking the spiketooths on bucktails tipped with pink Zooms or bloodworms floated under a bobber. “Flounder fishing has been best behind Wildwood with mackerel strips, spearing, minnows and Gulp! all taking shorts and a few keepers.”
 
DJ Zolna, age 12, of Rio Grande, checked in with a 3-pound, 12-ounce Flounder caught on Mackerel. And yes, Crabby Jack is back! The ornery clawed curmudgeon gives the crabbing 3 Claws this week, and he said things should improve this week now that we are past the full moon.
 
The Delaware Bay was booming for drum this week according to Matt Slobodjian, Jim’s Bait and Tackle, Cape May. “We had fish up to 78 pounds coming in to the scale and most of the drum fleet is fishing right in the Bayshore channel a few miles or less out of the Canal,” said Slobodjian.
 
Harry Barcan of Westminster, Pa. weighed in a 78.8-pound boomer and Maryanne Reynolds of Beasley's Point weighed in a 72-pound drum. “Stripers are still hanging tough in the bay too,” added Slobodjian. “The water temperature jumped up 10 degrees and I don't think they will be there much longer but they are right now.” Denise Mulholland of Cape May Court House proved it when she put a cow 51.5-pound bass on the shop scale and reported that her crew also caught two other bass over 40 inches.
 
Word has it that the first signs of croakers have shown up, mainly in the Canal area waters. On the sea bass front, Slobodjian tells that the fishing was “spotty” this week but that the fish are holding on the deeper water reefs such as the Cape May and Deepwater Reef.
 
This Friday and Saturday is the Jim's Bait and Tackle Shark Tournament. To get in on the action, call the shop at (609) 884-3900.
 
Reach Nick Honachefsky at beachnut33@hotmail.com
 
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