Opening Day of Flounder season was great with some nice fish weighed in from the Wildwood back bays. Bill Reid of Wildwood, NJ took first place in Sterling Harbor's opening day Flounder Contest with a 9.75 pound Flounder caught on his "Hogemall" out of Wildwood, NJ. Joe Vasaturo came in 2nd Place with a 9.41 pound Flounder caught while fishing on the Saint Sandy out of Wildwood, NJ. Ed Jenski came in 3rd place with a 6 pound Flounder caught while fishing on his Ski-vo.
Flounder are being caught on Gulp! and Mackerel Strips with minnows.
Robert Preston of Drexel Hill, PA weighed in a 4.34 pound Flounder.
Suzanne Smith of Philadelphia had a 4 pound and a 3 pound Flounder caught on Gulp! while jigging on her Hobie Mirage Outback Kayak. Frank Scirrotto of Cherry Hill, NJ had 4 keeper Flounder up to 3 1/2 pounds caught while jigging Gulp! on his Hobie Mirage Outback Kayak. Randy Harbaugh of Middletown, DE weighed in a 3 1/2 pound Flounder and Bob Harbaugh of Newark, DE weighed in a 2.87 pound Flounder. Jerry Hughes of Medford, NJ weighed in a 2.92 pound Flounder. Rich and Bernadette Walters had 3 keeper Flounder caught on bucktails or jigheads tipped with Gulp!.
Drum fishing was good on both the Jersey and the Delaware sides of the bay this week. Bob Falck of Cape May, NJ weighed in a 88 pound Black Drum caught on fresh clam near Tussey Slough. Mark Holtzapfel reported "hot & heavy" Drumfish action near Tussey Slough on his Fish Nailer out of Cape May, NJ with 10 Drumfish weighing up to 80 pounds. Seabass action at the Reefs and wrecks out to 20 miles was very good with several Cod mixed in.
Surf fishing remained spectacular this week with many surf anglers catching their limit. The best surf fishing has been in North Wildwood and Poverty Beach in Cape May. Rob Cruz of Cherry Hill, NJ reported a
44 pound Bass caught on fresh clam in the North Wildwood surf.
Schoolie Striped Bass with some keepers in the mix are plentyful in the Wildwood Back Bays. The bait of choice is Clam, and fishing is best when boat traffic is at a minimum.
Crabby Jack says the crabbing was "just mediocre" this week and gives the crabbing only two claws. He says crabbing should improve now that we are past the full moon.