Fishing Line: May 17

Donny Seitz Jr. and Lily Guest with their nice drum fish.

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It's time to strike up the band! After a wait that seemed almost too long, the percussion section, aka drum fish, has arrived and is in the Delaware Bay.

While some drum fish were caught from the beach in Sea Isle, anglers awaited the arrival of these popular fish to their regular spring location, the Delaware Bay.

The area off Lower Township is a popular spot that quickly fills up with plenty of boats on most spring weekends. It's been jokingly said that you can skip from boat to boat, get back to land, and never get your shoes wet.

Well, we should find out if that's true because the rush of boats to that area should be starting now that word of their arrival has occurred. Let's see who caught the early arrivals and what else happened recently.

Congratulations go out to Lily Guest, who caught her first drum fish, a 28-pounder, and Donny Seitz Jr., who also caught his own drum, which pulled the scales down to the 56-pound mark. Donny is a young but experienced angler, who passed on some of his knowledge to Lily, who proved to be a willing student.

Capt. Chuck, from the Sea Star III, reported that he had a slow week, mainly due to the weather, which kept many anglers home and the boat at the dock. But that changed on Saturday as all factors cooperated, and the Sea Star III hit the bay twice.

The day trip "was slow," as sharks, skates, toadfish, and a "few" spotted hake were caught. One of those hake won the daily pool for Frank Servocky.

The first "Prime Time Drumfish trip" of the season, occurring on Saturday night, produced five more drum fish. The biggest, and the pool winner during that trip, went to Ed Pettit and weighed 23.5 pounds.

Call 609-884-3421 to reserve a seat on one of the future trips. Most weekday trips have some spots available, so don't delay.

The Sailor's Delight has been busy with morning and afternoon trips. They’ve been catching plenty of flounder, with both throwbacks, and keepers, some to 21 inches, being caught. Their patrons have also pulled in some bluefish, and one pulled in a good-sized smooth dogfish. The back bays are waking up and are full of life.

The Avalon Lady has been busy with morning trips for flounders. They’ve been bringing in plenty of shorts and a nice number of keepers on each trip. They are running daily except on Tuesday. They leave the dock at 8 a.m. and return at noon.

The Miss Avalon has posted their May schedule that will be focusing on sea bass. The season opens May 17 with a 10-hour, reservations-only trip. Other 10-hour trips are scheduled for May 20, 23, 26 and 30. The 10-hour trips leave the dock at 7 a.m. They are also running other trips of varying lengths. Check out their schedule on Facebook or call 609-967-7455 to make a reservation for one of their offshore, 10-hour trips.

Grassy Sound Marina announced the winners of their opening week flounder contest. First place went to John Flynn (4.7 pounds) and Matt Marino (4.03).

Some other flounder caught during the first week went to Pat Flynn, Zach Craft, Nolan Smith, Brian Marino, and Capt. Abby and her crew.

Sea Isle Bait and Tackle recorded some nice catches recently as flounder claimed most of the action.

Brian H. with his 5.51-pound weakfish.

Frank (5.38 pounds) and Chris (3.68) stopped in Saturday as the weather started to break. Nick also stopped in with a keeper, while Owen G. caught his limit. Laura G. got out Monday afternoon and finished her day with two keepers. Brian H. stopped by and weighed in a 5.51-pound weakfish.

Don't forget that Sea Isle Bait and Tackle will be having a 100% Cash Payout Flounder Tournament May 20 and 21. Registration ends at 7 a.m. on the 20th and the final weigh-in is at 3 p.m. on the 21st. There will also be two calcuttas, one each for the heaviest weakfish and bluefish. The top two flounder winners will split the pot on a 70/30 ratio. The third-place flounder will win prizes from the store.

Boulevard Bait and Tackle saw plenty of weigh-ins recently, as our local springtime fish were well represented. The activity made for fun times around the shop.

Bluefish, of which we’ve seen a few so far this spring, remain scarce, but Tom caught one while fishing down near the inlet.

Two drum fish were caught from the beachfront, with Jim landing a 24-incher while Bill Owen beached a 10-pounder. Fresh clams tossed into the surf did prove too much of a temptation for these fish to refuse.

Striped bass, always a popular fish, were caught by Tony T. (37.5 inches, 19.2 pounds), Scott and Jesse (38.5 and 35,) with both being released, Arsenio and Hunter (36), Brendan (37, 17 pounds), Jason (29, 11), Frank (44, catch and release), Jack (43 and 48, both released), Luis (37), and Gary, who landed a 37-incher.

The biggest striper, though, went to shop owner Cameron who made the most of his after-work fishing opportunity by besting a 52-inch fish. That trip also saw Chef Bill catch his first ever "trophy striped bass" from the surf.

A nice 7.7-pound weakfish was weighed in by Brent, who was fishing in the back bay. The hungry fish fell for a minnow.

Plenty of flounder were caught during the first week of the season. A few of the larger fish went to Allison (25 inches, 4.9 pounds), Mike (25, 4.7) and Jeff (23, 4.2).

Other notable trips were made by the Calise family, who had five keepers, the O’Donnell family, with three keepers, Derek and four of his friends, who totaled nine keepers, and the Parker Boys, who had their three-man limit of nine fish.

Cape May Bait and Tackle reports that drum fish started to show up in the Delaware Bay over the weekend. One charter boat finished with seven during a weekend trip.

Ray and son Kade with a nice catch-and-release striper.

Striped bass were also being reported along the bay and oceanside beaches. Clams and bunker chunks were the popular baits.

Jim's Bait and Tackle reported that Ray Cooper and his son had a good mid-week outing. They were striper fishing and landed a 45-inch fish. They also lost another big fish, but I’m sure they’ll be alright with that as the memories of father-son outings are more important. I’m speaking from experience on that thought.

It was a good week, as many species of fish are now in our area. A little time spent on the water could result in a fresh fish dinner but remember that you just have to put in your time. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.

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