Stripers remain plentiful as weather clears up

[Sam]

The hot spot may have shifted slightly, but striped bass and increasingly more drumfish continue to combine off the cove of Delaware Bay. The weather is nice now, but striped bass fishing has been good there even during the lousy weather that has dominated the spring. Drumfish have been in the mix for at least a couple of weeks. Bug Light was the first center of action, and now good catches have spread to Tussey Slough, Horseshoe and Pin Top. Anchor with clam in around 20 feet of water to catch bass and drum in the cove. Bob Lubberman at Miss Chris Marina in Cape May reported that Miss Chris partyboat captain Fred Ascoli has given up on the search for mackerel. Why bother, when the striper catches are so good in Delaware Bay?

The spring run of black drum is on in the Great Bay area. Scott Albertson at Scott's Bait and Tackle in Mystic Islands weighed a 58-pound drum Wednesday morning that was caught Tuesday night by Steve Hewitt of Tuckerton. Hewitt and a fishing partner also boated a 22-pound drum plus five others that weighed under 20 pounds.

Little Egg Inlet produced striped bass and one drum for a boater fishing Wednesday morning, according to Albertson. Captain Andy's Marina in Margate no sooner opened last weekend when Don Brown weighed in a 14.5-pound drum caught by George Haslam of Absecon while fishing the Longport rocks. Sean Fox caught a 30-inch drum and a 30-inch striper Saturday.

Ray Slemmer at Absecon Bay Sportsmen Center reported they were hooked up in Broad Creek behind Brigantine. While the Delaware Bay cove and Great Bay are in a tie for the hot spot, the rocks on the Atlantic City side of Absecon Inlet have suddenly become a contender. Noel Feliciano at One-Stop Bait and Tackle in Atlantic City is reporting striped bass and drum, plus tautog gathering around the T-Jetty, the Flagship rocks and the beachfront. Stripers have started to bite at The Rips off Cape May, according to Lubberman.

Eels and herring take the bigger fish, while smaller bass chase after bucktails. There are a lot of small striped bass cruising the area's bays.

The back waters of Avalon have them. Dave Carbohn at Avalon Hodge-Podge said one of the top spots is Paddy's Hole on the outgoing tide when the warmer waters of Great Sound drain. Rainbow and Elbow channels behind Ocean City and Great Egg Harbor Bay have bass, mostly shorts with the occasional keeper. Graveling Point and Pebble Beach at the mouth of the Mullica River in Great Bay has had numerous runs of striped bass. However, it seems to be slower during the day when the sun is bright. Albertson said the locals are getting excited with the hope that cloudy and possibly rainy weather over the next couple of days will trigger another blitz.

Tog fishing is improving in the inshore waters and the inlets. One angler was seen unhooking a tog at the Longport Bridge on Tuesday. Tony Genovese and Slemmer caught tog that weighed between 3 and 8 pounds in Absecon Inlet. The rocks at the Townsend Inlet bridge have tog. The Miss Avalon made its first trip of the season Saturday and returned with two 8-pound tog. Fred Howard of Egg Harbor Township got a 15-9 tog at Great Egg Reef, according to Brown. With the approach of May, the start of the tournament schedule is getting close.

Stripers remain plentiful as weather clears up