Wednesday, September 1, 2010

By the time you read this, Labor Day Weekend will be upon us.  Time is running out for all our summer activities.  If you haven't made that fishing or crabbing trip, grab your gear and head on down to the shore.  The flounder season closes on Monday, September 6th.  Typical late August action has been the normal variety of shore fish, flounder, sea bass, blue fish, sea robin, croaker, kingfish, dogfish and spot are all in our local waters.  We are now approaching the peak of our crabbing season.  Most of the female crabs have dropped their spawn and that allows them to be legal take as long as they are at least 4 1/2" long, point to point.  We also went through another shed, so any crab that was 3 1/2" or better prior to the shed will now be legal.  As we approach September, our hours will change.  Hours are now 7am - 5pm daily.  We will be open every day through Monday, September 13th, closed Tues - Thurs, open Friday Sept. 17th through Monday Sept. 20th, closed Tues-Thurs, open Friday Sept 24 through Sunday the 26th which will be our last day.  Hope to see you Soon!

Recent Catches

Denise Bonita - Germantown, MD - keeper flounder

Donald Courtney family - West Chester, PA - 24 crabs

Harry Reese - Norristown, PA - keeper flounder


Rob Facciolo family - 18 crabs

Eugene & Alicia Grear, Walter Barbon & Dan Andrews - Haddon Heights, NJ - 147 crabs

Watts, Berstlauer, Taylor and Irvin party - 70+crab

Kevin Hartman party - Hoboken, NJ - 40 crabs

Fran Taylor family - Hatfield, PA - 50 crabs

Bill Morris family - Rutledge, PA - 50 fish in 4 hours-no keepers


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Here we are approaching the last days in August.  The weather has been near perfect for fishing, crabbing or just cruising around.  If you haven't had a chance to break away from your daily routine of work, chores around the house and other less important activities, try to make some time for yourself, family and friends to get out and enjoy a day on the water.  Before you know it fall will be here, the kids will be back in school and the weather will turn cooler.  And for all vacationers, there is much more to do during the day than just going to the beach.  Break up your vacation with a day of fishing, crabbing or a ride around our back bays.  You'll be surprised at how much fun everyone will have!  We now have quite a variety of fish being caught - we saw our first kingfish and have had reports of some small blues.  Added to the flounder, sea bass and sea robins, it makes for plenty of action.  It's the perfect time to bring the kids and introduce them to a wonderful pastime!  Hope we see you before the season ends!

Recent Catches

John O'Hara - Media, PA - 18 1/2" flounder

Joe Farrell - Quakertown, PA - 18 1/2" flounder

Jesse Howell - Elkins Park, PA - 24" flounder

Ilin Martinez - Bogota, NJ - 31 lb sting ray

Josh Lanigan & Mike Ansert - Maple Shade, NJ - 6 keeper flounder

Dan McDonough - Riverside, NJ - 18 1/2" flounder

James Elnicki - Philadelphia, PA - first Kingfish

Candy Jankowski - Strathmere, NJ - 2 keeper flounder

Mike Grundy - Long Valley, NY - 18 1/2" flounder

Geraldine Giglisth - Berlin, NJ - 1 keeper flounder & 2 dozen crabs

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Here we are almost into the middle of August and if you haven't had an opportunity to take a fishing or crabbing trip you better do it soon before summer ends and you are all back to school or work.  Labor Day will be here before you know it!  Flounder fishing has improved a little.  We saw a few more keepers this past week than in previous weeks.  Crabbing as usual for this time of the year continues to improve.  With a little effort most boats are bringing back twenty to thirty crabs or more.  For the youngsters, there are a lot of small sea bass being caught using a small hook and squid.  Hope to see you soon!

Recent Catches

Pinnie Family (Ocean City Crabbing Club) - Ocean City, NJ - bushel of crabs

Jim Wager & Party - Atco, NJ - 40 crabs

Scott Shirley & Party - Collegeville, NJ - 30 crabs

Glenn Cunningham - Delran, NJ - 21" flounder

Matt Johnson, Luke & Kylie Gregory (10,8 & 6 yrs old) - Quakertown, PA - 40 crabs

Kathryn Rachfalski - Cherry Hill, NJ - 19" flounder

Mike Tasher - Phila., PA - 19" flounder

Charlie and Jeff Stabolepszy - Reading, PA - 11 keeper flounder out of 40 caught over 3 days

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Here we are into the first week of August, and the weather, fishing and crabbing are as good as I have seen them for this time of year.  The flounder fishing is still high in numbers, but not a lot of keepers are being caught, though we are still seeing keepers brought in every day.  Boats will catch anywhere from ten to thirty fish in a four hour trip, and if they are lucky, they will have a keeper or two in the mix.  Again, minnows, gulp and spearing (in that order) are the baits to use.  Crabbing has been good to very good, especially for this time of year.  Boats are bringing in anywhere from two dozen to four dozen crabs or more in a half day outing.  The six and seven hour trips will bring in higher numbers for their efforts.  For every keeper crab in your basket, you will probably release five to ten small ones, so just imagine the action you and your family will have!  The kids certainly will not be bored.  Surprisingly, stripers are still being caught during the day using eels or chunking with clams or bunker.  Casting and retrieving poppers at dusk and dawn are is also producing stripers.  Kingfish are in the surf and have been caught mostly on bloodworms and fish bites. 

 Recent Catches

Jake and Scott Grimes – Manalapan, NJ – ½ bushel of crabs

Kevin Windsor – Swathmore, PA – 19-inch flounder

Joe Propio and Family – Clinton, NJ – 2 dozen crabs

Thomas Dawson and Party – California – 3 dozen crabs

Mark Caldwell and Party – Lafayette Hill, PA – 50 crabs

Tristan Fennimore – Berwin, PA – 30 crabs

Martin Fricko, John Pieraniozzi and Families – Springfield, PA and Ocean City, NJ – ½ bushel of crabs

 

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Crabs, crabs, crabs!  Crabbing has improved to where our boats are catching anywhere from fifteen to twenty keeper crabs, with a high boat this week of sixty-five crabs.  If you have never taken your kids crabbing, now is the time to go.  There are two ways to crab, one is with handlines and the other is with traps.  We recommend handlines because they are less expensive and more interactive and fun, however younger children might be better off with traps.  Some customers will bring chicken along for bait, which is ok, but we recommend using bunker.  If you are using chicken, be sure to have at least one piece of bunker over at all times, because it is an oily fish and helps to draw the crabs in to the other baits.  Remember, we are here for you to have a great time, so pay attention to our instructions for the location and directions to the best crabbing areas.  Flounder fishing has remained about the same as it has for the past several weeks, lots of action with some keepers mixed in.  The morning bite has been better than the afternoon bite and minnows are still the most successful bait.

Recent Catches

Alex Lamb - Ocean City, NJ - 20-inch flounder

Daniel Essick - Avondale, PA - 19 and 20-inch flounder

Mason Stoaestreet - Mount Pleasant, SC - 22-inch flounder

Jim Rankin - Sellersville, PA - 22-inch flounder

Kayleigh, Kyle and Kevin Roseland - King of Prussia, PA - 20 crabs

Frank Katturina - Shamong, NJ - 20 crabs

Jim O'Connor and Party - King of Prussia, PA - 25 crabs

Dave, Deric  and John Minker - Elkton, MD - 65 crabs

 

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

We are now into our mid-summer season and my fishing and crabbing report is going to sound like a broken record.  Not much has changed since last week - lots of action but not many keepers.  Within the last week, most of the keepers brought in have been caught within 30 yards either side of my dock.  Small sea bass and sea robbins are also in the mix.  It's still a good time to spend a day on the water, but you'll probably have to stop at the seafood market on the way home if you're planning a flounder dinner!  Crabbing is steadily improving as it should be for this time of the year.  My luckier and more serious crabbers are bringing in twenty to thirty keepers in an outing.

Recent catches

Emily McCaffery (10 years old) - Houston, TX - 25 1/2" flounder

Russell Gray - Narvon, PA - 2 keepers

Candy Jankowski - Strathmere, NJ - 2.5lb flounder

Tommy, Chris & Tom McCracken - East Norriton, PA - 3 keepers

Gino and Gino Jr. Crognale - Mars, PA - 2 keepers

Lizzy Lunnet (10 years old)- Southhampton, PA - 19"

Ed Andree & Party - Willow Grove, PA - 30 crabs

Chris Ventura - Glendora, NJ - 4 dozen crabs

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The big difference in this week's report from the last 2=two weeks is that the water temperature has jumped up 10 degrees.  We had been in the high 60s to low 70s but this past weekend we saw 80 & 81 degrees on the incoming tide.  The warmer water brought in our first catch of small sea bas, and sea robbin showed up in more numbers, along with some very large rays.  Crabbing also improved.  If you or anyone in your family, or your friends have never caught a flounder now is the time to go.  You might not be bringing home dinner but you'll have a lot of fun catching fish.  I don't think I've had a boat in the last ten days that did not catch a flounder.  In a four hour trip, 20 to 30 fish was the norm, although not everyone had keepers.

Recent catches

Alex Chambers - Philadelphia, PA - 19" flounder

Ryan Joice - Stewertsville, NJ - 2 keepers out of 30 caught

Julia Kawash (5 years old) - Yardley, PA - 18 crabs

Dylan Morris (5 years old) - Hainesport, NJ - 20",  3lb flounder

Kevin Nickolaus - Hummelstown, PA - 21" flounder

Pat Colgan - Collegeville, PA - 4lb 2oz flounder

Matt Atwell - Abington, PA - 21" flounder

Nick Bowen - Lansdale, PA - 20" flounder

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Not much has changed from last week to this week.  Fishing remains good for most anglers, to very good for some.  Keeper flounder are still being caught on minnow, spearing, gulp and squid, in that order.  Most of the larger flounder have been caught in the deeper water of the back bays.  Inner coastal markers 328 to 330 are a good place to start your drift.  Stripers are also in our back bays and have been caught chunking with clam or bunker along the sod banks.  Crabbing has been a hit or miss situation, one day it is good, the next, just ok.  A reminder for those fishermen who aren’t familiar with saltwater fishing: drift fish for flounder and anchor up for striped bass.  When drifting, be aware of your surroundings and pay attention to your channel markers.  If you are in an area without markers, avoid the shallow waters.  You can usually spot them because they are lighter in color. 

 Recent Catches

 Luanne Burin – Delran, NJ – 19 ½-inch flounder

 James and Colin Nolan and Mark Wood – Drexel Hill, PA – 5 keepers of 21 caught

 Michael Cassam – Wyncote, Pa and Michael Rainer – Philadelphia, PA – 3 keepers

 Walt and Paul Batog – Westchester, PA – 6 keepers to 21 inches of 25 caught

 George Williams – Malvern, PA – 3 keepers of 20 caught

 Devon Fehn – Petersburg, NJ – 6 ½ lb flounder, along with 3 other keepers

 Danielle Moran – Merchantville, NJ – 19-inch flounder

 

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Strathmere Fishing and Environmental club held their annual flounder tournament on Saturday, June 26th.  86 men, women and children participated.  A total of 101 lbs of flounder was weighed in and there was another 25-30 lbs caught that were legal but not large enough to be in contention for a trophy.  Again, minnows seem to work best, followed by gulp and squid.  Crabbing continues to be okay for this time of year.

SFEC Tournament Winners

11 & Under
Joey Owens and Bud Casper tied with a 4 lb flounder each

12-17
Matt Schad, 3 lbs

Women
Grace Garrity, 3.25 lbs

Men
Randy Magdin, 4.9 lbs

Seniors 65 & up
Herb Hollinger, Sr., 3.5 lbs

And Mike Owens won the overall trophy with 3 fish totaling 10.5 lbs


Other Recent Catches

Sabina Hartman - Langham, PA (7years old) - Bucket of crabs

Anthony Branca - Norristown, PA  - 19 1/2" flounder

Peter & Steve Scharf  - 2.2 lb flounder

Gerald McNamara - Glenside, PA - 4lb flounder

Monday, June 21, 2010

The major difference in this report from last week’s is that the crabbing has improved substantially.  Most boats are bringing back thirty to forty crabs and even more for the serious crabbers.  Flounder fishing has remained good to very good.  The water temperature has stabilized into the high 60s to low 70s, which is normal for this time of year.  When the water temperature remains steady, the fishing usually improves.  Minnows are still the hot bait for flounder. 

Recent Catches

The Bean Brothers – North Wildwood, NJ – 22-inch flounder

 

Jack Brown – Oakland, NJ – 3 keepers to 20 inches

 

Kevin Morris (6 years old) – Rutledge, PA – 20-inch flounder

 

Frank Mellor and Party – Wenonah, NJ – 5 flounder to 3 lbs

 

Fesser Party – Harrisburg, PA – 30 crabs

 

Nicky Gould, Amy Hagelstein and Jared Nolan – Medford, NJ – 35 crabs

 

Wexler and Scherf Party – Collegeville, PA – 35 crabs

 

Monday, June 14, 2010

Fishing has remained steady most days.  We had a ten degree water temperature drop early in the week, and that quieted down the action Tuesday and Wednesday.  By Thursday, the water temperature was back to normal and fishing improved.  Most boats are catching a keeper or two, with some of the more seasoned anglers bringing home three or four.  Everyone is having a lot of action on short flounder.  Small bluefish are still in the area, but they are starting to dry up.  Blue claw crabs are beginning to show up with the warmer water, and should turn on any day now.  This past week, minnows were the preferred bait for flounder, and the standard top and bottom rig with feathered hooks worked well.  Bucktails in chartreuse or white with mylar were also a favorite.  Remember, nine out of ten days, more fish were be caught before noon than after. 

 

Recent Catches

Steve McGarvey – Springfield, PA – 4 lb 2 oz, 22-inch flounder

 

Matt Bean, Jr (5 years old) – North Wildwood, NJ – 18-inch flounder

 

Kevin Murphy – Westville, NJ – 18 ½ and 19-inch flounder

 

Frank Jankowski – Strathmere, NJ – 3 lb 12 oz flounder

 

Mark Allen – Logan, NJ – 20-inch flounder

 

Steve Gontrosky – Philadelphia, PA – 3 lb 8 oz flounder

 

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Fishing was a bit tougher this past weekend with some stronger winds affecting the drift; however some large flounder were still caught.  Top baits were a squid and minnow combo and gulp in new penny shrimp and swimming mullet.    As is typical, the most action was found in the morning on the falling tide.  The big catch this week came from Mike Sammons of Mays Landing, NJ, who brought in a four pound three ounce flounder.  And while it’s a bit early for decent crabbing, Justin Perry and Raymond O’Brian decided to try it and brought in 18 crabs, out of 50 caught.  

Recent Catches

Lou and Diane DeSpirito – Bucks County, PA – 5 keepers to 3 ½ pounds

Chris and Ron Warmingham – Bucks County, PA – 3 keeper flounder

Anthony Frontera – Williamstown, NJ – 3 lb flounder

Anthony Attomare – Plymouth Meeting, PA – 21 ½-inch flounder

Steven Burin – Delran, NJ – 22-inch flounder

Rob Kingston, Mike Schener, Paul Benz, Don Croninger, Jason Egbert, and Jeff Salukas –
     Pottstown, PA – 9 keeper flounder

Kyle Strouse (8 years old) – Estelle Manor, NJ – First flounder, 18"

Tom Morgan, Trish Gallagher and Tom Morgan, Jr – Aston PA – 2 keepers

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Flounder season opened with a bang on Saturday, May 29th.  The weather was perfect all weekend long and that helped with the catch.  Most boats caught keeper flounder, with the high boat coming in with seven keepers to 4 lbs 10 oz.  The second highest boat brought home six flounder to 3 ½ pounds.  Several of our boats had three and four flounder to take home.  As usual, the morning bite was better than the afternoon.  Top baits were minnow, spearing, gulp in new penny shrimp and swimming mullet in white and chartreuse.  The keeper to throwback ratio was between six and eight throwbacks per keeper.  Small bluefish and short stripers were also caught, as well as a few keeper stripers. 

Recent Catches

Jim Kelly – Woodlyn, PA – 19" flounder


Roger Sr. & Jr. Leith with Mike Linshares –  Cape May Court House, NJ – 3 keeper flounder

Glenn Cunningham –  Delran, NJ –  4 keepers to 3lbs

Rob & Alicia Kingston –  East Coventry, PA –  5 keepers to 4lbs

Wayne Greer, Tim & Jess (10 yrs old) Harryman –  Voorees, NJ –  6 keepers to 5lb 10 oz

 

Eddie Rysz (10 yrs old) – Elmer, NJ –  First keeper flounder

Steve Burin –  Riverside, NJ –  37" Striper


Deborah Weaver –  Riverton, NJ –  20" & 18" Flounder

Hendrick Starenberg –  Rotterdam, Holland –  First bluefish

 

Sunday, May 16, 2010

We will be opening for the season this year on Saturday, May 29th, which is the start of the 2010 flounder season.  Size and creel limits remain the same as last year, 6 fish per day at 18 inches. 

Fishermen out testing the waters tell me that they are catching and releasing a good number of flounder while fishing for bluefish and other species.  Keep in mind that most of the larger flounder are caught earlier in the season than later, so make plans to come fishing soon!


Curious about last season
?  Read last year's fishing reports here