Despite the unsettled weather through the first half of the month, angling consistently improved during the month of May. Tautog went out with a bang, stripers, drum and sea bass steadily improved throughout the month, bluefish showed in numbers, nice flounder were taken even after the size limit went up, and anglers were seeking good surf action and looking for some weakfish action.

Cedar Creek Bait and Tackle reported good drum action on the Coral Beds, with everything from puppies to behemoths coming over the rail.

Up the Bay, striper action was taking place at Ship John and 2 Buoy, and some blues were showing. Farther down the Bay, there was more action on a variety of species. Bill’s Sport Shop and online shop were both still closed due to construction but will surely be open by the time you read this.

Rick’s Bait and Tackle reported flounder action was fair to good in the back bays when the weatherman cooperated. Flatfish action in the ocean was still slow. Keeper flatties were taken at Burton’s Island, the VFW Slough, Lewes Canal, out from the gazebo at Pots Net Seaside, near the Henlopen Pier, Roosevelt Inlet, Broadkill Beach and Massey’s Ditch on jigheads tipped with Gulp! , the venerable squid/minnow combo, Fishbites Xtreme Release, Gulp! Swimming mullet and chunks of shad.

Striper action exploded in the Indian River Inlet and at Henlopen and the Outer Wall. They were hitting big bucktails, live eels, live shad cut bunker and Storm lures. Blues were also showing there. Sea bass were showing at B Buoy and some of the reef sites. The drumfish bite became red hot at the

Coral Beds off of Slaughter Beach. Prior to the closure, limits of tog up to eleven pounds were common on almost every structure.

Old Inlet Bait and Tackle reminds everyone that tautog is closed until June 30 and that the minimum size for flounder is now 19.5 inches. Ouch! They report that despite the inclement weather, an impressive 414 anglers participated in the Annual Spring Surf Tournament on May 10. Fishing was tough and only 14 anglers caught scoring fish. Bob Hayes won the tournament with a 35 inch striper and Rob Hemmen took the bluefish Calcutta with a 21 inch tailor blue. They said the run of stripers in IRI was very good, with night tides being the most productive. Fish up to thirty pounds were hitting Storm lures, swim shads and bucktails. They figure that once the weather settled down, angling would again continue to improve.

Stewart’s Fishing Center in Lewes also spoke of the great tog fishing prior to the closure and noted that the sea bass arrived early in the month and supplied great action. They will be fishing out of Ocean City, MD, for the rest of the spring and summer.

The charter boat Grizzly also nailed the blackfish early in the month and then turned to drumfish with considerable success. They expected to hit the bigger boomers later in the month, and to work over some stripers as well.

Capt. Rick Yackimowicz at Fisherman’s Wharf also hit the slipperies before the season closed and was into increasing numbers of sea bass as well. The keeper ratio on the sea bass was about one in six, but more and more fish were moving in every day. Action was often fast and furious for the entire day, and anglers who kept at it finished with sea bass catches well into double digits. They had some slow trips as well but the better days outnumbered the bad ones and overall action should only improve. They even had a couple keeper stripers on the wrecks. Their offshore trip produced lots of sea bass and plenty of blueline tilefish for all on board. They even had triple headers.

Capt. Rick expects to concentrate on sea bass now that the tog fishery is closed, and he expects to see some bluefish and flounder mixed in. He also welcomes anglers using braided lines, he says they are used to working with it and it will catch you more fish.

Robert Jones of the Division of Fish & Wildlife also noted the excellent tog fishing up until the closing of the season, but also confirmed the early arrival of sea bass in inshore waters including DB Buoy, the Old Grounds and Reef Site 11. This action built steadily throughout the month.

Bob said the surf action was dominated by skates and dogfish early in the month but that kingfish, black drum, bluefish, stripers and flounder were taken in increasing numbers as the month moved along. He hoped for a good spring bluefish blitz before the summer doldrums settle in. He confirmed catches of rockfish at IRI with bucktails and plastic swim shads enticing some keepers.

Flatties up to nine pounds were taken at the back end of the Inlet, Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay during the month, on the old reliable squid/minnow or bucktail/plastic tail baits. The new size limit on flounder is sure to cut into the number of keepers taken after May 11.

Bob said the Delaware Bay was really turning on, with stripers cooperating at 32 and 34 buoys, Joe Flogger Shoal, Woodland Beach, Cross Ledge and Ship John. Fresh bunker and clams were the baits of choice. Flounder, which were not legal on the Jersey side until May 24, were active at along the shore from Lewes to Broadkill Beach, Roosevelt Inlet, Broadkill River and the Rehoboth-Lewes Canal. Lots of puppy drum were taken early in the month, but bigger fish did move in, including an 86-pounder taken at the Coral Beds off of Slaughter Beach. Fresh clams fished at night over hard bottom is the recipe for success.

In the sweetwater, local millponds were producing very good catches of largemouth bass, pickerel, crappie, bluegills and catfish. Live shiners and minnows were seducing the bass, pickerel and crappie, while worms were taking the bluegills and catfish.

Trout stocking was over but fish were still being caught in White Clay Creek, Christina Creek, Mill Creek, Pike Creek, Wilson Run and other stocked trout waters. This action should continue into June if the water does not heat up too early. Try natural baits in the deep holes for your best shot at a trout dinner. Non-tidal areas of Brandywine Creek were giving up better catches of smallmouths on both natural and artificial baits.

Tidal waters were producing striped bass, white perch and channel cats in the tidal stretches of the Delaware River, C & D Canal and Christiana River.

The perch were going gaga over bloodworms, grass shrimp and minnows. The catties love cut bait nightcrawlers and bloodworms. Catch and release striper action in the tidal waters above Reedy Point Jetty, including C & D Canal, the big River and all the tributaries was very good. For keepers, Bob recommended the Pipes, Augustine Beach, the Bullpen, Sam Green’s Beach and the Yellow Can.

All in all, May was a good fishing month in spite of some unsettled weather. Again, weather permitting; we can expect some good fishing in June. Look for continued drumfish and striper action throughout most of the month, good sea bass action on the wrecks and reefs, a consistent flounder bite, and perhaps some decent surf action. With some luck, the blues will blitz occasionally, and perhaps the sea trout will put in a good showing. Far to the North, in Raritan Bay between New Jersey and New York, some monster trout have already been taken, including a possible new world’s record, from the surf no less. Send some of those weakies into our Bay, my Ugly Stik is ready! A good trout run this year would really be the icing on the cake.