Delaware Bay fishing was hot early during an excellent drumfishing season. It gave way to a slow stretch before a recent run of weakfish started to turn things around. And now croaker have made their first strong appearance. Croaker invaded Cape May Channel over the weekend. Bob Lubberman at Miss Chris Docks in Cape May said the Miss Chris Fleet night boat has been catching croaker in both numbers and good size, and up to 30 fish per person. The Miss Chris fleet day boat has caught a couple hundred croakers, according to Lubberman. Croaker up to 12 inches are biting on clam, bloodworms and Fish Bites artificials. Croaker have joined the mix with weakfish, flounder and bluefish off the Maurice River, too. Pat Harris ran her Longreach Marina Youth Fishing Tournament on Saturday, and the results indicate what is going on close to the Maurice River. Bobby Carroll was the weakfish winner with a 1.1-pound catch and Daniel Wash was the flounder winner with a 2.145-pound catch. They won $100 U.S. Savings Bonds. Rian Grossman was second in weakfish with a 1.8-pound fish and Tanner Merritt was third at 1.45 pounds. Grossman took a $50 Savings Bond and Merritt was awarded a $25 gift certificate at Toys ‘R’ Us. There was only one eligible flounder, so Harris switched the second- and third-place prizes to bluefish. Bill Weatherby took the $50 Bond with a 1.85-pound blue and Robert Bowman got the $25 gift certificate with a 1.55-pound blue. Devon Cooper took the girls bicycle prize and Kyle Plummer got the boys bicycle offered by Commercial Township. There were 24 entries. If that doesn’t show what fishing is like off the Maurice, two trips by Anthony Albano and Connie Wood will. They combined with Albert Albano for four weakfish, a mess of croaker and sea robin. Jimmy Wood replaced Albert on their next trip and they racked up five weakfish in the 19-20 inch range, a bunch of bluefish and two flounder. Harris said they are fishing off No. 1, Thompson’s Beach, EP Tower and 2 and 3 buoys with shedder crab and squid. Weakfish and croakers are getting closer to Fortescue, but Cliff Higbee at Higbee’s Marina in Fortescue is sending his boaters down to No. 1 in addition to No. 6 Buoy and off Egg Island Point. Flounder and bluefish are also gathered off Fortescue. Higbee said white perch are plentiful in Fortescue Creek. Some of the anglers are catching 60-70 perch per trip according to Higbee. Inshore fishing seems to be picking up as the water temps increase into the 70s. The Miss Avalon partyboat out of Avalon is getting more keeper flounder with kingfish and spike weakfish at A Buoy off Townsend Inlet, Townsend Inlet and Wildwood reefs, according to Tim Davis at Moran’s Dockside in Avalon. Kings with spot are thick around the 8th Street Jetty in Avalon and at the Avalon Pier. Kingfish are in the back bays off Long Beach Island, too. Basil Shehady at Barnegat Light Bait and Tackle said boaters are anchoring up at BI, BB, Oyster Creek Channel and Tyce’s Shoal for weakfish and also catching kingfish. They are using shrimp as bait with a chum pot. The beaches have flounder in the surf, in Barnegat Inlet and Double Creek on the north end of Long Beach Island. Shehady said blues move into Barnegat Inlet at times, and the straggler striped bass is still showing up in the surf. Some of the offshore reports are pretty spectacular. Blue and white marlin, yellowfin and bluefin tuna and mahi are cruising the canyons. Bob Daggett and son had nine yellowfin tuna, seven jigging and two trolling, at the Lobster Claw, according to a report from Brennan Marine in Somers Point. Paul Groves is the angler of record for a 114-pound bluefin tuna caught on the Copacetic with Capt. Mike McGuigan. Jamie Farrell and dad, fishing the Cigar, got a Spanish mackerel, and Ed Sager caught a 37-pound wahoo. (Mike Shepherd is the retired sports editor of The Press. His Shep on Fishing column and Hot Spot appear Tuesday and Saturday in the sports section, and Thursday in At The Shore. Call 609-350-0388 or email: sheponfishing@yahoo.com)