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Drumfish and Delaware Bay can be a great combination. When the weather is good and the fish are biting, it goes from great to spectacular.

That's the way it was from the afternoon into the evening of Friday, May 22, on a drum run by the Exile out of Cape May.

Frank Pettisani Jr. piloted the Exile in very low water out of the creek from the dock at Cape May Marine to the Cape May Canal and out into the bay to No. 16 bouy north of Pin Top.

The fleet of what looked to be 100 fishing boats anchored up there seemed to be from all over the area, with craft from Cape May to Fortescue identifiable. It left little room for maneuvering into a favorable fishing position. It was tight quarters with everyone right on top of each other.

The crew of Frank Pettisani Sr., Bob Connor and boat Capt. Ricky Wheeler, plus trip organizer Gerry Gormley, started to set up with fresh-shucked clams as bait while Frank Jr. worked the 45-foot customized Hatteras into a good location.

It took a short time to coax that first bite and get the action started on the Exile while anglers on boats all around were seen hooking up. The thought that started to creep into the conversation among the Exile crew was: When is it going to be our turn?

A few sharks and skates let the crew know they were not using dull hooks or rotten bait. Frank Sr. and Jr. and Capt. Wheeler all showed their experience and patience - and good fishing touch - so it really did not take that long to connect.

The tide was incoming and running strong most of the time, so making sure the bait stayed on the bottom was imperative. Capt. Wheeler and Frank Jr. insisted on changing bait every 15 or 20 minutes and applied heavier weights.

The first drum was hooked after those adjustments were made. The crew eventually put five drum in the box, the heaviest hitting 59 pounds when weighed back at the dock.

The crew of the Exile - Frank Sr. resides in Longport, Frank Jr. in Medford; Wheeler, Connor and Gormley are from Ventnor - hauled up anchor, sailed slowly through the fleet and then raced back to the dock as the sun was setting spectacularly over the sparkling waters of Delaware Bay.

The crew agreed that you could fish all over the world and not have a better day. What made it even better was that Frank Sr. served up some outstanding rigatoni just before leaving.

The Exile is available for charter. Call 302-379-3132 or go to

www.exilesportfishing.com.Drumfish action

 

Drumfishing in Delaware Bay is "ridiculous", according to Bob Lubberman at the Miss Chris Dock in Cape May. The Miss Chris had 28 drum to 92 pounds on Sunday night. Lubberman said the excellent fishing continued through this week with the Miss Chris racking up 48 for its customers Wednesday night. Lubberman said the fishing is so good that the Miss Chris added a mate just to clean fish.

Captains reported fish all day Thursday, he said. Lubberman and Wheeler both said the hot drum action shifted to Tussey Slough during the week. Lubberman relayed a report from a captain who said he marked a school of drum that was a mile long moving into Delaware Bay. He reminded us that drum remained in Delaware Bay into the third week of July last year.

Pat Harris at Longreach Marina in Bivalve said anglers are doing terrific on drum and striped bass in the Delaware River off the Maurice River. She weighed in 40 or 50 drum over the weekend. Tommy Sacca of Vineland had a 92-pound drum. Three 40-pound-plus bass hit the scales at Longreach. Tony Rizzo and John Swydsky of Elmer had bass that weighed 43, 42, 28, 26 and 24 pounds; Nick, Nicky and Sean Emigholz and John Thompson of Elmer caught striper that weighed 40, 36, 36, 31 and 28. Jeanne Przelomiec of Franklinville got a 41-inch bass.

Rich Andrus, fishing with wife Clair, kept his streak going of catching the first weakfish to be weighed at Longreach. The Millville residents got three. Harris reported that Ross DelRossi of Pine Hill got three flounder.

A real doormat

What are they feeding flounder in Absecon Inlet? The deep water there produced another old-fashioned doormat.

Chris Dinger of Galloway Township had a clam out for striper around the Brigantine bridge when he hooked up with a flounder that weighed an even 15 pounds at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center in Absecon. That's the third 11-pound plus fluke caught in Absecon Inlet since the season opened last Saturday. The others went 12 caught by James Jerahld of Egg Harbor Township and 11.4 caught by Joe Cornell of Northfield. All three were entered into The Press 2009 Fishing Contest.

Not all the big flounder are in Absecon Inlet. Jamie Gallagher of Tuckerton got one Thursday that weighed 8 pounds in Great Bay, according to a report from Chestnut Neck Boat Yard in Port Republic.

Mike Shepherd is retired sports editor of The Press. His Shep on Fishing column and Shep's Hot Spot appears Tuesdays and Saturdays in the sports section and Thursday in At The Shore. Call 609-350-0388 or e-mail: sheponfishing@yahoo.com

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