STRIPERS
Stripers have been one of the best surprises over the past few years. Striped bass are protected in New Jersey by being a game fish. Game fish status prohibits the sale of stripers. Striped bass are fast becoming the most popular species in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Boaters and surfcasters alike adore this fine game fish.

Look for stripers to be taken as soon as the season opens in New Jersey. May and June will see some great striper catches being made in Delaware Bay, as boaters out of Fortescue and the Maurice River will use bunker in the deeper areas of the bay to hook up with linesiders.

One thing of great concern to fishermen in Delaware Bay, and the river itself, is how fishing will be impacted by the massive oil spill that took place late last November. That's when the oil tanker Athos I released an undetermined amount of crude oil into the Delaware River while attempting to dock at the Citgo Petroleum Corporation terminal in West Deptford Township. The spill has already impacted at least 120 miles of shoreline.

Will this deadly spill kill the early striper run this spring? How about the bay? Will the oil get down that far and mess up the spring and summer fishing there? This environmental disaster could possibly ruin some fishing this season. It has already wreaked havoc in the immediate area of the spill. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Great Bay will likewise have boaters and surfcasters hooking their share of stripers, mostly by using bloodworms. Those anglers fishing the beaches along the coast will use worms and bunker to lure stripers. Small stripers will be taken up the rivers throughout the summer, and the "keepers" will soon leave, but then be back with vengeance in the fall. The same locations will produce good catches for those using bunker, bloodworms and clams around the sod banks.

Maryland striper addicts need to be diligent in keeping in line with the myriad restrictions in place in Chesapeake Bay. Stripers will be available all summer and will respond to trolling, jigging, bucktails and baiting with peelers, eels and clam snouts. Great lure fishing can be expected on the Susquehanna Flats in the early spring -- but be aware of the rules at that time.

SUMMER FLOUNDER
Summer flounder (also called fluke) are probably the most sought-after fish in New Jersey, as well as being very popular in Delaware and Maryland. Flounder are one of the most heavily regulated species, even though recreational fishing is not the cause of any problems with the population.

Ocean fishing will be good a short distance off the beaches from Barnegat Light north, where some of the larger fish are taken. Many places will see loads of undersized fish that have to be thrown back. Unfortunately, commercial netters will be allowed to keep these smaller fish!

Wherever you are fishing, the old minnow/squid combo works well as does any sort of bait strip, especially if tacked onto a white bucktail jig. Delaware Bay fluke action will be good this summer with some fish topping 7 pounds being recorded by those drifting in ever-popular "Flounder Alley."

In Delaware, the inshore back bay summer flounder catches should be good. Ocean anglers will fish the waters around the B Buoy, a favorite location for the Indian River fleet. Chesapeake Bay summer flounder anglers are mostly limited to the lower portions of this huge waterway. Wherever you can find good enough wind to drift over sandy bottom is a good place to be.