sports

outdoors with Lou Rodia

After Mackerel: weakfish, Drum . V"

As usual, mackerel did the expected Following a bonanza over^he last weekend "now Warly two weeks agoj. mackerel made themselves scarce In a day or two they had left southern county waters. North Jersey boats were still reporting mackerel but they arrive in northern waters later anyway In the interim anglers began searching for signs

that there will be a season on several kinds of fish after the mackerel left. The first indications came with reports on weakfish. By the time this reaches you, we'll predict that weakfish and black drum will be biting in the Delaware Bay. We'll also guess that there will be weakfish on the jetties. And. we'll also add a note thai fluke will also be biting in the inland waterways. HOW SAFE WOULD it

be to bet on these? For starters, at this writing, all of the above have happened. And, as we write, we had word that some of the later day trips on mackerel produce a scattering of fish which had been bitten by bluefish. We also heard of a few bluefish caught on mackerel rigs So. this is . not really that big a deal to guess about things that are already happening. But if you had not heard the news already, blame it on the schedule which compels wuting before the weekend for a mid-week column. As they say in the old Dragnet TV programs - just the facts JETTY WEAKFISH: One angler who choses to be unidentified told one tackle dealer that he had — two weakfish hooked on one of the southern county jet ties He asked to remain unidentified for whatever the reasons But the report is accbrdte. One angler who did not - remain under cover was Norman Bates of Avalon and Philadelphia. Norman and his sons were heading off to mackerel fish a week ago on Saturday when the youngsters spotted fish on the surface. They proved to be mackerel. During a hot flurry right near the Avalon Inlet bell, his mackerel jig was hit by a big weakfish. which weighed in at the Avalon Hodge Podge at 11 lb. 1 oz It was the first weakfish for Bates this season. It was also the first rod and reel weakfish reported to

us. and the first weakfish entered into the Cape May County fishing tournament in 1985. OTHER REPORTS of weakfish hitting mackerel baits in the Delaware Bay also were detailed to us but no one could authenticate them with names and boat names or locations where the fish were taken. We do know that the netters have been picking up some weakfish in the shad nets. Weaks in big schools passed Virginia two weeks ago heading north. There is little fresh watei* coming down the Delaware because of the drought. More important, the water is not ice cold, since there is little snow in the mountains. The bay should be —warmer and the salt line should be higher up the bay. Both should help the drum and weakfish conditions for bay fishing FLUKE: The first fluke were reported on the party boats when a few hit diamond jigs fished on the bottom. The most solid ' reports, however, came from Ludlam's Bay over the past weekend (again 10 days ago). At Vitiello's Dock, anglers reported, fluke on minnows and strips of cut herring. J. Petrone of Elkton. Md.. had four on minnows. Richard Henderson. Richard Mingin and Bill Tomiin of Millville teamed for 10 fluke on stripped herring. Bill Harris of Port Elizabeth caught two. using herring strips. .The larger weighed three pounds. 'Some flukes were also Teported at the inlet in Ocean City. Usually, the first fluke action comes in the inland waterways Look for the same this year But-.^jf you have a slow time on bay weakfish-drum trips you n>ght give fluke a chatlce~There Last year, with colder water and lots of rain, fluke bit early in Delaware Bay This year, might also surprise with water being much warmer for this time of year. —DRl'M: NETTERS have had some drum One netter reported a school of drum on the surface around his boat. While this does make a start to the hook and line action, remember that the dogwood are in bloom and the gnats have already started to plague us. Both are signs that the drum should be starting momentarily. During the changeover time between mackerel and bay fishing, boats 1 headed off to fish for blackfish. sea bass and I ling Good catches were reported GOOD NEWS: After a | slow-down in action because of shifting sands and storm damage, the news is that Dad's Place on Grassy Sound Boulevard at North Wildwood at the south end of the Ocean Drive toll bridge will be back in full swing for the 1985 season. THE ACTION gets under way May 18 when the pier, boat rentals, bait shop and attached facilities will all be open. The Dad's Place boats sales and service division has been operational all along and will continue to serve customers as usual a

Over the years, sand had silted up in front of the boat dock. So much sand built up that it was necessary to relocate the floats, thergby taking away the fishing pier. Storms came along and destroyed the bait house and part of the pier. A massive rebuilding job has been under way and should be finished up soon A new bait and tackle shop and office has been completed The pier will once again be open for fishing and crabbing. Boats and motors have been refurbished. LOTS OF NEW equipment has been added. It all became feasible af(er the storm damage was assessed because the storm which did the damage to the buildings and pier also took away the sand which was creating the problems in front-of the lpoat docks. Dad's Place has been a landmark for over 50 years. It & now being operated by the Dunham family. They are the third set of owners we have had occasion to fish with over the many years down here They run a class operation Fishing information is always accurate and up to date. Their equipment is top-notch. Our' first visits there were in. the mid-'1940's when we; fished the facility when Herman Raech was the proprietor. Later we enjoyed the pier and the facilities with Dick Harrison and of late, with the Dunham family We've had lots of good days fishing around Dad's Place, and lots of memorably occasions WHEN THE KIDS were much younger, we kept a motor at the pier. It was an old Sears Elgin I bought for $25 at a yard sale It had the gas tank on top and was

supposed to be three horsepower. I doubt it ever (vas. but the kids used to bicycle over to Dad's Place from Court House to fish. They ran the motor themselves. Since they often went when I could not make it because of work pressures, Dick Harrison ran a tab for their bait, incidental tackle, gas and oil and refreshments. The later ran the costs of their trips up somewhat because their appetites were surpassed only by their enthusiasm to fish. Dad's Place is planning a •grand reopening" soon. We'll pass on the details when they are finalized. Meanwhile, the facilities will be bpen May 18 and be operating six days a week for the rest of the season. Dad's will be closed on Sundays. Until then, stop in to see the progress.

j s Con* in and M ui rrulcfi a taring. stang or aita- v fig boot lo one ol thew sokd pwKxnws from N Johraoo* Ttwy're al lo«M M0i tht UM out- > * boart Metrology ndufcngVRO'" «*xn*c vww- > s bta rtao o*ng tor added economy and cotwwwna > ! "Ionvg \^_ 884-7272 J : ^INE sup^Y ; azzzzzzz r t* zzzzz /. /, zzzazs i"

' r f ft >>* ///.//// / MR. ADVERTISER... J j|Egk "Don't You Miss ; ^oat" S Catch The Biggest J 0ne of AlL.The > if ^ C APR MAV . ATTN Wower Town ip N flfralit m LANTERN : FISHING & BOATING I SECTION ^ .. ^ Last year this special section of papers ran all > season long and was very popular! Well, this ^ year we plan to make it bigger and better with s related stories and photos! Here's your chance s to reach over 23,000 potential customers every * week! * 465-5055 5 S zzzzz Lzni /j ut r * A aazazzzy

YIM HOUND FISHING Tournament Enjoy some of the finest fishing on the East Coast along with great accommodations and FAMILY FUN WRITE FOR FISHING KIT Ui m. Cap* Nay Ca art Maw*. W.J. Mil* y

Cape May County ALMANAC MAY 1985 MOON PHASES/POSITIONS CORRECTION TIMES The Moon's affect on the Tide Compute approximate limes " is greatest when closest to Earth of high lc low water for your (in perigee* and when in direct area by adding or subtracting alignment with Sun A earth ( full the following number of A new moon phases*' On and minutes /or each tide phase in about these dates, low preuure the Tide Table systems and/or strong winds LOW HIGH (depending upon direction* may Great Egg Harbor Inlet result in flooding, and extremely Plus 12 plUSlO """""'moo.™.... Ortan City (9Ui SI. Bridge) > Pte3S P1"0 Last Quarter II Corson Inlet (bridge) New Moon ..It plus21 plus 7 First Quarter -17 Sea Isle City ( Ludlam Thoro Bridge) plus 86 plus 43 , rr'*rr Sea Isle City Beach minus 2 minus 21 TIDE TABLE Townsend Inlet Computed for Cope May City plus 21 plus 4 srttr™" DATK ",'m .„ Stoo. Harbor 1 Wed 5 29- 6 08 11 34 (Great Channel Bridge) 2 Thu 6 26-J S8 12:03-12:24 phis 43 plus 40 3 Fri 7 IB-T 46 12 58- 1:14 Hereford Inlet ( Angleaea ) 4 Sat 8 07- 8 32 1:52- 2:03 plus 19 0 5 Sun 8:55- 9:20 2:43- 2:51 Wildwood Beach 6 Mon 9:46-10 10 3 34- 3 41 Mi 2 minus 17 7 Tue 10:39- II 01 4 24- 4 29 W|l, _ 8 Wed II 35- II 57 5 14- 5:21 . _ 9 Thu -12:33 6 08- 6:16 (Grassy Channel bridge) 10 Fri 12:52- 1-32 7:05- 7:19 Plus* P»«is43 11 Sat 1 48- 2:31 8 08- 8:32 Cape May Harbor 12 Sun J: 49— 3:30 9:08— 9:36 plus 1 minus 4 13 Mon 3:48- 4:30 10:01—10:33 five Fathom Bank 14 Tue 4 45- 5:22 10:49-11:20 ^usll plus 1 15 Wed 5:40- 6:08 11:32- ^ r*n* M.v Pnin. 16 Thu 6:26- 6 48 12:06-12:13 17 Fri 7:07- 7:26 12:51-12:53 P"** _ P™*54 18 Sal 7:46- 8:02 1:35- 1:33 McCne Shoal 19 Sun 8 24- 8:36 2.15- 2:11 phis28 plus 22 , 20 Mon 9:00- 9:09 2:57- 2:48 Delaware Bay K 21 Tue 9:39- 9:43 3:36- 3:22 Bayshore Channel C 22 Wed 10:19-10:20 4:11^3:57 (Bay-Canal Junction) 23 Thu 11:01-11:04 4 50- 4:32 . juncuooi ^ 24 Fn 11:51-11:51 5.30- 5:14 P™ D . P""* 25 Sat —12:42 6:18-^ 6:06 Miami B®,cn 26 Sun 12:46- I 40 7:13- 7:19 plus75 ptus61 27 Mon 1:44- 2:37 8:16- 8:36 Dennis Creek Entrance 28 Tue 2 47- 3:40 9:17- 9:45 pit* 114 plus 97 29 Wed 3 S3— 4:42 10:12—10:48* Brandywine Shoal Light 30 Thu 5 00- 5 40 11:03-11:42 ^ „ 7