Delaware Bay

Delaware Bay is New Jersey's largest estuary, where the Delaware River meets the Atlantic, and a spawning, nursery and migration ground for striped bass, weakfish and shad. It's also the world's main spawning ground for black drum, which move in each spring and can top 100 pounds; the state records for black drum, weakfish, croaker and porgy all came from these waters. Fall brings a run of big stripers, and summer is for bottom fish like croaker, spot and kingfish.

When to fish

• April to June: black drum. Smaller "pups" of 12 to 25 pounds come in first, and the big fish usually show around Mother's Day. The best tides are around the full and new moons, and the bite is most reliable in the evening. Drum like water in the low to mid 60s and leave once it approaches 70.
• Summer: croaker, spot and kingfish on the bottom, with sheepshead around reef sites and jetty walls.
• Late October to early December: big stripers follow the bunker into the bay once the water drops below 60 degrees. When the bunker thin out in late November, the bass feed on crabs, shrimp and small fish over mud flats and reefs in the middle of the bay.

Where to fish

• Black drum grounds (New Jersey side): the Pin Top, the Horseshoe, the 60 Foot and 20 Foot sloughs, Tussys Slough, the Punk Grounds and the C&B. Drum travel the channels cut through the flats, and the fleet usually anchors where fish were caught the night before.
• Fall bunker schools: often close to the New Jersey shoreline in late October and early November.
• From shore: Reeds Beach and Poverty Beach have produced surf black drum, and state wildlife management areas along the bayshore, such as Dennis Creek, Heislerville, Egg Island and Fortescue, have launches and bank access.

How to fish it

For black drum, anchor on a channel edge, chum with clam or mussel logs, and fish fresh surf clam on a big circle hook with a sliding sinker and enough weight to hold the bait still on the bottom. Don't set the hook on the first taps; wait until the fish swims off with the bait and reel tight. For fall stripers, chunk cut bunker on the bottom using the lightest sinker that holds, on medium-heavy tackle with braid, since currents run 2 to 3 knots. For summer bottom fish, match your rod to the sinker (up to 4 ounces in 70 feet of water), not to the size of the fish.

Getting there

Delaware Bay can turn rough quickly when the wind blows against the tide, and fog can roll in near dark, so radar and a close eye on the forecast matter. Fishing the Delaware side of the bay requires a Delaware fishing license. Delaware Bay has its own summer flounder rules, and some WMA ramps need a permit or fishing license. Anglers 16 and older must register with New Jersey's free Saltwater Recreational Registry.