Black drum peak on the NJ Delaware Bay as spring's biggest run arrives

What's Biting

What's Next

**Black drum** will continue to be the primary draw on the NJ side of the Delaware Bay through this week. With the full moon at peak, expect amplified tidal swings that push fish onto the flats and bay beaches during moving-tide windows — plan arrivals 60–90 minutes before high or low tide and stay through the first hour of the run. Hands Too Bait and Tackle notes the Jersey side is producing oversized fish relative to the Delaware side this year, so anglers targeting personal bests have reason to focus their effort here. Fresh clams remain the top bait, with shedder crabs and she-crabs as productive alternatives per Big Dave's Tackle; bottom-rigs fished near structure on the bay floor account for the bulk of the big-fish reports.

The **spring striper run** on Fortescue Beach and the broader Delaware Bay surf is closing out. Higbee's Bait and Tackle is explicit about this: fish to 44 inches are still showing on bloodworms, but the horseshoe crab spawn is now blanketing the shallows and robbing expensive bait at a frustrating rate. Anglers hitting that problem can redirect to the upper creeks, where Higbee's reports the white perch bite turned on sharply last week and offers a reliable alternative. Any remaining stripers in the system are expected to push off to cooler offshore water as bay temperatures climb through June.

**Flounder** fishing in the back bays is slow but improving. The Fisherman — Southern NJ reports from Tuckerton Bait and Tackle advise targeting the outgoing tide in 8–10 feet of water with live minnows or strip baits and slowing the presentation way down — the fish are sluggish. A few keepers over 5 pounds have been confirmed by Big Dave's Tackle, indicating quality fish are present even if not stacked up yet. Conditions should improve steadily as water warms through June.

**Bluefish** are an opportunistic bonus right now. Big Dave's Tackle reports gator blues to 10 pounds mixing into the bay, and The Fisherman — Southern NJ correspondent Anthony Califano confirms blues are part of the general Southern NJ picture this week. If a tide push concentrates them near the inlets or mouth of the bay, surface lures and metal jigs should draw aggressive strikes.

Context

Late May through mid-June is the historical apex of the Delaware Bay black drum fishery, so the bite being reported now is firmly on schedule — and by size class, running hot. The classic trigger is the overlap of warming bay water and the horseshoe crab spawn: drum key in on spawning crabs and eggs, moving onto bay beaches and flats in large numbers. The fact that Higbee's Bait and Tackle confirms crab spawn activity at Fortescue Beach, while simultaneously shops throughout Southern NJ are reporting fish in the 60-to-80-pound range, places this week squarely at the heart of peak season. The Cape May corridor has a long reputation for holding some of the largest black drum on the East Coast, and the Villas Beach reports from Hands Too Bait and Tackle — with a 75-pound fish on fresh clams — fit that historical character precisely.

The spring striper run winding down at Fortescue Beach is also right on schedule. Historically, the Delaware Bay surf striper bite peaks in mid-to-late May and fades as water temperatures push into the upper 50s to low 60s and horseshoe crab activity makes conventional bait presentations increasingly difficult. Higbee's characterization of "tail end" conditions aligns with what typically happens in this region around Memorial Day, and any fish still showing are bonus fish rather than the main event.

Back-bay flounder fishing typically ramps slowly through late May and hits its stride in June, so the sluggish but improving reports are consistent with seasonal norms. The Memorial Day weekend washout noted by The Fisherman — Southern NJ likely compressed some early-season feeding activity and may push the flounder ramp slightly later than average this year. No year-over-year volume comparison is available in the current data to assess whether drum numbers are unusually strong or simply average — only that size class and species presence are consistent with prime-season expectations for this stretch of bay.