As each day passes, more and more Weakfish are being caught. On Thursday the 19th, there were a few caught in the mouth of the Mullica River. Shedder crab bait or scent seem to give the edge necessary at this point to catch the Weakfish. During the week, Main Marsh Thorofare at 141-144 marker buoy in the Inland Waterway, produced some good quantities of Weakfish catches. The fish have been pretty much unpredictable at this point. Several anglers report seeing the fish on their fishfinders and have dragged everything possible past them, but can't get the fish to strike. Then all of a sudden, the fish turn on and a frenzied activity of Weakfish catching occurs for a few hours. Several boats actually caught their limits and had to call it quits. Believe me, I am not trying to tell you that you can walk on the fish, but some anglers were lucky enough to this week!

St. Theresa's and St. Michael's Catholic church has organized a boat blessing on Saturday, June 21, at 10:00am. The location for the boat blessing is just West of the mouth of Big Creek, which is the major entrance into Mystic Island. This is a free event and everybody interested is invited. Each year, several of those involved have reported how nice of an event it actually was.

The Tuckerton Fish-Off is Saturday June 21, 1997. This is an invitational only tournament with a cap of sixty boats. Anyone interested in getting invited to the tournament next year(it's already filled this year) can be added to the waiting list by stopping into the Bayshore Agency on Route 539, one mile West of the Route 9, Route 539 traffic light in Tuckerton, New Jersey. The object of this tournament is to weigh in your four heaviest Bluefish caught by lure fishing only. First prize is $5000.00. That's $1,250 a Bluefish....NOT BAD!

Please be forewarned, the gnats are as bad as anyone has ever seen them. Clouds of gnats have engulfed many an unprotected gardener and angler this week. Be prepared by having a extra long sleeved shirt and pants on board the boat this week for some added protection.

Crabbing has picked up. The first shed occurred and many crabbers have been in delight with the newer larger crabs they have been catching this week. It's still a location thing, with some crabber's favorite spots or back yards being better than others.

Fishing on the Little Egg Reef sight this week was good. Several anglers reported some good catches of Sea Bass on clams. Even an occasional Fluke was picked up in this area.