LEWESHARBOURMARINA.COM
Lewes Harbor Marina Bait and Tackle
217 Anglers Rd., Lewes DE 19958
Fishing Report - Delaware Bay / Atlantic Ocean
December 19, 2009
- Christmas Rockfish
At this writing, we're in the midst of a nasty winter storm. Stripers must have sensed it's coming, because the bite has been good all week leading up to this weather event. Yesterday, Captain Alan Steele and his crew trolled up over 30 bass on Brown Shoal while pulling Stretch 25+ and Storm plugs. They kept nine nice fish. Other trollers reported good action while pulling plugs on Overfalls. Ryan Falgowski checked in a 30.1 pound linesider that blasted a Stretch 25+. Guys on the Lil' Angler scored 10 nice keepers , including a 24.2 pounder for Jim Savage. They released several other fish while drifting eels and bucktails on Overfalls, and at 8B Buoy. Bud Peters and his friends limited out aboard the Grizzly on Friday. Troy Little landed a 21.75 pounder during that trip. Captain Carey had the gang from the I.G. Burton Truck Shop earlier in the week on the Grizzly for another limit of quality rock, including citations of 20.75 pounds for Robert Ryan, and 22.5 pounds for Robert Rexrode. Captain Ted on the Pirate King has been having good success and a lot of fun catching bass on Butterfly Jigs. Patrons have been doing well with jigs too, and Captain Ted himself captured a 21.3 pounder while jigging. The method can be deadly, and often causes a reactive strike from stripers that may not even be hungry but can't resist the erratic action of the lures. Big bluefish are suckers for jigs too. Water temperatures have been falling, and cold water runoff from all the snow and ice associated with this storm will probably cause a further drop. But, there are plenty of bass and baitfish at the Delaware Bay mouth, and we should have rockfish at least through Christmas. The tautog bite has been up and down, but toggers on the Grizzly managed a limit of blackfish at Reefsite #10 on Monday. Biggest of the bunch was an 11 pound 4 ouncer for Alex Levantowsky.
December 3, 2009
- Full Moon Brings Bass
Striped bass action was very good around the recent full moon. Crews told of hot catching at 8B Buoy, in The Valley, and at Overfalls. Drifting live spot was productive, but the supply of those baits is about exhausted. Eels produced fish too. Guys using artificials also did well. Bucktails tipped with plastic worms were effective. Gulp! Sand Eels and Jerk Shads also tempted rockfish, as did Shimano Butterfly jigs and other metal lures like A27 diamond jigs that imitate sand eels which are plentiful at the Bay mouth. Stripers and bluefish have been full of sand eels. Some anglers caught stripers by baiting up with sand eels that other caught fish spit out on the deck. Trolling Stretch 25+ and 18+ plugs yielded plenty of rock too. Bright color patterns like chartreuse and Cabo Sunset worked well when water clarity wasn't good. Chrome/blue was also good. When fresh bunker was available, some big bass fell for chunk baits. Harry Aiken checked in a 45.8 pound lunker he caught on a "lump up the Bay" Thanksgiving Day. Even though some large linesiders still remain in the Bay, there have been a lot of short fish around in recent days. Captain Chris on the Skipjack hosted the "Fishin' Bitches" Monday, and they culled a limit of 20 keepers out of 38 bass caught. Their bites came while using a mix of spot, eels and bucktails during ebb current at 8B Buoy and Overfalls. The same day, the guys aboard Miss Caroline were back at the dock early with a limit of 10 rock to 19 pounds they took while pulling Stretch 25's at Overfalls. On Wednesday, fishermen on the Tranquila caught nearly 50 stripers, and kept 11. Dave and Joe Walker, and Brent Wiest also had at least 50 Striped bass Wednesday, and kept their limit of 6 quality fish. Plenty of fat slammer bluefish were mixed in with rockfish. A fair number of flounder were also hooked by striper fishermen. Some were pretty impressive, like the 30 inch 8.82 pounder Billie Jo Hunter had aboard the Lil' Angler. A fish like that would likely weigh well over 10 pounds in the Summer. The full moon may have been good for striped bass, but it had had adverse effects on tog fishing. Strong currents and dirty water made it tough for toggers along the Inner and Outer Walls and Ice Breakers. Water temperatures are still above 50 degrees, and once the currents let up and the water clears, blackfish should bite on the rocks again. Surf fishermen tangled with big bluefish while casting cut bunker and mullet from the beach at Herring Point.
November 24, 2009
- Stripers for Thanksgiving
Striper action rebounded after the bad northeast blow, but as has been the pattern, another storm followed shortly thereafter, preventing fishermen from getting out again over the past two days. Stripers were showing in the usual places. Bites occurred at 8B Buoy and in the Valley for guys drfiting eels. Bucktailers and boats trolling Stretch plugs had rockfish on Overfalls. Striped bass that are here now are smaller than those from the initial run, with crews reporting many throwbacks. However, there are still some good sized bass around. John Koster caught a 27.5 pounder while trolling a Stretch 25+ aboard the Grizzly. Richard Kairer got a 27.2 pounder while eeling at Brown Shoal on the Skipjack. Joe VanValkenburgh landed a 25.3 pound bass on the Martha Marie. Adam Bellen boated a 22.5 pounder while trolling Overfalls. Captain J.W. Hocker and crew on the Miss Caroline trolled up a dozen keepers to 18.5 pounds during incoming current on Overfalls Saturday Morning. On Sunday, Evan and Ryan Falgowski and Lee Abel took 5 keepers and released two dozen other stripers while pulling plugs on Overfalls. Ryan Tiernry checked in a 22.2 pound rock. Kerry Hostetter had a 20.5 pound linesider at Overfalls on the Miss Kirstin. We still have live spot, but once these are gone, that's it for the year. The conditions look fishable on Wednesday and Thanksgiving Day, but the forecast calls for strong west winds Friday and Saturday. Beachfront spots such as Hen and Chicken Shoal will be in the lee, and might offer an option for those who can make it out. The Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament finished up with Evan Falgowski taking the top spot for his 44.8 pound lunker. Grant Aulenbach had Second with a 35.4 pounder. Third place went to Jeff Gardiner for his 33.1 pound rock. Tautog continued to cooperate along the rocks of the inner and outer walls and ice breakers. With cooler temperatures, tog came from Bay reef sites too, if the water was clean. David Tyler took an 8.8 pound tog off the outer wall. Richard Roach got an 8.24 pounder on the Lil'Angler. John Leader landed one weighing 7.6 pounds. We still have plenty of green crabs and Asian box crabs, which have proven deadly blackfish bait.
November 12, 2009
- Best Fishing in Recent Past
The striper catches we've seen in the last several days are some of the best experienced in the past few seasons. And of course, just when it gets really good, another nor'easter blows in. At this writing, winds were gusting to 50 knots, and strong winds, rain and coastal flooding were predicted to continue into the weekend. Hopefully, this weather event won't drive out the mass of bass that is here now, and it might possibly move more bait and stripers into the Bay. Rockfish showed up in good numbers after the last extended northeast blow. Up until the weather change, fishing was great, with several citation sized stripers checked in each day. Some real heavyweights hit the scales, like Evan Falgowski's 44.8 pounder, trolled up with a Stretch 25+ plug near Overfalls Shoal. Evan's fish moved him into First Place of the annual Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament. Grant Aulenbach is currently in Second with a 35.4 pound rock he got while eeling on the Top Fin. Jeff Gardiner's 33.1 pounder, also hooked with a Stretch 25+, holds Third Place. Many crews reported limits of quality bass while working 8B Buoy and the Valley, and also in deeper water near 6 Buoy. Overfalls Shoal was also productive, as was Brown Shoal. Drifting eels was the favored method, but trolling Stretch 18+ and 25+ plugs worked well too. Last Thursday, guys on the Pirate King returned with 12 keeper bass. On Saturday, the gang aboard Lil' Angler scored 11 stripers, including a 30.5 pounder for Earl Roach. Gerald Sensening had 31.1 pound bass and Jeff Martin a 29.4 pounder aboard the Miss Rilee. Jack Henriksen, Dick Keck, Dick Cecil and Joe Ferrer fished with Capt Pete on the Top Fin Tuesday, and took home 8 stripers, including Joe's 30.8 pounder. The Grizzly had a good day on big bass, with a 28.75 pounder for Jay Lightner, a 26.9 for Brent Lanan, and a 23.5 for Ken Brown. Captain Tom on the High Hook found some trophy bass at Overfalls for his group. Mike Rendenna reeled in a 31.5 pounder, Harold Ellis had a 28.9 pounder, Daniel Cornell caught a 23.5 pounder, and Greg Kelly got one weighing 22.4 pounds. The line at the fish cleaning table is an indicator of how good the fishing has been. I was cutting stripers Tuesday evening until 9 pm. We've written at least 60 citations for striped bass over 20 pounds in just the past week. Here's a list of some of those; Richard Wilkinson Checked in a 32 pounder, Earl Gill 30.8 pounds, James Weber 30.4, Clint Murray 30.2, Nathan Milburn 30.1, Bill Mathews 29 pounds, Kenny Blakely 28.9, Ryan Falgowski 28.7, John Baily 28 pounds, Bob Wulffleff 27.8, Charles Fair 27.5, Phylicia Schwartz 26.7, Brian Hughes 26.6, Mike Deluca 25.4, John Elwood 24.7, Richard Miller 24.3, Rick Aument 23.8, Dave Potter 23.4, Charles Fair,Jr 23.3, Bruce Chandler 23.2, Carol Marceron 22.7 pounds, Frank Magni 22.6, Angelo Delapo 22 pounds, Dave Hazzard 21.9, Ronald Reese 21.8, Tony Vansant 21.7, Bill Wiest 21.7, Michael Walker 21.5, Joel Bullard 21.4, Mike Crouse 21.2, Dave Lynam 21.1, Brent Wiest 20.8, Chuck Mohacey 20.7, Bob Cohen 20.4, Kristen Jones 20.3, Robert Chambers 20.1, and Phil Spare at 20 pounds. Not to be overlooked, tautog action has been quite good as well. The rocks of the Inner and Outer Walls and Ice Breakers continue to give up plenty of blackfish to toggers using green crabs, sand fleas and box crabs. The reefs and wrecks are also starting to produce with cooler water temps. Cheryl Seaman brought back a brace of big tog from the Wall weighing 9.2 and 8.5 pounds. Robert Roth got an 8.9 pounder. Mark Uhde had an 8.1 pound tautog. Aaron Strausbaugh caught a 7.8, and Chris Walls a 7.5. Brendon Holtzman had a 7.1 pounder. On a recent trip aboard the Grizzly, Wallace Moore released an 8.75 pound blackfish, Bob Witte released an 8.5 pounder, and Alex Levantowsky released a 7.75 pounder.
November 5, 2009
- Hot Action With Big Stripers
Big stripers really turned on around the recent full moon. Numbers of bass showed up at 8B Buoy, in the Valleys and on Overfalls Shoal. Live bait fishermen initially did very well while drifting spot, however, in the last few days, eels have proven pretty effective as well. This is good news, since the supply of spot is rapidly drying up. Crews trolling Stretch 25+ and Stretch 18+ plugs are catching their fair share of rockfish too. Bright color patterns incorporating shades of chartreuse have been favored. Stripers were also taken by guys casting bucktails and Gulp! Sand Eels and Jerk Shads. Hot action kicked off during nasty weather at the beginning of the week when the Skipjack scored 18 keeper bass at 8B Buoy Sunday while drifting live spot. Paul Stoltzfus had 5 fish during that trip, and Michelle Arnold got 4 to 18 pounds. Bill Hershey boated a 22.3 pounder. Paul Pergeorelis put a 23 pounder aboard the Lil' Angler while using an eel at 8B that day. Sean Olson checked in a 28.3 pounder he tempted with a chunk of bunker. The Skipjack went back to 8B and The Valleys Monday and scored 12 more keepers, including Mike Newcomb's 24 pound bass. The guys on the Angler got 8 keepers to 22 pounds. On Tuesday, fishermen on the Lil' Angler landed 6 nice stripers and 3 keeper flounder. On Wednesday, the Lil' Angler had a flounder, a big bluefish, and 10 quality rockfish, including twin 23.3 pounders for Ed Szcerba and Jim Doyle. Many citation striped bass were checked in during the week. The list included; a 32.5 pounder for Charles Schleyer, caught on the Angler with an eel, Ed Sigda's 31.1 pounder that ate a spot at 8B, a 30.1 pounder Bee Linzey livelined with a spot on Overfalls, the 29 pounder Jesse Billing trolled up with a Stretch 25+, Rick Cohee's 27.2,a 26.7 pounder for Kevin Blouch, Brian Seglem's 25.5, a 25.4 for Joe Harris, 25.2 and 21.6 pounds for Tony Vansant, 20.4 pounders for Lee Abel and Louis Hirst, a 20.1 for Hobby Isaacs, and Mason Newsham's 20 pound citation rock. Dennis Swartz had a 24 pounder, Carey Rutherford got a 22 pound rockfish, Jon Joyce landed a 21.7, Steve and James Malishchak teamed up for bass of 21.2 and 20.5 pounds, and Bob VanPelt boated a 20.6 pounder. The annual Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament is in full swing, and runs through November 24. At this writing, Grant Aulenbach had moved into the lead with a 35.4 pound lunker landed aboard the Top Fin. Jeff Gardiner is in Second with a 33.1 pounder trolled up at Overfalls with a Stretch plug. Dave Walker has the Third Place bass, weighing 29.5 pounds. Tog fishing was a little slow around the full moon because of strong currents and higher than normal tides, but picked up as the week wore on. Nice blackfish were caught along the rocks of the inner and outer walls and ice breakers using green crabs, Jonah crabs, Asian Shore Crabs and frozen sand fleas(live fleas have been hard to come by).Scott Handy had an 8.03 pound tautog on the wall. The Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament finished up with a 9.98 pounder caught by Herbie Shorthose taking First Place. Mike Newsham's 9.54 pounder was Second. Michael Osberg had an 8.92 pounder for Third.
October 29, 2009
- More Stripers and Tog
It seems like more stripers are arriving, and we've had a few fish checked in at the store each day. Guys drifting eels and spot at 8B Buoy and in "The Valleys" caught some nice bass. Those casting bucktails or trolling Sretch 25+ and 18+ plugs in the rip outside the Outer Wall and on Overfalls got into rockfish too. Some of the largest linesiders were landed by guys anchored at the mouth of 60 Foot Slough and in the Bayshore Channel and chunking with bunker. Fred Stokes was drifting an eel at 8B Buoy aboard the Angler when he connected with a 24.4 pound rock. John Floyd and K.B. Brittingham trolled Stretch plugs in the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers rips for stripers of 21.8 and 20.7 pounds. Ryan Falgowski trolled up a 24.6 pound rockfish to give him the lead in the Annual Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament. Jeff Gardiner was trolling Sretch plugs on Ovefalls Shoals when he landed a pair of striped bass going 18.7 and 16.3 pounds, which gave him Second and Third places so far in the Tournament. The Tourney runs through November 24 and offers cash prizes. Tautog catches have been good along the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers. Herbie Shorthose, Drew Messick and "Booker" toggled into the Ice Breakers Wednesday for a limit of 30 quality tog to 6 pounds using Asian crabs. Captains Dave Walker and Brent Wiest fished a snag Wednesday with green crabs for their limit of 20 tautog. Patti Lush landed a 7.1 pound citation blackfish because she was wearing her lucky hat at the Outer Wall. The reef sites have been more productive recently, with tog taken on #5 in the Broadkill Slough, #6 and #7 at Brown Shoal, and #8 the Star Site. The Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament ends October 31, and as of this writing, Herbie Shorthose was in the lead with his 9.98 pounder, Mike Newsham held Second with a 9.54 pounder, and Terry Popowski had Third with a 7.82 pound tautog.
October 22, 2009
- Stripers Showing Up
It looks like all the northeast wind helped move the first stripers into Delaware Bay. Kris Battaglini was drifting in the rip outide the Outer Wall on Tuesday when he connected with a 28.1 pound striped bass. Kyle Falgowski and Jacob Webb were trolling Stretch plugs near Overfalls Shoal Wednesday when they hooked into some nice bass as well. Kyle landed a 27.6 pounder, and Jacob boated one weighing 22.2 pounds. Joey Fiorentino nailed a 20.5 pound rockfish while drifting an eel near 8A Buoy. Sean Olson weighed in a 33.2 pound linesider he caught on bunker at the C&B. As anglers direct more efforts toward stripers in the coming days, we should have additional reports from those drifting live baits and chunking bunker. We have live eels and spot on hand now, and will have fresh bunker when we can get it. Trolling can be a good way to locate fish that are scattered upon arriving in the Bay. Once a concentration of stripers is found, trolling is an effective method for keeping offerings right where the fish are hanging out. Often, stripers congregate in rips where moving current rushes over a shoal or bottom structure change. Pulling a Stretch 25+ plug upcurrent of and parallel to a rip, so the boat is off the structure but the lure is following it, can prove deadly. Of course, this can't always be accomplished if other boaters are drifting across the same rip. Please exercise consideration for other fishermen on the water. The same applies when drifting baits. After finishing a drift through a rip, it's best to motor slowly around the area where the fish are situted rather than speeding back through it to make another drift. Bass can get spooky in shallower spots and get a case of lockjaw with too much disturbance from motors roaring overhead. Northeast wind may have prompted stripers to move, but it left mud in the eyes of Delaware Bay tautog. Bay water was dirty for a few days following the blow, but has been getting cleaner with each tide change. Tog action has been most reliable along the rocks of the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers for boaters soaking green crabs. Good numbers of keepers above the 14 inch minimum came from the rocks, and several crews told of limit catches. Bill Fintel brought back an 8.8 pound citation blackfish from the wall. Richard Guretsky had a 7.5 pounder at the wall. With clearing water, tog were reported on Bay reef sites and wrecks as well. Mason Newsham checked in a 6.11 pound tog he pulled from a wreck at the Bay mouth. Water quality was better in the ocean. Captains Dave Walker and Brent Wiest fished a snag Tuesday and returned with 20 keeper blackfish. Dave and Bruce Bennett went back to the same spot Wednesday, and scored another 17 keepers. Captain Tony Vansant, Larry Burkins, Larry Pleasanton and Joe Pisarski had a great trip Wednesday. They put 40 keeper tautog in the box while anchored on some ocean rubble. The Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament is on now and runs through October 31. Tautog specialist Herbie Shorthose is currently in First Place with a 9.98 pounder. Mike Newsham holds Second with a 9.54 pounder. Terry Popowski has Third with a 7.82 pound tog captured on the Grizzly. Kevin Blouch checked in a fish not seen too often in Lewes. Kevin caught a 5.5 pound red drum while togging on the Angler with green crab for bait. Offshore sharking is still good when the boats can get out. The Skipjack overnighted in the Baltimore Canyon Wednesday and released six blue sharks and two makos. The crew kept a 275 pound mako landed by Randy Doyle. The guys also trolled up a 52 pound yellowfin and had half a dozen golden tilefish to 20 pounds while deep dropping.
October 15, 2009
- More Northeast Wind
As I'm writing this, it's raining and blowing hard from the northeast. The same mix of weather is forecasted to prevail all through the weekend. We've had more than our share of wind this fall, and I hope the trend fades soon. If there's a bright side to look forward to, in past seasons, after an extended northeast blow at this time of year, Delaware Bay structure loaded up with Tautog, and stripers began moving along the coast. Prior to the bad weather, anglers noticed an improvement in tog action. On Sunday, October 11, Capt. Pete took a group of regulars to the Outer Wall and returned with 43 tautog and 9 triggerfish. Billy Chee had a pair of tog weighing 7.06 and 7.63 pounds. Pae Bai got the biggest blackfish, an 8.62 pounder. Mike Cathell checked a 10.9 pound sheepshead he caught at the Ice Breakers, along with several nice tog. Herbie Shorthose and "Beaver" Ruff worked the Ice Breakers for a limit of 20 tog to 6 pounds. Hugh Black brought back a 7.36 pound tautog from the Outer Wall. Mike Erisman captured the largest blackfish of the season so far, a 14.5 pounder that ate a sandflea at the Ice Breakers. Unfortunately, Mike wasn't entered in the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament. However, Mike Newsham was, and moved into First Place with a 9.54 pound white chin pulled from a wreck at the Bay mouth. Mike's crew had several tog and triggers on the wreck at the beginning of ebb tide using green crabs and Gulp! Peeler Crabs. Jen Getz is now in Second Place with a 6.84 pounder she got on the Lil' Angler. Bob Witte's 6.64 pounder landed aboard the Grizzly holds Third. The Tourney runs through October 31, and offers cash prizes.
Other bottom fishing was good prior to the blow as well. On a recent trip, Captain Ted's guys on the Indian put 90 croakers to 17 inches in the box, along with some snapper blues and a couple trout. The bite took place along bottom contours in 60 to 80 foot depths about a mile outside the Outer Wall. The anglers were using clams for bait. Surf fishermen had plenty of small bluefish at Cape Henlopen and Herring Point using mullet. We'll have crabs for tog bait throughout the fall, and eels and live spot for stripers as long as we're able to get them.
October 7, 2009
- Plenty of Bluefish
Fall is bluefish time, as schools of choppers in varying sizes feed up for southward migrations. Boaters fishing the current rip outside the green marker end of the outer breakwater have caught lots of snapper blues the past few days. The rip between the outer and inner breakwaters also held fish. The scrappy blues have been working over balls of anchovies and silversides that get caught in the turbulence of current running over the shoals. Diving and dipping terns and gulls often give away the presence of baitfish and blues. Drifting through the rips and using minnows, shiners or strips of cut bait on a bottom rig will work. However, the blues respond readily to lures, and casting artificials is a fun way to catch fish. Small metal lures like Kastmasters, Hopkins, Stingsilvers, Krocodiles and Gotcha Plugs are effective. Bucktail jigs, Storm Shads or Gulp! Swimming Mullets on leadheads are good too, but don't last long because of the blues' sharp teeth. Bluefish have also been prevalent in the surf along the ocean coast. Cape Henlopen Point and the Herring Point Jetties were popular spots. Mullet have been moving along the beach, and these are the bait of choice among surf fishermen. Some prefer to use whole finger mullet on mullet rigs with a wire shank that runs through the bait, and a split double hook that attaches at the tail end. Others like to employ a hi-lo fireball rig with long shank hooks and chunks of mullet. Tautog season is open, and off to a fair start. Toggers reported catches along the outer wall and ice breakers while using green crabs and sand fleas. Tautog also came from the Bay reef sites and wrecks at the Bay mouth. Triggerfish were mixed in. There was a lot of current around the recent full moon, and tog only bit during a small window during most tidal periods. Dirty water also presented problems for tog fishermen. Water temperatures remain in the upper 60's, and tautog will become more active as it cools down. Some crews have had decent days. Captain Carey's guys on the Grizzly returned with 30 keepers after togging the outer wall Monday. Bob Witte had a 6.64 pounder, and Alex Levantowsky landed a 6.18 pounder to move into First and Second Place of the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament. Herbie Shorthose is currently in Third with his 5.94 pound tautog. The event runs through October 31. Anglers can pay $2 in advance of fishing per day, or $20 in advance, and fish as many days as they want until the end of the tourney. Entry money collects in a pool, and is split 50%, 30% and 20% for the three heaviest tog weighed in by pre-registered contestants. Croakers are still in the Bay. Hardheads were caught by boats drifting the Star Reef Site and bottom contours about a mile outside the outer wall. Normally, this time of year offers some great wreck fishing for black sea bass. However, as of October 5, National Marine Fisheries Service announced an emergency closure of the recreational black sea bass fishery in federal waters north of North Carolina for 180 days. The commercial fishery remains open. NMFS made this decision based on preliminary harvest estimates that predict recreational anglers "may" have reached their 1.17 million pounds quota by the end of June. This action was taken even though the black sea bass stock was deemed fully rebuilt to 103% of its rebuilding goal. The data on which NMFS based this decision was collected through the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistics Survey(MRFSS), which was originally implemented by NMFS to track general trends in recreational fisheries. Through time, NMFS began using the information gathered to compile recreational harvest figures. The survey was not meant for that purpose, but NMFS relied on the survey to monoitor quotas in its management process. There are serious questions about the data collected, and the management action based on flawed information does not rpresent the "best science available", as mandated by the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Its difficult to believe that many sea bass were caught when most bait and tackle shops and charter and headboats have experienced a large percentage drop in business. That would certainly indicate htere was less fishing effort. Natural factors like weather limit trips too. The closure will have a profound effect on bait and tackle shops, marine dealers and for-hire boat operators that depended on sea bas as a staple fall and winter fishery, especially now, in a struggling economy.
September 24, 2009
- Tog Season Opens September 29
Area bottom fishing has been decent, with a mix of croakers, snapper blues, sea bass, triggerfish and a few legal flounder. But many anglers have been looking forward to the opening of Tog season on Tuesday September 29. Currently, water temperatures are between 70 and 72 degrees, and tautog will become more active as those numbers drop. Anglers will likely find blackfish along the rocks of both the inner and outer walls and ice breakers, and on the Delaware Bay artificial reef sites. Wrecks and snags outside the mouth of the Bay will house tog as well. Crustaceans are favored food for tog, and our shop will stock green crabs and sand fleas for bait during the Fall.
When available, we'll also have some specialty baits such as Asian shore crabs and Jonah crabs. Windy weather has been a problem for boating anglers in recent weeks, and as this is being written, once again a strong northeasterly flow is predicted over the weekend. On good days, Delaware Bay fishermen found good numbers of croakers on the edge of "The Pit" near #4 buoy. Bottom contours about a mile outside the outer wall held hardheads, as did 40 foot depths along the eastern edge of the Anchorage near G Buoy. Clams, squid, bloodworms, shrimp and Fishbites were baits of choice. Snapper blues, the occasional kingfish and short flounder mingled with croakers. With mullet being present in the Lewes Canal, along Lewes Beach and the coast, shore fishermen got in on action from snapper blues, small stripers and flounder feeding on migrating baitfish. Surf casters inside Cape Henlopen hooked small blues using cut mullet. Judy Greenwood got a 7.61 pound citation flounder with a minnow/squid sandwich where Canary Creek joins Roosevelt Inlet. The Lewes Canal continues to give up a few keeper flounder and stripers. Sea bass have been gathering on Reef Site #11 and some of the inshore wrecks. Throwbacks far outnumber legal size fish, but persistent anglers cull out enough keepers to make the trip worthwhile. Clams, squid and fresh cut baits work well, but sometimes, the biggest bass fall for jigs. Butterfly jigs, other metals and leadhead bucktails tipped with Gulp! can be deadly. Fall is a great time for offshore anglers, with defined temperature breaks between warm and cool bodies of water, and changing weather systems serving up plenty of chances for tuna, dolphin, wahoo and billfish. Yellowfin catches were good for crews trolling ballyhoo and spreader bars in 30 to 40 fathoms between the Tea Cup and Baltimore Canyon. Most of the tuna were between 20 and 30 pounds. The temperature change in that area that had been holding fish was pushing south, taking the tuna with it. The 30 to 50 fathom corridor between the Baltimore and Poor Man's Canyons has generally been pretty fishy. Features like the Hot Dog notch and other structure in the region are likely places to find not only tuna and dolphin, but also wahoo. This is prime time for the slim speedsters. Some crews have been targeting them specifically by rigging their spread with wire, and pulling baits deeper behind weights or planers at faster trolling speeds. Ballyhoo/Ilander combos are good offerings, as are heavy, straight running lures like C&H Wahoo Whackers. Bill Zolper checked in a nice pair of 'hoos at the shop Thursday. The heaviest was a 38.5 pounder landed by Shawn Brittingham. Fifty to 60 pounders are not uncommon, and a 101 pound monster was decked Sunday by Mason McMullen aboard Rhonda's Osprey. The billfish bite has been real good. White marlin have been working bait balls in 40 to 50 fathoms from the 850 line to the 000's, between Poor Man's and Washington Canyons. Double digit days have been common among experienced crews. Big boats capable of deploying multiple dredges and sporting well rehearsed deckhands racked up some impressive numbers. But, small boaters got in on the bite as well, and some center console guys caught whites while pitching baits with spinning rods.
September 8, 2009
- Yellowfins Show Up
Looks like there may have been some benefit to all the recent northeast wind. Yellowfin tuna finally made an appearance inshore, with decent numbers of fish caught Saturday and Sunday just outside the Hot Dog. Most of the tuna were taken trolling ballyhoo and spreader bars, but captains reported marking bunched up schools of fish, and if they stick around, it could provide the opportunity set up and jig or chunk. Other inshore temperature features offered up some fishy situations as well. A temperature break just west ot the Elephant Trunk produced tuna. The guys on Skipjack trolled a pair of yellowfins there Saturday. A little farther south along the thirty fathom line, trolling boats encountered a weedline holding gaffer dolphin. It's likely wahoos would be mixed in and its a good idea to have a Drone Spoon or Wahoo Whacker below the surface behind a planer to capitalize on any 'hoos that might be hanging out. Even closer to the beach, on Saturday, Jeff Hoepfl and crew found some floating stuff outside Delaware Light. They had 7 nice mahis including Jeff's 16.8 pounder and an 18.8 pounder for Phil Spare. Dolphin gathered offshore around lobster gear that had been left untouched for days due to wind. Better catches were reported from Poor Man's and Washington Canyons. Dolphin weren't always visible around the balls near the surface, but sometimes lurked in the depths below. Sinking a weighted live bait deep resulted in some fish that otherwise would be passed by. The billfish bite was good. White marlin were reported generally from 40 to 60 fathoms inshore of the Baltimore and Wilmington Canyons. Whites were also found along the thirty line near the Tea Cup. Inshore trollers hooked false albacore, skipjacks, bonitos, bluefish and Spanish mackerel on lumps and ridges between 10 and 20 fathoms. Bottom fishing was good on the Old Grounds southwest of DB Buoy when conditions were right. Some quality flounder were captured, like the 10 pound 5 ounce doormat landed aboard the Thelma Dale V with Captain Rick Yakimowicz last week. Flatties also came from reefs 9 and 10. Triggerfish hung out on inshore wrecks. The group with Captain Les on the Martha Marie returned with over 50 big triggers from an ocean snag on Saturday, including a 3.53 pounder for Jaime Welch. Croaker action improved at the mouth of Delaware Bay. Captain Ted on the Angler located a bunch of hardheads at the edge of "the Pit" near #4 Buoy Sunday. He found more at #6 Buoy, which is a little closer, on Monday, and said it looks like the fishing should hold up for awhile. Flounder had been coming from Overfalls and Middle Shoals, but the closure of New Jersey's fluke season over the weekend caused crews to search out other spots not in that state's waters. Snapper bluefish were prevalent, and could be found feeding under birds outside the Outer Breakwater off Lewes, and off Cape Henlopen point. Casting bucktails or metals to breaking fish is effective and fun. Small blues were also caught in the Henlopen surf using cut mullet or bunker. Spot remain plentiful in the Lewes Canal and Broadkill River. Bits of bloodworm or Fishbites on small hooks or sabiki rigs will get their attention.
August 27, 2009
- Good Billfish Bite
With another tropical storm system on the horizon, anglers face an iffy weather weekend. Even though the passage of hurricane Bill last week didn't do much for the tuna action, marlin have been fired up. Crews fishing just inshore of the Baltimore had a good white bite the past few days. The area between 60 and 70 fathoms about five miles south of the Canyon tip was where most of the activity took place. Many boats had numerous shots at white marlin and reported multiple release days. Some blue marlin were mixed in. Inshore trollers pulling spoons between DA Buoy and Delaware Light caught false albacore and a few Spanish Mackerel and Bonito. Bottom bouncers continued to enjoy good success with flounder on reef sites 9, 10 and 11. Joe Walker, Bobby Bryant and "Buckwheat" Bryant limited out on fluke to 6.2 pounds at Site 10 Wednesday. Larry Coyle and Tom Coyle worked Site 10 and some bottom structure between DB Buoy and Site 11 Tuesday for their limit of keepers, including Larry's 6.21 pounder, and a flattie of 6.86 pounds for Tom. Delaware Bay fluking has been ok, but not as good as it's been in the ocean. However, some nice fish still came from reef sites 6,7 and 8. Kaela and Krysta Gray drifted site 7 with their grandfather Joe Walker and returned with 4 nice flatfish to 4.13 pounds. Some bigger croakers showed up outside the outer wall. Try looking in 60 foot depths about a mile east of the breakwater. Clams and Fishbites were favorites of the hardheads. Spot have been plentiful around the Cape Henlopen Pier, and in the Lewes Canal and Broadkill River. Bits of bloodworm, nightcrawler or Fishbites on small hooks and sabiki rigs worked well. Many anglers took the tasty panfish home to eat, while others have been stocking their live cars with spot to use as baits during striper season.
August 20, 2009
- Hardheads and Flounder
Area anglers continued to enjoy fine bottom fishing. Croakers are plentiful in Delaware Bay, with larger hardheads hanging out around structure. The Star and Broadkill reef sites were productive, and small boaters casting around the inner wall and ferry jetty had some big croakers as well. Fishbites, bloodworms, clams and shrimp were favored offerings. Hand sized spot were mixed among croakers in shallower areas. Spot action was best around the Cape Henlopen pier, and in the Lewes Canal and Broadkill River. Bloodworms and Fishbites on small hooks or sabiki rigs did the trick. Flounder catches remain steady, with the largest flatties taken around heavy cover of the artificial reefs. Sites 6 and 7 at Brown Shoal were productive, as well as the #8 Star Site. Reef sites 10 and 11 in the ocean gave up good numbers of flounder also. Drifting boats caught fish, but sometimes, when drift conditions weren't right, anchoring worked well. Walking rigs along the bottom or casting bucktails upcurrent and bouncing them along were effective techniques. Some crews racked up decent numbers of keepers. Captain Pete's group on Top Fin limited out with 20 keeper flounder Saturday at site 10. Captain Les on the Martha Marie got a 6.07 pounder at site 10. Shawn Williams decked a 6.05 pound flatfish, also at site 10. Flounder favored fresh meat, and strips of spot were good producers, along with shiners and smelt. Bucktails tipped with Gulp! Belly Strips, Sand Eels and Jerk Shads also took their share. Matt Jester jigged up a 6.57 pound fluke at DB Buoy. Boats working the Old Grounds had flounder and sea bass. Most bass were below the 12 1/2 inch minimum, but increasing numbers of keepers were reported. Triggerfish were found on many of the inshore wrecks. Sand fleas, shrimp or pieces of clam on small hooks tempted triggers. Cobia have also been reported around Delaware Light, the Weather Buoy and DA Buoy. They'll respond to live eels and spot or a bucktailtipped with a Gulp! Eel. Tuna action was slim, but fair numbers of dolphin were avaialable. Pete Russo landed a 16.7 pound Mahi on the Skipjack, and John Ribinsky got a 17.8 pounder on the Tranquila. Dan Iacangelo trolled up a 16.8 pound dolphin in the Wilmington Canyon aboard the Black Bart. A mix of false albacore, skipjacks, bonito, bluefish and Spanish and king mackerel was available on many of the inshore lumps. They're fun to catch while trolling with light tackle. Clark spoons behind in line weights or planers work well for the bonitos and mackerel. False albacore will jump on a mini green machine behind a bird, or the old faithful cedar plug. Many offshore anglers feel that the predicted passage of Hurricane Bill off the coast this weekend may help the catching by pushing in different water holding tuna and billfish.
August 13, 2009
- Fine Bottom Fishing
If you can't catch a croaker in Delaware Bay now, you better take up golf! Hardheads of varying sizes are spread over most of the Bay, and the marina cleaning station was busy with wheelbarrow loads of tasty panfish during the weekend. Small croakers were just about everywhere, but larger specimens hung out around the concrete at reef site 5 in Broadkill Slough. Some nicer fish started to show up on dropoffs outside the Outer Wall as well. Mixed in with croakers were an occasional snapper bluefish, kingfish, spot, porgy and sea bass. Clams, bloodworms, shrimp, squid, Fishbites and Gulp! Bloodworms all attracted bites. Flounder action continued as hot as the weather, with structure yielding some quite impressive flatfish. An 11.14 pound doormat caught by Jake Knox topped the list of big fluke. Jake's fish ate a chartreuse Gulp! Swimming Mullet at reef site 10. Billy Wright boated a 9.35 pounder, Matt Millman got an 8.9 pounder, and John Brackbill bested an 8.74 pounder, all from site 10 too. Scott Peterson was fishing the Brown Shoal reefs aboard Top Fin when he connected with an 8.88 pounder. Chet Harer, Captain of the Lil' Angler II, showed his patrons how it's done by decking an 8.44 pounder at site 10. Joe Walker added a another citation fluke to his list for this year, an 8.14 pounder from an ocean reef.Cary Rutherford captured a 7.43 pound flattie from site 6 in the Bay. Captain Brent Wiest squeezed in a little fishing time between helping others catch fluke, and managed to put a 7.28 pounder in the box for himself. Brent's group on the Lil' Angler II returned with 20 keeper flounder Tuesday. In addition to the heavy cover of Brown Shoal and Star Reefs, open bottom gave up flounder as well. In the Bay, the area between reef sites 6 and 7, in the hook of Brown Shoal, was productive. Flatties were taken near A and G Buoys in the Anchorage too. The water was cleaner, and boat traffic was more spreadout in the ocean. Bottom contours between DB and DA Buoys were productive. Flounder showed a preference for fresh meat, and strips of spot and bluefish were top producers. However, smelt, shiners, squid, live spot and minnows caught fish too. Bucktails tipped with a Gulp! Belly Strip also did a number on flatfish. Inshore wrecks held triggerfish. Clam, shrimp and sandfleas were good offerings. Sometimes, triggerfish follow others that have been hooked right to the boat. Alert anglers who drop baits to them can put extra fish in the box. Joe Walker, Tony Vansant and Joe Walker, Jr got in on a good triggerfish bite at the Fenwick Shoal wreck. They kept 50 triggers, 9 flounder to 6.5 pounds, and a 5 pound spadefish. Inshore trollers picked at small bluefish, king mackerel and an occasional dolphin Between DA Buoy and Delaware Light. Drone and Clark Spoons behind an in-line weight or a planer were effective. Diving plugs such as Rapalas and Stretch 25s worked too. Some anglers reported cobia hanging around the weather buoy. It's good to have a rod ready with a live spot or eel, just in case you encounter a cobia on some floating structure. Tuna catches remained spotty. The most consistent action was with big bluefins and some yellowfins at the Lobster Claw of the thirty fathom line. Tuna were taken early in the morning by chunking with butterfish and putting sardine baits down on the bottom. Tuna also responded to Butterfly and hammered diamond jigs. Barney Gallagher brought back a 117.6 pound bluefin. Fred Wagner checked in a 145 pounder from the Claw. The Skipjack had 4 yellowfins and some dolphin on a Saturday overnighter. On a previous overnight trip, the guys on Skipjack chunked up 16 gaffer dolphin from 12 to 15 pounds. Decent numbers of dolphin were available between 20 and 40 fathoms.Garry Tilton got an 18.3 pounder while trolling the 19 Fathom Lump. Pete Russo scored a16.7 pound mahi on the Skipjack, and John Ribinsky boated a 17.8 pounder on Tranquila.
August 6, 2009
- Consistent Flounder Catches
Flounder catches have been consistently good. Even around the full moon, drift conditions were favorable, and boaters were able to effectively work structure. So, Bay reef sites gave up numerous flatfish. Sites #6 and 7 at Brown Shoal were popular, but flatties came from the #8 Star site as well. Even though the majority of effort was directed towards the artificial reefs, open bottom produced fluke too. Captain Carey on the Grizzly ended up with 10 keepers while drifting near A Buoy Saturday. Flounder also came off uneven bottom between the Brown Shoal reefs. Joe Walker and sons Joe and Michael had a limit on structure at Brown Shoal and were back at the dock before lunch time Saturday. Joe showed the boys he's still got it by decking a 7.72 pound citation winner. Captain Chet's groups on the Lil' Angler II had 19 keepers to 6.2 pounds one day, and 27 keepers another while rubble hopping. Captain Brent Wiest captured a 7.28 pound fluke. Ron Rowles landed a 5.95 flattie that was one of 11 brought back on the Skipjack that trip. Captain Pete's guys on Top Fin boxed 19 keeper fluke Friday. The Martha Marie returned with a dozen nice flounder Saturday. West Sarver scored an 8.5 pound doormat at site #7 while drifting a bluefish fillet. Anglers reported success using a variety of baits including squid, minnows, shiners and smelt. Fresh cut strips of spot or bluefish were particularly effective. In addition to good catching in the Bay, Ocean fluking was quite productive. Reef site #10 yielded some impressive flatties, such as "No No Billy" Wright's whopping 9.35 pounder. Tony Vansant, Larry Pleasanton and "Tugboat Dan" iced a limit of flounder at site #10 Wednesday. Reef site #11 and bottom contours between DB and DA Buoys gave up flatties too. Bouncing 2 to 4 ounce Spro Jigs along the bottom resulted in the downfall of many flatfish. Sweetening the lures with cut spot, smelt, sand eels or Gulp! Belly Strips was the key for tuning on fluke. Croaker catches were very good in Delaware Bay. Small hardheads were found just about everywhere, but larger croaks congregated around the rubble of Broadkill Slough Reef #5.
Captain Pete's Tuesday group on Top Fin put 140 nice hardheads in the cooler and released almost as many. The Angler headboat has also had real nice catches for it's patrons. Shorebound anglers got in on the croaker bite too, with fish taken at Roosevelt Inlet and on the Cape Henlopen Pier. Clams, bloodworms and Fishbites were favorite baits. Spot have become plentiful around the pier, and in Lewes Canal and Broadkill River. Fishbites and bloodworms also worked well for spot. There are three weeks left in the striper slot season, and rockfish continue to be taken from the Lewes Canal. Casting eels around the drawbridge resulted in rockfish. Anchoring between the drawbridge and railroad bridge and bottom fishing with clams was also productive.
Bluefin tuna moved up the beach and have been hanging out on the Lobster Claw area of the Thirty Fathom Line. Big tuna were taken chunking with butterfish and sardines, and also by working Butterfly and diamond jigs. Barney Gallagher boated a 117.6 pounder drifting a squid at the Claw. Fred Wagner checked in a 145 pound bluefin from the same spot.
July 30, 2009
- Plenty of Croakers
Croakers of varying sizes seem to be found just about anywhere in Delaware Bay. The majority have been small fish, between 8 and 10 inches. However, recently, bigger hardheads have moved onto structure in the Bay. The rubble of reef site #5 in Broadkill Slough held decent sized croaks in the 12 inch plus range, with the largest right on top of the piles of concrete. The Star Reef, and sites #6 and #7 at Brown Shoal also housed nice hardheads. Mussel beds west of G Buoy in the Anchorage produced too. Clams, bloodworms and Fishbites were favorites of the feisty panfish. Spot have shown up in good numbers as well, and were caught from the Cape Henlopen Pier and in Broadkill River. Bits of bloodworm on size 4 or 6 hooks worked well. Tog, triggerfish and sheepshead were caught along the rocks of the inner and outer walls and ice breakers. Flounder came from reef sites #6, 7 and 8. Wade Bondrowski checked in a 6 pounder he got at site #6. Gulp! continues to prove deadly on flounder, with Swimming Mullet and Sand Eel varieties being most popular. Flounder action was better in the Ocean than in the Bay this week. Bottom features between DB and DA Buoys gave up numerous fluke. Reef site #10 was also responsible for some nice flounder catches. Tuna action spotty during the week, but bluefins and some yellowfins came from the Hambone, Massey's Canyon and the Tea Cup. Angelo and Anna Delapo, along with Arnold Azamar and Michael Davidson teamed up for a great trolling trip at the Tea Cup last Saturday. They boated bluefins of 70 and 136.5 pounds, and had 4 gaffer dolphin aboard the Spoiled III. Good sized dolphin were common between twenty and thirty fathoms. Ned Baumbach bested an impressive 23.6 pound dolphin at the 19 Fathom Lump on Forever Young III. White marlin have shown up inshore, just in time for next week's White Marlin Open. Several boats reported sightings and hookups of billfish in thirty fathoms. Edward Bundy and Curtis Detwiler both recorded white marlin releases outside the Hot Dog Saturday on the Skipjack.
July 23, 2009
- Good Summertime Action
Fishing has generally been quite good. Inshore bottom bouncers have done well with flounder and croakers, and offshore boats have encountered bluefin and yellowfin tuna, along with dolphin and billfish. Although heavy structure continues to yield some of the biggest flounder, flatfish have also come from open bottom. The mussel beds west of G Buoy in the Anchorage were productive, as were the up and down contours in the hook of Brown Shoal. The channel edges between #19 and #25 Buoys gave up fluke too. Flounder also remained in shallow water. Steven Grove checked in a 6.57 pounder he got just outside Roosevelt Inlet. Flatties hung out close to the base of the inner wall too. Casting leadheads tipped with Gulp! Swimming Mullets along the rocks was effective. With Bay currents running hard around the new moon, drift conditions were better around the Ocean reef sites. Captain Chet's guys on the Lil'Angler II had a banner trip Sunday, returning from Site #10 with 26 keepers. The largest was a 5.95 pounder boated by Paul Pergeorelis. Flounder sharpie Joe Walker pulled a 9.07 pound doormat from Ocean reef rubble this week. Tony, Diana and Shane Vansant, along with Larry Burkins and Joe Pisarski combined for a limit of 20 flounder on a reef site. Diana outfished the boys with a pair of big flatties weighing 7.64 and 5.67 pounds. Anglers working 2 to 4 ounce Spro Jigs sweetened with cut bait or Gulp! got into good numbers of flounder between DB and DA Buoys. Frank Pogue landed an 8.5 pound fluke using a jig aboard Grizzly. Jim Skyman scored a 6.9 pounder. Delaware Bay croakers were bigger and more plentiful this week. Smaller fish were found most places in the Bay, but larger specimens were concentrated on the Broadkill Slough Reef Site. Croakers were also taken on mussel beds in the Anchorage. Clams, bloodworms, shrimp, Fishbites and Gulp! were favorites of hardheads. A group on the Angler kept 180 nice croaks out of about 350 they caught Thursday afternoon. Spot are showing up in increasing numbers around the Cape Henlopen Pier, and in the Broadkill River and Lewes Canal. Bloodworms and Fishbites were offerings of choice. Small boaters drifting eels around the Drawbridge and Railroad Bridge in the Canal had slot stripers. The Ice Breakers and Inner and Outer Walls attracted tautog and triggerfish. Joe Kossek weighed in a 10.12 pound citation sheepshead he caught at the Ice Breakers. Regarding tuna, big bluefins were trolled up at the Hambone, Chicken Bone, Massey's Canyon, 19 Fathom Lump, Tea Cup and Elephant Trunk. The fish didn't bite every day, and usually the best action usually took place before 6:30 a.m. Ballyhoos with blue and white skirts pulled way, way back or on planers, downriggers and Z-Wings were responsible for most catches. The heaviest bluefin to hit the dock this week was a 163.4 pound bruiser chunked up by Brian Ludwig and Jeff Snyder at the Hambone. Matt Purnell trolled a 154.5 pounder at the Elephant Trunk with Bill Swords. Chris Harmon had a 135.4 pounder on the Tranquila. Kili Gomez got a 118.5 pound bluefin while trolling near the 19 Fathom Lump aboard Joint Venture. Nice dolphin were mixed in with tuna. The Davis family had a half dozen gaffers at Massey's Canyon on the Skipjack, including a 16.4 pounder for Alan Davis, and a 17.5 pound mahi for Clay Davis. Yellowfins have been scattered, but Captain Larry Coyle and crew on the Makai found 3 yellowfins to 48 pounds plus a 19.4 pound dorado for Brian Gardner while trolling 40 fathoms between the Hot Dog and Poor Man's.
July 16, 2009
- Big Bluefins
Tuna action improved recently. It seems bluefins finally found the concentrations of baitfish hanging out between twenty and thirty fathoms. Bill Swords and crew were trolling ballyhoo at the Tea Cup, when Matt Clement landed a 125 pound bluefin. The guys also hooked two other big tuna, including a 68 incher they released. Shane and Wes Olson teamed up on a 113 pound bluefin at Massey's Canyon. That fish ate a sardine on the bottom. Other anglers had big bluefins while trolling the northeast corner of the Hambone. The best bites occurred early in the morning, and the largest fish took offerings pulled way, way back behind the boat. Blue and white Iland Lures worked well in front of ballyhoo. Pulling baits deep behind #32 planers or Z-Wings also resulted in tuna. Gaffer dolphin were mixed in. On the bottom fishing scene, flounder continue to be quite cooperative. Structure yielded good numbers of flounder for Delaware Bay and Ocean anglers. The Star Reef was productive. That's where Tammy Campbell caught her 7.82 pound citation fluke aboard the Top Fin. Flounder also came from sites #6 and #7 at Brown Shoal. Captain Ted's Wednesday morning half-day charter on the Indian returned from the Brown with 10 plump keepers. The Walker family and friends continued their assault on the flatfish population, with limit catches most days while working the Bay's artificial reefs. David Walker checked in a 7.16 pounder, and Larry Coyle landed a pair weighing 6.76 and 7.0 pounds using a Gulp! sand eel. In the ocean, reef site #10 was a favored spot, but flatties were found at reef site #11, and on the Old Grounds between DB and DA Buoys as well. Eighty seven years young Ken Teufel captured a 6.8 pound flounder on site #10 aboard the Lil' Angler II. Guys using 2 to 4 ounce bucktails tipped with squid, shiners, sand eels, smelt, cut bluefish or Gulp! had good success. Jig fishing is highly effective, and a fun way to catch flounder. Shallow water fishermen still had fluke in the Lewes Canal, Broadkill River, Roosevelt Inlet, and around the piers inside Cape Henlopen, but the number of keepers dwindled. Tossing shad darts or other jigs sweetened with minnows or Gulp! to the rocks at the base of the ferry jetty and inner and outer walls resulted in flounder and an occasional trout too. Todd Manning got a 3.62 pound trout at the inner wall with a Gulp! Structures such as the Bay reef sites and breakwaters also gave up tautog and triggerfish. Billy Shiner brought back an 8.18 pound blackfish from the inner wall. Garry Tilton took a 7.02 pound tog off a wreck at the Bay mouth. Jim Durnan shot a 9.25 pound sheepshead while free diving the outer wall. More tasty triggerfish are showing up with warming waters. If you notice a lot of small nibbles while bottom fishing the wrecks and reefs, try a smaller hook with a bit of clam or shrimp, and it might result in additional triggers for the box. Croakers were scattered across The Shears, but seemed to be more concentrated on reef #5 in Broadkill Slough. Clams, bloodworms and Fishbites were favorites of the hardheads. Croakers and spot were also caught on the Cape Henlopen Pier. Striper fishermen worked over slot-sized rock in the Lewes Canal. Drifting eels around the drawbridge and railroad bridge was popular, but bottom fishing with clams worked well too. Bass were also caught by casting topwater poppers, Rat-L-Traps and X-Raps along the marsh banks. Guys livelining spot at the outer wall hooked rockfish, and drifting spot in Indian River inlet also resulted in linesiders and bluefish. Louie Maysky checked in a 17.3 pound striper that te a spot in Indian River inlet.
July 7, 2009
- Flounder on Structure
Artificial reef structures yielded good numbers of flounder during the week. In Delaware Bay, sites 6, 7 and 8 proved productive. Plenty of flounder came from sites 10 and 11 in the ocean as well. Drift conditions had a lot to do with success rates. With wind and tide together, boats traveled too fast to effectively work the bottom. In that scenario, some crews found that anchoring was the ticket. Casting bucktail jigs tipped with shiners, cut bait or Gulp! up current and walking it over the rubble worked well from a stationary vessel, when you couldn't catch on a fast drift. Captain Chet on the Lil' Angler II is a proponent of anchor fishing for fluke, and has had good success, as evidenced by last Sunday's trip when his gang decked 11 keeper flounder. They also had 27 triggerfish,including Linda Bennett's 3.52 pounder. Captain Ted on the Indian has also done well with flounder while anchoring over rubble piles. Strong current around the full moon sometimes made drifting tough, but he was able to put together some nice catches of keepers on the hook. Flounder specialists the Walker family and crew enjoyed fine action while working the reef sites this past week. They had limit catches varying from 12 to 24 flatties each day. Some of their bigger fish included Joe Walker's 6.95 and 6.31 pounders, 6.76 for Joe Walker, Jr, Bobby Bryant's 6.6 pounder, a 6.42 pound fluke for Larry Burkins, and 6.46 pounds for Rob Karpovich. Tony VanSant and friends pulled a limit of 16 quality flatfish from an ocean reef last Monday. Bobby Bryant and his crew checked in yesterday with a limit of 16 fine flatties too. The Old Grounds and bottom structure changes between DB and DA Buoys also held fluke. Anglers picked a few keeper sea bass there as well. Flounder continued to come from shallow water. Frank Lenihan landed an 8.02 pound doormat in the Lewes Canal. Sand bottom near the Ferry Jetty was good, and guys casting jigs tipped with minnows, shiners and Gulp! along the rocks of the inner and outer walls caught flounder too. Joey Fiorentino nailed a 5.23 pounder using a Gulp! grub in less than 3 feet of water along Broadkill Beach Sunday morning. Bottom bouncers had croakers between the Star Site and The Shears, and on the reef in Broadkill Slough. Clams, bloodworms and Fishbites were favorites of the hardheads. The opening of a slot-size season offered the opportunity for striper fishermen to take home two striped bass between 20 and 26 inches per angler per day. the season applies to Delaware Bay and it's tributaries only. The 28 inch minimum is still in effect for ocean coastal areas and Indian River inlet. Anglers can retain rockfish on the Lewes Canal from the Route 9 bridge to Roosevelt Inlet, and in the Broadkill River, and those areas gave up numerous keepers. Rock responded to eels, clams, bunker and a variety of artificials including plugs, jigs and soft plastics. Boaters casting to the inner and outer walls caught stripers too. Tog season re-opened as well, and blackfish were reported from the Inner and Outer Walls and Ice Breakers. Wrecks and reefs gave up tautog too. Water temperatures have risen, and triggerfish were mixed in. The Grizzly had an excellent week of wreck fishing, with a nice mixed bag of triggers, tog and flounder. Captain Carey Evans said Rachel Henry had a 12 pound 4 ounce tautog, and Alex Lewantowsky landed a 9 pound 12 ouncer. Paul Berrier boated a 10.63 pound aboard the Lil' Angler II. The guys on Martha Marie celebrated July 4th with 19 keeper tog. Tuna action that had been good, cooled off. When it was still happening last Sunday, Angelo DeLapo and crew returned from the 461 Lump with three yellowfins from 38 to 42 pounds and a 14 pound dolphin. During the week, other boats fishing between Poor Man's and Washington Canyons reported scattered catches of yellowfins and gaffer dolphin. Makos frequented Poor Man's too, and several trollers told of hookups and biteoffs from blackeyes. Overnight boats also tangled with makos. There seems to be more makos around this year than in the past, and they're still hanging out in twenty fathoms too. Michael and David Walker had a 190 pounder at the Sausages. Jeff Hoepfl trolled up a 95 pound mako near the 19 Fathom Lump on Monday. There's a lot of life in thirty fathoms, with whales, porpoises, turtles, birds, baitfish and bluefish all along the line. However, the initial shot of bluefins seemed to push on through the area. Very few have been caught recently. But, it looks like more are coming. Customers stopped by and told of catching bluefins at the 26 Mile Hill off Wachapreague Friday. They said all the boats trolling around them caught tuna too, and the action had just gotten good in the past few days. With fish on the move, we could see more bluefins soon.
June 23, 2009
- Good Yellowfin Action
This yellowfin season is off to a much better start than last year's. Boats trolling offshore found tuna in Poor Man's, the Washington and the Norfolk Canyons over the past couple weeks. Many of the fish have been small, generally between 10 and 30 pounds, but their numbers have allowed crews to cull out enough keepers to end up with a good batch for the grill. The Skipjack overnighted in Poor Man's Saturday and returned with 14 yellowfins and a nice mako. The crew also released 17 other yellowfins. That tuna action took place while trolling skirted ballyhoo in a hundred fathoms at the canyon tip Saturday afternoon. Trollers also reported fish at the 461 Lump, The Rockpile and the "800 Square". The offshore scene looks encouraging and perhaps we may even see a shot of yellowfins between 20 and 30 fathoms if conditions are right. Mako catches have been better than usual as well. Good numbers of blackeyes came from the Sausages and Fingers area. Some crews released a half dozen or more makos a day. The big news was the capture of a new Maryland State Record Mako during the Ocean City Shark Tournament. Jim Hughes boated the 876 pound beast while drifting 500 fathoms between Poor Man's and Washington Canyons aboard the Nontypical. Another Maryland shark record fell last week as well. Brent Applegit got a 642 pound thresher while sharking in The Fingers on the Toy Boy.
Inshore bottom bouncers have done well with flounder on the Old Grounds. Spro jigs tipped with a strip of squid, shark, bluefish or Gulp! are effective. Sea bass came from Reef Site #11. The majority of fish fell below the 12 1/2 inch minimum, but some nice knotheads ended up in coolers. Dave Gallen got a 3.07 pounder on the Skipjack, and Lucas May boated a 3.63 pounder aboard Jam-Man. Delaware Bay structure yielded some decent flounder. Gary Welsh was drifting the Star Reef Site on the Forever Young III when he connected with a 7.65 pound doormat. Charles Bruckner boated a 7.19 pounder at the Star Site on the Indian. Dr Mike Junck decked a 6.01 pound flattie at the Brown Shoal reefs aboard Top Fin. Other reports of flatfish came from the channel edges between #14 and #19 Buoys, and #9 and #10 Buoys. Fluke also continued to come from the Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet. Shallow water along Broadkill Beach and the Cape Henlopen, Cape Shores and Port Lewes Piers produced fish as well. John Northeimer checked in a 5.42 pound flounder that ate a chartreuse Gulp! in the Lewes Canal. Bill Rybinski used a chunk of soft crab to tempt a 4.9 pounder from Roosevelt Inlet. Keeper stripers were caught in the Canal with clams and eels. Stripers and a few trout were taken from Roosevelt Inlet as well. "Barracuda Bob" McNamee and Frank Gaworski had a pair of 3 pound trout and several stripers in the 20 to 26 inch range while casting Bass Assassin Sea Shads to the inlet jetty during flood tide. Just a reminder that the size limit for stripers in Delaware Bay and it's tributaries changes July 1. Anglers can keep 2 stripers between 20 and 26 inches per day from July 1 to August 31. Striped bass caught in the ocean or Indian River inlet will still be subject to a 28 inch minimum size.
June 18, 2009
- Tuna and Sharks
Bluefin tuna have arrived at the inshore grounds, and action has been good on structure such as the Hambone, Chicken Bone, Sausages and Massey's Canyon. Be aware that current regulations concerning bluefins allow the retention of one fish from 27 inches to less than 47 inches curved fork length, and one fish from 47 to less than 73 inches curved fork length per boat per day. This pertains to boats fishing recreationally under a HMS Angling or HMS Charter/Headboat permit. One bluefin tuna over 73 inches may be kept per boat per year.
You must have a HMS permit to keep bluefin and yellowfin tuna, and sharks. They're available on line at www.hmspermits.gov/. Bluefins in both size ranges were reported by boats trolling the lumps. Green Machines, cedar plugs and spreader bars pulled not too far back resulted in numerous fish in the smaller size class. Larger tuna responded to ballyhoo and Iland Lure combinations towed way, way back. Brian Prout checked in the first tuna of the season at Lewes Harbour Marina, a 45 pound bluefin caught on the Skipjack. Yellowfin tuna were taken in Poor Man's canyon. The first blue and white marlin came from 1200 fathoms outside Poor Man's. Shark fishing has been good as well. Makos were found in the Fingers, and on the Hambone and Sausages. Drifting mackerel or bluefish fillets in a chum slick was the preferred method, but some crews reported blackeyes that ate trolled lures in the same areas where they were tuna fishing. Threshers also hung out in The Fingers, between DA Buoy and Delaware Light, in the Triple Wrecks area and at Reef Site #11. Jonathan "Bubba" Hastings was sharking at Site #11 with John Hazzard and Kevin Beam when he connected with a 163 pound thresher. Price Lindsay, Bucky Lindsay and David Anderson tangled with a 143 pound thresher at DA Buoy. Captain Brent Wiest bested a 140 pound longtail while drifting at DA Buoy with Captains Chet Harer and Dave Walker aboard the Lil' Angler. Michael Fritz decked a 168 pounder near the Triple Wrecks on the Snow Goose, with Ed Sigda and Bill Fintel. Closer to the beach, Delaware Bay flounder catches have been good. Flatties were reported near #10 Buoy and #16 Buoy. Fish also came from Reef Sites #6 and #7 at Brown Shoal. Al Greenfell got a 6.66 pound doormat on the Pirate King. Dr. Mike Junck had a 6.01 pounder, part of a catch of 8 quality keepers with Bob Witte, Allen Quillen, and Captain Pete Haines on the Top Fin. The Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet continued to produce flatfish. Shallow water along Broadkill Beach was also productive, as were the Cape Henlopen, Cape Shores and Port Lewes Piers. Small jigs with Gulp! Swimming Mullet were deadly in the shallows. John Northeimer nailed a 5.42 pound flounder in the Canal with a Gulp! John Weber caught a 4.95 pounder using a minnow in the Canal. Young Cameron Ballard boated a 4.07 fluke while drifting a shiner in the Canal. Michael Lindale landed a 4.83 pounder that grabbed a jig tipped with a squid strip in the Broadkill River. A few trout were taken from Roosevelt Inlet and skinny water along Broadkill Beach. Paul Caras, Jr checked in a 3.71 pounder that ate a Gulp!
June 8, 2009
- Makos and Threshers
Shark season is underway, and we had our first mako and thresher of the year checked in at Lewes Harbour Marina. Cory Walker and Charlie Boyles were sharking at The Fingers when they connected with an 87 pound mako and several big bluefish on Sunday. The crew of Jim Azato, Price Lindsay, "Boot" DeHoys, Jason Lesniczak, and Tom Wilkie teamed up on a 180 pound Thresher at Delaware Light on Sunday also. Both fish took mackerel baits. Other reports of sharks came from the Fingers area, the Sausages, and various wrecks between twenty and thirty fathoms. Large numbers of blue sharks have been hanging out on twenty fathom structure this spring. Blue whalers haven't been prevalent inshore for several years, so maybe this is a good sign regarding forage and water quality being favorable for pelagics. Our shop is carrying bunker and mackerel chum, plus mackerel by the pound or bulk flat for shark fishermen. Bluefish were plentiful across the Hambone, Chicken Bone and in Massey's Canyon. They didn't bite the same place every day, but remained in the general area. Some days the bite happened on the southern edge of the Chicken Bone, some days it was the northeast corner of the Hambone.
Back inshore, Delaware Bay flounder action has been good. Flatfish made a strong showing in The Anchorage, with mussel bottom in 60 to 70 foot depths near G Buoy being the popular spot. Captain Ted's group on the Indian returned with 10 plump keepers from there Saturday. Paul Elwood checked in a 6.05 pound flattie he captured at G Buoy. Bruce Buckhalter and family came back with 8 good keepers. Ashley Oland outfished the rest of Judge Jack Henriksen's crew by putting a pair of flounder weighing 5.04 and 5.42 pounds in the box. Other productive areas included bottom changes at A and D Buoys. Fluke came from the reef sites too. Captain Pete Haines, Mike Junck, Bob Witte and Allen Quillen scored a limit of 16 fluke to 4.9 pounds while drifting the Brown Shoal reefs aboard Top Fin.Evan Falgowski weighed in a 5.41 pounder he pulled from reef #6. Bait choices among Bay fishermen included squid, minnows, shiners, strips of mackerel, shark and bluefish and Berkley Gulp! Flounder also continued to come from the Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet. Butch Emmert nailed a 6.52 pound doormat using a Gulp! swimming mullet in the Canal. Jeff Purdy got one 5.17 pounds while drifting minnows and shiners. Flatties also remained active in shallow water along Broadkill and Lewes Beaches, and around the Cape Shores, Port Lewes and Cape Henlopen piers. Shad darts, speck rigs, 2 and 3 inch Storm Shads and Gulp! baits worked well in the shallows. Paul Caras Sr. and Paul Caras Jr. teamed up for 5 quality keeper flatfish to 5.74 pounds while working Gulps! in shallow water. The black drum bite slowed after several weeks of good catches. Some nice fish were taken early in the week, like Charlie Goodermuth's 70 pounder, but numbers of drum dwindled as the days went by. A few boomers were caught at night on the coral beds and in Broadkill Slough, but the June full moon usually marks the end of the run. Striped Bass have taken up residence along the Outer Breakwater off Lewes. Boaters drifting the rocks at night, caught nice bass while casting Bomber plugs, bucktails, and Storm Shads. Striper slayers, the Falgowski brothers, have been puttin' a hurtin' on rockfish, catching and releasing several each night they fish. Ryan landed the largest so far, a 31.3 pound lunker. Captain Alan Steele bucktailed the Wall Sunday morning for a 42 inch 24.5 pound bass. Rockfish were also beached from the surf at Herring Point by casters using clams and bunker. Todd Diener was surprised when a 20.5 pound linesider grabbed a small piece of Fishbites on his rig in the wash at Herring Point. According to Nick Psaroudakis, offshore trollers found yellowfin tuna in 100 fathoms of the Washington Canyon. Big bluefins were reported from the Parking Lot. Bill Swords and Steve Millman did some deep water bottom fishing in the tip of the Washingtton and returned with big sea bass, ling and blueline tilefish.
May 27, 2009
- Canal Flounder Tourney Results/ Great Drum Catches
The Canal Flounder Tournament hosted by Lewes Harbour Marina and Sponsored by the Dewey Beach Lion's Club was a big success. The weather was beautiful and flounder were in a cooperative mood for the 275 participants in this year's event. Billy Hocker had the winning flattie, weighing 5.26 pounds. Dan Kimble captured Second with his 5.0 pounder. Darwin Fisher's 4.97 pounder finished Third, and Mike Zimmerman was a repeat winner from last year's Tourney with the Fourth Place 4.94 pound flatfish. Chris Moody from the Dewey Beach Lion's Club coordinated donations to the Camp Awareness Youth Fishing Program with a portion of proceeds from the Canal Tournament. Captain Billy Talbot and crew fished the Tourney exclusively with their two foot long Mity Might rod and reel combos and had two keepers out of a 26 they caught on the miniature outfits. Seven year old Jagger Ruff brought in a 2.7 pound flounder he caught. We thank all who took part in a great day of fishing fun. The Canal, Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet yielded lots of flounder, however, the majority were shy of the 18 1/2 inch minimum. Nick Psaroudakis Mike Hoffman and Bob Gantz managed to cull a limit of 12 keepers to 4.65 pounds from a large number of fish they caught in the Canal last Thursday. Flounder also came on strong in shallow water along Broadkill and Lewes Beaches. The shallows between the Cape Shores and Cape Henlopen Piers were quite productive as well. Brad Snitch checked in a 5.14 pound fluke he caught from the Cape Shores Pier on a chartreuse jig with a minnow. Butch Emmert brought back a 6.52 pounder he got on a Gulp! Dillon Mitchell nailed a 6.09 pound flattie in the Canal with a minnow, and Cody Dmiterchik also used a minnow to tempt his 5.6 pound flounder. Spec rigs tipped with shiners worked well for anglers casting and retrieving them slowly along the bottom from the recently reopened Cape Henlopen Pier. The bite seemed better after dark, at the edge of the lights. Flounder were also taken from 60 to 70 foot depths of the Anchorage near G Buoy. Mike Rebuck had a limit catch of four flatties to 5.05 pounds there aboard the Angler Saturday. Leon and Riley Zimmerman scored their limit of flounder near G Buoy Sunday. Flounder were reported north of D Buoy too. It is very encouraging to see a spread of flounder on the open bottom, easily accessible to most anglers. In recent seasons, fluke were concentrated around the reef sites, where they were difficult to get at. More good news came in the form of the the first weakfish we had seen brought in by customers this spring. Frank and Sue Gaworski caught 13 trout to 2 1/2 pounds during the last of flood tide Saturday morning. They were casting crystal shad Bass Assassins in shallow water along Broadkill Beach. Stripers were caught by boaters casting Bomber plugs along the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers after dark. Cory and Evan Falgowski weighed in bass of 22.8 and 21.7 pounds, part of their catch from Monday night. Rockfish were also taken around the Roosevelt Inlet Coast Guard dock at night. Black drum action continued to be red hot. Boomers bit on the Coral Beds off Slaughter Beach and in Broadkill Slough. Andy Lano and crew fished the Coral Beds Friday Afternoon for 10 drum, including Anthony Lano's 82.3 pound behemoth. They returned to the same spot Saturday for 8 more, when Mike Lano earned a release citation for a 48 incher. Darryl Bear got a 77 pounder in the Slough with Captain Vince on the Miss Kirstin. Captain Vince fished near Brandywine over the weekend, and had good drumming, including a catch of seven on Monday night. Donnie Knepp nailed a 65 pounder, Justin Ashby had a 61.2, Brian Ashby got one 58 pounds, and Ray Santiago landed a 52.2 pound drum.
There has been a really good bite on the eastern side of the Bay, with catches at the Pin Top, Brandywine Slough, Tussey's Slough and the Horseshoe. Captain Les on the Martha Marie also experienced some good drum fishing. His Monday night group came all the way from Tennesee and had 9 fish, including a 65 pounder for Pate Langley, a 64 pounder for Robert Smith, and drum of 62 pounds each for Brandon Kasler and Alex Stegall. Michael Chamberlain landed a 73.5 pounder during an earlier trip on the Martha Marie. Michelle Swords was drumming on the Reel Passion when she decked her 73.7 pounder. James Rodek landed a 71.9 pound drum. Captain Carey's groups on the Grizzly got 14 drum Friday night at the Pin Top, and 16 more Saturday. They kept six fish to 68 pounds each trip. Captain Pete's Guys on Top Fin got into some good drum, such as George Barrell's 68.8 pounder and a 58.9 pound drum for Kevin Breisch. Jim Doyle decked a 65 pound drum with Captain Chet on the Lil' Angler II. Captain Brian on the Indian had 7 drum Saturday night, including his 64 pounder, a 75 pounder for Eric Zeigler, a 60 pounder for Dennis Herr, and a 54 pounder for Todd Kahl. Captain Chris had five drum on the Pirate King Saturday night, including a 74.8 pounder for Daniel McCoy. Daytime drum action has been just as good if not better than that after dark. Morning flood tides produced some terrific action. Captain Ted took the Pirate King to the Pin Top Monday for 15 big drum. Among them were a 79.8 pounder for David Biles, Isabella Porro's 78.7 pounder, Kenny Dear's 60.5, Ralph Tucker's 56.1, Allen Coverdale's 55.7 pounder, Charles Coverdale's 54.9, Bill Draper's 52.1 pounder, Charles Coverdale's 50.2, and Tim Coverdale's 50.1 pound drum. Captain Ted returned to the same spot Wednesday and had 13 more boomers. Henry Frederickson got a 65.4 pound drum and John Schock boated one scaling 51.9 pounds.
Drum fishing has come into it's prime, and the shop will be handling fresh surf clams for a few more weeks, but we request reservations in advance to assure the availability of bait. Call 302-645-6227 early in the week to reserve clams for the weekend. Ocean trollers told of big bluefish in Massey's Canyon and on the Chicken Bone. Maw's Tails Hooches and Mops, Pony Tails and Stretch 25+ plugs were effective offerings. Chummers caught slammer blues too.
May 18, 2009
- Flounder Catches Promising
Delaware Bay flounder action is off to a promising start. With good drift conditions, Captain Ted on the Indian worked the rubble of Reef #5 in Broadkill Slough Tuesday, and found the flatfish hungry. The crew caught several flatties using strips of fresh shark belly and ended up with 9 plump keepers out of about 30 caught. Christine Stanley was the angler of the day, scoring her limit of flounder from 3.5 to 4.5 pounds. Edwin Maxwell had a brace of nice fluke, and Larry Petchel kept a pair, including one of 4.9 pounds. Earlier in the trip, Scott Brady boated a 22.5 pound drum. Captain Ted returned to the same spot the next day, when Mac McNaught nailed a 5.5 pound flounder. Flatfish have also become active on the flats inside Cape Henlopen and between the Cape Henlopen and Cape Shores Piers. The shallow waters are generally warmer and attract more early-season bait and gamefish than surrounding areas. Sonny McClure and friends culled 10 keepers from many caught in skinny water one evening last week. Small jigs or shad darts tipped with a shiner or strip of fresh cut bait work well on the flats. Fluking remains steady in the Lewes Canal with decent numbers of keepers. Best catching occurs with clean water,usually at the end of flood tide. The Broadkill River also yielded plenty of flounder. Strips of fresh cut bluefish or Gulp! baits were effective. Don't forget the Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament Friday May 22. The event offers cash prizes and a portion of the proceeds benefit the Camp Awareness Youth Fishing Program. Call 302-645-6227 for registration info. Small boaters and shore casters at Roosevelt Inlet had a mix of flounder, stripers and a few bluefish. An occasional trout was reported from the Broadkill River by guys using chunks of peeler crab. Stripers have been feeding on squid along the Outer Breakwater, and local anglers have had good success catching bass by casting Bomber 17A and Stretch 12+ plugs to the rocks of the wall. Best bites happened during early morning and evening hours with clean, moving water on the Ocean side. Todd Manning and Brian Seglem checked in a limit of linesiders to 17 pounds they took while tossing plugs Tuesday morning. Stripers are on other area structure as well, with fishermen telling of catches on the Inner Wall, Ferry Jetty and old jetty rocks on Broadkill Beach. Black drum catches were good. Scott Bucka and Kevin Flaherty set up in Broadkill Slough on Monday night and returned with two big boomers scaling 58.5 and 65 pounds. Larry Wilson landed a 60.9 pounder while drumming on the Big Herring Tuesday evening. Wayne Wilson and crew got six drum in the Slough Friday night. Daniels Ehm decked a 74.9 pounder aboard the Martha Marie, and Darryl Bear boated a 77 pounder on the Miss Kirstin. Captain Carey Evans on Grizzly fished Broadkill Slough Saturday night for three drum. He took the same group of anglers to the Pin Top Sunday, despite nasty weather, and boated 5, including a 69.5 pounder for Thomas Nickoles, and a 65.9 pound drum for David Wisniewski. We suggest you reserve surf clams if you're planning to fish for drum over the Memorial Day weekend. The most unusual catch of the week was a 72 inch sturgeon hooked and released by Andy and Anthony Lano while trolling a Stretch 25+ plug between the inner and outer breakwaters off Lewes.
May 11, 2009
- Hot Drum Bite
Black drum came on good around the full moon. Some of the hottest action took place at the Pin Top, north of Brandywine. Captain Carey Evans anchored Grizzly on the western dropoff of that structure during Saturday morning's flood tide. His crew had 17 boomers while soaking clams at that spot, harvesting 11 of the fish and releasing 6. The largest was a 74.1 pounder landed by Jeff Lauer. Mike Wyatt checked in a 51.1 pounder he boated aboard the Reel Passion, with Captain Wayne Wilson. Other good bites occurred in Tussey's Slough and the Horseshoe on the Jersey side of the Bay. Drum were also reported among much smaller crowds on the Coral Beds off Slaughter Beach. Captain Neil Bupp landed three fish there Friday evening and said he heard plenty of drumming in the area. The season is off to a good start and the drum should stick around through early June. We are carrying surf clams, but urge anglers to reserve baits in advance of their trip because the mollusks are sometimes in short supply due to varying delivery schedules. Spring togging ended up with good catches coming from the inner and outer walls and ice breakers. Captain Pete's gang on Top Fin enjoyed a fine Friday on tautog. Among their limit, Bill Haines had an 8.58 pounder and John Reed one 7.52 pounds. Captain Pete himself captured a 7.85 pound citation blackfish. Jam-Man toggled into the Ice Breakers Saturday for a nice mess of tog including a 7.9 pounder for Christine Johnson and a 7 pounder for Captain Chris Ragni. "Booker" Bookwalter brought back a 7.4 pounder from the wall. Shrimp proved to be an especially productive bait for spring tog. Tog season will be closed for the spawn, until July 1. The Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet yielded good amounts of flounder. The reduced 18 1/2 inch minimum size effective May 11 will allow for increasing numbers of keepers. Minnows and shiners on shad darts, spec rigs or other small jigs were productive, as were Gulp! Swimming Mullet and Gulp! Shrimp.The annual Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament sponsored by the Dewey Beach Lions Club will take place Friday May 22. The event offers cash prizes, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Camp Awareness Youth Fishing Program. Call 302-645-6227 for registration info. Striped bass have settled in along the rock structures off Lewes. Guys tossing Bomber and Stretch 12+ plugs to the Outer Wall in the early morning and evening hours hooked stripers of varying sizes, many being keepers. Light colors seemed to work best, with red and white, yellow and mother of pearl patterns getting the nod. Working soft plastics, like shads and worms on leadheads, around the end of the ferry jetty at daybreak also produced rockfish. Bottom bouncers in the ocean found lots of sea bass at Reef Site #11, but most fell short of the 12 1/2 inch minimum.
May 3, 2009
- Tog on The Breakwater
The outer wall was the tautog hotspot over the weekend. Plenty of blackfish came from the rocks of the breakwater. Tog were also taken from the Star Reef Site and the rubble of the Broadkill Reef, but the best bite seemed to occur at the wall. Green crabs were the favored bait, however, shrimp proved effective as well. Some of the bigger fish checked in included Ralph Driscoll's 7 pounder, Thomas Kirk's 7.03, a 9.8 pounder by John Klase, and a 10.12 pound tautog by Steve Sullins. Andrew Currin caught an 8.35 pound tog, and Robert Moderacki got a 9.67 pounder. Action should be good for the remainder of the spring season, which closes May 11. That day also marks the change in the minimum size for flounder in Delaware waters from 19 1/2 to 18 1/2 inches. The Lewes canal has been yielding decent numbers of flatfish, many of which would have been keepers at 18 1/2, and anglers are looking forward to the reduced size requirement so they'll have a few fish to take home for dinner. Drifting minnows and shiners on small jigs during clean incoming water has been productive. Gulp! Swimming Mullet and Gulp! Shrimp worked well too. A few fluke have been captured from Delaware Bay. Deb Wilson brought back a pair of keepers she boated while drifting a squid and minnow combo at Brown Shoal. The Annual Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament will be held Friday May 22. The Dewey Beach Lions Club is assisting with the event this year and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity.Call the shop at 302-645-6227 for details. More reports of black drum sightings came from Broadkill Slough. The hook and line bite should come on around the full moon at the end of this week. Ocean wreck fishermen have encountered increasing numbers of sea bass moving onto inshore snags, and it looks like the spring bite is shaping up. The crew of the Lil' Angler had over a hundred keeper bass while working Reef Site #11 Sunday. The largest was a 3.22 pound knothead decked by "Pizza John" Perrin. If you are coming to Delaware to fish for the first time this year, remember the fishing license and F.I.N. requirement. They both can be obtained in advance on line at www.fw.delaware.gov and www.delaware.fin.com
April 26, 2009
- Black Drum in Broadkill Slough
Captain Ted on the Indian reported seeing several black drum swimming on the surface in Broadkill Slough Saturday. Water temperatures are in the low 50's after hot weather over the weekend, and the big boomers should bite clam baits on hook and line soon. Commercial netters have already taken numerous drum in the Slough. Tautog continue to come from Delaware Bay structure. Reef Sites 6 and 7 at Brown Shoal yielded tog, as did the rubble of Site 5 in the Broadkill Slough. Fish seemed to feed more actively during outgoing current, and catching was better on the afternoon ebb tide than the morning flood. Blackfish also came from the rocks of the outer breakwater. A productive technique at that location is to bait a half ounce jighead with a chunk of crab and toss it close to the wall. It's a different bite than you get on a bottom rig and a fun way to hook the tricky tog. In addition to green crabs for bait, shrimp and clams worked well. Ocean fishermen reported sea bass mixed in with tautog over wrecks east of the shipping lane. Some of the citation fish checked in over the weekend included William Tirpak's 9.23 pounder, Christopher Makley's 9.08, an 8.7 for Michael Smeyda, and an 8.3 pound tog for Aaron Lambie. Adam Stevens had a 7.51, Mark Stover a 7.32, and Michael Bowen boated a 7.1 pounder. Just a reminder that no tautog may be retained from May 12 to June 30 due to a spawning season closure. Toggers can still keep three fish 15 inches or longer per person per day until that time. More flounder came from the Lewes canal, but the keeper ratio was slim. That should improve when the minimum size limit drops from 19 1/2 inches to 18 1/2 inches on May 11. Small boaters drifting the canal had success with minnows and shiners on shad darts and other small jigs in green or pink. Gulp! baits were also effective. Shore casters got fluke from the rocks of Roosevelt Inlet as well.
April 20, 2009
- Great Tog Action
Delaware Bay structure gave up good numbers of tautog over the past weekend. The reefsites at Brown Shoal drew quite a crowd, and toggers did well while soaking green crabs, shrimp and clams as bait. Other productive spots included the Broadkill Slough and Starsite reefs, and along the rocks of the Outer Wall. Several citation-sized fish hit the cleaning table Saturday. Larry Hagy had a 7.63 pound tautog Margot Heinecke got one 7.32, and James Stricker a 7. 21 pounder, all taken aboard the headboat Angler. Captain Don Churchill showed how it's done by decking a 9 pound blackfish while running the Pirate King. John and Jeff Roach teamed up for tog of 10 and 7.6 pounds aboard the Lil' Angler. Keith Orendorf brought back a 9.7 pounder from an ocean wreck. Captain Pete's guys on Top Fin and Captain Les' gang aboard the Martha Marie returned early Saturday with limits of nice fish. On Sunday, Captain Ted Moulinier captured tog of 8.5 and 9.5 pounds himself as part of the Indian's limit catch. Captain Chris had a bunch of locals out on Skipjack Sunday, and put 34 blackfish in the box before weather conditions deteriorated. Togging is off to a great start and should hold up for several more weeks. Black drum are in Delaware bay and should start to bite soon. Things should heat up as we approach the full moon in May. Striper catches were spotty. Rockfish had been taken while bottom fishing clams near Bug Light and casting plugs in shallow water inside Maurice River cove. However, it seems fish are beginning to move, and they should show up on shoals and rips at the Bay mouth in coming weeks. Flounder were caught in the Lewes Canal when the water was clean. Nick Psaroudakis and friends drifted small bucktail jigs tipped with shiners for 8 flatties, two of which were keepers above the current 19 1/2 inch minimum. That size will likely be lowered to 18 1/2 inches after May 10. The annual Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament has been scheduled for May 22. Fishing takes places within the confines of the Canal and Broadkill River from 7 am to 3 pm. Entry fee is $25 to be paid in advance of fishing, and cash prizes will be paid for the three heaviest flounder.
January 2009
- Welcome!
Thanks for checking out our new website's fishing reports section. The site is still under construction and will be going through some changes in the coming months. By the time spring fishing season rolls around, we plan to be offering regular local reports with accurate and honest information. In addition, we'll offer helpful insight on how to find the best Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean action happening at that time, plus the hottest baits and techniques. We appreciate your interest and will do our best to keep you dialed in. Stay tuned, and best of luck in the New Year!!
