Ocean fishing has been tough to accomplish with what Mother Nature has been handing us. The Back Bays have been producing some flounder, croaker and plenty of bluefish. Massey’s Ditch seems to be the hot spot over the last week or two. Some big croakers, keeper flounder and lots of bluefish are putting bends in many rods. Bloodworms, salted clam, mullet, and squid seem to be the best offerings. Indian River Inlet is also giving up plenty of bluefish. Herb Pressely of Carlisle,Pa. was scoring some nice blues on Gotcha Plugs. Surf fishermen are finding a mix of blues, kingfish, croaker and small stripers. Time to gear up for the start of tog season! A late report came in! Bob Cleveland and Denny Raber fished between DB & BA Buoy aboard Bob’s “Deputy Dog” to put 18 seabass and a 22 inch flattie in the fishbox. They also had a number of “return to sender” seabass.
Capt. Bill Baker of Bill’s Sport Shop reported that Dom, Russell & Jack fished "B" buoy on "Mr Dom" and caught a variety of fish, 10 different species. The recent hurricane winds probably blew in a lot of warm water. We caught flounder, bluefish, mackerel, amberjack, sea bass, sea robin, sand shark, spiny dogfish, blowfish and a pilot fish. The flounder was bragging size measuring 24 1/2" along with 3 throwbacks. The sea bass were in the 13" class. We fished west of the buoy using squid and silversides for bait. The sea was sloppy with 3' to 4' white cap waves along with southeast winds and strong current. A wild day at "B" buoy. Capt Dom. Chuck Nagel of Bill’.s, landed a 24" flounder from Massey's Ditch on fresh mullet Tyler Murr and Bill Loums, fishing at Savages Ditch Oceanside, had consistent bluefish action catching fish up to 16", until they were tired of catching.Paul Scisly, Elysburg, PA, caught a 5.35#, 23.5" flounder on fresh mullet at Massey's Landing. Spot by the hundreds are being caught at the Pier.
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‘Til next week, have Fun and Be Safe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s the final issue of The Coastal Fisherman for 2011 and I hope you have enjoyed the reading and found the reports informative. Even though the paper is finished for the season, fishing certainly is not. There are still plenty of doormat flounder, big sea bass, bluefish, and the upcoming stripers looking for a plate to be served on. If you are a catch and release kind of guy, these fish will be happy to see the topside of your boat for a few seconds. Don’t forget to get involved in one or all of the local striper tournaments going on this fall. The Rick’s Bait and Tackle/ Sea Side Gas and Grill Tournament and The Bill’s Sport Shop Tournament will fill your fall with plenty of excitement.
Fishing lately has been hit or miss. Dirty water or bad weather has been the main culprit. In the back bays fisherman have found the flounder, croaker, and bluefish are biting in areas where the water is a bit cleaner. A few stripers are being taken in the Indian River Inlet and short linesiders are being found in Massey’s Ditch. The north end of Massey’s has produced some nice flounder.
Denny Stetz and Jim Pyle fished Massey’s Ditch to score flounder of 4 to over 7 pounds. Denny took a 7-pound 2oz flattie using GULP! to earn his citation. Tiny and Kathy Heimbach of Bechtelsville, Pa. fished Massey’s where Kathy scored a really nice 15 inch croaker and an 18 ½ inch flounder using salted clam. For the folks fishing Massey’s looking for puppy drum I will remind you the regulations are 3 fish at 16 inches in the Delaware Bay. The waters in the back bays have no size and no creel limits for the puppy drum. If you find yourself in the middle of one of those unbelievable days when you can’t keep them off the hook, use common sense and only keep a sensible amount. Everyone wants to fish another day.
Inshore fishing has been kind of slow due to weather conditions. On days you can fish there are sea bass, flounder, and croaker being taken between DB Buoy and DA Buoy as well as the Old Grounds. Sites #10 #11 are also producing fish.
Capt. Bill Baker of Bill’s Sport Shop on Rt #1 in Lewes reported that
Arthur Lodge of Lewes caught a citation sea bass at Site 11 weighing in at 3.81 pounds and 21 ¼ inches on Gulp! and squid. Skip Mosiej, Luther Marks and John Janewsio on the "This is It" went to the Old Grounds and came away with 5 keeper flounder to 9.25 pounds, 28 inches and 9 knot head sea bass on squid and minnows. Mike Perry, Dover, DE, called to report that he caught a 29-inch striper on the beach at 3 R's Rd. in a rainstorm. He caught it on a 3" Berkley shad on a bass fishing rod. He also reported catching several blues up to 17 inches. Puppy Drum are being reported at Massey's Landing.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said bottom fishermen have had to deal with their share of adversity over the past couple weeks. Dirty water and debris from rain runoff, ground swells from offshore storms, and strong currents surrounding the full moon all caused problems. However, on days with decent conditions, anglers still picked at flounder on the Old Grounds. There haven’t been many flatties, but it seems most caught were keepers. Some were real quality specimens, like the impressive 11.39-pound doormat landed by Gary Ebling, south of DB Buoy on Saturday. There may still be a considerable number of fluke around, but it’s probable that they’re on the move and recent weather events have kept them from grouping up in certain areas like they normally do at this time of year. There has been some pretty good sea bass action between DB and DA Buoys, and that should hold up until the season closure from October 12 to 31. After that, bassers will start checking out wrecks and reefs in deeper water as fish stage during movement offshore. Croakers were hard to come by this past week, but snapper blues have been plentiful. Snappers were also abundant in the surf, and casters at Cape Henlopen caught blues using fresh mullet. Small blues were taken around the Outer Wall and on Delaware Bay reef sites too. Bay reefs also gave up a few flounder, kingfish, blowfish and triggerfish. One encouraging sign is the increased number of weakfish. Several anglers reported catching spike trout in the Bay, and maybe they’re on the verge of a comeback. Spot continue to be decked from the Cape Henlopen Pier by folks using bloodworms and FishBites. Tautog season reopens September 29, and toggers expect to find tog and some lingering triggerfish and sheepshead around the rocks of the Inner and Outer Walls and Ice Breakers. Keeper stripers were pulled from Lewes Canal. Joe said he had a pair of fishermen stop by the shop for eels, which they used to capture two 30-inch rockfish near the drawbridge. They released 15 other bass as well, and had a bonus keeper trout they caught near the boat ramp on Broadkill River, just before they hauled out for the day.
Getting back to the fall fishing, there really is a lot of good fishing yet to come. Indian River Inlet is always a hot spot for targeting stripers. The Inlet is also a spot where big flounder stack up before heading to the deeps of the ocean. When the water temp starts to make a fast drop the fishing activity will surely increase. Big stripers, big flounder, big bluefish all getting ready for a big move. These fish will be ready to eat and you just need to be the one serving them a platter. Live eels, live spot, black salties all work well to entice the stripers and trolling along the coastline is another way to target them.
No matter how you fish this fall just be sure to have fun, be safe, and only keep what you need. I hope everyone has a great fall and winter with very Happy Holdays and be sure to check back with the Coastal Fisherman in January for the winter issue.
Fishing has come to a big slow down with the kids back in school and Mother Nature wielding her nasty weather stick. Dirty water and unfavorable sea conditions have kept most boats in their slips. Those venturing out are finding a few fish in the normal spots. Inshore fishermen are finding a few sea bass, flounder, and croaker at the DB and DA Buoy areas. The Old Grounds is also giving up a few fish. Most of the offshore activity seems to be south near the Poorman’s Canyon. Back Bay fishermen are finding dirty water to be a big thorn in the side. Ten-year-old Josh Dabbs of Millsboro used squid to fool a 6.2 pound flattie in Indian River Inlet. Crabbing continues to be good also.
Striper season is just around the corner and now is the time to gear up. Be sure the rod and reel are ready for a fight. Check your line to see if it should be changed to insure you come out on the winning end of the battle. Live eels, live spot, Black Salties, and bucktails will probably be your weapons of choice. When fishing the Inlet try your best to be a good sport. Indian River Inlet is able to fish a good number of boats without be in any extra danger. When we had the striper blitz in the spring many people just got out of control and made it a bad situation. Hopefully we will have a great fall run and let’s try to make it safer and more enjoyable. Striper chasers fishing the ocean and the mouth of Delaware Bay will be using Stretch 25’s, umbrella rigs, big bucktails, and live bait.
To make the striper season even more exciting, get involved in a tournament or two. There will be various contests going on in the area and this is a great way to make every trip a bit thrilling. Here at Rick’s Bait and Tackle we are running a tournament in conjunction with Sea Side Gas and Grill. The contest starts October 1st and goes thru November 30th. Stop in and get signed up. Bill’s Sport Shop is also running his yearly striper tournament. Lots of added fun and you may walk away with some extra cash in your pocket.
At Rattle and Reel Sports Center on Long Neck Road, Pat tells us the larger flounder are beginning to stack up near the Inlet. He also reported some better sea bass activity at Site #10.
Capt. Bill at Bill’s Sport Shop on Rt. #1 in Lewes reported Chuck Nagle was fishing Massey's and came away with a lot of blues in the 20 to 22" size. He also pulled some sea bass and short flounder over the rail. A rare catch at Massey's! The effects of Irene must have caused this. A 5-pound sheepshead was tricked to the boards with clam as bait on 9/1. Anglers on "Playin Hookey” ventured to the Baltimore on Wed. and came back with 2 yellowfin. Paul Powalski called from Cape Henlopen Pier after stopping at Bills for fresh mullet, he caught blues over 16" while chunking. He also reported that a lot of fishermen were catching sand sharks as well. We relieved the following email. "Hey Bill, We went out to DB Buoy on Wed. & did pretty good. We had a good mix of fish like croaker, sea bass, and blues lots of small flounder two that were 22 inches. Not bad for (after the storm trip). We will be going again soon and if we do well I'll let you know. Thanks again, Frank." Dom and Russell fishing on "Mr.Dom" caught 41 croaker all between 12 and 16"as well as two 16" throw back flounder. We fished west of "B" buoy using squid and silversides for bait. Chad Bayles fished at 3R's Rd. with whole mullet rigs and caught blues up to 15" and small stripers on mullet chunks. He then went to the swirls at Indian River Inlet and caught 18" blues on finger mullet and 6 kingfish up to 12 inches on FishBites. Mike Perry fished the Naval Crossing and had blues up to 15 inches on whole mullet rigs. Large spot up to 9 inches are being hauled over the boards at the fishing pier at Cape Henelopen. Massey's Ditch is producing blue fish on fresh mullet. Eddie Kim of Rockville, Md, caught a citation flounder at IRI using a white bucktail and chartreuse Gulp! The flounder weighed in at 8.45 pounds and was 27 inches long.
Capt. Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said Ocean bottom bouncers caught croakers, but not in big numbers like the previous weekend. Rough structure northwest of DB Buoy continued to be productive, however, hardheads were scattered across the Old Grounds and from DC to DA Buoys. More keeper sea bass showed among catches of anglers drifting those same areas. Snapper blues were plentiful, and ling were mingled among the catches as well. Boaters also hooked flounder, but legal size flatties have been scarce since the passage of Irene. Flatfish do like fresh meat, so strips of mullet, spot or bluefish are good choices for trying to tempt one into eating this time of year. Fishermen on Martha Marie kept two nice fluke and a bucket full of sea bass and croakers while working south of DB Saturday. Captain Carey’s crew on Grizzly iced 2 fluke out of 10 they caught, and also put a mix of about 3 dozen croakers and bass in the box near DB. The Miss Kirstin returned with a nice batch of croakers and bass from northwest of DB Saturday. Delaware Bay water conditions remained murky, but an assortment of panfish was still available around the artificial reefs. Captain Chet on the Lil’ Angler II set up at Brown Shoal Saturday, where his group enjoyed a blowfish blitz. They kept 28 of the tasty puffers, and also had 75 snapper bluefish plus a pair of nice flatfish. Peter Luketic landed a 4.07-pound flounder during a trip on the Angler. Mullet have moved into the shallows inside Cape Henlopen and along Lewes Beach, and snapper blues have been working the baitfish over pretty well. Surfcasters on the Bayside of the Cape got into mini choppers using cut fresh mullet. Spot were still hanging around the Cape Henlopen Pier. Folks lining the rails there did well with bloodworms and FishBites. At Roosevelt Inlet, anglers had throwback flounder, and a few nice keepers, like the 4.42-pound flattie Angela Wallace captured while casting a Gulp! On the offshore scene, boats trolling 40 fathoms between the Rockpile and the Washington found white marlin. Skipjack overnighted in the Baltimore Friday for a yellowfin and some dolphin, plus a swordfish release. It’s the time of year for wahoo inshore, and ‘hoos have been reported on twenty fathom structure like the Hot Dog, Hambone and Chicken Bone. Wahoo often orient themselves to free floating objects, so it’s worth checking out any weeds or wood you come across.
Dirty water and floating debris was not enough to keep local fishermen off the water. Those fishermen who got their boats back in the water and ventured out did so with a fair amount of success. Scott Fluharty and crew fished the Baltimore Canyon to score some nice yellowfin and dolphin to near 30 pounds.
Hunter Culver got his first white marlin release while fishing the Baltimore with his father Donnie.
Inshore fishermen have started to score more keeper sea bass while fishing the DA and DB Buoy areas. Boyd Lord on the “Capt Snooze” fished between B and A and got into some nice sea bass, croaker, and a few flounder.
Bob Cleveland on “Deputy Dog” took Denny Reber to his hot spots to score a dozen real nice sea bass and some croakers that the sharks didn’t get on the way up. Capt. Barry “Matey” Brittingham had his brother Alan, and their dad Wayne just southeast of DB Buoy to score 10 keeper sea bass, I big croaker and 10 throwback flounder. They were fishing aboard Barry’s boat “Reel Allure”.
Back bay action has been a bit slow since the storm and probably is due mostly to dirty water. Most successful folks have been scoring just inside the Indian River Inlet. The water there seems to have cleared up a bit more therefore providing more activity. Crabbing continues to be good to great even with the dirty water. Eleven-year-old Noah Tuohey of Middletown, De. caught his first keeper flounder while fishing Massey’s Ditch using minnows.
Some of the best fishing of the season should be getting underway anytime soon. Normally some of the largest flounder of the year are taken in September to Thanksgiving. This year the season closes October 24, so now is the time to get that big flattie on the deck of your boat. Striper season will be getting underway real soon and now is the time to gear up! Offshore fishing should continue to improve if Mother Nature does not send us too many storms.
Capt. Bill Baker of Bill’s Sport shop on Rt. #1 in Lewes reports that Deacon Dave McDowell and his son, Vince, along with Captain Bill and his grandson, Joey Neely, aboard the Slicker III, fished the Old Grounds and B Buoy, and caught a 19" flounder along with a few throw backs. The party also managed some lingcod. We received an email from Ray Hibbs of Long Neck, De. that read; " I realize this report may be a little late but believe it or not it was not only my first keeper flounder of the season but more importantly it was the first keeper aboard my new boat the "Lumikko" (the Weasle in Finnish). Fishing with my buddy Ray Long, the day became quite windy and Indian River Bay’s water became a little sloppy, pretty slow all in all. Along with the 18 inch keeper flounder, a few tiny sea bass, small sand sharks, and a few other throw-back flounder. Sorry to ramble on, but it was just a memorable day for me. Thanks for listening." Jim Mahony of “Blue Collar Man Charters reported that while trolling the East wall of the Baltimore Canyon, Capt. Neil Brosnahan, had a great day in glass smooth seas electrifying his (Rocky Wilkerson) charter party with a great White Marlin bite releasing 4 whites and landing one to document the first marlin for angler Brandon "Beaner" Germer of Elizabethtown PA. The white was caught on trolled ballyhoo. "Beaner" was excited about earning himself a marlin piece of hard ware to be displayed proudly around his neck on his next charter." A 28-inch, 8-pound flattie was pulled from the Old Grounds by Captain Joe Huk. The party also caught about 20 more flounder, only 3 keepers, blues and croaker. A fun day aboard the "Fish Huk II" with sidekick Al Joseph. Brett Hamstead and Bill Weiss fished Herring Point using fresh spot on green top and bottom rigs. In close was the place for plenty of bluefish action with the largest being 14 to 15 inches.
Capt. Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina informed us that after the passage of Hurricane Irene, inshore fishing action slowed down considerably. By week’s end, catching began to improve, with best reports coming from the ocean, on live bottom surrounding DB Buoy. Big croakers made up most of the take, with fair numbers of legal sea bass mixed in. Keeper flounder were hard to come by, but Mike Shockley managed a near citation 6.9-pound doormat while casting a Gulp! from Lewes Beach Saturday evening. Bottom fish in Delaware Bay were affected by the storm as well. Hardheads and flounder were uncooperative in their usual haunts for the most part. Captain Ted on the Pirate King did find some willing croakers Saturday at the red and green DF Buoy, outside the mouth of the Bay. Snapper bluefish didn’t seem to mind the blow, and were caught on the Star Site and around the Outer Wall. Finger mullet have begun moving through near shore tidal areas, and schools were seen inside Cape Henlopen and in Roosevelt Inlet and Canary Creek. Spot are still around in good numbers, and anglers at the rails of Cape Henlopen Pier pulled in plenty using bloodworms and FishBites. Bunker remain in the Bay. The combination of baitfish here now should attract and hold gamefish for some time. The major influx of fresh water due to rain and runoff from Irene has stirred things up in the Bay for a while, but it’s unlikely that catching won’t bounce back. During the last few days of tautog season, toggers at the Outer Wall had good success with blackfish during parts of the tide with clean water. This bodes well for the reopening of tog season on September 29th. Slot stripers were taken around the Lewes Drawbridge and Roosevelt Coast Guard Station before the minimum size changed back to 28 inches on September 1st. Boats running offshore encountered yellowfin tuna between the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons after the Hurricane. There was a pretty good bite the first half of the week in 50 fathoms along the 42100 line. Some nice wahoo mingled with tuna. Those fish scattered as the week wore on, but crews picked a few tuna among masses of false albacore in south moving current near the tip of the Baltimore over the weekend. Normally, the period leading up to the August full moon kicks off some good swordfish action. Squid and tinker mackerel bunch up in the deep and are available for swords to work over by the moonlight. Wes Olson found that to be true Friday night when he and his son hooked four swords aboard his “Bad Habit”, while drifting live squids through the Bight of Baltimore Canyon. They put one nice swordy in the box to take home, and released the others. Crews chasing other billfish released a few scattered white and blue marlin. Richard Fischer and his crew had a good trip to the 461 Lump Saturday. They went 3 for 5 on white marlin, and filled the box with 37 dolphin. Some additional boats trolling southern canyons had multiple fish releases, but any big concentration of tailing and cutting whites working bait, like the past couple seasons, has yet to materialize. Deep-water bottom fishing was productive for the Saturday group aboard Skipjack. Captain Chris Thurman had a decent drift on the edge of the Baltimore, despite strong current, and got into some nice tilefish. The guys ended up with 20 golden tiles, several in the 20-pound class. Patti Schneider earned a citation for the 3.45-pound knot head sea bass she wrestled from the Triple Wrecks aboard “Patient Lady”.
It’s pretty much the same old summertime fishing. Offshore action has slowed down except for dolphin action.Back bay activity remains to be throwback flounder with the occasional keeper. Some good news is that the croakers have appeared in greater numbers and providing anglers with plenty of action and fun. The best way to tangle with the croakers is to use light tackle and bloodworms or FishBites artificial bloodworms. Just a small piece on a #6 or #8 long shank hook will open the door to lots of fun. If the croakers are of any size over 12 or 13 inches, they make for some great table fare. The Old Grounds and the DB Buoy areas are producing a few more keeper flatties. Indian River Inlet is still giving up some stripers on the end of an incoming tide. Late night or early morning seems to be the best times.
Youngster Fischer Edmondson was fishing Massey’s Canyon with his Dad aboard the “Miss Five-O” with Capt. Keith Orndorff at the helm when Fischer bagged his first dolphin. It was a 2.2 pounder. Then his father Josh combined with Shawn Gallagher to score a 30-pound wahoo and 3 dolphins to 15 pounds. Another neat event this past week involved Joe Hasselhan scoring a lost Gag Grouper in Indian River using GULP!. Jessica Boyer of Frederica, De. used squid and a strip of sea robin to trick a 4-pound 8oz flounder at DB Buoy. Rine Duncan used live spot to score a 12-pound 6oz bluefish in Indian River Inlet. Wyatt Shatzer of Shippensburg, Pa. used minnow and GULP! to fool a 5 pound 9 oz. flattie.
At Rattle & Reel Sports Center on Long Neck Rd. Mickey reports of things being pretty much the norm in the Back Bays. There may be a slight increase in the number of keeper flounder being taken. Scott Swarther took his 22 foot “Reelentless” to Baltimore Canyon to score 5 white marlin releases.
Capt. Bill Baker at Bill’s Sport Shop on RT.#1 in Lewes reported of the sinking of the “Radford”. On board the Ferry yesterday, were the men who served on the "Radford", DNREC employees and many invited guests. A presentation was given by Jeff Tinsman, Reef Coordinator, who gave us a history of the ship, the reason it was chosen, and the many steps necessary to arrive at its final destination, which is 26 miles equidistant from the Indian River, Ocean City and Cape May inlets. Lunch was served on the way to the Reef. We arrived at the Del-Jersey-Land Artificial Reef around noon and witnessed the workers cutting holes in the hull with a torch. It took a couple of hours for that to happen. After the workers were taken away on a tug, the waiting game started. As we stood at the rail, cameras in tow, we waited for the stubborn lady to decide her fate. Suddenly she plunged fore, and then aft and in one minute (3:36 to 3:37) she took her last breath. Her new role will be a great fishing habitat for us. In securing title to the Radford for reef deployment, Delaware spearheaded the country's first multi-state reefing collaboration, teaming with Maryland and New Jersey for the new reef bearing the names of all three states- Del-Jersey-Land. Many thanks to The US Navy and the DNREC coordinators from each of the states especially to Jeff Tinsman for his perseverance over the years to achieve this great result along with his many other accomplishments on the reefing program.
In fishing news we had Ellie Stull, age 7, of Newark DE, was fishing at Port Lewes with squid and came away with 6 croakers. Ellie and her sister Amanda were rewarded with a couple of new poles from their dad. Don Coffin of New Castle, De, used spec rigs for the first time tipped with Gulp! Shrimp. He caught a 19" flounder at Massey's Landing. We received an email from Frank: "Thanks for the great fishing reports. "I fished at Site 6&7 with my brother and his friend and did pretty good. We got 9 keeper flounder, 33 croakers, 19 blues, 5 sea bass, 2 trout and 3 fish that we were told were barjacks. I have been fishing the Delaware Bay for over 40 years and have never seen a barjack. I'll stop in and see ya in your store again soon and show you a pic. THANKS again!!!" James Nolt, age 8, from Leola, PA, caught a 2.83 pound, 20" flounder while fishing at IRI. using minnows. Tom Bailor called in to say he took his nephew, 11-year-old Frank Bailor, IV, out to catch spot with FishBites on Sabiki rigs. They were just outside of Massey's Ditch and wound up with over 50 croakers and 2 keeper trout, they never did get to fish for the spot! Aaron Tharp, age 23, caught a 21" pickerel, at Red Mill Pond on a green and white jig.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said if you can’t catch a croaker in Delaware Bay now, you better take up golf! Boats fishing Site 8, the Star Reef, had all the hardheads they could handle. Croakers were also found in Roosevelt Inlet, along the Ferry Jetty, around the Inner and Outer Walls, and in Broadkill Slough. Some larger specimens have been showing, with more over 12 inches mixed in. Clams, bloodworms, shrimp and FishBites have been favorite baits for the scrappy panfish. Hardheads are fun to catch and great table fare. They’re quite tasty fried, or can be turned into delicious fish cakes. When the bite is good, it’s easy to get caught up in the catching, so try to keep only what you can use. Patrons on the Angler, Indian and Pirate King had hot hardhead fishing all through the week. The Hawkeye, Miss Kirstin, Top Fin and Martha Marie got in on the croaker action too. Bottom bouncers also found spot, kingfish, blowfish, porgies and snapper blues with hardheads, making for a nice summertime mixed bag. Despite tidal effects from the full moon, flounder fishing was good for guys working the rubble of Bay reef sites. Captain Carey’s flukers on Grizzly got 10 keepers at Site 7 on Friday. The largest was a 6.25 pounder decked by Dennis Fish. Flounder specialist Joe Walker checked in an 8.77-pound doormat he also hooked at Site 7 on Friday. Ocean flattie fishermen had success as well. The rocky, live bottom between DB and DA Buoys held plenty of fluke. On Thursday, Edwin “Max” Maxwell scored his limit of quality flounder while jigging with Captain Ricky Yakimowicz. “Beaver” Ruff, Barney Gallagher and Wes Olson iced their limit of fine flatties and some nice sea bass southeast of DB Thursday aboard Bad Habit. The Friday gang aboard Katy Did caught 136 flatfish, putting 19 keepers to 6.8 pounds in the box. Jigging was highly effective, and the majority of flounder fell for bucktails. The Lil’ Angler returned from Saturday’s fishing with 7 keeper fluke out of many caught. Wayne Wilson and his buddies on Reel Passion had 8 for the box Saturday, along with some chunky ling. Surface water over the Old Grounds is pretty warm, and several fishermen encountered small dolphin, which made a nice addition to the day’s catch. Reef Site 11 also produced good numbers of flounder for boaters who located fish staging on underwater structure there. Inshore trollers had scattered catches of mahi and wahoo between 20 and 30 fathoms. On Thursday, Captains Brent and Dave on Katy Did found a floating tire in the Baltimore Canyon. The growth encrusted chunk of flotsam yielded 15 dolphin, including Brandon Border’s 17 pounder, and 31 triggerfish. They topped the trip off with 10 tilefish to 33 pounds. Captain John Schneider and his crew aboard Patient Lady had some fun deep dropping in the Norfolk Canyon. Among their take was 15 pound gray tile for Andrew Schneider, and a 17.1-pound gray for Bill Quirk. The highlight of the day was Bill’s 28.8 pound snowy grouper.
Even though most fish are still on the small side, there are still some nice fish cruising the back bays. There are plenty of spot to had and all you need is a piece of bloodworm or FishBites artificial bloodworm on a #8 or #10 hook and 10 to 15 feet of water. On light tackle or to keep the kids happy, these guys keep you busy. They also make great bait for a trip to the inlet. Plenty of flounder are scattered about but most are on the short end of the measuring device. Croakers
Are still around according to reports in the store but I could not find any on Friday. Some stripers are being taken in the inlet and the end of incoming tide remains the most productive with nighttime or early morning being prime.
In the ocean you can find some keeper flatties at Site #10 along with the DB Buoy area and the Old Grounds. Some sea bass are also being taken but the pickin’s are slim. When fishing for the flatties be sure you are on the bottom and don’t forget the “big bait, big fish” rule. Offshore action is still happening but has slowed in recent weeks.
Marie Grabowski fished Indian River Inlet using white GULP! to score a 22 inch flattie. Barry Downes of Pottstown, Pa. used minnows in Rehoboth Bay to trick a 5-pound 3oz flattie that measured 24 ½ inches. Steve Marando boated a 4 pound 10 oz. flounder and Ryan Marando scored a 2-pound 7oz flattie.
We had a pretty good turnout for the Rick’s Bait & Tackle / Sea Side Gas & Grill Offshore Tournament with 16 boats entered. First place in the marlin release category went to the boat “JOKEN” with 3 releases. Boat “STACEY” finished second with 3 releases also but scored after “JOKEN”. Third place went to the boat “MOONDAWG”. The dolphin division results had the boat “REELENTLESS” taking 1st and 2nd with fish of 19.4 pounds and 18.4 pounds. Third place went to “MOONDAWG” with a 17.8-pound fish. The results for the tuna division end with “STACEY” taking 1st & 2nd with fish of 53.6 pounds and 50.8 pounds. “MOONDAWG” took 3rd with a tuna of 50.2 pounds. Congratulations to all involved and look forward to a bigger and better tournament next year. Keep checking on our striper tournament, which will run from October 1st thru November 30th. I would also like to thank Scott and Cathy Fluharty and Ron and Andrea Krause from Sea Side Gas & Grill. It is always a pleasure to work with a group of fine folks. When you are fishing the backs bays be sure to stop in and fuel up the boat and the belly. They have the best gas & grub on the water!
News from Pat at rattle and Reel Sports Center on Long Neck Rd. is that fishing remains the same with small flounder, some croaker and a few blowfish being taken.
Capt. Bill Baker of Bill’s Sport Shop on RT. #1 in Lewes reports that this week there's reports of keeper flounder, lingcod and sea bass southwest and southeast of "B" Buoy. Croakers and spot are being caught at the Cape Henlopen Pier. Croakers and kings are being taken from the surf. Indian River Inlet is giving up croakers, flounder, and spot. A customer just reported 3 keeper flounder in the Broadkill. Linda and Jack Brzoska from DE caught 6 keeper flounder to 23" and 5.34 pounds in Rehoboth Bay. Minnows and John Gunderman's bucktails did the trick.. Fishing off the beach seems to be picking up. At three R's, Don Perrot picked up a nice 22-inch flounder and some keeper blues. Jimmy, his fishing neighbor, had a couple of blues plus a 55-inch black tip shark all on fresh mullet. Our neighbor Michelle, at "Seacoast Salon", caught a nice croaker with her pink rod-her first, but it will not be her last. She also used fresh mullet for bait. "Pumping Hard" out of OC stopped by to say he was at the Poorman's today trolling ballyhoo, and came away with 10 yellow fin and 2 white marlins. Bill Baker, Jr. went to the entrance of Baker's Channel on the Indian River end with Ellen, Mikey and Sarah. They picked a total of 16 flounder with 1 keeper on spec rigs and Gulp! Alive. Heard from David Koster, "Portraits in the Sand"; "You were right on your reports- the Bluefish were hitting on the incoming tide. My boat broke, so I mounted a rod holder on the wave runner and fished off the point of Cape Henlopen. The birds were diving in all over and the bluefish were right there. The Point is still closed for the beach access, but you can get there by boat. Have a great weekend and happy fishing!"
Capt. Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said croakers cooperated for Delaware Bay bottom fishermen.Anglers had been picking at hardheads over the past few weeks, but finally, appreciable numbers were caught. Boats fishing the northwest portion of Reef Site 8 had the most success with decent sized fish. Clams, bloodworms, shrimp and FishBites were favored offerings. Spot, blowfish, kingfish and snapper blues, along with an occasional keeper flounder were mixed in with hardheads. Captain Charlie’s group on Tranquila enjoyed good action Thursday, putting 70 tasty panfish in the box. Patrons on the Angler, Indian and Pirate King had plenty of croakers over the weekend. Anglers seeking spot have done well from the Cape Henlopen Pier and in the Lewes Canal and Broadkill River. Bits of bloodworms and FishBites on small hooks or sabiki rigs did the trick. Bay boaters targeting flounder found fair numbers of flatties on Reef Sites 6,7 and 8. However, there were usually limited windows when wind and current combinations allowed favorable drifting. In the ocean, where the effects of current weren’t so strong, Reef Sites 9 and 10, and rough bottom of the Old Grounds continued to yield flatfish. Bob Bryant, Sr., Bob Bryant, Jr, Brad Hawkes and Steve Reynolds drifted Site 10 Monday for 12 keepers, including a 5.5 pounder for Bob, Sr. Joe Walker and crew worked Site 10 Tuesday and wound up with 9 quality fish in the box. Among the catch was a 7.14-pound citation fluke for Tom Coyle, and a 6.05-pound doormat for Bob Bryant. Captains Brent and Dave took Katy Did to Site 10 Wednesday where their flukers captured 12 keepers while bouncing bucktails. In offshore action, billfish were reported by boats trolling Baltimore and Washington Canyons. The Katy Did had 4 white marlin and a yellowfin in the Baltimore Sunday, then rounded the day off with deep dropping for some nice golden tilefish. Captain Alan Steele and the guys on Big Herring trolled the Hot Dog Tuesday for 9 yellowfins and a pair of dolphin. A few wahoo have been showing up inshore. Adam Grove got a 27.6 pound ‘hoo while trolling near the Tea Cup.
Bruce at Capt. Mac’s on RT. #54 reported bigger flounder being taken.
The keeper / throwback ratio is starting to turn in the angler’s favor. That’s a good thing! More mullet are starting to show up which should improve all fishing. Surf fishing is also picking up with more kingfish, spot, and blues showing up. Offshore action is spread out all over the place for the trollers. Chunkers can find the bite at the Hot Dog or Hambone using butterfish or sardines.
Fishing in the Back Bays remains fair to good, but keeping is a problem. There seems to be plenty of fish but the same old story of it is a half-inch short continues to be what most anglers are finding. From the reports I am getting it seems most keepers are being found in deeper water and striking on incoming tide. Areas with some structure, such as the rocks along the south side of the inlet are also holding bigger fish. Use bigger baits and keep them bouncing off the bottom should bring you a bit more success. Dave Wise fished Rehoboth Bay with Tim Gladfelter on “Kathy Ann” to score a 7 pound 12 oz. flattie. Croaker reports have been mixed. Some folks reporting loads of croakers and others saying they can’t find them. When fishing for the croakers use either live bloodworms or FishBites artificial bloodworms to fool these scrappy critters. Both of these baits are also the ticket to catch spot. When fishing for spot be sure to use at least a #8 or #10 hook. Bluefish can still be taken in the Indian River Inlet on incoming tide. Stripers are also being taken at the ends of incoming nighttime or early morning tide.
Inshore action has also been tough when it comes to finding keeper size flatties. Capt. Chuck Cook of “First Light Charters” has been putting his parties on some keepers at Site #10. A few fish have also been taken around the DB Buoy area and the Old Grounds.
Offshore action has cooled a bit but some tuna and dolphin are still at the Hot Dog and Hambone areas. In the Rick’s Bait & Tackle / Sea Side Gas & Grill Offshore Tournament, the Sharon Lee is at the top in the tuna division with a 2.4 pounder. The Stacy has 2 at 16.2 and 15 pounds. The Jasper has 1 at 14 pounds and 1 marlin release. Moondog has a 17.8 pound dolphin and 2 marlin releases. The Joken also has 2 marlin releases. The contest runs thru Saturday, so check next week’s issue for final results.
Pat from Rattle & Reel Sports Center reported a 22-inch; 3.82-pound flattie for Tim Painter of Rockville, Md. Tim was fishing just outside Ginny Creek.
Plenty of sea robins at DB Buoy but not many keeper size flounder. Offshore the dolphin are chasing down the sardines.
Capt Bill Baker at Bill’s Sport Shop on RT. #1 in Lewes reported that Kevin, of Allentown, PA, was fishing at Massey’s Ditch with fresh clams and landed a lot of nice croaker. He also started to catch small sea bass and spot.
Bill Jr., of Bill's Sport Shop, went to Massey’s Ditch in the afternoon and using chartreuse Gulp on a speck rig he also started catching croaker and then was rewarded with a fat 23 1/2" flounder. We're getting reports from a couple of locals that fishing at Indian River Inlet at night has been very productive. Nice keeper stripers are being taken with eels. Another angler was there toward the last part of the outgoing tide using a home made fly tipped with a white worm and he was rewarded with a 10-pound bluefish.He also took a young gentleman with him and they caught so many stripers that the young gent had to beg off.His arms were too tired and that is all his father heard about for the next few days.
Paul Powalski of Bill's Sport Shop took his two nephews Collin and Brenden, ages 10 and 12, to Indian River Inlet where the youngsters caught 15 flounder. Although most were throwbacks, Collin caught his largest ever at 18 inches. They were using tube squid. Rich Moerman Jr, was fishing at Herring Point and had several nice blues, about 14 inches, caught on mullet and freshly caught spot. Shaun Galloway and friend were fishing south of Herring Point and had a good day with catches of kingfish up to 12 inches, croakers, a large ray plus 2 keeper blue claw crabs and had a 5/0 hook and float crushed and bitten in half.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said the dock was buzzing over a big flounder that was brought in. Captain Vince “Killer” Keagy of the Miss Kirstin has been fishing Delaware Bay for 35 years, but said the fish he caught Saturday was his biggest yet. The 31 inch long, 11.72 pound doormat grabbed a shad dart tipped with squid at Reef Site 7, and was fought to the boat on 12 pound test line. Congratulations to Vince on his impressive catch. Other Bay anglers also had success with flatties. Joe Walker, Tom Coyle, Bobby Bryant and Veryl Burns had their limit of 16 fluke to 5 pounds, with good drift conditions on the Brown Shoal reefs Thursday.Jack Henriksen, Ricky Mills and John “Dynamo” Deiner drifted the Brown reefs Friday for 8 nice keepers, including Jack’s 5.21 pounder. Bottom bouncers in the Bay also found spot, kingfish, blowfish, snapper blues, small trout and a few croakers. Anglers have been anxious for the arrival of large schools of croakers, but the hardheads have yet to show in any numbers. Spot have been plentiful around the Cape Henlopen pier, the inner and outer walls, in Roosevelt Inlet and on the Star and Broadkill Reef Sites. Slot size stripers were taken in Lewes Canal with eels and clams. Flounder action was good in the ocean on days with favorable conditions. On Thursday, flukers aboard Katy Did captured 11 quality keepers at Site 10, with most fish over 3 pounds. Michael Walker bucktailed a 5.8 pounder and Jerry Cuff caught a 6-pound flatfish on that trip. Captain Carey’s Saturday group on the Grizzly put 11 keeper flounder in the box at Site 10. Jonathan Thompson took the largest, a 6.5-pound beauty. In addition to Site 10, flatties were also found on rough bottom between DB and DA Buoys. Many ling were mixed in. The yellowfin chunk bite at the Hot Dog was good until mid week, but tuna were uncooperative after that. Jason and Howard Burris, Mario and Matt Disabatino and Jason Hanny set up at the Hot Dog Sunday for some fun with the yellowfins. They chunked tuna to the boat with butterfish, then got the fish really fired up by tossing in handfuls of live minnows. They put 9 yellowfins aboard, but the highlight happened when Matt cast a fly on his 14-weight outfit to the frenzied tuna, and after a wild battle, boated a 32.5 pounder.On Monday, Wes Major, Jim Curry, Dave Carlin, Thomas Borrell, Jim Mays, Jim Martelli and Erminio Savelloni travelled to the Dog aboard Katy Did, where they proceeded to chunk up 13 yellowfins and 2 dolphin. On Friday, Captain Mike Connolly on the Sea Note located tuna in Massey’s Canyon, and kept 5 yellowfins to 45 pounds, out of 9 he trolled up using ballyhoo. Offshore bottom fishing was good. Captain Pete Floyd and the guys on Candy’s Choice dropped deep in the Baltimore Canyon for 30 tilefish. The largest was a 36.3 pound golden tile landed by Pete’s Grandson, Scott Davis. Billfish activity was good in the Baltimore Canyon Saturday, with a fair number of white marlin releases. Trollers encountered decent sized yellowfins there as well. Captain Jeff Hoepfl on the Joint Venture overnighted in the Baltimore Saturday for a pair of yellowfins and a swordfish.
If the fishing would have heated up as the weather did we would all be inour glory. I’m not sure if the fish shut down as much as the anglers did. There is still a fair amount of fish being caught but as mid-summer always is, most fish are short of the legal size. I think our fisheries council and the chief flattie are conspirators in the setting of size limits each year. It just always seems to be that most fish are ¼ to ½ inch short. Somethin’s up! That is why I always say you need to be fishing for the enjoyment and not for the meat.
Back bay fishing has been providing plenty of flounder with just a few keeper-size fish mixed in. Croaker action has been spotty but should improve real soon. Lots of spot are to be had by both hook and line or the use of a spot trap. Blowfish are being caught in Rehoboth Bay and small blue fish are everywhere. Crabbing continues to be very good. Larger blues are being taken in Indian River Inlet on incoming tide. Some keeper stripers are also showing up at the end of a late night or early morning incoming tide. Capt. Aaron Hurd of “ Gale Force Charters” hosted the annual Family fishing competition of the Bullinger family where a Guys vs. Gals tournament was held with each team fishing a half-day in the Indian River Inlet area. This year the Guys won after a one-hour storm delay chased all the boat traffic away from their spot allowing them to make a strong finish in their last 50 minutes of fishing and overtake the Gals. Spot and shiners were the name of the game for the bait of the day.
Inshore fishermen are finding some bigger flounder at Site #10 and the DB Buoy areas. Jacob Klinger of Millsboro, De. fished Site #10 using a minnow/squid combo to score a 23-½ inch, 4.6-pound flattie. Capt. Chuck Cook of “First Light Charters” fished Site #10 with Gil Waddington and flounder to 5.8 pounds. Darrel Hawk and wife Sandy fished DB Buoy to trick flatties of 6.4 pounds and 5.0 pounds.
Offshore action has slowed a bit with chunkers scoring at first light and the switching to the troll mid morning. Cary Aughbaugh on “Empty Hook” trolled the Hambone with angler Tom Little scoring a 50-pound wahoo. Capt. Bill Burkhardt of “Toss Em Back” Charters took his crew on an overnighter to score 8 tuna.
Pat at Rattle and reel Sports Center on Long Neck Road said the heat kept many people from fishing. Those who could venture to the ocean did so mainly to cool off. Anglers fishing the Back Bays found croakers and short flounder.
Capt. Bill Baker at Bill’s Sport Shop on Rt.# 1 in Lewes said that at least 3 schools of blues have been seen just out of casting distance from the beach .but there are reports of some blues being taken in the 19" range from the beach. Steven Warren and Jonathan Davis of Georgetown, DE. limited out on flounder to 20" at Roosevelt Inlet caught on nuclear chicken and white Gulp! Dylan Barbour, age 11, of Rehoboth Beach caught his first three mahi mahi to 44" at Massey's Canyon on trolled ballyhoo aboard the "This is it" with Capt. Skip Mojie and Rick Mahala. Austin Smith of Virginia landed a 4.10-pound, 22 ½ inch flounder taken with a black salty from Indian River Inlet. Dan and Matt Langdon on the "Ofishal" went to the Poorman’s this past weekend and went 1 for 2 on white marlin along with a gaffer dolphin using ballyhoo and artificials. Kevin Schultze and Joseph Schultze of Milton, DE, caught an estimated 8', 260# sand tiger shark off the surf near Herring Point at Cape Henlopen State Park. They kayaked whole spot for bait 200 yards offshore using a 14/0 hook and braided 50# line. We received an email from Capt. Oak Thompson: "Hey Capt. Bill, We had another great day of fishing in Indian River Bay, caught 25 flounder with 3 keepers, 20 inches,4.5 pounds for Mike Lynch, 18.5 inches, 2.75 pounds for Mike Thompson and a 18.5 inch, 2.6 pound on live spot and minnows. Caught and released two 25" rockfish and lots of spot and blowfish on fish bite bloodworms. Lots of rod bending action. Good fishing to you!
Deanna at Hookem’ and Cookem’ Bait and Tackle in North Shore Marina
hopes you all are trying to keep cool during these sweltering temperatures. One way to stay cooler is to go out on the water and get fishing. The fishing remains hot along with these temperatures. The off shore bite continues to be the best we have seen in years. As some would say it is back to a normal year. Charter boats as well as private boats continue to go out to the Poor Man's Canyon, Hot Dog and Hambone to get either Blue fin or Yellow fin tuna. The numbers may not be as many as when the season first started but they are still impressive. The biggest blue fin tuna of the year was brought in by private boat "Boy's Toy". This fish weighed in at 108lbs and was caught out at the Poor Man's Canyon. The American Ambition and Capt. Ike II continue to be top charter tuna boats to date with numbers ranging from 5-7 fish per trip. They weigh anywhere from 30-40lbs. They were being caught on the troll, but now we are starting to hear more reports that they are being caught on the chunk with butterfish and sardines overnight and trolling during the day. Along with the tuna we are seeing some wahoo hit the docks as well. Again, American Ambition brings in a top weight of 41lbs. Mahi are still coming in, some are nice large ones as well as a few peanuts here and there. We have had one sword fish brought in by Sandy Panik, of Frederick, MD. This 49.8lb sword was caught out at Poor Man's on an over night trip. The Inlet fishing still remains good with just a little bit of a slow down with the heat. The rockfish are still showing up with live spot and mostly in the evening to nighttime hours. However, there are the occasional stripers still brought in during the day. The weights are from 9lbs to 15lbs. Not huge, but nice keeper and eating size. The flounder still are coming to the dock, most are being brought in with live spot, but minnows still work too. A nice size 12lb flounder was brought in by Randy Colona, of Rehoboth, DE. He caught it using a fly in the Inlet. Some inshore fishing has picked up with more keeper sea bass coming from the head boat Judy V. and other charter boats in the marina. #1 Hooker has brought in trigger fish, Capt. Ike II has brought in nice catches of spade fish, trigger fish, tautog and flounder too. The Miss Ene II has had a couple of nice trips with, believe it or not, Atlantic cod in the mix. The beach fishing remains ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. We have heard that there are small spot and kingfish. The best fishing on the beach is at night when the SHARKS come out. They guys are hooking up with some fresh tuna belly on an 8/0 hook and bringing in some nice size toothy critters measuring 6-8'. Be careful, remember you are no longer allowed to beach and release a shark. This is supposed to be done in the water. Good way to lose a foot, don't ya think?! Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said catching over the weekend wasn’t quite as hot as the weather, but earlier in the week, bottom bouncers enjoyed decent action. Patrons on the Angler and Pirate King had a good mix of flounder and ling northwest of DB Buoy in the Ocean. In Delaware Bay, working the artificial reefs was productive for flounder.On Thursday, flukers aboard Katy Did connected with 12 keepers while pile hopping at Sites 5,6,7 and 8. Dave Walker used a bucktail to fool his 5.5-pound flatfish on that trip. In addition to flounder, blowfish, kingfish, snapper blues and a few croakers were found on Bay reefs. Despite rising water temperatures, fluke still hung out in Lewes Canal. Nick Psaroudakis and his buddies put 7 keepers in the box on an excursion to the Canal this past week. Slot size stripers were also pulled from the Canal, primarily at night, when heat and light levels dropped. Drifting eels around the drawbridge yielded linesiders, as did casting small artificials to the shadow line of the Roosevelt Coast Guard Station lights. Rockfish also responded to topwater plugs tossed at the Outer Wall in the evenings. At Roosevelt Inlet, increasing numbers of croakers and spot were hooked by casters using pieces of bloodworms, clam and FishBites on rigs with small hooks. Tautog catches cooled off some with the hot weather, but crews that put in their time managed a few keepers for the table. Captain Pete’s toggers on Top Fin took home 17 blackfish and a big trigger on Thursday. The offshore bite was slower, but the Hambone produced bluefins, yellowfins, wahoo, dolphin and white marlin for trollers working that area Friday. Chunking with butters and bunker resulted in tuna for boats at the Hot Dog Friday. Lex Robertson reported that he fished 77-degree water at the Dog aboard the Spectacle with Captain Doc Peoples, and his group boated six nice yellowfins to 53 pounds. Boats that beat up the Bight of the Washington Canyon found a few yellowfins, the occasional Bigeye and a fair number of billfish. Closer to the beach, Captain Jeff Hoepfl on Joint Venture trolled the 12 Fathom Lump southeast of Delaware Light for 3 gaffer dolphin, including an 18.6 pounder landed by Lewis Means, plus, a 51.6 pound bluefin decked by Donna Means. John Woodson weighed in a 19.3-pound mahi he caught on the Skipjack.
Fishing Report
