Hi Folks,

                        Fishing in the Back Bays continues to be productive for guys

              targeting flounder. Minnows and squid are still the #1 arsensol to trick

              the flounder. The Berkley GULP! products have really made a huge impact

              on the success for many anglers. Fishing the GULP! on just a normal flounder

               rig or fishing it on a jighead will surely improve your catch numbers. A little

               twitch of the rod will entice the fish to strike your bait. There have been a few

               reports of small croakers in the Rehoboth Bay and Indian River. Spot are also

               making more of an appearance and are being sought after for use as bait. In the    

               Indian River Inlet stripers are being taken on live spot, live eel, and on storm or

               Tsunami lures.

                         Some of the successful anglers we’ve seen this past week are Butch

               Wills and Jim Alexander who fished together in the Indian River Bay using

                minnows to bag 3 flatties to 3.5 pounds. John King of Millsboro used a minnow

                to trick the 6 pound 14 ounce flounder he took home. Jayden Hezkrote fished

                the inlet to bag a 3 pound 8 ounce and 2 pound 8 ounce flattie. Ron Spitz fished

                the Anchorage in Delaware Bay to boat 2 flounder that measured 25 inches.

                          It appears the action in the ocean is picking up both inshore and

                Offshore. Inshore action seems to be improving at Site #10 and around the

                 DB Buoy areas. Sea bass sizes are getting better and the flounder action is

                 heating up. Offshore reports show some improved action on the bluefin tuna,

                 bluefish, and sharks. Gary Aughenbaugh had his boat,”Empty Hook” to the

                 19 Fathom Lump to troll up a 45 pound bluefin for Shane Noll to do battle

                  with.

             From Bill’s Sport Shop on RT# 1 in Lewes, the word is summer                     fishing is well underway and the fishing is heating up as fast as the temperatures.  The reports on flounder, tog, striper and offshore have
been encouraging. A customer reported that he fished Fenwick Shoals and threw back 10 tog to 5 lb and caught 68 triggerfish, keeping 48. On the way in, they fished the Inlet and caught 1 keeper striper, 2 keeper flounder, several blues and 2 Spanish mackerel. Trey Parker was fishing the Tuna Tournament at IR and nailed a 42lb, 8 oz YFT and also released a 70+ lb white marlin. Cindy Wesley caught an 18" Spanish mackerel and limited on blues to 15" at 3Rs Road on mullet. John Taylor Jr. of Denver, PA caught a 7.5 lb., 26.5 "citation flounder in the Rehoboth Bay on live spot. West Sarver fished on the "Calvin J" at the Star Site and boated 2 flounder over 4 lbs with 5 fish altogether. He also caught small sea bass on the structure. Cliff Neal called from 3'R s Rd.  Letting us know that he had a keeper 19" flounder and a fat throwback striper on mullet off the surf. David Sullivan of Darlington, Md, caught a 5.38 lb., 24" flounder on squid and minnow combo at IRI.
John Kitchen caught dolphin to 10lb at 19 Fathom Lump on ballyhoo.  John’s crew caught blues to 10lb. on anything they trolled at the Hambone. Jim Bell and Chris Shepperd caught 12 tog to 17 1/2 " on sand fleas at the Outerwall.
Todd Buchnan caught a 110 lb mako at the 20 Fathom Fingers on
mackerel/bunker fillet.  Michael Davidson on an overnighter on the "Little One" caught a 120lb mako, 2 yellowfin, 48 and 53 lbs and 4 dolphin over 15 lbs. at the 500 line in the Washington Canyon.

            The IRBA's TaTa Tuna Tournament was a big success.  The heaviest fish was    144.7 lb.bluefin tuna on the "Mr. Lures".  Second and third places went to "Obi Wan" who graciously donated half their winnings back to the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. They took home $4900.00.   Heaviest dolphin, 22lbs., hit the decks of the "On Delivery".  Over $17,000.00 was awarded to the twelve boats that finished in the money.  Capt. Oak Thompson, "MOODY BLUES VI", reported that they had the best fishing of the year. Oak caught and released over 1oo flounder with 5 keepers over 19 inches. using minnows and live spot drifting between the old gull island and 15 marker. The outgoing tide seemed to be the best. He also reported blues and short rockfish in the Inlet.  Joe and Dan Slautterback of Mifflintown, PA. caught a 20.8 lb. 40.5" striper and a 12.15 pounder on live eels at the Indian River Inlet.
              Ron at Rattle & Reel Sporting Center on Long Neck Rd reported

really good flounder action in the back bays. The stripers are still hitting in the

Inlet on live spot. The DB Buoy area is providing much improved action on the

sea bass and flounder. Ron tells us that croakers can be found anywhere in

Delaware Bay.

               The information from Bert at Hookem’ and Cookem’ Bait and Tackle

at Indian River Marina confirms the reports of good flounder action in the back bays and near the Inlet. Live spot is the ticket for stripers in the Inlet. A few trout have also been taken in the Inlet on live spot. Small blues are also being found on the incoming tide. Surf action is kind of slow with small blues, kingfish, and spot providing most of the action. Sharks and skates are almost always willing to provide some action. Headboat action is consisting of flounder and sea bass with catches on the rise. The Massey’s Canyon, Hambone, and 19 Fathom Lump areas are finally starting to show some signs of life. Bluefin tuna, dolphin, and bluefish are being taken. A 153-pound mako was taken at the Fingers and a blue marlin was taken at the Hot Dog. Poorman’s Canyon and the Baltimore Canyons are holding yellowfin tuna and white marlin.

                           While talking to talking to Dan at Henlopen Bait & Tackle on Savannah Rd in Lewes, we found out the Lewes Canal is still a good place to fish for flounder. Ten to twelve inch croakers are available all over the Delaware Bay. A few tog and triggerfish are still on the wall but it seems most are moving to deeper water. Dan told me the surf action is pretty slow which is typical for this time of year.

                 Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said structure continued to yield good numbers of flounder for Delaware Bay and ocean anglers. The Star Reef Site 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. 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. Guys using 2 to 3 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. A few of the other big flatfish to hit the dock this week included Captain David Walker’s 7.16 pounder, and a pair weighing 5.25 and 6.46 pounds for Rob Karpovich. Captain Ted’s Saturday group aboard the Indian had a nice catch near DB Buoy, with one whopper measuring 28 inches. Shallow water fishermen still had fluke in the Lewes Canal, Roosevelt Inlet, and around the piers inside Cape Henlopen, but the number of keepers has dwindled. However, Joe said even Eric Burnley managed a legal size flattie while making a few casts off the dock one morning this week. Tossing shad darts or other jigs tipped with minnows or Gulp! to the rocks at the base of the Ferry Jetty and Inner and Outer Walls resulted in flounder too. 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 got a 9.25-pound sheepshead while free diving the Outer Wall. More and 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 for the hardheads. 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 live lining 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 ate a spot in Indian River Inlet. Tuna action improved. It seems bluefins found the large concentrations of bait that have been hanging out along the thirty-fathom line. Bill Swords and crew were trolling ballyhoo at the Tea Cup Saturday, when Matt Clement landed a 125-pound bluefin. The guys also hooked two other big tuna, including a 68 incher they released. Captain Larry Coyle’s gang had yellowfins of 45 and 55 pounds, plus three gaffer dolphin while trolling Poor Man’s. Among the mahi was Michael Fuhr’s 17.7 pounder.

        ‘Til next week, Have Fun and Be Safe!!!!!!!!!!