Hi Folks  Fishing this past week has been pretty good. Flounder are still

being taken in the back bays. The VFW Slough, Burton's Island, Gull

Island and Massey's Ditch are giving up flatties. Rehoboth Bay is also

providing some keeper size fish. Dave Steiner from Pots Nets Dockside

used GULP! to fool his 5.5 pound, 26.5 inch flattie. Larry Reich took a

25.5 inch, 6-pound flounder from the back bays using just 4 Lb test line.

Indian River Inlet has been keeping anglers busy hauling in stripers

and shad. Jared Becker took a 22Lb 10oz linesider that measured 37.5

inches while fishing the jetty. Debbie Hannum and Freddie Burton fished

from the rails near the Coast Guard Station and banged the stripers. Debbie

weighed in a 29 pounder and Freddie had a 21 pounder. They both had their

limit. Bob Cleveland on "Deputy Dawg" trolled the coastline to score stripers

in the 30 inch range. So all in all fishing has not been bad and if the winds ever lay down it should be fantastic. Activity in the ocean should start to pick up with the opening of sea bass Saturday. As the water continues to warm the flounder action should warm up also. A few reports of ocean flatties have come by anglers fishing for threshers and dragging a bait on the bottom. When you begin fishing that deep water for flounder be sure your bait is on the bottom. The use of braided line will allow you to accomplish this with less weight and you will also find it much easier to detect a lite bite. Another thing to keep in mind when fishing the deeper water is to use bigger bait. If you are using cut bait, use a longer strip than might use in the back bays. Be sure to give the fish enough time to get the whole bait in its mouth before you try to set the hook.

At Henlopen Bait & Tackle on savannah Rd in Lewes, Denise reported not much happening and had a pretty slow week probably due to the winds.

Joey at Rattle & Reel Sports center on Long Neck Road reported flounder

action in the VFW Slough and Lewes Canal, and stripers in the Indian River Inlet.

From Bill’s Sport shop on RT #1 in Lewes we received the following information.

Joel Thompson was a local fisherman who disappeared from the IRI jetty on Tuesday, April 27th. All of the Bait and Tackle shops have united in an effort to support Joel's wife, Shannon, and son, Andrew.  An account in Shannon's name has been created for donations.  If you wish to help, donations can be made at the following stores:  Bill's Sport Shop, Rick's Bait & Tackle, Old Inlet, Henlopen Bait & Tackle, Ole Salt, Lewes Harbor, Hook'em & Cook'em, Rattle & Reel, Captain Bones and A & R Bait & Tackle.  Among the many donations that have been received, the Saltwater Fly Anglers of DE has donated $200.00. This is your opportunity to help one of your own. 
Don Knowles caught an 8.34Lb citation tog on green crabs at the Outer Wall. Jim Welch of Wilmington boated an 8.30Lb. tautog also on green crabs at the Outerwall. Scott Reed also hit the Outerwall and showed up at the store with a 23" citation tog that hit the scales at 8.15Lbs. William Rawlings of Laurel, DE caught a 28.25", 9.45Lb tournament flounder putting him in first place.
Joe Beaudet used clams to nail a 12.90Lb. striper at IRI on clams. Chuck Nagle, of Bill's Sport Shop, strikes again with a lunker, 22.5", 3.85Lb. blue on fresh bunker at Massey's Ditch. Kwan Chon landed a 19", 2.49Lb tournament flounder.
Eddie Kim weighed in a 21", 2.74Lb. Tournament flounder. Bob Adams was fishing the rocks at the Outerwall and pulled a citation 9.2Lb., 26.25" tog.
Joe Coyne caught and released a 50" striper on clams at Herring Point. On the day before, Joe also caught 4 stripers (all released) up to 37".
Bobby called from the Pier and reported that an angler was fishing next to the Pier when a school of dolphin pushed a school of bunker right up to the beach.  Pete Hoerner cast a Gulp right into the school and pulled out a 38", 17.75Lb striper. Despite bad weather, Old Inlet held their annual surf tournament.   With 289 participants, only 7 scoring kingfish were beached.  No blues or stripers came through the suds, but there were plenty of skates and sharks.

From Hook’em & Cook’em Bait & Tackle at North Shore marina

Deanna sent us the following information.
If you were looking for good fishing action, then it was a great week to fish the inlet and a bad week to be a rockfish.
The week had a slow start but then around Thursday that all changed.
Rockfish started showing up on Thursday at the mouth of the jetty and steadily moved in for this weekend.
Over all the bite improved both day and night. Sometimes it didn't seem to matter if it was day or night or what tide you were fishing on.
The night bite was great on Friday with some people referring to it as a "Frenzy" all along the inlet. This all happened between the beginning and the end of the tide with many fisherman catching there limits with an hour or two.
Paul Cronshaw and John Quattlebaum caught their limits Friday night before the thunderstorms. Others said they fished after the storms around 3am and they were still landing fish off the rocks or by boat.
Fisherman reported catching anywhere from the bridge to the Coast Guard Station on both the North and South sides of the Inlet.
Most fisherman have been catching their keepers using white bucktails with white worms, some have been fishing with Tsunami and Storm Lures. 5" & 6" lures in colors that range from golden mullet, shad or blue back herring.
Most of the fish have been reported from 30" up to 45". We have had several brought in to the fish cleaning table that ranged in weight from 13-24lbs.
Not to be out done by the inlet the surf had a few rock fish on Friday evening, before sunset. A 19lber was brought to our southern store in South Bethany from the surf at Bethany Beach. It was caught on a finger mullet. So you better have finger mullet along with that tried and true bunker bait.
Blue fish were also reportedly being caught in the inlet, but not in any large numbers yet. They were of the snapper variety and ranging from 12"-16".
Along with the blue fish the shad are schooling out in the inlet too. Most are snagging these fish with spec rigs of various sizes and colors. One man reported that he caught shad for almost 2 hours the other night.

Flounder action has slowed a bit, but only more fishermen have turned their attention to fishing for the striper right now.
A few flounder were brought in on Saturday. Minnows on plain hooks or bucktails, or Gulp "Pearl White Swimming Mullet" on a 1/2 oz jig head are still the ticket when fishing for the flatties. These fish are still being caught in the back bay around the same areas....Massey's Ditch and the VFW Slough. It is still is too early to see them out in the ocean.
And while tog fishing is closed and black sea bass is still closed, ocean fishing is still in limbo.
Only one week left until we can fish for those sea bass, we are counting down the days!!!

Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said black drum turned on around Friday’s new moon. Crews reported good action with boomers on the Coral Beds and near the submerged piles off Slaughter Beach. Best bites occurred during the evening flood tide. Surf clams were the favored bait. Guys on the Pirate King returned to the dock by 10 pm Friday with 6 drum to 70 pounds. Captain Carey’s group aboard the Grizzly scored 6 drum Saturday night. The Grizzly got 5 big drum Friday night, including an 83.5-pound behemoth for Dan McDermott. Grizzly’s gang the night before harvested 3 fish. Janet Grow caught her first black drum, a 60.9 pounder she boated on the Pirate King Saturday. Janice Barton celebrated her birthday by catching a limit of 3 drum to 32 pounds aboard the Angler Saturday Night. Drumming should be in full swing for Memorial Day weekend, and normally peaks with full moon at the end of May. Joe said the shop will be carrying surf clams through the run, but suggests reserving bait early in the week. Stripers continue to roam the surf. Drew Stuchlik and Judah Lynam limited out with 4 big bass Saturday. The largest was Judah’s 32.8-pound bruiser. Their success came while soaking bunker heads near the Herring Point jetties. Boaters casting artificials along the Outer Wall as well caught striped bass. Bomber plugs and Storm Shads were popular lures. Flounder came from the Lewes Canal, Roosevelt Inlet and the Cape Henlopen Pier. Gulp! Swimming Mullets in pink, white or chartreuse were quite effective for flatties. Some anglers combined Gulp! with shiners, minnows or a strip of cut bunker for a deadly flatfish sandwich. Joe said there’s been a good response to the Canal Flounder Tournament to be held Friday May 21, and he’s expecting a big turnout. Many fishermen are also anxious for the reopening of sea bass season May 22. The Ocean wrecks and reefs have been left alone all winter and should hold plenty of knotheads.

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