Activity seemed to slow a bit the past week. After a fairly good
Holiday weekend with boats just blanketing the water there seemed to be
quite a slow-down in the catch tally. Sunday and Monday of the Holiday
I thought the lack of cooperating fish was due excessive boat traffic. The
rebound did not seem to take place but I am sure it will. Flounder fishing
in the Back Bays is fair and the bluefish are pickling up the slack. Capt.
Eric Ludwig has been providing his parties with plenty of action on blues
from 2 to 4 pounds. Mike Cunnane fished the Indian River Inlet to score
a 7-pound 6oz citation flattie. Steve Marando fished the Back Bays and
fooled a 4-pound 4oz flounder. Joe Lombardo scored on two days with
flounder of 2lb. 8oz and 3lb. 12oz. Paul Ferenczi has been using white
jig heads tipped with GULP! to score flounder and blues. John Klerlein
has been fishing Indian River Inlet and hammering stripers to 37 inches using
live eels. Carlos Chavez fished Indian River and tricked a 20Lb 1oz striper
to earn himself a state citation. David hazard fished off of Broadkill on his boat
“ADVENTURER” to score a 35-pound drum. Capt. Bob Smallwood of Dana
Lynn Charters called and informed me they slammed the 9 to 12 pound bluefish
while trolling near the Jackspot.
Don't miss out on all the fun! Sign up now for the 2010 Rick's Bait &
Tackle / Sea Side gas & Grill "FLOUNDER TOURNAMENT" and "INSHORE
TOURNAMENT". The "FLOUNDER TOURNAMENT" will be held June 19th thru
June 26th. Final registration is June 18th @ 10:00 PM. Entry fee is $15.00.
Final weigh-in is 4:00 PM on June 26th with prizes awarded shortly afterward
at Sea Side Gas & Grill. Food and drink, along with DJ music, will be available
for the after party! (BYOB)! The "INSHORE TOURNAMENT" will be held
July 17th thru July 24th. Final registration is 10:00 PM on July 16th. Final
weigh-in is 4:00 on the 24th and awards given at 5:00 PM. The categories
are heaviest bluefish, flounder, seabass, and croaker. The prize is $200.00
for each category. Once again there will be an after party with food and drinks
available, (BYOB), and the entertainment will the blues band "PORK ROLL
PROJECT". This is a great band and everyone should have a blast!
At Rattle & Reel Sports Center on Long NeckRoad, Ron
flounder are still in the Back Bays and showing a liking for minnows
or GULP!. Ron said adding the minnow to the GULP! also make a
tasty treat for the flatties. Stripers seem to be abundant in the Indian
River Inlet and live eels are really tempting them. Ron also wants to
Inform everyone of their upcoming flounder tournament, June 25th,
26th, and 27th.
Denise at Henlopen Bait & Tackle on savannah Road in Lewes,
reports pretty fair flounder action in the Delaware Bay. David Wells
fished the Bay to score a 7.52Lb 27.5-inch citation flattie. She also
said the bluefish action on the beaches is pretty good.
From Bill’s Sport Shop on RT# 1 in Lewes, we get the current
standings in their flounder tournament. In 1st place is William Rawlings
with a 9.45 lb. , 28.25 inch flounder. In second is Don Ruth with a 9.12
pounder that measures 28.5 inches. John Goethe is 3rd with an 8.05
pound, 27.75 incher. Don Ruth also holds 4th place with a 6.66 pound
28-inch flattie.
In other fishing news from Bill’s we hear that Brian Bott weighed in a 3.14 lb tournament flounder. Shannon Coyle of Milton, De. Landed a 22.35 lb 40" striper at IRI on a bucktail. Carnestia Brackett, of Milford, was fishing cut herring at Roosevelt Inlet and brought a 45.5 inch citation striper over the rocks that hit the scales at 31.55 lbs. Tom Flickinger, of Pennsville, NJ, boated a 69 lb, 48" drum at the Coral Beds on clams. James Schraf, of Bethesda MD, caught a 17.90 lb, 37.5" striper at IRI on swim shad. Jim also caught 3 blues and 3 shad. Mike Snesavage, of Lebanon, Pa, weighed in a citation drum that at 60.9 lbs and measured 47" at the Coral Beds on surf clams. Gary Wasbers was fishing IRI from a boat using minnows as bait and nailed 12" to 14" blues by the hundreds. Bob Zak, of Milton, weighed in a 4.64 lb tournament flounder caught in DE Bay. Ellen White caught a 22" flounder fishing on the south side of the IRI using a Gulp bait. Bill Jr. ( Pockets) boated an 18 3/4" flounder drifting a Gulp in IRI. Sue and Roy Killen traveled to Site 11 and caught 25 sea bass with 7 keepers. They were using frozen sand fleas for bait. On another trip, they returned to Site 11. The bite was not as good as it was on the previous outing. Ed Stickline, Anthony Cichacki and Louie Sartorie caught 2 makos up to 171 lbs at the Fingers on mackerel and bluefish fillets. Keith Tolley boated 52" black drum with a 46" girth using clams at the Coral Beds on Sat. night. Bob McDonough, of Bear, De reeled in a citation drum weighing in at 53.05 lbs, and measuring 45" also at the Coral Beds on clams. Greg Wengryn weighed in a 20 3/4", 3.15 lb tournament flounder. Paul Caras was fishing for a tournament flattie and weighed one in that was 4.30 lbs, measuring 23 1/2". Brian Elliot from Bill's Sport Shop, caught his limit of stripers up to 20.10 lbs, and 39" at IRI using rigged eels. Bill Gregg, of Wilmington DE, caught a 16.35 lb 38" striper on the beach at Gordon’s Pond on a bunker chunk. Capt. Oak sent us an email: "Good weekend despite the boat traffic Jeff Sherwood, 21.5" flounder, Mike Thompson, 18.5" flounder, Capt. Oak 23.5" flounder, lots of throw backs on bucktails and squid at 20 marker IR Bay. Snapper blues and hickory's in the inlet on white spec rigs.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said shark fishermen had success with makos during the past week. Ron Baker and crew aboard the Reely Hooked checked in a nice blackeye they captured from the Fingers. Jeff Hoepfl and friends released a pair of makos while sharking near the Triple Wrecks on the Joint Venture. Captain Dave Walker and the boys aboard Reel Naughty boated a 115-pound mako and released a larger one in the vicinity of the Marine Electric wreck. Sharks have shown on traditional structure between twenty and thirty fathoms, with spots such as the Sausages, Fingers, Massey’s Canyon, Hambone, Hot Dog and Chicken Bone offering chances at makos. Water surface temperature has reached 68 degrees, and there have been decent numbers of makos and blue sharks inshore. Some really big threshers have been landed as well. A 525 pounder was taken on Rain E Daze at the Fingers, and a monster 627.6-pound thresher was boated by the crew of Playin Hooke. Threshers normally take up residence along the Delaware shipping lane when sea bass spread out onto the Old Grounds. The stretch between DB and DA Buoys is usually productive for longtails.Sea bass action slacked off following the full moon, but bass continued to come from reef site 11. Some skippers speculated the slowdown was due to spawning that usually takes place this time of year. Fluke have been mixed in at site 11. Ken Brittingham bested a 6.5-pound flatfish there aboard the Grizzly. Harry Weaver was working a 4-ounce Crippled Herring jig at site 11 when he connected with a pool winning 5 pounder on Thelma Dale IV.Flounder have started to be pulled from Delaware Bay structure too. Reef sites 6 and 7 near Brown Shoal have started to produce. Jeremy Scott scored a 4.95-pound flounder on the rubble aboard Martha Marie. A few flounder were found along bottom changes between F and G Buoys in the Anchorage as well. It was about this same time last year when flounder action was so good on mussel beds in the Anchorage. Even though flatties have come from structure in the Bay, shallow water near to shore continues to offer the most consistent catching. The flats inside Cape Henlopen and around the fishing pier have been good. Even fly fishermen wading warm waters close to the beach have had luck with flatties while casting Clousers and other small weighted patterns. The Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet still offer good opportunities for flounder. Aaron Strausbaugh checked in a limit of fine flatties, including a 7.09 pound citation doormat, he caught drifting minnows in Broadkill River. Alan Herr and Tim Craley stopped by with seven quality fluke to 4.5 pounds they got while jigging Gulps! in the Canal. J.T. Tharp nailed a 5.35 pounder at Roosevelt with a minnow. Seven-year-old Dillon Peden had 3 flounder to 19 inches at Roosevelt. Numbers of black drum have dwindled since the last full moon, but a few boomers were taken from Tussey’s Slough and the Pin Top. Mark Riley reeled in a 68 pounder on the Martha Marie. Dan Cornell captured a 64.3 pounder on the High Hook, and Ronald Demmitt decked a 63 pounder on the Old Grady. Striped bass were hanging out along the rocks of the Outer Wall. Casting artificials in the evening was an effective method for attracting bass. Bomber, Stretch 12+ and Bunka Boy plugs worked well. Storm shads, bucktails and RatLTraps also accounted for stripers. Nate Landis was diving along the Wall when he speared a 36.4-pound trophy linesider that took him for a wild ride. Rockfish have also shown up in the Lewes Canal. Drifting eels around the drawbridge will get their attention. Bottom fishermen using clams, bunker or squid heads catch rock too. Casting lures to lighted boat docks lining the canal at night results in striper bites as well. Don’t forget the summer slot season when anglers can keep 2 stripers between 20 and 26 inches per person per day from Delaware Bay and its tributaries. An occasional striped bass was taken in surf. Michael Walsh beached a 16.5 pounder at Herring Point.
