Hi Folks,

Sure is great to be writing a fishing report again. I hope everyone did

well over the winter. It was too cold and too long for my liking. It’s over and time

to get to a great fishing season. Things started off a bit slow but catches are really starting to happen. If the winds stop blowing all the time we should be

in for a great season. Delaware’s flounder regulation is 18 ½ inches with a

daily limit of 4 fish. This will change to 18 inches and 4 fish a day starting May

11. The season will close October 24. Sea bass will open May 22 with a size

limit of 12 ½ inches and 25 fish per day. Local catches have been on the rise and

should continue to rise as the water temps also rise.

Kenny Gregg was drifting through Massey’s Ditch for flounder using cut

herring and a minnow when a hungry 10 pound 10 ounce striper decided he wanted to be at Kenny’s dinner table. George Mood was soaking fresh bunker at

the Cape Henlopen beach when a 33-pound striper decided he wanted to dine with George. Jerrod Briddel of Selbyville was fishing the North Jetty in Indian River Inlet using Storm lures when he did battle with a 32-inch striper.

Flounder activity is picking up in Massey’s Ditch and Indian River.

Alex Raptapolus of Harrisburg, Pa. took an 18-½ inch from the Inlet using

Cut herring on a bucktail. Paul Ferenczi fished the outgoing tide in Massey’s Ditch using a spec rig and GULP! to score an 18 ¾ inch flattie. Tina Thomas

Of New Providence, Pa. used GULP! in the VFW Slough to trick a 19-inch flounder. Denny Stetz and Jim Pyle fished the VFW Slough using GULP! on

a jig head to score 5 keeper flatties and 8 throwbacks. Denny had big fish of the

day with a 6 pound, 10 ouncer. Many of the fisherman that have been having

success catching these early fish is reporting the fish are beginning to scatter

and move throughout the back bays. If you find yourself in a position to be able

to fish on a sunny afternoon with an outgoing tide, the more shallow spots should

be the place to score some flatties.

Remember to handle the throwbacks as little as possible and return them to the water as soon as possible. If they are hooked deep, please cut your

line and allow the fish a chance to survive to be fun for you or someone else on

another day. Be safe on and around the water and be conscious of the fish we take so that we can have a great season and many more to come!

Bill’s Sport Shop on RT #1 in Lewes told us John Lupinetti went fly-fishing at White Clay Creek and nailed 5 rainbow trout on his favorite fly.  John said 3 were large but he released all fish. THEY'RE HERE! Reports of keeper striper being caught at Cape Henlopen State Park, right off the beach, and also at Massey's Landing. Both during the day and also at night! Aaron Brommer reported catching his first keeper flounder this year on shiner and Gulp combo weighing in at 19.5" at the Pier, at night. He also reported catching 20" blues along with seeing many more blues. Jordan Jones from Falls Church, Virginia, did it again! Last year, he caught a carp in Broadkill River; now, a black drum on Rehoboth North Shores at Tidewater Rd. He caught the monster just after sunset on the beach at Henlopen Acres. The great fish fell to a bloodworm purchased from Bill's Bait & Tackle. I didn't have a ruler, but it was quite large, possibly over 40" He was hoping for a rockfish, but was happy to catch the drum.

From Capt. Mac’s, Bruce tells us there are flounder being taken from the back bays. GULP! and minnows seem to be the ticket to trick these flatties.

Folks fishing the RT. 90 Bridge are being rewarded with good catches with clean

water being the key. When the water is clear the fish are active, when it’s murky

there just is not much happening. Stripers, black drum, and snapper blues are keeping the surf fishermen busy on the beaches.

Mickey at Rattle and Reel Sports Center on Long Neck Rd. reported

stripers to 22 pounds being taken from Massey’s Ditch. Bloodworms or GULP!

are the baits that have working best. Flounder to 22 inches are coming from the

VFW Slough and are being tempted with minnows.

From Hookem’ and Cookem’ Bait and Tackle at North Shore Marina,

Deanna (Mrs. Bert) informed us that with the warmer weather setting in people are definitely getting the itch to fish despite the winds that came with that warmer weather.
One of our customers came in on Monday with an 18.5" flounder that was caught on a Gulp swimming mullet and a jig head over at the VFW Slough. There have been others that have told me they have seen others catch a lot of throwbacks with some keepers in the mix. Also have heard of stripers being caught around Massey's Ditch and around the Power Plant as well.
The Inlet is starting to heat up with stripers, tautog and a couple of blue fish making an appearance. Butch Emmert and Ralph Short caught their limit of stripers while fishing in the mouth of the Indian River Inlet. They were using chartreuse colored bucktails. Others have reported that there has been more keepers showing up that are being caught on artificial lures and flies too. Most are being caught on the beginning of the incoming or the end of the outgoing tides. Tautog are being caught in the inlet using green crabs, shrimp or salted clam. Some are catching their limit others are finding just one or two.
Out in the ocean things are still good for the tog fishing. The head boat Judy V., charter boat Karen Sue and other private boaters continue to go out and find tog on Site 10 and Site 11. Green crabs, salted clam and shrimp, again the favorite baits.
The first flounder of the season from the ocean came from the head boat Judy V. Phyllis Blakney, of Phila., PA, caught a 20" flattie fishing with green crab on Saturday.
Cod are still around at wrecks that are 15 miles south east of the inlet. Tony Burr caught 18 cod on Friday and 10 cod and 6 tautog on Saturday. The tautog weighed in at 9.6lbs.
The surf was starting to look good last weekend with a 41" 37lb rockfish being caught. But not much has been caught over the past week with the winds blowing so hard.
Let's hope for some better weather for this coming week. Get out and go fishing.

Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said, thanks to warmer days and nights, water temperatures in Lewes Canal have risen to the upper fifties, and flounder action has improved considerably. Best bites occurred during the last half of ebb tide, when the water was warmest. Anglers reported success-using minnows, shiners, smelt, cut herring and Gulp! Baits deployed on shad darts, speck rigs and other small jigs worked well. The nicest Canal flattie of the week was a 5.33 pounder boated by Rebecca West. Ronin Max used a green jig head tipped with a minnow to tempt a 21 inch 3.5 pound fluke. Isabella Robinson and Roisin Greer got two keepers and released 10 other flatfish while baiting with shiners. Some flukers even scored four fish limits on days when conditions were right. The annual Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament takes place Friday May 20^th. Entry is $25.00 per angler, and $5 of that fee is donated to Camp Awareness Youth Programs. Cash prizes will be awarded for the seven heaviest flounder weighed in during the event. Call 302-645-6227 for further details. Flounder also came from Roosevelt Inlet and the Cape Henlopen Pier. Some bluefish in the one to three pound class were mixed in. Surf casters continued to pick at stripers along the Ocean beaches. Jack Austin landed a 28.6-pound bass from the suds at Conquest Road while soaking cut bunker. Will Wiedmann was surprised when a 14 pound black drum grabbed the piece of herring he was using from Broadkill Beach in an attempt to catch rockfish. Commercial netters have had plenty of drum in Broadkill Slough, and the hook and line bite should come on soon. Joe Anderson and crew released a drum while using clams in Twenty Foot Slough this past week. Lewes Harbour Marina will be carrying surf clams for drum season, but Joe suggests reserving your bait order early in the week. Tog fishing remained good, with blackfish pulled from reef sites 5, 6, 7 and 8. Mike Barnes, Terry Myers and Mark Swift put their limit in the box at site 7 Sunday morning during the end of flood tide, and were back at the dock by 10 am. Patrons on the Lil’ Angler had some nice tog during the week. Captain Chet Harer decked an 8.22 pounder himself. Michael Brown boated an 8.52 pounder, and Austin and Tyler Brown took citation tautog weighing 7.3 and 7.14 pounds. Ok Chiu Kim captured a 9.88-pound bruiser aboard Top Fin. Toggers along the Inner and Outer Walls did well too. Bob Murphy and Edwin Maxwell culled a limit of quality fish from several they hooked at the Inner Breakwater, including Max’s 8.26 pounder. In early shark news, Dewayne Fox from Delaware State University reported encountering two large thresher sharks over 200 pounds while doing sturgeon research this week in the Ocean. That’s sooner than normal for the big longtails to show, so maybe it will be a good season.

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