GIVE THIS SOME SERIOS THOUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Folks,
This season has been a pretty good season overall. Weather has been on our side most of the time and the fish have been biting. The fish are many times throwbacks but there is still action on the end of the line. Early in the season the place to be was in the back bays, but now the DB Buoy and Old Grounds area are the spots to be for keeper flounder. Delaware Bay seems to be holding all the real croaker action with a bit going to Indian River and Rehoboth Bay. Spot are plentiful in Indian River and where did all the little sea robins come from. Some of the minnows in my bait tank are larger than the critters we are catching. Offshore fishing seems to be hit or miss with fish scattered everywhere. Mahi mahi are being taken in fair numbers as close as DB Buoy. What a thrill for the small boat angler!
Ken Clelland had 5-year-old Brady Stallkand to Delaware Bay at the ferry jetty to score a bunch of croakers to 12 inches. They then went to Indian River at Buoy 19 and 20 to score more croaker and 3 10-inch trout. Kevin Ludwig fished Rehoboth Bay on “Hook & Cook” to score a citation 1-pound kingfish. Dick Reel took 10 tear old Tyler Locklear to Rehoboth Bay to score his first keeper flounder. It measured 19.5 inches. Brandon Price of Reading, Pa. tricked a 5.8-pound flounder in Rehoboth Bay using minnows. Jessica Boyer fished DB Buoy to bag a 4.8-pound flattie using squid and a strip of sea robin. Mike Gabnet fished Site #10 to score a 6.2-pound flounder.
Scott Fluharty of Sea Side Gas & Grill had been fishing 40 years and never got to fight a blue marlin. The other day he decided to take a stab at it with son Ryan and his friend Dominic. I guess Ryan knew what spread to put on the table and got Dad hooked up with his first blue marlin. Way to go guys!
Now it is time for a real gut check. As many of you probably know by now the Walton family, (Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club), has made a contribution of 36 million dollars to the ANTI-FISHING battle. From a huge company that profits from the sale of fishing related items we are being choked with our own money.
These people are playing a game from all angles and we are helping to fund the demise of a sport we love. I realize shopping at Wal-Mart is a great convenience and usually a great way to save some money. We, as fishermen cannot with any real respect for the sport we love allow any of our money be used to put an end to the sport. I fully understand that any business strives to grow and grow to it’s fullest potential. This cannot be allowed to happen by deceiving the people who pave that path. We see this happen time and time again by big business and yet because of their low prices consumers get lured into the web. Brave men and women, hard working individuals, and honest and fair small businesses are what made this country prosper and become the strongest country in the world. Please do not allow yourself to be a part of this disgrace. Remember that all monies spent at Wal-Mart are part of the whole picture, not just fishing goods. The only way we can have an impact on this situation is if we all band together and make it hurt. Talk to your friends, your neighbors, and your coworkers, get them on board and let’s fight for our right to fish!
At Rattle & Reel Sports Center on Long Neck Rd. Pat told us that there are plenty of croaker and spot in the back bays. There are still plenty of short flounder with a few keepers mixed in. Stripers to 32 inches came from the Inlet on live spot. Jason Schlosser used peanut bunker to fool a 24-inch, 6-pound flattie. Matt Grebe used live spot in Massey’s Ditch to boat his 23-inch flounder.
Capt. Bill Baker of Bill’s Sport shop on Rt. #1 in Lewes reported John Oh of MD caught 4 dolphin to 42 inches and 28.10 pounds at the Hot Dog using squid. He also boated black sea bass and lingcod. Chris Jackson, John Jackson, Dave Markee and Bob out of Rehoboth on the "Reel Addiction" fished "B" Buoy and managed 5 keeper flounder up to 3.5 pounds, 10 lingcod and 30 throw backs using squid and minnows. Bob Adams, Dave Ritonda, Jim Shafer and Tom Bailor had a great day catching over 30 flounder (5 keepers), 3 large sea bass and several ling cod at the Old Grounds. Mike Kenney and Tom Bailor caught their limit of big crabs, (2 bushels) at Gull Point using chicken necks. Capt Aaron Hurd, "Gale Force Charters", called to let us know that the Henry/Johnson party caught 26 flounder with 3 keepers to 23 inches at IRI. On another trip, the Stepke party nailed 15 flounder with 2 keepers at IRI.
Capt. Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said bottom fishing has been real good, with plenty of croaker action, and some nice catches of flounder as well. Croakers were captured in big numbers on the Star Reef, but hardheads were also found in Broadkill Slough, around the Outer and Inner Walls and Ferry Jetty, and in Roosevelt Inlet. Most of the fish have been less than a foot long, but some “Cadillac” sized specimens were found among the masses, such as Joe Walker Jr’s 1.75 pounder. Any moving tide was productive, and they bit especially well in the evening into dark. Clams, bloodworms, shrimp, squid and FishBites all drew strikes from hungry hardheads. Blowfish, kingfish, snapper blues, spot, porgies and small trout mingled with croakers, serving up a nice summertime mix. Flounder fishermen had fair success on Delaware Bay Reef Sites when drift conditions were good. Joe Walker and his group had 8 keepers on the Brown Shoal reefs Saturday, including a 6.6 pounder for Joe Walker, Jr. Flatfish catches were better in the Ocean, with flukers enjoying success at Reefs 9, 10 and 11, and on live bottom of the Old Grounds. On Monday, anglers on the Skipjack scored 10 chunky flounder and a bunch of nice ling and sea bass between DB and DA Buoys. Wes Olson, “Beaver” Ruff and Barney and Matt Gallagher teamed up for 13 fluke to 5.6 pounds plus a bonus 13 dolphin while drifting southeast of DB on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the guys on Katy Did captured 30 quality keepers while jigging ocean rubble. Among the take were a 7.88-pound doormat for “Bully Bob” Trento, a 7.42 pounder for Captain Brent Wiest, and one weighing 6.68 pounds decked by Captain Dave Walker. Bobby “Buckwheat” Bryant checked in a 6.39-pound beauty he boated while working an Ocean Reef. Lex Robertson said he and his crew kept 10 flatties out of 51 caught while fluking southeast of DB aboard the Spectacle II on Friday. The Katy Did pile hopped in the Ocean Saturday for 10 nice flatfish to over 6 pounds. Captain Mike’s buddies on the Sea Note had 8 keepers Saturday. Inshore trollers found some dolphin and wahoo in 20 to 30 fathoms. Paul Guris got a 47.8-pound wahoo while trolling east of the Elephant Trunk aboard Lewestown Lady. Boats picked at yellowfins in the canyons, but there was a decent Bigeye bite in the Baltimore. Several nice “Eyeballs” were boated by crews trolling among whales feeding on bait in 100 to 200 fathoms of the Bight on the Canyon’s east side. Many fish were hooked in the middle of the day. Ryan Cene’s bigeye struck a ballyhoo skirted with a black and red witch at 2 p.m. aboard the Finomenal with Captain Fred Wick. The 182.5 pounder wasn’t put in the boat until after 7 pm. Ryan’s group had already had a great day prior to that, releasing a white marlin, and icing a pair of nice yellowfins and several gaffer dolphin. Captain H.D. Parsons ran a very productive long-range headboat bottom fishing trip Saturday, resulting in a load of ling, big sea bass and nice tilefish, and surprisingly, several impressive snowy groupers. The largest was a pool winning monster 49.2 pounder landed by Steve Kiibler.
Fishing Report 
