Article by Larry Jock
There’s not a whole lot to report this week. A couple of days of bad weather mixed with slow fishing doesn’t make for a very interesting report.
Before we get to the report, I want to clarify the listing of the results last week of the Paradise Grill Flounder Pounder Open. Unfortunately, when I pulled the results from their website when the tournament was over, I assumed the results were current. Unfortunately, they had not been updated since the day before, so David Walker’s 2nd place fish and Russ Coward’s 3rd place fish, which were both caught on the final day, were not included in the results. You will find pictures of the top three fish along with the write-up on pages 64 and 65. I apologize for the confusion last week. Now on to the report.
The big news of the week concerned a pair of new Delaware state record fish being caught. First, was the state recognizing the 6.39 lb. Spanish mackerel caught by Jeff Nichols on August 20th. Jeff hooked the record-setter on a trolled cedar plug at Site 11. The old record held for 17 years.
Another state record was broken late last week when Tom Schanno of Halethorpe, MD muscled in a 46.5 lb. golden tilefish while dropping a butterfly jig in 500 feet of water in the Baltimore Canyon. The fish measured 47-inches and had a 29-inch girth. Just this year, the State of Delaware added the golden tilefish to their list of species that can qualify for state record recognition, so this will be the first fish to earn the title.
Outside of the excitement of new Delaware state records, anglers are generally frustrated with the overall lack of action, but there is some optimism. Everyone is hoping that the bad weather rolling in early this week will shake things up a bit and get things moving.
At Rick’s Bait & Tackle, Capt. Mike Behney said that most of the reports he has received have not been good, but the best news continues to come from anglers fishing ocean reefs and wrecks for flounder. Sites 10 and 11 have been the top producers for anglers fishing with belly meat, Gulp and minnows. Throwbacks have increased on ocean structure but some really nice size fish are being caught on a more consistent basis.
Mike reported decent numbers of flounder in the Indian River Bay, but there are still a tremendous number of short fish to be weeded through in order to catch your keeper. Although the standard Gulp, shiners and minnows continue to work well, Mike is excited about the new Ottertail artificial baits he is selling. Basically, they are indestructible Gulps that also have the benefit of being impregnated with scent. Actually, Mike said that some of his customers are soaking them in Gulp juice with great results.
Anglers fishing in the Lewes Canal are still struggling to catch keeper flounder with a lot of small fish dominating the action. They are also finding small croaker and spot interested in Fishbite bloodworms or small chunks of cut bait.
There continues to be a good triggerfish bite around both the Inner and Outer Walls and at the Ice Breakers in the Delaware Bay. Mike said that he hasn’t heard of any reports of sheepshead being caught.
Trolling spoons and feathers on inshore lumps, specifically Fenwick Shoal, is still producing catches of snapper bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Kingfish were caught around the 12 Fathom Lump.
At Hook’em & Cook’em in the Indian River Marina, Capt. Bert Adams reported a few flounder being caught in the Indian River Inlet along the south side and by the Coast Guard Station. Most anglers are having luck with Gulp artificial baits but live minnows are working the best right now. There was an 8 pounder caught just outside the entrance to the marina by an angler drifting Gulp artificial baits.
There continues to be a good triggerfish bite along the jetty rocks by anglers soaking sand fleas.
Snapper bluefish and small striped bass are being caught in the Inlet at night by anglers tossing spoons and bucktails.
Bert said that small croakers are being caught by the rocks at the Causeway.
Surfcasters are not seeing many kingfish anymore but are still hooking into small bluefish and stripers right in the suds. Most are finding good luck tossing 1/4 to 1/2 oz. Kastmasters.
The headboats, “Capt. Bob II” and the “Judy V” both saw an improvement in the flounder bite on ocean structure last week when weather permitted breaking the inlet. The best bites were first thing in the morning before the change of tide. Anglers aren’t targeting sea bass but the boats are still returning with a dozen keepers each trip of fish in the 13 to 14-inch range.
Offshore, the bite remains slow for both marlin and tuna. Anglers trolling for marlin are finding most of the fish between the Washington and Norfolk Canyon. There were three blue marlins brought to the scale last week during The MidAtlantic tournament with one coming from outside the Wilmington Canyon and the other two from the Washington Canyon.
The yellowfin tuna and dolphin we saw last week seemed to come from either the Washington Canyon or from between the Wilmington and Baltimore Canyons. The number of fish being caught is still low but the quality of fish remains strong with fish coming in weighing up to 72 lbs.
Until next week, tight lines!
