Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Wind, wind, and more wind! That is the story of the past week.
Due to high winds many anglers chose to stay home and work on other projects.
Sea bass:
When anglers could get out, sea bass has still been fairly good. Many smaller fish are now mixed in with the keepers. Ratio is about 8 throwbacks per one keeper. Clark at Old Inlet Tackle says that Site 11 continues to be the hot spot, along with coral areas in the 90 foot range. As the season continues and water warms, these bigger fish will continue to move to deeper water and the juvenile fish will take over most inshore wrecks. Those looking for keepers should begin to target deeper wrecks in the 90-120 foot range. Sea bass are a great table fare being a light white meat. These fish can be cooked in numerous ways even being made into ceviche. The quickly warming water should also begin to see croaker(hardhead) moving into the area. These fish are very similar to bluefish in ease of catching and table quality. Croakers usually arrive in mid July as the water warms too much for sea bass inshore. With everything seaming to be early this year maybe these fish will arrive early to replace the near shore wrecks sea bass population.
Flounder:
Tommy from Lewes Harbour Marina reports that flounder are still being taken in the canal, along with small rockfish and some small blues. Clark from Old Inlet Tackle also said flounders are starting to get caught in Indian River Bay as well as Rehoboth Bay, but since the wind has picked up not a lot of anglers have been out. I have heard from several headboats that flounder were being caught along the near shore coral areas until the wind picked up. From this time on flounder should be seen more regularly and in bigger sizes. The back bays are continuing to show more flounder so now is the time to get out and hit some of the deeper holes. Just like Ocean City the bays are crowded with many tourist and weekend anglers, so going mid week and targeting areas farther back in the bay like areas by the power plant in Indian River or north west portions of Rehoboth Bay will produce better fish. Gulp and squid seam to be the preferred choices for bait. With spot beginning to show up in the surf as well as back bays many anglers will change over to spot targeting the bigger fish.
Bluefish:
Bluefish have showed up strong along with large cow nose rays. Trying to get baits down to bottom fish is getting to be a challenge with small blues constantly attacking your bait. Night fishing along the Indian River entrance has seen several slammer blues taken on cut bait and top water popping lures. For the novice, these fish are fun to catch and put up a good fight. Remember that these fish have very sharp teeth and can cause damage to one’s hands and fingers so be safe.
Sea Trout:
Just like Ocean City area sea trout are making a comeback. Several trout have been taken when wind permitted it this past week. Gotcha lures, swim baits, and plugs seem to be the hot ticket for these fish. Nighttime in the same area as you would fish for blues along the seawall of Indian River is a great place to start. In the past two years we have seen a lot more keeper sea trout and weakfish than we have in past years. The cycle seems to be changing back. Some of you slightly older fishermen will remember years ago when both sea trout,weakfish,and croaker were so thick you couldn’t help but catch them.
Sharks:
Many smaller sharks have come into both the surf, as well as back bays along with the bluefish and rays. Rich King of Delaware Surf Fishing states that sharks and rays have made up the bulk of fish being caught in the surf. Wind again has played a factor in this. When catching sharks from the beach please be aware of regulations. It is unlawful to harm or damage many of these sharks. Keeping a shark out of the water for group photos, holding it up, or otherwise damaging the shark is not only unlawful but also does damage to our ecosystem . So when possible cut the line with the shark still in the water and release it unharmed. The surf has slowed greatly since the wind picked up.
Black Drum:
For the most part the black drum moved out of the area. A few reports are still coming in however most that were targeting these fish have moved on to other species.
Cobia:
Still not many reports of cobia being caught. I believe the water needs a few more degrees for us to see these fish show up in any numbers.
Crabs & Clams:
Crabbing is getting stronger every day. Many pots are filled with big male crabs as most females have dropped their eggs and are moving out of the area. Clamming is beginning to really turn on, however, many are finding that their normal areas that are usually sandy, are now muddy. This is mainly due to a lot of heavy west winds muddying up the water. Clamming is a great choice for families as it is easily done with minimal expense and only requires you to wade in knee deep water. Holts Landing is a great state park to target clams. Simple rakes bought at the hardware store can be used or a traditional clam rake with basket are available at most tackle shops and even many hardware stores.
So as the wind dies down in the next week get out and catch some dinner.
Tight lines and fins up
B.J.Pietryak
