Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Last week in Delaware we saw calmer seas and pretty decent fishing near shore. The sea bass caught are mostly undersized with a few keepers for those who pick through them. Flounder is definitely improving but still a lot of undersized fish around.
Flounder, Sea Bass & Tog
Old Grounds
Collin and Caleb Neely were out at the Old Grounds and brought home keeper sea bass and flounder for dinner. The two brothers also released several undersized fish. After an epic battle of who had the most fish caught, it was called a tie.
Scott Klenfelter reported he was out fishing with his daughter Shiloh Kleinfelter who is 13 years old catching her first keeper flounder. The smile on her face said it all. Great job Shiloh! “Bad Wind Charters” was back at it again this week catching a boat load of flatties up to 6 lbs. for their clients. They reported that of course Bruce got the biggest one again. Dan McGeedey caught a beautiful 7.43 lb. citation flounder on ocean structure using Gulp and squid. Dan was fishing on the “Katydid” and the fish was weighed in at Lewes Harbour Marina. Kevin Mcnelis came home with 2 nice fish weighing 4 lbs. and 3.8 lbs. The fish were caught on ocean structure using white Gulp. The “Judy V” out of Indian River Marina’s Hook’em and Cook’em Tackle reports fishing was pretty good this week with some nice flounder caught as well as a few sea bass. The best time to fish the headboat is mid-week when the boat is not as crowded.
Mate Evan Trakas and Aidan Riley of the “Judy V” fished on the boat “Can Of Corn” and ended the day with 3 flounder and 20 triggerfish. A few sea bass were caught but most of the keepers have come further offshore in deeper water.
Jersey Delaware Reef
Horace Hockenstien was fishing in the deep water when he caught a boat load of flounder. He stated that the deeper, further out wrecks are the key to finding water that has not been fished over. When fishing this area try the northern point near the subway cars instead of the wrecks or ferry. Many anglers will target the big wrecks due to the ease of seeing them on their depth finders, and therefore leave the smaller subway cars untouched. Herb Kaufer and his high school friend headed out to the reef with Captain Mike Faust on the “Chasin’ Tail” and were rewarded with a nice bunch of keeper sea bass.
Daryl Mergenthaller Jr. was out with Fred Robinson and Joseph Nicholas Jr. ending the day with a few sea bass, tog and even a few nice sized triggerfish.
The boys from “Flip And Fins” fished this area with sand fleas and brought home a mix of bass, sheep, trigger and ling. That's quite a variety for a dinner table!
Site A Buoy was also pretty productive this week with flatties caught along the inshore coral as well as the deeper outside on the channel coral. Gulp baits tipped with squid are reported as the top bait.
Indian River Bay
The bay area has slowed down a bit with tons of smaller fish being caught. Old Inlet Tackle reports that tautog, sheepshead and black drum are keeping the inlet anglers busy. They report that live sand fleas are the ticket. They further reported that flounder are being caught using light jig heads with white Swimming Mullet Gulp baits fished tight to the rocks. The main spot for the flat fish has been in the back part of the bay, and we are receiving information that croaker have also showed up in the back of Indian River Bay. Croaker are a great way to keep the young anglers engaged in fishing because when you find the pods of fish they are usually more than willing to bite any bait put in front of them. Small pieces of squid on a small hook with a very light weight is the best rig and bait for targeting these fish. As for the rod, any light weight rod and reel will work, even a child beginner rod.
The Flounder Pounder Bay Tournament was Saturday and Sunday. There were over 800 anglers. Brandon Groce took first place with a 6 lb. 25.75”. Second place was Vito Difrancesco with a 5.7 lbs. at 23“, and third place was Devin Fortney weighed at 5.6 lb and 23“. The women's division was won by Laura Forester with a 4.2 lb. and 23.25” fish. Laura was also 6th place overall.
North & Delaware Bay Areas
Parker Pastorius was fishing the outer wall with sand fleas and caught a spectacular 10 lb. sheepshead. Bill Santana caught 4 stripers from 8-9 pm last week. Good to see that a few of these fish are staying around even as the water warms. Tim Shaw was fishing bay structure and caught a nice 9.36 lb. sheepshead on sand fleas. This qualified him for a state citation. The fish was weighed in at Lewes Harbour Marina. Brian Kelly was also herding the sheep and caught a nice 7.8 lb., as well as a citation 10.4 lb one. Fish were caught on sand fleas. Kyle Falgowski also made a great showing with a 9.75 lb. sheep caught on sand fleas off the ferry wall.
Cobia
There is a pending new state record for cobia. Scott Brooks of Hockessin, DE was fishing just in front of Bethany Beach and caught a fish of a lifetime. The new pending state record is a 90 lb., 63” cobia. The fish was caught using a white bucktail tipped with a white worm. The fish was weighed in at Hook’em and Cook’em Tackle at Indian River Marina.
Surf Fishing
The surf has been pretty good for kingfish and spot lately. Last week saw the first pompano caught by angler Josh Willey measuring at 16.5”. The fish was caught on sand fleas. Nice to see these fish returning again this year.
Until next week...
Tight lines and Fins up §
