Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Last week in Delaware was a very productive one for anglers. Despite the stormy weather, anglers caught big fish on the nearshore coral as well as the back bays and Delaware Bay. Flounder remains strong with limits coming to most anglers who put the time and effort in. Sea bass is still off compared to previous years. Sheepshead are showing up on the outer wall and Ice Breakers of the DE Bay, but I believe we need a few more degrees before we see the big ones we have grown accustomed to seeing.
Nearshore Wrecks & Coral
The nearshore coral has really turned on with very large flounder biting on most days. Squid and minnow combos remain the bait of choice for catching the elusive flat fish. Gulp baits are also accounting for many of the fish taken off the reefs. “The Judy V’ as well as the “Captain Bob II” out of Indian River Marina said, despite the winds and conditions, the flounder bite was much better than expected. Captain Chris Adams of the “Captain Bob II” reported many keeper flounder along with a few keeper sea bass, despite a lot of shorts that needed to be thrown back. Kevin and Cherly Szymanski from Fenwick Island, DE pulled four flounder over the rail with the heaviest being 4.7 lbs. “The Judy V” is running its summer schedule and tickets can be purchased at Hook ‘em & Cook ‘em Bait & Tackle. Scott Stapleford and Gary Sergent, along with J.W. Hocker, had a great day on the nearshore structure. They caught some knothead sea bass as well as some doormat fluke. Ricky Rothenberger fished out of Indian River Inlet and loaded the boat with sea bass, along with a couple keeper flounder. Squid did the trick for catching the fish on this trip. Conway Bristow fished on “Surface Tension Sportfishing” and although it was a slow bite, he still had an awesome day bringing home several large flounder. Tyler Tribbitt took his daughter out for her 7th birthday and caught several fluke. Captain Jamar Campbell and mate Robbie Sunday onboard the “Jay Sea 2” sailing out of Lewes Harbour Marina fished hard to box up an early 7 man limit by 12:30. Captain Campbell reports they fished Ocean Arsenal Squid Things, tipped with Gulp, chicken, and flounder rigs to bring up this exceptional catch. The flatties weighed in at up to 5 lbs. Gene Willman, fishing out of Indian River Inlet, fished the past eight days with 25 keepers in total. He reports that his brother got him into flounder fishing and sadly passed away recently, and he will be fishing this year in his memory. “Get the Gaff Charters” out of Lewes Harbour Marina said the flounder fishing is on fire! They still have a few spots open for upcoming trips. Brandon Miller took a group out fishing Monday and returned with several keepers. Large white Gulp baits seemed to be the ticket for catching these fish. John Coffiey had a great day on the water with the “Michael D”. The boys worked hard and put 36 keeper flatties in the box. The biggest was up to 26 ¾”, 6 lbs. 14 oz. With limits this early in the year, it looks like we are going to have a killer year for flounder! Alex Artese fished on his buddy Brad’s boat and limited out before 8:30 am with a 15 lb. stringer. They were back at the dock by 11 am. Last Thursday, the “Katydid” brought home 19 keeper flounder and 6 sea bass, along with some huge sea robins. The morning ocean was a little rougher than expected but did settle down in the afternoon making for a nice trip. Steve Kuhlman went to the Old Grounds and caught several small black sea bass, a large sea robin and five flounder, including one keeper. Unfortunately, the weather got too rough and chased them in, but this is still a pretty good catch for three hours of fishing.
Back Bays & Delaware Bay
Old Inlet Tackle reports they are seeing 3-5 lb. blues move through the inlet on most days, usually on the latter part of the incoming tide. Shortie stripers with an occasional keeper have also been reported. The better striper bite along the inlet has been at night on live eels and plugs. Soft plastics on a lead head are the preferred day time setup. Flounder have been found in better numbers in the inlet and are hitting on lead heads tipped with Gulp fished tight to the rocks. A mixed bag of small blues, kingfish, spot and croakers are in the surf and can be caught on live sandworms and Fishbites according to Old Inlet Tackle. Steve Gosnall and his son Travis Gosnall, landed a 16 inch rockfish on live minnows. Matt Danaher from Amelia Island, FL caught a 4 ¼ lb, 25 inch flounder at the bridge on the end of an incoming tide using live spot. Joe Graham fished on the “Angler” out of Lewes Harbour Marina and reported the croakers slammed the clams. This is rather early in the season to see croaker inshore and hopefully this means we will have a productive croaker season. Brian Marine went solo but managed to catch two keeper fish in the backwaters of Indian River Inlet.
Surf Fishing, Clams & Crabs
Edward Miller fished 3R’s and caught a 30 inch keeper rockfish off the surf. With such a short slot,this is a great catch! J. Shay used sand fleas and Fishbites on the surf, catching a 40 inch by 40 inch ray. On light tackle, it took him over ten minutes to land the fish. J. also reports two croakers on sand fleas and jigs. Carl Littleton and I clammed near the VFW on the last of the outgoing tide and managed over 150 clams between us in less than 45 minutes. The clams were very close to the surface and easy to rake. My favorite daughter Samantha and I have seen the return of bigger crabs to our pots which are now yielding between 10 and 12 keepers per pot.
Until next week,
Tight Lines and Fins Up §
