Article by Rick Willman
Hi folks!!! We sure have had some real pretty days this past week. If the wind would just stop blowing everyone could get serious about quenching their thirst to fish.
On days when you can get a good drift, the fishing has been pretty good and a good number of flounder are being caught, although a fair number are short of the 18-inch minimum size requirement.
In the Indian River area the usual haunts are providing the most action. The VFW Slough is always the early favorite and this year is no different. The edge off Burton’s Island and Massey’s Ditch are also giving up good numbers of flatties. The area out from Gull Point and the Oak Orchard areas are producing flounder and the crabbing has also been good there.
When fishing these areas the top choices of bait have been minnows, cut herring or bunker, frozen smelt or shiners and, of course, the always popular Berkley GULP! artificial bait.
Be sure you are not using too much weight when fishing in shallow water. Use less weight and keep bouncing your bait off the bottom. I like using a 1/4 or 3/8 oz. bucktail or jig head. Just thread your bait on the hook and bounce it off the bottom. Have a few different color heads in your arsenal, as sometimes a different color can make all the difference in the world.
Striper action has been hot and heavy at times in the Indian River Inlet. Anglers fishing from the jetty at night seem to be having the most success. Storm or Tsunami Shads have been scoring the most and the biggest fish. Bucktails or live eels have also been producing fish. Tommy Cline of Germantown, MD was throwing a Storm Shad in the early morning hours when he scored his 27 lb. 12 oz. striper. Tim Milnes of Downingtown, PA also used Storm Shads to fool his limit of stripers weighing up to 19 lbs. 10 oz. Tim said he caught a few bigger fish but safely released them because he already had his limit. Chip Williams of Millsboro, DE used live herring to snatch up his two stripers measuring 31 and 41.5 inches.
Elsewhere, Bruce West was fishing at Beach Plum Point and caught two black drum, one 20-inch flounder, 2 kingfish and 1 perch from the surf.
It’s time to gear up for the start of the sea bass season, which re-opens May 22nd. Fill the tackle box with rigs and weights and fill the freezer with bait. Be sure to keep an eye on our weekly specials and get them while the gettin’ is good! We will feature some great prices each week.
Capt. Bill at Bill’s Sport Shop informed us that Kevin Stoltzfus stopped in to report that he caught a 42-inch, 22 1/2 lb striper off the beach at Fenwick Island while using fresh bunker for bait. Rich Felton of Wyoming, DE caught a 43-inch, 26.8 lb. striper at Herring Point in the Cape Henlopen State Park on bunker chunks. Craig Brungard from Camp Hill, PA boated a 7.35 lb, 22 1/2-inch tog on green crabs at the Outer Wall. Trevor Dodge Sr. and Jr., along with Richard Hooper limited out on tog at the Outer Wall on green crabs and Trevor Jr. also had a 35 lb black drum caught aboard the “Grizzly”. Rich Johnson of Felton DE stopped by the tackle shop with 3 keeper flounder caught on bucktails in the Indian River Inlet with the largest being a 23 1/4-inches and weighing 4 lbs. 11 oz.
Deanna from Hook’em & Cook’em at the Indian River Inlet reported “What started out the week as being an okay night striper bite turned out to be super hot by the end of the week. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights during the incoming tide were fairly good with catches from 10 to 20 lbs. Friday was a bit slower, then it all broke lose on Saturday evening's incoming tide. The fish were boiling in the Inlet and being caught left and right on white bucktails with white 6" worms, Tsunami or Storm Lures, Stretch 25's, spot, live herring or eels. These fish started biting around 5 pm and didn't stop for almost 2 hours. These were the big ones, tipping the scales from 20 to 40 lbs. Amanda Williams of Millsboro, DE caught a nice 46.5-inch, 30.7lb striper along with an 18 pounder. They were both caught on Storm Lures.
Then there was the "Couples Night Out" group of Chad and Teneille Tingle, of Selbyville, DE and Heath and Crystal Berger, of Reading, PA. They got their 8 keepers using live herring.
Our very own Mike Baumgartner caught his first citation striper using a white bucktail. It weighed in at 35.4 lbs and measured 45.5-inches. John Klerlein, of Milton, DE was trolling a blue Stretch 25 when he landed his 26 lb. fish.
Needless to say, fish were being cleaned for an hour and a half after closing.
Now on to other fishing news....flounder fishing in the back bays seems to have slowed recently. I have seen only a couple come in over the last week. One weighed 2 lbs. and the other weighed 4.1 lbs. and was caught by Rick Haden, of Dagsboro, DE. He was fishing in the Inlet aboard the “Gale Force” using live shiners for bait.
The “Judy V.” and the “Capt. Bob II” both got out on Saturday and went fishing in the
Delaware Bay for stripers and black drum. The bachelor party for Skip Ward had a great day with 5 out of 7 black drum being landed.
Now, if that isn't exciting enough, the “Reel Life” went offshore fishing for tuna on Saturday and returned with our first bluefin of the year. The tuna weighed 43 lbs. and was caught using the good, old fashioned natural cedar plug out at the Tea Cup.
If you haven't made it out to the inlet to fish for the stripers, I would recommend that you get there fast, the striper run won't last forever!!
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina reported black drum fishing drew much attention during the week. Drum action is normally better after dark, but most crews experienced better bites during daytime tides. Shallow water near the submerged pilings off Slaughter Beach and the Coral Beds were popular spots. Surf clams were the bait of choice. A lot of the drum ranged 15 to 25 lbs., but more big fish have begun to show. Aaron Berube boated a 61.7 pound boomer aboard the “Angler”. Aaron Rosenberg reeled in a 55.5 pounder on the “Pirate King II”. Rocky Morgan was surprised when a 47.5 pound black drum grabbed a green crab he was using for tog at the Inner Wall aboard the “Indian” during the end of tautog season. Joe reminds drum fishermen that they should call early in the week to reserve clams for the weekend.
Some nice stripers were checked in recently. Mike Graham and Don and Justin Hallacher fished a hot bite in the Indian River Inlet on Sunday night. They kept their limit of quality bass weighing up to 26.6 lbs. and released others while casting Storm Shads. Brian Perry was tossing plugs at the Outer Wall when he scored a 30.6 pounder.
Striped bass came from the surf too. Drew Stuchlik was soaking cut bunker from the beach at Herring Point on Friday night when he captured a 27.3 lb. rockfish. Dave Walls got his limit of rock weighing 13.5 and 15.8 lbs. in the wash at Herring Point on Saturday afternoon.
Flounder were pulled from the Lewes Canal. The shallow water near the Ferry Jetty and around the Cape Henlopen Pier also produced flatties. Shad darts, spec rigs and small bucktails tipped with minnows, shiners, cut herring or Gulp! worked well. Surf fishermen walking inside Cape Henlopen reported fluke too. The new 18-inch minimum size in Delaware should allow flukers to bring more fish home.
The annual Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament happens Friday May 20. The event offers cash prizes and a portion of the proceeds benefit Camp Awareness youth programs. Details can be found in the fishing reports section at lewesharbourmarina.com or by calling 302-645-6227.
Rick and his wife Deb are owners of Rick’s Bait & Tackle in Long Neck, DE..