Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
The long wait is over... Sea bass season is here!!
Sea Bass
Saturday was the start of our sea bass season and the weather was perfect. Opening day is always crowded, but put it on a Saturday with 70 degree blue bird day and it is going to be packed. I personally went to the NJ/DE reef. We got there nice and early. By 8 am there were at least 300 boats all jockeying for a spot to fish. The northern area by the subway cars was the most productive with some huge sea bass being caught. The drift was almost non-existent. Talking with many of the anglers out there they caught fish on every bait imaginable. Clams seemed to out shine most, but the fish were willing to bite squid and jigs just as well. The head boats out of Indian River reported other than no drift, they caught sea bass throughout their trip and all customers went home with some nice fish for dinner. The 3 Amigos charter boat out of Indian River Marina started out in the deep with the fleet, and after catching their limit went inshore to the Coral Grounds along the shipping channel to try for flounder. Tip of the week: When fishing for sea bass, remember, they are a bottom dwelling fish, so make sure to let your line out to make contact with the bottom and then take a turn or two on the reel to keep you just off the bottom so as not to snag.
Flounder
Flounder in the Lewes Canal has really turned on this week. Many anglers are reporting keeper flounder up to 23” caught on Gulp and squid. Alex Neiss caught a nice limit this week at Lewes Harbor. Flounder in the Indian River Bay has been a little slow as water temps are still cold. A few anglers reported that the incoming tide along the rock wall near the Coast Guard station has been the most productive. Big Gulp baits on a long high-low rig are working the best. Color still seems to be a personal preference but many are returning to the traditional white or green colors. The area in front of the VFW is also a great area this time of year. Drifting the channel on a steady moving tide is likely to produce dinner.
Tautog
Tog fishing this week remained strong. The deeper wrecks in the depth of 100-120 ft. are producing the best catches. Peeler crab is the best reported bait. The last day of tog season was May 15th.
Rockfish & Bluefish
Rockfish has remained pretty strong with some nice bites coming at night in the inlet. They are smaller schoolies with a rare slot fish thrown in. The daytime bite is slower according to Old Inlet Tackle Shop. The fish are in the pockets along with some shad. I have not received any reports of anglers trolling for stripers in the ocean this week. Many have forsaken the ocean trolling due to the narrow slot limit making it very difficult to find a keeper fish. A few bluefish are also showing up at night. They will strike at a top water plug most nights. The area along the rock jetty are the best areas to target. Bluefish are also slowing up on the surf.
Surf Fishing
Old Inlet Tackle Shop hosted their annual Spring Surf Fishing Tournament. They report that they had 213 participants, however fishing was very slow. A total of 7 anglers scored 13 fish. Cyndy Hasket won first place with 4 kingfish. Steve Merrick was second and John Dixon Sr. was third. Mike Greene and his 20 inch bluefish took 4th place. He also won the big fish category as well as the calcutta for biggest bluefish. Way to go Mike!
Black Drum
Although the surf fishing has been slow, anglers targeting black drum are still pulling in some big ones off the surf. Most fish are coming close to the point in Lewes but a few have also been reported at 3 R’s drive on beach. The Delaware Bay has really started to heat up with fish over 70 lbs. still being reported. Peeler crab in the areas of Broadkill Slough and Brown Shoal are producing the best catches. A reminder to the novice angler: the bigger black drum have a parasite in their skin that many find unappealing. Fish in the 30-50 lb. size are usually much better for eating.
Clams & Crabs
Clamming remains slow due to cold water. Crabbing is consistent with 5-7 keepers per pot. As the water warms we should see this number climb back into the 10-12 range. This week also showed a ton of sponge crabs in the pots as well as a lot of juvenile crabs.
So get out and enjoy the nice warm weather and as always...
Tight lines and Fins up!
Captain B.J. Pietryak
