Article by Larry Jock
Welcome to another season of Delaware fishing reports in the Coastal Fisherman. We saw some excellent fishing out of Delaware last year, primarily with anglers hitting ocean structure in search of big flat ties.
This year is off to a very slow start with water temperatures below normal, hovering in the upper-40’s to mid-50’s. Flounder are just starting to creep into local waters but fortunately, the tog bite on ocean structure is good and the chopper bluefish have really shown up in the surf. Actually, the bluefish bite off the coast of Delaware has been light years better than what we are seeing off Assateague Island. You would think the bite would be the same right up the coast, but that’s not what we have seen.
We still haven’t seen the stripers showing up along the coast on their migration to northern waters.
At Lewes Harbour Marina, Joe Morris said big blues were big news. Bluefish showed up this past week in numbers not seen for several seasons. Bunker have been plentiful and their abundance in the region evidently attracted migrating blues, keying in on the ample food supply . Bluefish pushed into the Delaware Bay and were reported as far north as Port Mahon. Anglers along Beach Plum Island did well also, with the best action happening at the end of flood tide. Jim Haug told of a good bite on Broadkill Wednesday and Thursday. Mike Hacker had a 31-incher there. Ed Golden got a whopping 13.3 pound slammer on Saturday while soaking fresh bunker in the suds at Broadkill. Blues also made an appearance at the Roosevelt Inlet. Russ Norris and Bernie Robinson had fish measuring up to 32-inches while baiting with bunker from the jetty rocks on Saturday. Ron Roark and his sons landed three fish weighing up to 10 pounds in the Broadkill River on Sunday. Bluefish also roamed the shallows inside Cape Henlopen. Both kayakers and beachcasters got into fish around the Cape Henlopen Pier. Alfred Correnti captured blues weighing 9.7 and 4.3 pounds while using fresh bunker from the sand between the Pier and the Cape on Friday.
Ocean surfcasters encountered blues from Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island, as well as in the Indian River Inlet. They also moved way up into the Indian River. Joe said he checked in a 9.3 pound chopper on Saturday that Cameron Powell caught from the pier at Massey’s Landing.
It would be great if bluefish remain in the area through the rest of spring and all summer like they used to. They provide great sport and offer opportunities for land bound anglers and boaters who enjoy trolling or chumming for the choppers.
Tautog action was pretty good on Delaware Bay structure, when boaters were able to make it out. Cold wind kept crews at the dock many days. Captain Brent had a group of diehard toggers that braved the breeze on Wednesday and were rewarded with their 27 blackfish limit while reef fishing on the “Katydid”. Greg Warehime got a 7.43 pound citation tog during a trip aboard the “Katydid” on Saturday. On Sunday, Captain Brent put a citation 7.26 pounder in the box himself. Cool weather has kept water temps from rising much, and Bay water is still just above 50 degrees. With some sustained warmth, a blackfish bite should commence along the Breakwaters. So far, tog catches have been limited to wrecks at the mouth of the Delaware Bay and at artificial reefs, such as Sites 6 and 7 at Brown Shoal. Tog fishermen have relied on clams and shrimp as bait the last few weeks because crabs were very hard to come by since they hadn’t been potting in extra cold water. However, Joe said green crabs are finally becoming available, and he should have them through the end of the season, that lasts until May 11th.
Chilly, windy weather also hampered the efforts of flounder fishermen trying to work the Lewes Canal. An occasional flattie was caught when the water was clean and boaters could get a decent drift, but it hasn’t busted loose yet. There were a couple limits of flounder reported from the Canal when conditions were better last week, so the fish are there and should become active soon.
The annual Canal Flounder Tournament takes place Friday May 15th. Those interested in fishing the event can sign up with a $25 cash entry fee at Lewes Harbour Marina.
At the Hook’em & Cook’em Tackle Shop in the Indian River Marina, John reported that bluefish are snapping off the beach and in the Inlet. Their bellies are full of bunker, so those fishing with finger mullet are having the best success. Clayton at Hook’em & Cook’em Outfitters in Bethany said that they also found them in the Back Bay chasing bunker in shallow water. When the bunker dump out of the back bays, the Inlet should really heat up with some good chopper action.
A few tautog are being caught in the Indian River Inlet as well. Fishing the North Wall during the incoming tide and the South Wall during the outgoing tide seemed to be the best strategy. Green crabs or white leggers are the baits of choice.
Unfortunately, only a few flounder have been caught in the Indian River Channel and in the Inlet and stripers have been hit or miss.
As air temperatures increase, getting more anglers on the water, and ocean and bay temperatures increase to get the fish moving in, we should see a lot of changes take place in the next few weeks.
Until next week, tight lines!