Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
The past two weeks showed a lot of fish moving into the back bays, surf, and coastal wrecks.
Black Sea Bass
Sea Bass season is finally here and for most that signals the start of our fishing season. Delaware regulations this year are size of 12.5 inches with a limit of 15 per person. Main baits at this time of year are clam, squid, and small jigs.
Anglers heading out in the past week found sea bass more than willing to bite. Many boats returned to the docs with full limits ranging from 12.5-16”.
Several fish in the 3-5 lb. range were also seen. NJ/DE reef has been the hot spot but current or wind has been the deciding factor if limits are caught.
Site 11 comes in at a close second with big fish coming off the northern end on the subway cars.
Bluefish
Bluefish in Delaware have no size limit but the regulations have changed as to creel amounts. Only 3 fish per person is allowed this year. Bluefish have shown up in the back bays and surf area in strong numbers this week. Most fish are being caught on cut bait and mullet rigs when surf fishing. 3R’s drive on beach seems to be one of the hot spots with several bigger fish coming off the surf. Large schools can be seen chasing bait out at the near shore wrecks with several slammer size fish in these pods. Wrecks and coral where you sea bass fish are areas to target. The bluefish over these wrecks will bite on most everything to include small sea bass you have hooked. Bluefish are a dark, oily fish and should be bled out immediately after catching if you want them for table fare.
Flounder
Flounder have shown up in the back bays with the main channel of Indian River and the channel in front of the VFW being the hotspots of the bay. Most anglers are using 4-6”Gulp as bait on a long leader flounder rig with a bucktail on the bottom. While heading past B buoy I heard several anglers stating that they were catching flounder on the near shore coral grounds. I believe we are looking at about another week before these fish show up in our normal summer amounts. Coral in the depth of 60-110 ft has always been the best for keeper fatties.
Black drum
Black drum continue to be strong in the Delaware Bay. The Sheers, Broadkill area, and Brown Shoal continue to produce nice fish in the 40-60 lb. range with fresh surf clam still being the preferred bait.
Cobia
Some reports of cobia are coming in from Virginia and Southern Maryland, but as of yet I’ve only heard of one fish caught up here in Delaware. Water temp is about 63 degrees and we need that number closer to 70 before we start seeing cobia in any numbers.
Sharks
Several boats were out sharking this week . Some reports of Thresher and Dusky sharks have come in but we haven’t seen them in the numbers we have in past years at this time. Dogfish sharks are on most wrecks and always fun for kids to catch. Shark regulations require a highly migratory species permit along with a short quiz for the shark endorsement. Shark regulations are getting stricter so check before you head out.
That’s the Delaware report for this week. Tight lines and fins up!
