Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Last week we saw cooler temps and less wind and then a glorious weekend. Fishing overall was very good with the exception of surf fishing. The beach access north of the Indian River Bridge is still closed due to erosion from the Mother’s Day nor’easter. The 3R’s and Fenwick access points are open, however, anglers will have to navigate many pockets of water on what little beach is still drivable. Be careful when driving on the beach as to not drive through pools of water. They are like quicksand and you will sink right up to your axles and be stuck hard in the sand requiring a tow out. Also walking near or in the water on the beach can be treacherous, so avoid these areas.
Sea Bass & Flounder
Beau Fibelkorn reports sea bass continues to be strong out of Delaware with many boats returning with limits. “Skipjack Charters” returned with limits for their clients this week. The deeper wrecks are holding much better quality of fish as well as better numbers of keepers. John Engler headed out to Site 11 and was rewarded with some big ones. He reported the ride out was quite bumpy but well worth it as the seas laid down in the afternoon allowing them a nice catch of big fish. Old Inlet Bait & Tackle reports sea bass at nearby wrecks are thick as thieves but slowly being picked off by anglers making a little harder to get quality keepers. DE/NJ Reef is still the hot spot for this week, however Site 11 was also on fire with big fish being caught at both locations. As we get further into the season and more tourists show up, the key will be to fish lesser known wrecks and try to fish the freshest bait available. Fresh clam is still the best bait for sea bass with jigs being number 2.
On the flounder side, a few nice flatties were taken off the wrecks and ocean coral. The water is still a little cold for this time of the year and the flounder have been slow to get up and running. The B Buoy coral is always a favorite in the early season. Big strips of squid or large Gulp baits are your best weapons. “Bad Wind Charters” that fishes out of Delaware and Ocean City reports that they have had some good trips out for flounder with some big fatties coming over the rail.
Lighthouse Tackle also reported some nice fish coming into their shop with many above the 20” mark. Lamar Meekins caught a beautiful 21.5” flounder from the canal in Lewes using white Gulp bait. Daryl Mergenthaler hit a few spots in the bay and ended the day with two 17” and one 18” flounder. Brian Marine reported that it was a nice day with his mother and grandson catching a nice 22” flounder. Pier rat Tyler Granden was able to pull in a nice 22” flounder this week at Cape Henlopen. The backwaters of Indian River and Rehoboth Bay has been heating up with more keepers coming in every day as the water warms to its summer temps. The channel in front of the VFW is the hot spot for this week as is Massey’s Ditch with fish coming from right near the boat ramp. In Rehoboth Bay, the north end near the canal is your best chance at catching some dinner. The bay areas are best fished with squid and shiner or minnow combinations. Gulp baits are working but not nearly as well as the squid combos. Lewes Canal has been much busier with boat traffic causing fish to be harder to hook, however, if you can fish during the week or right at sun up or sun down, some real nice keepers above 20” can be found. The ice breakers in Delaware Bay have also been holding some nice big keeper flounder right along the sand next to the rock walls. The area on the lighthouse side is reported to be the best area up here.
Surf Fishing
Bluefish were all over the beach in the early part of the week, but as the days progressed they became harder to hook. Fresh finger mullet on the twin hook mullet rig was the key to catching them in the surf. Lenny Gilliar was out on the beach with Guy Conaway and managed to catch a few short rockfish as well as some pretty nice bluefish. Lenny used cut bait and mullet rigs for his fish. Laura Hallanan reported the 3R’s was very crowded over the weekend but did manage some nice bluefish. Debbie Brnik was also on 3R’s beach and said the bluefish were more than willing to bite their mullet. Her group managed 9 nice size bluefish. Way to go Debbie! David Wyatt had a good time this week fishing the beach and pulling in some nice slammer size bluefish. Old Inlet Bait & Tackle reported that Mike Greene caught a nice 12 lb. and 10oz. bluefish off the beach also at the 3R’s this week. It hit a whole finger mullet. Kelly Mathews caught a personal best on Fenwick Beach this week . Her bluefish was caught on mullet and was over 23”. In the bay areas bluefish have also been caught in pretty good numbers with Dan and Belinda catching a couple of 20” blues from the Cape Henlopen pier. Jeremy Strong fished Cape Henlopen just before high tide and managed a nice 27” blue, also caught on finger mullet. Erik Gawel was at 3R’s, and although he lost a big one he managed some nice blues on cut mullet. Dillon Hornberger caught a nice 11 lb. blue while plugging the beach there as well.
Black drum heated up in the Delaware Bay over the weekend. Many fish are coming into the bay for breeding and leaving. If you can hit the high tide right and have plenty of fresh clams, you can still manage a monster of a drum, with many over 50 lbs. A few are being caught off the Delaware beaches, but the main reports of catches in the Atlantic are still south in MD and VA. Crabs and clams remain strong with Joe Bell reporting trot lining up around 60 crabs in a matter of a few hrs.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up §
