Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
This week we were met by cool mornings and warm days. The fishing in both the back bays as well as near shore continues to get better and better. The first wahoo came to the scales! Offshore tuna is off the hook and the inshore fishing was not to be undone.
Flounder
Old Inlet tackle reports that the start of the week was a little slow for flounder in the bay but by Thursday even the inlet began to produce some nice flounder. It is reported that the flounder in the inlet is right below the rock wall literally right below your feet. Old inlet reports that Grant Barnhart brought in a 2.5 lb. 19” trout to be weighed. The trout was caught along the rocks of the inlet. Other areas of Indian River are also producing some nice keeper flounder. The areas by the power plant are giving up a few nice flatties. These fish are mostly being caught on 4” gulp. The channel near the VFW is still the hot spot. The flounder are mostly on the edges of the channel. Further up north the Lewes canal is still producing some decent flounder however it has slowed from past weeks. On the ocean the flounder fishing has really picked up. Scot Harmon spent 2 hours fishing and landed 4 nice fish from 16.5-23 inches.The “Thelma Dale” also had some nice trips with fish to 25”. Gulp is the hot bait with squid and minnows being a close second. The nearshore wrecks are producing the bigger flounder. When targeting these fish use a large bucktail with a gulp or bright colored worm type tail on the back. Water in the 60-120 ft range is the targeted depth.
Sea Bass
Sea bass remains good but you now have to sort through several smaller fish to find keepers. The ratio is about 6-1 for keepers. The better wrecks with keepers are those below 100 ft. After this weekend's warm summer heat I'm sure that the fish will be going deeper and deeper. While fishing for sea bass this week anglers were also lucky to find some sheepshead now on the wrecks. This is a true sign that summer is here. Small pieces of crab and shrimp are your best baits but sand fleas can also be productive. When fishing for sheepshead, remember that their mouths are very soft and small hooks must be used so not to rip the hook out when pulling up the fish after hooking. 2/0-3/0 circle hooks are about the largest you should try. Many anglers use smaller hooks as the sea bass begin to get scarce inshore and this is why the sheepshead becomes a by catch. Within the next month many anglers will begin to target these fish as a primary target.
Stripers & Bluefish
Small rockfish are still around in the inlet and all along the grass areas of the bay. Keepers are being caught at the inlet on the top of the tide at night but keepers are much more rare then in the past week. Bucktail jigs bounced along the edge of the rocks at the end of the incoming tide produce the best chances of finding dinner. Bluefish are also being caught in the inlet at night on both bucktails as well as cut bait. A great way to target these fish is using topwater plugs or fly fishing. A minnow type fly or a top water warbler is your best choice for trying to catch one fly fishing. For those wishing to learn more about saltwater fly fishing check out the Delaware Saltwater Fly Fishing Club. The yearly dues are minimal and all the members are very happy to help a novice learn the ropes. Meetings are once a month in Rehoboth and offer a guest lecturer each meeting discussing new topics each time.
Sharks & Cobia
Sharks on the nearshore areas have also heated up Dusky sharks as well as tons of dogfish sharks are all around. Many anglers are setting up on nearshore wrecks as well as reefs and shoals such as the Fenwick Shoals. When chumming for cobia you will most certainly hook a shark or two. Rays are also a by-catch and all of them are strong fighters. As for cobia, a few fish were caught this week but I received no reports of any large fish. Rigged and live eels remain the top bait. Keep a bucktail ready for passing by swimmers.
Surf Fishing
Surf fishing this week produced kingfish,blues and spot are now showing up. Kingfish remains the mainstay of the summer. Small float rigs and bloodworms are the preferred bait. A few flounder are coming off the beach but numbers have not shown up yet. At night, a few stripers are still coming in, just after the falling tide begins.
Clams & Crabs
Crabs remain strong with pots yielding 10-13 crab per pot. Clamming in the Rehoboth Bay is really picking up. All sizes of clams from small to large can be found just below the sandy bottom.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
