Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Another week of very hot weather. Temperatures in the 90's have made it hard to fish. We had very little wind this week and a very slow drift. The fish are still here just have to find an area with current to get a drift. Mahi is definitely the catch of the week. They are all over the shipping channel and coral.
Back Bay Fish
The back bays are loaded with fish and now is the time to try for some of the lesser caught species such as redfish, sheepshead and even tarpon. Yes, I said tarpon! Tarpon have been spotted tailing along the shallows all along the Indian River Bay. These fish are very leery and quick to take an artificial bait. Larger paddle tails and swim baits imitating small croaker or mullet are a great one to try. The best bait for catching one of these monsters is a live spot. Hooked live on a circle hook with little or no weight cast in front of a tailing fish will be your best chance for a hookup. Be aware, just like near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel these are not small tarpon but rather large 50-75 lb. ones. Use stout rods with tons of line and a good drag. In the Indian River most of the sightings have come just outside the inlet going north and the other spot is west of Holts State Park near Vines Creek Marina. We get a few sightings of these fish every year but never the numbers they see in Virginia. With this many around this year I would advise spending a morning trolling around and looking for them. Just outside the inlet and north, cobia have been seen following the tarpon so have an eel bait ready to throw for these fine eating fish as well. Flounder in the back bays have been good but you must find moving water. The channels during a flood tide seem to be doing the best. The channel in front of the VFW is the hot spot of this week . Squid and shiner combos are the best baits. Gulp and other artificials are also working very well.
Massey's Ditch has also produced some good fish just prior to the full high tide. Along the main channel of the inlet, croaker have been caught as well as sheepshead and a few keeper flounder. The fish in these locations are holding close to the rocks and staying in the deeper water. Drifting along the rock jetty is a great way to target them. Big Gulp baits are the go to for flounder. Sand fleas and small pieces of shrimp are good for the sheepshead. A few trout and weakfish have also been caught on jigs and spec rigs. On a final note, Tom Casper caught a nice 10.2 lb. black drum at Massey's Landing… a rare catch this time of year!
Near Shore Wrecks & Coral
Just outside the of Indian River several pods of both tarpon and cobia have been spotted. I spoke to John Burbage who stated that his sons have encountered several pods, but the fish are not as ready to bite as they were in past years. Looking at the near shore wrecks and coral, the big news this week is that dolphin are everywhere. Mostly being seen near A Buoy and south, when encountered the pods of these fish are very big often holding 50 fish or more. I had an occasion to take Bill Riley and his grandsons out on my boat Tuesday and they were not disappointed. We caught several flounder, sea bass and sea robins. On our second drift a pod of about 30 mahi came to the boat. Using small rods with circle hooks tipped with squid, we were able to pull in several. All of these fish were released. On the next drift we had a pod of over 100 come right up to the boat and stay with us for over one hour. I believe each of the boys caught 20 or more. I kept a few for dinner; fish tacos and mahi fingers, but we threw the rest back to grow bigger. Most of these fish are about 12-15 inches in size. We were on the coral in 100 ft. water just north of A Buoy. Samantha and I went back out on Friday to try to locate the pods but were unable to find them. On our ride in we heard one of the local captains saying he was south of A Buoy and inshore of the Lightship and was covered up in dolphin. He further reported they had caught over 50 of them. Although these fish are not the jumbos you find off shore, they taste the same and put up the same acrobatic jumps as the bigger ones do. This year's abundance of mahi has made for quite a few very happy anglers. Small pieces of squid on a small circle hook are the best rigs for targeting these fish. Make sure to chill your fish in an ice bath to firm up the meat for filleting. The coral grounds have also been producing some nice flounder up to around 15”. The biggest problem this week was a lack of wind. It made it very difficult to find a drift. The further north you go from the Old Grounds, the better the current from the Delaware Bay to help move the boat. Capt. Rick on the "Thelma Dale" has been going a bit further out and has had some great catches of sea bass and flounder doing short drifts over wrecks. Pink and white Gulp are the hot bait this week hitting both flounder and sea bass. A few keepers can be found, however, if you are looking for sea bass dinner try the wrecks in deeper water such as Site 11 or NJ/DE Reef. On the wrecks, catches closer to a limit can be found. The other problem with the near shore waters are that sea robins are everywhere with anglers often pulling up 2 at a time. Contrary to popular belief the sea robins spines are not poisonous however they have a bacteria that will cause your skin to itch if stuck.
Capt. Jason Mumford on the "Lucky Break" took Patty and Katy Kovacs out to the Fenwick Shoals where they trolled up a bunch of nice Spanish mackerel on small Clark spoons. They finished off the trip bottom fishing for keeper flounder and triggerfish.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
