Article by Rick Willman
Hi folks. Fishing continues to be fair-to-good and is still being hampered by the poor weather we have had this spring.
Flounder fishing in the back bays continues to be productive. Minnows, frozen shiners, squid, and GULP! are the baits of choice.
Striper action in the Indian River Inlet is good, mostly at night. Reports of some really big fish have been talked about and a few feeding frenzies have taken place that guys said reminded them of a bluefish blitz.
Delaware Bay black drum action is going on and if you have never tried it you should give yourself the chance to battle one of these fish. I like to call it Delaware Bay tuna fishing. These fish get big and pull hard. The difference between black drum and tuna fishing is that you are fishing in much shallower water and the fish cannot dive as deep so you win the battle faster. But if you are not going to eat the fish, please release it as soon and as gentle as possible.
Harry Mentzer of Long Neck, DE said that he has found the trick to catching a keeper flattie. While fishing last week, Harry caught a 19-inch flounder while wearing his Rick’s Bait & Tackle cap he just received for his 91st birthday. Way to go Harry! Don Altland of York, PA fished in the Rehoboth Bay and tricked a 7 lb. 2 oz. flattie that measured 27.75 inches. Also in the Rehoboth Bay, Jim Pyle of Long Neck also took a 5 lb. 2 oz. flounder and Tony McCloy of Baltimore, MD caught a nice 5 lb. 9 oz. flounder. Tony used a minnow to trick his flattie. Dennis Stetz of Millsboro, DE drifted the Rehoboth Bay and scored a 7 lb. 9 oz. flounder. Steve Grabowski of Long Neck fished in the Indian River Inlet and caught a 20 lb. 8 oz. striper. John Swinehart of Lancaster, PA fished the rocks at the Indian River Inlet and bagged a 22 lb. 14 oz. linesider.
At Rattle & Reel Sporting Center on Long Neck Road, Paul told us that he captured a 21-inch flattie from the Rehoboth Bay on a minnow fished under a bobber. Paul said that flounder action in the bay has been quite good. Skates have also made their presence known. Bluefish are showing up in the Inlet. Stripers are being taken in the Inlet on Storm lures. He said flounder are being taken from the Lewes Canal on GULP! artificial baits.
At Henlopen Bait and Tackle on Savannah Road in Lewes, DE, Dan reports that Lewes Canal flounder action has been pretty good. It seems all the usual baits such as shiners, minnows, squid and GULP! are doing the trick. Reports of a few small trout caught in the Roosevelt Inlet have come in from reliable sources. Stripers have been taken at Herring Point.
At Hook’em & Cook’em Bait & Tackle, Bert said that there have been reports of heavy striper action in the Indian River Inlet at night. Bluefish action from the beaches is getting really good. Some real nice blues have also come out of the Indian River Inlet. Sea bass action on the headboats has been fair-to-good.
The Bill’s Sport Shop Flounder Tournament is well underway and flatties have been hitting the scales in good numbers. In other action, Kent Brittingham caught a monster 30.7 lb., 46-inch striper at the Indian River Inlet on a live eel. Nicole Stark, age 12, caught a 29-inch striper at 3R’s Road on fresh bunker. Rob King reeled in a 19.65 lb. striper at Cape Henlopen on fresh bunker. Al Boyd showed up with a 38-inch, 18.77 lb. striper caught at the Indian River Inlet on a Storm lure. Wayne Demarco caught a beautiful 33.55 lb., 48-inch citation striper at 3R's Road on fresh bunker. Richard Jarman weighed a 23.5 lb., 41.5 in. striper caught in the Indian River Inlet.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said flounder action in the Delaware Bay is off to a promising start. With good drift conditions, Captain Ted on the “Indian” worked the rubble of Reef #5 in Broadkill Slough last Tuesday, and found the flatfish hungry. The crew caught several flatties using strips of fresh shark belly, and ended up with nine plump keepers. Christine Stanley was angler of the day, scoring her limit of flounder from 3.5 to 4.5 lbs. Earlier in the trip, Scott Brady boated a 22.5 lb. drum. Captain Ted returned to the same spot the next day, when Mac McNaught nailed a 5.5 lb. flounder.
Flatfish have also become active on the flats inside Cape Henlopen and between the Cape Henlopen and Cape Shores Piers. The shallow waters are generally warmer and attract more early-season bait and gamefish than surrounding areas. Sonny McClure and friends culled 10 keepers from many caught in skinny water one evening last week. Small jigs or shad darts tipped with a shiner or strip of fresh cut bait work well on the flats. Fluking remains steady in the Lewes Canal with decent numbers of keepers. Best catching occurs with clean water, usually at the end of incoming tide. The Broadkill River also yielded plenty of flounder. Strips of fresh cut bluefish or Gulp! baits were effective.
Don’t forget the Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament is this Friday, May 22nd. The event offers cash prizes and a portion of the proceeds benefit the Camp Awareness Youth Fishing Program. Call 302-645-6227 for registration info.
Small boaters and shore casters at Roosevelt Inlet had a mix of flounder, stripers and the first few bluefish. An occasional trout was reported from the Broadkill River by anglers using chunks of peeler crab. Stripers have been feeding on squid along the Outer Breakwater, and local anglers have had good success catching bass by casting Bomber 17A and Stretch12+ plugs to the rocks of the Wall. Best bites occurred during early morning or evening hours with clean, moving water on the oceanside. Todd Manning and Brian Seglem checked in a limit of linesiders weighing up to 17 lbs. that they caught while tossing plugs last Tuesday morning.
Stripers are on other area structure as well, with fishermen telling of catches on the Inner Wall, Ferry Jetty and the old jetty rocks on Broadkill Beach. Black drum catches were good. Scott Bucka and Kevin Flaherty set up in Broadkill Slough last Monday night and returned with two big boomers weighing 58.5 and 75 lbs. Larry Wilson landed a 60.9 pounder while drumming on the Big Herring last Tuesday evening. Wayne Wilson and crew got six drum in the Slough last Friday night. Daniels Ehm decked a 74.9 pounder aboard “Martha Marie”, and Darryl Bear boated a 77 pounder on the “Miss Kirstin”. The most unusual catch of the week was a 72-inch sturgeon hooked and released by Andy and Anthony Lano while trolling a Stretch 25+ plug between the Inner and Outer Breakwaters off Lewes.
Deb, myself, and the gang here at Rick’s would like to wish everyone a happy and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!
‘Til next week, have fun and be safe!
Rick Willman and his wife Deb are owners of Rick’s Bait & Tackle on Long Neck Road in Long Neck, DE.
