Article by Larry Jock
It’s beginning to look like a fishing season! After what seemed to be months and months of bad weather, we finally got a string of nice days that let anglers get out and wet a line.
According to Bill at Lewes Harbour Marina, those who wish to stay closer to land are finding that sea bass fishing on ocean structure is the best bite at this time. Bigger fish are still being found in deeper water in the 80 to 100 foot range. Site 11, which had been producing nice catches for anglers venturing out on headboats, gave up smaller fish last week. When it comes to bait, strips of squid and clams is still the way to go.
Bill reported that the black drum bite in the Delaware Bay was sporadic for the majority of the week, but on Sunday night it got good with several boats returning to the dock with 3 or 4 in the box. The Coral Beds continued to be the hot spot for big blackies. Several for-hire boats out of Lewes target black drum this time of year, so if you have the desire to tangle with one of these bruisers, now is the time to book your trip.
Tog season is closed right now in Delaware, so anglers are tossing bucktails and lures at the Walls and mainly finding short stripers right now. Matt at Lewes Harbour Marina did quietly catch himself a nice weakfish at the Ferry wall on Wednesday, so that is a good sign for those who like to chase trout.
Bill said that flounder fishing is not very good right now with the best bite coming in from anglers drifting right in front of the store. I would anticipate this bite to significantly improve in the coming weeks as more anglers hit the water and we see a rise in water temperatures. Most anglers drifting in the Lewes Canal are finding short stripers.
In the surf, fresh bunker, peeler crabs and sand fleas fooled several big linesiders last week with some measuring over 40-inches. If you can’t get a hold of peelers or fresh bunker, don’t underestimate the effectiveness of sand fleas. Surfcasters fishing off Assateague Island have also had some difficulty getting fresh bunker and have been pleasantly surprised at how big stripers have gone after the tiny sand flea.
The bluefish bite in the surf has definitely slowed, but on any given day it can turn on for a couple of hours, making for a memorable trip.
Although it is a hike for Delaware anglers to get to the where the action currently is in the canyons (110 miles), some made the trek last week to jump on the outstanding yellowfin tuna bite. Most of the activity took place in 500 to 700 fathoms between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons where water temperatures ranged from 68 to 74-degrees. Fish were caught on both the cold and hot sides of the break. The best bite seemed to occur first thing in the morning, and some days it would be on the cold side, only to shift later in the day to the warmer water. Those fishing in the higher temperatures found decent catches of mahi up to 25 lbs. The one thing consistent about the bite was the sharks, which were taking great pleasure in biting off the back half of hooked fish.
Further south at the Hook’em & Cook’em Tackle Shop in the Indian River Marina, Capt. Bert Adams reported good striped bass action in the Indian River Inlet at night for anglers tossing bucktails, Tsunami Sea Trout swim shads, purple and black Bomber lures and Diawa ST Minnows. There were also some larger bluefish mixed in for anglers fishing on Saturday. Bert hasn’t seen any flounder come from the inlet and only a couple from the back bays.
There was a sheepshead caught in the Indian River Inlet on Saturday.
In the surf near Indian River, a few stripers were hooked on fresh bunker and the kingfish bite has slowed in the last 2 weeks. Bert didn’t see or hear of any blowfish in the suds last week.
For anglers on the headboat, “Judy V”, sea bass fishing was good at the beginning of the week, but keepers got fewer as the week progressed. The fish seem to be on many pieces of structure, but the bite would be short lived on each and Capt. Chris would have to move on. The best fishing was in 90 feet of water for those dropping shiners, squid and clams.
Keeper flounder were few and far between on ocean wrecks. A couple were caught over the long weekend, but Bert said that the water is still too cold at 64-degrees.
As shown in the picture on the previous page, Amber Kelly caught a 297 lb. thresher shark at the Old Grounds on a whole mackerel. There were also a couple of makos caught by boats trolling for tuna between the Washington and Norfolk Canyons.
Anglers on the “Relentless” released the first white marlin out of the Indian River Marina last week. Most of the offshore boats were targeting yellowfins and mahi in 500 fathoms between the southern canyons. Bert said that those who fished a little further north of the fleet, up in the Washington Canyon, seemed to get into larger yellowfins.
Until next week, tight lines!
DNREC reopens Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier after major repairs
On May 25th, the newly-repaired 1,300-foot Cape Henlopen State Park Fishing Pier was reopened.
“The Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier is Delaware’s most popular recreational fishing structure, generating more than $700,000 in revenue per year for our economy,” Governor Jack Markell said at the reopening ceremony.
The vintage WWII landmark has been restored for the use of anglers, bird watchers and leisure visitors. The 149 pilings that support the structure have been repaired or replaced and extensive decking repairs completed.
The cost for repairs, decking, piles and engineering was funded by the state and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with contributions from Representatives Schwartzkopf, Timothy Dukes and Steve Smyk, and Senator Ernesto Lopez, through their Community Transportation Fund allotments.
In addition to the reopening of the pier, parks officials also unveiled six new camping cabins at the Cape Henlopen State Park campground. This is in addition to six existing cabins, which have proven to be a popular success with parks visitors. The newly-dubbed “Cabin Village” is located next to the tent camping area in the park. The roadway that previously passed in front of the original six cabins has been converted into a cul-de-sac, with the new cabins encircling the roadway.
Delaware State Parks made the decision to add additional camping cabins following the success of the original six cabins during the peak of last year’s season. “With a 97 percent occupancy rate and more than 1,500 people enjoying the cabins last year, we saw a need to give more visitors the opportunity to enjoy what Cape Henlopen has to offer,” said Cape Henlopen State Park Manager Paul Faircloth. “According to last year’s numbers and the projected numbers for 2016, these cabins will allow us to host around 2,000 people throughout the peak season.”
More campground improvements are coming next fall. The campground will close on September 12, for the installation of electric service, improvements to the roadway and drainage systems, and construction of a camp store and laundry facility. Construction is expected to end in May 2017. The reopening of reservations for the park’s 2017 season will be announced in an e-newsletter later this summer.
