Article by Rick Willman
Hi folks! Fishing in the back bays continues to be productive for guys targeting flounder. Minnows and squid are still the #1 item in the arsenal being used to trick the flatties. The Berkley GULP! products have really made a huge impact on the success for many anglers. Fishing the GULP! on just a normal flounder rig or fishing it on a jighead will surely improve your catch numbers. A little twitch of the rod will entice the fish to strike your bait.
There have been a few reports of small croakers in the Rehoboth Bay and Indian River. Spot are also making more of an appearance and are being sought after for use as bait.
In the Indian River Inlet, stripers are being taken on live spot, live eel and on storm or Tsunami lures.
Some of the successful anglers we’ve seen this past week are Butch Wills and Jim Alexander, who fished together in the Indian River Bay using minnows to bag 3 flatties up to 3.5 lbs. John King of Millsboro used a minnow to trick the 6 lb. 14 oz. flounder he took home. Ron Spitz fished the Anchorage in the Delaware Bay to boat 2 flounder that measured up to 25-inches.
It appears the action in the ocean is picking up both inshore and offshore. Inshore activity seems to be improving at Site #10 and around the DB Buoy area. Offshore reports show higher numbers of bluefin tuna, bluefish and sharks. Gary Aughenbaugh ran the ”Empty Hook” to the 19 Fathom Lump to troll up a 45 lb. bluefin for angler Shane Noll.
From Bill’s Sport Shop in Lewes, the reports on flounder, tog, striper and offshore fishing have been encouraging. A customer reported that he fished the Fenwick Shoals and threw back 10 tog up to 5 lbs. and caught 68 triggerfish, keeping 48. On the way in, they fished the inlet and caught 1 keeper striper, 2 keeper flounder, several bluefish and 2 Spanish mackerel. Cindy Wesley caught an 18-inch Spanish mackerel and limited out on bluefish up to 15-inches at 3Rs Road on mullet.
John Taylor Jr. of Denver, PA caught a 7.5 lb., 26.5-inch citation flounder in the Rehoboth Bay on livespot. West Sarver fished on the "Calvin J" at the Star Site and boated 2 flounder over 4 lbs. with 5 fish altogether. David Sullivan of Darlington, MD caught a 5.38 lb. 24-inch flounder on squid and minnow combo at the Indian River Inlet.
John Kitchen caught dolphin up to 10 lbs. at the 19 Fathom Lump on ballyhoo. John’s crew also caught blues up to 10 lbs. on anything they trolled at the Hambone. Jim Bell and Chris Shepperd snagged 12 tog up to 17.5-inches on sand fleas at the Outerwall.
Todd Buchnan caught a 110 lb. mako at the 20 Fathom Fingers on a mackerel/bunker combination. Michael Davidson landed a 120 lb. mako, 2 yellowfin at 48 and 53 lbs. and 4 dolphin over 15 lbs. on an overnighter on the “Little One” at the 500 line in the Washington Canyon.
The IRBA's TaTa Tuna Tournament was a big success. The heaviest fish was a 144.7 lb. bluefin tuna on the “Mr. Lures”. Second and third places went to the "Obi Wan", who graciously donated half of their winnings back to the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. They took home $4,900. Over $17,000 was awarded to the twelve boats that finished in the money. Trey Parker was fishing the tournament and nailed a 42 lb. 8 oz. yellowfin tuna and also released a white marlin estimated at 70 lbs.
Capt. Oak Thompson of the “MOODY BLUES VI” reported that they had the best fishing of the year. Oak caught and released over 100 flounder with 5 keepers surpassing 19-inches using minnows and live spot while drifting between the Old Gull Island and the 15 marker. The outgoing tide seemed to be the best time to catch fish.
Joe and Dan Slautterback of Mifflintown, PA caught a 20.8 lb. 40.5-inch striper and a 12.15 pounder on live eels at the Indian River Inlet.
Ron at Rattle & Reel Sporting Center reported a strong flounder bite in the back bays. The stripers are still hitting in the inlet on live spot. The DB Buoy area is providing much improved action on the sea bass and flounder. Ron also said croakers can be found anywhere in Delaware Bay.
Bert at Hook’em & Cook’em Bait & Tackle at the Indian River Marina confirms the reports of plenty of flounder in the back bays and near the inlet.
Surf fishing is a bit slow with small blues, kingfish and spot providing most of the excitement, as well as the usual sharks and skates.
Headboat action consists of flounder and sea bass. Massey’s Canyon, the Hambone and the 19 Fathom Lump areas are finally starting to show signs of life, including bluefin tuna, dolphin and bluefish. A 153 lb. mako was landed at the Fingers, and a blue marlin was released at the Hot Dog. The Poor Man’s and Baltimore Canyons are holding yellowfin tuna and white marlin.
Dan at Henlopen Bait & Tackle mentioned that the Lewes Canal is still a great spot to fish for flounder, and 10 to 12-inch croakers have also been caught all over the Delaware Bay. A few tog and triggerfish are still on the wall, but it seems most are moving to deeper water.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said structure continued to yield good numbers of flounder for bay and ocean anglers. The Star Reef Site has been productive, and Tammy Campbell caught a 7.82 lb. citation fluke aboard the “Top Fin”.
Flounder also came from sites #6 and #7 at the Brown Shoal. In the ocean, reef site #10 was a favored spot, but flatties were found at Reef Site #11, and on the Old Grounds between the DB and DA Buoys. Guys using 2 to 3 oz. bucktails tipped with squid, shiners, sand eels, smelt, cut bluefish or Gulp! had good success. A few of the other big flatfish to hit the dock this week included Captain David Walker’s 7.16 pounder, and a pair weighing 5.25 and 6.46 lbs. for Rob Karpovich. Captain Ted’s Saturday group aboard the “Indian” had a nice catch near DB Buoy, with one whopper measuring 28-inches.
Shallow water fishermen still had fluke in the Lewes Canal, Roosevelt Inlet and around the piers inside Cape Henlopen, but the number of keepers has dwindled. However, Joe said even Eric Burnley managed a legal size flattie while making a few casts off the dock one morning this past week.
Tossing shad darts or other jigs tipped with minnows or Gulp! to the rocks at the base of the Ferry Jetty and the Inner and Outer Walls resulted in flounder. Structures such as the bay reef sites and the breakwaters also gave up tautog and triggerfish. Billy Shiner brought back an 8.18 lb. blackfish from the Inner Wall, while Garry Tilton took a 7.02 lb. tog off a wreck at the bay mouth. Jim Durnan got a 9.25 lb. sheepshead while free diving the Outer Wall.
More and more tasty triggerfish are showing up with warming waters. If you notice a lot of small nibbles while bottom fishing the wrecks and reefs, try a smaller hook with a bit of clam or shrimp, and it might result in additional triggers for the box. Croakers were scattered across the Shears, but seemed to be more concentrated on Reef #5 in Broadkill Slough. Clams, bloodworms and Fishbites were favorites for the hardheads. Stripers were also caught by casting topwater poppers, Rat-L-Traps and X-Raps along the marsh banks. Louie Maysky checked in a 17.3 lb. linesider that ate a spot in the Indian River Inlet.
Bill Swords and crew were trolling ballyhoo at the Tea Cup on Saturday when Matt Clement landed a 125 lb. bluefin tuna. The guys also hooked two other big tuna, including a 68-incher they released. Captain Larry Coyle’s gang had yellowfins of 45 and 55 pounds, plus three gaffer dolphin while trolling Poor Man’s.
‘Til next week, have fun and be safe!
Rick and his wife Deb are owners of Rick’s Bait & Tackle in Long Neck, DE.
