Article by Larry Jock
Fishing has been on the slow side for anglers in the bay and those that headed offshore. Water temperatures have really warmed up and weather conditions have been spotty.
Capt. Bert Adams at the Hook’em & Cook’em Tackle Shop in the Indian River Marina said that some flounder have been caught in the Indian River Inlet, but like in Ocean City, anglers are having to deal with an incredible high number of throwbacks. Those lucky enough to catch a keeper have had the best luck fishing along the rocks on the south side of the Inlet and in the back bay.
Those tossing lures and cut bait off the Inlet jetty rocks have found a couple of triggerfish and sheepshead more than happy to take their offering of sand fleas. Bluefish have been scarce, but a few snappers showed up on Sunday morning and anglers were able to hook them on shiny lures.
In the surf, kingfish are dominating catches for surfcasters soaking bloodworms or Fishbite artificial bloodworms. Small sharks are being caught during the day and larger sharks are being hooked at night, primarily on tuna belly or other cut bait. Bert said that a couple of bluefish have also been caught in the suds as well.
Headboats started out the week on the slow side but got better as the week progressed. Those who ventured out on Sunday saw good flounder action on the “Capt. Bob II” with 20 keeper flounder coming in over the rail in addition to over 40 throwbacks. Bert said that the Captain is hitting a lot of spots, and is able to get his anglers a few at each location. Water temperature on the bottom is a cool 49-degrees and warms up to 71-degrees on the surface. Most of the good action is 7 to 10 miles off the beach with Site 10 taking over the number one location. Those fishing at Fenwick Shoal are finding that the snapper bluefish have returned and some kingfish, triggerfish and sea bass can be found on the wreck.
Offshore boats out of Indian River that are looking for tuna are traveling to the 12 Fathom Lump, southeast of the Delaware Lightship and only 25 miles from the Inlet in addition to the 19 Fathom Lump and Massey’s Canyon. The bite is slow right now with a mix of chunkers and trollers flooding the area. The “Stalker” out of Ocean City, with Capt. Steve Moore at the wheel, had an incredible day last Saturday, ending their day with 19 yellowfins in the box after trolling at the Lobster Claw.
At Fenwick Tackle, Matt Shoup reported that things haven’t changed much over the past couple of weeks. Most of his customers are catching kingfish in the surf in addition to some big rays both in the bay and off the coast. A few decent flounder were caught in The Ditch and some of his customers have gotten into bluefish around the Rt. 50 Bridge.
At Rick’s Bait & Tackle, Mike Behney said that the flounder bite in the Lewes Canal is still not very good with anglers having to deal with a huge number of throwbacks. The best flounder bite he has seen recently has come from Massey’s Ditch where several nice fish have been brought to his shop including Jim Pyle’s 8.2 pounder caught on a live minnow last Friday. Mike said that he has been receiving good reports from anglers fishing at Site 10 with fish up to 21-inches being hooked on cut bait and Gulp! artificial baits.
Triggerfish have been caught around the pilings of the Cape Henlopen Pier and also around the pilings at the Massey’s Ditch Pier.
Even with the slot season in effect for stripers, Mike said that they aren’t really seeing many come to the scale. Some schoolies are being caught in the Indian River Inlet, but the slot season is not applicable to that area.
At press time, we didn’t have the official results from the Paradise Grill Bay Flounder Tournament, but I know that everyone is getting ready for the big Paradise Grill Flounder Tournament on August 18th to 20th. A lot of anglers are going to be looking to get the big cash payout so start getting your rigs ready.
Until next week, get out on the water and have some fun!
