Article by Larry Jock
Boy, did the weatherman get it wrong last weekend. Fortunately, both the land and the offshore weather was much better than predicted and although the number of boats that hit the water seemed down, those that took a chance were rewarded with some really good fishing.
The Indian River Marina Kid’s Catch-All Tournament was held on Saturday and Sunday, with 68 happy junior anglers competing. Since the forecast wasn’t very favorable, most of the boats stayed close to shore, fishing the Indian River Inlet and inshore shoals. Croakers dominated the weigh-ins but the junior anglers also brought back catches of flounder, bluefish and sea robins. Overall, it was a very successful tournament, and with a more realistic weather forecast, we probably would have seen over 100 junior anglers registered.
At Rick’s Bait & Tackle, Capt. Mike was happy to report that after a slow spring start, flounder fishing is really starting to pick up, especially on ocean structure. Delaware anglers have always been ahead of most others when it comes to flounder fishing in the ocean and it’s no different this year. Capt. Mike said that his customers came back last weekend with some really nice flatties caught at the Old Grounds. This is a good thing since the sea bass bite has been very sporadic, with more sub-par days than good ones. Both Capt. Mike and Capt. Bert at Hook’em & Cook’em mentioned how thick sea robins are right now on inshore flounder spots, and the sea robins are big. Several anglers said that they had difficulty getting their baits past the sea robins to the flounder.
As mentioned, sea bass fishing has been hit-or-miss. Anglers are still picking at them on the DelJerseyLand reef site, but the throwback ratio is high. This is not to say that knotheads aren’t being caught. It’s just a day by day thing.
Mike said that flounder fishing is also picking up in the Lewes Canal, a location that he said has been better than most others, although he is seeing flatties coming in from the Indian River bay and Massey’s Ditch. The best flounder baits continue to be minnows and Gulp Swimming Mullet.
Spot have started to show up in the Rehoboth Bay and hook and liners are finally seeing some croaker interested in their offerings. Interestingly, Mike said a netter he knows was getting croakers in his nets 3 weeks ago, but hook and liners are just getting into them.
Anglers fishing Delaware reef sites are finding kingfish biting on bloodworms and clams. They are also catching a few keeper weakfish, although at 13-inches, they are on the small side.
Flounder and spot are also being caught around the Cape Henlopen Pier with kayakers having an advantage since they can get to spots around closed sections that land-based anglers can’t access.
Offshore, Mike reported a tremendous tuna bite over the weekend for boats trolling the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons. Some of his customers are flipping over to chunking, especially on inshore locations for those in search for bluefin tuna.
At Fenwick Bait & Tackle, Matt said that his customers are still finding good kingfish numbers in the surf for those using the typical bait selection of bloodworms and clams, but he also said a great bait to use is Fishbite sand fleas. Those who are kayaking baits off the beach are finding good shark fishing with 3 to 4-foot sandbars and sand tigers giving surfcasters a tussle.
Matt’s flounder fishing customers reported surprisingly clean water over the weekend with flatties coming in from the Thorofare from anglers fishing with squid, minnows and Gulp artificial baits. The Fenwick Ditch is producing a few short stripers and anglers are now picking up a couple of flounder as well.
Capt. Bert Adams at Hook’em & Cook’em said that fishing in the Indian River Inlet hasn’t been very good lately, but a few sheepshead are being caught off the South Jetty. Speckled crab has, by far, been the best bait for sheepshead, but sand fleas have also worked well.
Short stripers were caught last week by those drifting around the Coast Guard Station at night.
Headboats out of Indian River typically go after whatever species is snapping, and last week fishing for flounder was better than going after sea bass. Bert said that to find good sea bass fishing, anglers need to be close to 30 miles off the beach, too far for most anglers. Headboat customers are returning with some really nice size flounder from Site 10 and “B” Buoy after fishing with squid, minnows and Gulp artificial baits. Strip baits are also usually a top producer for big flatties.
Surf fishing around Indian River has been slow with small croakers and kingfish dominating the action. The beach replenishment project off Bethany probably has a lot to do with the slow conditions and that project has now been pushed back into July. Interestingly, government surveyors are finding kingfish in their pots 5 miles off the coast. That tells you something!
Until next week, have fun and tight lines.
