Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
This week brought us warm weather. Temperatures in the high 70’s thru low 90’s brought a renewed warmth to bay waters. This week being cruisers week showed a ton of people in town and on the water.
Flounder
The big news in flounder this week was the Joe Morris Memorial Canal tournament out of the Lewes Marina. This tournament is a local favorite for a great cause. It supports pancreatic cancer and ran on Friday May 21st. Top prize went to Ricky Blitz with a 4.44 lb. flounder caught on minnows. Second place went to Heather Strickland at 4.08 lbs., third place was Shawn Carpenter at 3.83 lbs. Fourth place went to Kara Smith weighing at 3.67 lbs. and rounding out the top five in fifth place was Austin Presley at 3.50 lbs. I spoke with many anglers who said that the canal was on fire with most anglers at least going home with a nice fish for dinner. The majority of anglers reported that the fish were caught with live minnows from the Lewes Harbour Marina store. Further down the coast the Indian River area is reporting a few flounder being caught in the main thoroughfare as well as by the cut near the VFW. However, flounder fishing is still a bit sluggish. Minnow and squid combos for bait are getting the best attention. I did hear of a few keeper flounders caught in the Fenwick ditch near Harpoon Hannas.
Sea Bass
Sea bass remains strong this week with the NJ/DE reef again being the top spot for this fine table fare. Top bait was fresh clam outshining all other baits. Many anglers reported using salted clams or squid and watching neighboring boats pull in double the fish while they used fresh clam. Many of the tackle shops have fresh clams in stock, however, with the warming of bay waters, raking for clams in the bay is a good and cheaper alternative. The area around Holts Landing is the spot for clams right now. Sea bass on the near shore wrecks at Site 10 and 11 were strong but you had to weed through a lot of throwbacks A few tog are still being caught but as the water warms up the fish will head offshore to deeper colder water. Tog along the wall of the Indian River has really slowed up and is coming to an end for the summer. Although some will be caught throughout the summer these fish prefer colder water and are tougher to find in the summer. Green crab and clam are the top baits for tog this time of year.
Rockfish, Bluefish, Sharks
A few rockfish are still being caught in the inlet at night along with a few schoolie blues but the action has slowed down. If you are catching one or two stripers at night you’re doing better than most. The surf is even slower. A few over slot fish are being caught on peeler crab or sand fleas at night but the big numbers that Assateague Island had for the past weeks seem to have passed us by on their way north. More dogfish sharks have been caught in the surf showing a warm up of the ocean temps. I know Larry received reports of a thresher shark caught this week. Hopefully this means a warm up of our waters and the bigger fish aren’t far behind. I’m sure the next couple of weeks will see our dusky sharks as well as more threshers coming closer to shore. The Fenwick Shoals are a great spot to set up for both cobia as well as inshore sharks. The area above Site 10 and just below the mouth of the bay is another good area for sharks close to the beach. Remember to check the regulations before you head out as many sharks like the dusky are protected and can not be harvested.
Surf Fishing
Surf fishing remains quiet with the most productive areas being north in Lewes by the point. A few night time rockfish are being caught but the numbers have really fallen off. A few snapper blues are being caught on mullet rigs and cut bait but again the numbers are not as good as in previous years. A few kingfish are showing up in the surf which is a good sign, meaning the water temps are rising. Tip of the week... When fishing the surf, set one lure out far with a long cast and one just beyond the breakers. Many times the close to shore bait gets the strikes. Many surf anglers are reporting when they catch one of the rockfish it’s right in or just beyond the breakers.
Clams & Crabs
Crab numbers have really dropped off as the pots this week are filled with sponge crabs. Although this means less keepers, it is showing a positive growth in the population. Clamming has started to turn on this week with Holts Landing being the hot spot. Rehoboth Bay should follow along by next week.
So enjoy the early summer warmth!
Tight lines and fins up!
