Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
More hot and stormy weather last week kept many boats at the dock. We had several days of afternoon storms, and when adding a west wind and biting flies, it just made fishing tough.
Lots of flounder are still all over the coral along the shipping channel as well as a few ribbon fish. Sea bass has really slowed unless you head further offshore. This week is the annual Flounder Pounder Tournament out of Paradise Grill in Long Neck. The weigh-ins are always fun and quite the party atmosphere.
Inshore Wrecks & Coral
The area of the shipping channel has been very productive with some nice flounder coming off of the coral ground below the water. Your most productive areas have been to the south of B buoy near or below A buoy. The offshore side of the shipping lane in the deeper 95+ depth has produced more quality fish than the inshore side. Big Gulp baits are accounting for the majority of the fish. Many anglers are now switching to live spot fish for bait in an effort to target the bigger fish. Live spot can be caught near most docks as well as many bay locations throughout the Indian River Bay. A sabiki rig tipped with Fish Bites or blood worms works best. The spot fish are a hardy bait that can be kept alive easily in a bait well or bait bubbler bucket for the trip offshore. You will not get the quantity of bite with live bait but will usually hook a better quality of fish. Bucktails on the down current side of the wrecks is also a good strategy for targeting bigger fish.
The “Angler” had a new seasonal flounder pool leader when Keith brought in a nice 5.15 lb. fluke last Monday. They reported that despite the sloppy seas, the flat fish bite was pretty good and even had a few sea bass thrown in for its anglers. Joell Dougherty was out spearfishing and found a nice 28.5 inch, 9.5 lb. fluke hiding behind a rock in the channel. They ended the day with a lobster too!
The “Judy V” out of Hook’em and Cook’em Bait & Tackle at the Indian River Marina reporting fair catches of flounder. The largest fish was an impressive 7.4 lb. flounder.
The sea bass bite here in Delaware has really slowed, however 6 yr. old Trey Guest showed the adults how it was done, catching a nice keeper sea bass while out on his Pop Pops boat, the “Port-A-Bella”. It's a good thing they brought Trey or they would have been skunked. Just another reason to take the kids fishing!
The inshore mahi bite slowed up a bit this week with reports of being very scattered and not usually willing to bite at either trolled lures or at bait thrown to them on the pots. At the lightship, only a few anglers caught this prized fish that only comes inshore for a small window of time in the summer. Terry Murray, Bill Winkler, and John Timmons were out to try their hand at catching a couple and obviously found the right pots because they retired with a cooler full of nice peanut mahi for dinner. Every day has been different in what the mahi wants. One day trolling small chuggers is the only offering they will take, other days squid thrown to them on a small circle hook will work, and then there are the days where only lures behind a big noisy bird will work. Many anglers do not have the resources or boats to go offshore for the big pelagics, so this inshore version allows many anglers a chance at these fine eating and hard fighting fish.
Bay Areas
The bay areas of Indian River were a little slow for flounder, however a few fish are still around with the prime targeted area being the rocks along the inlet and the deep channel in front of the VFW. Old Inlet Bait & Tackle reported the area along the rocks at the inlet are producing some decent fluke along with a few short tog. Short stripers and bluefish are coming in the inlet on the morning tides. The night time striper bite has produced a few keepers on sand fleas. They also report that live bloodworms will not be available for a while . They are hearing that Canada, as well as Maine are likely going to put a moratorium on the harvest for a few years to recover from over harvesting. Fish Bites are a great alternative and may soon become the only option. They also mentioned that many of the tog on the rocks are short, but a few keepers have started to come into the shop as well as a few sheepshead and pompano.
11 yr. old Chester Starkey caught his first keeper flounder this past week while fishing with his dad in the Indian River Bay. Carl said his son did a great job fighting and landing the keeper all by himself. So great to see parents taking the kids out for a great time on the water.
Nick Garcia was out with his grandpop reporting that although July was pretty inconsistent for them, August has started off really well. They picked up a few nice fish in the 22-25” range and the rest of the keepers between 19-21”.
A few trout are also around with George Wettig bringing home a few nice ones while fishing aboard the “Captain's Lady”.
Up in Lewes, the walls are still producing some nice sheepshead as well as a few nice tog. John Spence was out for the morning and quickly got 15 tog all over 14” and the biggest was 15”. John reports all his fish were caught on sand fleas.
Surf Fishing
The surf has been a mix of kingfish, spot and a few small blues thrown in. Many larger sharks are cruising closer to shore allowing anglers to hook into a nice fight. Several large rays are also in the surf. The evening hours at last light is the best time to target these big brutes.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up §
