Article by Larry Jock
Once again, it was quite a year of fishing off the coast of Delmarva. There is no doubt that the highlight was the best tuna fishing year we have seen in quite some time, with a staggering number of bigeye tuna hitting the scales in addition to excellent catches of mostly small yellowfins in the Washington Canyon.
Following is a summary of each week’s issue.
May 1, 2013 - What better way to start off the year than with Big Bird Cropper on the cover with a 24-inch speckled trout caught by the Assateague Bridge... Fishing got off to a very slow start with continuous bad weather... Excellent black drum run in April for surfcasters off Assateague... Flounder trollers had a good bite in the Thorofare... Bay temperatures were in the mid-50’s but got as high as 65-degrees at the end of the outgoing tide... Flounder bite was excellent from the Assateague Bridge up to the Rt. 90 Bridge... Best flounder bite was behind Harbour Island on bucktails tipped with minnows... Live bait outperformed Gulp!... Alabama rigs were extremely effective when used while trolling for flounder... Small stripers were caught around the Rt. 50 Bridge... Headboat anglers returned with good catches of tog... In Delaware, water temperature in the Indian River Inlet was around 54-degrees... Anglers caught small red drum and speckled trout in the Ditch... Blowfish, kingfish, skates and stripers were caught in the surf... Weakfish were caught off the beach in Lewes... All the tog you wanted were around the Outer Wall and also on Reefs 6 & 7... Good numbers of flounder were caught during the outgoing tide in the Lewes Canal... Striper fishing in the Upper Delaware Bay was hot!
May 8, 2013 - Horrific week weather-wise... Water temps in the OC Inlet were consistently between 54 and 56 degrees... When the weather allowed it, anglers were able to get out on the water and come back with good flounder catches... Trolling bucktails tipped with minnows in the Thorofare was very productive... No striped bass to speak of yet from the surf... Warm, offshore waters outside the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyon contained mako sharks, yellowfins, bluefins and bigeye tuna... In Delaware, small bluefish and a few stripers were caught in the Indian River Inlet... Some tog were caught under the Indian River Bridge... Tautog were caught around the Outer Wall, the Inner Wall and the Ice Breakers... Black drum were hooked on clams off Slaughter Beach and along Broadkill Beach... Blowfish were plentiful off the beach from Cape Henlopen down to Bethany... Researchers netted a 200 lb. thresher shark just south of the Indian River Inlet.
May 15, 2013 - False albacore tuna, blue sharks and makos were caught in 200 fathoms in the middle of the Baltimore Canyon where the water temperature rose to 63-degrees on the 100 fathoms line... Blue sharks were extremely thick in the canyons... First mako shark was caught on the “Restless Lady” in 67.4-degree water in the Baltimore... First bluefin tuna was caught in 64-degree water in the Baltimore... Good week for flounder fishing in skinny water and along edges in the Thorofare and behind Assateague... Minnow and Gulp! combinations worked best... Good size stripers were landed off Assateague and from the beach in North Ocean City... Small stripers were caught in the bay near the Assateague Bridge... In Delaware, water temps rose to 58-degrees in the Indian River Inlet resulting in an excellent striper bite for anglers casting bucktails and swim shads... Good numbers of bluefish were caught in the I.R. Inlet... Flounder fishing improved around the VFW?Slough and at Massey’s Ditch... Red drum, stripers and bluefish were caught in the surf... First croakers (10”-11”) showed up in the Cape Henlopen suds... Excellent flounder action off the Cape Henlopen Pier... Good striper bite off Broadkill Beach... The full moon turned on the black drum at the Coral Beds... Lewes Canal was hot with flounder with several limits caught... Reef Site 11 yielded impressive catches of tautog.
May 22, 2013 - Kate Yarzutkina captured a 9 lb. 3 oz. weakfish at the Assateague Bridge... Flounder fishing really turned on by the duck blinds behind Assateague and also in the Thorofare... White and pink Gulp! Swimming Mullets were the hot baits... Weakfish were caught around the Assateague Bridge, the South Jetty and near the Hole in the Wall... Snapper bluefish roamed the bay and an 11 lb. 8 oz. chopper was caught off 125th Street... Striper bite off Assateague has been disappointing... Large amount of skates and sharks in the surf... A few stripers were hooked around the South Jetty... Sea bass season opened on May 19th and several fish close to 5 lbs. were brought back to the dock... The warm patch found in the canyons moved further offshore this week so only a few boats headed east to 68.5-degree water where they found yellowfins, bluefins, small makos and a lot of blue sharks in 500 fathoms... Bluefins were caught in the Baltimore Canyon in 63-degree water... 80 fathoms in the Poor Man’s produced catches of golden tilefish... In Delaware, John O’Leary caught a 45-inch striper while tossing a swim shad off the Indian River Jetty... Bluefin tuna were caught in 65-degree water in the Wilmington Canyon... Excellent flounder fishing was found in the Lewes Canal and around the Cape Henlopen Pier... Kingfish were plentiful on the Coral Beds and croakers made an early appearance in the bay... Bluefish and weakfish were caught off Broadkill Beach... Black drum fishing was excellent at the Coral Beds... Several good size stripers were landed from the surf off Cape Henlopen.
May 29, 2013 - More windy weather... First thresher shark was caught at the Fingers... Threshers were hooked at the Twin Wrecks... Makos were boated at the Hot Dog... Yellowfins were caught in 500 fathoms in the Baltimore in 66-degree water... Striper fishing off Assateague improved and good numbers of black drum were caught as well... Excellent numbers of stripers were caught around the South Jetty, led by a 48-incher hooked by Zach Goodrich... Black drum were hooked on clams around the Assateague Bridge... Windy weather and dirty water hampered flounder fishing this week... Due to cold (44-degree) water, sea bass fishing had been tough since it opened on the 19th with fish staying further offshore... Anglers fishing the Great Eastern Reef did return with nice catches of sea bass over the weekend... In Delaware, stripers (32”-36”) were thick in the I.R. Inlet... Good weakfish bite at the Outer Wall... Black drum action was good at the Coral Beds with the best bite happening right before dark... Black drum were also caught at the Inner Wall... Weakfish were found at the Roosevelt Jetties, the Ferry Wall and Inner Breakwater for anglers tossing Gulp!, Bass Assassins, MirrOLures and paddletails... The beach off Lewes produced croakers, blowfish, kingfish, spot and bluefish... Site 11 saw good catches of sea bass, ling and cod.
June 5, 2013 - Phillip Chandler graced the cover with an 11 lb. 5 oz. flounder caught in the Indian River Inlet... The striper bite around the South Jetty was outstanding all week for anglers fishing with fresh bunker... The area around the Rt. 50 Bridge produced a good striper bite at night... Windy weather hampered flounder fishing again this week... Flounder were caught AT?NIGHT around the Rt. 50 Bridge... Chopper bluefish were found all over the bay, particularly in the East Channel and off the Oceanic Pier... Sea bass, ling cod and tog were caught on inshore ocean structure... Anglers fishing off the Oceanic Pier at night experienced incredible weakfish action with one night producing over 100 hook-ups... Quite a few smaller makos (115 lbs. - 125 lbs.) were caught around the Fingers, Hambone and the Chicken Bone where water temps were in the low-60’s... A 440 lb. thresher shark was caught at the Fingers in 55-degree water... Yellowfins were caught in 500 fathoms in the Baltimore and in 1,000 fathoms in the Poor Man’s... Shad, skates, spot, kingfish, trout and a lot of blowfish in the surf... In Delaware, the striper bite was hot in the Indian River Inlet at night... Also in the Inlet, weakfish were caught on swim shads and bluefish were fooled with metal jigs... The flounder bite was steady at Massey’s Landing... The first mako was caught in 59-degree water in the Baltimore Canyon... Threshers were hooked in 20 fathoms around the Fingers... A 400-500 lb. thresher was released in Massey’s Canyon... Sea bass were picked up at Reef Site 11 and around the Radford and Poole wrecks... Cod were found at the Del-Jersey-Land reef site... Golden tilefish were caught in the Baltimore Canyon... The Coral Beds continued to produce good catches of black drum... Weakfish continued their comeback around the Ferry Wall and the Inner Wall... Anglers tossing plugs around the Outer Wall found 18 to 25-inch stripers at night.
June 12, 2013 - “Moore Bills” won the Mako Mania Shark Tournament with a 209.5 lb. mako shark caught at the Rockpile. Anglers on the “Tuna Box” captured a 485 lb. thresher shark at the Sausages and Walter Moore hooked a 500 lb. thresher at the Fingers while fishing on a deck boat... Mako sharks in the 100 lb. to 130 lb. range were caught at the Fingers, Hambone and Hot Dog... Some small yellowfins were caught in the Washington and in 130 fathoms in the Baltimore... The first bigeye tuna of the year was caught on a green machine spreader bar in 330 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon in 67-degree water... Striper bite was fantastic around the Rt. 50 Bridge and South Jetty and a few were caught off Assateague... When the bay water cleaned up, flounder fishing turned on around the South Jetty... In Delaware, flounder continued to come from the Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and the Cape Henlopen Pier, but the better bite was on Delaware Bay structure... Another good week for weakfish with action at the Ferry Wall, Inner Wall and along the marsh bank on the Lewes Canal... Black drum stuck around after the full moon at the Coral Beds... Sea bass were available at Reef Site 11... Sharkers found whalers, threshers and makos in Massey’s Canyon and on other 20-fathom structure... Fishing in the Indian River Inlet was slow with a few flounder, stripers and bluefish caught... Not much happening in the back bays off Indian River... Blowfish and kingfish dominated the suds... Bluefin tuna came in from the Washington Canyon... The yellowfin bite started the week in the Baltimore and ended up in 50 fathoms inside the Washington where anglers returned with double-digit catches.
June 19, 2013 - The first white marlin of the season was caught by Tim Hawn on the charter boat, “No Quarter” while fishing in 1,000 fathoms outside the Poor Man’s Canyon... No qualifying sharks were weighed at the Ocean City Shark Tournament... Makos, hammerheads and duskies were caught in 68-degree water in the Norfolk Canyon... Yellowfins were caught in the Baltimore (110 fathoms), Poor Man’s and near the 800/800... The excellent striper bite continued around the North and South Jetties... Speckled trout were caught at the Rt. 50 Bridge and at the Hole in the Wall... Dirty, cold water hampered flounder fishing... When water cleaned up, fish were caught behind Assateague and in the East Channel... Golden tilefish were caught on headboats in 800 feet of water in the Baltimore and Washington Canyons...Sea bass fishing was sporadic... In Delaware, weakfish action definitely improved this year in the I.R. Inlet with most caught on bucktails... Flounder fishing picked up in the I.R. Inlet... Stripers were caught at night under the I.R. Bridge... Kingfish seemed more abundant this year on the western edge of The Shears and at the Coral Beds, Star Site Reef and Broadkill Reef... Kingfish, spot, croakers and spike trout dominated the surf action... Bigger weakies were caught along the Roosevelt Jetties and at the Ferry Wall.
June 26, 2013 - The first wahoo of the season was caught in 68-degree water in 80 fathoms between the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons... A tremendous number of small (barely legal) yellowfin tuna ware caught this week, mainly in 50-80 fathoms between the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons... Several bigeye tuna were caught in the Baltimore Canyon in 70-degree water... The first longfin tuna was caught in the Baltimore Canyon... First blue marlin was released on June 21st in 65 fathoms in the Baltimore Canyon... Good week for golden tilefish caught in the Baltimore Canyon... Dirty bay water continued to hurt flounder fishing... Better flattie fishing was found at the African Queen... Live spot are all over the bay behind O.C... The striped bass bite at the Rt. 50 Bridge and South Jetty was spectacular... Sea bass fishing greatly improved... Great Eastern Reef produced good catches of knotheads... Small bluefish were caught in the Inlet... Weakfish were caught at the South Jetty and in the West Channel... In Delaware, anglers continued to catch good numbers of black drum at the Ditch... Jetty jockies off the Indian River Jetty caught weakfish, stripers and bluefish... Panfish dominated the surf... Quality sea bass were caught at the Del-Jersey-Land reef site... “DB” Buoy produced good catches of big flounder... Croakers and spot were caught in the Roosevelt Inlet and along the Lewes and Broadkill Beaches... Four pound weakfish were caught at the Ferry Jetty... Numerous brown sharks were caught between the Coral Beds and Fowler Beach... Stripers were active in the Lewes Canal.
July 3, 2013 - Jeff Gottshall landed a 14 lb. 10 oz. bluefish at the Hot Dog... It was a great week for flounder fishing, especially for anglers off the Oceanic Pier... The excellent red drum bite in the bay surprised a lot of anglers with the big fish coming from around the Rt. 50 Bridge... The striper bite around the South Jetty remained strong with fish caught in the 30”-36” class... Anglers fishing at night off the Oceanic Pier found good numbers of weakfish... Rough sea conditions hampered sea bass fishing... Big bluefish finally showed up around the Hambone, the Chicken Bone and at the Hot Dog... Not much offshore action due to the weather...In Delaware, The Ditch continued to produce good catches of red drum, black drum, speckled trout and stripers... Bluefin tuna and dolphin were caught at the Hambone... Bluefins were also spotted at the Chicken Bone... A mixed bag of fish were caught in the I.R. Inlet with stripers, red drum, black drum, kingfish, croakers, bluefish and weakfish all showing up... Flounder fishing was decent at the Old Grounds... The Lewes Canal continued to produce good catches of flounder and slot stripers.
July 10, 2013 - Bigeye tuna showed up in good numbers in 75-degree water in the Washington Canyon... Boats also returned with yellowfins mixed in... Bluefin tuna were caught by anglers at the Hot Dog with several measuring between 70 and 72-inches... Wahoo were caught at the Hot Dog and in the Poor Man’s... Dolphin were caught in the Washington Canyon and at the Hot Dog... White marlin were released around the 461 Lump and in the Washington Canyon... Blue marlin were released around the Hot Dog and in the Washington Canyon... Dirty water made flounder fishing tough during the week, but it improved over the weekend in the East and West Channels... Sea bass fishing on ocean structure really took off with headboats returning with tubs full of knotheads caught by anglers using clams for bait... Stripers continued to roam the tip of the South Jetty... Small red drum were hooked around the South Jetty and in the East Channel... In Delaware, it was a mixed bag for anglers fishing in the I.R. Inlet with red and black drum, stripers, weakfish and even some triggerfish showing up... Black drum, speckled trout and weakfish were all caught at the Ditch... Anglers hooked into golden and blueline tilefish deep in the Poor Man’s... There was good flounder action at the Old Grounds between “DA” and “DB” Buoys... Flounder keep coming from the Lewes Canal for anglers fishing with minnows and pink Gulp! Swimming Mullets... Slot-size stripers were caught around the Lewes Drawbridge and Train Bridge.
July 17, 2013 - It was an awesome Ocean City Tuna Tournament with 29 bigeyes weighed on the first day... The Washington Canyon produced both bigeye and yellowfin tuna... Bluefins continued to get caught in 74 to 78-degree water at the Hot Dog... Wahoo were caught at the Hot Dog, in Massey’s Canyon and in the Washington Canyon... White and blue marlin were released in the Washington Canyon and at the Rockpile... Another storm made flounder fishing difficult in the bay but fish were caught in the East Channel, both north and south of the Rt. 50 Bridge... In Delaware, triggerfish arrived in good numbers around the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers... Small croakers, spot, blowfish and spike trout were caught in the bay at Reefs 5 and 8... Surfcasters off Fenwick Island found sand tiger, sandbar and brown sharks at night... Flounder fishing in the I.R. Inlet improved greatly and anglers were surprised with the number of triggerfish caught... Small stripers, a few bluefish and some croakers were caught by the I.R. Marina entrance.
July 24, 2013 - Large bigeye tuna were caught in the Norfolk Canyon... Yellowfins were caught at the Hot Dog, but there was a better bite in the Washington Canyon... Bluefins were hooked in Massey’s Canyon... White and blue marlin were released in the Washington Canyon... Small dolphin were caught up and down the line from the Hot Dog down to the Norfolk Canyon... Flounder fishing in the bay was fantastic with the best bites coming from around the duck blinds behind Assateague, at the mouth of the Commercial Harbor and around the Rt. 50 Bridge... The bite turned on when the water cooled during the incoming tide... Croakers were all over the bays, but the Rt. 90 Bridge was the hot spot... Sea bass fishing was unpredictable on ocean structure... Throwback stripers were found in great numbers around the South Jetty... In Delaware, anglers floating sand fleas at night in the I.R. Inlet hooked into good numbers of stripers... Red and black drum, triggerfish and croaker were also caught in the Inlet... Drifting live spot near the I.R. Coast Guard Station produced good catches of weakfish... With the reopening of the tautog season, anglers got into them on the rockpiles off Lewes... Spadefish and sheepshead showed up on DE Bay reef sites and at the Ice Breakers... Hard currents made it tough to flounder fish in the DE Bay but anglers had better luck catching flatties on ocean structure at the Old Grounds.
July 31, 2013 - The epic bigeye tuna bite continued in the Washington Canyon where anglers got into them during the week, but then saw the bite peter out during the weekend... A lot of 28”-30” yellowfins were caught in the Washington Canyon... Bluefins were hooked at the Hot Dog... Those trolling for bigeyes and yellowfins also found white marlin and blue marlin... Bailor dolphin were caught in the Washington Canyon and at the Hot Dog... Larger dolphin were boated in the Norfolk... An increase in wahoo hook-ups was seen in the Washington Canyon and at the Hot Dog... Black and purple were the hot wahoo colors... Flounder fishing was good at the duck blinds and between Harbour Island and the Rt. 50 Bridge... Those drifting along the north wall in the OC Inlet also found flatties... Sheepshead were caught around the North Jetty... Bluefish were captured around the Rt. 50 Bridge... A small thresher shark was caught and released in the bay by an angler on the flounder headboat, “Happy Hooker”... Kingfish, spot, bluefish, blowfish and small sharks made up most of the surf action... In Delaware, anglers drifting in the Indian River Inlet found a few flounder, small stripers and good numbers of bluefish in the 3 to 4 lb. range... Headboats saw good catches of sea bass and flounder on ocean structure... In the DE Bay, Reef Sites 5 and 8 produced huge catches of croaker... Spot and croaker were plentiful in the Lewes Canal... Roosevelt Inlet yielded weakfish and flounder.
August 7, 2013 - Anglers on the “Why Not” teamed up to land a 105 lb. wahoo at the 461 Lump... The White Marlin Open saw 262 boats registered and an expected payout of $2,400,000... The bluefin tuna bite died at the Hot Dog... Bluefins moved north to the Lobster Claw, which is common during WMO week... Bigeye tuna bite was strong in the Washington and Norfolk Canyons... Large numbers of yellowfin tuna were still being caught in the Washington, although the vast majority are relatively small (28”-32”)... Dirty water in the bay made for a frustrating week of flounder fishing... Those heading to ocean structure had much better results with flatties... Sea bass continued to be unpredictable... Tilefish and wreckfish were caught in 50 to 125 fathoms just south of the Poor Man’s Canyon... In Delaware, anglers were still pounding red and black drum in The Ditch in Fenwick... Large variety of fish were caught in the I.R. Inlet with flounder, bluefish, weakfish, stripers, red drum, black drum and triggerfish all being caught... Flounder fishing was good near the I.R. Coast Guard Station... There was a good run of 2 to 4 lb. bluefish in the Inlet... The Old Grounds saw excellent flounder fishing for fishermen bouncing bucktails... DE Bay reef sites 5, 6. 7 and 8 also yielded good catches of flounder... Drifting live spot in the Lewes Canal was a great way to hook a striper... Bottomfishing in the DE Bay produced loads of croaker, spot, kingfish, blowfish and small weakfish... Triggerfish were found at the Outer Wall.
August 14, 2013 - “Kingfisher” won $1,201,742 in the White Marlin Open with an 83 lb. white caught in the Norfolk Canyon... Bigeye tuna dominated the Tuna Division of the WMO with fish caught in the Wilmington, Washington and Norfolk Canyons... After the tournament, boats continued to catch big numbers of yellowfins in the Washington Canyon... Looked like a fresh batch of flounder moved into the bay, but most fish came up short of the 16-inch minimum... There was an excellent flounder bite at the African Queen... White Gulp! and small spot were the baits of choice for flatties... In Delaware, the bite in the Indian River Inlet continues to be unpredictable with flounder snapping one day, only to be absent the following day when bluefish show up... Weakfish were caught on Nuclear Chicken Bass Assassins and Tsnumami Lures... The Old Grounds, always a hot flounder spot over the summer, produced a few flounder close to 10 lbs... Reef sites 6 and 7 in the DE Bay saw good numbers of flounder caught by anglers drifting squid and minnows... Large spot moved into the Lewes Canal... Croaker were all over the DE bay... Anglers caught sheepshead at the Outer Wall.
August 21, 2013 - Bad weather this week made fishing tough... 97 boats entered Bahia Marina’s Poor Girls Open, where bigeye tuna and marlin releases dominated the action... Most of the billfish releases came from the Washington and Norfolk Canyons, but a few were registered in the Wilmington and Poor Man’s as well... Yellowfins were caught on the chunk in the Washington Canyon... The bigeye tuna bite in the Washington Canyon was phenomenal with several fish caught weighing over 180 lbs... Flounder fishing was horrible in the bay but very good on ocean structure... Panfish were found in the surf...In Delaware, flounder fishing was good on DE Bay reefs, particularly at Sites 6 and 7... Despite strong winds, flounder bit at the Old Grounds... Croakers were found all over the DE Bay... Red drum were caught in the Lewes Canal... Snapper bluefish showed up at the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers... A few stripers were caught in the I.R. Inlet along with some flounder and rays... For flounder, the end of the incoming tide was the most productive and live spot was definitely the best bait... A few weakfish were caught on artificials... The kingfish bite in the surf slowed.
August 28, 2013 - 117 boats registered for the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 with 59 fishing out of Ocean City... “Light’s Out” won the tournament with an 84 lb. white marlin, worth over $704,000... Best marlin bite was in the Norfolk Canyon... “Wound-Up” continued to rack up outstanding numbers of white marlin releases by livebaiting tinker mackerel, a new method for this area... The bigeye tuna bite in the Washington Canyon was still on fire with eyeballs found among the whales... Yellowfin were scattered from the Norfolk Canyon up to the Tea Cup... The flounder bite on ocean structure was phenomenal at the Old Grounds, the African Queen and Purnell’s Reef... In the bay, the West Channel turned on for flatties... Red puppy drum were caught around the Rt. 50 Bridge... The striper bite around the South Jetty turned on again, but most of the fish were too small to keep... Live spot and mullet were the baits of choice for linesiders... In Delaware, black drum continued to be caught in good numbers at The Ditch... Bluefish catches were on the rise from the surf... Yellowfin tuna were hooked in the Poor Man’s...Stripers bit in the I.R. Inlet after the full moon... Triggerfish, sheepshead, puppy drum and bluefish were found roaming around the Outer Wall, Ice Breakers and other DE?Bay wrecks.
September 4, 2013 - Marlin activity increased, particularly in the Norfolk Canyon... “DA Sea” and the “Billfisher” both had overnight trips and returned with 29 and 22 releases respectively... Others headed to 50 fathoms in the Wilmington Canyon and returned with 3 to 10 white marlin releases as well as an occasional blue marlin... Dolphin were caught in good numbers around the Hot Dog... The bigeye run in the Washington Canyon continued, but eyeballs were also caught in 200 fathoms in the Wilmington as well... Yellowfin were scarce this week... The flounder bite was excellent on the Old Grounds and African Queen... In the bay, the East Channel, Fishbowl and behind Harbour Island produced solid catches of flounder... John Schiffer caught a 50 lb. cobia at Great Gull Shoal... The croaker bite improved in the bay... Red drum continue to be caught in surprisingly good numbers from The Ditch down to the Assateague Bridge... In Delaware, action in the I.R. Inlet was not good with an inconsistent bite for flounder, red drum and black drum... Cobia were caught off the I.R. Jetty... Croakers dominated the action in the DE Bay... Catches of bay flounder were sparse, but a few flatties were pulled from Reefs 6, 7 & 8 during slack tides... Wahoo were caught at the Elephant Trunk and the Hot Dog.
September 11, 2013 - Kurt Lorenz made the cover with a 358 lb. swordfish that set a new Delaware state record. The swordfish was caught in 1,800 feet of water in the Poor Man’s Canyon... A good number of bigeye tuna arrived at local scales from boats fishing in the Washington and Wilmington Canyons... Loads of yellowfin tuna were also caught in the Washington Canyon, both on the chunk and the troll... The best longfin tuna bite of the season occurred in the Baltimore, Poor Man’s and Washington Canyons... White marlin releases were recorded from the Baltimore Canyon down to the Norfolk Canyon... A couple of blue marlin were released in the Poor Man’s... The African Queen, Russells’ Reef and the Great Eastern Reef all gave up excellent catches of flounder... In the bay, anglers got into flounder while fishing off the Oceanic Pier, drifting in the West Channel and along the north wall of the Inlet... Chopper bluefish moved into the surf... In Delaware, larger croaker were found in the DE Bay at Reef Sites 6, 7 & 8... Jumbo spot were plentiful in the Lewes Canal... Flounder fishing was slow in the Indian River Inlet... A lot of croakers were caught on the south side of the Inlet... Bluefish were caught off the I.R. Jetty... Stripers hit at night and black drum were caught on sand fleas... Anglers in the back bays found plenty of croakers biting clam flavored Fishbites... Headboats reported good catches of flounder and sea bass.
September 18, 2013 - Local anglers continued to run to the Old Grounds to find great flounder fishing... In the bay behind Ocean City, flounder fishing was best in the East Channel... Croakers were found in the West Channel... Red and black drum were caught around the Rt. 50 Bridge on sand fleas and cut bait... It was an excellent week for marlin fishing in the Washington Canyon and at the Rockpile with an even better bite in the Norfolk Canyon... Yellowfin tuna were hooked in big numbers by anglers chunking and trolling in the Washington Canyon... Bigeye tuna were also found there feeding among the whales... A couple of wahoo were caught in the Baltimore and Poor Man’s Canyons... In Delaware, flounder were found staging at the Old Grounds and along channel edges between “DB” Buoy and the Delaware Light... Flounder in the DE?Bay were hard to come by, but panfish were plentiful especially at the Star Site and The Shears... Croaker size improved with fish up to 17-inches... Pompano were caught from the Cape Henlopen Pier.
October-December, 2013 - It has been another windy fall on Delmarva, keeping anglers at the dock on far too many days... On October 7th, Kevin Weber tied the MD state record for bluefish when he caught a 23 lb. 8 oz. chopper at the Rt. 50 Bridge... The wahoo bite turned on in mid-October with speedsters caught in the Baltimore and Washington Canyons... During the back half of October, the flounder bite was spectacular in the Fishbowl with fish between 16.5 and 19-inches... On October 27th, anglers on the headboat, “Bay Bee” caught 34 flounder during their morning trip (a boat record)... The 16-inch minimum size on tautog has really put a damper on tog fishing in the bay with only occasional flurries of catches around the South Jetty and along the rocks at Martha’s Landing... Stripers started being caught at Overfalls Shoal during the first week in November... Once again, we never experienced a solid bluefish run during the fall... The striper bite has been a disappointment so far. We did see more than our usual share of large stripers caught from late November into early December, but the number of stripers hooked hasn’t been as good as in prior years... After a few “warm” years, this past fall saw more normal water temperatures, hovering around 45-degrees in mid-December... If we get a few more cold spells, the season could be over earlier than in the past... Log on to www.coastalfisherman.net for daily fishing reports... The next issue of the Coastal Fisherman will be April 30, 2014... Have a great winter!!!!
