Article by Larry Jock
Like elsewhere, the start of the 2013 season has been hampered by colder than normal temperatures resulting in frigid water temperatures. Looks like we are going to have a late season for sure.
Fishing in the Indian River Inlet has been slow. Bert at Hook’em & Cook’em reported a few tautog being caught and a couple of small stripers off Bubble Gum Beach. Water temperatures are hovering around 54-degrees during the incoming tide.
Capt. Bruce McGuigan at Capt. Mac’s in Fenwick said that this weekend, anglers found very clean water in the bay, which really heated up the flounder action with fish coming in from as far south as the Assateague Bridge up to the Rt. 90 Bridge. He heard about one angler “tearing up” the flounder in the Thorofare while drifting a rig on a bobber that was baited up with shrimp.
North of the Ditch, anglers have been seeing small red drum and even a few speckled trout.
The surf in lower Delaware has been producing good catches of tasty blowfish, a few kingfish, bluefish, skates and stripers. Mike at Rick’s Bait & Tackle said that he saw 6 stripers caught around 3R’s Road by anglers using bloodworm for bait.
Mike also reported an excellent tautog bite on ocean reefs #10 and #11. Fish came in weighing up to 13 lbs.
At Bill’s Sport Shop, Capt. Bill said that late Sunday night Joel Robinson arrived with a 28-inch weakfish that he caught on a live minnow off the beach in Lewes. Capt. Bill said that he has also seen stripers up to 37-inches and some flounder coming in from the Broadkill River.
Further north, it looks like all the tog you want can be found at the Outer Wall.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said the Lewes Canal produced a decent number of keeper flounder through the end of the week. Even with strong currents from the full moon and murky water, flatties fed actively during outgoing tide. Flukers drifting the Canal had success using minnows, shiners and Gulp!. Harry Aiken reported that chartreuse hair rigs tipped with shiners were the ticket for his four fish limit from the Canal Sunday. Flatfish also came from the Cape Henlopen Pier, with some of the better catching on the edge of the lights at night.
Fishing should be in full swing for the annual Lewes Canal Flounder Tournament taking place Friday May 17th. Interested anglers can register at Lewes Harbour Marina for an entry fee of $25. Five dollars of that will be donated to the Camp Awareness Youth Program. More details on the event can be found in the fishing report section at www.lewesharbourmarina.com.
Bay surf fishermen continue to hook stripers, drum and bluefish from Broadkill Beach. Bloodworms, clams and bunker were the baits of choice.
After this recent full moon, the first few black drum were taken by boaters anchored in the evening around the submerged pilings off Slaughter Beach. That action should heat up through May, and peak around the next full moon on the 24th. Joe said he’ll be stocking surf clams, but strongly suggests drummers looking for bait by the bushel reserve them early in the week to make sure they get what they need for their trip.
Togging was good around the Walls and on Reefs 6 and 7 prior to the big moon, but was challenging over the weekend due to hard running currents. Toggers who stuck it out through the whole tide usually ended up with keepers to take home. Lance and Chad Hitzelberger, Gil Waddington and “Vito” enjoyed a terrific trip to Site 11 Saturday. They culled an impressive limit of blackfish over 8 pounds from many they caught. Among the take were tog of 9.6 pounds, 10.6 pounds, and a 13 pound bruiser.
Along the Ocean Beach, surf casters caught bluefish in the 1 to 5 pound range and a few legal stripers near the Herring Point access area. A bright spot has been the number of blowfish in the suds this spring. Anglers report catching lots of tasty puffers in the wash at spots like Keybox Road, the Old Coast Guard Station and 3 R’s Road. Bloodworms or pieces of clam on small hooks did the trick. Even though they have little beaklike mouths, the pan sized blowtoads can be ravenous. George Sharp hooked one with a whole clam on an 8/0 circle meant for stripers.
Lower Bay boaters haven’t done much with stripers yet, but the Upper Bay rockfishing has been hot. Wayne Wilson said limit catches of linesiders to 47 inches were common for guys using fresh bunker at 6L and 7L Buoys.
