Article by Rick Willman
Hi folks! Now is the time to take that person you have been trying to get interested in fishing out on the water.
The Indian River Bay, Rehoboth Bay and Delaware Bay are just full of croakers. These fish will bite hard and are scrappy fighters on light tackle. Usually, when you catch one you are in for much more action. All you need is a small hook and a tiny piece of bait and you will be ready for action. Bloodworms or pieces of Gulp! are the ticket for these fish, and will almost guarantee plenty of activity. Other cut baits will also produce results.
Flounder are still being taken in the back bays and on the reefsites in the Delaware Bay. Action at the DB Buoy in the ocean is continuing to improve. Striper fishing in the Indian River Inlet has been proving successful for those who are targeting the fish with live spot or eels.
Offshore action is showing just a bit of improvement, as a few more fish are being caught at Massey’s Canyon and the 19 Fathom Lump.
Some successful fishermen this past week have been Mike Lombardi Jr. who weighed in an 8 lb. 6 oz. flattie that he took from the Indian River using live spot. Dillon Talley also used a live spot to take a 9 lb. 7 oz. doormat while drifting Massey’s Ditch. Zachary Knight had a great day fishing the DB Buoy area with his dad, Rick, boating three flounder ranging from 20 to 25-inches.
The results of the 2nd Annual Sea Side Gas & Grill / Rick’s Bait & Tackle Offshore Tournament ended up with the “Predator” taking the marlin category with the release of a 62-inch white marlin.
Dolphin Division Results:
1st Place: “Empty Hook” 23.5 lbs.
2nd Place: “Four Play” 20.5 lbs.
3rd Place: ”Predator” 19 lbs.
Tuna Division Results:
1st Place: “Four Play” 122 lb. bluefin
2nd Place: “Stacey” 62.75 lb. yellowfin
3rd Place: “Stacey” 56 lb. yellowfin
Thanks to all who made the tournament a success!
From Bill’s Sport Shop in Lewes, DE, we received the following information. Flounder fishing has been a strong point with a large spread of fish in the area. Croaker fishing will continue to improve with this nice summer weather.
Offshore fishing has shown some real good early season results. Bill Jr. of Bill's Sport Shop spent an afternoon after work at Massey's Landing and ended up catching a 23-inch flounder using a spec rig and a Gulp! swimming mullet in watermelon.
Chuck Nagel of Bill's Sport Shop reported catching short stripers and croakers at Massey's Landing. A trip to the Tea Cup produced a very good catch for Billy Glide, Kyle Aiery, John L. and Ron on the “Out of Line”, with a 20 lb. dolphin, a 135 lb. bluefin tuna and a 65 lb. yellowfin.
Paige Millis, age 12, from Millsboro caught a 20-inch flounder at Massey’s on a minnow. A customer reported catching 11 flounder and 29 sea bass at the DB Buoy yesterday, keeping 2 sea bass.
Captain Carey Evans of “Grizzly” Charters reported, “Frank Pogue had big fluke of the day honors with his 8 lb. 8 oz. flounder. We also caught a nice little mixed bag of tog and sea bass. Alex Levantowsky had the big fish of the day award, releasing a 16 lb. 4 oz. tog. Jim Skymba and family had an excellent mixed bag catch in the ocean of both tog and flounder. Jim's 6 lb. 14 oz. flounder took the big fish of the day award. Don Yocum and friends had a nice little mixed bag catch of tog, triggerfish, and flounder.”
At Rattle & Reel Sporting Center, Ron informed me that there are still a lot of flounder in the back bays. Croaker and spot are also providing plenty of action. Bluefish have been found in the Indian River Inlet on the incoming tide.
Dan at Henlopen Bait & Tackle confirmed that croakers are just about everywhere, including off the beaches. Broadkill Beach has become home for some bluefish, and the Delaware Reefsites are giving up plenty of flounder.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said that Delaware Bay croakers are getting larger and more plentiful each day. Many nice catches of better-sized hardheads came from the Broadkill and Star Reef Sites, and also from Reefs #6 and #7 at Brown Shoal. Mussel beds west of the G Buoy in the Anchorage also yielded good croakers. Shore fishermen at the Roosevelt Inlet got into hardheads as well. Clams, bloodworms and Fishbites were favorites of the feisty panfish.
Reef Sites #6, 7 and 8 remained productive, but fluke came from the open bottom also. Up and down contours in the hook of Brown Shoal gave up flatties, as did mussel beds west of the G Buoy in the Anchorage. Channel edges between #19 and #25 Buoys also produced flounder. Flatties were still hanging out in shallow water, and guys did well casting jigs tipped with Gulp! around the Inner Wall and Ferry Jetty.
Sometimes when tides run too hard in the bay, ocean structure offers a better option for fluke fishermen. Reef Site #10 proved to be a good spot. Last Sunday, Captain Chet’s group on the “Lil’ Angler II” returned with 26 keepers, including a 5.95 pounder for Paul Pergeorelis. Tony, Diana, and Shane Vansant, along with Larry Burkins and Joe Pisarski, combined for a limit of twenty quality flatties from the reef. Diana outfished the boys with a fine pair of fluke weighing 7.64 and 5.67 lbs.
Flounder sharpie Joe Walker pulled a 9.07 lb. doormat from the rubble. The Old Grounds between the DB and DA Buoys held plenty of nice flounder. An effective way to catch those fish was to bounce a 2 to 4 oz. bucktail tipped with a Gulp! sand eel and a shiner along the bottom. Guys working the rocks of the Outer Wall had tog and triggerfish using sand fleas. Nice sheepshead have shown up on the Ice Breakers. Joe Kossek checked in a 10.12 lb. citation sheepshead that he captured at the Haystacks.
Slot-sized stripers were caught by anglers casting plugs and jigs at the Ice Breakers, as well as those drifting eels near the drawbridge and railroad bridges on the Lewes Canal.
On the tuna scene, big bluefins were scattered on structure between twenty and thirty fathoms, such as Massey’s Canyon, the Hambone, Chicken Bone, 19 Fathom Lump, Hot Dog and Tea Cup. Trolling ballyhoo with blue and white skirts way, way back or deep behind planers and Z-Wings accounted for many of the fish. However, guys chunking and fishing butters or sardines on the bottom hooked some bruisers too. The biggest brute of the week was a 163.4 pounder boated by Brian Ludwig and Jeff Snyder at the Hambone. Matt Purnell trolled up a 154.5 pounder at the Elephant Trunk. Kili Gomez got a 118.5 pounder at the 19 Fathom Lump aboard the “Joint Venture”. Captain Larry Coyle’s crew aboard “Makai” trolled ballyhoo in 40 fathoms between the Hot Dog and Poor Man’s for three yellowfins up to 48 lbs. and a 19.4 lb. mahi for Brian Gardner.
White marlin have shown up inshore in good numbers. Several boats reported sightings and hookups of billfish in thirty fathoms. Edward Bundy and Curtis Detwiler both recorded white marlin releases outside the Hot Dog this past Saturday on the “Skipjack”.
‘Til next week, have fun and be safe!
Rick and his wife Deb are owners of Rick’s Bait & Tackle in Long Neck, DE.
