Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
This past week continued our three weeks of northeast winds above 20 mph. Many boats stayed at the dock due to high sea conditions. The wind let up some on Friday and many boats jumped at the opportunity to get off shore for both sea bass as well as tuna. Most of the head boats reported the seas had really laid down making it a nice trip for their clients.
Sea Bass & Near Shore Wrecks
With the wind laying down on Friday, many head boats as well as private boats made their way to the near shore wrecks in search of sea bass. The reports varied from the grounds being on fire to an average of 5-10 keepers each being caught. Most head boats in the area reported a catch of 10 keepers per person with a few anglers getting a limit. Squid and clams worked about the same, however those that jigged bucktails tipped with squid seemed to have a better class of fish as well as a greater number of keepers. Michael Orhelein along with Jerry and Maureen Gallagher went out on the “Senior Moment" near NJ/DE reef and brought home 30 keeper sea bass. The crew also pulled in a few flounder and a shark. The crew used bucktails tipped with shrimp. Ten year old Conor Cambell caught a nice size flounder at the Redbird reef about 16 miles off the Delaware Coast while fishing on the “Bill Slayer”. The group also brought home 17 sea bass for dinner. “Surface Tension Sportfishing” made it out last week during the wind break and pulled in several nice sea bass along with a couple flounder. It’s good to hear that the flounder are showing up offshore. With the strong north east winds and cooler water I was worried they would be late arriving this year. Shawn Craoney along with Eamonn Carey and Larry Lee had a good day bassin’ after the wind layed down returning to the dock with near limits of bass.
Back Bays & Flounder
The back bays are really starting to heat up. Most anglers are telling me that a few hours before high tide is the prime time to be out targeting the back bay fish. Wiker Restoration group was out and caught a semi albino fluke in the Lewes Canal. The fish was released to swim another day. Nine year old Jackson got his first keeper flounder from the Lewes Canal. He and dad also managed to catch a few more keepers so that Jackson’s fish wouldn't be lonely at the dinner table that night. Great job guys. From what I hear, Jackson is now hooked and wants to go fishing as much as possible and as soon as possible.
Anthony Hojnicki and Logan Serpico got a few fish each while fishing the canal. The boys caught their fish on live minnows. Rob Sourbeer got a nice 3.1 pound fish while using Gulp. The middle to end of the incoming tide in the canal appears to be the best time. I fished the dead low tide on Friday and saw a few fish come in, even on the slack tide.
Adam Clendaniel pulled in a huge 20.5 inch fluke from the canal. Dylan VanBuskirk got a nice limit of fluke using Gulp bait along with Poison Tails. That's an awesome catch. Jim and Chris Donaldson used Gulp bait to fool their keepers that measured between 16 and 19 inches. In the Indian River Inlet, Tracy Roles pulled in a keeper flattie while dad managed a keeper as well. Nick Garcia always seems to make this page, and was at it again fishing on a windy choppy grass choked day but did manage to bring home three keepers. John Skinner got a 16”, 20” and a 21” flounder along with John Adkins 16.7 incher. Good to see these nice flounder being caught. Mary Koditek got a nice 19 inch fish this past week.
The main areas to fish are reported as the main channel near the inlet, the VFW channel, and the area near Massey ditch. Unlike the ocean in which Gulp are the preferred bait, the back bays seem to be doing better on live shiners and squid strips.
Surf Fishing
The beach was very productive with tons of small blues being taken out of the surf. A few rockfish and drum are still around, but as the water warms, the big fish are becoming more scarce. Up near the Henlopen Pier lots of spot fish are now being caught along with several smaller bluefish. Bruce Skunon reported from Delaware Surf fishing that he caught over 50 spot on his last outing as well as a few blues. Rob Cochran took a few bluefish at Fenwick State Park on a green mullet rig. The bite came around 3 pm in the afternoon.
Trout are also coming from the beaches near Plum Beach according to Kyle Johnson. Jesse Ireland used a modified DSF mullet rig to fool some decent size bluefish. The green ones were the ticket this past week. John Manchester lost count after eight fish but did remember the 30 inch blue and stripers he caught. Rob Lyons got a nice 28 inch fish near the cape. The eight pound blue must have put up a nice bite. Michael Deller caught a nice 27 inch blue while long-lining a fly. Conway Bristoli was near the inlet and brought in a nice 6.32 pound weakfish. He was casting lures when the beast hit. A few black drum are still around both in the bay as well as the beaches. “Skipjack Sportfishing” will be running their last couple of bay trips before changing over to offshore fishing. Ryan Hawkins caught and released a huge 45 inch citation drum he caught aboard the “Grizzly” out of LHM. The fish was caught with clam and crabs. Great job on both the catch and safe release.
Crabs & Clams
Clamming and crabbing in the bay has really started to heat up with clams still being fairly deep. They are producing a lot of smaller steamer types as well as a few larger, chowder ones thrown in. Crabbing with bunker is producing an average of 8-12 keepers per pot, many over six inches. Chicken is working well but the bunker is producing much better results.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up §
