Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
In Delaware we saw a little slow down in overall fishing. Seas were relatively calm, but there were lots of throwbacks. For those that put in the time good fish could still be had, but summer is upon us with hopes of better quality fish.
Sea Bass, Flounder & Rockfish
Most charters as well as deep sea headboats reported a lot of throwbacks this week. The inshore wrecks and coral have been hit hard in the past few weeks. Site 11 is your best spot right now for sea bass, with some nice keepers coming in off the wrecks. The problem has been that a large number of small fish have moved on to the wrecks causing anglers to wade through 10-15 under sized fish before finding a nice keeper. The “Judy V” had a few good trips last week with some real nice flounder catches. Sea bass was slow though, with each angler getting a few keepers for dinner but very few limits were caught. Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em reported that flounder have really started to show up and continue to get better each day. Long strips of squid are the primary bait with various Gulp baits a close second.
Scott Sharpe was fishing out of Indian River and got himself a keeper flounder and a nice size sea trout. I am beginning to hear of more and more sea trout being caught with each passing day. The guys from “@delawareoutdoorsguys” caught a fat 22” flounder on their outing at Site 10 early Saturday morning using bucktails. Richard Harpel said that the guys at “Flip and Fin” caught both flounder and ribbonfish on Tuesday. The ribbons were a good size, and many anglers find them quite tasty. Jimmy Bing was out with his son Robert Abraham, age 7, and they had an awesome time catching keeper flounder and skates. Robert told his dad catching skates are like catching dinosaurs. Great to see dads teaching their kids about fishing and the great waterways and systems we have in our state. Great job guys! Capt. Brent Weist from the “Katydid” was at it again, finding more flounder for his clients. Fish were brought back to Lewes Harbour Marina for cleaning. Corey Brossman was also out on the water with his kids and managed to find a few nice flounder. The Indian River bay area has really started to heat up with the main channel on the south side of the inlet being your hot spot of the week. Strip baits such as squid and tails are your best bait.
Lewes Harbour Marina reported that Sawer Carter, Evans Burris and John Keys landed 3 nice keepers out of the Lewes Canal. All the fish were caught on Gulp baits on an incoming tide. John Keys was also in the Lewes Canal and caught three nice flounder. Lewes Harbour reports that more keeper flounder are coming to the cutting table each day, which is a good sign for the upcoming weeks as water continues the warming trend. Old Inlet Tackle reports that they have a fresh load of bunker in and the bluefish have been blitzing the rocks at the inlet. The runs are not every day, but most days fish can be found both in the inlet and on the surf in good numbers. It is reported that small stripers are under the schools of bluefish. An anonymous angler checked in a big 15 lb. sheepshead this past week. The fish was just one pound short of the state record. The rockfish bite at night has been consistent while anglers fished the south jetty wall of the Indian River Inlet. Most of them are small, but still fun to catch and every once in a while a keeper can be found. Plugs are working to some degree, but floating live eels appear to be the best baits for stripers in the inlet. Be advised, Delaware has a 9” minimum on American eels. Floating live sand eels is also starting to become more effective.
Surf Fishing
The beach was alive with bluefish, a common sight on many days. Old Inlet Bait & Tackle reports that kingfish have really turned on for surf fishermen. Real and artificial bloodworms are the best bait, with small top and bottom kingfish rigs in a bright color. The hour before until the hour after high tide is reported to be the best time. As we get further into the summer, kingfish will become the most sought after fish in the surf. They are easy to catch and fun for kids. Live sand fleas are also great to use for bait, and a prime bait for both sheepshead and rockfish. Willow Mallery-Smith was also on the beach fishing with grandmother Christine when she hooked a remora. Although not an unheard of catch from the beach it is still a rare one. The fish was caught on a piece of squid. Great catch Willow! Most of the beaches are open now, but a few are closed on a temporary basis to perform maintenance on the entrances. Sea trout are also beginning to show up on the surf as well as the bay with Darlene Sip having a nice day on the water bringing a few to the boat.
Clamming & Crabbing
Crabbing remains pretty constant with 7-9 keepers per pot. This year, although the numbers are down a little, we have had much better luck in catching big males. Samantha and I are averaging about a third of our keepers being over 7”. Putting pots in 6-8 ft. of water has kept the mud from building up on them and the cleaner pots are resulting in bigger crabs. Our average last year at this time was 9-12 keepers per pot but of a more medium size with only 1 or 2 jumbos thrown in. Clamming is starting to pick up, but many reports are saying they are still deep in the mud and hard to find many days. So use a long tine rake and go over your raked spot several times to get deep.§
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
