Article by Larry Jock
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said the tautog season reopened July 17th and toggers reported mixed results while fishing along the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers in the Delaware Bay. The outside of the Breakwater seemed more productive, but easterly swells and strong currents prevented boaters from fishing the area a good portion of the time. Some crews were successful. Rob, Tom and Shane Roth, Dan Fisher and Paul Grimsey got their 25 tog limit on Thursday while using crabs at the Wall. Shane scored the largest, weighing 6.05 pounds.
Other anglers took home nice tautog too. David Ruta reeled in a 7.84 pound citation blackfish.
In addition to tog, structure anglers encountered triggerfish, sheepshead, spadefish and drum. Cyndi Jannuzio pulled a 4.75 pound sheepshead from the Ice Breakers. Greg Biener was diving along the Wall, and speared an impressive 12 pound sheepshead (see photo on this page). Fred Quashne landed a pair of sheepshead at the elbow. The heaviest went 10.75 pounds. Drew Biener was using a light action rod and reel at the Wall when something big grabbed the sand flea he had intended for a tautog. After quite a battle, Drew boated what turned out to be a 44.3 pound black drum.
Croaker catching was good for folks fishing Reefs 5 and 8 in the Delaware Bay with clams, bloodworms or Fishbites. Kingfish, spot, blowfish, spike trout and snapper blues were mixed in. Drifting fringes of the structure worked, but anchoring right on rubble produced the largest specimens. Some of the nicest croakers and spot in the area came from the Lewes Canal and Broadkill River. Hardheads measuring up to 14-inches, and spot to nearly a foot long, were fairly common. Dustin Schell checked in a jumbo spot over 11-inches long and weighing 3/4 of a pound. Bloodworms and Fishbites were favored by Lewes Canal fish.
The Canal also held numerous slot size stripers. Drifting eels or casting plugs and jigs around the Drawbridge was popular and effective. Bassers also told of stripers up to 36-inches that had to be released because they didn’t fall within the slot. Taylor Deemer and Ryan Johnson found hungry striped bass at the Inner Wall during a northeast blow on Sunday morning. They casted surface plugs for their limit of rock, and released several others. Casters at the Roosevelt Inlet also caught stripers and some weakfish early and late in the day. Joe said a customer stopped by the shop on Saturday with two beautiful speckled trout weighing up to 3 pounds that was taken from the Roosevelt Jetty with Electric Chicken Bass Assassins.
Flounder fans continued to enjoy fine fishing on both Delaware Bay and ocean structure. Last Sunday, the “Angler” drifted Old Grounds bottom for 21 keepers. Tom Horner had a 7.18 citation fluke. Tony and Diana Vansant, Robert Karpovich and Joe and Michael Walker limited out on flatties during their trip to the ocean. Diana outdid the boys with her 6.1 pounder. Wayne DeMarco and Joe and Mike Pergeorelis had their limit at the Old Grounds on Friday.
Ernie Stone had a 5.43 pound flatfish from ocean structure on Friday. Wesley Grove and John Santana used jigs with cut bait to secure their limit of fluke near “DB” Buoy on Friday.
Delaware Bay fluking was productive during the week around artificial reefs 5, 6, 7 and 8, although the bite was often limited to a window at the beginning and end of the tide. Joe and Dave Walker, Robert Karpovich and Bill Yeager ran up the Bay on Monday to Sites 3 and 4 for a limit of nice flounder. Captain Brent continued his catching spree aboard the “Katydid” when Monday’s group took home 30 keepers from Upper Bay reefs. Tuesday saw another 30 in the box. Bob Bryant and his buddies fished aboard the “Katydid” on Tuesday for 18 more. Wednesday’s crew fished in the rain until noon, but was rewarded with 22 quality fluke for their efforts. Bob Murphy boated a 6.92 pounder and Dan McGeady managed a 7.24 pound doormat. “Katydid” regulars captured 20 flatties on Friday. Captain Brent’s brother, Shane and family friends joined him on Saturday for a trip out to ocean structure where they put 15 nice flounder in the box. Brent’s dad, Bill boated a bruiser black sea bass that weighed 3.75 pounds. Dave Walker and Robert Kapovich stuck close to Lewes on Sunday because of gusty northeast winds, but put together a catch of 8 keeper fluke from the Star Site Reef. Hoj Kim had a 6.82 pound flatfish near the Outer Wall aboard the “Pirate King II” on Sunday.
Tuna action was good in twenty fathoms. Trollers pulling spreader bars and skirted ballyhoos at Massey’s Canyon, the Hambone and the Hot Dog did well with bluefins and had some yellowfins in the mix as well. Chunkers working the Dog hooked up too. Captain Brent on the “Katydid” trolled spreader bars at the Hot Dog on Thursday to ice a pair of yellowfins going 48 and 58 pounds, plus a 19.7 pound dolphin. Wayne and Joshua Meyer, Mitchel Deniswicz and Dillon Goguin traveled from Wisconsin to sample some Delaware tuna fishing aboard the “Reel Tease” with Captain Carl Meyer and mate Bill Swords. They trolled between the Hot Dog and Baltimore Canyon for yellowfins of 44, 48 and 56 pounds. Captain Jeff on the “Joint Venture” trolled Massey’s Canyon on Saturday morning. He said the bluefins were thick, and they put their two “unders” in the box and released others.
Until next week, tight lines!
