Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
We finally saw a little cool down in the temps. The average day temperatures hovered around 83 last week with medium to light winds for the weekend making for a beautiful Labor Day weekend. Flounder fishing remains very strong with mixes of sea bass and other fish thrown in.
Near Shore Wrecks & Reefs
On the near shore waters flounder remains the most targeted fish. Big Gulp baits on a high/low rig are the prime rigs being used by most anglers. Anglers targeting the bigger flatfish are using live spot on a circle hook in deeper water between 100 and 130 feet. Duane Brown was on a lower Delaware Bay reef site and caught a whopper of a fluke weighing 8.1 lbs. John Coffee made a quick trip on his 41’ Regulator. He stated that the trip started off slow, but after a move to a new site he began to hook up. The fish were 7.6 lbs. down to 4.9 lbs. They ended with a total of 15 keepers weighing 57 lbs. The fish were weighed at Hook’em & Cook’em Bait & Tackle at the Indian River Marina. Carl Gutberlett was on his boat “A-sea D-sea' and hooked a monster 25.5”, 6.3 pound doormat fluke. He also caught several other flatfish along with some big sea bass. Kevin McNelis Sr. was out on ocean structure and caught his personal best 23”, 5.1 lb. flounder. Brett McKune found some quality fish between 38 and 45 feet of water. Brett stated he lost a few heart breakers, but did manage enough flounder and mahi to make fish tacos for the next few months. The mahi are still around, however, many reports are saying that when you find them they are very reluctant to bite at any bait thrown their way. For those anglers that can find an active bass pot the action is fast and furious, but for many it is a matter of seeing the fish but not getting a single hook up. Angler Walter Moore reported that the storms followed him right back to the dock but not before he landed some nice flounder including a big 24.5” one. Kenneth Webb was at Site 10 and came home with a few fluke up to 17”. John Graham was also out on the Old Grounds and picked up 5 nice keepers for himself and his crew. Jonathan Fazakes was on the boat “Bottom Line Sportfishing' and went pot hopping. The crew caught some nice mahi for dinner. They also mentioned they are offering upcoming 10 hour pot hopping trips for up to 6 people.
With the cool down in temperatures these mahi will not hang around much longer, so if you're looking to cash in on this pelagic inshore bonanza, now is the time! Ted Proseus was out at the Old Grounds and managed to find an active pot with tons of mahi ready to bite. After picking a few of these fish they turned to sea bass and boated several decent keepers to add to their coolers. Kenneth Decker also found a few pots with some mahi and returned to the docks with a few fish for dinner tacos. Bob Edelen forgot to sign up for the Lewes Harbour Marina Dorado/Mahi Tournament, but I’m sure he was wishing he had after returning with a 12 lb. mahi. The fish was one of the brightest blue hues I've ever seen. Payton Balliet was out 20 miles offshore and hooked into a beautiful 50” cobia. Payton did a great job reeling it in. A fantastic trophy fish and great angling!
Bay Area
Gary Mastracche couldn't wait to tell Lewes Harbour Marina that their minnow worked when he brought in his 3.47 lb. fluke caught on minnows and Gulp. The Lewes Tog Club reported that John Spence caught a nice tog on sand fleas as well as a triggerfish up by the Ice Breakers. Nick Garcia was fishing the Delaware Bay with his cousin Caleb and his grandfather last Monday. The crew managed 4 keepers up to 22”. Nick reports they also caught a nice 15” weakfish. He said the only reason they didn’t fish longer was that a stray storm popped up and he wanted to be safe. Nick continues to always find the fish and really seems to have the DE bay dialed in. Great job! Young 11 year old Brody Wilson brought in a super 14.07 lb. sheepshead. The fish was 22 by 26 inches and caught on bay structure with sand fleas. Brody was fishing on the “Keel-Bro“ boat with Dave Wilson. Just another reason to take a kid fishing. Great angling Brody! At the Indian River Inlet the flounder bite has been steady near the Coast Guard Station. Brian Steely was fishing the bay with minnows and Gulp and caught a few nice flatfish. The evening bite for rockfish as well as blues remains slow, but a few keepers are still being reported. Sand fleas and cut bunker are the prime baits for these fish with sand fleas for the tog along the rock jetties.
Crabs & Clams
Crabbing remains very strong. Samantha and I have been averaging 12-14 keepers per pot on a 2 day soak with at least 15 being over 7”. This year our numbers are a bit down however, the size quality is the biggest I've seen in years. Lots of jumbos and super jumbos in each haul. Chris Moody put out 4 pots in Rehoboth Bay and hauled in 31 crabs using bunker. Chris stated he soaked his pots for about 1.5 days. Chris further confirmed that this year's crabs seem to be a lot bigger as well. I actually put in chicken as opposed to bunker this past week just to see, and the numbers were very close between the two baits.
Clamming is very hot right now with lots of clams to be found near all the state park areas on both Indian River Bay as well as Rehoboth Bay. They are close to the surface and easily raked up by even a novice angler. With the cooler temps this is a great activity for the whole family taking little effort with big rewards. Delaware has a limit of 100 clams per person and that can be found with only a couple hours of time on the water.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up §
