Article by Rick Willman
Hi folks! I hope everyone had a happy and safe July 4th holiday!
Fishing and crabbing was a great way to spend the weekend. Back bay reports consisted of throwback flounder with a few keepers in the mix. A few croakers and some blowfish also gave it up for anglers. Minnows, squid, and Berkley GULP! again seemed to be the hot baits.
Dave Carroll of Wilmington, DE fished in the Indian River Bay and used a minnow to trick a 7 lb. 10 oz. citation flattie to come aboard for a ride home.
Inshore fishing has been improving for those soaking baits on the ocean bottom. Sea bass action is still slow but flounder activity is picking up. A lot of short flatties are being caught but the number of keepers are improving. Site #10, the “DB” Buoy and “DA” Buoy areas are the places to be along with the Old Grounds. Try to find areas with some sort of structure on the bottom to make the most of your efforts.
The Indian River Inlet is still producing stripers. The most productive times are the end of an early morning or late night incoming tide. Flounder and blues are also being caught in the Inlet.
Capt. Bill Baker at Bill’s Sport Shop reminds us the striper slot season opened Friday in the Delaware Bay and its tributaries. Anglers can catch 2 fish between 20 and 26 inches only. Tog season is open July 1st until August 31st. The size limit is 14 inches and you may keep 10 per angler per day.
Bill Jr., of Bill's Sport Shop, fished Massey's Landing and on his third cast he landed a 22" flounder using Marty's bucktails and flies. The last cast of the day produced a 20" flounder on a spec rig and Gulp!
David Souders of Harrington, DE nailed a 24.5-inch, 5.45 pound flounder at the Indian River Inlet on a fly. Ryan Corsiatto of Middletown MD, caught his limit of flounder, all over 20 inches. He went to the Inner Wall, the Pier and Roosevelt Inlet fishing chartreuse and pink Gulp! artificial baits.
Surf fishing was a little on the slow side with crabs stealing the bait, but Joe Noel and Bill Weiss managed to beach spot and croaker by the old Life Saving Station using Maws Tails #6 hooks tipped with bunker.
Deanna at Hook’em and Cook’em Bait and Tackle in the Indian River Marina said that flounder fishing remained steady with more keepers coming to the docks. Most anglers are using squid and minnows, Gulp! baits as well as live spot. The minnows and the Gulp! will get you more of the smaller variety and the live spot are hooking larger flatties. We have still seen some rockfish.
Striped bass are being caught with flies or live spot, mostly at night.
The Canyons have been producing a lot of nice yellowfin tuna this year. They seem to be closer to us this year and not as far south. The boats are generally fishing between the Wilmington and Baltimore Canyons. Some are stopping in the Poor Man's. There have also been some nice size dolphin caught. Kelly Horning, from the “Fish Whistle” caught a beautiful 42.6 lb. mahi.
The inshore bite has started to pick up with more keeper sea bass coming in, as well as the return of triggerfish.
Surf fishing hasn’t changed from previous weeks. Small king fish and an occasional blowfish on bloodworms are being caught.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said tuna action was still a hot topic at the dock. The yellowfin bite was good in the Baltimore Canyon at the beginning of the week, but shifted south as the week wore on. By the weekend, tuna seemed to be more plentiful at the south end of the Poor Man’s. Early in the week, the “Katy Did” had an awesome offshore trip. Their group trolled up a limit of 21 yellowfins weighing up to 51.7 pounds and released a white marlin near the 250 line in 75 fathoms. Ed Sigda and the gang on the “Snow Goose” kept 5 good-sized yellowfins and released 8 others between the Baltimore and Poor Man’s on Saturday.
Numerous billfish were reportedly mixed in among tuna. “Rockfish Ed” Healy released a pair of blue marlin during a single trip to the south end of the Poor Man’s. Rick Fisher and crew kept a pair of yellowfins and some dolphin, and released a 300-pound class blue marlin after an extended battle on a 30-pound outfit in the Poor Man’s on Saturday.
Big dolphin have shown up in warm water too. Chris Ragni and Jimmy Kersey brought in a pair of magnum mahi weighing 38 and 32 lbs. that they caught trolling on the 461 lump.
Inshore trolling boats found bluefins at the 19 Fathom Lump, Hambone, Jackspot and as close as the 12 Fathom Lump outside Delaware Light. Dolphin and triggerfish were also hanging out around Delaware Light. Bluefins were landed by crews anchored and chunking butterfish at Massey’s Canyon as well.
Boaters drifting rough bottom of the Old Grounds between “DB” and “DA” Buoys had success with flounder. Reef Sites 9 and 10 gave up flatties too. Anglers on the “Katy Did” put 24 keeper fluke in the box on Saturday. Captain Carey’s fishermen on the “Grizzly” got 13 keepers at Site 10 on Thursday. Flounder were found on Delaware Bay reefs as well, but the bite was not consistent. Drift conditions in the Bay were tough around the new moon. Joe Walker, Tom Coyle, Larry Coyle and Barry Gerhard managed 12 keeper fluke at the Star Site on Tuesday. Flounder continue to come from Lewes Canal and near the Ferry Jetty and Inner Wall. Gulp! was the hot bait.
Linesiders were caught in the Lewes Canal around the drawbridge using eels, clams, cut tuna bloodline and topwater poppers. Rockfish were hooked by boaters casting Rat-L-Traps and Storm Shads, or live eels and spot around the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers at night.
Tog season reopened July 1st, and good numbers of tautog were pulled from the rocks of the Outer Wall and Inshore wrecks. Bill Bonniwell boated an 11.69-pound bruiser blackfish aboard the “Indian” on opening day.
Sheepshead have shown up with warm water. Kyusok Yi captured a whopping 12.54-pound sheepshead using crab at the Ice Breakers. Folks on the rails at Cape Henlopen pier got into spot and croakers using bloodworms and Fishbites.
Until next week, have fun and be safe!
Rick and his wife Deb are owners of Rick’s Bait & Tackle in Long Neck, DE.