Article by Larry Jock
I wish there was more to write about, but this spring has been the coldest in recent memory and the water temperatures have been much colder than normal.
Deanna at Hook’em and Cook’em in the Indian River Marina reported extremely slow fishing for most anglers. Tautog fishing for the head boats has been improving, and some days have been flat out good... when they could get out. Ocean water temperatures are still hovering in the upper 40’s which for this time of year is COLD! Site 11, located 16.5 miles from the Indian River Inlet, seems to be the best spot right now.
A few tog are being caught along the rocks in the Indian River Inlet by anglers using shrimp for bait. Nothing large, but a few are being picked up when conditions are right. Green crabs have also been a go-to bait for blackfish.
Striper action in the bay has been very inconsistent with mainly shorties hitting artificial lures. A few were large enough to make it into the cooler, but not enough to get excited about. Unfortunately, there hasn’t even been a striper bite at night and it’s been dead in the surf.
A few short flounder were hooked in the Indian River Inlet last week but Deanna said they didn’t see any keepers. Water temperatures in the Inlet have barely reached the mid-50’s.
At Fenwick Tackle, Larry received reports from the Delaware Marine Police that not much has been caught along the Delaware beaches. We did hear that anglers fishing in the Fenwick Ditch reported a lot of very small stripers that aren’t even close to being large enough to keep.
Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina said the first weakfish of the year were checked in at his shop during the week. Chris and Tom Burke were fishing from Broadkill Beach just before dark last Monday evening when they connected with a beautiful pair of tiderunners weighing in at 6.1 and 6.2 lbs.. More trout will likely come from the shallows along Broadkill Beach, Roosevelt Inlet and other traditional structure with warming water temperatures.
Early season flattie fishermen continued to pick at fluke over the past week, but rising water temperatures will improve flounder action. Isabella Robinson, shown on the following page, reeled in a 21-inch flatfish while using a minnow for bait in the Lewes Canal. Other Canal anglers told of catches with shiners, Gulp! or strips of fresh bunker.
The annual Canal Flounder Tournament takes place on Friday May 16th. Entry fee is $25 per angler and those interested can register at Lewes Harbour Marina. Info about the event can be found on the shop’s Facebook page and in the reports section at www.lewesharbourmarina.com or by calling 302-645-6227.
Folks at the rails of the Cape Henlopen Pier caught flounder after dark. Casting speck rigs tipped with shiners or fresh cut bait along the pier’s light line was the preferred technique. Pier casters also got into good numbers of stripers in the 12 to 20-inch range while working Fin-S-Fish, Bass Assassins and other soft baits on leadheads at night.
Similar sized stripers were reported along the marsh bank of the Lewes Canal by anglers tossing Storm shads between the Railroad Bridge and Freeman Highway Bridge on morning tide changes.
Surf anglers at Herring Point hooked short stripers, plus a few kingfish and blowfish using bloodworms. Some striped bass also came from the Broadkill Beach wash.
The Broadkill River produced white perch and nice sized catfish. The old Route One Bridge was also a popular spot. Bloodworms and grass shrimp were good for perch, but chicken livers proved to be the deadly offering for catties.
Tautog catching was good when conditions allowed boats to get out on the Delaware Bay. Reef Site 6 at Brown Shoal has been productive, but the rock breakwaters off Lewes have started to yield blackfish recently. Captain Brent’s toggers aboard the “Katydid” captured a 21 fish limit early on Friday morning at the Outer Wall. The largest was Ken Seltzer’s citation size 7.1 pounder. Clams, green crabs and shrimp were favored baits.
I’ve always believed that the season is long and everything evens out in the end, so looking at the glass half full, when the weather gets back to “normal” we should really see some good fishing. Cross your fingers!
Until next week, tight lines!
