Stripers have been moving through the area, staging at the Bay mouth for short periods to fill up on sandeels that are unusually plentiful this fall. Anglers working structure by trolling diving Stretch and Bomber plugs did well. Tides have been exaggerated around the recent new moon, and wind in combination with strong currents made for dirty water a lot of the time, so savvy fishermen realized the cleanest conditions occurred at the end of flood current through the slack. That's when catching was best, especially first thing in the morning when boat traffic was light. Fish didn't seem to bite as well with a fleet running through the rips. Boats often vied for the same choice spot on the face of a shoal, making for close quarters, and sometimes bad tempers. Common sense and courtesy go a long way in making things work for everybody. Guys who tried lumps away from the crowds often caught better. Rockfish were also taken by drifting eels and casting bucktails and plastic or metal jigs that imitate sandeels. Katydid Captain Brent had success trolling plugs on structure at the Bay mouth. Jack Austin and his group limited out with 10 good bass aboard Katydid Saturday. On Sunday, Katydid regulars burned the bass, keeping a limit of 16 to 37 inches, and releasing 22 others. Tommy Isaacs and his boys crushed big rock aboard Katydid Monday, bringing in a 14 fish limit, most of them over 20 pounds. The heaviest weighed 29.6 pounds. Tuesday's group on Katydid decked another limit of 16 up to 26 pounds. Other nice fish checked in during the week included John Joe Kabino's 29.4 pounder, Daniel Green's 24.2 pounder, Bobby Fitzwater's 24 pounder, and Matt Urban's 24 pound bass. Chad Beitler boated a 25.7 pound rock, and Jim McLaughlin muscled in a 25.5 pounder aboard Miss Kirstin. Patrick Staggs took home his first striper, one weighing 24.5 pounds. Adam Sammons scored a 22.4 pound striper. Matt And Danny Baker, Nate Evans, Chip Graves and Jeff Drury trolled Stretches at Brown Shoal for a limit of 10 hefty rockfish in the 20 pound class this past weekend. Ocean trolling boats got into bass too. Some were caught along Hen and Chicken Shoal, but more reliable action came from lumps one to two and a half miles offshore between Indian River Inlet and Fenwick Shoal. The area off Bethany's Sea Colony condos was productive. Sometimes gannets and other birds gave away the presence of schools, other times, boaters just marked bait and fish on the sounder. Stretch 25+ and 30+ plugs, Mojos, umbrellas and tandem shad rigs all did the job on rockfish. Mike Behney and his buddies fished off Bethany with Keith Orendorf on Miss 5-O, where they trolled up a 14 bass limit. Fischer Edmonson celebrated his Eighth Birthday on that trip by boating a 21.9 pounder. Another excursion to that spot also produced a limit for Keith and a different crew, but in addition, they landed a bonus 8.6 pound doormat flounder that grabbed an 11 inch long Stretch 30+ plug. Matt Wiedmann and his guys towed tandem shads and chartreuse Mojos for their limit of 8 chunky rock off Sea Colony. Many sizeable stripers came from the area. Chris Dawson decked a 35 pounder yesterday while pulling a Stretch 30+. Jay Huss hooked his 32.2 pound rock with a Stretch 25+ plug. Marks Dunn put a 24.5 pounder in the box. There's been some activity in the surf. Andy and Anthony Lano landed their limit of bass to 20 pounds from the beach at Herring Point last Saturday using bunker. Dave McGirk got a 15 pound rock at Cape Henlopen Point Tuesday, then did it again Wednesday with a 25 pounder. Dave Furio landed a keeper red drum at 3R's Road Tuesday. Glen Felker was surprised by a nice redfish from the suds at the Navy Crossing today.