Fishing Report

Bottom bouncers were glad for the reopening of sea bass season. Boaters targeted reef structure at Site 11, and Del Jersey Land, and found decent numbers of keeper sized bass among numerous throwbacks. The Triple Wrecks area, including the Dry Docks, was also productive. Captain Brent on Katydid fished opening day, and said he made several stops, but did manage to put together a boat limit of 120 knotheads for his patrons. Bluefish, porgies and a lone legal flounder were mixed with the bass. Butch Warrington and Charlie Ruggiero stopped by with 29 quality sea bass they boated over the Radford Wreck. Brent was back out for bass on Sunday, and his group put together a limit of 150 bass, plus blues and a 24 inch flounder. Matt Baker, Chip Graves and Jeff Drury fished a wreck in 130 feet Sunday, and limited out with 45 beautiful blueheads, including Jeff's impressive 4.64 pounder. Black sea bass action should hold up through the coming weeks as fish move and stage on structure in the 15 to 20 fathom corridor. Tog catches remained pretty good along the Outer Breakwater at the mouth of Delaware Bay. However, winds from the north to east quadrant made it unsafe to toggle in on the outside many days. Dirty water plagued toggers too, and best bites occurred during limited sections of the tides, when clarity was okay. Captain Brent hosted a group of Baltimore firefighters Tuesday on Katydid, and they returned from the Wall with 21 keeper tautog, including a 7.37 pound citation earner for Stephen Schultz. On Wednesday, Dr. Luis Mispireta muscled in a 9 pounder, and Bob Murphy managed a 7.76 pound tog at the Wall on Katydid. Joel Bullard and his crew fished with Capt. Pete on Top Fin Tuesday, and brought back 18 tog, including Joel's 6.85 pounder. Captain Pete Haines hooked a 6.95 pound tautog at the Wall Wednesday. Joe and Dave Walker, and Tony Vansant worked the Wall Wednesday for their limit of 15 stout tog. Bill Dorey decked an 8.36 pound bruiser blackfish at the Wall Thursday morning. Larry and Barry McDonald checked in with 8 chunky tog from the Wall Thursday. Mike Buczik bested a 7.67 pound blackfish at the Breakwater Saturday. Don Ward decked an 8.93 pound brute over an Ocean wreck aboard Katydid Saturday. Aimee Bunting boated her first ever blackfish at the Wall Sunday. That trophy tog weighed in at 8.64 pounds. Wayne Brzoska boated a 7.4 pound tog Sunday, and Braydon Cichocki captured a 7.07 pounder. Tautog sharpie Randy Jensen braved questionable conditions on the outside of the Wall Saturday, but was able to stay in position for a short time before the surge and wind forced him to move. His attempt paid off with a 9.9 pound bruiser blackfish that landed him in the lead of this season's Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament. That position didn't last long, since Charlie Breitenbach pulled a 10.42 pounder off the Wall Sunday to take over First Place. Current standings show Charlie at the top with his 10.42 pound tog, Randy in Second with his 9.9 pounder, and Robert Faries rounding out Third with an 8.7 pound tautog. The Tourney runs through October 31st, and interested anglers can sign up and pay by the day at Lewes Harbour Marina, prior to fishing during the last week. Surf casters had blues at 3Rs Road. Cut mullet on float rigs resulted in snappers ranging from 10 to 16 inches. No word of migratory stripers at the mouth of Delaware Bay, but resident rockfish have been active in Lewes Canal and local tidal creeks. They could be caught by tossing surface plugs and swimming soft plastics, or bottom fishing with clams, bloodworms or squid heads. Brian Smith brought in his limit of two 28 plus inch rock he hooked with poppers in Broadkill River Saturday.

Tog action was pretty good all week along the Breakwater. Some days were challenging, with northerly winds, strong currents and surge making it difficult to stay in place on the Wall. Toggers should be very cautious when anchoring around the rocks. The situation can become dangerous quickly if a line slips or a rogue swell pushes your vessel into the structure, so boaters should always be aware of their surroundings and exercise care at all times. Water temperatures have dropped to near 60 degrees, and clarity has improved since last week's northeast blow. Seems the better bites have occurred at the end of incoming tide, and that's usually when the Bay is cleanest. Crunchy crustaceans remain the favored baits, but green crabs have sometimes been hard to come by in recent weeks, so anglers have been employing a variety of other critters as well. Asian Shore Crabs, Calicos, Jonahs, Blue Crabs, Fiddlers, Hermits and Spider Crabs will all take tautog. Sand fleas, shrimp and clams also get bit. Most fishermen use a traditional short leader bottom rig, but jigs can be quite productive at times. Flat, lima bean like heads sink quickly in current, but banana shapes work on the rock bottom too. Weights varying from 1/2 to 4 ounces are used, depending on current flow. Impaling a chunk of crab or sand flea on the hook and presenting the lure with a spinning outfit is an effective and fun way to catch tog. Hookup ratio is usually good because strikes are easier to detect with a direct connection to the hook. Captain Brent's toggers on Katydid had good trips during the week. His Columbus Day crew took home 32 keepers. Wednesday's group wound up with twenty. Bill and Charlotte Hughes fished on Katydid Friday for their limit. Captain Pete hosted the gang from Hidden Acres Sawmill Wednesday aboard Top Fin, and they returned with 30 nice tautog. Captain Brian's Monday anglers boxed 17 aboard Lil Angler II. Joe Ryan and Joe Jelks teamed up to take home their limit from the Wall Wednesday. Dave Walker, Jeff Monaco and Mike Delio worked the Wall Wednesday for their limit of tautog too. Rich Ressler, Larry Hughes Sr. and Jr., and Ted Garman got into tog at the Wall Friday, and iced their limit of 20 stout specimens. Despite a chilly wind, John Leader, Dan Lauer, and Rick, Todd and Ted Garman took 20 plump tog to over 6 pounds at the Wall Saturday. Andy Nowakowski nailed a 7.11 pound citation blackfish while togging the Wall. Seth Harnish had a 7.5 pounder aboard Grizzly. The Leader Board for this year's Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament is shaping up. Currently, Larry Hughes holds First with his 8.2 pounder. Bob Murphy has Second with a 6.79 pound tautog, and Robert Karpovich is in Third with a 6.55 pound tog. The Tourney runs through October 31st. Sea bass enthusiasts are looking forward to the reopening of that season on October 22nd. Anglers will be able to keep 15 black sea bass per person at a minimum length of 12 1/2 inches. Bass should be available on reef structure at Site 11, and in Del-Jersey Land.

Delaware Bay was fishable a couple days at the end of the week. However, the Bay remained dirty, even through several tide changes, after weeks of constant northeast wind and days of rain. Water temperature had fallen to 64 degrees, and tautog started to be more active around the Outer Breakwater. Captain Brent on Katydid tried the rocks Thursday and Friday, and returned with 7 keeper tog one trip, and 9 on the other. Jackson Aeo boated a 7.9 pound sheepshead Friday aboard Katydid. Captain Pete Haines, Rainer Haines and Dave Schellenger fished the Wall Friday aboard Top Fin, and put nine keepers in their box. Rainer was top hook with his 5.21 pounder. Charlie Breitenbach was on the LHM Tog Tournment board for awhile with blackfish weighing 5.38 and 5.35 pounds, that were part of his five tog limit from the Wall in Saturday morning's wind. The Lewes Harbour Tautog Tournament runs through October 31st. Interested anglers must sign up at Lewes Harbour Marina prior to fishing. Sea conditions were much better Sunday morning, and despite murky water, tog bit good at the Wall first thing, during the end of flood tide. Randy Jensen and his friends did well on blackfish, limiting out with 30 keepers, including a 6.23 pounder that put Charlie Breitenbach back on the Tourney Leader Board, in Third Place. Rich Ressler reeled in a 6.43 pounder at the Wall that placed him in Second. Robert Karpovich captured a 6.55 pound tog at the Wall Sunday that made him the current Tournament leader. Robert, Dave Walker and Tony Vansant had a limit of tog at the Wall, with the best bite early in the morning. Captain Pete and his crew on Top Fin limited out with 20 tog to 6 pounds at the Wall Sunday. Captain Brent's Sunday gang on Katydid kept 22 tautog while anchored at the Wall. Saad Soliman, Josh Boucher, Joe Mcneal and Fred Robinson toggled in at the Wall Sunday to score 18 quality keeper blackfish. Geoff McCloskey muscled in a citation tog weighing 7.47 pounds at the Wall Sunday. There were a handful of legal tog pulled from Bay Reef Sites, but the catching was better along the Breakwater. Dave Hazzard had a 7.5 pound sheepshead at Site 6 Sunday aboard Thelma Dale IV. Ocean wrecks are starting to show signs of life. Captain Don's patrons on the Angler caught several short tog on some snags outside the Bay Sunday, but took home only a handful of keepers. Matt Baker and his buddies did land 11 keeper tautog from an Ocean wreck Sunday. Stripers have been feeding in Lewes Canal. Casting artificials around the drawbridge and train bridge produced strikes, and rock responded to cut baits and clams on the bottom as well. Most bass were between 18 and 25 inches, but some above the 28 inch minimum were hooked. Gene Laskowski landed a 30 inch Canal striper Sunday. Surf casters at Herring Point reported spotty catches of snapper blues, puppy black drum, kingfish and blowfish. Folks on the Pier at Cape Henlopen still had a few flounder at night under the lights, while working jigs tipped with Gulp or shiners. The offshore bite was still going on in Washington Canyon. Captain Shawn Gallagher and his guys on Free Spool overnighted there Thursday for a swordfish, a 30 pound wahoo, a yellowfin and three dolphin.

It went from one stretch of bad weather to another. The only window was at the beginning of the week, when tog season opened on Tuesday. A few boaters ventured out on Delaware Bay, and did find some willing tautog along rocks of the Outer Breakwater. There was still a big swell outside the Wall from relentless northeast wind, so Randy Jensen and Charlie Breitenbach anchored on the inside, and picked at blackfish during a stretch of clean water during the first of ebb tide. They ended up with eight keepers by using Asian shore crabs for bait. Dave Walker tried the base of Brandywine, and reported not much in the way of tog action. However, he did land a 6.7 pound sheepshead. Matt Shoup was also fishing Brandywine when he connected with a 13.24 pound trophy sheepshead. That big porgy fell for a fiddler crab. It was back to strong northeast wind the remainder of the week, putting a halt to the efforts of any boaters attempting to try for tog. Surf casters were able to get a little beach time in between blows. Anglers on the sand from Cape Henlopen to Herring Point hooked small bluefish, puppy black drum, and the occasional kingfish while baiting with fresh mullet, bloodworms and clams. Mullet were still in the area at the beginning of the latest storm, but its questionable if any will remain after it settles down this time. Same goes for offshore tuna action. Crews that ran to Washington Canyon Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday found good numbers of yellowfins while chunking during the daytime. But, who knows what the combination coastal noreaster and passage of Hurricane Joaquin will do to that bite.

I don't remember a stretch of strong northeast wind like the blow that occurred this past week. Small craft advisories were posted every day since last Sunday, and brought fishing to an abrupt halt for boaters who had hoped to get in a few final cracks at migrating flounder in Delaware Bay and the Ocean. It was still howling as this was written Sunday, and conditions were not predicted to be much better over the coming week. Many anglers were looking forward to the opening of fall tautog season on September 29, but access to blackfish spots will be questionable until the weather settles. We do have fresh green crabs if the opportunity arises for toggers to get out. Current tog regulations allow five blackfish at a 15 inch minimum size per person to be kept daily. Bay and Ocean water is still in the mid to upper 60s, and tog will probably not be too active anyway until temperatures cool down. The annual Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament begins October 1st, and runs through October 31st. Interested participants must sign up at Lewes Harbour Marina prior to fishing. Entry fees collect in a cash pool, and are split among the three heaviest blackfish weighed in by registered anglers. Shorebound fishermen did find a few flounder still lingering in Lewes Canal. We had a customer with three keeper fluke from the Town Dock in a couple afternoons during the week. Another diehard reported he was rewarded for standing out in the wind with a 37 inch Canal striper. Surf casters at Cape Henlopen did have decent numbers of small bluefish on cut mullet. Kingfish were still available in the wash as well. Finger mullet had been moving along the Ocean beach, but it's uncertain if many will remain following the extended pounding from the northeast. It wont be long until the Autumn run of stripers materializes in our area. Some of the biggest striped bass show up first, at the end of October and beginning of November on shoals at the mouth of Delaware Bay. Keep in mind new striper regs that went into effect earlier this year. Anglers can keep one fish from 28 inches to 37 inches, and one 44 inches or greater, or any combination of two striped bass within those size slots. Trolling has been a top method for taking trophy rock the past few seasons, and we've already put in plenty of Stretch and Bomber plugs, plus a good selection of Mojos, rigged tandems, umbrellas and shads. Stop by and stock up to get ready.