Fishing Report

This year's Canal Flounder Tournament generated the largest turnout so far. More than 400 flattie aficionados fished the event. Weather was much better than last year's scheduled date, when hurricane-like conditions forced postponement until the following day. Although Canal water was murky from wind during preceeding days, flukers picked away at fish during most of the outgoing tide. The largest specimens were landed in the afternoon, near the end of the ebb. There didn't seem to be a concentration of flatfish in any single location, and catches were reported from several different spots. Avid flounder pounder Mickey Payne was the big winner. His 6.2 pound mat inhaled a Nuclear Chicken colored grub at Roosevelt Inlet, and earned him top prize and major bragging rights. Defending Champ Chad Mitchell scored Second Place 5.29 pounder with a custom white jighead rig and shiner combo while drifting past Gordon's Pond ditch. Brian Beebe boated the Third Place 4.3 pound flounder near the drawbridge, using a chartreuse teaser with a shiner. A pink Gulp! jigged by the Town Dock was responsible for Chris Huk's Fourth Place 3.81 pounder. Matthew Mitchell drifted a custom chartreuse jig rig and shiner between the bridges to take Fifth with his 3.63 pound flattie. Bob Brullo boated his Sixth Place 3.63 pounder while working a white Gulp! near the Sea Gypsy Pirate Boat. Shane Townsend took Seventh with a twin 3.63 pound fluke that ate a minnow on an icy blue teaser, also near the Sea Gypsy. More than $2000 of entry money will be donated to Camp Awareness. We at Lewes Harbour Marina, and the Dewey Beach Lions Club extended congratulations to the winners, and many thanks to all who participated to make the day fun, and a great success. The Black Drum bite came on strong on the New Jersey side of Delaware Bay, following the new moon. There was a big fleet anchored up in Bayshore Channel, above the Canal entrance Saturday evening, where many big boomers were landed. Don Zeiset decked a 60.6 pounder, and Vernon Zeiset got one weighing 55.8 pounds there aboard Miss Kirstin. Captain Brian's crew on Lil' Angler II kept five drum, the largest was a 55.7 pound fish fought by Mike Hojda. Kevin Martzal's group on the Pirate King II brought back 11 drum, including a 53 pounder landed by Leon Martzal. Scattered reports of drum came from the Delaware side. Jack Ostroski had a 63.2 pound boomer and Mason Newsham nailed a 34.3 pounder while fishing with clams on the Coral Beds. Mike Thompson checked in a nice drum he pulled from the Broadkill Beach surf. Drum action should hold up through the full moon at the beginning of June. The shop will be carrying surf clams, but we suggest calling ahead, early in the week, to reserve baits. The opening of Sea Bass Season resulted in good catches. Boats that ran to Twenty Fathom structure did ok with bass, but had surprising numbers of cod. Captain Carey's bassers aboard Grizzly boxed 58 blueheads and 24 keeper codfish. It actually seemed like sea bass catches were better inshore, at Site 11. Captain Brent's Saturday group on the Katydid had their limit of 120 quality bass, including Luis Mispireta's 3.71 pound knothead. Dr. Mike Junck and his gang had a nice mess of bass and cod on their wreck trip aboard Top Fin. Mike managed a 3.92 pound bass on that outing. Offshore bottom bouncers did well in deep water. Matt Baker, Jeff Drury and Chip Graves dropped in Wilmington Canyon Friday for 21 beautiful Golden Tilefish to 27 pounds. A few more stripers showed up. Harry Doherty checked in a 32 incher he beached using bunker in the surf at Faithful Steward Crossing. Because of new slot size regulations, Dave McGirk released a 40 inch linesider he hooked using clams at Herring Point. Matt Mundok managed a 14.6 pound rockfish and a pair of shorts while tossing Bombers at the Outer Wall Sunday morning. Boaters and jetty jocks at Indian River inlet had stripers during evening incoming tides on bucktails and Storm Shads. The bluefish run in Indian River was ridiculous this week, with slammers terrorizing schools of bunker in a feeding frenzy. Guys casting from the rocks or drifting in boats hammered the choppers with bucktails and metals. Wes Grove, Kevin Grove and Todd Macentee were drifting for flounder in the inlet when big blues attacked their minnows. After landing several choppers, they did boat a 4.64 pound flatfish. Blues thinned out inside Cape Henlopen at the end of the week. But, some remained in Broadkill River. Buzz Morrow, Brian Morrow and Jeff Weaver bucktailed a bunch of big bluefish at Oyster Rocks Saturday. D.J. Rawley caught his biggest bluefish ever while flounder fishing in the river Sunday with "Pop Pop" John Halsey, who did get a nice 3.2 pound flattie.

Big bluefish continue to capture the spotlight. This spring's showing of choppers has been the best most anglers in the area remember for a long time. It's surprising how far blues have pushed up into the back bays and tidal rivers, and how long they've remained there. Slammers were encountered way back in Indian River, and common catches at Massey's Landing. They moved through Roosevelt Inlet and into Lewes Canal and the Broadkill River. Surprisingly, they've been thick at Oyster Rocks Road Landing on the River, which is almost to Route One. Guys have been standing on the bank hooking slammer blues there steadily for more than a week. Soaking cut bunker and mullet worked, however, anglers tossing lures caught more fish. Chartreuse twister tails or Gulp! on leadheads were effective in the murky water, but bucktails tipped with a strip of cut bait worked well too. Spoons and plugs took blues as well. Many of the blues were of impressive size. Whopper of the week was a 17.1 pound slammer landed by Scott Aiken. Patrick Musser muscled in a 15.5 pounder, and Frank Payton put a 14.4 pound citation earner in the cooler. Other blues came from the Beach Plum Access area on Broadkill, where anglers could fish either the River or the Bay beach. Blues surprised flukers in Lewes Canal too. Dave Monnett and Mike Massey were drifting bucktails tipped with minnows for flounder in front of Lewes Harbour Marina, and caught three big choppers. Roosevelt Inlet also yielded blues, and fish hit Lewes Beach on high tide Sunday Morning. Luca Miller landed an 11.7 pounder in the flurry. Fisherman on the sand next to the Henlopen Pier caught lots of big big choppers soaking bait and throwing lures like spoons, plugs and bucktails. Guys wading the flats between the Pier and the Cape also hooked plenty of fish. Kayakers and boaters did very well on schooling blues working over bait just off the Cape beach, between the inner lighthouse and the point. The blues attacked a varity of artificials or cut bunker and mullet. Mason Newsham nailed a 15.8 pound alligator blue on a jig, inside the Cape. Hope the bluefish stick around awhile longer. It's been great seeing people so excited about catching these hard fighters. Surfcasters at Herring Point released a few short stripers. Jeff Sherwood beached a 21.7 pound bass while soaking a clam in the suds at Broadkill. Kerry Lodish landed a 26.2 pound striper while working a Storm Shad from the rocks at Indian Ribver Inlet. New striper regulations take effect May 11th. Anglers will be allowed to keep two fish per day, but they must be from 28 to 37 inches, or over 44 inches. Togging was pretty good on the Walls and Ice Breakers, as well as Sites 6 and 7 in the Bay, and #10 in the Ocean. Fred Robinson reeled in an 11.63 pound tautog, and Mike Surowiec scored an 8.16 pounder aboard Katydid. Jim Meyers managed a 7.35 pound tog and Bob Meyers boated an 8.58 pounder while working Site 10. With nicer weather, flounder bit better in Lewes Canal. Chris Moody drifted minnows in fron of the shop for a pair of keepers to 22 inches. Tom Stack landed a 6.07 pound doormat that grabbed a strip of squid at Roosevelt. Howard Bowden bested a 5.3 pound beauty by drifting a Nick's Rig dressed with shiners. Young Brayden Coverdale checked in his first flounder on Tuesday. He got the 2.89 pounder while drifting the Canal with his Dad Larry. Don't forget, the CANAL FLOUNDER TOURNAMENT takes place Friday May 15th. Anglers can sign to fish the event with a $25 cash entry fee at Lewes Harbour any time before the 7am start time on the 15th.

Area surf anglers have been pleasantly surprised by the appearance of numerous bluefish this past week. It's been quite awhile since we've enjoyed a run of springtime blues. There has been an abundance of bunker in the area, and evidently choppers keyed in on the local bait supply, and have been feeding eagerly along both Ocean and Bay beaches. Casters on Broadkill Beach did well Tuesday through Thursday, using bunker as bait. Many of the fish have been of slammer proportions, over 30 inches. Big blues were also caught by fishermen soaking baits from the sand beside Cape Henlopen Pier. Choppers were reported as well by guys working the Indian River Inlet jetties, and at 3R's Road. Hopefully, they'll stick around for a couple weeks. There's plenty of bait around, but it's hard to say how soon the blues may move on. However, it's about time for black drum to come into shallow water between Slaughter and Broadkill Beaches. Good numbers of drum were landed by surfcasters on Broadkill the past couple springs. Most ranged 10 to 20 pounds, but some sizeable boomers to 50 pounds were mixed in. Fresh surf clams were the offering of choice, but live peeler crabs also proved irresistible to drum, if you could get them. The first flounder came from Lewes Canal at the end of last week. Jeff Purdy took his four flattie limit while drifting minnows and shiners in front of Lewes Harbour Marina Thursday. Other anglers caught a few flatfish as well, but cold wind and dirty water prevented Canal flukers from doing much the past few days. Flounder were caught in Indian River, from the VFW Slough. Even though Cape Henlopen Pier is closed, the lights remain on after dark, so nighttime anglers casting from the beach alongside the structure should be able to find some fluke there. The annual Canal Flounder Tournament takes place Friday May 15th. Those interested in fishing the event can sign up with a $25 cash entry fee at Lewes Harbour Marina. Tournament T-Shirts are available now. Tautog action improved this past week, but wind kept toggers at the dock most days. Crews had been runing to the Ocean for blackfish, but recently, Delaware Bay Reefs started yielding tog. Sites 6 and 7 were productive. Wrecks at the Bay mouth gave up tog too. Captain Brent's Saturday and Wednesday groups aboard Katydid scored limits of tasty tautog. Tog action along the Breakwaters should pick up soon.

Tax Day is behind us, and water temps are creeping up after a long, extra cold winter. It's time to bring on the season. Surface temperatures at Delaware Bay's mouth range between 48 and 50 degrees, while DE Light registered 47 degrees. Even though it's warming at the top, it's likely still pretty chilly on the bottom. An indication of how cool the water remains is the presence of codfish in the area. During recent headboat trips to Ocean structure, patrons with Captain Ricky Yakimowicz boxed several keeper sized cod.(The federal minimum length on cod is 22 inches. Cod have been found all the way into Reef Site 10, but are likely to be hanging out on deeper stuff, such as the rubble of Site 11 and Del Jersey Land. Tautog action has been improving, but has not turned on full force. Reef Site 10 recently gave up blackfish. Over the weekend, Captain Brent's anglers on Katydid brought back tog and cod. We haven't been able to get green crabs yet this spring. Water remains low up north, and commercial crabbers have had little success in getting greenies to pot. White Legger crabs have been available in New York, but they're currently in a molting stage, and very fragile, so transporting them down here for live bait doesn't work. We have had fresh clams, and they definitely work. It actually seems that tog respond better to a soft bait, like clam or shrimp, in cold spring water. Captain Ricky fished the mouth of Delaware Bay yesterday, and had a pretty decent batch of blackfish. Those tog all took clam. That's the first report we'd received of tautog in the Bay. Could be that they'll start biting around the Breakwaters soon. Bunker have mad a good showing along the Oceanfront as well as up in the Bay. The presence of baitfish should prompt stripers and weakfish to start feeding. Commercial netters out of Slaughter Beach and Bowers Beach encountered rockfish and trout in their gear set in the shallows. Stripers have been landed by surfcasters working Broadkill Beach using bloodworms, clam and bunker. Most of the bass have been shorts, but there were some keepers. Stripers have been hooked in Lewes Canal too. Marty Riley released 2 rockfish this morning while tossing Storm Shads near the Freeman Highway bridge. Keep in mind the new striped bass regs that just went into effect. Anglers may retain two fish per day in any combination from 28 to 37 inches, or 44 inches and greater. We've heard reports of flounder in Indian River, but have not yet seen any fluke from Lewes Canal. Last year, the first Canal flattie checked in at our store was caught April 12th. With some extended warm weather, the bite could commence soon. Shallow water around the Cape Henlopen Pier usually produces plenty of early season flatfish, but since the Pier is closed for repairs, anglers will only have access to that area by wading or small boat. Flounder regulations remain the same, allowing flukers to keep four per day at a 16 inch minimum. The 2015 CANAL FLOUNDER TOURNAMENT will take place Friday May 15th. Entry fee is $25 cash, payable at Lewes Harbour Marina. White perch fishing has been pretty good in tidal areas. Petersfield Ditch off Rt 16 was productive. Prime Hook Refuge and the spillway at Milton yielded perch too. Small minnows, grass shrimp or worms on little jigheads did the trick.

The wind started blowing last weekend, and didn't let up until yesterday. Just when striped bass finally made a strong showing off the Delaware Coast, another stretch of blustery weather set in, and hardly any anglers made it out all week. A few rockfish were reported by crews trolling between Cape May and Fenwick the past couple days, but boaters to the south found plenty of bass on the Gull Banks off Ocean City, especially early and late in the day. Often, rockfish were outside the Three Mile Line, but pods of bunkers inshore of the boundary attracted stripers within the legal zone too. Maryland DNR and the Coast Guard patrolled actively to keep bassers honest. Trolling Mojos, tandem parachutes, Crippled Alewive spoons and Stretch, Bomber and Rapala plugs produced bites. Some crews utilized planer boards to get offerings away from the boat when bass proved finicky. Andrea Monetti managed a 17.3 pound linesider, and Matt Simeone scored a 19.8 pounder while trolling Mojos off Ocean City Sunday aboard Katydid. There may still be some straggler stripers passing by our shores, but it seems the bulk of migrators may have sneaked by when nobody could get to them, pushed through by stiff northerly breezes. Water temps are in the low 40s, and tautog action has been pretty good at Reef Site 10, when boats can get there. Nice blackfish were pulled from the rubble by toggers using green crab baits. Sea bass should be available at Del Jersey Land until the season shuts down December 31st.