Fishing Report

Thresher sharks captured the spotlight this week among inshore anglers. Threshers aren't usually caught at night, but the one Captain Brian and his crew on Lil' Angler II landed Monday didn't get the memo. They headed down the Buoy Line around midnight and set up over some wrecks west of DE Light about 2am. Brian located a temperature break from 58.5 degrees to 61 degrees that was holding a school of bunkers, and figured that was a good place to set up. The guys deployed a slick of mackerel chum, Aquatic Nutritions Bloodstream and Voodoo Menhaden Milk. Within a short time after setting out lines baited with butterflied mackerel, they had a bite. They hooked up in the dark, and after a 45 minute battle, Joshua Chubb landed a 221.5 pound Thresher Shark, with the help of Mike Trestka and Aaron Jost. They were back at our dock way before lunch time to check in the first shark of the season. Greg Wagner had his sights set on a Thresher, so Captain Brian from Lil' Angler II had the day off, and offered to tag along on Marie Ann for some guidance and a Busman's Holiday of sorts. The boys headed towards DE Light, but stopped short when they saw a free jumping Thresher. They set up, and got bit at 6:50 am. Forty minutes later, Greg put a nice whiptail aboard with help from Chris Wagner and Ron Steen. Back at Lewes Harbour's scales, the shark weighed 144.5 pounds. A little farther offshore, Dustin Schell, Trevor Paradyscz and John Kenyon were trolling Baltimore Canyon when an 85 pound mako pounced on the Ilander and ballyhoo combo they had intended for tuna. Back inshore, sea bass fishermen worked hard for keepers. Captain Brent anchored Ktydid many times on wrecks in 100 to 130 feet Wednesday, but the work paid off. His anglers ended up with 111 bass and 22 ling. There has been an early showing of fluke on the Old Grounds, but the bite has been good one day, and off the next. Kind of the same deal back in the Bay. Croakers appeared sooner than normal, and have been caught many places, but the biggest concentration seemed to be around the Coral Beds. Kingfish, spot and puffers were mixed in. Hardheads came from Roosevelt Inlet, along with some nice trout. K.B.Brittingham was tossing a MirrOLure there when he connected with a 5.16 pound weakfish. Flounder are still frequenting Lewes Canal. Young Flounder Pounder Andrew Wertz checked in keepers of 16 and 18 inches, and released 6 others while fishing minnows near Roosevelt Inlet. Jeff Weaver used a Gulp!/minnow combo for his 4.5 pound Cnal flattie. Ricky and Todd Mills returned from their Canal outing with 7 legal flatfish. Delaware Bay drum action is fizzling, but a few were captured during the week. Trevor Gouert got a 57 pounder on the Angler.

Fishing in general was good during the week, with a variety of species available to area anglers. It's been exciting to see the return of nice sized sea trout. Tiderunners have shown at many of their old haunts. Casting a white Gulp! in the rain from Cape Henlopen Pier paid off for Brian Hebel. He hooked and landed a 6.33 pound weakfish. Mike Slaughter and Charlie Booth worked purple grubs in Roosevelt Inlet for trout weighing 6.32 and 3.58 pounds, plus a bonus 6.39 pound red drum. Jonathon McCabe, Derek Swafford and Zachary Morris managed three fine trout of 5.74, 5.11 and 4.64 pounds while tossing Bass Assassins to the Ferry Wall. Frank Hornberger was fishing in Broadkill River when he connected with a 5.33 pound weakie. Jason Hall, Paul Caras, and Matt Purnell put three pretty trout weighing 5.33, 5.66 and 4.7 pounds in the box Friday night near the Ferry Wall. They also kept 4 nice fluke. It seems like we can look forward to more action with quality trout as their numbers continue to increase. Drumming held up over recent days. Shallow water off Broadkill Beach, a couple miles northwest of Roosevelt Inlet was productive. Drumfish also came from the submerged piles off Fowler Beach and the Coral Beds. Beckki Price boated a 76 pound boomer aboard the Indian. Robert Reinhart reeled in 59,9 pounder on the Pirate King II. Johnny Blatt bested a 77 pound black drum, Earl Snyder scored a 60 pounder, and Daryl Lehew landed a 68 pound drum aboard Miss Kirstin. Scott Campbell caught a 78.4 pound behemoth, Robert Barrett boated a 71.3 pounder, and Stephanie Kearns captured a 64.2 pound drum on the Martha Marie. Ryan Johnson checked in a 71.2 pound drum. Donald Barnes decked a 70.5 pounder, and West Sarver wound in a 59.9 pound specimen. The Bayshore Channel on the other side of Delaware Bay recently gave up numerous drum. Captain Carey on the Grizzly said fish really chewed Friday night, and again through Saturday afternoon. His drummers iced 13 near #8 Buoy. Three of them were over 60 pounds, and the largest, landed by Terry Swope, weighed in at a whopping 80 pounds. Flounder catches were decent in Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and around Cape Henlopen Pier. The reduced minimum size of 16 inches has resulted in more keepers for most anglers. Minnows, shiners and Gulp! wee favored offerings among the flounder crowd. Clayton Morgan captured a 4.2 pound flattie using minnows. Calyton and Ed Yingling ended up with 5 flatties in the box after a couple hours of Canal drifting. Fred Smith edged out Todd Meredith by 1/4 inch with his 20 3/4 incher for the longest fish in Friday's Probation and Parole Flounder Tournament. Young Dylan Churchill was dialed in on Canal Flounder. He outfished his Dad, Capt. DJ Churchill with a pair of 18 inch keepers. Bottom bouncers in Delaware Bay have had fun with hardheads, kingfish, blowfish and spot while anchored and baiting with clams and bloodworms over the Coral Beds. Folks on the rail at Cape Henlopen Pier have been enjoying the arrival of spot, and got into good numbers of the tasty panfish Saturday using bloodworms. Nighttime anglers on the Pier did pretty well with flounder jigging speck rigs and Gulp! Surfcasters along the Ocean beach encountered some small bluefish, kingfish, blowfish and the occasional striper. Dave McDaid got a 36 inch rockfish while soaking bunker in the suds at 3Rs Road. Stripers made a showing in Indian River Inlet during the week, and jetty jocks tossing Bomber plugs, Storm and Tsunami Shads and bucktails had success during evening and early morning incoming tides. Justin and Don Hallacher, along with Chris Raezer fished the Inlet Memorial Day morning for bss of 15.8, 11.5 and 14.9 pounds. Boaters seeking sea bass found legal fish on inshore wrecks and snags in 100 to 130 foot depths, although, there were may shorts. Captain Brent's bassers aboard Katydid had a limit of quality knotheads and 22 ling Friday. Adam May and Maggie Lingo landed jumbo bass weighing 4.94 and 3.25 pounds respectively. Charles Edwards iced a 3.5 pound sea bass during a previous trip on the Katydid. The Old Grounds are starting to come alive. Patrons fishing with Capt. Ricky on Thelma Dale IV Saturday had over 20 keepers and released many others. Saad Soliman kept 3 fluke to 24 inches while working a white bucktail tipped with pink Gulp! Early offshore action continues to please tuna aficionados. Reports of yellowfins and bluefins came from various locations including the Wilmington, Baltimore and Poor Man's Canyons, as well as The 461 Lump. Jon Bixler trolled 67 degree water in 500 fathoms of the Baltimore for 3 yellowfins Sunday. Bill Swords and his buddies pulled spreader bars and ballyhoo 65 degree 65 fathom water inshore of the Baltimore Tuesday for their over and under bluefins to 65 pounds, plus three yellowfins in the 35 to 40 pound range.

Memorial Day Weekend already, what happened to Spring? Sea bass season reopened Monday, and boaters targeted bass throughout the week. Catches came from 20 fathom wrecks and the Del-Jersey Land reef site, for those willing to make a long run. Fish were also found a little close to home on inshore snags and Reef Site 11. Most bassers hoped spots would be loaded up after sitting unpressured all winter, but limit catches were uncommon. There were plenty of small fish, less than the 12.5 inch minimum, but big numbers of keepers were hard to come by. Crews that found stuff not hit too hard or made many different anchor drops during the day did end up with decent catches. Captain Brent has been bassin' regularly aboard Katydid. He said each trip he has to work a little harder for numbers, but usually ends up ok. Opening day, his group took home 87 bass, 37 ling and 2 cod. The "Fishin' Bitches" scored big Tuesday with 105 bass, 25 ling and a cod. Bobby Kauffman and his crew caught 82 keeper bass and 4 ling Friday. Captain Carey's bassers on Grizzly returned Monday with 101 knotheads, 24 ling and 7 nice codfish. Moses Whitehurst and his buddies bassed with Captain Pete on Top Fin for 76 keeper sea bass to 3 pounds. Offshore enthusiasts were pleased to see good water between the Baltimore and Wilmington Canyons. That early shot of 64 to 67 degree stuff produced the first yellowfins of the season Terry Layton and his crew on the Nontypical. They boated 5 in the 40 pound class while trolling skirted ballyhoos there. 0ther reports of yellowfins and bluefins came from the edge of that warm water as it moved south. Sharks were present too. Phil Williams and friends had a mako and a bluefin inshore of the Baltimore. The Marine Electric wreck southeast of Ocean City yielded Makos, Blue Sharks and Threshers. Kenny Gray and the Boys on Just Right V battled big Thresher for nearly 5 hours last weekend. The big whiptail ate a mackerel between Site 10 and DB Buoy. They gutted the shark for the ride home, but back at the dock, it still weighed 270 pounds. Back in Delaware Bay, black drum action was good. Drum were caught around the submerged piles between Fowler's Beach and Slaughter Beach and on the Coral Beds. There was also a bite in close to Broadkill Beach, just 2 miles north of Roosevelt Inlet. Captain Ted did some drumming on the Indian Tuesday night, and took home boomers of 24, 25, 54.3, 59, 59.8, plus the largest, a 67 pounder boated by Chuck Coverdale. Kathy Rodgers reeled in a 58.1 pound citation drum, while fishing with her husband Captain Jack Rodgers. Freddy Zabala fought a 65 pounder aboard Miss Kirstin. Late afternoons and early evenings with the end of flood tide and beginning of ebb seemed most productive. Drum anglers also hooked some croakers and kingfish. Folks fishing from shore at Roosevelt Inlet also caught croakers, along with flounder and trout. John Davis tossed a chartreuse Gulp from the rocks for his 1.62 pound trout and 18 inch flattie. Dave Steele scored a 7.61 pound weakfish at Roosevelt on a Swaggertail Shad. Boaters at Roosevelt, and in Lewes Canal and Broadkill River also caught flounder, trout and stripers. Garrett Stryzs got a pair of fluke weighing 2.6 and 2.7 pounds there. Leon Zimmerman landed a 5.62 pound tiderunner using pink Gulp! Patrons on the Pier at Cape Henlopen had flatfish, trout and stripers as well. Surfcasters at Herring Point got into 12 to 20 inch blues, and the occasional puppy drum or striper.

After being rescheduled due to Friday's nasty weather, the 2014 Canal Flounder Tournament took place Saturday. Over 290 anglers participated to make the event a success. We thank all who took part, especially those who juggled schedules to fish the later date, and our sponsors the Dewey Beach Lions Club, and Martek of MD Marine Electronics. Conditions were much better than on Friday, and there were a decent number of keepers caught. Chad Mitchell earned bragging rights and big bucks for the heaviest flounder checked in, with his 4.33 pound winner. Tim West took Second with a 3.98 pounder. Shane Townsend's 3.76 pound flattie secured Third. Ty Sherwood wound up Fourth with his 3.69. Alvin Layton landed a 3.6 pounder for Fifth Place. Matt Purnell put a 3.59 pounder on the board for Sixth. Gene Stalls got Seventh with his 3.44. Julie Gentile represented the lady anglers with her Eighth heaviest 3.27 pounder, and Jimmy Joseph took home the prize for Ninth with a 3.25 pound flatfish. A donation of $1450 from entry fees will be donated to Camp Awareness.

Surf casters had success this past week while working Ocean beaches. Chris Vann fished from the sand at South Bethany Tuesday, and caught several decent blowfish. Chris and Jack Austin returned to that spot Wednesday, where they landed 14 bluefish using mullet. Chris tried 3Rs Road the next trip, and captured more bluefish, including a 31 inch chopper. Surf anglers on Broadkill Beach also got into fish. The black drum bite was not as good as in the past week and a half, but some boomers continued to be taken. Drum were landed Thursday evening by guys who dug sand fleas on the spot and used them for bait. Dustin Schell scored a 37 inch striper from Broadkill Beach while baiting with bunker. He also mentioned that croakers were caught from the beach there. Seems early for hardheads, but we're glad they're here. Other shorebound anglers had action at Roosevelt Inlet. Ryan Kroh was casting a Storm Shad from the Roosevelt rocks when he connected with a 4.56 pound trout and a nice bluefish. The Cape Henlopen Pier produced as well. There was a pretty good flounder bite last night at the Pier for folks fishing with minnows, shiners and Gulp! One patron landed a 37 inch rockfish that ate a chunk of bunker. Paul Hazzard and Amanda Frey were jigging pink Zoom Flukes from the Pier and decked a pair of weakfish weighing 4 and 5 pounds. Black drum have started to spread out from shallow water into Broadkill Slough. Danny Selby and Larry Taylor limited out with 6 drum, including Larry's 70.5 pound behemoth. Gracie Fetterman fought a pair of drum weighing 33.8 and 34 pounds, despite the cast on her arm. Flounder action has been fair on Lewes Canal. Bill Farrall boated a 5.24 pound flatfish while drifting a chartreuse Gulp! and minnow combo near the Yacht Club. Eileen and Gary Smith used 6 inch white Gulp for their 4 keeper fluke to 21 inches. Larry Coverdale landed a 3.56 pounder from the lower Broadkill River using shiners and Gulp! Jenny Mitchell celebrated Mother's Day with her kids Faith and Hunter by fishing the Canal, and they ended up with 3 flatties to 21 inches. The 16 inch minimum size for Delaware flounder is now in effect. Spring Tautog season closed May 11th, but before the shutdown, anglers took home many nice tog. Mona Allen muscled in a 12.75 pound blackfish while togging on the Grizzly. Tog season reopens July 17th.