Fishing Report

Happy Spring to all! We're back in the store full time, and this marks the start of regular weekly reports. Water temps have been slowly rising after the harsh winter, and are now in the mid 40's. Anglers trying Broadkill River this past weekend hooked white perch and short stripers using bloodworms. Catfish were plentiful, and took clams or cut bunker. Popular spots included the mouth of Petersfield Ditch, Oyster Rocks and the Route One bridge. Not much hs been happening in Delaware Bay, but Ocean bottom bouncers connected with tautog on reef sites 9 and 10. Captain Carey anchored Grizzly over reef structure Sunday where his patrons put 15 keeper blackfish in the box, and released 35 others. We're carrying green crabs for tog bait throughout the spring season, that runs until May 11th. We also have clams and shrimp, and some days, especially with cold water, tautog respond better to soft baits such as those. The current daily creel limit for tog is three per person with a 15 inch minimum size. Flounder should become active in shallow water around Cape Henlopen Pier and Lewes Canal soon. This year's annual Canal Flounder Tournament is set for Friday May 16th. Entry fee is $25 per angler, payable in cash, in advance, at Lewes Harbour Marina. Five dollars of each entry will be donated to the Camp Awareness youth program. Last year's Tourney had the largest number of participants so far, and we're taking signups already at the store for the 2014 event. Stripers and black drum should be showing along the Broadkill Beach surf in coming weeks, and possibly some weakfish too. I recently spoke with Dewayne Fox, who's been conducting sturgeon research in the Ocean off Bethany Beach. A few days ago, he released three very large striped bass from his net, the heaviest weighing 68 pounds. Wow, what a rockfish! He said the fish were still full of roe, and likely on their way to spawning grounds. It's cool to hear about such big bass, and anglers will have the chance for a trophy like that as they migrate through the Bay.

Hard to believe it's the end of December already. The year has flown by. There's still fishing activity when weather permits. Yesterday, Captain Carey on the Grizzly set up at Site 10, where his anglers put 27 tog in the box, and released several more. Captain Pete's toggers on Top Fin also had a good trip to Site 10 yesterday, returning with 22 keepers. Captain Brent togged at 10 the day before, and his guys aboard Katydid captured 23 keeper blackfish. Brent squeezed in one last seabass run yesterday, before the season shuts down December 31st. His bassers picked through a bunch of undersized fish, but ended up with 45 good sized blueheads. Sea bass fans will miss out this winter, since the season will be closed, but tog will provide opportunities inshore, and cod and tilefish will be available for offshore bottom bouncers. Captain H.D. Parsons at Fisherman's Wharf has special headboat trips lined up most weekends throughout the winter. You can check the schedule at 302-645-8862. Steve Kiibler and Daryl Mergenthaler fished one of the excursions yesterday, and combined for 26 beautiful bass and a blueline tile. Stripers are still moving down the coast, but there hasn't been much going on with rockfish in Delaware Bay the past couple weeks. Ocean going linesiders have been located under kamikaze Gannets within a couple miles of the beach as they make their way south. Rock continued to stage on structure between Indian River and Fenwick, although they were often found working on bunkers in open water. The lumps off Sea Colony remained productive, but the fish don't seem to be as thick there as in weeks past. Mike and John Davis trolled Stretches and Mojos off Bethany yesterday for 3 quality striped bass, including John's 32.4 pounder. Before Christmas, Stanley Smith and Jeff Griffin intercepted a school of stripers pushing bunkers to the south, north of Indian River, about 2 1/2 miles off the coast. They pulled Stretches and umbrellas among diving birds for their 4 bass limit, and released 10 others before calling it a day. If water temps don't drop too much, rockfish might be in the area much of the winter. Anglers have plenty to look forward to in the coming new year. Weakfish seemed to be making a comeback, and trout of varying sizes were taken throughout Delaware Bay. There were more red drum around than ever before. A couple bountiful year classes produced a bumper crop of redfish, and they seem to be pushing farther north in search of forage each season. Lewes Canal produced some decent flounder action, and the 2013 Canal Flounder Tournament had the largest turnout ever. The date for the 2014 Canal Tourney has been set for Friday May 16th. Although flounder fishing in Delaware Bay was kind of disappointing, boaters who learned how to present bucktails and bottom rigs on the Old Grounds in the Ocean between DB and DA Buoys had a banner summer with flatties. Croakers were small this past year, but spot of jumbo proportions were extra plentiful, and those tasty panfish will certainly be welcomed back. The same goes for kingfish. There was a resurgence of kings, and many Delaware Bay anglers enjoyed double digit catches of these delicious members of the drum family while anchored on Bay coral and other live bottom. Black drum didn't seem as thick this past spring, but Broadkill surf casters and boaters anchored on the Coral Beds still caught good numbers. Some real heavyweights were landed on light tackle when the big boomers grabbed small baits intended for trout. The largest we checked in tipped the scales to 93 pounds. Tuna fishermen were treated to some of the best action in a long time. Yellowfins hung out with bait and whales in Washington Canyon for most of the summer, and the bigeye bite was the hottest in recent memory. It was not uncommon for crews to boat multiples of the titanic tunas between 150 and 300 pounds while trolling at first light and just before dark. The offshore crowd will certainly get excited with the prospect of that happening again in 2014. Stripers were late in arriving in great numbers at the Delaware Bay entrance this November, but when sandeels got thick mid month, so did the rockfish. There were many quality trophies caught, and trollers seemed to do better than bait fishermen. All three winning fish in the 2013 Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament weighed over 40 pounds. Evan Falgowski's 47.2 pounder took the top prize. Mike Ambler landed the largest of the season, a mammoth 50 inch 49 pound bass, but he unfortunately wasn't entered in the Tourney. Quite an accomplishment none the less. The anticipation of all the fishing possibilities ahead will help get anglers through the doldrums of winter. Amanda, Phoebe and I are doing our own doldrum prevention thing by heading for the Florida Keys to do some fishing ourselves. We'll hopefully have some good catch pictures to share in the website photo gallery, and on our Facebook page, so stay tuned. I'll resume regular web fishing reports when the store reopens full time in April. Lewes Harbour Marina will be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday through the winter. The Saltwater Fly Anglers Of Delaware meet every Saturday for a fly tying session at the shop, where members, and guests, swap tips and techniques and, of course, fishing tales. Stop in and check them out. Thanks for following us this past season, and we wish you the best of success in the coming New Year!

Cold wind has kept boats at the dock many days, but when conditions were fishable last weekend, Ocean togging showed signs of promise. Tog activity in the Bay had slowed down, and toggers had been trying Ocean Sites the past couple weeks, hoping those spots would turn on. Seems they're now starting to produce. Captain Brent took Katydid to Site 10 last Friday, where his anglers put 20 keepers in the box. He returned to the reef Saturday with a group of tautog regulars, and they proceeded to limit the boat out with a catch of 50 blackfish. Inshore water temps are in the low to mid 40's, and tog should start settling in on their normal wintertime haunts. It's been slim pickin's for striped bass at the Delaware Bay entrance over the past week. Striper fishermen continue to have success in the Ocean south of Indian River. Bottom structure from 1 1/2 to 3 miles offshore between Bethany and Fenwick has been holding rockfish. Their presence is often given away by flocks of dive bombing gannets. Chris Huk worked the area Monday for a limit of keepers in the 29 to 31 inch range, and released several others. He said the birds were thick, and when you found the birds, you got fish. Trolling Stretch 25 and 30 plugs worked well, as did pulling Mojos or tandem shad rigs. Captain Chris on Quintessa had 3 nice keepers while trolling off Sea Colony Saturday. Brandy Timmons Parker and her crew fished the Ocean City Marlin Club Rockfish Tournament with Captain Brian on Lil' Angler II Saturday. They pulled Cabo Sunset Stretch 25s off the Condos to secure 7 keeper stripers to 16 pounds, plus a bonus flounder. With warmer air temperatures and moderate winds forecasted for the weekend, there will likely be several crews on the water in search of some pre-Holiday stripers as the fish are moving south between Indian River and Ocean City. Merry Christmas and Good Fishing to all!

Cold, windy weather has caused Bay water temperature to fall to 41 degrees, and striper action that was so good last week, cooled off as well. Masses of sandeels had been holding linesiders in the area, but it seems the schools of baitfish have thinned out. Rockfish are still being taken, but a majority have been below the 28 inch minimum. Captain Brent on Katydid trolled Overfalls Monday. His guys caught 20 bass, however only 3 were keepers. Ralph Short fished Overfalls yesterday and reported that the water was clean with well defined rips. Even though conditions looked good, Ralph's efforts resulted in just one 31 incher and a single throwback. Migratory stripers will probably continue to stage at the Bay entrance over the coming weeks, but it's tough for boats to get out every day to keep track of their movements, because of blustery weather fronts. Ocean bassers have been following fish down the coast, looking for working birds to indicate the presence of bass below. A few fish came from Hens and Chickens Shoal, but lumps off Sea Colony at Bethany Beach held better numbers. Nick and J.T. DiGuglielmo stopped by Friday with four quality linesiders they captured while trolling Stretch 30 plugs in that area. Other structure between Fenwick and Ocean City gave up rockfish too. Trolling Stretch and Bomber Plugs, Mojos, umbrellas or tandem shads was the popular method for taking stripers. When moving stripers were located, feeding under birds, casting lures was a fun way to hook up. Sandeel imitatitions from Savagear, Tsunami and Storm were effective. Tube tailed diamond jigs, Gulp! Sandeels on leadheads, and bucktails also got bit. Keep in mind, it is still illegal to keep stripers outside the three mile limit, and the boundary at many popular spots is patrolled by the Coast Guard to ensure fishermen play by the rules. Beach fishermen intercepted a few decent bass, but there hasn't been a relible run in the surf. Andy Lano landed a pair of real nice rockfish while soaking bunker near Herring Point Saturday. Other catch reports came from spots south of Indian River, such as 3Rs Road.

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.