Fishing Report

We were just getting settled in after Sandy's passage when another northeast storm blasted the coast, bearing wind, tidal flooding, rain and snow. Delaware Bay water temperatures have fallen to the mid 40's, after a continued stretch of chilly days and nights. The past couple days have been brisk and breezy, but the forecast looks good for the weekend and early next week, with less wind and warmer daytime highs in the 60's. Conditions have kept boats at the dock most days, and many striper and tog fishermen have been chomping at the bit to get back out and see what's going on. Looks like they'll get their chance this weekend. Rockfish were caught on the few occasions when boaters were able to make it to the grounds. John Joe Kabino trolled up his limit of linesiders scaling 22.7 and 25.4 pounds while pulling Stretch 25+ and Bomber CD25 plugs at Overfalls Sunday. Evan Falgowski fooled a 26.3 pound bass with a plug, and Ryan Falgowski landed a 23.5 pounder. Beau Kemeys captured a 29.7 pound striper while drifting an eel at Overfalls Sunday aboard Quintessa. That fish moved him into Second Place of the Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament, which has now been extended to run through November 30th. We have live eels and spot available, and a good assortment of trolling plugs on hand for the striper crowd. It's been tough to obtain fresh bait, but we'll attempt to have bunker when we can get it. Surf fishermen have had success, despite adverse weather. It's surprising how many red drum remain along the coast. Jack Austin had several puppies from the beach in the Herring Point area in past days. Most were in the 16 to 18 inch range, but he did manage a keeper drum, and a beautiful 22 inch speckled trout from the wash. Numerous short stripers were pulled from the suds as well. Frozen mullet, bunker, sand fleas and live bloodworms got bit. Tog should be avaialble on Bay reef sites. Clean water will probably be critical to catching.

It was a tense few days as we braced for and endured one of the worst storms in recent memory. Wind and waves battered the region for days, and relentless rain saturated the area. Tidal surge compounded by a full moon caused flooding along most of the coast. To our benefit, the center of the weather system passed to the north of us, and winds shifting to westerly quadrants prevented more severe flooding. However, folks in New Jersey and New York took a real pounding, and we feel for the families and businesses dealing with the destruction and aftermath. We, personally, had no real troubles. We never lost power at the store, or at home. Tidal levels rose to the edge of the deck out front, but saltwater didn't make it into the walk in freezer or bait tank pump motors. We were very forunate. Bay and Ocean beaches had quite a bit of erosion. Angry waves washed over and leveled dunes between Dewey Beach and Indian River. Tons of sand covered Route 1. The beach at Cape Henlopen actually seemed wider, like more sand had been redistributed there. Lots and lots of freshly exposed whelk shells were visible. I talked with Bert Long, who mentioned some friends fished near the Herring Point jetties yesterday. They said the water was clean, and they caught and released short stripers and puppy red drum while baiting with cut mullet and bunker. Jack Austin also fished the surf there yesterday and today. He released 6 drum and 3 rockfish Thursday, and 6 stripers and 6 drum today. Striped bass also showed up at the mouth of Delaware Bay, on the heels of Sandy. Many bassers predicted their arrival would be brought on by the combination of a strong flow from the northeast, dropping water temps, and the effect of the full moon. Things had settled down enough yesterday for some boaters to give it a try. Striper sniper Evan Falgowski returned with the first big bass after the blow. He weighed in a 34 pounder taken while trolling a diving plug on shoal structure Thursday morning. That fish currenty leads the Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament. More rockfish should arrive daily, and roam rips across the lower Bay. We'll have live bait and a good selection of trolling lures for those pursuing stripers this fall. We also had some customers who attemped togging at the Outer Wall yesterday, but none reported back. Blackfish action should bounce back soon. The Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament finished up October 31st. Rodney Shoemaker took First with an 8.1 pound Tautog he pulled from the Ice Breakers. Brian Wazlavek wound up Second with his 7.5 pounder, and Scott Bucka also boated a 7.5 pounder that put him in Third. Thanks to all who participated in the annual event, and made it success. Some other quality tautog were checked in prior to the storm. Jim Hukill had a 9.9 pound bruiser, Ted Garman got a 7.3 pounder, and Geoff Klopp captured a 7 pound citation winner. Sheepshead were still avaialble prior to Sandy. Bruce Bennett bested a 12 pound brute at the Wall. Large flocks of gannetts have been working of Cape Henlopen the past two days, indicative of baitfish being present. The activity should attract more migratory stripers. Tog action will kick back in soon, so there's plenty of great fishing ahead now that we've said goodbye to Sandy.

This is the time of year when anglers are treated to the bonus catches of some nice sheepshead, while fishing for tog on the rockpiles off Lewes. The biggest sheepshead so far was brought in recently, and it met the qualifications for surpassing the standing Delaware State Record. Chris Wentz was anchored on the inside of the Outer Wall Saturday when the 15.7 pound jumbo porgy inhaled some sandfleas he was using for bait. Randy Jensen took the current 15.5 pound Record last Fall. Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament rules require that a fish replacing another record fish weighing less than 25 pounds must weigh at least 2 ounces more than the existing Record. A qualified representative from the Division of Fish and Wildlife approved the catch, so if it holds up, the new record will be announced at the end of the year. Tautog fishing has been real fine along the Inner and Outer Walls and Ice Breakers the past few days. Tog still haven't really turned on over reef sites in the Bay, but catching on the rock piles has more than made up for that. The reefs should become productive with cooler water temps. Indicative of the good action yesterday, Captain Ted Moulinier said, "Looks like it was a bad day to be a tog", as his patrons from the Indian added their take to the pile of blackfish from other anglers already covering the cleaning table. Captains Brent and Dave from the Katydid took a busman's holiday, along with Kate Wiest and Bob Murphy, to bring back a limit from the Walls yesterday. Toggers on Katydid boxed a limit of 45 keepers Sunday. "Booker" Bookwalter and Rodney Shoemaker continued their streak of several consecutive days of catching tog at the Ice Breakers. They returned with a box of quality Tautog again yesterday. Rodney took over the lead in the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament with an 8.1 pounder he landed Monday. Brian Wazlavek currently holds Second with his 7.5 pounder, and Scott Bucka has Third with a 7.5 pound Tog. Captain Pete on Top Fin has had steady togging. On Saturday, Hwa Park's group limited with 35 tog. Alan Danoff, Ken Brittingham and friends joined Pete Monday for a 30 fish limit. Mr. Kim, "Jesse James" and their party limited out with 35 tautog Tuesday. Aside from tog, decent numbers of trout remain in the area. Trout were taken from Roosevelt Inlet and around the pilings of the Cape Henlopen Pier. Lex Robertson checked in a 2.4 pound weakie he captured in Lewes Canal while using cut spot. Marty Riley hooked a 2.8 pound speckled trout by casting a Storm Shad along the marsh bank of the Canal. Spot continue to be caught in Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and from the Henlopen Pier. Surf fishermen found small blues and an increasing number of short stripers in the wash between Cape Henlopen and Gordon's Pond. Both red and black puppy drum were also pulled from the suds. Legal size stripers were captured in Lewes Canal. Doris Smith scored a 29 incher using mullet, and Dave Walker had a pair of 30 inchers on cut bait. Migratory rockfish should show at the mouth of Delaware Bay soon. They usually appear around the full moon, which is October 29th. Most striped bass addicts have been chomping at the bit for the arrival of their favorite quarry. We'll have eels, spot and fresh bunker, when available. We also have a large selection of Mann's Stretch 12+ and 25+ plugs, along with Bomber CD25 plugs for trolling aficionados.

As mentioned in previous reports, red drum have been unusually plentiful in the area this year. They've been caught from the Ocean and Bay surf, in the Lewes Canal and Broadkill River and in Roosevelt Inlet. Very few have measured between the 20 to 27 inch legal slot size, but it's pretty cool just seeing them here. In addition to red drum, there's been quite a run of small black drum. Good numbers of puppies were landed at Roosevelt Inlet on Sunday. Some anglers scored their 3 fish limit of drum over 16 inches. Most of the fish fell for clam or sand flea baits, and were in the 16 to 20 inch range. A few trout were mixed in. Drum were also caught from the beach between Cape Henlopen and Gordon's Pond, along with snapper blues, kingfish and an increasing number of short stripers. Surf casters had success using cut mullet, clams and bloodworms. Folks on the Cape Henlopen Pier still managed some decent sized spot by using bloodworms and Fishbites. Schools of mullet that had been thick the past few weeks have thinned out. Mullet congregated in Indian River Inlet, but a mojority of the silver baitfish seem to have vacated Delaware Bay. Tautog action was tough the past week. Wind, dirty water and strong new moon currents made for challenging conditions. Some blackfish were pulled from the Walls and Ice Breakers, and Bay Reefs, but catching should improve in coming days. Captain Brian Wazlavek of Lil' Angler II took over the lead in the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament with a 7.5 pound white chin he captured at Site 6. Tom Wood moved to Second with his 7.2 pounder, and Clara Hollingsworth has Third with her 6.9 pound tautog. The Tourney continues through October 31st. The annual Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament starts October 20th. The event will run until November 20th. Striped bass traditionally migrate around the October full moon, which occurs this month on the 29th. If this season is like past years, many of the largest bass are caught at the end of October and the first week of November. Tournament participants can pay to enter each day they fish, or pay a flat fee and fish as many days as they want. Few flounder have been hooked in the past couple weeks, and the season closes October 24th. The sea bass season is closed until November 1st, but fishing was good prior to the Monday shutdown. Scott Ayars stopped by with a nice catch of bass, including the pool winning knothead, he had on a Saturday wreck trip to 120 feet of water with Captain H.D. Parsons. Scott said most patrons had their limits. There were also some big bluefish boated. Fishing should be good after the reopening, since the wrecks will have had a chance to reload.

Tog catches have been getting better with cooling air and water temperatures. The Ocean reef sites have been pretty good for blackfish. Captain Carey did some pile hopping at Sites 9 and 10 Friday aboard Grizzly for 17 tautog, 14 triggers, plus an assortment of croakers, blowfish and sea bass. Bay reefs are also starting to yield some blackfish. Captain Brent on the Katydid fished Sites 4,5 and 6 yesterday for 17 keepers. He said some of the rubble was loaded with sea bass, but almost all were shy of minimum size. His guys also caught some impressive triggerfish. Fred Nelson nailed a near record 6.23 pounder on Site 6. In addition to the reefs, the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers also produced tog, as long as the water was clean. Some keeper tog were pulled from the Inner Wall as well. Wind and rain have prevented many anglers from getting out the past few days, and there's been no change to standings in the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament. Tom Wood still holds the lead with his 7.2 pounder. The Tourney runs through October 31st. Sea bass seekers had success on the Del Jersey Reef Site, over the wrecks of the Poole and the Radford. Other wrecks just inshore of the area gave up bass too. Katydid's crew captured 205 bass while wreck fishing last Thursday. Delaware's sea bass season closes October 15th, but then reopens November 1st. Bottom bouncers in Delaware bay are still finding a few croakers, blowfish and kingfish on natural and artificial structure. Brian Hines boated a 1.2 pound citation kingfish aboard the Fishhawk Saturday. Bluefish remain plentiful in the lower Bay. Snappers were caught in current rips off Cape Henlopen and around the Outer Wall. Casting flashy lures resulted in aggressive strikes from feeding choppers. Some hand sized spot continue to be taken from the Cape Henlopen Pier. Good numbers of trout were hooked at Roosevelt Inlet and in Broadkill River. Fresh cut mullet was a favored bait. Red drum still linger around the inlet and in the Canal. Most have not measured within the 20 to 27 inch slot limit, but it's still pretty cool just seeing them in our area. Cape Henlopen surf casters had bluefish baiting with cut mullet. Offshore fishermen have had a tough time getting out to the canyons. The Quintessa made it to the Wilmington for an overnighter, with a break in the weather last Thursday. The crew returned with a swordfish, a big yellowfin, 26 dolphin and 5 golden tiles. John Gudknecht had the unusual catch of a Cottonmouth Jack. The wahoo bite was decent in 20 to 30 fathoms, with trollers reporting 'hoos at the Tea Cup, Massey's Canyon and the Hot Dog. Ed Sigda and the boys on Snow Goose trolled southeast of the Dog where they connected with several mahi that were oriented on floating stuff in the area.