Fishing Report

September is a great time of year on the water. Summer crowds have thinned with vacations over and kids returning to school. The weather is warm, and there are plenty of daylight hours left for fishermen to get out and pursue the variety of species available now. Delaware Bay and the Ocean hold quite an assortment of different fish as Fall approaches. As an example, despite windy conditions, Captain Brent anchored Katydid on Reef Site 8 yesterday, and put together a boxful of all kinds of tasty critters. His anglers kept 70 blowfish, a dozen triggerfish to 4.35 pounds, croakers, blues, spot, sea bass, and a 4.45 pound spadefish landed by Lenny Else. Trout are still here, and can be caught on the Star Site, around the Inner and Outer Walls, and in Roosevelt Inlet. Dave Dunlop got a 4.04 pound weakfish in Lewes Canal. Flounder are around yet. The Coyle family got together aboard Katydid last Friday for some fluking on ocean rubble, and returned with a good catch. Brett Coyle boated a 5.4 pounder, Tom Coyle caught a 5.3 pounder, and Connor Coyle had a 4 pounder, plus a 2 pound croaker. Joe Walker had the honor of catching the 750th keeper brought aboard the Katydid this season, then followed it up with a 7.8 pound citation winner on the next drift. Dianna Healy had a 6.53 pound flattie at Site 11 on the Rockfish Ed II. Tony and Gene Vansant worked structure Sunday for several quality flounder, and Gene's jumbo 4.5 pound triggerfish. The Lil' Angler II fished Ocean structure Sunday for a nice catch of sea bass and big ling, and even some bonus mahi mahi. Snapper blues remain plentiful at the mouth of the Bay, feasting on abundant baitfish in the area. The mullet run is going on en force, and there are loads of shiners and bunkers around as well. Captain Carey on the Grizzly told of good action with blues while casting Crippled Herring jigs to fish working under birds near Cape Henlopen. One of his anglers captured a false albacore that was traveling with the blues. Other boaters reported Spanish Mackerel too. The beach at Cape Henlopen has been reopened to fishermen, and shore casters there have also been catching blues. Spot, kingfish, croakers and pompano have been roaming the surf too. There have been scattered reports of red drum over past seasons, but there seems to be a lot more here this year. Puppies have been taken from Lewes Beach, Rehoboth Bay and Indian River. Carl Meyer caught a 20 incher near the train bridge on Lewes Canal. Delaware anglers may keep 5 red drum per day between 20 and 27 inches. The minimum size for stripers in Delaware Bay and it's tributaries went back to 28 inches as of September 1st. Some legal stripers were tempted with mullet at the mouth of Canary Creek and by drifting eels around the Canal drawbridge. Offshore boaters had scattered catches of billfish and dolphin. Grizzly trolled Baltimore Canyon Sunday for a pair of white marlin and a limit of dolphin. Tranquila spent the night in Wilmington Canyon, and released a big blue shark and a hammerhead estimated at around 300 pounds. Candy's Choice overnighted in 500 fathoms of Poor Man's, where Dillon Filepas decked a 70 pound swordfish. The following morning, the crew deep dropped for a limit of golden tiles, including a 41.7 pounder for Dave Filepas. They also put 30 rosefish, 3 mahi, a barrelfish and a lesser amberjack in the box. There you have it, variety both inshore and offshore.

Captain Ricky Yakimowicz said he really got into the big hardheads yesterday. Lower Delaware Bay has held plenty of croakers, but the majority were small, between 8 and 10 inches. However, when Captain Ricky anchored up on some marks northwest of DB Buoy in the Ocean, he was pleasantly surprised when 12 to 17 inch "Cadillacs" started coming over the rail. Ricky fished himself and culled 2 pails full to take home for smoking. He said he was pretty selective, and if the croaks didn't stretch from one side of the bucket to the other, they went back. It seems that flounder are on the move, and places in the Ocean where flounder were found in good numbers last week, held few in recent days. Flatties had gathered in deep water near DA Buoy, which is normally a staging area before their push offshore. Anglers checking out that spot in the past few days had little success. Catching had been pretty decent. Last Friday, Captain Carey hosted the guys from Hazzard Electric aboard the Grizzly. They put 11 keepers in the box and released 43 other flounder. John Pulli checked in a 6.54 pound fluke he took from Reef Site 11. Offshore bottom fishing produced nice specimens. John and Andrew Schneider traveled to the Norfolk Canyon for some deep dropping, and returned with a dozen Blueline Tilefish, plus a pair of Snowy Groupers weighing 13 and 37 pounds. Back in Delaware Bay, some flounder were still lingering around structure. Flatties were found on the Brown Shoal reef sites 6 and 7. Guys fishing close to the rocks of the Outer Wall also had flounder. Flatfish were lying right at the edge of the stonepile, and casting jigs tipped with fresh cut bait or Gulp! was the most effective way to get their attention. Snapper blues continue to provide action for lower Bay boaters. Packs of feeding choppers slashed through schools of shiners on shoals around the Outer Wall during the moving current of either tide. Wheeling and crashing birds usually gave away their presence. Light tackle afficionados had a blast catching the fish while tossing Kastmasters, Gators, Stingsilvers, bucktails and Gotcha Plugs. Trolling Clarkspoons and Tony Acettas on light gear also enticed blues. Bay bottom bouncers continued to connect with hardheads, kingfish, spot, blowfish and trout on dropoffs inside and outside the Outer Wall, and near the Inner Wall and Ferry Jetty. The Star Site and Broadkill Reef also produced. Triggerfish were hanging out on wrecks at the Bay mouth. Striped bass gathered at the junction of Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet. Rockfish could be seen at night in the lights of the Coast Guard Station, boiling on balls of silversides. Mac McNaught told of great fun hooking and releasing many 15 to 20 inch linesiders while flyrodding there. Big toothy critters are still prevalent. Captain Brian on the Lil' Angler II had Bret Rankin from Montauk Fishing Gear along for some catch and release sharking. They put Bret's BTR Series reels through their paces on several large sand tigers. Brian was impressed, and said the reels passed with flying colors.

This summer has offered some of the better flounder fishing in recent years. Artificial and natural structure in both the Ocean and Delaware Bay have produced plenty of flatfish. There isn't the open bottom fishery in the Bay like there used to be, possibly because fluke are now drawn to the cover and food supply presented by the network of artificial reefs. However, anglers who have learned how to work the rubble, and understand the effects of tidal currents have been rewarded with some fine fluking. Chris Vann celebrated his 40th birthday with his buddies while reef fishing aboard the Katydid last Friday. The party resulted in 34 keepers to 5.1 pounds. Martha Marie's anglers had some good fishing last Friday. "Pizza John" Perrin put 3 in the box himself. Flukers aboard Katydid captured 21 flatties Sunday, bringing the number of keepers on the boat this season to over 700! Captain Pete's guys on Top Fin took home 16 quality flounder Sunday. Brooke Drury brought in a 4.77 pounder she hooked on Site 8 with a live bait. Captain Carey had his family out Sunday for a little fun fishing on the Grizzly, and they came in with 8 nice flatfish and a bunch of croakers. Monday, Steve Mattson and family joined Captain Carey for 15 fluke and lots of croakers. Craig Moore managed a 7.75 pound doormat on that trip. On Tuesday, Joe Walker, Joe Walker Jr, Tony Vansant and Barry Gerhard bucktailed ocean reef structure for 14 nice flatties. Joe just missed a citation with his 6.9 pounder. Joe, Joe Jr, Barry and Harry Glenbocki went back for more on Wednesday, and limited out with 16 plump flounder. Although most of the catching has taken in the Bay and Ocean, some flounder continue to come from Lewes Canal and the Cape Henlopen Pier. Brenda Powell checked in two nice fish she caught with minnows at Roosevelt Inlet. Bottom bouncers are still finding plenty of croakers of varying sizes inside and outside the Outer Wall, and on Sites 5 and 8. Numerous small trout, and some of legal size, along with kingfish, spot and blowfish were hanging out in the same areas. Snapper blues were often seen chasing baitfish through current rips around the Wall and near Cape Henlopen Point. The little choppers are a blast to catch with lures on light tackle. Inshore bottom fishermen found decent numbers of legal sea bass on natural structure between DB and DA Buoys. Offshore bottom dropping produced action with tilefish. Billy White, along with Captains Chris Thurman and Evan Falgowski, hosted Mike Parker from Outdoors Delmarva for a day of tilefishing in Baltimore Canyon aboard Quintessa. The trip was a great success, and the guys came back with 16 golden tile, including 35 pounders for Captain Ted Moulinier and Hank Draper. On the previous trolling trip on Quintessa, Ron Uschok whacked a 29 pound wahoo.

Delaware Bay structure continues to produce some pretty decent flounder action. Reef Sites 5,6,7 and 8 have yielded good numbers of flatties, with many keeper sized. Success has alot to do with presentation, and drift conditions are important. A light breeze against the direction of the current allows for slow coverage of the strike zone. Sometimes using the engines helps keep the boat where it needs to be. Bucktails and short leadered jig rigs are effective for rubble bouncing, but be prepared to lose tackle. Cut baits such as squid, bluefish and croaker work well, and smelts, shiners and Gulp! artificials also get the nod. Lots of small fish seek cover on reef site junk, and offer a ready food supply for flounder roaming the areas. Fishermen noted that they found little spot, croakers, ling, trout, blues, silver perch, sea robins, pigfish, sea bass and others on the deck that fluke spit up when brought aboard. So, it stands to reason that offering up live baits such as spot will get the attention of resident flatfish. As an example of how good the flounder catching has been this season for crews that are dialed in on working structure, guys on the Katydid kept 29 fish to 6 pounds on Saturday, bringing the boat's total number of keepers for the summer to over 600! Dennis Fish and friends joined Captain Carey on the Grizzly Saturday to put 27 flatties to 6 pounds in the box. Captain Pete's fishermen had 13 flounder and 42 blues Saturday aboard Top Fin. Captain Vince limited out a recent 2 person charter on Miss Kirstin, with 8 nice flatties from the Star Site. There is a load of bait in Delaware Bay, with schools of bunker, silversides and anchovies showing in many locations. During moving tides, hordes of snapper bluefish herded bait up against the shoal off the tip of Cape Henlopen. Baitfish forced to the surface were easy picking for blues below and birds above, and the ensuing melee involved diving gulls, terns and pelicans all vying for their share. Snapper blues were seen feeding around the Outer Wall and on the Star Site as well. Casting bucktails or metal spoons and jigs is a fun way to catch the scrappy choppers. In addition to surface action with blues, bottom bouncers got into plenty of croakers both inside and outside the Outer Wall, and on Reefs 5 and 8. Clams, squid, shrimp and Fishbites were favored by hungry hardheads. Size of the croakers has increased, with more fish over 12 inches being landed. Captain Ted's boats at Angler's Fishing Center have been returning with nice batches of hardheads, along with kingfish, spot, blowfish and spike trout. Captain Jim on the Hawkeye has had several successful half day trips, returning with a nice mix of panfish. Triggerfish have been hanging around Bay reefs and wrecks, and Captain Brian's fares on Little Angler II have had triggers mixed in with their croakers. All the panfish activity in the Bay has attracted larger predators, and there have been numerous sharks around. Fishermen have tangled with sand tigers, browns and other species. Captain Brian on Lil' Angler II has tagged and released many big sand tigers. Captain Pete on Top Fin was sharking outside the Outer Wall Wednesday when he hooked a 5 foot sandbar shark that as bitten in half by a much more sizeable toothy critter. Kinda' makes you think twice about taking a swim...Ocean bottom bouncers did well on flatfish. The Old Grounds southeast of DB Buoy gave up flounder, and rough bottom in the vicinity of DA Buoy also held fluke. Captain Charlie's flukers on Tranquila scored 14 quality keepers while drifting near DA Thursday. Captain Les had some good Ocean fluking on Martha Marie this week too. Reef site 10 continues to give up some impressive flounder. Matt Baker checked in a 9.91 pound trophy doormat he decked there while drifting live spot. Site 11 also offered some decent fluking over the past week.

Delaware Bay bottom bouncers have enjoyed fun fishing recently. There are plenty of croakers both inside and outside the Outer Wall, as well as on Reef Sites 5 and 8. Size of the hardheads has improved, with some fish over 12 inches reported. Clams, squid, bloodworms, shrimp and Fishbites were popular baits. Spot, kingfish, spike trout, blowfish and triggerfish were also part of the mix available, and were hooked using the same offerings. Snapper bluefish have been numerous too. They could be seen crashing schools of shiners in rips on the shoals inside and outside the Outer Wall. Casting bucktails or flashy metal lures would result in strikes from the rampaging little choppers. Flounder action has been good for those who know how to work the artificial reefs. Sites 6,7 and 8 were productive. Bucktails and bottom rigs both got bit. Captain Brent fished an afternoon 4 hour trip on Katydid Wednesday at the Star Site. During the first part of ebb tide, his anglers put 20 quality flounder in the box, out of 64 that they caught using squid, smelts and shiners. Ocean flounder fishing was decent too. Brent ran Katydid to Site 10 for his morning trip Wednesday, and returned with 23 nice flatties to 6 pounds. The Old Grounds southeast of DB Buoy, and bottom structure west of DA Buoy also yielded flatfish and sea bass. Captain Pete on Top Fin told of good tautog catching on an ocean wreck Wednesday. His fares culled a nice batch of keepers from many that they caught. Tuna activity has slowed since the hot chunk bite a couple weeks ago. A few yellowfins were taken by trollers between the Hambone and 30 Fathoms. Captain Les on Martha Marie pulled a Joe Shute lure at the Cigar Wednesday for a 50 pound yellowfin. Captain J.W. Hocker on the Miss Caroline trolled near the Tea Cup over the weekend to put a nice wahoo on ice, and release an estimated 200 pound blue marlin. Deep water bottom fishing was productive. Bill Swords and his crew on Swordsfish dropped in Washington Canyon Saturday for 11 golden tilefish, including Jake Kaplan's 43.5 pounder, 6 gray tile, and 35 knothead sea bass. Andrew Schneider was dropping in the Norfolk Canyon Saturday when he hooked an 18.6 pound citation blueline tilefish.