Fishing Report

There has been a good tuna bite so far this season. Bluefins normally show up this time of year, however, it's encouraging to hear of numerous yellowfins that have been caught over the past week. Wes Olson and crew trolled Green Machines and spreader bars inshore of the Wilmington Canyon for 3 yellowfins to 36 pounds. Captain Tom Cornell's guys aboard High Hook had 8 yellowfins in 40 fathoms between the Wilmington and Baltimore Canyons. They finished the day with an 88 pound bluefin that George Durant decked near Massey's Canyon. Jim Short and the boys on Knot Right put 4 forty pound yellowfins in the box while trolling the Wilmington Canyon. Angelo Delapo's anglers aboard Spoiled III trolled up five keeper yellowfin and their one allowable bluefin. Jimmy Reed, Mike Cannon and friends worked the West Wall of the Baltimore to ice eight yellowfins. Bill Swords and his buddies trolled up 4 nice yellowfins then switched to deep dropping for a good catch of golden tiles. Yellowfins were spread from 40 to 60 fathoms in several spots between the Wilmington and Poor Man's Canyons. Bluefins seemed to be more prevalent inshore, between the Hambone and Hot Dog, on the Chicken Bone and at Massey's Canyon. All of the trollers reported many short tuna and skipjacks.

False Albacore made an early arrival, and schools of big albies roamed the same structure as the yellowfins and bluefins. Chopper bluefish were feeding on the Hambone and other inshore lumps too. Sharking has been decent. Herb Guest and the guys on Port-A-Bella brought in a 150 pound mako. They had that shark and several others while drifting the Elephant Trunk. Sea Bass action was fair at Reef Site 11. Bassers had to weed through mostly short fish to end up with some to take home. Anchoring was more productive for keepers. Cod have been mixed in on the the same structure as bass, and offered a pleasant bonus for bottom bouncers. Ocean flounder fishing came on in the past couple days. Captain Ricky Yakimovicz reported good fluking in 80 feet of water between DB and DA Buoys. Fishermen using 3 to 4 ounce bucktails tipped with a strip of fresh bait did well. Shark, mackerel, bluefish and skate were great cut baits. Delaware Bay flounder fishing was fair, with a few keepers coming from reef sites 5,6,7 and 8. Flounder continue to be pulled from Lewes Canal. Gulp! artificials have been highly effective all spring.

Flatties were caught at the Cape Henlopen Pier too. Black drum were caught at the Coral Beds over the weekend, but that fishing will likely wind down soon. Jordan Stradling scored her first drum, weighing 34 pounds, on Saturday night. Stripers roamed the rocks of the Ice Breakers and Outer Wall, and could be tempted with buctails, Storm Shads and Bomber plugs. The bite was best in the evenings or after dark. Evan Falgowski was surprised when two big drum grabbed Stretch Plugs he was using for stripers near the Haystacks.

The season's first thresher shark was brought to the dock on Memorial Day, and it was a whopper! Captain Ted Moulinier took the Pirate King to his favorite sharking grounds northwest of DB Buoy, and returned with a 487 pound longtail. Captain Brian Wazlavek and Alex Capozio shared winding time on the reel. The crew attempted to wrestle the big shark aboard after it was caught, but it was too heavy to get over the gunwale, so they towed it home. The mammoth thresher attracted plenty of attention at the Marina, and yielded quite a pile of delicious steaks. Other threshers were reported along the Buoy Line and in the Fingers. Makos were also taken at the Hambone and in the Fingers. Bluefish were plentiful in the same areas, and trollers caught choppers in the 8 to 15 pound range. Bluefish were also found on the lumps southeast of Delaware Light.

There was a good tuna bite over the weekend. Yellowfins showed up outside The Rockpile, between Poor Man's and Washington Canyons. There were a lot of small fish below the 27 inch minimum, but crews were able to cull out decent numbers of keepers. Some tuna were in the 30 to 40 pound range. Bluefins were mixed in with yellowfins, and most boats had their limit of one.

Mark Stephens and his buddies trolled up 10 keeper yellowfins and released many others at the "800 Square" of the Washington Sunday. It's encouraging to see good tuna action, and hopefully it will be a great offshore season. Bill Swords and friends enjoyed some fine offshore bottom fishing. They had 16 tilefish to 35 pounds, plus nice sea bass and ling while deep dropping in the Baltimore Canyon. Sea Bassers at Reef Site 11 picked away at fish, and anchoring seemed more productive than drifting. Hobby Isaacs iced the biggest bass we've see so far this year, a 5.62 pound knothead. Chuck Coverdale caught a 3.59 pounder on the Angler. Back inshore, flounder are still coming from Lewes Canal. Thurman Stanley caught an 8.1 pound doormat right in front of the store Tuesday morning while fishing with a chartreuse Gulp! Ethan Boyle used a white Gulp! to catch his 3.46 pounder. Flounder also came from the Cape Henlopen Pier. Some flounder have been caught in the Bay east of Fourteen Foot Light, and on Reef Site 7. Croakers have started to move into the Bay as well. Surfcasters on Broadkill Beach caught small hardheads, and fishermen on the Cape May Ferry Jetties had them too. Black drum lingered at the Coral Beds. Ogden Lester landed a 68.6 pounder on the Miss Kirstin, and Phil Spare scored a 72.1 pound boomer on Joint Venture.

The Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament was a great success. Over 300 anglers participated in the event, and many flatties were caught. Frank Zeccola was the big winner with a 7.25 pound doormat. Nikki Rice nailed Second with her 4.35 pounder. A 4.32 by John Mitchell took Third. Ron Webster wound in the the Fourth Place 4.31 pounder. Ed Bush boated a 4.17 for Fifth. Bobby Smith scored Sixth with his 4.11, and Tom Hudson had Seventh with a 4.04 pound fluke. In addition to cash prizes awarded to the top finishers, more than $1,500 was raised for Camp Awareness Youth Programs.

Many thanks to all who took part in the Tourney. Brian Clark captured a 5.94 pound flatfish in the Canal, but unfortunately it happened the day before the Tournament. Flounder fishing was good at night for sharpies working the Cape Henlopen pier using small jigs tipped with shiners or herring.

Waders inside the Cape and between the piers also hooked flounder. Frank and Sue Gaworski had three keeper flounder and released several others, along with some nice weakfish and puppy drum while tossing Bass Assassins around the old Broadkill Jetty. The striper bite in Indian River Inlet last week was the best most area fishermen have seen in a long time. Schools of big, migratory post spawn bass pushed through the inlet with each flood tide and fed aggressively on bunker, shad, small trout, kingfish or whatever happened to be in front of them. It was a bonaza for both jetty jocks and boaters. As word of the action spread, the crowds grew, and it was common to see casters lining the rocks elbow to elbow the full length of both jetties, most of them with bent rods. Upwards of a hundred boats drifted the inlet at the same time. The best catching took place at night. Although tempers flared among some anglers in the crazy scene, fishermen who kept their cool were rewarded with rockfishing rarely seen.

Gary Kaminski checked in a brace of bass weighing 32.5 and 34.1 pounds he caught with bucktails. Harry Blades and Shane Townsend had limits while drifting Storm Shads on multiple trips to the inlet. Their take included Shane's 31 pounder and Harry's 23.2 pound rock. Bill Lux brought in a 29.1 pounder using a bucktail tipped with herring. Dominic Coviello fooled his 28 pound striper with a white bucktail. Mason Newsham trolled a Stretch 30 plug to nail a 27.8 pound linesider. Joe Bowski bucktailed bass of 24.3 and 17.6 pounds. Jim Weber wound in a 25.5 pounder with a Storm Lure. Phil Chandler had a 23 pounder, and Ricky Chorman captured a 24.5 pound rock. Brock Kauffman caught a 22.3 pounder on an eel. Drew Rose was casting a Bomber plug when he connected with a 20.3 pounder. Striped bass also came from Delaware Bay. Timmy Barnett, Chad Tingle and Vince Lahr trolled Stretch plugs along he edge of Hen and Chickens Shoal for their limit of lunkers to 31.5 pounds. Other crews reported rock while casting Storm Shads and Bomber plugs around the Ice Breakers and Outer Wall. Joe Zaleski boated a 35 pound bass while soaking a bunker chunk at Site 2. A few stripers were taken from the surf at Herring Point and in Roosevelt Inlet by anglers using bunker and clams. Black Drum continued to come from the Coral Beds and submerged pilings off Slaughter Beach. Martha Clemmer landed a 71.5 pound behemoth, one of four boated Thursday night aboard Martha Marie. The Miss Kirstin returned with 5 drum Friday evening. Grizzly's guys got seven on Saturday night. Paul Grim decked a 68 pounder on the Indian. Jake McNitt managed a 66.9 pound drum on the Pirate King II. John Mancuso muscled in a 61.1 pound boomer. Kahekili Gomez was drumming on the Joint Venture when he hooked his 67.8 pounder. Many drum have been pulled from the surf at Broadkill Beach. Clam or peeler crab on a short leadered fishfinder rig produced plenty of puppies from 10 to 25 pounds at the end of ebb tide and beginning of the flood. There was much excitement over the opening of sea bass season Sunday. Boaters had good catches at Reef Site 11, and on wrecks in 100 to 120 foot depths. The crew on Katy Did returned with a limit of quality bass and several cod on Sunday. Captain Pete Haines and Bob Witte iced their limit of nice bass Sunday aboard Top Fin. Bassers on the Lil' Angler II had good catches as well. Bill Swords and his buddies had a box of big bass and a bunch of cod aboard Swords Fish. It's encouraging to see cod in such numbers again. Crews working structure in twenty fathoms in search of sharks and tuna encountered plenty of big bluefish. Wes Olson said it was all the slammers you wanted at the Hambone. Blues were also caught by sharkers at the Fingers and Jackspot. Jon Kitchen reported that an overnighter to the Carteret Canyon produced a blue shark, three small yellowfin tuna, a pair of big dolphin and surprisingly, three wahoo. Warm water has been working it's way inshore, and trollers tell of catching bluefins along temperature breaks this side of the canyons.

Black drum turned on in Delaware Bay this past week. Best of the action occurred in shallow water off Slaughter Beach. Boats anchored near the submerged pilings and baiting with surf clams did well. Bites occurred during both daylight and nighttime hours. Some crews reported double digit catches over the weekend. Fish have generally been small males in the 10 to 30 pound range, but a few big boomers have been brought back to the dock. Rebecca Hollingsworth boated a 70.5 pounder aboard the Martha Marie. Doug, Jeff and Lucas May, Mike Goshen, and DJ Kline had 4 drum to 35 pounds on the Pirate King. Rocky Morgan was surprised when a 47.5 pound drum grabbed a green crab he was using for tog bait along the Inner Wall aboard the Indian. Will Wiedmann landed a pair of drum to 20 pounds while soaking clams in the surf at Broadkill Beach. Drum fishing should continue good through this month with peak time around the full moon.

We will be carrying surf clams but suggest you call to reserve bait early in the week to ensure you have clams for the weekend. Flounder fishing has been decent in the Lewes Canal and in shallow water near the Cape Henlopen Pier. Minnows, shiners and smelt were popular offerings. A strip of herring or bunker on a small jig was effective too. Scot Anderson checked in a 4.63 pounder he caught in the Canal. Jay Fleming pulled a 4.3 pounder from the pilings at the Cape Henlopen Pier. Good news is that the minimum size for flounder in Delaware dropped from 18 1/2 inches to 18 inches as of May 11. The creel limit remains at 4 per angler per day.

Remember the Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament Friday May 20th. Stripers showed up along the Outer Wall. Chad Tingle and Timmy Barnett took their limit of rockfish to 38 inches while casting Storm Shads along the Wall at night. Striped Bass bit in Indian River Inlet as well. Mike Graham, Don Hallacher and Justin Hallacher had their limit of 6 bass from 18 to 27 pounds while tossing Storm Shads in the Inlet Sunday night. Stripers also still came from the surf. Curt Stephens captured a 16.3 pound linesider using clams in the wash at Cape Henlopen. Togging was very good up until the season closure on May 11th. Tog were taken from Bay reef sites, the Inner and Outer Walls, and the Ice Breakers. Chip Kelly wrestled a monster 16.6 pound blackfish from Site 6. Toggers on Top Fin had their limit Sunday morning, including a 9.67 pounder for Pae Bae. The Grizzly returned with limits both days of the weekend. Captain Ted's tog anglers on the Indian limited out and were back at the dock by lunch time on the last day of the season. Jim Sieja scored a 12.32 pounder on the Indian. Don Straughn sneaked in his citation 8.97 pound tog before the season ended. Sheila Stohler got a 7.16 pound citation winner.

The annual Lewes Harbour Canal Flounder Tournament, sponsored by the Dewey Beach Lions Club takes place Friday May 20, 2011. This is a flounder only tournament, and all state and federal regulations apply. Fishing must be done from a boat that is not moored to land. Fish must be caught on hook and line. Entry fee is $25 cash per angler. There is no limit to the number of anglers per boat, but safety should be kept in mind. Five dollars of the entry fee will be donated to the Camp Awareness Youth Fishing Tournament, benefiting young area anglers. The remaining money will collect in a pool, and be split among anglers weighing in the six heaviest flounder as follows: First Heaviest-35% of the pool, Second Heaviest-25%, Third Heaviest-20%, Fourth Heaviest-10%, Fifth Heaviest-5%, Sixth Heaviest-5%. The angler who catches the Seventh Heaviest flounder will receive a $100 Lewes Harbour Marina Gift Certificate. The more anglers that enter, the larger the dollar values of the prizes.

Anglers must register at Lewes Harbour Marina before 7am May 20, 2011. No sign ups will be accepted after the start time of 7am on that day. Fishing hours are from 7am to 3pm May 20, 2011. The boundaries for fishing are the Rehoboth Bay Canal entrance to the Oyster Rocks ramp on Broadkill River. You may fish within Roosevelt inlet, but not past the red and green markers at the entrance. No fishing permitted in Delaware or Rehoboth Bay. Flounder may be weighed at the Lewes Harbour Marina scale any time between 7am and 4pm May 20, 2011. No weigh ins after 4pm on that date. It is strongly recommended that flounder be weighed in live, and brought to the scale soon after it is caught. In the event of a tie for weight, the flounder weighed earliest takes the higher prize. Joe Morris can disqualify any questionable flounder if he feels the fish was not caught during the Tournament. Anglers fishing must give the right of way to any vessel underway in the Canal.