Article by Larry Jock
The weekend was a real mix weather-wise and for much of the time, anglers battled windy conditions both in the bay and offshore, making fishing very challenging due to dirty water.
At Rick’s Bait & Tackle in Long Neck, DE, Capt. Mike Behney said that the flounder bite in the Lewes Canal is much improved and pretty decent right now, but definitely not red hot. He hasn’t seen too many limits of 4 flounder coming in from his customers and they are having to deal with a lot of throwbacks.
Triggerfish seem to have shown up in good numbers at various Delaware Bay reef sites, along with Site 10 and around the Haystacks/Ice Breakers.
Anglers trolling the inshore lumps such as Fenwick Shoal are finding Spanish mackerel on the south side of the shoal in deeper water. Anglers fishing on top of the shoal are finding a load of snapper bluefish interested in their trolled spoons or drifted cut bait. Triggerfish have also been caught on the shoal and a few kingfish have been found also. Others have gotten into kingfish while trolling spoons between Buoys “A” and “B”. Mike said that he has also heard of at least 3 weakfish and some spadefish being caught at Fenwick Shoal last Sunday.
The Del-Jersey-Land reef site, which had been a hot spot for sea bass fishing early in the season has died out lately with more anglers sticking to the closer, familiar flounder fishing spots that have begun to heat up. Action at Site 10 has definitely picked up for flounder fishermen and they have even seen a few weakfish mixed in as well. A few trout, up to 20-inches, have also been caught in the Roosevelt Inlet and at several Delaware reef sites and around the Walls.
Matt Shoup at Fenwick Bait and Tackle reported a decent kingfish bite for anglers fishing the surf off Fenwick Island. Fish were caught mixed in with some 16 to 18-bluefish. At night, it has been the same old selection of sharks, rays and skates.
Matt’s customers looking for flounder headed to Ocean City and found a pretty good bite in the East Channel, but they had to stay on the move to find clean water.
Croakers were found in the OC Inlet at the mouth of the Commercial Harbor and his customers looking for sheepshead, tog and small stripers found them around the South Jetty. Matt himself even caught a 6 lb. sheepshead at the jetty on Sunday.
Anglers fishing in the Fenwick Ditch continue to experience a frustrating season, finding smaller stripers only interested in eels and possibly minnows. Matt said that those who normally throw Rat-L-Traps or other artificials just aren’t having much luck this season.
At the Hook’em & Cook’em Tackle Shop in the Indian River Marina, Capt. Bert Adams said that they did see some action in the Indian River Inlet last week with a few flounder being caught along the wall by the Coast Guard Station by anglers using Gulp Swimming Mullets. A few small croakers were also caught in the inlet with those hitting Fishbites on the north side between the Handicap Pier and the Bridge. At night, anglers are finding small stripers mixed in with snapper bluefish along the wall by the Coast Guard Station.
In the back bays, Bert said that he hasn’t heard much except for a few flounder being caught on the backside of Burton’s Island.
Off the beach outside Indian River, a few kingfish are being caught with a good batch of snapper bluefish found in the suds north of the Inlet.
Inshore, Bert’s customers who headed out to Fenwick Shoal found sheepshead and triggerfish along with a few king mackerel. An unnamed wreck, just off the beach produced some black drum for H&C anglers last week, so they are still around for the taking.
Headboats out of Indian River found good flounder fishing on Saturday while fishing in 80-feet of water where temperatures hovered around 74-degrees. On Sunday, the bite shut down due to dirty water and tough drift conditions due to the wind being against the tide.
Offshore, anglers picked at yellowfin tuna, primarily in the Washington Canyon, but also found a few closer to shore in 30 fathoms. Dolphin are up and down the line and have been found in good numbers recently. We are also seeing some nice size bulls being brought in, with a few topping 40 lbs. hitting the scales over the weekend. On Saturday, anglers on the “Line Out” brought back a 63 lb. wahoo after fishing in the Washington Canyon.
Until next week, have fun and tight lines!
