Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Well this week it got cooler… just kidding, it's been extremely hot and so is the fishing! Both offshore and inshore fishing is full throttle as we hit mid summer. Flounder remains the main inshore target but the other species have also really turned on.
Flounder, Sheepshead & Croaker
Flounder in the back bays has really gotten good this year. In the Delaware Bay most of the shoal area is holding nice flounder. Drifting live minnows and squid along the rise and drop offs of the shoals is your best method for targeting these fine fish. Looking to Indian River, the flatties are everywhere. Steve Mariner fished out of Indian River and ended up with a 3 man limit of nice big flounder. Not a bad day at all. Mark Bonk weighed in an impressive 8.8 lb. and 28 ¼” flounder at Hook’em & Cook'em Tackle shop this week. Mark caught the fish drifting with Gulp baits. The “Fishing Tradition” out of the Indian River also ended up with a limit plus a few throwback keepers on Wednesday. Frank Tucker and Joe Waski were at it again this week catching 12 keeper flounder from 18-22 inches. Rick Paskowski also caught a few nice fish for dinner. Although the flounder seem to be everywhere, fishing during the week along the main channel edges is your best bet for targeting these fish. The sand bars have gotten overrun on the weekends with boats covering every inch of them. With all the people in the water and boats driving up to and away from the sand bars, the fishing really shuts down on the weekend. Rehoboth Bay is a little less crowded, as well as the channel up towards the power plant. Looking to the coral grounds, the fishing is superb. The Old Grounds as well as coral near A Buoy are on fire. Using big Gulp baits or live spot is the key to getting some really big fish. Targeting coral on a dropoff or along the shipping channel is the place you want to be. Michele Kingwas out on the Old Grounds and her crew managed some real trophy fish. Zandar Plaches left Indian River at 6:15 am and they were limited out by 9:40 am catching over 25 flounder and keeping 10 to bring home for dinner. They ranged between 19-22". Joseph Blair caught a nice limit on Thursday. Sheepshead are all along the rocks of Indian River as well as on a few wrecks near shore. Ryan West caught a slab of a sheepshead on the rocks of the Indian River Inlet on Thursday. Crab or sand fleas are your best baits for these fish. On the near shore wrecks, once you find a wreck that you believe holds sheepshead, drop down some crab or sand fleas on a small hook with the lightest line you can and hold the rod feeling for the slightest tap. They do not attack baits but in fact peck at them trying to steal the bait from the hooks. Further offshore at the Fenwick Shoals, bluefish and weakfish are being caught on a regular basis. Dave Miersch caught several bluefish and spanish mackerel on the troll out at the shoals. Small spoons or bucktails are the best when trolling. Dave also reports that when the tide was moving he consistently had fish on his lines and more were ready to eat his lures, however once the tide changed the bite completely stopped. Sam Reeder caught several croaker and weakfish just outside of Indian River Inlet on Tuesday. Croaker have begun to show up both in the back bays as well as on near shore humps just outside of the inlet. Small pieces of squid or bloodworms are the best baits for this type of fishing. Targeting structures like the Bethany Sewer Pipes are a great place to look for these fish. The shoals just outside of the bridge are another great spot that will only get better as the water warms up.
Sea Bass, Cobia & Sharks
Sea bass remains pretty strong, however, the water is getting a bit warm for these fish. Targeting cooler water in a depth of over 100 feet will greatly increase your chance of finding keepers. Inshore the ratio is about 10 throwbacks to one keeper. Clam and squid appear to be working about the same for these fish. Cobia is slow to take off this year with many fish still further south near the Virginia line. Near shore sharking is in full swing with tons of dusky sharks as well as a few hammerheads being reported in the 40-60 foot depth areas.
Surf Fishing & Crabs
Surf fishing is in summer mode with mostly spot and kingfish being caught on bloodworms. The hour leading up to and after high tide appears to be the best time to fish the surf.
Clamming was once again great this week with last week's storms cleaning up the water. 10-15 keepers per pot was the average for this week. Once again targeting the deeper water along the channels is producing better numbers and bigger crabs.
Until next week...
Tight lines and fins up
