Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Storms, lightning, more storms and more lightning followed by the end of the week power plant
implosion... what a week!
Luckily the end of the week calmed down a little, giving us a nice weekend and some great fishing when you could get out.
Flounder
Flounder really turned on in the ocean this week with big hauls of keepers coming from the Old Grounds as well as the nearby coral patches. Tyler Tribbitt took brother Matt out fishing on the Old Grounds for his birthday and were rewarded with limits of big flounder and sea bass. Although they released many back to the ocean to be caught another day, they did keep a few nice sized flounder and sea bass for dinner. Fish were caught on mostly Gulp with a few on squid and minnows along with cut bunker. Great job to all on the "Rock On" boat. Teresa Spence ran out of Lewes to some inshore structure and slammed the flounder. They reported the water finally hitting 64 degrees and the fish were much more aggressive and eager to strike a bait. Minnows on a fish finder rig was their weapon of choice and a good one it seemed to be. Several other reports from the Old Grounds as well as B Buoy also came in this week with Gulp being the primary bait used. Mike Glanden fished the Indian River bay for a half day trip and came up with 5 nice flatties. Mike says these fish came from 3 different holes that he knows of and that seemed to be the key to finding quality fish. Find the holes off the channel and target them. Using your depth finder and slow trolling along the edge of the channel is a great way to find deeper holes that many anglers overlook. Tip of the week: Be aware, especially with the storms this week, the channel and bars continue to shift and will open up new spots that you may have never seen before.
Sea Bass
Sea bass are still going strong . Many of the inshore wrecks as well as coral grounds have been hit hard and you will have to wade through several shorts to get a keeper but a nice catch for dinner can be had. Deeper wrecks offshore are still producing some bigger fish but will also need a 30 mile run to get there. For those of you that love and live for sea bass, the run is so worth it. Site 11, although picked over, is still producing some nice fish. Clam and squid are the top baits this week.
Rockfish, Blues & Trout
This week saw a slow down in rockfish caught both in the surf as well as Indian River. Cut bait and bucktails accounted for most of the undersized catches. I did not receive a lot of keeper reports. Old Inlet Tackle reports keeper rockfish and bluefish, both in the bay, have been slow with very few keepers. They also stated that have received a lot more reports of more trout being caught than bluefish. So the question is, where are the big bluefish? As for sea trout, Ron Beatty of Delmar caught a nice 3.6 lb. weakfish while fishing Indian River this week. The fish was caught on sand fleas and weighed in at Hook’em and Cook’em Tackle. I received reports that sea trout and weakfish were also caught up by the power plant. For those of you who don't live in the back area of the bay and didn't hear the deafening boom at 8 am Saturday, the power plant towers and structure were imploded. If you are one that fishes the back channel of the power plant be aware of this as some debris may have fallen into the water. The water will also be dirty for a few days I'm sure with the clean up going on.
Sea trout are fun and can be targeted by any shallow greasy area using a light simbait such as a paddle tail. Early morning or late evening is the best time to go.
Surf Report
A few spots and shad are still in the surf, but kingfish remain the big targeted fish. Blood worms or fish bites are the best bait. Areas up north towards the point look to be the most productive. A few smaller bluefish are being caught but not in the numbers we saw in previous years. Mullet rigs and dual float rigs are the best when targeting bluefish. Whole finger mullet or cut baits should be used. The storms we had this week should stir up the surf and will hopefully bring in some more fish this coming week.
Clams & Crabs
Crabs have really gotten good lately. Catches of 10-13 keepers per pot were the average for this week. I saw several very small juvenile crabs coming in the pots this week, a great sign that the spawn was a good one this spring. Clamming is also in full swing with Rehoboth Bay and Holt's Landing being the top spot to rake.
Until next week...
Tight Lines and Fins up §
