Weekend fishing update

 

The bluefish are still here but the catches are random from the surf, but that doesn’t mean you should no try.  People are catching them at Fenwick Island to Beach Plum Island State parks.  Mostly this is happening as they move with the incoming tides, the fish not the anglers.  The Indian River Inlet was crazy over the weekend.  People were shoulder to shoulder trying to fish, catching fish, and each other for the most part.  The blues have been rolling in with the incoming tides and the better time this week will be with the morning incoming tides.  Striped bass are under the blue fish and shad, trying to pick off an easy meal.  You have to go deep, but they are down there.  Bucktails with soft plastics in white or yellow are working well to get to the striped bass.  Many people are catching fish under the forty-four inch limit and having to throw them back.  Many are none to happy about that, people should have asked or a one fish limit to comply with the ASMFC twenty-five percent reduction.  Oh well, it is good many in the size range from thirty-seven to forty-four inches have to go back in the water.  The stripers are not only hitting bucktails and spoons, but clam as well for bait in the surf.  That has been producing the most, but bunker chunks and mullet will work as well, and for bluefish.  The back areas of the inland bays are alive with huge schools of bluefish, but you need a boat or kayak to get to them.  I have been finding them in the strangest places and you would think they would not be in these areas, but we are catching them in less than eighteen inches of water.  Bunker are thick in schools in the inland bays too, so the blues are still chasing the bait.  The water at Masseys Landing has peaked to seventy-one degrees the past few days at low tide, and you would think that would drive out the bluefish, but they don’t seem to care.   The temperature of the inland bays has been fluctuating ten degrees between tides.

 

The other day Paul Higgs and Clinton McClutchen had a visitor approach their boat.  A small ocean sunfish or Mola Mola was checking them out swimming close to the surface.  They were a quarter-mile out of the inlet and the water was very clear.  Today Mike Kristiansen and his crew spotted one out there, possibly the same.  These fish will come close to the water’s surface so birds can pick parasites off their skin.  They have also been known to breach in order to try to remove parasites.  They will approach boats and divers out of curiosity.  We have had them in the inland bays before and it is always neat to see one.  they feed on jelly fish primarily, but also eat plankton and algae.  It is a bit too cold for jelly fish, so to see one of these this early is a bit rare.  Another early sighting is a burr fish that washed up on Dewey beach this afternoon.  It was small and in decent shape so it could not have traveled or floated too far to wash up on a Delaware beach.  Puffer fish are here so it is not surprising to see burr fish, but they usually don’t show up until it is a bit warmer. Maybe pompano will be here soon, lizard fish were caught in jersey the other day.  So far it has been a weird spring, especially if you consider the bluefish run we are still having.

 

The charter boats are doing well for sea bass, and catching some nice cod in the mix.  Katydid Sportfishing, Top Fin, and Anglers Fishing Center have been doing great.  If you need a charter, check them out in our business directory charter boat section.  The other fish that has blown up recently, black drum have finally made a serious appearance in the Delaware Bay.  Again the charters have been doing well once they find the fish, the surf has even produced them on the ocean beaches and more so on the bay beaches.  All on the incoming tides.  Clam is always the best baits for these behemoths.  Assateague is still seeing a strong run of black drum in the surf as well as the striped bass action that is picking up for the final leg of the spring run north.  Boats are also doing well going to the canyons and deep dropping for golden tilefish and a mahi mahi was caught the other day as well an almost hooked up white marlin, according to Joe at Lewes Harbor Marina.  That man has been busy these past few weeks cleaning fish non stop.  He does a great job and is very reasonable.  If you have nowhere to clean fish, and want to keep your catch, this is the best way to make that happen.  You won’t be disappointed in the quality of the filets and the cleaning job.  No muss no fuss when Joe is on the job.

 

Flounder action has been picking up and the Lewes Harbor Marina Flounder tournament went well this year with over four hundred participants, a new record.  Joe Morris … “The 2015 Canal Flounder Tournament was a great success. Turnout was the largest ever. Over 400 anglers fished the event, and more than $2,000 from entry money will be donated to Camp Awareness. Weather was good, but Canal water was murky. Flukers picked at fish during outgoing, however, the largest flatties were landed at the end of ebb tide. Winning flounder were pulled from all different sections of the Canal, and it didn’t seem like there was a concentration in any one spot. Many thanks to all who participated. We’re sure the winners will make the most of their braggin’ rights ’til next year’s Tourney “      I  visited the shop while the tournament was underway and there were a lot of boats in the Lewes canal.  I probably could have run from the draw bridge to the Roosevelt Inlet and never got my feet wet.   Flounder are also in the surf, inland bays, Masseys Landing, and are starting to get heavy in the off shore sites.  It is a shame the Henlopen fishing pier is closed I am sure the flounder fishing from there would be off the hook.   You can always kayak or wade the flats fishing, just be mindful of the boats and bluefish schools still in the area.  Jigging bucktails with gulp, fly fishing, or minnow drifting are popular techniques and all doing well.  Croaker are as far up as Woodland beach fishbites and squid are great baits this time of year, and small pieces of clam or shrimp.

 

The Military Appreciation Surf Fishing day was a blast!  Everyone had a great time and I want to thank everyone for coming out, helping and participating.  I especially want to thank Jim Haug for putting this together, he had a great idea for an event and it was well received.  The guys who came out from Home of the Brave were like kids in a candy store.  I don’t think I have ever seen anyone have that much fun catching skates and dogfish.  It showed the true joy of fishing, and why we all do this, if you aren’t having fun, you should find a new hobby.  These guys have all fished before but never in the surf.  It was a pleasure taking these folks fishing and meeting a lot of new people.  Many of our volunteers were active military and came out just to have a great day in the surf.  The Director of Delaware State Parks, Ray Bivens, and Delaware Seashore State Park Director Pat Cooper stopped by to meet everyone and gave out water bottles and one day passes to Fort Delaware.  They met with everyone and discussed some of the beach issues and many other concerns.  We had a great day  recognizing the men and women who sacrifice so much for our freedom.  We are going to make this an annual event on or around Military Appreciation Day.

 

Now there have been some concerns from some anglers about the recent bluefish run. People are cleaning fish and leaving the carcasses in the parking lot at the Cape Henlopen pier.  There have even been whole fish found on some of the beaches.   If you are not going to keep them, then release them.  Also if you are going to keep them, use a cooler so the fish do not dry out in the hot sun, and bleed them immediately for better tasting meat.  Cleaning them is fine, but it is preferred you dispose of the carcasses properly, throwing them on the sand or in the bushes in a state park is not considered properly.  The Salt Water Fly Anglers of Delaware had an event on Saturday and spent forty-five minutes cleaning up dead fish around the pier parking lot.   These boys mostly catch and release too, so you can imagine their disappointment.  Personally I take mine to Joe at Lewes Harbor Marina to get them cleaned.  He does an awesome job and is very reasonable for prices.  Not to mention it can be a highly entertaining place to see everyone’s catches and trade lies (fishing tales).  Anyway … please dispose of your carcasses properly and don’t leave whole dead fish on the beach.  That is just wrong and goes against everything many of us prefer as far as fishing etiquette.

 

Broadkill Beach replenishment is well underway and the crews are working twenty-four hours a day.  So far they have a decent amount of sand and based on the picture we were sent it is going to be a very wide beach.  We will see how the fishing is during and after this project.  I honestly think Beach Plum Island State Park is going to be much wider after a few storms.  The holes will fill in too which will change the surf fishing structure.  We will have to wait and see.  For those that do not know, this sand is the slurry from the Delaware Bay channel dredging project.  Originally they proposed to dump all of that sand on the coral beds for storage, for later use.  I would prefer it be pumped onto that beach, and I would really prefer it were pumped onto the breached sections of Fowlers Beach.  Tonight I volunteered to help rescue horseshoe crabs, apparently the folks working to do that are overwhelmed.  I seem to remember mentioning this would be an issue, we will see how bad this is later tonight.  I am sure they will need more volunteers I will keep you posted.  Check out the Business Directory Bait shop listings for a store near you.

 

Fish On!!

Rich King