Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
The winds came out of the north east this week and the Atlantic Ocean was an angry girl. Many anglers remained at the docks but those that did manage to get offshore found some nice fish.
Seabass
This is the start of our fall sea bass season. From this point on sea bass should start moving inshore and staging on the near shore wrecks. Right now sea bass are mostly on the deeper wrecks in about 100 ft of water. Several nice keepers have been coming in all summer. Targeting the down current sides of the wrecks with salted clam or jigs seams to be the ticket to some really nice knot heads. Many anglers are using jigs such as the flat fall jigs, butterfly jigs and the new Ocean Arsenal sea bass jigs. Be advised when fishing these lures, pay attention on the drop down as this is when most of your bites will occur. As the water cools these bigger fish will move inshore to wrecks in the 40-60 ft range making them much easier to target. The wrecks are also full of trigger fish as well as many holding spade fish. A few blues have also been taken when fishing for sea bass.
Flounder
The back bay flounder is still fairly slow with a ratio of about 12 throwbacks to every keeper. The Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes remains a hotspot with many fish coming from the areas along the docks in the canal. Using live spot while drifting is a great way to bypass the smaller fish and target the keepers. You will not get near as many bites, but if its keepers you want this is the best method. The bay areas including Indian River are best targeted with squid and shiners for the best chance of catching fish. In the Indian River Bay, the area by the Coast Guard station has been a good area to target. The bay has been a lot less crowded with most of the tourists back home. The area right against the west wall has produced some nice flounder. This area has also seen some nice schools of croaker as well. Target the croaker with small pieces of squid or bloodworms. The croaker have been seen in large schools however, most of the fish are small. We have not seen the big fish we usually see. The end of croaker season-should be any day now as the water cools.
Sharks/Rockfish/Bluefish
The Indian River Inlet has been producing some decent Bluefish at night. Most anglers are using jigs and bucktails. These fish are close to the rocks so be prepared to lose a few rigs. Anglers are also using cut bait such as bunker and dragging these baits close to the bottom along the jetty walls. At night a couple keeper stripers have been taken from the jetty on live eels. Bucktails and other artificial lures will also work. The okuma eel is a great one to try as well as the old style almost alive rigged eels. Cut bait will work but the best bait is still live eels.
I have not heard of anyone trolling the beach area for rockfish yet this year, but with the water cooling the fish should begin moving though in the near future. My latest reports indicate that the rockfish are still in the northernmost areas of New Jersey. Dogfish sharks are beginning to come back inshore and are causing a tough time when fishing the near shore wrecks. Once these fish hone in on your bait the only option is stop fishing for a half hour or move to another wreck. Most anglers consider these fish a garbage fish however, in England, they are used for fish and chips.
Surf Reports
Blues and more blues are being reported in the surf. As the water cools a few more degrees we should see the slammer ones come in close. Mullet rigs are your best bait with cut bait on a circle hook a close second. The Delaware Seashore Fall Classic is scheduled for Sept 26-27th you can register at Old Inlet Tackle shop. Adult are $40 and children $15 This is always a great tournament s come out and have some fun.
Clams and Crabs
Crabbing remains very productive with the biggest and largest quantity of fish being found in 6-7 ft of water. The areas of 2-4 ft. seem to be oxygen deprived resulting in dead fish in your crab pots. Bunker remains the best baits and as these fish are larger, double baiting your pots is a good idea. Clams are also very productive with the best areas being the VFW and Holt’s Landing. Rehoboth Bay is also reporting some nice clamming areas.
As this is our last issue for the 2020 season, be sure to check out my Facebook account as I post reports and catches almost daily.
Tight lines and fins up! §
