Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Heavy storms pummeled our area last week, causing big downpours and flooding throughout. Nearshore wrecks are full of undersized bass as well as several smaller croakers. Flounder fishing on both the wrecks and coral grounds is improving, with more keeper fish being found and willing to take anglers' offerings. The Shoals near the beach are seeing more activity from Spanish mackerels, cobia, sheepshead, and triggerfish. The back bays and inlets have also heated up considerably, bringing more fish into the bays. The deeper areas of the inlets are producing the best chances for keeper fish.
Nearshore Wrecks and Reefs
The nearshore wrecks and coral grounds are holding a ton of fish; however, the main catch is both undersized sea bass and flounder. The number of keeper fluke has gotten better than in previous weeks, but there is still around 10 throwbacks to every keeper, with most fish being between 16 and 17 inches. The Fenwick Shoals have been producing Spanish mackerel and bluefish on the troll with small spoons from sunup until around 9 a.m. A few spadefish have also shown up on the shoals. Use a small #1 red hook about 15 ft down from a float tipped with a chunk of fresh clam to entice these fish to bite. Cobia have been spotted near the Old Grounds and on the shoals just south of the inlet. I have not heard of many fish being hooked up as of yet by anglers using bucktails. Anyone targeting these fish might try using live eels for better results. Boujee Bait CO. has had several customers who have returned with big doormat flounders this past week. A few fish even topped the 7 lb mark. “Wreck Dawg Fishing” also had a few good trips last week, bringing home limits of flounder (24 pieces) and a handful of pesky sea bass. Nick Nickels found out that Site 11 is still holding a few keeper sea bass when he fished and landed too many shorts to count. He did manage to bring home over ten keepers. Great job Jim! Captain Brin from Fishermans Wharf reports that they caught a lot of better-quality fish this past week, and it looks like the flounder are starting to turn on for the summer season. The “Captain Bob” and “Judy V” were out at the Old Grounds and, despite a few close storms, had some good trips, delighting anglers with catches of sea bass and flounder. These headboats are a great way to experience fishing offshore without breaking the bank or losing a whole day of vacation. The 4- and 5-hour trips that are offered by local head boats are perfect for tourists and locals alike.
Back Bays and Inlets
The back bays and inlets have a ton of small fish in them and are a great place to introduce a child or novice fisherman to the sport. Small hooks and squid will catch the most fish, and although most will not be keeper-size, they will keep even bored kids entertained. The inlet area is producing some nice flounder during the day, along with a few rockfish and blues at night. The Delaware Bay appears to be loaded with small croaker as well as some nice doormat fluke on the shoals. The Roosevelt Inlet has also been producing nice keeper fluke along with some sheepshead near the Ice Breakers. Nick Garcia and Pops hit the Rehoboth Bay and caught over 25 flounder with only a few keepers. The water temp in the bay is around 75 degrees and is supplying plenty of action. Hector Cerdan was in the DE Bay and found 3 keepers on the shoals willing to bite his offering. Charles Dougherty was at Site 4 and had croakers ready to strike by the truckload. Henry Busby along with Larry Lee fished the bay and were able to land a few nice fish to invite home for dinner. Fishing was good enough that they even posted a video on YouTube. The 609 Fishing Group had a few good days last week landing sheepshead off the wall and ice breakers using frozen bait. Fishing was good enough that they even posted a video of their trip on YouTube. Greg Allen fished the inlet all week landing several small stripers up to 26 inches while drifting sand fleas. He was upset not to be able to locate any sheepshead on his trips. Nick Miller had a good day fishing the inlet wall and landed a nice slammer bluefish on cut bait. Jacob White fished the inlet and was rewarded with a nice limit of flounder up to 25 inches. Slack Tide Kayak Fishing found its first sheepshead while at IR Inlet, landing a nice 17.5-inch fish drifting sand fleas. Adrian Dandridge caught a ton of short fluke along with a nice 20-inch keeper drifting near the inlet. Gulp baits were his chosen bait.
Surf Fishing
Surf fishing is slow, with small blues being taken on mullet rigs and croakers, spot, and kingfish being caught using pompano rigs and squid pieces. Hector Certan was out at the point on Thursday and caught a limit of flounder on squid strips and minnows. Eric Sutton fished Bethany Beach in the morning until the tourist showed up and landed several decent-sized croakers using sand fleas and a pompano rig. Eric reports the fish were landed two at a time for most of the morning. Jeff Pitts also got in on the strong croaker bite up at Bowers Beach landing some nice fish to bring home for the fryer. Michael Bator also loaded up on the croaker and had plenty of taco meat for his 4th of July family cookout. Old Inlet has plenty of surf fishing supplies for anglers looking to cash in on the croaker runs going on right now, and can give great advice on how to set up and score on these tasty fish. Check out the knowledgeable crew at the shop and check out their assortment of rods, lures, and rigs for all kinds of fishing.
Crabs and Clams
Crabbing has hit its stride, with crab pots being loaded with crabs. Most pots contain at least 10 keepers per pot. Deeper water in the 6-10 ft range is producing best, and bunker is still the preferred bait over chicken. Trotlining is very reliable with anglers using a 600 ft trotline to gather a bushel of crabs in about 3 hours. For a very insightful video on trotlining check out Fish IN OC's new YouTube video. If you mention the video or this article you will get a discount on trotlines purchased from Kohr Crabbing Supply in Millville DE.
Clamming is also very productive, with clams being easily raked up and limits can be had in less than one hour. The limit on clams is 100 for residents and 50 for out-of-state anglers.
Until Next Week,
Tight Lines and Fins Up
