Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
The unofficial end of summer went out with a bang this past Labor Day weekend. Light winds and lots of bunker both off the beach as well as inshore had anglers targeting blues, rockfish and trout.
Sea Bass
After Labor Day usually starts the beginning of our fall sea bass season. This summer has been exceptional for sea bass and I for one am looking forward to seeing the big trophy sea bass come in this fall. As the temperature in the ocean begins to cool, sea bass should begin to move further inshore. We saw some of that last week as lots of nice sea bass were coming to the docks including a few large knotheads. Clam remains the hot bait but squid is a very close second. As the fall season gets under way trying a flat fall jig or diamond jig is a great alternative to bait. Ocean Arsenal offers a new sea bass jig which I have heard is already making a big mark on the sea bass population. The key to jig fishing is a slow fall and not using too aggressive of a retrieve on the upward pull of the lure.
Flounder
Flounder at the Old Grounds remains good. Big Gulp baits on a high low rig as well as bucktails tipped with 6” gulp remains your top baits. Most coral grounds are full of small and medium sea bass making it a little more difficult to reach the flounder before getting bit by a sea bass. Try using a live spot or larger bait to keep sea bass at bay. Inshore Site #10 has also produced some nice fish up to 6 lbs. As the tourists leave, Site #10 will be less crowded and should yield better and bigger numbers of fish. In the back bays the water is still very warm. Keeper ratio is about 10:1. At the Indian River Inlet, the flounder are tight against the rocks. Fishing a slower moving tide will help to keep you from hanging up.
Cobia/Rockfish/Bluefish
The mullet are here. Many large schools can be found just a short distance from shore. Many fish such as rockfish, blues, and sea trout are feeding below these schools. The best method for fishing these pods from a boat is to use a snag hook and catch a fresh bunker, insert a circle hook in the back and send it back down. This injured baitfish will quickly draw the attention of predators cruising the area. Snag hooks can be purchased at both Hook-em and Cook-em locations, Rick's Bait & Tackle and Old Inlet as well as. Old Inlet reports that many schools came in close to the inlet this week resulting in catches of blues and even some keeper rockfish. The cobia fishing has been fair but growing with several fish being caught just outside the inlet areas. Wally Borgmann boated a whopping 78.5 lb, 63½ inch monster last Tuesday inside the 3 mile limit between Bethany and Fenwick Beaches using live bunker. Casting an eel or swimbait to these sighted fish is the method being used with live eels accounting for most of the fish being caught. As a reminder, the cobia season ends Sept.15th and the minimum size is 40”.
Surf Fishing
The surf has been producing a mixture of bluefish and kingfish. Small cut baits or bloodworms are still your best baits. As the colder weather moves in over the fall, fishing on the beach is usually the best of the year! Several surf fishing tournaments are usually held over the fall, fewer this year due to the pandemic. The 23rd Annual 2020 Delaware Seashore Fall Surf Fishing Classic organized by Old Inlet Bait & Tackle is on for September 26 and 27th, check their website for details and registration. Big bluefish will begin to move in as temps cool off. Big rockfish and slammer bluefish can be caught on cut bait. I have also heard several reports of pompano being caught off the Delaware beaches this week. Most are fairly small but still make a tasty sandwich.
Clams and Crabs
Clamming remains red hot. The areas have cleaned up and the mud we dealt with earlier in the year is mostly gone leaving a sandy area with easy raking. I went out this past week near the VFW in Ocean View and managed around 50 clams in less than an hour. Most clams were medium to large but several smaller (but legal) clams were found making a nice dinner of clams casino. Now if I could only catch bacon! Crabbing remains solid however the salinity levels seem to be low. This means if your pots are left for a full three days you will find a few crabs dead in the pots. I believe this to be from lack of oxygen in the water combined with all the rain lately. We have started pulling our pots every two days and that has made a big difference. Bunker remains the best bait. Note that we were checked again by DNR at Vines Creek Marina this week. As always, our encounter with DNR was very pleasant and we even got one of their boat towels they were giving away.
So as temps cool the fishing gets hot... Tight lines and fins up. §
