Article by Capt. BJ Pietryak
Last week in Delaware, the wind blew out of the northeast at a gale. The semi tropical storm heading north from Florida sent strong winds and rain up the east coast making it very difficult for boats to head offshore. Even larger headboats canceled many trips due to rough seas. For those that did get out, sea bass has gotten a little better than the dismal start we had for opening week. Flounder are getting stronger in the back bays as well as some are starting to arrive on the near shore wrecks.
Flounder & Back Bays
Old Inlet Bait & Tackle reported that the flounder have finally started showing up in the back bays. A steady flow of anglers are checking in with some nice flatties caught in the bays of Indian River.
Shawn Hastings checked into Hook'em & Cook’em Tackle with two of the first flounder brought in this season. The first measured 22 inches and weighed 2.5 lbs., the second was 19 inches and weighed 2.4 lbs. The fish were caught in the Indian River Bay on minnows.
Steve Gurczenski of Fairhill, MD, was fishing the inlet and caught a beautiful 24 inch, 4.5 pound speckled trout. It’s an early catch for this species but a much welcomed sight. Specks of this quality have been hard to find over the past few years. Years ago we had a big speckled trout and weakfish population, however the past 5 years has seen a big decline in catches of these fish for unknown reasons. Hopefully this year will be a better stock of fish coming into our area.
Chris Curliet checked in a 3.11 lb. flat fish at Lewes Harbour Marina. Conner Lucey also checked in with a big 4.95 lb. fluke he caught in the Lewes Canal. He was using live minnows from LHM. The marina has tons of tackle as well as baits for all your fishing needs. The staff is very helpful and can help both novice and seasoned anglers achieve the best results in their fishing exploits.
Tony Walls was up at the Cape Pier and hooked a 16.5 inch flounder. Lewes Ice House checked in a ton of flounder as well as some big blues out of the bay.
Gracie Hudson also fished the northern area at the Lewes Canal and caught a flattie on a Nick Rig. The smile on this young lady's face showed how happy she was with the catch. This is a nice reminder to take a kids fishing with you and pass along the skill and happiness to the next generation. Gracie had one of the biggest flounder in reports I received this past week. Girl power, as my daughter always says when she outfishes me-which yes, is most of the time!
Old Inlet Bait & Tackle reported the bite continues to improve both in the back bays as well as the ocean for the elusive flounder. Live minnow and squid combos are the best baits so far this early season.
Striper, Drum & Surf Report
Old Inlet Bait & Tackle reports there are some big fish in the surf. They held their Cast for a Cure Surf Team Tournament, with the highlight being striped bass up to 41 inches as well as a few around 38 inches. Robert Atkins released a big 41 inch striper from the area around the inlet. Live eels and floating sand fleas was the reported best bait for targeting these fish. Joseph Shultze had success on 3-5 pound blues in the surf. Most fish are being caught in the incoming tide close to high tide. Tim Wallace had the big 40 inch striper from the tournament.
Christopher Villanueva fished the surf and pulled in one of the biggest rough tail rays I’ve ever seen from the beach. It was hooked about 40 yards off the beach. Lauren O'Brien caught her first ever fish from the beach. The fish was a good sized kingfish. A few nice trout and kingfish have also been taken off the surf. John Unkart pulled a few out of the suds using a small kingfish rig. The kingfish have been a little further out around the second outer bar. Brandon Bowers got his first keeper striped bass off the surf this past week weighing 15 pounds. The “Freak”, Frankie Paul, was out with Rich King of DS Custom Tack and pulled in a few nice rockfish along with some big blues.
Jonathan Beile got his first striper off the beach along with a bluefish. Cut bait, clams, and sand fleas are the definite bait of choice for these big fish heading north for the summer. Jacob Raber stated that cut bunker was the ticket for his catches of some bluefish.
Joe Dinisio said the high winds kept many anglers off the beach this week and brought a lot of rays and skates in close together, giving him some hard fish to reel in. Mark Conklin pulled an undersized striper off the beach. Just a reminder, the new Delaware Surf Fishing reservations are in effect if you plan on using the drive on permit for the weekends.
Jenn Thornton went full on beast mode for her day on the beach bringing in fat bluefish. The big blues are perfect for the smoker and make a good fish dip or fish cakes.
Drum & Sea Bass
Sea bass was spotty at best, but this was mainly due to the high winds which made it difficult to stay on the wrecks. Many anglers could not maintain a slow enough drift even with a sea anchor out.
Drum are being caught in the surf, Delaware Bay and the near shore wrecks. Ted Proseus was out with Scott Riniker and brought some big black drum onto the boat.
Most of the tackle shops have gotten in fresh clam for targeting these fish but they sell out quickly. The drum should remain in the bay for a few more weeks spawning before moving on.
Until next week, with hopefully less wind and warmer temps...
Tight lines and fins up §
