Fishing Report

The 2011 Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament ended November 22nd. Many beautiful striped bass were caught and checked in during the event that started October 22nd. However, local trolling specialist Evan Falgowski was the big winner, taking First and Second Places with bass weighing 46.2 and 37.3 pounds. Evan's brother, Ryan Falgowski, had the Third Place 36.2 pound fish. Congratulations to the fishin' Falgowski family for their victory. Thanks to all who participated in the annual contest to make it a continuing success. Big rockfish are still coming from structure at the mouth of Delaware Bay.

Drifting live spot and eels has been effective, but those trolling Stretch 25+ and Bomber CD25 plugs took their share as well. Doug Mickowski muscled in a 41.8 pound monster while drifting an eel in deep water at 8 Buoy aboard Katy Did. Alex Neiss nailed his first ever striper, a whopping 41 pounder, while eeling in The Valley. Tammy Parker put girl power to work for her 38.9 pound rockfish. Scot Anderson trolled a pink Stretch 25+ at Overfalls for his 35.7 pounder. Jonathan Raimondi reeled in a 35.4 pounder in The Valley aboard Tranquila. Greg Wagner wrestled a 34.6 pound trophy in The Valley. Larry Lytle eeled at The Eights for his 34.6 pound lunker. Skipjack Skipper Chris Thurman showed 'em how it's done by decking a 34.3 pounder in The Valley. Mike Hynson had a 33.9 pound linesider at 8 Buoy. Joel Robinson registered a 33 pounder he caught in The Valley on the Pirate King II. Evan Falgowski fooled a 32.5 pound bass with a Bomber plug in the Outer Wall rip. Eric Buckingham boated a 30.8 pound bass aboard the Angler. Abraham Pangan put a 30.4 pounder in the box aboard Tranquila. Rhett Passwaters pulled a Stretch Plug at Overfalls for his near citation 29.7 pound rock. Kenny Ferro fought a 28.3 pound striper on the Angler. Judy Esterly eeled up a 28.1 pound beauty. Derek Johns decked his 27.6 pounder on the Adventurer. In addition to striper action, Bay fishermen enjoyed success with tautog. Captain Pete on Top Fin told of good trips to the Star Site. First time togger Kathy Vu was off to a fine start with the 11.39 pound blackfish she boated aboard the Lil' Angler II. John Leader landed a 7.6 pound tog. Captain Carey reported red hot togging for the sharpies aboard Grizzly on a Bay reef Monday. They kept 55 tog, including a 10 pounder for Lenny Zalewski, Alex Leventovsky's 9.5, a 9.25 for Ray Mazanec, and William Guzman's 8.75 pounder.

Carey said, in addition, the guys had seven other tautog over the 7 pound citation size while using "white legger" crabs. The Ocean surf has been pretty quiet, but shore bound anglers did have success with ling on the Cape Henlopen Pier. Cut mullet or clams worked for the tasty red hake. Stripers were taken by casters tossing 3 and 4 inch Storm Shads where Canary Creek opens up into Roosevelt Inlet.

Striper fishing remains good at the mouth of Delaware Bay. Numerous big bass have been taken from deep water rips of The Valley by boaters drifting eels and spot. Trollers pulling Stretch 25+ and Bomber CD25 plugs on Overfalls also had success with rockfish. Chartreuse, gold and pink have been good colors. Bucktailers hooked fish too in shallower rips. Tipping jigs with Gulp! eels or Jerk Shads, or Skippyfish tails adds enticing action. Chopper blues ranging 8 to 12 pounds mingled with stripers, and pounced on offerings intended for the bass.

Several anglers reported releasing nice sized flounder that also grabbed striper baits. With cooling water temps, spiny dogfish have shown up. They've been particularly pesky at Overfalls, but not so much so between the deeper areas between 8 and 8A Buoys.

Last Saturday, Miss Kirstin returned with 4 rock to 22.1 pounds and a bluefish. The Pirate King had 5 bass to 22.4 pounds and a pair of big blues. Captain Ted himself caught a 28 pounder, part of the Indian's take of 7 quality stripers. Stanley Smith scored a 30.1 pound striper with an eel in The Valley. Jeff Griffin got a near citation 29.6 pound rock in the same locale. Brian Stephens and his crew trolled up a limit of 6 fish between 20 and 30 pounds at Overfalls. Catching was good during Sunday morning's flood tide. Capt "Mole" Barnes checked in with 4 bass, including his 17.8 pounder, a 25.4 pounder for Bob Persch, and Mark Swift's 26.7 pounder. Captain Vince's eelers aboard Miss Kirstin limited out with 10 fish between 18 and 20 pounds at Overfalls, and were back at the dock by 11:30 am. Bassers on Katy Did decked 10 rock to 29.8 pounds drifting eels and spot in The Valley. Robert Goracci got a 33.3 pound lunker aboard the Pirate King. On Monday, the Skipjack scored 7 stripers to 20 pounds and a slammer blue. Tuesday, Katy Did came back early with a limit of 8 to over 20 pounds while deploying spot and eels in The Valley. John Joe Kabino pulled a Cabo Sunset Stretch 25+ at Overfalls for his 34.2 pound trophy. Ron Rowles reeled in a 27 pounder and Bill Matthews managed a 19 pounder while drifting eels at 8B Buoy. Striper seekers on Grizzly got 9 keepers for the box and released 2 others. Joe Legrand landed a 29.25 pound linesider during a previous trip aboard the Grizzly. Wednesday, Skipjack Captain Chris Thurman showed 'em how it's done by putting a 34.3 pounder in the box. Bob Bessel boated a 27.1 pound bass on that same trip to The Valley.

Tautog fishing continued decent on days with good conditions. Strong currents and dirty water were problems following the Full Moon. The Walls and Ice Breakers still yielded tog, as did Bay reef sites. George Magaw checked in a 7.54 pound citation blackfish from the Outer Wall Sunday. Toggers on the Angler had nice catches Tuesday. Captain Carey had a great Wednesday of togging at the Ice Breakers aboard Grizzly. His fishermen landed 58 plump keepers, including a 10.25 pound citation specimen for "General Lee".

Since their arrival last week, stripers have spread out across the mouth of and up into Delaware Bay. Rockfish initially seemed to be concentrated on Overfalls Shoal, but were recently reported on other traditional structure as well. The shoal at 8B Buoy gave up bass to crews trolling plugs and also to those drifting eels and spot or jigging bucktails. Deep water rips in The Valley between 8 and 8A buoys were productive primarily for eelers. The 100 foot depths near 8 Buoy held some big fish, but could only effectively be worked at near slack current. Trolling Stretch plugs or casting bucktails in the rip outside the Outer Wall also produced rock. Chunkers had fish along the edges of 60 Foot Slough, but fresh bunker has been a rare commodity. A rundown of some of the past week's catches offers an idea of how the fishing's been.

Last Thursday, K.B. Brittingham checked in a 25.3 pounder that took a Stretch 25. Captain Dave Potter's crew on Scuba Doo had bass of 23.5, 25, 25.1 pounds, plus Richard Mihalik's 30.8 pounder, while trolling red and white Stretches. On Sunday, Joe Hoepfl pulled a pink Stretch 25 on Overfalls for his 23.2 pound rock. Chris and Pat Irelan teamed up for stripers of 19.9 and 22.8 pounds while towing chartreuse Stretches. Bruce Buchalter brought in a 27.7 pound bass that grabbed an eel at 8B. Monday, Scott Davis decked a 28.5 pound linesider drifting an eel in deep water at 8 Buoy. Mike Mell chunked up a 25.3 pounder using bunker in 60 Foot Slough. Matt Shoup scored a 35.8 pound lunker while trolling a chartreuse Stretch 25 at 8B Buoy. Mike O'Neill nailed a 30.4 pounder at 8B. Josh Farr's 34.8 pound trophy fell for an eel on Overfalls. Steve Scarfo and Joe Harris pulled Cabo Sunset Stretch 25's at Overfalls Tuesday for a limit going 16.4, 19.3, 21.1 and 30.1 pounds. Will Emmert and Ralph Short worked Overfalls with Stretches for bass weighing 31.9 and 23.8 pounds. Shawn Gallagher got a 27.9 pounder at the Eights. Drifting eels in The Valley produced a 17 pounder for Andy Shepard, a 15.7 for C.J. Stephens, a 23 pounder for Craig Stephens and Robbie Stephens' 25.3 pound rock. Woody Gunther drfited eels between 8A and 8B for a 33.6 pounder, then went back Wednesday for another citation bass scaling 33.0 pounds. Steve Scarfo, Sr scored stripers of 21 and 22.9 pounds while trolling Cabo Sunset Stretch 25 plugs at Overfalls Wednesday. Bob Van Pelt eeled up a 22.9 pound rock. Mac McNaught muscled in a 30.8 pound bass and Dave Max had a 25.9 pounder on the Indian. Mike Baiocco boated a 28 pound striped bass. Marty Horton had a 33.2 pound citation winner in The Valley aboard Candy's Choice. Trolling specialist Evan Falgowski showed his stuff again with a 37.3 pound trophy. The trolling trio of John Hazzard, Johnny Mancuso and Lee Abel captured impressive bass of 24.1, 33.3 and 30.0 pounds. John and Paul Elwood pulled in stripers weighing 22.4, 22.3 and 28 pounds. Buck McLamb used eels at The Eights for a limit of bass that went 20.3 and 13.6 pounds. John Joe Kabino trolled Stretches at Overfalls for his 26.3 pounder. The Katy Did brought in 5 stripers to 23.6 pounds Wednesday. Mike Baiocco was back at it again today, boating a 34.2 pound bass at 8B Buoy. Striper fishermen on the Indian today had 5 rock to 27 pounds. The Angler returned with nice stripers to 28 pounds as well. Standings in the Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament list Evan Falgowski in First with his 46.2 pounder, and Second with a 37.3 pound bass. Ryan Falgowski holds Third with a 36.2 pounder.

The event is shaping up to be a real family affair. The Tourney goes on through November 22nd. Tautog action has been good in the Bay when conditions are right. Captain Pete on Top Fin has had several successful togging days on the Outer Wall. Captain Carey's toggers on the Grizzly had a stretch of good trips. Last Thursday's group had 34 tog including Rob Lammey's 7.12 pounder. Friday's guys had 40 and Sunday's anglers kept 47. Monday, Grizz returned with 33, including a 7.5 for Alex Levantovsky. On Monday, Katy Did's crew captured 39 keepers. Captain Chet on Lil' Angler II has been working upper Bay reefs for some good catches. Today, fishermen on the boat put 47 chunky keepers in the box. Richard Foster recently recorded a 7.4 pound tog on the Lil' Angler II. Bob Fahringer boated a 9.4 pound blackfish, part of a 44 keeper catch at the Brown Shoal reefs on the Pirate King. Bill Wiest wound in a citation 8.2 pounder aboard Katy Did. Captain Ted said his Wednesday fares aboard the Angler saw some of the best catching this season, coming back with 80 keepers. Joel Robinson reeled in a 7.71 pound tautog. If the weather gives us a break, there should be plenty of good fishing for both stripers and tog, along with big bluefish in the coming weeks. Jimmy Bunting reported he had stripers and plenty of slammer bluefish while chasing birds off Ocean City a couple days ago.

The big bass have arrived, right on cue. Timing was good for a strong northeast blow this past weekend to push migratory stripers into Delaware Bay, and fish showed up over shoals at the Bay mouth, just on the heels of the front. Halloween Monday offered the first fishable weather, and local striper sharpies were chomping at the bit to get out and try for rockfish. Evan Falgowski, Garrett Shipley and Lee Abel headed to Overfalls Shoal, where they met with success while trolling Stretch 25+ plugs. The crew caught 9 fish in all while working the running tides. Their 6 bass limit included 35.8 and 28.8 pounders for Garrett, Evan's 34.5 and 30.1 pounders, and Lee's rock weighing 22.9 and 17.2 pounds. Dave Lynam drifted a live mullet at Overfalls to land a 26.8 pound striper. Boats that fished Wednesday found more fish. Chris Wagner was pulling a chartreuse Stretch 25+ plug on Overfalls Wednesday when he connected with a 42.6 pound trophy bass. Evan Falgowski was back at it Wednesday, recording his heaviest striper so far. The lunker linesider he trolled up at Overfalls weighed 46.2 pounds and measured 50 inches long. Patrick Irelan and Jimmy Young towed chartreuse Stretches at Overfalls Wednesday for 4 rockfish to 23.5 pounds. Tuffy Tribbitt used a live eel to tempt his 29.6 pound near citation striper at Overfalls Wednesday.

Other boaters had bass while drifting spot and eels, as well as by trolling diving plugs. Fish were also reported by chunkers baiting with bunker on traditional structure. Chilly nights have caused water temps to fall into the mid 50's, which is to the liking of fall rockfish. More northeast wind is forecast for the weekend, which may prevent boats from getting out, but it should help move additional baitfish and gamefish into the area. The action should only get better as more stripers slip into the Bay. The Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament is on now and runs through November 22nd. The annual event offers cash prizes. Participants must register at the store in advance of fishing. The leaderboard so far shows Evan Falgowski's 46.2 pounder on top. Garret Shipley is in Second with a 35.8 pounder. Evan also holds Third with his 34.5 pound striped bass. The Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament ended October 31st. Captain Brent Wiest captured First and Third places with his tautog that scaled 9.62 and 9.33 pounds. Bob Murphy held onto Second with a 9.5 pounder. Thanks to all who entered the contest to make it a success. Togging is still pretty good on the rock Walls and Ice Breakers, with clean water. Bay reefs continue to produce too, as long as conditions are ok. Captain Ted's fares on the Angler had a nice catch at Site 7 Monday. Young fisherman Jacob Gier celebrated his 9th birthday by boating a 7.85 pound citation tautog aboard the Angler. Sea bass season reopened November 1st, and bassing was good at Site 11 and on wrecks in 15 to 20 fathoms.