Fishing Report

Ocean flounder action has been very good for anglers who are proficient at working the artificial structure of reef sites 9, 10 and 11. Flounder have also been hanging around area wrecks as they stage to begin moving offshore. The stone and live coral bottom of the Old Grounds between DB and DA is holding good numbers of fluke too. Guys using bucktails tipped with strip baits have done well.

Yesterday, flukers on the Katy Did put 30 quality keepers in the box while rubble bouncing in the Ocean. Captain Brent Wiest wound in a 7.42 pounder, "Bully Bob" Trento took a 7.88 pound citation doormat, and Captain Dave Walker decked one weighing 6.68 pounds. Wes Olson, "Beaver" Ruff and Barney and Matt Gallagher teamed up for 13 hefty flounder to 5.56 pounds and a bonus 13 dolphin while drifting souheast of DB Buoy Tuesday. The Saturday group aboard Skipjack scored 10 thick flatties and a bunch of plump ling. Drifing the reef sites in Delaware Bay has yielded flounder too. Joe Walker whacked an 8.77 pounder at reef site 7. However, croakers remain he star of the show. Hardhead action has been hot on the Star Site, reef 8. A summertime mix of kingfish, spot, blowfish, porgies, snapper blues and small trout have mingled with croakers. Bloodworms, clams, shrimp, squid and Fishbites will catch them all.

Plenty of spot were caught from the Cape Henlopen Pier with bloods and Fishbites. Inshore trollers hooked dolphin and wahoo between 20 and 30 fathoms. Shawn Gallagher got a 30 pound 'hoo in Massey's Canyon, and Keith Orendorf landed a 15.2 pound mahi. On the offshore scene, there was a decent white marlin bite in he Wilmington Canyon. Tuna fishing was spotty, but some yellowfins and bigeyes were taken the past couple days among groups of whales feeding on bait in the Bight of the Baltimore. Ryan Cene was fishing on the Finomenal, with Captain Fred Wick, on Tuesday when he hooked up to a large tuna at 2 pm. Five hours later, after 7 pm, he finally put the stubborn 182.5 pound bigeye in the boat. Ryan's group had already had a good day before he did battle with the bigeye. They had released a white marlin, and iced a nice pair of yellowfins and several dolphin.

If you're interested in catching croakers, now's the time to go. Boats drifting and anchored on Reef #8, the Star Site, have had all the hardheads they could handle over the past few days. Size of croakers in the box has been increasing too. Good numbers of fish over 12 inches have shown up, and those of even larger "Cadillac" proportions have been mixed in as well.

Bottom rigs baited with clams, bloodworms, shrimp and Fishbites have been irresistable to hardheads. Croakers fight hard and provide great fun for anglers of all ages. They're also good table fare. They make for a fine fish fry, and can be turned into delicious fish cakes as well. In addition to hardheads, bottom fishermen encountered blowfish, kingfish, spot, snapper blues and small trout. Flounder action in the Bay has been fair, with flatties reported among rubble of most of the reef sites. Flukers on Katy Did worked the Brown Shoal reefs Wednesday for 10 keeper flatfish. The Ocean flounder bite was good today. Wes Olson and his crew kept their limit of 12 fat flatfish to 5 pounds while drifting southeast of DB Buoy. Edwin "Max" Maxwell jigged up his limit of quality flounder, including the plump pool winner, while fluking with Capt. Ricky Yakimowicz. Offshore tuna catches have been spotty. A few yellowfins came from 100 to 200 fathoms of the Baltimore, usually taken by trollers there at first light. Captain Bill Swords and his guys on "Swords Fish" had a simultaneous hookup of a large blue marlin and a jumbo bigeye in the Bight of the Baltimore this morning. The blue jumped off after a short ride, but they spent several hours with 22 pounds of heat on the bigeye before a heartbreaking separation of the line.

Some large bigeyes have been boated by crews fishing this week's White Marlin Open. Chip Caruso landed a 279 pound bigeye aboard the Pipedreamer with Captain Max Morris and Mate Danny Prettyman. Captains Brent and Dave on Katy Did fished offshore Tuesday. They came across a truck tire covered with growth floating in the Baltimore. That piece of flotsam yielded 15 dolphin and 31 triggerfish. The guys finished off the trip by deep dropping for 10 nice tilefish to 33 pounds.

Delaware Bay fishermen have been picking at croakers over the past few weeks, but there have been no appreciable numbers until the past couple days. Anglers had good catches today in the northwest corner of reef #8, the Star Site. Captain Charlie Helmer's group aboard Tranquila kept 70 nice hardheads. Patrons on the Angler got into croakers too. Baiting with clams, bloodworms and Fishbites on size 4 hooks did the trick. In additon to croakers, there have been plenty of spot around. The tasty panfish were found at Site 8, along the inner wall and Cape Henlopen pier, in Roosevelt Inlet, Broadlkill River and Lewes Canal. Bits of bloodworm or Fishbites on small hooks or sabiki rigs were effective. Blowfish, kingfish and snapper blues were mixed with hardheads and spot on the Bay reefs.

This is normally the time of year when some big flounder are caught, and true to form, a few weighty specimens hit the dock this week. The most impressive was an 11.72 pound welcome mat landed by Captain Vince Keagy, who runs the Miss Kirstin. The 31 inch fluke attacked a shad dart with a strip of squid at Site 7, and was brought to the boat on 12 pound test line. Vince said he's been fishing Delaware Bay for 35 years, but that was his heaviest one so far. Jack Henriksen, Ricky Mills and John "Dynamo" Deiner worked the Brown Shoal reef for 8 keeper flounder last Friday, including Jack's 5.21 pounder. Tood Mills took a 5.13 pounder off Site 7. Ocean fishing produced some nice flatties too. Last Friday, guys on the Grizzly got 11 keepers at Site 10. Among them was a 6.5 pound beauty for Jonathan Thompson. On Sunday, flukers an the Lil' Angler scored 14 flounder to take home out of 57 caught. Wayne DeMarco decked a 5.77 pounder. Bobby and Buckwheat Bryant, Brad Hawkes and Steve Reynolds put 12 in the box at Site 10 Monday. Bobby boated a 5.5 pounder. Joe Walker and his crew captured 12 quality flatfish at Site 10 Tuesday, including a 7.14 pound citation for Tom Coyle, and Bobby Bryant's 6.05. Katy Did returned from Site 10 Wednesday with a dozen nice flatfish. The yellowfin chunk bite at the Hot Dog cooled off after the middle of last week, but recently, tuna were taken trolling at the Dog. On Tuesday, Captain Alan Steele and his anglers on Big Herring trolled the Dog for 9 yellowfins and 2 dolphin. Trollers also found some wahoo between 20 and 30 fathoms. Adam Grove got a 27.6 pound 'hoo near the Tea Cup. Billfish have been hanging out in the Baltimore Canyon. Captains Brent and Dave on the Katy Did had 4 white marlin releases for their anglers in the Baltimore Sunday. They topped the trip off with a pair of dolphin and some tilefish. Captain Jeff on the Joint Venture had a successful overnighter to the Baltimore, coming back with 2 good sized yellowfins, a dolphin and an 80 pound swordfish. He also released a white marlin.