Fishing Report

This is the time of year when anglers are treated to the bonus catches of some nice sheepshead, while fishing for tog on the rockpiles off Lewes. The biggest sheepshead so far was brought in recently, and it met the qualifications for surpassing the standing Delaware State Record. Chris Wentz was anchored on the inside of the Outer Wall Saturday when the 15.7 pound jumbo porgy inhaled some sandfleas he was using for bait. Randy Jensen took the current 15.5 pound Record last Fall. Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament rules require that a fish replacing another record fish weighing less than 25 pounds must weigh at least 2 ounces more than the existing Record. A qualified representative from the Division of Fish and Wildlife approved the catch, so if it holds up, the new record will be announced at the end of the year. Tautog fishing has been real fine along the Inner and Outer Walls and Ice Breakers the past few days. Tog still haven't really turned on over reef sites in the Bay, but catching on the rock piles has more than made up for that. The reefs should become productive with cooler water temps. Indicative of the good action yesterday, Captain Ted Moulinier said, "Looks like it was a bad day to be a tog", as his patrons from the Indian added their take to the pile of blackfish from other anglers already covering the cleaning table. Captains Brent and Dave from the Katydid took a busman's holiday, along with Kate Wiest and Bob Murphy, to bring back a limit from the Walls yesterday. Toggers on Katydid boxed a limit of 45 keepers Sunday. "Booker" Bookwalter and Rodney Shoemaker continued their streak of several consecutive days of catching tog at the Ice Breakers. They returned with a box of quality Tautog again yesterday. Rodney took over the lead in the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament with an 8.1 pounder he landed Monday. Brian Wazlavek currently holds Second with his 7.5 pounder, and Scott Bucka has Third with a 7.5 pound Tog. Captain Pete on Top Fin has had steady togging. On Saturday, Hwa Park's group limited with 35 tog. Alan Danoff, Ken Brittingham and friends joined Pete Monday for a 30 fish limit. Mr. Kim, "Jesse James" and their party limited out with 35 tautog Tuesday. Aside from tog, decent numbers of trout remain in the area. Trout were taken from Roosevelt Inlet and around the pilings of the Cape Henlopen Pier. Lex Robertson checked in a 2.4 pound weakie he captured in Lewes Canal while using cut spot. Marty Riley hooked a 2.8 pound speckled trout by casting a Storm Shad along the marsh bank of the Canal. Spot continue to be caught in Lewes Canal, Broadkill River and from the Henlopen Pier. Surf fishermen found small blues and an increasing number of short stripers in the wash between Cape Henlopen and Gordon's Pond. Both red and black puppy drum were also pulled from the suds. Legal size stripers were captured in Lewes Canal. Doris Smith scored a 29 incher using mullet, and Dave Walker had a pair of 30 inchers on cut bait. Migratory rockfish should show at the mouth of Delaware Bay soon. They usually appear around the full moon, which is October 29th. Most striped bass addicts have been chomping at the bit for the arrival of their favorite quarry. We'll have eels, spot and fresh bunker, when available. We also have a large selection of Mann's Stretch 12+ and 25+ plugs, along with Bomber CD25 plugs for trolling aficionados.

As mentioned in previous reports, red drum have been unusually plentiful in the area this year. They've been caught from the Ocean and Bay surf, in the Lewes Canal and Broadkill River and in Roosevelt Inlet. Very few have measured between the 20 to 27 inch legal slot size, but it's pretty cool just seeing them here. In addition to red drum, there's been quite a run of small black drum. Good numbers of puppies were landed at Roosevelt Inlet on Sunday. Some anglers scored their 3 fish limit of drum over 16 inches. Most of the fish fell for clam or sand flea baits, and were in the 16 to 20 inch range. A few trout were mixed in. Drum were also caught from the beach between Cape Henlopen and Gordon's Pond, along with snapper blues, kingfish and an increasing number of short stripers. Surf casters had success using cut mullet, clams and bloodworms. Folks on the Cape Henlopen Pier still managed some decent sized spot by using bloodworms and Fishbites. Schools of mullet that had been thick the past few weeks have thinned out. Mullet congregated in Indian River Inlet, but a mojority of the silver baitfish seem to have vacated Delaware Bay. Tautog action was tough the past week. Wind, dirty water and strong new moon currents made for challenging conditions. Some blackfish were pulled from the Walls and Ice Breakers, and Bay Reefs, but catching should improve in coming days. Captain Brian Wazlavek of Lil' Angler II took over the lead in the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament with a 7.5 pound white chin he captured at Site 6. Tom Wood moved to Second with his 7.2 pounder, and Clara Hollingsworth has Third with her 6.9 pound tautog. The Tourney continues through October 31st. The annual Lewes Harbour Striper Tournament starts October 20th. The event will run until November 20th. Striped bass traditionally migrate around the October full moon, which occurs this month on the 29th. If this season is like past years, many of the largest bass are caught at the end of October and the first week of November. Tournament participants can pay to enter each day they fish, or pay a flat fee and fish as many days as they want. Few flounder have been hooked in the past couple weeks, and the season closes October 24th. The sea bass season is closed until November 1st, but fishing was good prior to the Monday shutdown. Scott Ayars stopped by with a nice catch of bass, including the pool winning knothead, he had on a Saturday wreck trip to 120 feet of water with Captain H.D. Parsons. Scott said most patrons had their limits. There were also some big bluefish boated. Fishing should be good after the reopening, since the wrecks will have had a chance to reload.

Tog catches have been getting better with cooling air and water temperatures. The Ocean reef sites have been pretty good for blackfish. Captain Carey did some pile hopping at Sites 9 and 10 Friday aboard Grizzly for 17 tautog, 14 triggers, plus an assortment of croakers, blowfish and sea bass. Bay reefs are also starting to yield some blackfish. Captain Brent on the Katydid fished Sites 4,5 and 6 yesterday for 17 keepers. He said some of the rubble was loaded with sea bass, but almost all were shy of minimum size. His guys also caught some impressive triggerfish. Fred Nelson nailed a near record 6.23 pounder on Site 6. In addition to the reefs, the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers also produced tog, as long as the water was clean. Some keeper tog were pulled from the Inner Wall as well. Wind and rain have prevented many anglers from getting out the past few days, and there's been no change to standings in the Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament. Tom Wood still holds the lead with his 7.2 pounder. The Tourney runs through October 31st. Sea bass seekers had success on the Del Jersey Reef Site, over the wrecks of the Poole and the Radford. Other wrecks just inshore of the area gave up bass too. Katydid's crew captured 205 bass while wreck fishing last Thursday. Delaware's sea bass season closes October 15th, but then reopens November 1st. Bottom bouncers in Delaware bay are still finding a few croakers, blowfish and kingfish on natural and artificial structure. Brian Hines boated a 1.2 pound citation kingfish aboard the Fishhawk Saturday. Bluefish remain plentiful in the lower Bay. Snappers were caught in current rips off Cape Henlopen and around the Outer Wall. Casting flashy lures resulted in aggressive strikes from feeding choppers. Some hand sized spot continue to be taken from the Cape Henlopen Pier. Good numbers of trout were hooked at Roosevelt Inlet and in Broadkill River. Fresh cut mullet was a favored bait. Red drum still linger around the inlet and in the Canal. Most have not measured within the 20 to 27 inch slot limit, but it's still pretty cool just seeing them in our area. Cape Henlopen surf casters had bluefish baiting with cut mullet. Offshore fishermen have had a tough time getting out to the canyons. The Quintessa made it to the Wilmington for an overnighter, with a break in the weather last Thursday. The crew returned with a swordfish, a big yellowfin, 26 dolphin and 5 golden tiles. John Gudknecht had the unusual catch of a Cottonmouth Jack. The wahoo bite was decent in 20 to 30 fathoms, with trollers reporting 'hoos at the Tea Cup, Massey's Canyon and the Hot Dog. Ed Sigda and the boys on Snow Goose trolled southeast of the Dog where they connected with several mahi that were oriented on floating stuff in the area.

Tautog catches have been improving since the season's opening. Tog were reported from the Ice Breakers and Outer Wall, and also on ocean reef sites 9, 10 and 11. It seems better numbers of keepers have been caught on Ocean structure, but Bay spots should produce more with cooling water. Captain Pete on Top Fin had a nice batch of blackfish Saturday, including a 9.4 pounder he put in the box himself. Captain Brent's toggers aboard Katydid captured 37 keepers in the Ocean Tuesday. Wednesday's group on Katydid kept 28 tog. Standings in the annual Lewes Harbour Tog Tournament show Tom Wood in the lead with his 7.2 pounder. Clara Hollingsworth is Second with a 6.9 pounder, and Bob Murphy's 5.1 pound tog holds Third. The Tourney runs through October 31st, and offers cash prizes. With relatively warm water still in the area, other species are mixed in with tog. Fred Ruff wrestled a 4.61 pound triggerfish from remains of the China Wreck. Buddy Masten muscled in what may be a new state record triggerfish on Sunday. Buddy boated the jumbo 6.34 pounder while togging at the Ice Breakers. The existing record trigger weighs 5 pounds 15 ounces. Some good sized sheepshead still linger around the rocks as well. Paul Long landed a near record 14.65 pounder at the Ice Breakers on Saturday. A few flounder continue to come from the rip on the shoal outside the Outer Wall. The season closes October 24th. Plenty of snapper bluefish remain near Cape Henlopen. They pop up under working birds during moving tides, usually the last half of incoming current. Boaters have had a blast chasing the little choppers and catching them on light tackle. Bucktail jigs and flashy metals were favored lures. Sea bassing is holding up. DNREC added a few extra days to the fall bass season. It will now be open through October 14th and reopen November 1st. Last Saturday, bassers aboard Katydid boxed a 175 bass limit, plus a nice pollack. Dave Popovich nailed a 3.31 pound knothead on that trip. Captain Brian on Lil' Angler II worked some wrecks Monday for more than 200 keeper bass. Sea bass, croakers, trout and a few flounder were found on bottom structure between Site 10 and DA Buoy. Boats trolling the 20 to 30 fathom corridor connected with wahoos. Mike Ambler and John Markey pulled a purple and black Ilander ahead of a ballyhoo near Massey's Canyon for a 46.5 pound 'hoo. Tuna haven't been too plentiful, but the Olson boys found some offshore. A long ride to the Lindenkohl Canyon was worth it for Wes, Shane and Sean Olson, and Jimmy McCoy. They boated four quality yellowfins from 63 to 71 pounds while chunking overnight in 500 fathoms.