Fishing Report

Offshore anglers have been treated to some good early season action. Warm water that pushed into Baltimore Canyon held lots of life. Boaters reported seeing porpoises, ocean sunfish, flying fish and other bait concentrated along temperature breaks. Much of the activity took place in 40 to 60 fathoms between the West Wall of the Baltimore and Poor Man's Canyon. Yellowfins showed in good numbers, and some crews racked up impressive catches. The biggest bites happened when trolling spreads were covered up with multiple fish at once.

Anglers on the Reel Chaos experienced wild fishing two days in a row over the weekend, returning with 14 tuna on Saturday, and 24 more on Sunday. Plenty of dolphin were mixed in, and the first few wahoos made an early appearance as well. On Sunday, Grant Clubb released the first white marlin of the year aboard the Chain Reaction. Blue marlin were also hooked by trollers looking for tuna. Makos were attracted by all the activity in the area too. Several crews told of big blackeyes chewing on yellowfins that were hooked up. Sea bass still held the attention of inshore bottom fishermen. Reef Site 11 was a popular spot, and twenty fathom structure such as the Dry Docks had bass too.

Captains noted that it often took more stops during the day to put a catch together than earlier in the season. A lot of keeper sized fish have been pulled from the common places, and it involves more work to put bass over the 12 1/2 inch minimum in the box. Bottom bouncers seeking flounder started to find fish around Delaware Bay structure.

Captain Carey's flukers on the Grizzly scored 8 keepers on a half day trip Sunday, while drifting reef rubble in the lower Bay. Lewes Canal gave up flatties as well. Bill Koran captured a 6.29 pounder in the Canal. Lee McClellan managed a 7.45 pound citation doormat from the Canal. Flounder slayer Nick Psaroudakis nabbed a 6.4 pound specimen while drifting minnows. Nick's young daughter Paige is taking after her Dad, and pulled her first flounder from the Canal, a plump 20 incher. In addition, she landed her first trout, also measuring 20 inches. The numbers of trout in the Bay this spring have been surprising, and perhaps the species is on it's way to a comeback. Folks fishing Roosevelt Inlet from shore and small boats caught many weakfish while casting 3 to 4 inch soft plastic artificials and Gulp! lures.

Bait fishing with chicken or peeler crab also produced sea trout. Last of incoming tide during early morning or evening hours was best. Keep in mind the 13 inch minimum size and one trout per person limit. Most fish have been between 12 and 15 inches, but some larger specimens have shown up. Debora Wineland was surfcasting from Broadkill Beach using chicken when she connected with a 4.5 pound beauty. The surf striper bite at Cape Henlopen cooled off, but some decent rockfish were hanging around the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers. Top Fin Captain Pete haines took a busman's holiday to the Wall where he hooked a 17 pound linesider while tossing a Yo-Zuri plug. Nick Sharp nailed a brace of bass scaling 21.1 and 21.8 pounds that grabbed Gulp! eels he was working in the dark.

A record 360 flounder afficionados participated in last Friday's annual Canal Flounder Tournament, making the event a great success. In addition to competing for sizeable cash prizes, anglers vied for the all important bragging rights until next year's Tourney. Twenty percent of entry fees were donated to Camp Awareness, promoting education about outdoor activities to area youth.

A decent number of flounder were caught, with the best bite occurring after the mid morning tide change on the first of ebb current. Flukers reported success with the usual complement of offerings including minnows, shiners, smelt, cut bunker and shad, and Gulp! Boaters faced difficulty when the northeast wind breezed up and made it hard to maintain a proper drift direction after noon. However, guys in the right place at the right time scored some nice flatties.

Zach Becker was the big winner with his 6.11 pound doormat. Jim Joseph secured Second with a 5.48 pounder. Dan Baldwin boated the 4.82 pound Third place fluke. Shea Lindale landed a 4.63 for Fourth. Buck McLamb managed a 4.38 pound flatfish to fill Fifth Place. Jeff Becker bested a 4.21 pounder for Sixth, and Dan Schurman wrapped up Seventh with his 4.15 pound flounder. Many thanks from us at Lewes Harbour Marina and the Dewey Beach Lions to all who took part to make the day a big hit. Black drum action is in full swing, and should continue through the June full moon. Capt. Chris took the Pirate King II to the Coral Beds Saturday night, where his drummers decked 7 good fish while baiting with clams. Thirteen year old Trent Achey caught his first two drum on that trip, a pair of 30 pounders. Corey Davies captured a 66 pound drum. Other big boomers were bought to the scale as well. Kathy Rodgers reeled in a 67.7 pound whopper, and Kyle McLaughlin muscled in a 69.3 pound brute. Tom Payton boated behemoths of 66.2 and 71.5 pounds aboard the Angler with Captain Ted. They were part of an 8 drum catch Wednesday night. The much anticipated sea bass season is finally open. DNREC's Secretary issued an emergency regulation Friday to open the season Saturday May 19th, ahead of the originally scheduled May 22nd start date. The measure was supposed to make Delaware's regs consistent with just released Federal Sea Bass laws, however, the move didn't really matter since strong northeast winds prevented boats from getting out over the weekend. Many boats had trips scheduled for Tuesday, and with good weather, they were able to travel to Reef Site 11, where crews found plenty of bass willing to bite. Captain Brent's bassers aboard Katy Did enjoyed scorching action, putting a 9 man limit of 225 bass in the box before 9 am. Fares on the Lil' Angler II iced 104 sea bass. Captain Pete's group on Top Fin had a big catch too, including a 3.1 pounder for Mr. Yu. Captain Vince limited out his two man party on Miss Kirstin. Captain Charlie on Tranquila hosted the "Fishin' Bitches" for a good day of bassing. Captain Brent did it again Wednesday, returning with another 225 bass. Anglers working Broadkill Beach and Roosevelt Inlet encountered numerous weakfish. It's been great to see trout making a comeback. The feisty beauties were caught with peelers, squid, clams and bloodworms. Trout responded to a variety of artificials as well, sometimes even better than bait. Bass Assassin Seashads, Fin-S Fish, D.O.A.s, Tsunamis, Storm Shads, Gulp!, Speck Rigs, and many others drew strikes. Even though you can only keep one fish per day, many anglers enjoy just catching and releasing since the trout hit lures readily.

Those who like casting lures have also done well with stripers. Boaters drifting along the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers hooked keeper rockfish at dusk, during the nighttime hours, and in the early morning. Popular offerings included Bomber, Stretch 12 and YoZuri plugs, Storm Shads, bucktails, Rat-L-Traps, and Gulp! Eels. Glen Howard and Nick Sharp were at the wall around midnight Monday when they got their limit of quality linesiders. Joe Morrissey, Mike Flemming, Alejandro Cornejo and Jason Leach fished the rocks Tuesday night for their limit of bass, including Jason's 26.6 pounder.

Commercial netters have had good catches of weakfish over the past few weeks, and now that water temperatures have risen, hook and line anglers have caught trout too. Trout are showing up again in some of their regular springtime haunts from years ago, and fishermen are happy to see them. Adam Ford was working a squid tipped bucktail off Broadkill Beach when he hooked a 6.1 pound tiderunner. Frank Gaworski and Barracuda Bob McNamee got into several trout while casting Tsunami lures from a small boat in shallow water along Broadkill Beach. The largest was Frank's 3.45 pounder. Most of the others were spikes in the 13 to 16 inch range. Bob also had a 4.77 pound flounder on an artificial, mixed in with the weakfish. Several other customers told of catching trout along Broadkill Beach and around Roosevelt Inlet. Most were tempted with lures like Gulp! Swimming Mullets, small bucktails, Bass Assassin Sea Shads, Fin-S Fish, Storms and other soft plastics.

Current regulations allow you to keep one weakfish 13 inches or longer per day. Even with the restrictions, many anglers just enjoy catching and releasing the hard fighting beauties. Striper action continues good. Beach casters had bass in the surf from Cape Henlopen to Gordon's pond while soaking clams or bunker. Early morning, evening and after dark hours were most productive, with best bites at the top and bottom of the tide. Judah Lynam landed 15 rock over 33 inches while fishing the beach Friday and Saturday nights using bunker. Dave Furio checked in a 21 pound rockfish. Lacey Moffett showed up the boys by catching her limit of linesiders measuring 34 and 36 inches at Herring Point with clams. Mike Shockley scored a 21.2 pound striper on Broadkill Beach. Black drum settled in on the Coral Beds. Captain Les on Martha Marie drummed Thursday night for 8 fish, and Friday night for 6 more. Kaila Tatman caught her first drum, weighing 32.5 and 37 pounds. Captain Brian had 4 drum on Lil' Angler II Wednesday evening, including a pending IGFA live release record. Togging is closed until July 17, but John Deeney finished the last day of Spring season by boating a 10.25 pound blackfish aboard the Grizzly. Flounder have been pulled from Lewes Canal when the water is clean. Candace Kidwell got a 3.5 pound flattie in the Canal. As of this writing, nearly 300 anglers were signed up for Friday's Canal Flounder Tournament, and we'll post results next week. The report from offshore brings news of tuna. Chris and Greg Wagner told of a temperature break that changed from 58 to 65 degrees over 3 miles in 100 fathoms at the tip of the Baltimore Canyon. That's where Ron Steen muscled in an 80 pound bluefin that pounced on a Green Machine bird bar. Other crews found yellowfins between the Baltimore and Poor Man's.

Striper action on the beach has been better than in many past seasons. Bass began to be caught by anglers working the Cape Henlopen surf during the days leading up to the full moon, and the catching has continued through this past week. Best bites have been at the top and bottom of the tide, paticularly if those times coincided with daybreak or dusk. Clams and bunker were the baits of choice.

The Herring Point access area has been popular because of structure offered by the Navy Jetties. However, fish were taken along the beach both north and south of there. Limit catches were fairly common, and many of the rockfish have been good sized. Jack Austin landed bass this week weighing 23.8, 24.1, 28.8 and 34.8 pounds. Stripers were caught from Broadkill Beach too. Roger Guderian got an 18.8 pounder there using bloodworms. Rock also showed along the Outer Wall, and boaters casting artificials got into good fish too. Brian Seglem checked in a 35 pounder that inhaled a red and white plug he was throwing.

Bombers, Yozuris, and Stretch 12s have been effective lures. Light colors worked best during the day, and dark patterns were preferred during low light hours and at night. Bucktails tipped with plastic worms and Storm shads got bit too. Bites along the wall happened about the same times as those on the beach, with high and low tides at dawn and dark most productive. Black drum catches have been fair, but it hasn't busted wide open yet.

Captain Ted ran the Angler to the Coral Beds off Fowler Beach Monday night, and returned with 5 boomers to nearly 80 pounds. Wes Cromer weighed in a 72 pounder he battled for quite some time on light tackle. Drum should be available through the June full moon. Toggers getting in on the end of the Spring season had success along the Outer Wall. John Toomey took an 8.9 pounder on the Grizzly. Booker Bookwalter boated a 7.5 pounder on the Angry Angler. Bob Trento bested a 9.91 pound tautog on Katy Did. Tog season reopens July 17th. Flounder fishermen continue to pick at flatties in Lewes Canal, but keepers are scarce. Dirty water hampered catching. However, Lex Robertson managed a 5.12 pounder while working a Spro jig and minnow combo. Hopefully the fluke will get their act together before the Canal Flounder Tournament Friday May 18th. In offshore news, Jon Kitchen called to report that a recent trip to 400 fathoms of Poor Man's resulted in 6 bluefin tuna. The crew kept a 38 pounder.

We had the first catch of black drum at the docks brought in after a Wednesday night trip aboard the Lil' Angler II. Captain Brian and his crew anchored up in shallow water on the Coral Beds, and boated four boomers to 35 pounds while baiting with surf clams on fishfinder rigs. Saturday's full moon should kick off a stretch of good drum action, that normally lasts through the early June full moon. We'll be stocking surf clams, but suggest you reserve them by Tuesday to make sure you get what you need.

Other big news is the striper bite that's been happening in the Cape Henlopen surf. Beach casters caught many nice bass during the week while using clams and bunker. Early morning seemed best, especially when it coincided with high tide. The beach near the Herring Point jetties was popular, and long casts weren't necessary for success. Often, rockfish were in close.

Several surf anglers stopped by the shop with limits of linesiders. Some of the better bass included a 19.5 pounder for Steve Fisher, a 22.1 pound striper for Jamie Kosiek, 24.1 pounder for Mike Popovich, a 24.5 pound rock for Chris Van, and a 25.4 pound trophy for Dave Popovich. Bill Love landed a 27.1 pound striper from the Cape wash. Mason Newsham managed a 31.6 pound lunker from the beach near Herring Point. A few stripers were hooked by boaters tossing plugs and jigs around the Inner and Outer Walls. Striped bass were also active in Indian River Inlet. Guys on the north and south rockpiles throwing Bombers and Storm lures at night connected with good sized bass. There was an epic striper run in Indian River Inlet during this same time last year, and jetty jocks are hoping for a repeat.

Togging remained good along the Walls and Ice Breakers. Anna Neely nailed a 9.5 pound tautog aboard the Katy Did. Another recent group on Katy Did returned with 5 citation fish, among their limit in the box. Sam Scott scored a 9.15 pounder, Bob Murphy a 9.07, Bill Wiest a 7.55, Steve Kiibler a 7.4, and Ben Strahl stuck a 7.24 pound tog. Tony Glen got a 9 pound 2 ounce blackfish as part of a limit take aboard the Grizzly. Tog should cooperate through the season closure on May 11th. The Lewes Canal yielded some flounder but most were shorts. Dirty water hindered catching. Water temps have risen to the upper 50's and the Canal and Broadkill River should come alive soon. On warm days with clean water, there have been decent flatties caught. Young Dylan Churchill captured his first keeper fluke measuring 18 and 24 inches while using a shiner tipped orange jig. Anglers on the pier at Cape Henlopen had flounder, but again, most were shy of the 18 inch minimum. Sonny McClure had one keeper out of seven he took from the pier Thursday night. Don't forget the Canal Flounder Tournament Friday May 18th.

Commercial netters continue to report good numbers of different year classes of weakfish in Delaware Bay, so perhaps we'll see a better hook and line fishery this season, even though the creel limit remains at 1 trout per person per day. Researcher Dewayne Fox came by to tell of several big thresher sharks he and his crew encountered while netting for sturgeon. He said they'd seen threshers to more than 400 pounds over the past week, while working south of Indian River Inlet. Sport sharkers should hook their first threshers soon. The crew of the Wrangler, out of Ocean City Fishing Center, landed the first bluefin tuna of the season. The 70 pounder ate a trolled ballyhoo in 500 fahoms of Baltimore Canyon. The season's first Mako, a 96 pounder, was taken between the Baltimore and Poor Man's Canyons aboard the Reel Life out of Indian River.