Fishing Report

Area surf anglers have been pleasantly surprised by the appearance of numerous bluefish this past week. It's been quite awhile since we've enjoyed a run of springtime blues. There has been an abundance of bunker in the area, and evidently choppers keyed in on the local bait supply, and have been feeding eagerly along both Ocean and Bay beaches. Casters on Broadkill Beach did well Tuesday through Thursday, using bunker as bait. Many of the fish have been of slammer proportions, over 30 inches. Big blues were also caught by fishermen soaking baits from the sand beside Cape Henlopen Pier. Choppers were reported as well by guys working the Indian River Inlet jetties, and at 3R's Road. Hopefully, they'll stick around for a couple weeks. There's plenty of bait around, but it's hard to say how soon the blues may move on. However, it's about time for black drum to come into shallow water between Slaughter and Broadkill Beaches. Good numbers of drum were landed by surfcasters on Broadkill the past couple springs. Most ranged 10 to 20 pounds, but some sizeable boomers to 50 pounds were mixed in. Fresh surf clams were the offering of choice, but live peeler crabs also proved irresistible to drum, if you could get them. The first flounder came from Lewes Canal at the end of last week. Jeff Purdy took his four flattie limit while drifting minnows and shiners in front of Lewes Harbour Marina Thursday. Other anglers caught a few flatfish as well, but cold wind and dirty water prevented Canal flukers from doing much the past few days. Flounder were caught in Indian River, from the VFW Slough. Even though Cape Henlopen Pier is closed, the lights remain on after dark, so nighttime anglers casting from the beach alongside the structure should be able to find some fluke there. The annual Canal Flounder Tournament takes place Friday May 15th. Those interested in fishing the event can sign up with a $25 cash entry fee at Lewes Harbour Marina. Tournament T-Shirts are available now. Tautog action improved this past week, but wind kept toggers at the dock most days. Crews had been runing to the Ocean for blackfish, but recently, Delaware Bay Reefs started yielding tog. Sites 6 and 7 were productive. Wrecks at the Bay mouth gave up tog too. Captain Brent's Saturday and Wednesday groups aboard Katydid scored limits of tasty tautog. Tog action along the Breakwaters should pick up soon.

Tax Day is behind us, and water temps are creeping up after a long, extra cold winter. It's time to bring on the season. Surface temperatures at Delaware Bay's mouth range between 48 and 50 degrees, while DE Light registered 47 degrees. Even though it's warming at the top, it's likely still pretty chilly on the bottom. An indication of how cool the water remains is the presence of codfish in the area. During recent headboat trips to Ocean structure, patrons with Captain Ricky Yakimowicz boxed several keeper sized cod.(The federal minimum length on cod is 22 inches. Cod have been found all the way into Reef Site 10, but are likely to be hanging out on deeper stuff, such as the rubble of Site 11 and Del Jersey Land. Tautog action has been improving, but has not turned on full force. Reef Site 10 recently gave up blackfish. Over the weekend, Captain Brent's anglers on Katydid brought back tog and cod. We haven't been able to get green crabs yet this spring. Water remains low up north, and commercial crabbers have had little success in getting greenies to pot. White Legger crabs have been available in New York, but they're currently in a molting stage, and very fragile, so transporting them down here for live bait doesn't work. We have had fresh clams, and they definitely work. It actually seems that tog respond better to a soft bait, like clam or shrimp, in cold spring water. Captain Ricky fished the mouth of Delaware Bay yesterday, and had a pretty decent batch of blackfish. Those tog all took clam. That's the first report we'd received of tautog in the Bay. Could be that they'll start biting around the Breakwaters soon. Bunker have mad a good showing along the Oceanfront as well as up in the Bay. The presence of baitfish should prompt stripers and weakfish to start feeding. Commercial netters out of Slaughter Beach and Bowers Beach encountered rockfish and trout in their gear set in the shallows. Stripers have been landed by surfcasters working Broadkill Beach using bloodworms, clam and bunker. Most of the bass have been shorts, but there were some keepers. Stripers have been hooked in Lewes Canal too. Marty Riley released 2 rockfish this morning while tossing Storm Shads near the Freeman Highway bridge. Keep in mind the new striped bass regs that just went into effect. Anglers may retain two fish per day in any combination from 28 to 37 inches, or 44 inches and greater. We've heard reports of flounder in Indian River, but have not yet seen any fluke from Lewes Canal. Last year, the first Canal flattie checked in at our store was caught April 12th. With some extended warm weather, the bite could commence soon. Shallow water around the Cape Henlopen Pier usually produces plenty of early season flatfish, but since the Pier is closed for repairs, anglers will only have access to that area by wading or small boat. Flounder regulations remain the same, allowing flukers to keep four per day at a 16 inch minimum. The 2015 CANAL FLOUNDER TOURNAMENT will take place Friday May 15th. Entry fee is $25 cash, payable at Lewes Harbour Marina. White perch fishing has been pretty good in tidal areas. Petersfield Ditch off Rt 16 was productive. Prime Hook Refuge and the spillway at Milton yielded perch too. Small minnows, grass shrimp or worms on little jigheads did the trick.