T_boy
07-11-2008, 04:55 PM
OCEAN
Catch reports from the bluewater fleet showed plenty of varied action while trolling the inshore lumps, the 30-fathom line and temperature brakes at the Baltimore, Poormans and Washington Canyons. Topping the "where to" list for trollers targeting bluefin tuna, mahi mahi, king mackerel and chopper bluefish were the Parking Lot, Massey's Canyon and Tea Cup. The heaviest tuna of the season was weighed in at Lewes Harbour Marina during the past week by Brant Smith, according to marina owner Joe Morris. Weighing 285 pounds, the giant bluefin had a fork length of 81.50 inches and a girth of 55 inches. The trophy was caught aboard the Dutchman while trolling a bally dressed with a pink and black Ilander on the 30-fathom line at the Tea Cup. Other lures that have been working for anglers trolling the inshore lumps included heavy Green Machines, natural cedar plugs, squid daisies and large swimming plugs. Shark enthusiasts also had a good week while chumming for a mixed catch of makos, blue whalers, duskies and great hammerheads at locations including the Fingers, Parking Lot and Sausages. Shark action also was reported by anglers fishing within sight of the beach, with most of the inshore reports topped by sandbars and sand tigers. Good choices for near shore sharking included the DB and DA buoys, Artificial Reef Site 10 and Hens and Chickens Shoal. Boaters targeting black sea bass and flounder at DB buoy, the Old Grounds and Reef Sites 10 and 11 had mixed reports. For the fishermen who found the right spot and had the right bait, the action was worth the cost of fuel to run out of the inlet. One of the nicest flounder reported by Old Inlet Bait and Tackle in recent weeks was landed near DB buoy by Gary Klabon. The trophy flattie pushed the scale to 8 pounds, 6 ounces. With the season on tautog open again, anglers reported good action over the weekend while fishing tight to structure with sand fleas and chunks of green crab. The current season segment allows fishermen to keep 10 tog a day with a minimum keeper length of 14 inches. Shore fishing reports for tautog also showed good action along the rocks at Indian River Inlet. While the majority of the fish coming out of the rock piles are running short, patient fishermen have been putting a few nice fish in their coolers. An upwelling of cold water along the coast has slowed the action in the surf, with scattered reports of kingfish, blues, skates, sharks, rays, stripers. Anglers fishing the surf are using a variety of bait, including cut bunker, finger mullet and Fishbites. Striped bass action has been very good in Indian River Inlet, but with heavy summer boat traffic during the day, most serious rockfish anglers fishing at night. Old Inlet Bait and Tackle recommended fishing the incoming tide at night with live eels, rigged eels and dark colored swimming shad baits. Larry Fike checked in at the shop with a 30-pound striper from the inlet, with linesiders just over the 20-pound mark weighed by Tom Lynch, Burt Campbell, Nicky Miller and Leonard Gettle. Anglers fishing the inlet's jetties during the day continued to report fast action on bluefish at Indian River Bay. As schools of foraging fish moved in and out of the inlet, they won't hesitate to hit Gotcha Plugs, spoons, bucktails and metal casting lures. Flounder fishing in the back bays has been extremely frustrating for some fishermen, while others seem to consistently put one or two keeper on ice. The key, according to the folks who are dining on fresh flounder fillets is fishing close to structure while baiting with live spot or Gulp. Gene Reisinger checked in at Rick's Bait and Tackle with a 7.25-pound flattie caught on Gulp in Indian River Bay. Shop owner Rick Willman also reported other flounder between 3 and 5 pounds being checked in at the shop during the past week.
DELAWARE BAY
Boaters fishing around Ship John Light and Cross Ledge at night are still reporting catch-and-release action on striped bass in the 16- to 22-inch slot, according to reports passed along by Sean Foley at Captain Bones Bait and Tackle. Foley recommended peeler crabs or bucktails as the top choices for rockfish. Anglers trying for keeper-sized stripers have been focusing on the Outer Wall and Hay Stacks off of Lewes. Drifting live bunker early in the morning and during the evening has been the best bet at the Outer Wall, according to reports from fishermen stopping at Lewes Harbour Marina. Reports from the Hay Stacks showed casting plugs to be the top choice among striped bass anglers. Night fishing has been a productive tactic for anglers targeting weakfish around the lighthouses and rock piles in the lower bay, with most of the trout reported to be hitting on bucktails, swimming shad lures or jigheads baited with peeler crab. Anglers fishing for trout during the day are connecting with a few spikes at the Elbow, Flat Top, the Mohawk wreck and the Anchorage. Spec Rigs baited with peelers, bloodworms or live spot are a good choice. Flounder are being caught from the mouth up to Cross Ledge, but only around one fish in a dozen has been big enough to go into the cooler. Anglers trying to improve their odds of connecting with keeper fluke have been sticking close to structure or working sharp drop-off edges. Some of the better locations for legal flounder during the past week were on the northeast corner of the Anchorage. Myron Edwards topped the weekly flounder reports from Cedar Creek Bait and Tackle with a 7.05-pound flattie he landed while fishing the structure at Reef Site Seven. Other locations producing consistent action on flounder included Flat Top, the Stakes off of Fortescue and Miah Maul Lighthouse. Live spot have been especially effective on the flounder, with minnows, squid strips and frozen smelt also catching fish. Fishermen targeting trout and flounder are reporting scattered catches of croaker. Look for the hardhead action in the bay to really heat up over the next few weeks. Despite the late date, there are still a few fishermen reporting success on black drum at Pin Top and Tussy's Slough. Fresh clams are the bait of choice if you can find a tackle shop willing to put in a special order. Bluefish are being caught throughout the bay. Blues up to 4 pounds are being caught on cut bunker fished on the bottom and on lures worked along the edges of schools of surface feeding fish. Shark fishing is heating up in the mid and lower bay, with sandbar sharks and sand tigers providing most of the action. Good locations to anchor up and chum for bay sharks include Broadkill Slough, 60-Foot Slough and the mid and lower bay reef sites. Anglers are reminded that the limit on brown sharks is one fish per boat per day with minimum fork length of 54 inches. Sand tigers are a protected species that must be released.
RIVERS
Catch reports from the Delaware River, C&D Canal and Christina River indicated excellent fishing for channel catfish, with anglers connecting with plenty of 2- to 4-pound fish on cut bunker, night crawlers, and chicken gizzards. Shore fishermen reported good fishing at Reedy Point Jetty and along the shore at Augustine Beach for short stripers, 16- to 18-inch bluefish and big white perch. Bait with cut bunker, peelers or bloodworms for the stripers, cut bunker or mackerel for the blues, and bloodworms for the perch. The Newport area of the Christina River provided an unusual catch for Kevin Weyl and Dan Hamm. The anglers stopped at Shooter's Supply with bowfins that weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces and 2 pounds, 8 ounces, respectively. River fishermen are still scoring on legal rockfish in the upper reaches of the Nanticoke River and around the Bethel Bridge over Broad Creek, according to reports passed along by Jerry Taylor at Taylored Tackle. Chunks of fresh bunker have been the top choice for striped bass action in this corner of the state. The Nanticoke and Broad Creek also have been productive for largemouth bass, with most of the fish being caught on submerged structure with Senkos. Fishermen trying for smallmouth bass are enjoying success while fishing the non-tidal portion of Brandywine Creek with live shiners, hellgrammites and crayfish.
PONDS
The best bet for bass action in the local ponds is to fish early in the morning, in the evening and on overcast days, according to Sean Foley at Captain Bones Bait and Tackle. Bass anglers stopping at the Odessa shop have gotten good results using tubes, crankbaits, buzzbaits and poppers. Heather Berger was fishing with live minnows in Noxontown Pond when she connected with a citation channel catfish weighing 6.29 pounds. Pearl McCall topped her weekly pond report from the Williamsville Country Store with a recommendation for Killens Pond for largemouth bass. Topping the list from Taylored Tackle was Records Pond, where bass are being caught on topwater baits and soft plastics.
Catch reports from the bluewater fleet showed plenty of varied action while trolling the inshore lumps, the 30-fathom line and temperature brakes at the Baltimore, Poormans and Washington Canyons. Topping the "where to" list for trollers targeting bluefin tuna, mahi mahi, king mackerel and chopper bluefish were the Parking Lot, Massey's Canyon and Tea Cup. The heaviest tuna of the season was weighed in at Lewes Harbour Marina during the past week by Brant Smith, according to marina owner Joe Morris. Weighing 285 pounds, the giant bluefin had a fork length of 81.50 inches and a girth of 55 inches. The trophy was caught aboard the Dutchman while trolling a bally dressed with a pink and black Ilander on the 30-fathom line at the Tea Cup. Other lures that have been working for anglers trolling the inshore lumps included heavy Green Machines, natural cedar plugs, squid daisies and large swimming plugs. Shark enthusiasts also had a good week while chumming for a mixed catch of makos, blue whalers, duskies and great hammerheads at locations including the Fingers, Parking Lot and Sausages. Shark action also was reported by anglers fishing within sight of the beach, with most of the inshore reports topped by sandbars and sand tigers. Good choices for near shore sharking included the DB and DA buoys, Artificial Reef Site 10 and Hens and Chickens Shoal. Boaters targeting black sea bass and flounder at DB buoy, the Old Grounds and Reef Sites 10 and 11 had mixed reports. For the fishermen who found the right spot and had the right bait, the action was worth the cost of fuel to run out of the inlet. One of the nicest flounder reported by Old Inlet Bait and Tackle in recent weeks was landed near DB buoy by Gary Klabon. The trophy flattie pushed the scale to 8 pounds, 6 ounces. With the season on tautog open again, anglers reported good action over the weekend while fishing tight to structure with sand fleas and chunks of green crab. The current season segment allows fishermen to keep 10 tog a day with a minimum keeper length of 14 inches. Shore fishing reports for tautog also showed good action along the rocks at Indian River Inlet. While the majority of the fish coming out of the rock piles are running short, patient fishermen have been putting a few nice fish in their coolers. An upwelling of cold water along the coast has slowed the action in the surf, with scattered reports of kingfish, blues, skates, sharks, rays, stripers. Anglers fishing the surf are using a variety of bait, including cut bunker, finger mullet and Fishbites. Striped bass action has been very good in Indian River Inlet, but with heavy summer boat traffic during the day, most serious rockfish anglers fishing at night. Old Inlet Bait and Tackle recommended fishing the incoming tide at night with live eels, rigged eels and dark colored swimming shad baits. Larry Fike checked in at the shop with a 30-pound striper from the inlet, with linesiders just over the 20-pound mark weighed by Tom Lynch, Burt Campbell, Nicky Miller and Leonard Gettle. Anglers fishing the inlet's jetties during the day continued to report fast action on bluefish at Indian River Bay. As schools of foraging fish moved in and out of the inlet, they won't hesitate to hit Gotcha Plugs, spoons, bucktails and metal casting lures. Flounder fishing in the back bays has been extremely frustrating for some fishermen, while others seem to consistently put one or two keeper on ice. The key, according to the folks who are dining on fresh flounder fillets is fishing close to structure while baiting with live spot or Gulp. Gene Reisinger checked in at Rick's Bait and Tackle with a 7.25-pound flattie caught on Gulp in Indian River Bay. Shop owner Rick Willman also reported other flounder between 3 and 5 pounds being checked in at the shop during the past week.
DELAWARE BAY
Boaters fishing around Ship John Light and Cross Ledge at night are still reporting catch-and-release action on striped bass in the 16- to 22-inch slot, according to reports passed along by Sean Foley at Captain Bones Bait and Tackle. Foley recommended peeler crabs or bucktails as the top choices for rockfish. Anglers trying for keeper-sized stripers have been focusing on the Outer Wall and Hay Stacks off of Lewes. Drifting live bunker early in the morning and during the evening has been the best bet at the Outer Wall, according to reports from fishermen stopping at Lewes Harbour Marina. Reports from the Hay Stacks showed casting plugs to be the top choice among striped bass anglers. Night fishing has been a productive tactic for anglers targeting weakfish around the lighthouses and rock piles in the lower bay, with most of the trout reported to be hitting on bucktails, swimming shad lures or jigheads baited with peeler crab. Anglers fishing for trout during the day are connecting with a few spikes at the Elbow, Flat Top, the Mohawk wreck and the Anchorage. Spec Rigs baited with peelers, bloodworms or live spot are a good choice. Flounder are being caught from the mouth up to Cross Ledge, but only around one fish in a dozen has been big enough to go into the cooler. Anglers trying to improve their odds of connecting with keeper fluke have been sticking close to structure or working sharp drop-off edges. Some of the better locations for legal flounder during the past week were on the northeast corner of the Anchorage. Myron Edwards topped the weekly flounder reports from Cedar Creek Bait and Tackle with a 7.05-pound flattie he landed while fishing the structure at Reef Site Seven. Other locations producing consistent action on flounder included Flat Top, the Stakes off of Fortescue and Miah Maul Lighthouse. Live spot have been especially effective on the flounder, with minnows, squid strips and frozen smelt also catching fish. Fishermen targeting trout and flounder are reporting scattered catches of croaker. Look for the hardhead action in the bay to really heat up over the next few weeks. Despite the late date, there are still a few fishermen reporting success on black drum at Pin Top and Tussy's Slough. Fresh clams are the bait of choice if you can find a tackle shop willing to put in a special order. Bluefish are being caught throughout the bay. Blues up to 4 pounds are being caught on cut bunker fished on the bottom and on lures worked along the edges of schools of surface feeding fish. Shark fishing is heating up in the mid and lower bay, with sandbar sharks and sand tigers providing most of the action. Good locations to anchor up and chum for bay sharks include Broadkill Slough, 60-Foot Slough and the mid and lower bay reef sites. Anglers are reminded that the limit on brown sharks is one fish per boat per day with minimum fork length of 54 inches. Sand tigers are a protected species that must be released.
RIVERS
Catch reports from the Delaware River, C&D Canal and Christina River indicated excellent fishing for channel catfish, with anglers connecting with plenty of 2- to 4-pound fish on cut bunker, night crawlers, and chicken gizzards. Shore fishermen reported good fishing at Reedy Point Jetty and along the shore at Augustine Beach for short stripers, 16- to 18-inch bluefish and big white perch. Bait with cut bunker, peelers or bloodworms for the stripers, cut bunker or mackerel for the blues, and bloodworms for the perch. The Newport area of the Christina River provided an unusual catch for Kevin Weyl and Dan Hamm. The anglers stopped at Shooter's Supply with bowfins that weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces and 2 pounds, 8 ounces, respectively. River fishermen are still scoring on legal rockfish in the upper reaches of the Nanticoke River and around the Bethel Bridge over Broad Creek, according to reports passed along by Jerry Taylor at Taylored Tackle. Chunks of fresh bunker have been the top choice for striped bass action in this corner of the state. The Nanticoke and Broad Creek also have been productive for largemouth bass, with most of the fish being caught on submerged structure with Senkos. Fishermen trying for smallmouth bass are enjoying success while fishing the non-tidal portion of Brandywine Creek with live shiners, hellgrammites and crayfish.
PONDS
The best bet for bass action in the local ponds is to fish early in the morning, in the evening and on overcast days, according to Sean Foley at Captain Bones Bait and Tackle. Bass anglers stopping at the Odessa shop have gotten good results using tubes, crankbaits, buzzbaits and poppers. Heather Berger was fishing with live minnows in Noxontown Pond when she connected with a citation channel catfish weighing 6.29 pounds. Pearl McCall topped her weekly pond report from the Williamsville Country Store with a recommendation for Killens Pond for largemouth bass. Topping the list from Taylored Tackle was Records Pond, where bass are being caught on topwater baits and soft plastics.