By
Eric Burnley Sr.*
Updated: June 21, 2013
DELAWARE
BAY Fishing
remains very good in the bay after all
the heavy rain early in the week. Bottomfish
such as croaker, kings and blowfish
have been caught out of Bowers Beach
all the way down to Lewes Beach and
the Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier.
Bloodworms are the prime bait followed
by shrimp, clam, cut bunker, Gulp! and
Fishbites. Use small pieces on small
hooks for best results.
Flounder are scattered throughout
the lower bay with reef sites the top
locations. The bite has been slow
with a few big fish caught on Speck
Rigs with Gulp, live minnows, squid,
smelt and strips of bunker. The
Broadkill River, Lewes and Rehoboth
Canal, the Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier
and Lewes Beach have also seen a few
nice flatfish.
The tidal creeks and rivers are
full of croaker and further up stream,
plenty of white perch. While the
majority of the croaker are small,
there are some in excess of 12 inches
and most of the white perch are
keepers. Bloodworms are the best bait
for both species.
The Outer and Inner walls and the
Ferry Jetty off of Lewes have produced
both trout and rockfish. Working plugs
and jigs in the early AM or late PM
has been the best technique. Trout
have also been found around the
jetties at Roosevelt Inlet, in the
Broadkill River and along the jetties
at Broadkill Beach. The old standby of
a white or yellow bucktail with a
purple worm still works as do Gulp!
tipped jigs and peeler crab.
INDIAN RIVER
INLET Anglers working
the jetties and sidewalks at night
pick up the occasional keeper rockfish
as well as a few shorts.
Bucktails and shads continue to be the
top baits.
Shad have been in good supply for
both shore-bound and boat anglers.
Small spoons and shad darts have
accounted for excellent catches. Fly
fishermen find shad particularly
suited for their style of fishing.
Flounder remain a slow pick at the
inlet and in the bays. Keepers
are available on minnows, squid,
shiners, smelt and Speck Rigs with a
Gulp! swimming mullet. The deeper
holes like the VFW Slough and
Massey’s Ditch have been the most
productive locations.
INSHORE
OCEAN Bottom bouncers
are catching a wide variety of species
at sites 11 and 12, but the target
species, sea bass, are not in good
supply. There are fair numbers of
shorts, but keepers are few and far
between.
The best of the sea bass action has
been over structure at least 30 miles
off the beach. Captain John
Nedelka was out there on Saturday and
said he never caught a single sea bass
less than 13 inches. He also told
us the water on the bottom was much
warmer than it was closer to the
beach.
Sharkers are finding makos and
threshers on the various 20-fathom
lumps. Bigger makos have been caught
further off shore by both trollers and
chummers.
Croaker are showing up close to the
beach and some decent kings have been
mixed in with the croakers. Bloodworms
or strips of clam have been the best
baits.
OFFSHORE
OCEAN The yellowfin
tuna bite has kicked in at the
Baltimore and Poorman’s canyons. A
few boats have returned with limit
catches while most are catching one or
tuna in the 40 to 60-pound class per
angler. At least one bigeye has
been caught and there are some dolphin
taken as well. Ocean City
recorded their first white marlin of
the year and a Delaware boat should
find our first this weekend.
Sharkers working at night are
recording excellent catch and release
action on blue sharks with a mako to
keep. Some boats are catching
several more makos after the one
keeper is in the boat. Makos are
also showing up on lines trolled for
tuna.
SURF FISHING
Good numbers
of panfish such as croaker, spot,
kings and blowfish have been caught
from the beach.
Bloodworms are the
top bait followed by clam, bunker and
squid. The action extends from
Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island and
while not every day is great, there
are enough good days to make for some
fine fishingood.
We are approaching the time when
larger rockfish will be invading the
bay. There are certainly plenty of
bunker for them to feed on and I hope
once the rock arrive they will stay
around for awhile.
