Flounder Pounding Has Begun In Delaware

The blue crabs emerging from the mud was exciting news, but there is another yearly visitor we have all been waiting for.  Not the seals, they have been here for a while now.  This time of year the Henbit in the fields flower (little purple flowers) and that is a sign that the summer flounder should start showing up.  The inland bays hit upwards of fifty eight degrees a few days ago in the back bay areas at low tide.  Masseys Landing has topped out at fifty four degrees and is fluctuating a good six degrees between tides.  Being so close to the inlet and getting all of that cooler ocean water will keep that temperature from rising too fast.  In the past few days at least three flounder have been caught from Indian River Bay.  These are confirmed catches and there isn’t a picture, because these boys don’t take pictures.  Clark Evans from Old Inlet Bait and Tackle confirmed one of these catches.  The other two were seen by a close friend of mine.  He said the keeper at eighteen inches was a pretty looking summer flounder.  This happens every time we have a mild winter, summer flounder show up this early.  If the Cape Henlopen fishing  pier were open, fishing the flats would be a good place to look for them as well.  Where are they in Indian River Bay?  Well you will have to go out and do some fishing to see what you can hook up.  You can look in the usual hot spots or check areas with low water that is warmer at low tide.  We don’t like getting specific with boat locations, it can get crowded fast.  Just take a look at the VFW slough in the summer.  The summer flounder are on the hunt for minnows and crabs.  The mummichogs (killifish) are showing up all over the place, and we have a lot of grass shrimp around.  The bays are full of food.  Bunker are still thick in the back bays filling up the nets.  Summer flounder are showing up in a some areas to our north (jersey back bays) and south (Virginia) so they are definitely around.  They are not in full swing yet so don’t get discouraged if you don’t hook up with a flattie.

According to some publications the migratory striped bass are already on the move.  Our resident fish started schooling up a week or more ago in the inland bays and upper Delaware bay areas.  The tributaries of the Chesapeake are already seeing large spawning bass and we have all seen the big bass being caught in the Chesapeake this winter.  You can say it is an early spring or everything is running right on time.  That depends on how you look at it.  The ocean fish are on the move but we still have chilly water out front, but the bay areas are seeing resident action.  The Chesapeake Bay is seeing its own schooling action up and down the coastline.  I have seen some pictures of some very healthy looking striped bass.  Bloodworms are the best baits this time of year for the schooling bass.  Bunker chunks will work as well but also attract the big catfish.  They love bunker chunks.  The surf is seeing skates and spiny dogfish caught on bunker chunks.  You cold look for some striped bass and flounder int he cuts where the faster water is but they are mostly in the back bays hunting for food.  The grass lines on the mud banks are full of minnows and grass shrimp.

This weekend’s cold snap and possible snow may slow things down for a day or so, but once mother nature gets rolling she tends to just keep on moving.  Trees are budding and blooming all over Sussex county and the fields are turning purple with henbit.  Flowers are in full bloom and I am watching my grass grow, not looking forward to mowing this year, but then I never am.

Newton and Tidbury ponds were stocked again yesterday.  Several people got into some nice trout.  Conner Fisher managed a stringer and filled in his spots for rainbow and brown trout for the 2016 All Species Fishing Tournament.  Everyone participating this year is starting to get fish on the board.  There is plenty of time to sign up that is why the tournament runs through the both spring and fall fishing seasons, so everyone has a chance to fill in the list.  So far everyone has put up freshwater fish on the board, but soon we will start seeing some saltwater action.  White perch is the closest anyone has come to saltwater.  That action has been hot in all the tidal creeks.  You just have to find the fish.  One day they are hitting everything you throw at them and the next day they are gone.  Such is the nature of fishing.  The crappie action has been hot one day and cold the next.  Richard Seagraves, a member of the Saltwater Fly Anglers of Delaware entered a nice looking shad into their fishing tournament.  He caught it near a spillway in Lower Delaware.  There are herring at all the spillways too.  There is a lot of fishing action going off at one time, spring is always fun to see what pops up next.

The ponds and creeks are all hot for yellow perch, bass, pickerel, bluegills, crappie, and catfish.  Lot of big cats being caught as far up north as battery park in Old New Castle.  Eels are starting to hit all baits as well, fun to catch, but slimy when you try to get them off the hook.  Speaking of ponds.  We helped organize a clean up for Burtons Pond for this Sunday at 3 PM.  We are hoping to get it clean enough that Mr Burton will open the pond back up to the public.  After we published the article about the pond being closed the out pour of people wanting to help has been overwhelming.  We are working on organizing a larger group to start cleaning other areas, but that is going to take some time.  There are some other ponds that have been closed due to litter.  Bucktail Bob sent me this message … ”  Just read about Burtons Pond.  If you get a clean up party going let me know and I will help if I can.  That’s the third place this year where I fish that has been shut down.  Seaford near the hospital spill way had a launch for carry ons, now building condos all over it.  At Cubbage Pond a neighbor got upset about garbage. He put three loads of dirt so there’s no parking anymore.  Last year Reynolds Pond residents closed that access because of garbage.  I truly don’t blame them”     We need to start policing all fishing access areas better for trash.  I know a lot of people who carry bags with them to clean up trash, but it is not the responsibility of some to clean up after others.  Unfortunately, litterbugs come in all shapes and sizes, they will never stop it is part of their personality to be trashy.  People like that are going to ruin this for everyone, it is up to all anglers to be stewards of the waterways.  You can always call people out for littering or you can call the authorities.

Fish On!!

Rich King