Follow Me Along The Sea

Surf Fishing The Delaware Beaches On Janu-Summer, A Summer Like Day In Winter

Sunday Funday was a great time at the beach, even pulling out vehicles. It was like summer yesterday, minus the crazy crowded beaches. There was all kinds of activity, and no fish were caught. Almost just like summer, except we do catch fish year round, just not all the time. We didn’t put a huge effort into fishing, it was take a break from the flow of daily life day, but for us this is part of our daily life. The beach and the sea.

I started out at the “spot” that we have been calling it on the group page, and no one knows what we are talking about. The “spot” is where the Massey’s Ditch Dredge project pipe is pumping sand and slurry. A buddy of mine working the project told me … “I am seeing pieces of clam, mussel, crabs, and even a hug piece of wood come of of that pipe. The birds are here just picking up food. Some days they aren’t here it depends what the dredge gets into”
“So basically you guys are chumming the beach with all those pieces. There is no way that dredge isn’t picking up some bay life. Not to mention all that herring smell to boot. That has to attract fish.” I have friends that have been fishing down there and aren’t noticing a difference but the theory is sound. I think it might have something to do with the tide, or the bait, or both, or how you hold you face or, or or. The fun part of surf fishing is figuring it out, catching is the bonus and reward.

We jumped in the trucks and headed north of the dredge pipe yesterday and fished just a tad north of Faithful Steward crossing, you could see us on the Deldot’s north tower traffic cam on the Charles W Cullen Bridge. There were a a few loons out front on bait, but they mostly were coming up with crabs. A seagull swooped in at one point and nailed a bunker, but we didn’t know if it was alive when caught or discarded bait. A couple pelicans flew by, but didn’t drop in on anything. Didn’t matter we were there to surf fish, relax, and explore.

The less walking I did the better, my dogs are still barking from the Millville Fire Company Outdoorsman Marketplace. Fishbites Bag O’ Worms fast acting sandworm alternative, in the red packages, is the bait we tried. The fast acting works in cold water it dissolves faster. A new flavor we haven’t tried, no they are not the sand worms from the movie Dune, though that would be appropriate.

I threw some lures for a bit and decided that was just way too much work, That sand ledge makes a nice seat with a good shovel by the way. The sand ledge is all the way up the beach and will disappear soon enough. The heavy winds on Friday night carved that out. I heard the dredge crew recorded a sixty-five mile an hour burst at one point. Must make those Wisconsin boys feel right at home.

Not long into the day a jet ski went by the beach, in January. Dude was flying and had on a wet suit because that is what you wear in forty degree water. I didn’t think much of it at the time, just another one of us crazy locals having some fun on a Janu-summer day. Andrew and Laura said, is that one of your crazy jet ski friends …. Probably.
Birds are still diving for food, now we have five loons out front, still no fish, still don’t care. Waves are getting bigger someone should call the surfers. We are in that weird winter really low tide time of year, that has a small wave window for good surfing.

The day was a lot of fun, surf fishing in Delaware on Janu-summer in sixty plus degree weather. It was a good time. We had some fun with the Facebook followers with a rubber cobra. Seriously gang, the beach cobras don’t come out until late in the summer. I packed up and headed home, pulled out a truck on the way just to remind me what summer is like in the middle of winter.

There have been some short striped bass caught up and down the beaches, a few dogfish and skates. I heard a bunch of speckled trout at Cape before the weekend. That could be true or the rumor mill is hyped on an old picture. Going back out this morning, I decided I need two days off this week. Mundane Monday just got better.

Fish On!!
Rich King