Memorial Day Week Fishing
The weather is playing havoc with everyone, the fish don’t seem to care as much. Frankly the bad weather, and these overcast days have produced a lot of fish. Anglers who stuck it out in the rain were doing well on Memorial Day, with bluefish blitzing the beaches at 3rs and lots of kingfish and burrfish in the surf at Conquest beach. Surf fishing was decent even with the door to door cars on the drive on beaches. We found a nice spot that wasn’t that crowded in Cape Henlopen of all places. We were able to spread out and fish like we normally do. Had it not been for the foggy day it would heave been much more packed. The Memorial Day weekend surf fishing was decent for those that were actually fishing, something much different than actively fishing. We spent the day catching burrfish, kingfish, skates, cownose, and porgies. Suzanne Martin was high hook with a ton of those little fish and puffers. Big blues hit the beach at one point about two hundred yards norht of us and then we saw a mini run of them when the chomped all the lines off.
The big gator blues are still here in the surf, random action at all beaches, Broadkill river, Indian river bay, Lewes canal, and Rehoboth bay. It has been just like last year and the action doesn’t last as long but it can still be pretty furious. Once you get on a school it is some fast, fun action. Silver spoons or white bucktails in the two to three ounce range are the best lures, plugs and poppers will work well. The yellow eyed devil will hit anything. The gator blues are breaking off a lot of lines in the surf and people drifting for flounder. If the blues show up switch fishing gear so you don’t get bit off and start fishing for blues. I like to keep a rod for casting handy with spoon at the ready, especially at the beach. Ina boat you can follow the fish,not so much on the beach, you have to be ready. Yesterday MAtt Adams was chainsing schools up and down Dewey beach. “Dude last night was my first blitz. That was the most insane fishing I’ve been a part of, they were like 2 ft into the water. I was literally underhand casting about 4 feet into the water, just walking along side of them. ” Blues are moving up and down the beaches daily, the times and locations are random you just have to get lucky and pick the right beach, or to find the schools moving through the inlet, around the inland bays, and when they hit the Henlopen pier. Thursday morning the blues were all over the flats at the Cape EHnlopen Pier. Dave Bebee said everyone on the pier was fishing from one side when he got to the shop.
Keeper striped bass have been along the beaches but the action is random and locations unpredictable. Just like the bluefish schools, you have to be there when they come in to shore and hope they are hungry. One end of 3Rs could be hot and the other end not and you won’t even know it since the beach is so long. Bunker chunks have been the best baits, but a couple have been caught on sand fleas. Night action is decent for striped bass. A whole bloodworm on a six aught circle hook might be a good choice for bait. With spot beinghere now that weill change up the way people fish for striped bass. live lining a spot is like candy to striped bass.
Croaker, kingfish, summer blues, and weakfish are all over the Delaware Bay beaches. Bloodworms on top and bottom rigs are producing decent catches The Diamond State Custom Tackle rigs have the best small hooks to catch the summer fish. The weakies are small or the “spike” size, but there have been a few caught around fourteen inches. A keeper is thirteen inches,and catching one over 18 inches is like finding a unicorn in a Star Wars movie. There are some caught each year in the six pound range but far and few between. The backbays of Jersey still have a decent fishery and see eight pounders regularly if you know where to fish.
Cownose rays, skates, dogfish, sharks, and rays are hitting all types of cut bait. If you want to avoid those catches use top and bottom rigs with fish bites and you will target the smaller fish and not the scavengers as much. Catching skate or Jersey flounder as we like to call them is a ritual in Delaware. Some days it is all you catch , and if you can’t even catch a skate, you are really having a bad day. They are good to eat just a pain to clean, once in a while area restaurants feature skate on a limited basis.
Crabbing around the inland bays and Delaware Bay has been excellent for recreational anglers. Crab pots, and traps or hand lines have been the best. Running rings or trot lines is not hot yet, but that will change with the recent warm up. The water temperatures jumped up quick during the heat wave of Memorial day weekend.
The Indian River Inlet was seeing a lot of large slot striped bass that had to go back in the water. It is a night bite and you have to be out on the rocks. Lot of short striped bass action and snapper bluefish when they move in and it doesn’t last long. Shad action is the same when they show up. Flounder will start hitting soon along the wall at Bubble gum beach. A couple of flounder have been caught at the Old grounds and some wreck sites when boats were fishing for sea bass.
Offshore anglers have been hammering yellowfin tuna. “The Norfolk has been on fire and looks like a marina with all the boats out there” Nice hauls are hitting the docks daily in Ocean City and Indian River Inlet. Mako sharks have been hooked up. The first thresher shark of 2016 for Delaware was weighed in at the North Marina over the weekend. The Kelly family caught the two hundred and ninety one pound shark near the Old Grounds. Top Fin Charters logged the first sand tiger shark catch of the year. it is a prohibited species so you can not remove them from the water.
Maryalnd’s first white Marlin was brought in over Memorail Day Weekend. “Andy Urban reeled in the first white marlin of 2016 on Friday, May 27. The marlin was caught at approximately 9:20 a.m. while the crew of “In the Black” was fishing off the shore of Ocean City between the Washington and Norfolk canyons. The fish was released after the catch. As the angler reeling in the first white marlin of the season, Urban will receive a $5,000 prize awarded by the Town of Ocean City. “Ocean City is proud to be the White Marlin Capital of the World,” commented Mayor Rick Meehan. “What a fantastic way to kick off our holiday weekend and the start to our summer than the first white marlin catch of the season. It’s a symbolic start to the fishing season and hopefully a sign of many more for our offshore fisherman this summer.” …. Jessica N. Waters Communications Manager | Town of Ocean City
The Lewes boats have been going out daily for seabass and every night for black drum. The seabass action has been excellent, with some cod and occasional flounder in the mix. Black drum are all over the coral beds, and averaging fifty five pounds. They are hitting clam and the Lewes fleet has been doing well. The drum are also showing up in the surf at Cape Henlopen hitting clam or sand fleas.
Fishbites is starting to work for bait. So you have an alternative to keeping and transporting fresh baits. I have seen fishbites out fish fresh bait, and even catch multiple fish until more was needed. The strips of the bloodworm formula are easy to use. Just cut a piece the same length as the width of the strip. Put that little square on your hooks on a top and bottom rig and wait. The crab formula, shrimp, and sand flea formula work rather well. Those are the ones I have used with the most luck.
Fish On!
Rich King
His First Fish!! This is how I act every time I catch a fish
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