Saturday October 29th Fishing Report

Nothing like a nice day to get people out and about and on the beach. The boats got out today too, and did some decent catching.  The weather was beautiful and tomorrow looks even better.  The water temperatures are holding just under sixty degrees.  Masseys landing dropped down to fifty-six degrees over night, last night.  The water there hasn’t been above sixty degrees for three days, and it dropped dramatically on the night of the twenty-second from sixty-eight plus degrees.  The entire Delaware bay is around sixty degrees as far up as Delaware City.  That is one reason the striped bass are so active now, they are loving these low temperatures.  It is time to fatten up for the winter or that long journey south when some of the fish join the migratory schools.

Speaking of striped bass, the schools up north from northern New Jersey to New York are producing some great catches for anglers.  Beaches are being blitzed by bass chasing  schools of bunker.  Head boats and surf anglers are once again battling for the schools on both sides.  We will see that action soon enough, for now we get to fish for residents and the possible early migratory cows.  Some of the larger bass will move early and on their own.  All of the big fish you see being pulled out of the Delaware River and Bay are resident fish, they are not migratory fish.  This is the beginning of the fall run when everything schools up in our area.  Makes for some great fishing.  Right now striped bass action for schooling bass is off the hook and that is an intended pun.  Seriously the action is hot especially at night in many places.   Swim shads, poppers, plugs, and bucktails are working very well. The swim shads are getting destroyed by bluefish in the surf.   Better to use a small silver spoon for them so they can’t tear up the lure.  Casting spoons, Kastmasters, Hopkins, deadly dicks, silver stingers, or any other metal of your choice.  Bluefish will hammer anything shiny.

Lot of bluefish schools along the beaches, chasing baitfish and in some cases are the bait themselves on several fronts. The water behind some of these schools is boiling like some have never seen before, those are albies and they are still around. They have been here a couple of weeks and when you get into them the action is hot. Hard part is getting them to hit a lure. Picky fish for sure.  Try using silver stingers or deadly dick like metals and reel it fast, like you stole it!  Albies like fast food, just imagine how quick a bluefish can swim and try to do that with your lure.  The other front for the bluefish are anglers using them for bait.  The blues are hitting mullet on mullet rigs, and chunks on top and bottom rigs.  Silver spoons are working well too, but bait is faster and less work.  Some anglers are using pieces of bluefish to catch … bluefish.  However the puppy drum or redfish are hitting bluefish chunks on top and bottom rigs right in the shallow water.  There have been reds near the Oceanic Pier as well.  Good to see more of them around this year.  Would love to see that fishery come back here and farther north.

Black Sea bass season has been off to a good start for many anglers.  The Del Jersey reef has been one hot spot but there are sea bass all over most ocean structure right now.  They are hitting whatever you send down aside from an empty hook, squid, sand fleas, and clam are the best baits.  The ocean structure is covered with them in many areas, you just have to be willing to take that long boat ride.  Today was fun for a few boaters dealing with eight foot troughs in waves on the way home.

Tautog action is great at the outer, inner walls, the haystacks, reef structure and wreck sites.  Green crabs, sand fleas, and Asian box crabs are working for the best baits and all the stores have them.  One crab, the calico is working great, but you have to go catch them.  The Cape Henlopen fishing pier is good place to try, just use the ring nets for crabbing.    Tautog hit these like they are candy.  Another killer bait is hermit crabs, but catching them is a chore.  Unless you happen to know any watermen that happen to get them as by catch.  Break the shell and bait up with just the crab, tautog go nuts for them.  Some trigger and sheepshead are still hitting.

There is some decent white perch action in the Broadkill river with some black puppy drum in the mix.  Lot of schooling bass in the tidal creeks and rivers too.

All in all the fishing on this beautiful day was great for some, and not so hot for others, but that is the way it works.  The southern beaches seemed to have the best action on the incoming tide.  Early morning the blues are just close enough to cast too.  In the evening they are in much closer.  Have a great rest of the weekend.

Fish On!

Rich King