Striped Bass In The Surf And Snowy Owls In The Dunes

Yesterday a few keeper striped bass were caught in the surf.  The birds have been working the water in the mornings and everyday they have gotten closer.  Yesterday they came within casting distance.  A few keepers were pulled in Delaware Seashore State Park.  The boats had been doing well in the Delaware bay, but in the past few days the fish have moved farther south and/or out front.  Now the boats are doing better a mile from Bethany Beach.  The fish that moved out front are almost off limits, once the fish pass the three mile line, fishing for striped bass is illegal.  Which can be aggravating for boaters when they are just within a few yards of that line catching.  The fish that moved South have come closer to shore.  Key Box Beach down to Fenwick Island saw keepers yesterday, but low numbers due to the fact there were hardly any anglers out there.  The frequency of catches picked up today with the increase of anglers on the beaches today.  More lines in the water increases the odds of fish being caught.  Simple math, but that does not increase all the angler’s odds, just the amount of fish caught.  It is still fishing, and you  just never know if you are in the right place at the right time.  Early this morning the surf blew up from the point in Cape Henlopen State Park to Fenwick Island.  More fish were caught on the Southern ocean beaches.  Bunker chunks was the choice bait.  Not many were caught on plugs.  Eels and stretch twenty fives were the ticket for the boats.  Henry Busby and his friends were out there and the keeper he hit was stuffed with sand eels.  All of the bass have been feeding heavily on sand eels, mimicking that baitfish would be a good idea for artificials in the surf.  Bucktails with curly tailed soft plastics, or Tsunami sand eels.  I am tossing pencils tomorrow.

I met Steve on the beach today and we fished in DSSP at Conquest.  It was early afternoon, sky was overcast and the wind was picking up a bit.  Still a nice day in the sandbox.  There were several trucks on the beach.  I threw a few metals for a half hour and decided to use a chunk of his bunker.  We watched people catch skates up and down the beach.  Then we saw a guy catch a keeper striper.  Then Bobbby Rehrig just down the beach from us caught a nice thirty four inch bass.  We just kept looking at our rods waiting for that hit.  When I dropped by and said hello to Bobby he showed me the fish he caught.   It had a hook in its gullet with a leader on it and he said there was an eel on the hook when he pulled in the fish.  I am assuming a boat this morning had a break off, since the eel was still fresh.  I was supposed to be on the beach this morning at five a.m. but I hit the alarm off button and not snooze button, and woke up at ten a.m. instead.  I guess I needed the sleep, otherwise I would have been out there all day.  The day before a friend of mine took a picture of the snowy owls that have been in the dunes for the last three days.  I stopped on my way to the spot to meet Steve and took a few shots of the snowy owls.  From what I have been able too find, they are here due to the fact the lemming population they feed on has probably crashed.  That or they are delivering mail from Hogwarts Castle.  I’m going with the lemming population crash.  It was very cool to see these beautiful birds on our Delaware beaches.  There were more bird watchers than anglers on the beach at one point.  If you decide to go visit the beach to see the snowy owls, please respect their space.  They flew a long way to get here, and need to save all their energy.  I can not imagine what they will feed on in our dune systems, but will try to get some information and pass it along.  Everyone have a great rest of the holiday weekend, I have to try and get up early again tomorrow.

Fish On!!

Rich King