If you missed our last 18-hour trip this past weekend as far as I’m concerned you missed a great one! Not only were the seas calmer than any of our previous excursions but the fish bit well too! We departed on time in the wee hours Saturday morning and rode all night to fish wrecks to the south in thirty plus fathoms.

Making decent travel time all night we actually arrived at our first location before the sun peaked over the horizon. We anchored up and started fishing in about 220 feet of water in the dark and rods started bowing over almost immediately. Unfortunately the only thing that really seemed to be awake on this wreck in the predawn hour was Sharks, Spiny Dogs and way too many of them! We muddled through the tangles and the frustration of the Dogs for nearly an hour before the Bass started to take over.

As the Sun came up over the horizon the Bass begin to come on better and better. It was strange; Sea Bass anywhere from nine or ten inches all the way up to five plus pounds were coming over the rail all around the boat. Much like our first trip of the year by nine o’clock in the morning it was evident that some folks were going to have a big day! There were some coolers that were nearly half or two thirds full in just that short of time! Of course there were others that couldn’t quite get in the grove and either caught all little guys or just lost their bait but that happens the fishing was good nonetheless.

The Ocean was absolutely gorgeous for any time of the year especially for the third week of January. We stayed on station at the first wreck for close to three hours with only a few minor adjustments and the fish kept coming. Not fast and furious like we see sometimes, but just a good strong pick with some very impressive fish and the frequent Jumbo popping up! When we left the first wreck some guys were nearly limited out already and some would be holding just had a few.

Our next stop was in just a little deeper water and the action was similar to the first wreck but maybe not quite as many of the smaller fish in the mix. The Bass continued to add up for most anglers and we also brought in a few nice Hake up to about seven pounds and one big Tautog, which would ultimately take the pool for the biggest fish of the day. I am certain that I saw more Jumbo Bass landed on this trip than either of our prior journeys. Our biggest Sea Bass for this trip was just shy of seven pounds.

We had anchored again to the other side of the same wreck and managed to pluck away several more quality fish along with an assortment of Eels and a few Sharks when Capt. H and I decided that we were going to take advantage of the conditions and try a little deeper on our way home. Now if you have never had much experience fishing in the depths of over 200 feet of water you have likely guessed that this is in fact, a lot of winding. Our next stop was nearly 350 feet deep. When we first dropped back and the rods started doubling over the worst part was the anticipation of what was at the other end of the line. Even the fellows with the electric reels thought that they would never break the surface. Our last stop of the day we fished for a little over an hour in this depth and once again saw more quality fish landed, mostly Sea Bass and some of them in the four and five pound class. We did see several Blue Line Tilefish up to about eight pounds and some more world class Conger Eels. We had hoped to see a few of the Wreckfish that we had seen in these depths before however none were landed on this day.

We have quite a few more of these trips scheduled in the upcoming weeks if you are interested they run mostly on Saturdays. Reservations are required and our full schedule of dates can be found from our home page at fishlewes.com. Click on special trips. Reservations can be made over the phone at (302) 645-TUNA. Water temperatures seem pretty stable offshore at around 47 degrees, which should be good for the migration pattern of these fish for several more weeks. We are also scheduled to try for Tog on weekends starting next month with the regular All-Day trips. We did some of this last spring and it worked out fairly well. Even though this is scheduled as an open boat I am going to have to ask that you please call in advance so we can give you a good idea about the weather and if there is going to be enough people to make the trip. You can either call the above number or email me directly for this.

If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to sign up for one of the special trips again please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Time Happy Fishing

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz
Thelma Dale V
catchfish@verizon.net