Cold temperatures, wind, rain and even snow have all played a role for fishing at the Wharf for the last two weeks. I did mention wind right? We certainly had enough for me to be able to mention it a few times! Really didn’t seem to care which direction it blew from either, it has just been blowing hard almost every day.

My first trip away from the docks in quite a while was Friday the thirteenth of April. I’m not really all that superstitious but after the anchor didn’t hold for the fourth attempt, I was beginning to wonder. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the 25-knot winds or the hard running tide near the mouth of the Delaware Bay. The anchor would finally hold and when the current eventually broke down we got our shot on the Tog. Even though the fish made us wait them out in painful cold and windy conditions with nothing to show for several hours, limit catches for nearly everyone on board with fish up to eleven pounds was our reward when the tide broke.

Saturday was a much nicer day. There was a window in the forecast that even allowed the 18-hr trip to venture off into the deep. With virtually no wind and a change of tide first thing in the morning we had our own window of opportunity for the Tautog. I love it when a plan falls together. We ended up just a few shy of a limit catch for the entire boat by 9:30 in the morning with fish that would again reach close to ten pounds. Had the winch not broken when we went to hull back the anchor, it is likely that we would have caught those other few fish. Instead, with the beautiful ocean and the current running the way it was for several more hours, we opted to try and jig for the Mackerel. No luck on either the Mack’s or Herring but we did find Sharks on just about every stop. After having taken over an hour to get that anchor back to the boat along with the Armstrong help of several of the passengers… dropping it into the depths without a winch to bring it back was not an option! Water temperatures were good for the Mack’s but out of the three party boats I knew that were looking for them, none were caught.

Capt. H.D. got his weather window that he needed to get in his last 18-hour trip in for the spring. By all accounts this was a very successful trip with top hooks landing limit or near limit catches of Jumbo Sea Bass up to seven pounds and also a good number of Blue Line Tile fish spread around the boat. Capt. H seemed very pleased with his last trip offshore and said to me, “wasn’t the best but it wasn’t too shabby either. We had some really nice fish.” Look for these extended offshore wreck trips to start up again late this year or early into next.

We will be running some 12-hour trips for Sea Bass in the upcoming weeks as soon as these fish get into range. Look for these dates posted here on the website as well as through the phone lines for dates and updates.

I’m sure that the ugly weather we have been having will eventually take a turn for the better and we will be able to get out more than just a few trips a week. Without Mackerel look for more wreck fishing in the immediate future catching mostly Tautog for at least a couple more weeks. There may also be Stripers or Drum caught. Remember if you are interested in a small private charter for the Linesiders or the Black Drum that this is the time to book your trip! Even though the weather has sucked there has still been some outstanding catches made with the Stripers just recently and the Drum are just starting to turn on. We will also be running an open boat night trip for the Drum later this spring.

If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to make a reservation please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz
Keen Lady IV
catchfish@verizon.net