As I write this report we are picking up the pieces from an ill forecasted coastal storm that has battered our area with winds in excess of sixty knots at times over the last thirty-six hours. But not before we managed to get in a pretty good to sometimes-awesome week of some serious fish catching action with Sea Bass, Tautog, Drumfish and Tilefish.

Early last week we saw a nice mix with Tautog and some big Sea Bass with most of our all-day trips. On a few of our days some lucky or skilful anglers would land well into double digits with keeper Sea Bass as big as four pounds along with a few Tog to help fill the box by days end. During our best Sea Bass action I would say that we saw on average of about a one in six keeper ratio which, while not the best for this early run is certainly a good sign that these fish are moving in. Action was fast and furious around the rail on a lot of our stops, I had one fellow that jigged all day on one trip and boasted of catching 98 Bass yet only keeping 9 or 10 for the day. As the week progressed a few times we fished just for the Tog when conditions warranted and found them biting finicky just at the changes of the tide with the strong running currents that we have been seeing for about a week but we still caught them.

Saturdays trip was a sort of disappointment for me, we ran offshore a little further than we had been fishing in hopes of seeing some good numbers with the Sea Bass however this was just not the case. Even though top hooks managed to land a dozen or fifteen very nice Bass there were too many gaps in between and some folks never even landed a keeper while average catches were less than double digits. The wrecks were all holding some nice fish but there was just no “backbone” to the numbers of Bass around these wrecks and we caught them up quick on each stop. The current was strong even 20 miles off the beach and we needed at least 10 ounces or more of lead to stay in touch with the bottom. All this coupled with the rain and the cool sea breeze we had all day added up to a long trip for some folks.

Sunday we redeemed ourselves with a brief stop close to the mouth of the Bay. With a slick flat ocean and a change of tide just around the corner we were able to sit over one of my favorite Tog wrecks and pretty much limit everyone on the boat out with Tog up to ten pounds in less than an hour and a half! We even landed a couple of bonus Stripers from this wreck that I really didn’t expect, but was happy to see nonetheless! I felt pretty good about this stop since it was the final day of landing Tog for the 2008 spring tog fishery and we went out with a bang! From here on when we catch a Tog we will be forced to throw it back until later in the summer when we will once again be able to land them. We pushed offshore Sunday after the tide changed and managed to catch a few more nice Bass, lots of little Bass and some more Tog and Sharks to keep things interesting. It was a good Day.

Capt. H.D. had another successful long-range trip over the weekend also. They departed midnight Friday and got off to a slow start early in the morning Saturday with the conditions but as the day progressed and conditions rapidly improved the fishing just got better and better. Some Sea Bass and lots of Blue line Tilefish filled the coolers for just about everyone onboard. Doubles and sometimes triple-headers kept all hands busy with the dip nets for several hours bringing these fish that would weigh up to nearly twenty pounds in from the depths. I spoke with Capt. H just yesterday about scheduling another long-range trip and he said it was in the works but the date is up in the air right now. I will post the date here as soon as it is available it should be in two or three weeks.

Prior to the wind event that we just encountered yesterday water temperatures were close to sixty degrees up in the Delaware Bay and nearly fifty-seven in the Ocean. I would imagine that these temps took a dip with the strong northeast winds recently but should bounce right back in no time. The Drumfish were starting to bite quite well with several brutes landed late last week and over the weekend. I would expect to see more and more of them as the Bay calms down again. Flounder and Bluefish have also been cooperating close to home with some of the small boaters in the canal and surf fisherman along the beach, providing good inshore action.

Now that the Tog fishery is closed these fish will be taken right out of the equation for my full-day trips. All of our efforts will be concentrated on fishing just for Sea Bass each and every day. Any Tog caught (and we will see some) will have to be released. It won’t be long before we start seeing some more Bluefish and eventually some Fluke in the mix on our all-day trips, but for now it will be primarily Sea Bass. We are sailing every day at 7:00 a.m. and generally return to the dock around 4:00. Expect to fish anywhere from 70 to 120 feet of water. Don’t be afraid of the braid it is welcome on my boat and we will work with it anytime, it will catch you more fish. 40lb. spectra will do the job and depending on your rod you may even go a little lighter.

If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf please call (302) 645-TUNA or feel free to email me at the address below.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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