Somewhat of a roller coaster ride this past week at the Wharf and in more ways than one. Fluke landings were way down in the middle to the end of last week and Croakers came on strong. Of course strong winds as the weekend approached made for some rocky conditions on deck a couple trips.

After almost three solid weeks of seeing good numbers of Flounder in the Bay and in the mouth of the Bay they just seemed to almost disappear overnight as the weekend neared. Fortunately The Snapper Blues and the Croakers made for some pretty decent catches for anglers when it was too rough to fish out front, or the Fluke just were not biting. It’s hard to believe that we could see so many Flounder so many days in a row and then next to none. I guess that’s why we call it fishing! If I could figure out where they went or why they weren’t biting I probably wouldn’t be doing this for a living!

We did manage to get back on some Flounder Sunday but we were back out in the deep. Strong northeast winds in the Delaware Bay had waves kicking up over four and five feet so I made the right hand turn and fished in the Ocean. With only moderate winds out front we were able to make the day with Flounder and a few Bass and didn’t get our butts kicked! It was not without pain though; anglers at times had as much as a pound of lead on the rig just to stay in touch with the bottom. Some folks caught fish some were just spectators. I’d have to call it a typical “old grounds” trip. After seeing several nice Fluke on Sunday we ventured back out to the same area however Mother Nature had a plan to reserve her precious Flatties for another day. Strong southerly winds kicked up, and by midday it was all but impossible to stay in touch with the bottom. Another “typical” old grounds trip, however this one was a failure. Croakers were looking pretty good by the end of that day. I was back out on the old grounds again today 8/7 and we have seen the best Fluke trip in several days with fish up to seven pounds and a few nice Bass in the mix. A successful old grounds trip we didn’t even need more than 8 oz. Of lead to hold bottom!

It is anybody’s guess what the future holds for the next few days as I struggle with fishing in the Bay or in the Ocean. There are plenty of fish in either place it’s just a matter of the right place and the right time. Hopefully the strange tides we have been having of late will ease and The Flounder that are undoubtedly still up in the Bay will turn on again so we can see some more of that mixed bag fishing with the Fluke, Croakers, and Blues that we had so close to home for a couple of weeks. I will make the call each day as I judge conditions with the crowd and the weather and I will continue to try to have you in the best location that I can to show you a good day of fishing but it looks as if our best bet for the big Flounder will be out front.

If it’s just Croakers that you want I would have to say that Half-Day trips are still your best bet. Even though we have seen some outstanding numbers of these fish this past week with the All-Day trips it is still likely that we may not see any Croaker if we are on the Fluke. Half Day trips continue to see outstanding numbers with Croakers up to 20 inches on just about each and every trip with average fish running from 11 to 15 inches in length and I expect that they should continue to see catches like this for several more weeks.

The summer heat has water temperatures soaring, the Ocean surface temperature today was almost eighty degrees while Bay waters feeling much like a bathtub, have reached as high as eighty-four degrees. There have been more and more Mahi, King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel and Cobia landed by private boats this past week than I have heard of in quite some time. Tuna fishing has also remained steady for boats venturing a little further offshore. The Lewestown Lady will be out all week fishing the White Marlin Open however they will be back hard at it next week when they get back to Lewes.

Remember Full-Day trips will continue to run daily at 7:00 a.m. this is your best chance for Flounder and Sea Bass. Half-Day trips will run three times a day at 8:00, 1:00 p.m. and then again at 6:00 p.m. Croakers will be at the top of the menu. Kids still go for free if they are under 12 years of age until the end of this month. If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to book a charter or get on the offshore make up list please email me or give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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