We have had another excellent week of catching fish here at the Wharf. The Flounder continued well into the latter part of the week and as the weekend approached the winds became stronger, holding bottom became tougher on the drift, and our keeper Flounder numbers started to drop. By the weekend drifting conditions were all but impossible, that’s O.K. anchor to the rescue! And Anchor we did. While the total number of Flounder landed while on anchor was way off compared to the first of the week we were still able to make up some very nice catches with a mix of big Flounder and a few Sea Bass along with a few other species of fish.

As I write, the Surf is still up. We stayed tied to the dock on Tuesday 9/18 this was the first day that I haven’t sailed with an All-day trip in nearly a month. It was nice not to go especially with the Northeast winds at 20 plus knots and wave heights approaching 8 feet in the area where we have been fishing. Anchor or not, there is a time that even a 110-foot boat is best off staying tied up. After this blow we will regroup and see how the deck has been reshuffled. The Flounder ride that we have been on has been super but you have to think that it can only go on for so long. The fish that we have been seeing are chocked full of roe which is a good indicator that they are in preparation for their offshore migration to spawn. Time will tell. There have been a lot of Fluke around over the past few weeks and I anticipate catching them for a while longer however it’s not likely that we will see the catches with the big numbers of just the last couple of weeks.

As I anchored in the wind over the weekend it seemed as just about every wreck or reef that we dropped back on was loaded with Flounder, lots of short fish both Bass and Flat fish, and plenty of action with some impressive fish coming up occasionally to keep up the interest. Sea Bass fishing was quite disappointing as far as I was concerned, we did see some decent Bass on every stop however the keepers were few and far between. There was times when you could catch them every drop but with perhaps only a one for ten or even less keeper ratio. Hopefully this will improve as time goes by, the Bass do seem to be on the move.

As the summer winds down and more weather fronts pass through our region the anchor will likely be our best option for catching fish. As I stated earlier the wrecks seem to have an abundance of Flounder on and around them now but they will be moving on and the Sea Bass will be the main target. I won’t be too picky; we will fish for whatever we can catch. It is too soon to say when I will make the transition to just anchoring but I can tell that it won’t be far off especially if the winds persist.

We were back out hard at it today 9/19 however the large swells and the 15 knot chop on top made for some very difficult angling and fish were sparse. As the Swells subside and the winds come around to some direction other than Northeast this will tell the story as to just what we might be able to get away with over the next few days. I would like to get back into the area where we had so much success with the Fluke the past couple of weeks however conditions just haven’t warranted drift fishing in this area. It can’t blow forever. It is also possible that the blow may have pushed some Croakers back onto the “old grounds” we will just have to see.

In the upcoming weeks expect a variety of fish including Sea Bass, Flounder, Blues and Croakers it is also likely that we will be seeing more Triggerfish on some of our trips. I can’t tell you whether we will be anchoring or drifting that is a call that I will only be able to make on a daily basis as conditions warrant. I do expect to continue fishing in at least 70 feet of water and more likely close to 90 and drifting whenever we can because these fish are still spread over miles of bottom. We will anchor down when the drift no longer works.

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

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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