Fisherman's Wharf Fishing Report October 15, 2004

Fishing this past week aboard the Full-Day boat Thelma Dale IV can best be described as awesome. We continue to fish at anchor over the top of shipwrecks and artificial reefs with outstanding action! Sea Bass continue to make up the bulk of the catch and most anglers have actually been complaining about having been worn out from winding in fish from the depths of 70 to 100 feet of water all day long.

Despite a couple of rough and windy days, we have still managed to get away from the dock every morning. This is certainly the time of year to have a boat that is 110 feet long, without a boat of this size, we would have no doubt missed a couple of days due to the wind and rough seas. A lot of the fish that we have been catching have fallen short of the required 12 inches, but the constant action has provided anglers with nonstop fishing fun! Patient anglers who measure close have been able to get a limit of 25 keepers on most trips. Just about every angler has been well into double digits of nice keeper fish by days’ end.

I have fished every day so far during the month of October, and with the exception of the all too common Saturday or Sunday sting, the catch has been outstanding. I don’t think that I have seen quite the number of the two and three pound Bass like I was seeing a couple of weeks ago, but we still continue to see a good number of large Sea Bass coming in over the rails on every trip. Just this past week we have weighed in five fish over three pounds!

We are also seeing quite a few Triggerfish mixed in with the catch along with a good number of keeper sized Porgies, and still the occasional Flounder. Slammer sized Blues are not uncommon on some of the wrecks we have been fishing either. As the water continues to cool I expect to see a few more big Blues reeking havoc with our bottom rigs. There have been a couple of times in some of the deeper water wrecks where bite-off’s were common. On these trips we actually landed several of these toothy critters up to 14 lbs. The poolfish has been anything from a big Blue, to a Triggerfish, to a Flounder or a Sea Bass. You just don’t know!

Water temperatures have been hanging around the 67 degree mark for offshore waters and as cool as 62 degrees for some of the inshore waters in the mouth of the Bay. This is good news for those that are anxiously awaiting the inevitable Striper bite to start. There has been news of a few big linesiders caught way up in the Delaware Bay and it is just a matter of time before we are able to catch some of these fish in some of the traditional rips in the mouth of the Delaware Bay.

We will be running a Striper boat daily until the middle of December sailing at 8:00 a.m. Remember that the past several years have proven that some of the biggest fish will be taken during the early stages of this fall Striper run. Give us a call and we will keep you abreast of the Striper situation. As of this writing all Striper efforts have yielded only Croakers and Snapper Blues. Any day this fishery will take off with some good catches.

This weekend’s forecast promises more wind. In fact our first 12-hr. wreck trip of the fall season has been scrubbed because of the forecasted gails. The stage is set for yet another weekend stinger! They have been wrong before, and only time will tell.

We will be continuing with our daily schedule until the middle of December with both Wreck fishing for Sea Bass and Tautog departing at 7:00 a.m. as well as drift fishing for Stripers at 8:00 a.m. If you would like more information on any of the trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to make a reservation for one of our special trips, please check out our website or give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing! .


Until next time Happy Fishing!
Capt. Rick Yakimowicz
fishing@fishlewes.com
Keen Lady IV