As the calendar keeps ticking away the days of October you can’t help but to wonder if summer has really gone? Unseasonably warm weather, fairly calm seas and water temperatures that are more like the first couple of weeks in September have all added up to one strange fall in the fishing department.

Last week I had reported some of the best Sea Bass action so far this fall, this week I have a better description for our Bassing but it’s not what you really want to hear. Normally at this time of year Sea Bass fishing would be nonstop with good action and lots of nice fish coming over the rails however this is not the case. While we have seen some really decent catches in the past few days and weeks this fishing is way off from what I would like to see, it just seems to lack any backbone or consistency. The abundance of fish still seem to be mostly small and they are not always stacked up on or around the structures the way that they would normally be given the time of year. Water temperatures may be the key to our success. A few days ago a dive team was out at the offshore reef site surveying growth and they reported bottom temperatures that actually matched the surface temperature of 69 degrees. This phenomenon is likely the cause for the way the Sea Bass have been moving on and off the structures at different times lately. A normal year would see bottom temps down in the mid to low fifties, not the warm deep temperatures that we are experiencing now.

The amount of Triggerfish that we have been seeing goes hand in hand with the water temp. We always see a good number of these fish but not like we have been catching lately. Not in the third week of October! Boats targeting the Blackfish up in the Delaware Bay are still catching a good number of Triggers frequently and I have had several stops on wrecks out front where we have actually seen more Triggerfish than keeper Bass come in. These fish should have moved off but they are still hanging around. Flounder have also still been making a showing around the wrecks, this past week we managed to see several nice Flatties on each trip and it is usually a Flounder or a Triggerfish that ends up taking the pool.

While the numbers of fish in the coolers by days end are not exactly what I would expect for this time of year we have been getting by with some quality stuff being landed. There is nothing like the surprise of a six-pound Fluke coming up from the depths or the way a five pound Trigger circles around everybody’s line when you get him close to the boat, and of course, the occasional Jumbo Bass pounding on your rod! Variety catches this time of year are a lot of fun you just never know what might be grabbing that bait. I do anticipate more catches like this in our immediate future and it is also likely that with a small crowd or on a questionable weather day that we may be fishing inshore for the Tautog. This fishery has been turning on in the last week or so and is expected to get even better as the waters cool. Of course I couldn’t prove that Togging was any good on yesterdays special trip, believe me when I tell you there was nothing special about this Tog trip. The fish just didn’t bite, we had more Sea Bass and Porgies than we had Tog.

As I write this we are having quite the little shake up out there. Northeast winds of 25+ and some hard rain have kept me tied to the dock today 10/25 and it really doesn’t look good for tomorrow either. The weatherman promises cooler temperatures for the beginning of next week. Couple this with the wind event we are having and the pending moon this should stimulate our waters as well as the fish, time will tell. We have yet to get a Striper boat away from the docks regularly this fall but there really has been no need to even try as warm as the waters have been. Don’t worry the water will eventually cool down and we will have a good Striper run it is just a matter of time, when they show we’ll get them. Stay tuned. For now we’ll just continue to feed them at the fish cleaning tables daily fattening them up for when they make their coastal run!

I will continue to sail daily at 7:00 a.m. fishing over wrecks and reefs with the regular Full-Day trips. Striper fishing is scheduled to depart at 8:00 a.m. Special trips are the 10-hour Tog trips on Wednesdays and the 12-hour wreck trips on Saturdays. All special trips require advanced reservations. I was also asked to post that effective November 1st we will have a $10.00 price increase in all Full Day fares. With the rising cost of fuel this is about the only way we can continue to sail with the minimum crowds we have been having. Capt. Dale said he would honor any inflation fighter tickets purchased before the 1st. If you are unaware of the inflation fighter ticket program it is basically a buy four trips at one time and get he fifth trip for free.

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

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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