 Mother Nature sure has a funny way of helping you out when you least expect it. For weeks we have been saying how warm the water is and how things should turn around with the fishing when the temperatures drop. Well we may have gotten our wish. Last weeks heavy Northeast winds and deluge of rain was followed by our first real taste of consistent seasonable weather for this fall. After the fourteen-foot seas subsided, the sky’s cleared, and the air temperature dropped the water temp took its first significant dip. Bay and Ocean temps are now holding around the 62-degree mark and the fishing has indeed taken a turn for the better!
 Sea Bass fishing for the first time this fall has shown true signs of improvement, the first big Stripers have been brought into Lewes and the Tautog seem to finally have a much more active feeding pattern for most phases of the tide. After my last report we rode out the storm tied to the docks both Thursday and Friday. We ventured back out Saturday but perhaps a day too soon. The winds had moderated but the swells out front kept us fishing for the Tog up in the Delaware Bay. They didn’t bite; we returned back to the docks early and soaking wet from all the rain with nothing to show. I was back out front on Sunday and despite the wind and swells we managed to put together a modest catch of Bass. Despite conditions some lucky anglers had as many as fifteen nice keepers and some had much less.
Monday we were tied back to the docks again with just a handful of hearty anglers showing for the trip. With the residual seas and the wind still blowing we opted for a better day. I was back on the grounds Tuesday and we had constant Sea Bass action all day, still tons of throwbacks but top hooks would once again land well into double digits of nice keeper fish. Capt. H ran the regular Full Day trip on Wednesday while I ran the Special Tog Trip. There were actually a few limits of Sea Bass landed on Wednesdays trip with mostly everyone walking away with a nice cooler full of decent sized Bass and a few Porgies mixed in. Today was similar with top hooks landing limit or near limit catches with some very nice Bass and quite a few Porgies!
 How long is this action going last?? I don’t know but it does seem as though the cooling sea temperature has made a vast difference. I will stick with my original prediction that we will continue to catch Bass up until the bitter end of the season. Bottom temperatures are still very similar to that of the surface and as long as this continues and the Spiny Dogfish Sharks stay away we should continue to see some good catches with these Sea Bass for several more weeks. I will say this though; if you want them there may be no time like the present cause you just never know!
 Wednesdays Tog trip was somewhat of a success we managed to land a good number of nice Tog in the three to nine pound category all tolled close to seventy. While no one on board landed a limit there were several anglers that managed to land six or seven quality fish. I was frustrated with the amount of break offs that we had on this trip with several well-hooked fish breaking off just a few feet from the surface or just off the bottom due to tackle failures. I can’t stress how important it is to continually check your rigs while fishing over heavy structure like we see on
these Tog trips. Some of these fish are big and just a little nick in the leader can make all the difference for that trophy catch. As I mentioned earlier the Tog action has also picked up with the dropping water temperature and I fully expect to be doing more Tog fishing trips with the regular All-Day boat. When we just have a minimum crowd on a nice day or if the weather looks a little shaky to run offshore for the Sea Bass this will be the likely option. I just can’t tell you in advance when those days will be. I will however continue with the Ten hour Special Tog trips until the last week of November every Wednesday departing the docks at 6:00 a.m. if you want the sure thing on fishing for just Tog.
 Our 12-hr wreck trips have been plagued with bad weather we missed the last two Saturdays due to rough seas and it looks as if this weekend could be a bust too. The weatherman promises storm force winds for Friday and maybe still blowing on Saturday morning so watch closely if you are planning a trip early this weekend. It’s still too early to make the call as I write this but it really sounds like it’s going to blow again this weekend definitely Friday and possibly into Saturday.
Whatever happens with the wind in the next couple of days the fishing beat will continue here in Lewes. We may stay tied up another day or two but we will be back hard at it as soon as it passes. I will continue wreck fishing daily at 7:00 a.m. with the regular Full-Day trips, Striper fishing is scheduled to run daily at 8:00. Our special trips will be Wednesdays for the Tautog with the ten-hour trips and Saturdays will be the 12-hour special wreck trips for Sea Bass. We no doubt have a lot of good fishing days left for the 2007 season. If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to reserve a spot 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 |
