I would like to start out with an apology for the tardiness since my last report. Those of you that know me well already know that last week I spent most of my time in the woods hunting deer. What a nice change of pace that was! My biggest worry was how to dress with the mild weather.

We have had several trips out since my last report both wreck fishing and fishing for Stripers. Last weekend saw big crowds and plenty of Sea Bass. While the fishing was not quite as good as just a couple of weeks ago, limits of Sea Bass and some Slammer sized Blues around the boat were common. It seems as though there have been more and more throwback sized Sea Bass mixed in the last couple weeks making things a little more difficult. Throughout last week, while I was sitting in the trees, we had a couple of small crowds out fishing for Tog and Stripers in the mouth of the Bay. Monday’s wreck trip with Capt. H.D. at the helm saw a slow steady pick of decent sized Tog for everyone on board. Top hook reportedly had seven nice keepers and it went downhill from there. Capt. Jeff had one of the best days on Stripers so far this year on the Thelma Dale IV last Monday landing a dozen big fish on this trip. I was back at the grind on Friday with a small crowd and way too much wind. We fished for the Tog along the beachfront and also up in the Bay when the wind dropped out. The fish unfortunately won this battle as we only managed to land about a dozen keeper-sized Tog for the entire day.

This past Saturday we had gorgeous weather and another big crowd on board. I made the run to the deep-water wrecks and was somewhat disappointed with the end results. We did catch fish all day, however a lot of these fish would not make the 12-inch grade and had to be returned to the sea. There were a few lucky anglers on Saturday that ended up with a nice mess of fish, even a few limits around the boat, but most folks ended up with only about a dozen to fifteen or so keeper sized fish and a few had even less. The ocean was like a sheet of glass all day and with the Sharks and Blues biting there was never a dull moment and darn few complaints. We avoided the “Saturday sting” but not by much. Sunday’s fishing was much better. With more of a moderate sized crowd we were able to put a few more fish in each box. Several limits were landed on Sunday’s trip and most folks walked away with a nice cooler of Bass and Blues.

As we approach Thanksgiving the weatherman promises a bit more wind, we knew we would have to pay for the great weekend weather but hoped it wouldn’t be quite so soon. I have a special 10-hour Tog trip scheduled for the 23rd and we have also added another Tog trip for the following Wednesday which is on the 30th this will also be a 10-hour trip departing at 6:00 a.m. with reservations required. I will continue running wreck trips daily departing at 7:00 a.m. and returning around 4:00 p.m. until the 18th of December weather permitting. If I had to guess I would say that most of our time mid week would be spent fishing for Tautog and on weekends we will more than likely make the trip offshore for the Bass. These Sea Bass definitely seem to be moving off to the deeper water but we should be able to squeak one or more weekends out of them with the regular full-day trip. Remember we also will be sailing on Saturday’s with extended trips for the Sea Bass departing the docks at 5:00 a.m. These extended trips may ultimately be your best bet for the Sea Bass. Any of you that have fished with me the last three weekends know that we have already been riding a minimum of 2 hours to catch any numbers of Bass. This riding time cuts deeply into the fishing time with the regular all day trips.

We have seen both extremes over this past week with the weather, 75 degrees one day and 26 the next. Water temperatures are trying to drop but this drop has been sporadic. Ocean temperatures are still hovering at about 58 degrees and I think the coldest temperature anyone has reported in the Bay is a tepid 54. Fish are most certainly on the move. Last weeks full moon and the accompanying strong tides have moved massive schools of baitfish out of the Bay and along the beachfront. We have seen several Whales and large schools of Stripers and Bluefish along the coast. Unfortunately most of these big schools of Stripers have been outside of the three-mile line so close but yet so far. We can only hope that this E.E.Z. law will be changed in the future so that we can take advantage of these fish. Believe me when I tell you it hurts to ride by acres of feeding Stripers and know you can’t fish for them because they are outside of the three-mile line. This happened to me twice just this past weekend.

I had hoped to be able to put in a couple of pictures of some of the Stripers landed over the weekend but by the time I got back to the dock all these beauties were gone. Capt. Benny on the charter boat Lewestown Lady had the biggest one of the week weighing in at 37 pounds. This fish was not entered in the tournament but was still a trophy. Our Striper trips will continue to sail daily at 8:00 a.m. until after Christmas provided that we have good weather and a few folks.

If you need any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to make a reservation for a charter or one of our special trips please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Fishing!

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz
Keen Lady IV