I wasn’t sure when I would be able to say this but if catching Sea Bass is your gig, now is the time to come. After several weeks of fishing over wrecks both inshore and offshore, this past week has shown me the best action for big Sea Bass to date! To say that we are catching limit catches for everyone daily would still be a stretch, but on just about every trip some folks are getting darn close to that magic number of twenty-five.

Of course we couldn’t get past a full week without yet another major coastal storm, our latest storm hit us this past Friday with Northeast winds blowing at nearly hurricane force for a couple of hours and dousing us with several inches of rain. This was actually my first day inshore in a couple of weeks and it didn’t break my heart to have to stay at the dock. We were back hard at it again on Saturday morning, and other than a large ground swell left over from the previous day, the ocean was fine and the fishing was even better. Not the typical Saturday Sting. I spent most of the day bouncing from wreck to wreck in different depths trying to find the best action, and a few of our stops actually showed us some the best fishing of the year! Many times a northeast blow will actually help “push” the fish onto structure and this seems to have been the case last week.

Even though we haven’t been loading the boat up with fish there are some very nice fish being caught and most everyone has ended up with more than enough for supper. Several Bluefish have also been landed in my past few trips. These Blues will weigh anywhere from 4 to 12 pounds and have certainly added to the excitement on board. John Wiseburn from Townsend Delaware is pictured here with a beautiful pair of Sea Bass that he caught with one drop on Sunday’s trip, the big one weighed just shy of 5 lbs. and the other was over 3. I have weighed in quite a few citations this past week with many fish approaching the five-pound mark.

In just the past few days we have finally started to see a good number of throwback and measurable sized Bass. This also adds to the action, making for some very interesting fishing and proves that the “spring run” has begun. The water is still quite cold for this time of the year and the fish have been very lethargic, feeding mostly on clams and biting ever so soft. No jerking and snatching! Water temperatures have been held up at around 52 to 54 degrees and only at certain times do the fish really seem to turn on. For the most part it has been pick pick pick and anglers need to fish hard and pay attention to fill the box. Not too many suicide fish yet. I fished my #$$ off today with a light crowd on board and caught 21 keepers. So close. Great day though! Henry Johnson from Baltimore was pleased with this 5 lb. fish he landed this past weekend. This knot headed bubba was certainly a keeper! I firmly believe that if we can get some warm temperatures and some regular sunshine our ocean temp. will climb and our fishing will get even better over the next couple of weeks. It just seems like a long time coming this spring. The big Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner and everyone is still wearing slickers and hooded shirts out on the water.

With Friday’s blow, night fishing was a scrub for that night but Saturday night Capt. H.D. made it to the Drumfish grounds and ended up landing a couple big Boomers and loosing a couple. With the Blues making an appearance close to the beach it is more than likely that Bluefish will be at the top of the menu for this weekends night fishing adventures. Remember these night trips will be 10-hour trips.

We will also be starting our Half-Day fishing this weekend on a daily schedule. Flounder, Sea Bass, and Blues will be the likely target. More keeper-sized Flounder have been landed up in the Bay so far this spring than in the past several years, I have to take this as a good sign for what is in store for the upcoming summer.

If you would like more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to book a charter please check out our website at fishlewes.com or give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.


Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz
Keen Lady IV
catchfish@verizon.net