Fisherman's Wharf Fishing Report July 29, 2004

This is one of those reports where after you have read it you say to yourself this guy is full of crap. But believe me what I write here is the straight scoop.

As I write this report I am sitting up in the Delaware Bay. The water looks like a mirror with the exception of a few scattered raindrops hitting the surface, and the fish are coming in over the rail almost as quick as you can get your line down to the bottom.

Most of the fish that we are catching are Croakers. The Croaker have arrived up in the Delaware Bay in big numbers now and it seems as though that they are here to stay. Just about anywhere you go in the Bay, action with these scrappy bottom feeders is steady, and they have been providing anglers with bending rods and smiling faces! After some of the fishing that we have encountered earlier this summer this seems like a regular Bonanza!

We are definitely seeing a nice variety of fish mixed in our bags including Flounder, Bluefish, Spike Trout, Kingfish, Sea Bass and Blowfish, but the past few days the bulk of the catch has been Croaker. Flounder landings have been spotty this past week however we have kept 40 some odd Flounder for over 90 caught, and most of these fish were landed earlier in the week. A nice sized Flounder does seem to win the fish pool every day but since last Friday I have only seen about 15 keeper sized Flatties caught. We have had a good bit of wind these past few days and we have spent a lot of our time on the anchor fishing for the Croaks.

The Delaware Bay is without doubt the place to be right now. There seems to be a good spread of fish and you can catch them in a lot of different weather and tidal conditions. Most of the Croakers have been in the 10 to 12 inch-class, however there are times when the average fish will be 14 to 16 inches long or bigger. The biggest Croaker that I have seen so far was just over 18" long and weighed in over 2 lbs. A lot of the fish are just starting to fill with roe now and we will most certainly be seeing some of these fish get even bigger as we roll into August.

Crowds seem to be at a minimum right now and with the fish biting the way that they are I must say that this is the perfect time to go fishing. It is an awful lot of fun when you bait up and drop to the bottom not knowing what you are going to catch next! We are in the full swing of our summer schedule now with Full and Half-Day trips Sailing Daily.

If you would like more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you are interested in booking a small or large charter please check out our website at fishlewes.com or give us a call at (302) 645-Tuna.

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