As the Holiday weekend approached we starting seeing more typical weather and some decent fishing to go along with this weather. While the Spring run of Sea Bass continue to be somewhat of a disappointment as far as I am concerned, we have been seeing some much better numbers than we saw the week following the big storm. Ocean surface temperatures had dipped to a cool 55 degrees after the blow and are just now starting to climb back to where they were nearly three weeks ago at around 60 degrees.

A few trips last week I managed to have a some anglers actually scrape up a nice mess of decent size Bass, top hooks on any given day were at least double digits and a couple lucky anglers would land in the mid to upper teens or more. That would be the good news. The bad news is not everyone on board would fare quite as well. Lots of single digit catches around the rail and much to my dismay even a few goose eggs with the Bass scattered about. And Oh yea, of course some nice Tog that we had to throw back just to help turn my stomach on most of those trips. Improved fishing you say?? Not really but it's all relative, for a while after that blow we saw some really tough fishing but that's no so much the case now, at least when they are biting you can weed through dozens or more fish with some constant action and scrape up a dinner or two which makes for a fun day. Drum fishing on the other hand has been phenomenal! Boats targeting these Delaware Bay dinosaurs have been pleased with some phenomenal numbers of these fish that have been weighed in at our docks up to 90 pounds! These fish have been biting both in the daytime as well as the more usual nighttime bite. Both head boats and charter boats have been getting in on this action while it lasts. The Drum fleet over the weekend I am told at times had no fewer than 200 boats small and large scouring the shallows in pursuit of these trophy fish. With this many boats in a somewhat small area of fishing ground naturally you would expect the traffic to hinder the fishing effort and for some perhaps it did, but big numbers were landed nearly every trip for those that stuck it out and gave the fish a chance to bite. These are big fish and if you want to try these guys light tackle will work but I would have to suggest a minimum of 40 lb. test and a fairly stout rod with a soft tip to help subdue these brutes. In a hard running tide even though the water is shallow light line just won't turn these fish to the boat. Our Half-Day trips started out this past weekend also and found out just how big a 19-1/2 inch Flounder has to be. While several Flatties were landed on the morning and afternoon trips none would make the Moby Fluke grade. Capt. Mike told me he did have some action with junk fish such as Sharks, Skates and Oyster Crackers as well as some small Blues but it was still a little early to put much in the coolers with the short trips. As the water temperature rises the Half-Day trips will see more action and more keeper-sized fish. Delaware Bay temps are still hovering around the 60-degree mark and with the warm weather we have seen the last couple of days these temperatures should be rising at a fairly steady pace. We are running our full summer schedule at the Wharf now with Half-Day trips sailing daily at 8:00 a.m. and then again at 12:30 p.m. and we will also have a Half night trip departing at 6:00 p.m. Half-Night trips will be targeting the Drumfish; Half-Day trips will target whatever they can catch. Full Night Drum trips will be both Friday and Saturday nights. I will continue sailing daily with the regular All-Day trips departing the docks at 7:00 a.m. and we will be fishing almost exclusively over wrecks and artificial reefs targeting the Sea Bass. It shouldn't be long before we will start seeing some Flounder and Blues mixed in with the catch on some of our trips. The Slammer sized Blues made an appearance over the weekend for the trolling boats, which is true sign the water temperature is finally warming up again. I've only seen a few Blues over the wrecks so far but normally we get a little shot at them as they pass through. We also have two more long-range trips on the schedule now one is June 7th and the next one is June 22nd. These will be deep drop trips in at least 300 feet of water targeting Tilefish, Wreckfish and possibly some more Sea Bass. Remember space is limited and you must make reservations in advance for these trips. If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to book a private charter please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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