Fishermen's Wharf Fishing Report 8/5/08

I have always said that it is much easier to compose a fishing report when the fishing has been good and for the first time in several weeks I can say just that. I'm pretty sure that most of you who read this know just what kind of summer this has been with the fishing. Calling it slow really wouldn't do it justice, however in the past couple of weeks we have seen nothing but improvement and I can honestly say that in the past seven days I have seen some of the best fishing on my all-day trips since the spring!Flounder has been making up the bulk of the catch and much to my surprise the numbers of Sea Bass are actually adding up a little too these days. It has no doubt been a rocky fishing season with no consistency in what we catch from one day to the next this summer but as of late this seems to have made a turn around in our favor! Action has been the name of the game and several days this past week we managed to land triple digits or more with Flounder and have been getting on an average of anywhere from a one in five to about a one in ten keeper ratio. As far as I'm concerned this is not too shabby considering we are working with a fish that has to weigh nearly three pounds just to be able to keep. Our crowds have been at nearly the bare minimum, which adds up to just a few anglers catching quite a few fish. I have actually seen several limits or near limit catches this past week. We have managed to land over eighty keeper Flounder in just the last six days several of which would weigh in over four pounds and even a few that were weighed in at over seven and eight pounds earning a state citation for an outstanding catch.

My guess is that this fishing will continue to get better as our surface water temperatures start to stabilize and we begin to see a more consistent bottom temperature on the Ocean floor. There definitely seems to be more Fluke around now and they are showing up in more different locations than they have been all year. Given the right conditions we should be able to catch some real good numbers with these nice Flatties in the next several weeks despite the size limit. We are also seeing a little mixed bag catch with our Flounder, there have been several decent sized Ling and a few Sea Bass landed by anglers on several trips.

All of our trips have been in the ocean these past couple of weeks fishing over the natural rocky ledges of the "old grounds." Fluke Killers or just a long leader beaded hook topped with a piece of cut bait and squid has been the most productive rig however more and more anglers are taking a more aggressive approach and fishing with jigs. This method of fishing has proven to work when the drift is slow or the wind is against the tide and the boat does not drift naturally with the current. This jig setup is basically a rig with a bucktail tied at the bottom like a sinker and either a teaser or another bucktail tied from a dropper which hangs a just a few inches above the lower hook nothing fancy but sometimes quite effective. The jigs also seem to attract some of the bigger fish.

As a lot of you know our offshore trips have been a big hit this summer with some beautiful Tilefish and even some Sea Bass. As expected we have set up several more dates for these deep drop trips. Check out our special trip link from the home page for an updated list of the days on the schedule. Capt.'s H.D. and Danny ran an overnighter last weekend that even though had a slow start with some monster Conger Eels and just a couple big Wreckfish and Tiles, this trip ended up pretty decent with coolers full of Grey or Blueline Tilefish and even a few nice Sea Bass for all participants by the end of the day. These offshore trips have also seen some Mahi and it is entirely possible that there may be some Tuna fish landed in the offshore waters on these runs. Remember these trips require reservations in advance so make sure to call and reserve your spot as soon as you can.

The overall fishing picture is way more positive now than it was just a couple weeks ago the only real thing missing for what we would normally expect to catch at this time of year would be the Croakers and they are quite possibly just around the corner. There have been more reports of a few stragglers having been landed this past week up in the Bay and along the coastline than any week prior. Hopefully they will make a showing before the summer season comes to a close and make life a little easier for those fishing up in the Bay.

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 upcoming offshore trips or book a private charter please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing

Fishermen's Wharf

Lewes, DE

http://www.fishlewes.com/fishingreport.html