Delaware Fishing Report
When, Where, What and How They're Biting



By Eric Burnley Sr.*

Updated: Dec. 1, 2011

DELAWARE BAY Rockfish are still in Delaware Bay and more are on the way. I was in New Jersey on Wednesday and the fishing up there is fantastic. I spoke with friends who have been catching over 30 stripers from 28 to 40 inches on every trip. Head boats are coming in with limit catches of two per person with 60 to 100 people on the boat.

The rock have sand eels pushed up to the beach where surfcasters are also cashing in. I understand the supply of AVA jigs, Tsunami sand eels and any other lure that looks like a sand eel has become critical.

In the Delaware Bay rock were caught at the 4L, 6L, Miah Maull, Ship John, Sixty-Foot Slough and Blake’s Channel on bunker chunks. Woodland Beach, Dobbinsville and Port Mahon also saw big rock caught on cut bunker.

In the Mid-Bay area, Brown Shoal has seen some rockfish action and fewer fishermen than are found at the mouth of the bay. My reports indicate trolling with Stretch 25 or Bomber plugs or drifting eels has been productive.

The rip outside the Outer Wall is another location where trolling plugs and drifting eels is effective. While I have no reports to go by, I suspect tossing eels at the wall would be another good method.

At the mouth of the bay, the Eights, the Valley and Overfalls Shoal all hold rockfish. Drifting eels seems to be the most popular technique, but trolling plugs is deadly when done properly. There are two problems here; the high number of boats and the presence of dog sharks. Heavy concentrations of boats will put the rockfish off their feed. Dog sharks ruin eels. There is not much you can do about the boats except leave early to beat the worst of the crowd. Hungry dog sharks will not go away; you have to leave them.

I understand last Saturday there were so many boats fishing out of the Lewes boat ramp that the line to recover stretched back past Roosevelt Inlet. With a decent weather forecast for this weekend I would expect the same situation.

Tog fishing was a bit slow over the weekend as the new moon current made for difficult conditions. This weekend should be better and the lower bay reef sites, the Outer Wall and the Ice Breakers will be covered up with boats. Crab is going to be the top bait..

INDIAN RIVER INLET We have some good news from the inlet. Small rock have shown up in decent numbers, but keepers are still rare.
Casting a white bucktail with a white worm either from a boat or from the jetty has been one effective technique. Drifting eels from a boat during the day or casting eels from the jetty at night has also worked. Trolling a Stretch 25 in the current can find the occasional keeper.

Tog fishing remains fair with crabs or sand fleas taking their share of fish.

SURF FISHING The majority of fish caught from the surf have been ling. They are hitting cut bunker or mullet. Ling indicate cold water and we should have some action on rockfish and blues when they move closer to the beach. Stomach contents of fish caught in the bay indicate they are feeding on ling so we do have bait in the surf.

INSHORE OCEAN Weather conditions over the weekend allowed boats to access the ocean for the first time in several weeks. Sea bass action was very good over wrecks beyond the 20-Fathom Line. Tog fishing suffered the same strong current problems as found in the bay.

I fished for tog at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia without much success and friends in New Jersey went out as well and had very poor results. Apparently, new and full moon currents cause the tog to stay in their holes and not spend time cruising around.

As mentioned earlier, New Jersey anglers are seeing excellent rockfish action in the ocean while we continue to wait. Perhaps the cold front expected early next week will push them our way.

FRESHWATER The fall bite is on in the ponds with bass, crappie and pickerel all feeding well before the winter slowdown. A combination of live shiners and black salties along with crankbaits and plastics have taken the bass and pickerel. Crappie like a small minnow fished on a jig below a bobber.

Yellow perch are showing up in local spillways. Live minnows and jigs are finding some big ring perch.

The tidal creeks, the lower Delaware River and the C&D Canal all hold good numbers of catfish and white perch. The perch like bloodworms or FishBites while the catfish are suckers for cut bunker.

TROLLING TIPS While I would not go out for rockfish in the fall without a good supply of eels, there are times when trolling can be more productive. One of these times is when the dog sharks are munching on buck-fifty eels.

Stetting up for trolling is easy. First you need a supply of plugs in either red head, white body or green. I would not go without several Stretch 25s. Bomber plugs will also work, but I have a thing about Stretches.

Tie 6 feet of 50-pound line to the split ring on the front of the plug. Tie a perfection loop in the other end of the line and snap it to the running line with a ball bearing snap swivel. Never troll anything without a ball bearing snap swivel unless you like twisted line.

The choice of line is optional. I have used 30-pound mono because the stretch in the line provides a bit of give when the fish runs or shakes his head. Braid has no stretch and while this is good for the hook set, it will not forgive an angler mistake.

I only troll with conventional reels. Spinning reels are not designed for trolling as the line comes off the reel and around the guide before reaching the rod. This puts undue pressure on the line and may also cause it to twist.

Conventional reels allow the line to come straight off the spool and go directly to the first guide on the rod. They also have a drag system more suited to trolling.

Drags must be adjusted to allow line to come off the reel at the strike and when fighting the fish. The general rule is to set the drag at one-third the pound test of the line. In other words, thirty-pound line should have the drag set at 10 pounds. This is done with a hand-held scale pulling against the drag.

Set the drag too tight with mono and the line will break. Set it too tight with braid and the rod will break. Under normal circumstances the drag is never changed once set at the proper limit. I use my thumb to add more drag at the boat when bringing the fish to the net.

Where you troll is also important. Fish stage near structure and the lure must imitate a baitfish approaching the rockfish in the correct manner. In a rip, work alongside the standing waves so the current carries the lure to the fish. When possible, you can hold the boat above the rip while allowing the plug to drift back to productive water.

If you find fish working under birds do not troll through the school. This will enrage other anglers working the area and cause them to animate their vocabulary and cast aspersions at you. Instead, troll around the school and run the lure as close to the bottom as possible. Bigger fish often swim along the bottom looking for easy prey wounded by the smaller fish on the surface.

Trolling can work well and is easy for even novice anglers to accomplish. The next time dog sharks are munching on your eels, break out the trolling outfits and give it a try.

*Eric Burnley Sr. is a native Delawarean who has fished the waters of his home state for more than 60 years. He has been a full-time outdoor writer since 1978, with articles appearing in most national magazines as well as many regional publications. He has authored two books, Surf Fishing The Atlantic Coast and The Ultimate Guide To Catching Striped Bass.