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



By Eric Burnley Sr.*

Updated: October 22, 2010

DELAWARE BAY The best fishing of the year is currently in progress as tog and croaker are filling up coolers from Bowers Beach to Lewes. The tog are not a big surprise, but having this many croaker still available in late October is.

Tog have been caught at the Outer Wall and the Ice Breakers ever since the fall season opened, but now they have moved out to the reef sites where good numbers were taken this week. Green crabs and sand fleas have been the most popular baits. I have used Gulp! peeler crab with good success. This bait will stay on the hook much better than real crab so tog can’t steal it from those anglers who are a bit slow on the draw.

As of Thursday, croakers were still on reef sites 6 and 7. Sooner or later they will move out to the ocean, but should remain in the bay over the weekend. Head boats out of Bowers Beach caught plenty of croaker last weekend and could be into them again this weekend.

INSHORE OCEAN Reports from the ocean have been slim due to the rain and wind. The last information we had put good numbers of tog on the inshore wrecks and reef sites.

Croaker were caught from just off the beach to the Old Grounds and B Buoy. I suspect croaker fishing will improve as more fish move out of the bay.

False albacore were caught by trollers working from the Lightship to the inshore lumps. Bluefin tuna were still available in the same area. Big blues have been seen over inshore wrecks.

OFFSHORE OCEAN Yellowfin tuna were caught by the last boat to fish out here, but that was over two weeks ago. I would suspect tuna are still available along the color change, but it will take some good weather before anyone goes looking for them.

INDIAN RIVER INLET While wind and rain do not stop anglers from fishing the inlet, it does make for some uncomfortable conditions. Those willing to get a little wet or wind blown are finding rockfish, blues and tog in the rocks and from boats.

Live spot are the primary bait for rockfish, but with so many shorts around you can go through a lot of spot and a lot of money in short order. I would use a white bucktail and white worm until more keepers show up in November. You will still catch shorts, but the experience will be much less expensive.

Jetty jockeys working the night tides are catching keepers and shorts using black Bombers and Tsunami shads. I would think a drifted sand flea would also produce good results.

Tog fishermen are using green crabs and sand fleas right in the rocks. They report catching shorts and keepers to 3 or 4 pounds.
I hear that blues pass through the inlet during incoming water, but you can’t prove it by me. I have fished here a few times this fall and have yet to see or catch a bluefish. I will try again this week.

SURF FISHING Everyone is anxious to catch a big bluefish or rock from the beach, but to date none have been taken. The water temperature must drop another few degrees and we need an east wind to push the bait towards the shore before we are going to see much action from these fish. Last year it was early November before the first big rock was caught and over the Thanksgiving holiday we had a good run of big blues.

Right now small blues and kings are taking cut or whole mullet. No repeat of the big red drum we saw two weeks ago.

FRESHWATER Ponds are turning on with fall fishing producing bass, pickerel and crappie. The action should be good for several more weeks.

The tidal creeks and rivers continue to provide plenty of white perch and some big catfish. Bass and pickerel have been caught out of Broad Creek and the Nanticoke River. Crappie are available from the spillways at Seaford and Laurel.

OUTER WALL TOG FISHING From now until the first of the year many people will try to fish the Outer Wall off of Lewes for tog. It is easy to find and provides good action, but not without a few dangers.

The accepted method for fishing here is to anchor the bow of the boat away from the wall, drift back on the anchor rode and then toss a toggle line into the rocks. The toggle line should be fairly light to break away in case of emergency and when you are ready to leave. It does have to be strong enough to hold the stern in place while you are fishing.

I have seen any number of homemade devices used as toggles. Number 10 tin cans filled with cement, pieces of rebar, sinkers and just about anything else that can be tossed from the boat to the rocks and will snag something once there.

I have seen fishing friends become lifelong enemies because either the boat owner won’t get close enough to the rocks for the friend to make a successful toss or the friend continues to fall short of his target. Most often it is combination of both.

In other locations, such as over reefs or wrecks, the boat can be moved rather easily, but here, once you position the boat successfully it is a good idea to stay there. This is especially true if all hands are still in a relatively good state of mind. Should the captain suggest moving the boat and repeating the toggle operation all over again, a mutiny could occur.

It is possible to move the boat a short distance in and out by adjusting the anchor rode and the toggle line. This is necessary if the original position is not close enough to the wall to put the baits in the rocks.

As with all types of wreck or structure fishing, the closer the line is to 90 degrees when entering the water the fewer rigs you will lose. A single hook rig will also make it less likely to snag something other than a fish. Casting away from the boat in this situation will usually result in a lost rig.

Every year we have at least one boat capsize because the captain anchored on the south end of the wall where the seas are more likely to hit from the side. With the bow and stern immobile, a big wave hitting amidships can and will capsize the boat.

Disaster can also come along the wall. The late captain Jerry Blakeslee had photos of a boat perched on top of the wall. It seems a big sea broke the bow anchor loose and deposited the boat there with the toggle line firmly in place.

Like the man said, "Be careful out there."


*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.