It has been a while since my last report, we are certainly into the full summer grind now and my part time job from earlier this spring no longer exists. Now we're fishing basically every day and if we're not out on the water it's primarily weather related and we likely wouldn't want to be there anyway. Most of our eight hour trips have turned into more like nine hours or more and at times I have found myself closing the curtains to block the setting sun in my bedroom when I turn in for the night.

So far this spring we have battled cooler than normal temperatures and we have certainly had our fair share of wind and rough weather. We also unfortunately witnessed one of the most horrible starts to a Sea Bass season that I can ever recall. With my all day trips I was forced to start Flounder fishing probably two or more weeks sooner than we normally would have due to the lack of Sea Bass. Switching over to the full drift mode and trying to catch Flounders was not the worst idea I've ever had.

Right from the start it was evident that there was some very nice Flounders around and when the conditions were right we could rack up some fairly decent numbers on these nice flat fish. We have fished for the Flounder now 18 trips in a row and out of those 18 trips we have managed to bring home nearly 300 keeper Flounders. These are really not bad numbers in my book considering it's just the first two weeks in June. During those days we spent drifting you must know that we also had a few trips where we landed merely single digits in keeper fish for the day and on one day in particular we only had one keeper for the whole day. This is Flounder fishing and days like that are to be expected even during the peak of the best Flounder seasons you will have. This type of fishing is all about the conditions and when the conditions are favorable, for the most part we have been able to see a few really nice fish and with any luck and some moving fish it should only get better as the weeks progress and more and more of these fish show up.

While the surface temperatures now continue to rise nicely, the bottom temperatures especially in some areas we are fishing still remain very cool. Our fish that we catch are actually still cold to the touch and we are even seeing some new born Spiny Dogfish Sharks in some of the deeper areas that we have been fishing proving that the temperature is much colder on the bottom than it normally would be for the middle of June. At the same time we are seeing Sand Sharks and plenty of Sea Robbins on the coral heads along with our Flounder and this is actually a sign of typical summer fishing. Every once in a while we will catch a couple keeper Sea Bass for the mix, there are quite a few little buggers around but the nice keeper Bass right now are few and far between so don't expect them we are targeting the Flounder.

Just about all of our fishing has been concentrated fishing over the rocky coral ledges of the "old grounds". While we have seen several decent flatties taken by the traditional long leader fluke killer rigs the bulk of the fish especially the nicest fish have been caught on a jigging style rig or just a jig and a teaser. So far the fish don't seem to be too concentrated in any particular area and we have really had to work hard for what we catch. There has only been a few occasions that the fish have followed the baits and given multiple chances for anglers to set the hook like they typically do later in the year. Even at its best it has really been a slow tough grind and patience has been a must on nearly every trip we have made. We have however seen several limit catches of some pretty fish on a few days and there has been a few very productive drifts where nearly everyone on board gets in on the action, it's just not like that every day just yet.

Up in the Delaware Bay the fishing has been pretty good so far this spring with Croakers, these fish showed up fairly early this year and so far the inshore boats and our Half- Day trips have been able to take full advantage of the biting fish close to home. The majority of the fish so far this spring have been pan size fish, anywhere from measurable on the small end of the scale up to about 12 or 13 inches for the bigger ones. There are a lot of small Trout and Kingfish along with the Croakers at times and there is usually a multitude of bites and action for the jr. Anglers when these fish turn on.

Much like our Flounder out in the Ocean, the inshore Bay fishing for the Croakers is just getting started. The outlook for continued success in my opinion is very good. As long as we have decent weather and good fishing conditions we should be able to prove to you that there are some fish around and it should really only improve as the season moves on. We are sailing daily now with the Half-Day trips two trips a day and three trips on Friday and Saturdays. Half day trips depart the docks at 8:00 a.m. And then again at 1:00 p.m. The evening trips will depart at 6:00 p.m. Evening Half- Day trips will also be fishing for primarily Croakers but will likely see a nice variety of fish. With my All-Day trips we depart the docks at 7:00 a.m. and we haven't hit the dock before 4:00 in quite some time. All bait for these trips is furnished but feel free to bring along anything you think may work better than we provide. Gulp baits have certainly proven to be effective but that is not on our list of bait that we pass around the rail!

If you would like any more information about any trips sailing out of Fisherman's Wharf or you would like to book a private charter or reserve space on one of the upcoming special trips pleas give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA and be sure to like us on facebook for more fishing updates, pictures, and special offers here at the Wharf.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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