Despite some less than favorable conditions dished out by Mother Nature we were able to get away from the docks five of the last seven days and fortunate enough to continue enjoying some of the finest kind of Tautog fishing.

Pesky east and northeast winds have blown now in our area for a solid week and as I write this report the winds are still blowing and are now mixed with a little rain to boot. The fishing scene has been a little frustrating for most of the anglers trying to get in on the spring action that has been coming alive.  The Drum fleet has been plagued with choppy conditions and dirty water, surf fisherman also have had to contend with rough surf and windy conditions, and even the small boats trying to drift the inlets back bays and the canal have often had too much wind to get a perfect drift for the inshore Flounder. This was however a good week to have a big boat and some biting Tautog that were so close to home.

If anyone had told me that we would have been able to rack up the numbers of Tog that I have seen since my last report given the weather conditions, to say I would be skeptical would be an understatement. In my opinion however last week was a bad week to be a Tog in and around the mouth of the Delaware Bay.  Not only were the seas bearable fishing so close to home, but the fish were biting good on each and every trip that we made, we even had a few trips with full boat limits including crew where we actually got back to the docks early!

My week started on Wednesday with a bachelor party group that had been cancelled out of Ocean City Maryland due to the rough seas on the Ocean.  I must admit I was a little apprehensive about the trip as my hat blew off while I turned the boat away from the dock during departure however once we were settled in on the anchor it was game on with the fish. They were biting as good as you will ever see Tog bite and in no time at all we were nearly limited out and culling through the smaller fish and the roe laden females to finish up our day.  It felt good to be in early with a nice limit of fish.

Thursday morning the wind hadn't really moderated at all and after our performance the day prior I just tightened up my hat a couple of notches and hoped that the fish just bit half as good as the day prior. We weren't disappointed at all; it was still blowing pretty hard but with the wind and tide somewhat together it never really got that rough and once again we finished up early and were back at the dock.  Friday morning the wind was really howling again in the morning, as we went by the Coast Guard Station at the inlet the American flag had uplift to it showing wind in excess of 25 knots.  Fortunately I had somewhat of a plan and the wind wasn't forecasted to be any worse as the day progressed.  Once again the fish cooperated and by the end of the day we had all the fish we needed and returned home with more limits of fat Tog.  The only thing that went wrong was the pretzel shaped anchor that came up after our last stop of the day.

By Saturday morning we were almost wondering how long the success we were seeing was going to last, its really not always as good a fishing as we had been seeing and you know that there is usually a bullet with your name on it out there ready to hit you at any time with a tough trip.  With one of the nicest crowds we have seen all year we once again departed with high hopes and this time hardly any wind for a change as we rounded the inlet.  It was ultimately only a matter of time before the wind would kick up again however the fish for a while would bite for us every bit as good as they had been biting all week long and once again we had limit catches for nearly every angler on the boat!  There was a period of time early Saturday morning I would have absolutely called the bite "as good as it gets".

Sunday morning the easterly wind was back with a vengeance and it was obvious that it wasn't going to be a good hat day for me.  I think we saw the roughest of our five day run of trips on the way to the fishing grounds on this particular trip. We had another decent group of anglers on the boat and despite the windy and choppy conditions the fish once again added up real nicely by the end of the day.  I can't boast limits for everyone onboard Sunday but the fish were there, for a while they were biting good and we had some real pretty ones in the mix with limit catches about, its just that not everyone was able to get in on the action.

The wind and rough weather continues, we had just a handful or so of anglers show up yesterday and no one today.  It didn't break my heart to get a little break though to get caught up on land. The weather is supposed to improve by mid week and the winds are forecasted to drop out, with only a few days left for the spring Tog season hopefully we will be able to get back on them while they are biting so well.  The season wraps up for the Tog with this Saturday May 11th as the last day we can fish for them.

I have had a lot of folks asking what we will do after the Tog season closes until Sea Bass opens up.  The last couple years we were able to get out a few days fishing for the Drum or it is possible with good conditions we may even try drifting for some Flounder.  Our Sea Bass season will open up on May 19th so there will only be about a week of fishing for whatever we can catch.  After the 19th opening I plan on anchoring over Wrecks and Reefs as long as we can catch the Sea Bass after that we will start to see a variety with both the Sea Bass and the Flounder likely drift fishing when the conditions warrant later in June.

If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to book a private charter or reserve space on a special trip please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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