Since my last report the weather seems to have been our biggest enemy. The water temperature has been dropping daily, the Tog have been biting a lot better, Sea Bass fishing has been very productive, all we seem to need now is for the winds to give us a break and allow us to get away from the docks more often!

To say that the Tog fishing has improved wouldn't be very hard to do after some of the bum trips we have seen over the past few weeks however we have definitely seen an improvement and we have also seen a few of the biggest fish so far this fall along with some very active short action the few days we have fished since my last report. I can't boast limit catches for everyone or anything even remotely close to that however we have seen a few true slobs landed and there were a few times that we couldn't get a fresh piece of crab on the bottom fast enough they were biting that well. Certainly showing us a good ray of Tog catching hope when the conditions allow.

Our Sea Bass fishing has suffered the same fate as the inshore fishing for the Blackfish. There have been more trips scrubbed due to the high winds than have actually made it away from the docks. Every trip made so far however has seen some very good action with the Bass along with a mix of Bluefish and even a few Triggers. While a lot of the Sea Bass have been falling shy of the minimum size limit, they have been adding up nicely for the folks that have hung in at the rail and constantly weeded through the little guys waiting for the thump-thump bite of a keeper sized fish. The action on these trips has been fast and furious at times with constant bites and constant action as soon as your rigs hit the bottom. Capt. H has reported several limit catches with most anglers landing well into double digits or more with keeper fish by trips end. Remember if you do fish on one of these excursions to keep the bait heavy and try not to jerk or snatch on all the little bites, also don't be afraid to fish with just a jig or a jig and a teaser style rig. Often a jigging style rig will entice the bigger fish and pulling back on all the little bites usually produces mostly smaller sized fish when using just the old fashioned top and bottom rig.

With the water temperatures cooling down its just a matter of time before the Stripers will be laying in the rips waiting for a live bait offering. In the last couple of weeks there has certainly been a lot of stripers landed both big and small however most of these fish have been caught up in the Delaware Bay by boats anchoring up and fishing with fresh bunker or clam for bait. The Stripers are certainly migrating along the coast right now however many of the fish in our region seem to be outside of that magical three mile line making them untouchable for us. This scenario is certainly nothing new to us some of the biggest schools of these fish always seem to be where we are not allowed to fish for them. We are hoping after the weather we have seen this past week and the drastic temperature change of the water that the rips will now start to produce some of these trophy Linesiders on the live bait.

We have returned now to a reduced schedule trying to condense anglers to just four days a week with hopes of having enough people to make the trip every scheduled day. Our regular All-Day trips as well as the Striper trips will only be sailing now on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sundays. Wreck trips for the Tog will depart at 7:00 a.m. And the Striper trips are scheduled to depart at 8:00. We will also continue running special trips for the Sea Bass and the Tilefish throughout the holidays and into the New Year. The schedule for all of our trips can be viewed on the trip calendar from the home page at fishlewes.com These trips are all subject to change due to weather and the amount of people signed up so please call in advance before you make the drive.

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 an upcoming 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