I certainly cant complain too much about the fishing here at the Wharf for the last week and finally the weather is actually showing signs of wanting to give us a little break as we roll into the summer season. Air temperatures have been on the rise, water temperatures also are climbing, fish have been on the move and we have survived yet another full moon and the extreme low tides that have accompanied this lunar event over the last two cycles.

I have been nothing but solid Flounder fishing with my All-Day trips now for two weeks straight and while I would never say this fishing has been anything other than just "pick fishing" we have most certainly seen some signs of greatness with the flat fish in these last couple of weeks. Up in the Delaware Bay Half-Day trips and private charters that opt to fish in the Bay or close to shore have also been enjoying decent fish catching action with small sized Croakers, Kingfish, Spike Trout, and the occasional Flounder.

For the most part the fishing in my book I would have to call decent. We have certainly had our struggles, the weather has been relentless with the seemingly day after day southerlies and the big swells that sometimes accompany the wind on the Ocean. Conditions that have been dished out to us while we are trying to get just the right drift to catch, as par normal have also played a major role in our success, however there is most definitely some Flounder around and when everything clicks we are able to prove just that. I have been fishing for the Flounder now on the drift for a solid two weeks straight and we have easily landed over 500 flounder in the last 12 days and we have been able to keep almost half of them. We broke the 200 keeper mark for the season just yesterday and we landed another couple dozen nice keepers on our trip today. Do I call this good fishing? Not exactly however it is all relative and given the time of year, the amount of anglers we have carried and the weather along with some of the conditions we have had to endure, I certainly wouldn't call it bad. We have seen several limit catches around the boat so far over the past couple weeks and we have also seen some very pretty fish in the mix. Our pool fish on any given trip has weighed at least four pounds and our biggest to date is still just one ounce shy of 8 pounds. Unfortunately we have also seen several shut outs for the anglers at the rail that just weren't able to land a keeper and ended the day with no fresh fish for supper. Just this past Saturday with one of our nicest crowds of the year I could barely produce enough fish to feed a sick cat for the patient group onboard and I would have to guess there were a lot of burgers or steaks on the grills for that night. Not exactly what I would like to report but true.

I have now had my longest roll for getting away from the docks actually being out fishing twelve days in a row. I have to admit other than sleeping like a baby at night because I'm kind of tired, it's nice to get back into the daily grind. Fishing every day enables you to keep your finger on the pulse as to what is going on around you with the movement of fish, who's catching or not catching what and where daily, and what you may or may not be able to do on any given day with the anticipated conditions you are dealt with. It is extremely helpful to be able to see the changes as they occur. Not only has the water temperature been warming up recently but now we are seeing massive schools of Bunker begin to migrate along the coast, we are seeing the water clarity fluctuate from clear to murky with the currents and the rain, and we have seen countless Porpoise and even a few Whales around feeding on all the migrating baitfish and bottom fish that are along the coast. Water temperatures have recently breached the 70 degree mark with all of the warm air and finally just over the last few days in all the heat we have had, the Ocean has actually felt refreshing instead of cold. These are all real good signs as to what is in store for us in the upcoming weeks. I have to say the outlook for fishing is very good. Offshore anglers are already enjoying Tuna, Marlin, Mahi, and Tilefish. Shark fishing has been good, there are more and more Flounders around and the Croakers seem to be just about everywhere already this year up in the Delaware Bay and even along the Atlantic coastline. We are going to see some good fishing in the weeks ahead.

I will continue to target the Flounder with the All-Day trips, we are mostly jigging with Bucktails and teasers or just using a jigging style rig with a short teaser. Several fish however continue to fall to the traditional Fluke Killer rig during certain conditions. We may see a few Sea Bass daily however the Bass are pretty much a bycatch for us right now. Some of our Fluke baits have actually been bigger than the Bass we have seen. We are also catching a few Sea Robbins and Dogfish and even some small Croakers for fresh meat baits. Half-Day trips will be targeting primarily the Croakers and Kingfish along with Spike Trout and various assortments of Junkfish to keep the kids on their toes. Both trips will be sailing Daily. All-Day Fluke trips departs at 7:00 a.m. and will return to the docks at roughly 4:00 p.m. Half-Day trips depart at 8:00 a.m. and then again at 1:00 p.m. and return at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m. respectively.

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. Don't forget to like us on facebook for further updates and check out Groupon for special deals at the Wharf this summer.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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