Other than the weather you won't hear any real complaints about the fishing this past week at the Wharf as far as I am concerned. I was able to mix it up a little over the week with the anchoring over structure and I was also able to do a little drifting the few times the wind gave us a break. At times the action was very good with the Sea Bass and Ling and we even managed quite a few nice Flounder for our efforts during a couple of our trips.

The weather continues to be our worst enemy as far as what we have been able to do on any given day. I can hardly ever remember a spring with so many fronts, so much unsettled weather and the constant southerlies that we have had to endure over the last several weeks. I made a remark last week that I was able to count the calm days on my fingers with just one hand, while I have actually seen a flat ocean a few more times I'm still using just my fingers to count the real pretty days that we have seen on the water. It has virtually been just one southerly blow after another with very little change in the weather patterns in between. As a result we have had bigger than normal swells on the ocean more often than not and even on the days where there have been sunbathers on land when we return to the beach we have continued to wear the long sleeve shirts and even a jacket some days out on the water with the cool breeze blowing across the cooler surface water temperatures.

Enough about the weather we can't change it and it only frustrates me to talk about it. What are we catching? When I was able to push 20 miles or so off the beach we continued to see decent action with the Sea Bass and some very nice Red Hake on the offshore structures No limit catches to brag about but full coolers around the boat is what I have seen and some true quality fish in the mix. Unfortunately the distance I need to travel to see this action has not always been practical with our weather and the amount of anglers that I get on any given day. I have also seen some decent action with Flounders and at times a lot of mixy sized Sea Bass when I drift the open bottoms. We set the bar already with a Flounder to beat for this year landing a whopper doormat that tipped the scales at 8 pounds, the official weight for the citation was 7 lb 15 ounces but If you don't mind I will just call it 8 until we get one bigger. I have definitely seen enough action on the open bottom to know that there is a few Flatties around and when the weather cooperates we will be trying to jig a few of them up with success! Just today 6/12 we had one of those calm days that I can count on my fingers and we had a nice casual pick of decent Flounder all day long ,we even saw our first limit catch of the 2013 Fluke season. Polish Frank was on fire he was catching good enough that he actually never left his spot all day! They had to be thick I even jigged up a couple of keepers for myself.

Water temperatures have continued to creep in the right direction, our surface temperature now is up in the mid sixties and maybe a little warmer at times with the sun and the bottom temperatures have reached the mid fifties in some areas so it seems that the whole water column is finally starting to warm up for us. As the water has been warming we have been seeing some subtle changes along with the surface temperature. Not only has the baitfish such as the Bunker been on the move but there is also now small Croakers seemingly everywhere from the "old Grounds" and along the Ocean Surf all the way up to the Delaware Bay being found in all the usual shallow spots on both sides of the Bay as well as all along the anchorage. These Croakers are a real good sign for what lies ahead during the summer months for anglers fishing up in the Bay. It's been a long time since we have seen this many around so early in the year. There are also big schools of spike sized Sea Trout and plenty of Kingfish around pleasing the anglers targeting them with plenty of bites and plenty of action.

Summer is just around the corner now and I fully anticipate a lot more Flounder fishing in our future with the All-Day trips the outlook is very good. Our new Flounder regulation took effect just a couple of days ago allowing us to legally land a 17 inch Flounder and we have already reaped the benefits of a few more Flounder suppers around the boat as a result. Our new regulation is 4 Flounder at 17 inches and the season will remain open until the end of the year. This is the first time that we have had a more relaxed season than our neighbors in New Jersey and ultimately we will be able to bring home a lot more fish this year than they will. We will be targeting these fish pretty much every day that the weather permits us to drift on my All-Day trips and I would expect that most of our effort will be jigging the structure bottoms of the old grounds unless a good shot of flatties shows up in the Bay so stock up on the Bucktails and the teasers we will be using them.

We are basically in our full season schedule now with All-Day trips sailing daily and Half-Day trips running twice a day. All-Day trips depart at 7:00 a.m. and will be targeting Flounder and Sea Bass and possibly some Ling if we venture further offshore. Half-Day trips depart the docks at 8:00 a.m. and then again at 1:00 p.m. and they will be targeting the Croakers, Kingfish and Trout. Don't forget to check out special deals for these trips with Groupon and to like us one facebook for further updates along with more pictures from our recent fishing trips.

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