Water temperatures continue the upward climb despite the less than favorable weather and as a result the fishing scene is turning on along the Coast and up in the Delaware Bay. Just about every species of fish that you would expect to catch at this time of the year has been caught with hook and line over the past week and as the weather gets nicer and water temperatures continue to creep up the fishing is only going to get better.

All along the beaches from Virginia to Cape May, surf fisherman are reporting Stripers, Drumfish, Bluefish and even Kingfish are now starting to be pulled in from the suds. The Lewes Rehoboth Canal has been giving up some nice Flounder already and even a few big Rockfish for those that have been trying. I have yet to hear of any official reports of a Sea Trout hook and line but with near shore waters and the canal approaching 60 degrees it's just a matter of time. Out on the open water for us here at the Wharf it's still been all about the Tautog. Each and every trip we have made so far this spring with our regular All-Day trips has met with good to great success catching and keeping these crafty bait stealing reef masters of the deep.

I managed to get out a few times since my last report and at the risk of sounding like a broken record the fishing was impressive. We had full boat limits including the crew again on two of my last three trips and pretty close to that on the other one. The fish we have been catching haven't been the big slobs like we see at times but they have been very nice in size with citation sized fish just about every trip. Our biggest to date this year is still just a little over ten pounds but we have had countless fish in the four to five pound class and we continue to throw some hefty females back to the bottom looking for just the males for the cooler and giving the girls the opportunity to spawn. The fish have been very cooperative for us most of the time. We fished the mouth of the Bay a couple times over the weekend and even with the strong running currents they bit much like they did last week; when you expected them to bite. They would slow up a little when the current was at its strongest and as the swift moving water slowed down near the changes of the tide they would turn back on and feed almost furiously at times making for some good steady action around the boat. We are still seeing a lot of throwbacks in the mix and the Spiny Dogfish Sharks have been pesky often adding to the mêlée of action around the rail. We did see our first few Oyster Crackers of the year and even a big Smooth Dogfish and a clear nosed Skate over the weekend which is a sure sign the water temperature is warming up and not just on the surface.

We are now trying to run daily with the regular all day trips and if we can get decent weather I fully anticipate being able to make the trip on the good days. We do have a little wind event going on right now with some more of that pesky northeast wind but it's looking much better by midweek. As always I suggest that you call before you travel so we can give you a good idea of what to expect along with the latest weather updates. We are scheduled to depart the docks at 7:00 a.m. and generally return around 4:00 p.m. Crabs and Clams have been the bait of choice and we have been using anywhere from 6 to 12 ounces of lead to hold the bottom depending on your setup and how hard the current is moving. We have just shy of three more weeks to take full advantage of the spring Tog, our season in Delaware will come to a close on May 11th. After that it is likely that we will be fishing for Flounder or maybe even Drumfish during the week before the Sea Bass season reopening on May 19th.

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. and don't forget to check us out on facebook for any other updates as well as some more pictures from our recent trips. There is a facebook link from the home page.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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