The one thing in this business that we just can't control is the weather and it has never been more obvious than it has been this fall. For way too many weeks now you have heard me complain about the weather not giving us any breaks and we keep thinking that the winds will eventually abate, well they did for just a couple days last week but then they came back again with fury for the weekend and the beginning of what is now the second week in November.

There is nothing more frustrating than knowing that there are fish out there willing to bite and knowing with any favorable conditions that we could have some stellar fishing, however Mother Nature has had a better idea and she just hasn't been cooperating with us very nicely and we have been forced to stay tied up at the dock on way too many days when we would have rather been fishing.

The fishing has been good, early last week and then again on Saturday, we saw Sea Bass action as good as you could ask for; constant action, several very nice sized fish, and folks landing limit or near limit catches. Tog fishing up until the weekend with the wind and hard running tides associated with the back side of the moon, has also been outstanding with good numbers and some real nice sized fish coming in. The Stripers are also biting now with the most consistency so far this fall season with trophy sized fish being landed on both sides of the Delaware Bay as well as out front between the two Capes in the well known "rips" in the mouth of the Bay.

Our water temperatures have continued to dip with the windy weather and the cool nights that we have been having of late. Water temperatures in the Delaware Bay are now down as cool as 53 degrees and even lower at some of the local reporting stations. Surface temperature at the Delaware Light Ship buoy about fifteen miles from the beach was also down to 57 degrees just this morning. The fall migration of fish is on with the cooler water. I was up in the Bay and in the mouth of the Bay Togging on both Friday and Saturday and we saw several shots of aggressively working birds over large schools of baitfish and assumingly what were feeding Stripers or Blues. Tog fishing was very disappointing for me both Friday as well as Saturday with the conditions we had to work with. I did see a few nice fish on Friday late in the day and late in hard ebb tide, but it was just too little too late. I went back where I knew there was some big fish on Saturday morning but we couldn't even get a bite. With dirty water and a screaming current I left the bay in search of cleaner water and hopefully less tide. I was able to find some cleaner water, and we even found a few biting fish but the Tog we found were just about all short. It was a bum day. On Sunday with similar to what may have been even worse conditions I couldn't bring myself to take a group willing anglers out for that and pulled the plug on the trip hoping for a better day.

Capt. H.D. ran the special Sea Bass trip out to the twenty mile wrecks on Saturday and even though the Ocean was best described as a big washing machine with the heavy swells and moderate northeast winds chopping up on the surface, the fishing was outstanding with the majority of his small group landing a limit of nice sized Sea Bass. They also saw a few Blues and even caught a lonely lost Codfish! This was a special 10-hour trip and other than the weather this trip was a big success. There are several more of these trips on the schedule for those that want a guaranteed Sea Bass fishing trip. I also expect more regular Full-Day trips for the Bass these next few weeks if we can ever get this weather to give us a break. As the season progresses these fish will ultimately push further offshore making an extended journey one of the best options for the Bass.

I am going to continue trying to sail seven days a week with the regular All-Day trips until December when we will shorten the schedule. The way the weather has been and the way everyone seems to be paying close attention to the forecast this is our best chance to get out on a decent day. Any nice day with a decent amount of folks on board we will likely sail offshore for the Bass. Any day with just a few folks or if the weather is iffy we will stay close to shore fishing for the Tautog. All trips will be anchor fishing over wrecks and bait is supplied. All- Day trips depart the docks at 7:00 a.m. and we generally get back in around 4:00. As long as we can get a break in the weather we will see some good fishing!

We are also trying to run a Striper Trip now however with the way the weather has been and the late showing up with the fish we have yet to get a Striper trip away from the dock. Striper trips depart the dock at 8:00 a.m. and they also will return at around 4:00 p.m.

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. There is a complete list of dates for special trips on the link from our home page at fishlewes.com remember reservations must be made in advance for the special trips.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz
Thelma Dale IV
Fisherman's Wharf
catchfish@verizon.net