In spite of a few days with less than favorable conditions and the near miss of the swift passing hurricane Earl at the end of this past week, I would have to call my last week of fishing here at the Wharf pretty good with my All-Day trips.

Things were not looking too rosy before my last report, just when the overall picture was starting to look good we were plagued with a little wind and some dirty water and a lot of fish that seemed to pull a disappearing act almost over night. As last week progressed before the passing of Earl our fishing continued to improve as did the water clarity on nearly a daily basis. The Flounder fishing was showing real signs of improvement, Sea Bass were biting good just about every day and the Snapper Blues and Croakers started to show up all over the "old grounds" providing some good fish catching action! This was more like the good 'ole mixed bag catches that we are accustomed to seeing at this time of the year!

I have to admit there was a few times that I thought about just switching over to anchor fishing recently and concentrating on just catching the Sea Bass on a daily basis however the drift fishing has been too good to make that call just yet. Wreck fishing will come in time and it could virtually be on any given day from here on out, but for right now we are still seeing some good Flounder action and the Bass have been adding up real nice for us while we have been drifting. Many times this past week anglers have landed into double digits with nice keeper Bass. Couple that with a few Flounder Spread around the boat and the Snapper Blues along with a smattering of Croakers, our coolers have had more fish in them than they have had all summer by the end of the day!

With the spread of fish that are around right now and the variety catch that is available we have been doing less jigging and have gone back to more of the traditional top and bottom rigs for the rig of choice. While those that continue to jig are still bagging their share of the Flounder that we are landing, the traditional rigs have been fairing just fine and also landing a little more with a variety catch than just the Fluke jigs. I have had the pleasure of fishing during a couple of our outings this past week and I'm here to tell you it has been a lot of fun. To me there is nothing like the variety catch, not knowing just what might be biting the hooks on every drop of the rig to the bottom.

Even with missing a couple days due to the passing storm, our numbers with Fluke were decent this past week landing over sixty keepers for nearly two hundred caught. Our Sea Bass numbers were way better than that and many of the Bass have been very nice in size. Flounder however took control of the big fish pool every day this past week with several fish weighing in over four and five pounds. After the way it was looking for the Fluke going into September, this was a welcome site seeing them moving around again and once again biting for us. I think this trend will continue for a while. There were good reports of Flounder being caught up in the Delaware Bay as well just this past week. There are more of these nice flatties to come and I expect to still be seeing some Flounders daily until the end of the season this year even when I start to exclusively anchor over the wrecks and the reefs.

Here in Delaware we opted for a Flounder closure starting the second week in October. This closure was opted over the choice of no closed season with a 19 inch fish for 2010. I still truly believe this was our best choice even though we will continue to see some Flounder caught after the season shuts down and be forced to throw them back. In New Jersey their Flounder season closed Labor Day and with the exception of a few research permit holders that may still land the Flounder, you can no longer legally land Flounder in the state of New Jersey. We still have a good month in Delaware to rack up a few more of these nice flat fish while they are around and I know we will be doing just that!

I really have seen some good fishing here in just this past week and we have caught them in conditions that were truly less than favorable. This proves that there are plenty of opportunities ahead to have some great trips. I fully expect to continue seeing a nice variety with both the Flounder and more and more Sea Bass as the month of September continues. For now I will stick with what has been working and it seems as though the drift whenever possible is going to be our best option. I will not hesitate to switch to the anchor though if the drift no longer works. I am out today 9/8 with just another handful of patrons and the wind is blowing a little too much for the drift so I am anchored over some good bottom catching a little of everything. So far this too has turned into a decent fishing trip. We have actually seen a few Croakers in the 18" class so far!

I will continue sailing seven days a week with my regular Full-Day trips departure time is at 7:00 a.m. and we have been getting in around 4:00 or a little later. Flounder and Sea Bass will continue to be our target and all bait is furnished. We are also still running daily with our Half-Day trips now sailing at 8:00 a.m. and then again at 1:00 p.m. Half-Day trips will be targeting a variety of fish including Croakers, Bluefish, and Flounders.

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.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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