I don't really have a lot to report about this past weeks fishing however we did close out our last few days of Spring Tog this weekend with the good the bad and the windy, we saw a little of everything. Mother Nature really hasn't been all that friendly to us recently but we did prevail on a few of our stops.

Friday was the best forecasted day of the weekend and was also the best day for catching. With a small crowd of regular Tog professionals we ventured out and started catching fish right away. Friday was a good day to be a female Tog laden with eggs. The stage was set early on and it was obvious that the females would live to spawn. We saw a great Tog bite nearly all day with fish up to ten pounds and by the end of the trip we were just shy of a full boat limit not even including the dozens of fish that were released.

Saturday was a little different. The forecast was for winds to approach thirty knots by mid afternoon and those that like the wind would not be disappointed. The day started out with some moderate southwest winds of about ten to twenty knots and as the day progressed the wind would come around to the Northwest and blow with a vengeance! While it never really got too rough till late in the day with the wind opposing the tide, the fish just didn't seem to want to bite too well. We did catch a few and we even had several decent fish but I assure you we threw back more legal fish on Fridays trip than we were able to land on Saturday.

Near gale winds would continue through the night Saturday and continue most of the day on Sunday. Mothers Day brunch was a lot of fun Sunday morning with the view of the big waves and white caps on the Bay from my breakfast table! All the tog were safe this day. We ventured back out Monday morning with still more wind than I would like to see. The Bay waters looked more like a frothy cup of mocha than anything resembling salt water so I ventured out into the Ocean in search of some cleaner water with nervous hopes of finding a few biting fish. While we struggled early on with a rocking boat and not many keepers by the end of the day the winds abated and we did manage a respectable catch with Tog and believe it or not several more Codfish that we were able to keep. We also saw some pretty decent action with undersized Tog and a lot of decent size Sea Bass that would have to be returned to the sea. It seems apparent that the bottom is still much cooler than the surface temperatures with a few Codfish still milling around.

Now we are faced with a situation that is new to everyone that makes fishing their living or just likes to wet a line from time to time. For the first time ever due to poor science, management, and decision making we are unable to catch Sea Bass until the 22nd of May. It would have been a nice transition this year to just start fishing for the Sea Bass like normal however that will not be the case. It's a darn shame too there is quite a few of them around right now. Until next Saturday our fish catching options are somewhat limited. Tog season is now closed until later in the year, and with the Bass closure we will be forced to look at other options until then. Drumfish and Flounder are our two best choices and this it is what we will be fishing for when we sail. Drum fishing can be red hot this time of year and I expect to see some good fishing on these Delaware Bay Dinosaurs in the next few weeks in the daytime. Flounder are around and they are biting but most of them are being landed in the warmer shallow waters of the inland bays and canals. It is also possible that we may see a few Stripers landed while fishing the shallow waters for the Drum. As long as the weather cooperates this will be a nice change of pace and should be a lot of fun.

The stage is now set for what promises to be a very interesting next several weeks. Drumfish are just starting to turn on in good numbers, Flounder are around and the Sea Bass will be opened up in just a few more days. I will be running all-day trips daily departing the dock at 7:00 a.m. daily, Half-Day trips will continue to run on weekends at 8:00 a.m. and at 1:00 p.m. We will also have an evening trip for Drum running daily at 6:00 p.m. There are also several special Long -Range trips scheduled, you can find a complete list of dates on the Special Trip link from the home page at fishlewes.com reservations are required in advance for these Long-Range 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 a 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