I really don't have to much to report for this past week Mother Nature pretty much decided that she wanted to protect her fish for the majority of the days that we were scheduled to fish and on the nicest day we were short on willing participants so we just shucked clams.

Friday was the only day that we managed to get out this past weekend and the fishing was actually pretty decent on the Tog. With just a couple handfuls of anglers we stayed pretty close to home fishing in the Mouth of the Bay and had a fairly steady bite for the better part of the trip with Tog up to about seven pounds. Water temperatures were still a little cool even though they have been creeping up, so the bite was still light and mostly on the Clam, but the majority of the anglers on board had no problem getting their limit. By late in the day on Friday the easterly winds kicked up strong and continued to blow with fury throughout the day on Saturday and even into Sunday. East and southeast winds were blowing sustained at over forty knots for a while assuring no boats would be venturing out.

The weather certainly has not given us many breaks so far this spring, it has by far been our biggest enemy on the days when we get out, or the days that we just try to get out. The fishing continues to be good, we just haven't been able to get away from the docks as much as we would like to go catch them! Water temperatures are certainly on the rise, when I was out on Friday I saw 49 degrees on the surface in the mouth of the Bay and just yesterday the reporting station up in the Bay had surface temps as warm as 52 degrees with the recent warmer weather. Surface temperatures in the ocean just 20 miles off the beach have been as warm as 50 degrees also. I guarantee fish are on the move.

Reports have been coming in for a week now of more and more fish being landed in different areas. There has been multiple good reports of both Flounder and Stripers having been landed from the beach as well as from small boats fishing the back bay's, inlets, and the canal. As the weather improves and with the warmer temperatures we are seeing this week I anticipate a lot more of these reports. I have also heard of the first Bluefish being landed just off the beach and apparently there was some Tuna out in the Baltimore and Washington Canyons with a shot of warm water that had spun up from the Carolinas. I haven't had any updates on Drumfish since the weekend but I'm sure some will eat a chunk of Clam this week, they are most definitely around now and this fishery will take off any day now.

The way the weather patterns seem to have been lately our best weather has been during the middle of the week and as I write this it's no different. Today is shaping up to be one of the nicest days so far this spring yet here I am once again stuck on land! Starting next week we will resume our daily schedule with the All-Day trips in hopes of getting out on days when the weather is nice. The way it seems everyone is glued to the weather forecast nowadays I think we will likely be able to get away from the docks a little more often. Fortunately we are able to catch fish close to home now so we will be able to run with the bare minimum crowd.

All-Day trips will depart the docks at 7:00 a.m. and we generally get back in around 4:00. We will be anchoring over shipwrecks and artificial reefs fishing for Tautog for about three more weeks before the spring Tog season comes to a close. The outlook is very promising for some good Tog action up until this closure and I expect to see some very nice fish landed.

If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to book a private charter or make reservations for 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