The weather has continued to be our biggest enemy. I can't remember really ever seeing a stretch of ugly weather the likes of what we have endured over the past couple of months, one storm right after the other with a few intermittent breaks in between. Just when you think the Bay or the Ocean is starting to calm down, and the water starts to clean up, Mother Nature whacks us with another punch of strong winds throwing another cog in the gears of what should be some great fishing.

I have seen some good and some bad in the last couple of weeks of fishing. Both the Tautog and the Stripers continue to please and frustrate anglers. If we could just have a decent stretch of weather my report would be much better. There is definitely fish around and they are willing to bite but conditions have been more in the fishes favor than the anglers trying to catch them

The weekend before Thanksgiving we saw a real struggle with the Tog, we were out Friday Saturday and Sunday and only one of those three days produced any number of fish. Dirty water was the biggest issue, after another several days of wind both the Bay and the Mouth of the Bay was filthy with water that looked more like a black cup of coffee or a chocolate milkshake than anything. Both Friday and Saturday ended up being a bust with a very small handful of fish being caught each day. Sunday things started to turn around a little and we had much better action with the Tog in the same general area. We also saw quite a few decent sized Sea Bass that unfortunately had to be returned to the Sea and several Spiny Dog Sharks restoring faith in a biting fish. On Monday the winds started to blow again and we wouldn't leave the docks again until the annual Thanksgiving Day fun trip for Stripers with the kids.

As the water temperatures continue to fall the Striper fishing has been consistently good, but overall hit and miss. There have been several really good trips with the Stripers and there is still a good number of large fish being landed however the weather has not done this fishery any favors either. We are also now starting to see several Slammer sized blues migrating down the Coast along with the Linesiders and there is also more short Stripers starting to show up in the mix. Water temperatures over this past weekend were hovering around the 52 degree mark in the Bay and around 56 degrees in the Ocean. Still relatively warm given the time of year but cool enough to keep the fish on the move.

More wind! After Thursday's successful Striper trip the forecast was for gale winds again on Friday and we would once again stay tied fast to the docks. The wind continued on into Saturday and with a decent group of hearty anglers we made an attempt on the Tog but we were blown back to the dock with just a few short fish being caught for our futile effort. Sunday was a much better day, the Ocean was eerily calm the water clarity was surprisingly good. The Tog bite on Sunday was what I would call decent, top hooks would land between five and nine keeper Tog and just about everyone onboard wound up with supper. Our biggest Tog so far this fall was landed Sunday tipping the scales at just shy of 14 pounds!

Our 2009 fishing season is rapidly dwindling away and the fishing is still very good. As long as we can continue to have a few "breaks in the weather" we should continue to see some very good fishing opportunities with Stripers, Tog and Bluefish. I am going to continue sailing Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays wreck fishing for the Tog for at least a couple more weeks. It is still up in the air for a winter schedule on any bottom fishing at this time but I will let you know as soon as I know. We will continue sailing daily for the Stripers also for a couple more weeks. Tog fishing trips are scheduled to depart at 7:00 a.m. and the Striper trips depart at 8:00. Feel free to give us a call before you travel so we can give you the latest weather updates and let you know what you might expect on the day you come.

If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to book a private charter please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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