Last week I should have been able to report another great week of fish catching action however the latest in a series of major Coastal Storms once again whisked away all hopes of catching fish or even getting away from the docks for several more days in a row.

Early last week we saw some super fishing with both the Tog and the Stripers however by Wednesday we would once again be tying extra ropes on the boats and securing anything that might blow away with the forecasted wind. There was the remains of a November Tropical Storm approaching from the south and a big high pressure ridge planted to the North. We were stuck in the middle with a pressure gradient generating strong winds and forming a Coastal low that would turn from bad to worse and just wouldn't go away.

By Thursday night and into Friday winds were exceeding fifty knots and for a long couple hours were even clocked blowing a sustained seventy knots by the pilot tower on the point of Cape Henlopen. This most recent Nor'easter was relentless and caused major coastal flooding with the accompanying high tides, it also dumped several inches of rain in our area and generated waves that would peak out at over twenty five feet for a while! This was a real deal major Coastal Storm and fortunately in the grand scheme of things, Lewes for the most part faired pretty good for a storm of this magnitude. Needless to say there was no fishing for a while.

We did venture back out on Sunday morning and other than the mud all over the dock and the remaining flood water backed up in the canal you would hardly know the weather had been so bad. I have to admit it was a much nicer day on the water than I could have even dreamed for. There was one minor detail however, the fishing sucked! Not just a bad day of fishing either, this was epic bad, the kind of day that fishermen never want to see. I targeted the Tog and the Tog won. Not one fish was landed all day not even a throwback and we drew a name out of a hat to settle the pool. For all our efforts Sunday all we saw was one Conger Eel. We couldn't even catch a Toad or a Spiny Dogfish!

Anglers targeting the Stripers found it pretty much the same way on Sunday, just about every boat that targeted the Linesiders also ended up fishless! Ultimately there was a few of both species landed up in the Bay by days end, but you could really tell things were shook up bad after the storm. It was a shame for those that chose to fish Sunday, it turned out to be a gorgeous day out on the water just not for catching fish.

As Monday rolled around we knew there was only one direction to go and that was up. With another beautiful day to work with we headed back up into the Bay and went back to battle with the Tog. By ten o'clock in the morning we already had exceeded the prior days catch. We had Two! Patience prevailed however and after several hours with hardly a bite in the strong running current, the fish finally started to turn on and we redeemed ourselves catching close to forty nice keepers for just eleven anglers by the end of the day. Stripers also bit a little better on Monday with quite a few fish being landed in locations that just 24 hours earlier saw absolutely none.

Action like we encountered Sunday is certainly not uncommon in the aftermath of a storm the likes of the one that battered our coast last week. It's a rare occasion that you see 25 foot waves at the Light Ship Buoy we even had 10 and 12 foot waves rolling in on Lewes Beach and we have two breakwaters to help stop the sea. It has taken several tide cycles to wash away the dirty water in and around the mouth of the Delaware Bay. We are seeing better water clarity each day and the tides are now back to normal.

Weather is still going to be the key to our success. We know there is plenty of fish around and with a little luck and some decent conditions we will have no problem proving it. You have to figure the weather can't always be bad even it seems that way. I will continue fishing for the Tautog on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Mondays. We will be anchoring over wrecks and artificial reefs and the Crabs will be supplied. Our scheduled departure time is 7:00 and we generally return around 4:00. Our Striper trips will be running seven days a week and will depart the dock at 8:00.

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