Pretty strange week of fishing here at the Wharf this past week; with the unprecedented closure of the Black Sea Bass at the beginning of the week I found myself scrambling for what to do next to try and put a few fish in the boat. Water temperatures are still fairly warm for the time of the year and the Blackfish (tautog) bite has been sporadic at best. Prior to yesterday I had only missed one day of fishing during the month of October and it was a tough swallow to not be able to do what I would normally be doing this time of the year so I just went fishing.

Just about every trip I found myself trying something a little different between anchoring in different locations over wrecks, and even drifting when the conditions were nice just to see what would work the best. While we most certainly never had a big trip we did manage to see a nice variety of fish as well as a few oddities just about every day out. We caught a few nice Flounders and some Croakers on the drift, we had some birds working on two pound Blues catching a bunch of them one day, and when we fished for the Tog even though it was disappointing, at times we saw plenty of action with Triggerfish and Porgies, and we did finally by the end of the week see a handful of mostly small and measurable Tog actually keeping a few decent sized fish. I should also mention that everywhere we went we caught Sea Bass and had to throw them back even though we were never more than five miles from the shoreline. We even begrudgingly threw back one beast of a Sea Bass on Saturdays trip that weighed in just over six pounds. Throwing back these Bass has been a true test of angling character!

Other than the ridiculous Sea Bass closure, water temperatures and Mother Nature have been our biggest handicap. At the beginning of the week we were still looking at nearly 68 degree surface temperatures just a few miles out in the Ocean. As the week progressed we were plagued with more than a fair amount of wind which naturally was not always in a favorable direction for anchoring, and at times it was a struggle just to stand up and fish without holding on to the rail with the choppy waves and the rocking boat. It seemed as every day we were thrown another curve! While the wind seldom took much of a break I did see water temperatures start to significantly take a dip. By Sunday I saw 64 and 65 degree surface temps in the mouth of the Bay. It's starting to cool down.

So far this week our weather while not the best hasn't been all that bad but the weathermen promise cooler temperatures along with some more wind for later this week likely keeping us tied up a couple more days. The bright side is as these waters cool down our Tog fishery should continue to improve as the fish become more active in the cooler water. The Stripers will also turn on with the cooler water. It is my understanding that there is an abundance of Stripers and Big Blues up the beach a ways undoubtedly migrating along with the masses of baitfish moving down the coast. It's just a matter of time before Striper fishing will turn on in the Mouth of the Delaware Bay and we will be ready for them when they show up.

I will continue with the regular schedule of fishing seven days a week until November when we drop back to just four days a week. We will be wreck fishing daily for Tautog and we will be willing to take whatever bites the hook (except bass) I have to think that with the cooler water temps the Triggerfish that we have been seeing will be moving on but we may still see a few. I do expect the Togging to get much better with each passing day. All-Day trips will depart the docks at 7:00 a.m. and we will return to the docks around 4:00. Bait is furnished on these trips I will have crabs and sometimes sand fleas on the boat for the Tog every day. I have also seen a few of these fish caught on artificial gulp baits and shrimp but if you want that stuff you'll have to supply your own!

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 Yakimowiczw
Thelma Dale V
catchfish@verizon.net