Here we are pushing into the third week of September and instead of talking about those fabulous Fall variety catches of fish we would typically be seeing at this time of year, the main topic around the docks is when will the wind ever stop! I can count the nice days we have had since the beginning of September without using all of my fingers. There is no doubt as some of you well know that our weather so far during this month could be best described as fresh to frightening!

In the last few weeks we have seen a hurricane pass us by well offshore, another tropical system knocking at our front door that also passed us by pretty well offshore, and finally the latest blow, which we encountered for the better part of last week. This latest weather event basically amounted to an old fashioned NorÂ’easter giving us yet another punch only this time, right smack in the face. All three of these major weather systems dealt us a blow which to some degree had a negative affect on our fishing, and the outcome of each weather maker was certainly not what we would have liked to see.

We have had what I would call an epic Flounder season from the end of May up until that first hurricane passed us by at the end of August. After a few days of swells the Flounder started to bite again and all was good. After the second tropical system things got tough again however the fish bounced back and not only were we seeing good numbers of Flounder again but the Sea Bass were also starting to move around and we had been seeing a few more of them in the mix each trip we made. This last blow however seems to have given us a knockout punch as far as the Founders are concerned this past week. I have not been able to see any numbers at all with the Fluke now since this last blow. It really doesnÂ’t surprise me though our conditions have pretty much been less than favorable nearly every day we have been out and it has been tough to tell if they are just not biting, conditions are wrong, or if they have moved on.

With the coastal low last week we stayed tied fast to the dock for four days straight. Each day we spent land locked the winds blew harder and the swells offshore continued to grow. Late Thursday night into early Friday morning swells that had been over ten to twelve feet tall every day since early in the week had now climbed to nearly twenty feet tall peaking out around 2 a.m. on Friday. This weather event gave us a serious shuffling of the deck unlike either of the two prior storms that we had encountered. With a much better forecast we were back to the grind Saturday morning. The winds were naturally a little stronger than forecasted and drifting was pretty much out of the question. With moderate swells of about four feet we ventured off and anchor fished some of the same coral heads and reef structures that we had been fishing before the big blow just hoping for some bites. The Flounder didnÂ’t bite at all but the Sea Bass were biting quite well. Along with the Bass we were also seeing a mix with a few small Croakers, Bluefish, Sand Sharks and even a couple of small Trout. This mix of fish while common for this time of year were found laying in an area that you would rarely see them and could have only been a result of the storm that had passed pushing them into this deeper water.

We have had a bright note since the storm and that is at times the Sea Bass have been coming in as fast as you can get your lines to the bottom. Unfortunately the vast majority of these fish still fall short of the minimum size required to keep but we have managed some nice keepers around the boat on a few occasions. This type of fishing continued pretty much all weekend and it wasnÂ’t until Monday that I was able to even think about drifting for the Fluke. The wind and huge waves certainly pushed around some fish, even while drifting the open bottom on Monday and Tuesday fish were not in places they would normally be.

I put in an honest effort for the Flounder drift fishing both Monday and for half the day on Tuesday but the results were less than spectacular. I will say that we caught more Flounder today than any day since the storm but it was just a handful of keepers and quite a few throwbacks. It was merely a ray of hope and by midday they were not adding up so I bailed out and anchored over a wreck settling for a few nice Bass just to put some fish in the coolers.

Only time will tell whatÂ’s going to happen with these Flounder in the next few weeks. There were an awful lot of them around and IÂ’m certain there still is. I know of fish up in the Bay and there are still Flounders being landed in the canal as well as the back Bays and inlets, in fact the fishing for the flatties has been better in these locations than anywhere over the past few days. The weatherman promises some more unsettled weather before the weekend but this time it wonÂ’t be a coastal event, just a little wind and we are certainly used to that.

IÂ’m going to plan my All-Day trips around the fish in the upcoming weeks. I know I can anchor now and catch Sea Bass along with a variety of other fish and it is likely that we will be seeing more and more of this type of fishing on a daily basis especially if drifting conditions are tough. I do anticipate a variety of fish whether we drift fish or we anchor and I am certain that we will be seeing more Flounder, I just donÂ’t expect to see them like we were a few short weeks ago. Most of our Flounder now will likely be caught over heavy structure and possibly even while anchored. There is a multitude of fish that will be migrating along our coast in the next several weeks and when everything falls into place we are going to have a lot of fun catching some of them.

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 a spot on 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