Our fishing bounced back this past week after last weekÂ’s tough performance of a couple of days following the passing of Hurricane Bill. As each day passed and the swells subsided you could see a vast difference in the way the Flounders were biting.

Just prior to my last report we had struggled for several days in a row catching Flounder with strong currents and big swells. The day of my last report was the best bite that we had seen in several days straight. This trend of better fishing continued on through the week even with the ominous forecast of yet another coastal storm headed our way for the upcoming weekend. By mid week, threats of what was then Hurricane Danny loomed over what was once again turning into a pretty hot Flounder bite. At one point they were talking about hurricane or storm force warnings for the Mid-Atlantic region over the weekend. Fortunately this system crapped out and swiftly passed us by as just a tropical storm and only left us with some large swells on Saturday.

While the swells did screw up the fishing for SaturdayÂ’s trip, unlike the passing of last weeks Bill, the fish were biting again much quicker after this storm and we bounced back nicely on Sunday. While we havenÂ’t seen the big number catches this past week that we have seen most weeks during this summer there has been steady action at times with short fish and we have definitely landed some true quality fish. Six of my last seven days on the water we have landed at least one citation sized flounder of over seven pounds. Our biggest fish last week was a true doormat of 10 lb. 5 oz. The same day this brute was landed we also had one just shy of 7 lbs. and several that would tip the scales over 4 and 5 pounds. We made up lacking for big numbers of keepers with some truly nice fish coming over the rail!

As of this writing I am sitting tied to the dock for the second day in a row due to some pesky Northeast winds and rough seas out on the Ocean. After only two days at the dock all summer it has not hurt my feelings that we didnÂ’t get out, I needed a little break. The winds are forecasted to diminish and we will be back hard at it tomorrow. Our water temperatures out front have been fairly steady still showing a warm 77 degrees on the gauge and at times even a little warmer with the afternoon sun. I am sure that this little blow we are experiencing now will shuffle things around a bit and the waters will begin to cool down a little. Do I think we will still be catching Flounder in the next several weeks? You can bet you jigs and strip baits on it! There are still big numbers of these Flounder around and I fully anticipate catching them for quite a while. I was speaking with a fellow operator this morning that had one of his best Flounder trips of the season just this past week fishing up in the Delaware Bay. These Flounders are going to be filtering out for several more weeks.

You canÂ’t stop the calendar the big flush is on and the fish most definitely seem to be on the move right now. We are seeing big schools of Croakers, Blues, small Trout, Spanish Mackerel and probably just about anything else that swims in our waters around the Mouth of the Delaware Bay right now. There have also been several Whales spotted feeding on large schools of baitfish around the Bay entrance and along our immediate Coast. ItÂ’s just about that time of the year when you never really know what you might catch or see on any given day.

We will continue sailing daily out of the Wharf with both Full-Day and Half-Day trips. My Full-Day trips will depart the docks at 7:00 a.m. and I expect to continue drift fishing for Flounder over “the old grounds” or the offshore reef sites for at least a few more weeks. We may also be seeing a mix with a few Sea Bass, Blues and possibly a few Croakers and Trout on some occasions. The Flounder will continue to be our primary target though as long as they are abundant. I look to start more anchor fishing towards the middle to the end of this month when we are able to see better numbers with the Sea Bass. We should still be able to pluck big Flounders away from the wrecks and reefs even while anchored for quite some time. We are definitely going to have some good fishing in the upcoming weeks!

Our Half-Day trips will continue sailing three trips a day until after Labor Day when we drop back to just two. Half-Day catches have consisted of primarily Croakers however this past week they have seen a nice variety with some Spot, Snapper Blues and even a few small Sea Trout mixed in. This action should also continue for several more weeks fairly close to home.

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 Yakimowicz
Thelma Dale V
catchfish@verizon.net