It was another pretty good week of fishing here at the Wharf! Flounder continue to hit the decks on the All Day trips, miraculously some Croakers have showed up in the Delaware Bay for our Half-Day trips, and we had another successful long-range trip with the Tilefish.

I can honestly say now that summer may have arrived. After what seemed like some never ending spring like weather we have finally gotten a break with the fog, rain, cool breezes and the cloudy skies! I actually brought home some hooded sweatshirts to clean and pack away for a while and have been able to wear shorts and a short sleeve shirt nearly every day this past week.

I made a statement last week in my report that I would sign a contract to have the Flounder fishing that we have been experiencing over the last several weeks for the rest of the season, well that statement still holds true. I have seen some really great trips with these Flatties and the numbers continue to rack up. Throughout most of the week it was picky fishing; nothing fast and furious but by the end of the day the keepers would add up and we would come home with respectable numbers of some very nice Flounder nearly every trip. Every day is not a great one of course but we continually land Fluke that will tip the scales at close to five pounds or bigger to take the pool every day and I have seen more limits so far this season than I ever expected given the time of year.

Drifting conditions are the key to success and several days we have had too little or too much drift for my liking during parts of the day but we have still managed to land some quality fish despite these conditions. Even on the bad days we seem to still see good numbers of throwbacks mixed in with some big ones to keep everyoneÂ’s attention up with fish catching action. The Flounder are still the main attraction with the all day trips we are not seeing enough keeper sized Sea Bass to feed a sick cat! If you fish for just the Bass you can catch them butÂ…. They fall short of the newly imposed size limit of twelve and a half inches. We are mainly dragging big baits and jigging for the Flounder, a good percentage of them have been going in the cooler.

While nearly all of my fishing has been in the Ocean for the last few weeks on these Flounder, the Delaware Bay continues to produce some nice Flatties when the conditions allow. It seems that the Ocean has been much less sensitive to the poor drifting conditions that can sometimes occur up in the Bay screwing things up when you least expect it, and it has just been a much better option for us to fish out front with some of the fishing action I have seen. We continue to have our best success over the rocky ledges and coral bottoms of the “old grounds” so that is where I continue to run my trips. Fortunately the weather has allowed us to keep fishing the deeper waters where we have been seeing some of the nicest fish brought to the boat. Water temperatures continue to climb and we have started to see some of those pockets of crystal clear water in the Ocean where you begin to see your fish while they are still twenty or thirty feet down! Very seldom did we see clear water like that last summer and it was much later on in the year. Water temperatures in the Ocean are approaching a steady seventy degrees and we have even seen our first triggerfish of the year landed. Bay water temperatures have been steady above and well into to the mid seventies.

Like magic over night, this past week the Croakers began to arrive in the Delaware Bay. First just a couple, but by the third day after the very first sign of their arrival Capt. Mike had reported that some lucky anglers on his half-day trips were landing well into double digits with these Croakers. So far the biggest of these fish are only about a foot long or a little bigger but they are certainly a welcome sight. Last year their arrival was much later in the season. I have had a few reports of some bigger fish landed around the jetties and rock piles so it should be just a matter of time before we start to see some of those rod bending “Moby Croakers” that bless the Delaware Bay during the summer months.

Capt. H.D. and Capt. Bennett ventured back offshore for a deep drop trip this past Saturday with the Thelma Dale V and after a somewhat rocky start battling Mother Nature they managed to wind up with a decent trip catching Tilefish and a few Sea Bass. Drifting conditions killed the trip early on but persistence paid off and by days end most anglers wound up with a nice catch of mostly Blue Line Tilefish and a good smattering of Sea Bass from the depths. Our next scheduled long-range trip will be Saturday July 11th and Capt. H.D. says to stay tuned for more trips on the schedule in the weeks ahead. We will run these trips on weekends alternating between Saturdays and Sundays. I will try to post the dates as soon as they are available.

Our fishing really has been pretty good so far this summer and with the warmer water and the amount of fish that we are seeing around in all the different locations things are really looking up for the days and weeks ahead! I expect to continue seeing great action with Flounder on my all-day trips and I really look for the Croaker action to just get better and better for our Half-Day adventures. Offshore fishing for Tuna has already shown signs of greatness and will also get better as the season wears on. 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 one of the special trips please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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