ItÂ’s been a pretty good week here at the Wharf for catching fish! The Flounder have stolen the show now and have been coming over the rails just about as good as at any point in time last summer and several of these fish are of quality size! I have been fishing both in the Delaware Bay as well as out front in the Ocean and either location has provided some serious Flounder catching action.

I spent nearly two solid weeks fishing exclusively up in the Delaware Bay and even though the action was slow at times, the numbers don't lie, we caught a lot of nice keeper fish. After the last moon tides however things started to dry up a little and the fish didn't seem to be nearly as bunched up like they had been in some of the areas that we had been working up in the Bay so I ventured offshore in search of some more productive grounds out in the Ocean. What I found was a pleasant surprise! The “old grounds” seem to be alive with Fluke and I have actually been fishing out front over these grounds now for several days in a row. The keeper to throwback ratio is not quite as good out in the Ocean as what we had been seeing early on up in the Bay, but the numbers of keepers are still pretty impressive, the action with the throwbacks is good and the big ones that we land are even bigger than what we had seen up in the Bay so far! In just the past week I have seen over two dozen fish that would tip the scales at over five pounds. Not a bad start for a fishery that traditionally doesn't get really good till much later in the year. If this follows suit the best is yet to come. There is definitely a good number of Flounder around and they are in a lot of different locations so things are looking good for what we may have in store for us over the next several weeks.

As par normal Flounder fishing is always subject to conditions, when everything clicks just right the fishing can be quite good and when conditions are not in your favor things can get tough. For the most part we have been quite lucky with the weather conditions, despite some ugly forecasts we have been able to get away from the dock every day and have not really had a good butt kicking from Mother Nature in quite a while with rough seas. We have had more than our fair share of fog and rain recently and yes the warm clothes are still on the boat with the chilly breezes we are seeing I just canÂ’t seem to take them home. Most days have been very pleasurable on the water though and the crowds I have been going out with have been at a minimum making for some fun fishing on board. Today (6/16) was actually the first day that I had to give up the drift fishing and go to the anchor in nearly three weeks due to wind.

Sea Bass fishing hasn't changed much in the last few weeks there still seems to be plenty of Bass around but getting the keepers for the cooler is the problem. Even today when I bailed from the drift and anchored over a wreck that hadn't been touched in over a month and a half there was still way more throwbacks than there was keepers. We landed some beautiful fish but most had to go back. As we drift the open bottom we also see quite a few bass but they just don't make the grade there is the occasional keeper but we are much better off dragging the big baits and waiting on the Fluke to grab it. I really don't expect any big numbers of keeper Bass again till the fall when the spawn is over and they begin to migrate back offshore. We did end up with quite a few nice Bass today but it was like robbing the piggy bank those fish are now gone. Flounder and maybe a few keeper Sea Bass on the drift are whatÂ’s to be expected in the days and weeks ahead.

As I stated earlier I have been in the Ocean now for nearly a solid week. The areas that we seem to do the best with these fish are over the rocky ledges and coral type bottoms made up of mostly sea trees. What this means is that the bottom can become quite “sticky” at times with certain drifts. It is not uncommon to loose several rigs while trying to hook up with these big Flatties on any given day. Many anglers are using jigs when the drift is slow and the more traditional Fluke Killers will just about always work but either set up will hang the bottom just the same. Six to ten ounces of lead seems to do the trick on most days and you will never hear me complain about braided line, hands down in the deeper water it can’t be beat. Jiggers seem to get away much lighter with weight but you will work twice as hard to stay in touch with the bottom.

I will be running every day now fishing primarily for the Flounder and we will also start seeing a little more variety as the summer progresses with some snapper blues and eventually some Croakers. As long as I am in the Ocean we should continue to see plenty of Sea Bass at times but I got to tell you we wonÂ’t be keeping too many of them.

Our full summer schedule is in swing now with boats running daily for both Full and Half-Days of fishing. My all day trips depart the dock at 7:00 a.m. and return generally around 4:00 p.m. Half-Day excursions will run three times a day sailing at 8:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and then again at 6:00 in the evening. No reservations are needed for either the full or half day trips. 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