With the Memorial Day weekend just around the corner fishing has been in high gear in Lewes. Sea Bass, Drumfish, Flounder, Tilefish, Bluefish and even Stripers have all hit the docks just this past week. Water temperatures are still creeping up and the fishing for the most part has been pretty decent.

Pretty good weather and a few folks have allowed me to get away from the docks six of the last eight days and I have seen some good fishing on these trips. Sea Bass continue to be the catch of the day for the All-Day trips but we have also seen a couple big Blues, a few Cod, and a Fluke or two mixed in the catch along with plenty of Spiny Sharks to keep you on your toes. If your looking for limit catches of Sea Bass and coolers full of fish I canÂ’t show you that and IÂ’m not sure who can but if your looking for lots of fish catching action and a fresh fish supper and a fun trip, IÂ’m pretty certain I can handle that!

Over the past week or so it has not been uncommon for anglers to land thirty or even fifty and in some cases even more Sea Bass than that on any given day. It is however uncommon for someone to land more than double digits with keeper sized fish. Even though there have been several trips where top hooks would land well into the upper teens and even into the twenties with some very nice fish, realistically donÂ’t expect that, this is the exception and not the norm. The wrecks and reefs we are fishing seem to be covered with fish right now and just about every day we have seen great action with throwbacks and we will see fish up to three pounds and bigger taking the pool daily but the bulk of the fish being caught just fall short of the line. Every now and again we will get a stop with some real brutes coming in but no matter how big of a wreck or reef I stop over and no matter what depth we fish, there are still tons of little guys fighting over your bait!

Is this it?? Is this the spring run you say?? Time will tell but I wouldnÂ’t be surprised if it is. Up and down the coast Sea Bass action is reported to be about the same and in fact we are actually seeing some better numbers of both keepers and throwbacks than some of the fishing ports to the north of us. Typically these Sea Bass will migrate inshore to spawn at this time of the year stopping by any wrecks, reefs or natural coral bottoms to fatten up on the easy prey living around these structures. I think we will continue to see fish gathering around the structures for several more weeks before they spread out over the open bottom and hopefully there will continue to be enough of big fish to keep it worth our while anchoring over these types of bottom if not we will switch gears and start concentrating on drifting the open bottom of the old grounds where we will see a mix with both Sea Bass and Flounder but I donÂ’t expect to drift fish for at least a few more weeks.

Up in the Delaware Bay the Drum fishing continues to be steady with some real whoppers being landed on both sides of the Bay. Even though the big number catches of the last couple years are not as frequent so far this year this fishing is good now and will continue this way for several more weeks. The Drum are biting both day and nighttime right now with the best bite being after dark. We have both head boats and charter boats available for the Drum if you want to get in on this Delaware Bay Big Game fish.

I spoke with Capt. H.D. yesterday and he told me that he would be adding a few more special trips to the schedule for the summer months and that he would try to have a list of dates for me to post in the next week. He had a long-range trip this past weekend that had fair action with both Tilefish and Sea Bass. He told me that conditions were not the best and holding bottom was a chore but there were some nice fish landed.

I will continue sailing daily with the All-Day trips fishing over wrecks and reefs for the Sea Bass. Trips depart the docks at 7:00 a.m. and we will get in around 4:00. Look for Half-Day trips to start sailing as soon as this weekend fishing for Flounder or Drum. Our evening Drum trips will sail both Friday and Saturday nights at 6:00 p.m. 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