Beautiful summer like weather and some pleasantly flat calm seas have allowed us to actually get away from the docks five days in a row now. Along with the unseasonable weather anglers were out in full force over the weekend fishing from just about anything that floats targeting everything that you would expect to catch at this time of the year. With the exception of the ominously missing Stripers up in the Bay it was a pretty good weekend for catching fish!

I was back out Friday targeting the Tog and what we found was some extremely hard running currents with the backside of the moon, and a Tog bite that was a little off from what we had experienced over the past few weeks. By days end though on Friday, the fish added up for most anglers and we had several quality fish in the mix however there were moments that this fishing was painfully slow. Saturdays adventure was similar and with a larger crowd on board limiting the boat out would be just a dream. Every artificial reef site and charted shipwreck was covered with boats from both Delaware and New Jersey putting parking spaces at a premium. This boat traffic, coupled with the hard running tides and the finicky bite of the Tog made it obvious that we would be looking for greener pastures to finish out the weekend.

Sunday morning the weather was once again absolutely gorgeous so we ventured offshore hoping to see a mix of both Tog and Sea Bass. I was not disappointed. While the Tog catch was not too much the Sea Bass made up for it marking our first successful inshore trip this year with any mentionable numbers of these sought after tasty bottom dwellers. The Bass action was steady at times with constant bites and catching fish the only real problem was the size of the fish. The vast majority of our Bass would fall short of the required minimum size limit however with a lot of measuring and some serious persistence they did add up for quite a few anglers. Many folks would land into double digits with keeper Sea Bass and our “top hook” had in the upper teens. Everybody had supper. It was certainly a much better action day than what I had been able to see in the Bay and in the mouth of the Bay my two days prior with the strong running currents and slow fishing.

I was back out in the Ocean again on Monday and I am also in the Ocean again today. The action is very similar to what I had experienced on Saturday with most anglers winding up close to or just over double digits with keeper Bass and a few Tog spread around the boat we have even seen a few Codfish. Top hooks each day have been in the mid to upper teens. I must admit though I fished the better part of the day yesterday and while I certainly caught enough for supper, I wouldn’t be inviting too many friends over to share. I just couldn’t get the keepers the way some anglers were hooking them!

It is certainly good news that we are seeing decent numbers of the Sea Bass inshore considering it’s just the last week of April. By the time a lot of you read this we will be rolling into May. I fully expect the Sea Bass fishing to continue for a quite a while now and I believe it will even get better as the waters warm up even more. As far as the Tog we will continue to see more of them until the closure in May. It is possible that if the weather is questionable we may fish just for the Tog close to home, but for the most part I anticipate a mix with more and more Sea Bass each Day we are able to run a little further.

Despite the great weather in the forecast our long-range trip stayed tied to the dock this past weekend due to a lack of sponsorship. We will try again this weekend. Spaces are available and with any luck this trip will enjoy the success of the last one. Our last long range trip saw anglers with limit or near limit catches of Bass that were two to three pounds on the average and several brutes that were much bigger. There was also a few nice Tilefish landed on this trip. Remember advanced reservations are required for all of these special trips.

As for what you might expect in the next few weeks? I will continue sailing daily with the All-Day trips fishing over wrecks and artificial reefs for Sea Bass and Tautog. Our Tog season will close on the eleventh of May and along with that closure date we will be seeing a decrease in the minimum size limit of Flounder, which will now be down to 18 ½ inches. Sea Bass will also see a federally mandated increase up a half an inch to a new size limit of twelve and a half inches. Bag limits will remain the same and there is no closed season with the Flounder. We will also be running Drum trips on weekends departing 6:00 p.m. both Fridays and Saturdays starting in May. It is entirely possible that we will be running a few weekdays for the Drum as well. Also this is the time to book your private Drum charters on the charter boat Lewestown Lady. Capt. Bennett has several dates available for both Drum fishing as well as bottom fishing trips. The Drum have just started to bite in the last several days and they should continue to provide sport fishing action for several more weeks.

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 for a special trip please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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