We made it out again over the weekend for a long range trip and this trip will also go down as one to remember however I would like to forget about it as soon as possible! Strong currents and big swells were the biggest killer this past weekend, we did manage to see some nice fish landed however nothing compared to what we have been able to produce in the last several weeks.

We knew as soon as we anchored up if nothing changed it was going to be a long day. Just to stay in touch with the bottom some anglers would press up with as much as two pounds of weight. And no that was not a typographical error I said two pounds! The current was running as strong as you will ever see it on one of these trips and it was nearly impossible to stay in touch with the bottom and not get tangled when you wound your line in. Spiny Dogs didn’t really help much either, even though we found some warmer water to the south the horn dogs were still plentiful on nearly every wreck we fished. Top hooks on this trip would struggle just to make it past double digits with fish and low hooks only had a few or would be looking for a fish market on their ride home for a fresh fish supper!

Currents like we encountered this past weekend are really not all that uncommon on these trips we have seen them before; fortunately they rarely run like this for more than a few days before they settle back to normal. We marked plenty of fish on every one of our locations it’s just that the fish ability and the tangles that occurred constantly killed us. There were times that you would think the boat was moving foreword at a couple knots while we were laying like a pin on the anchor. The lines would virtually just scream to the back of the boat. This was no way to fish in the depths we have been working.

Other than the Spiny Sharks our catch continues to be Sea Bass both big and small and some very nice Blue Line Tilefish on these long-range trips. We also saw a smattering of Ling (Red Hake) and some more of those world class Conger Eels on this past trip. Given the current water temperatures, I do expect to see continued success with these long-range trips for several more weeks. We have one more of these trips left in March and more dates set for April and May. A complete list of dates can be viewed on the special trip link from the home page at fishlewes.com and should be posted this week.

This weekend we will officially start our 2009 regular season with the All-Day trips. We will initially start out running just four days a week fishing on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday’s. We will continue with this shortened schedule until mid to late April unless we are able to catch Mackerel within our range of an all day trip or the weather and business warrants seven days a week. By bunching up the trips it should make it more likely that we will get out on any of those days. I am planning on anchoring over wrecks fishing for Tautog or Blackfish. Bait will be supplied for all these trips and we will have both fresh Crabs and Clams on board. The limit on Blackfish now is ten a man at 14 inches and will stay that way until mid April when it drops back to the lower spring spawning limit.

Our water temperature trends are actually starting to creep up a little now finally and this should make for some very interesting fishing close to home in the upcoming weeks. I have already had reports of Stripers being landed on the other side of the Bay in the shallows and this will only get better as the waters continue to warm. Our spring fisheries for Stripers and Drumfish have seen some excellent results over the past several years early on so if you are interested in one of these sport fishing trips book your charters for April and May now.

If you would like any more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you would like to book a charter or reserve a space on one of the special trips please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA. Remember our Full Day trips will resume this weekend departing the docks at 7:00 a.m. and returning at around 4:00 p.m. fishing over wrecks for Tautog.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

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