Feels like fall fishing out there

Fun day in the surf this week! The air temperatures are nice and cool, and lots of little blues at the point today and farther south at Conquest and the Indian River Inlet. Short striped bass down there as well. We were tearing up blues on mullet, squid, Fishbites and spoons. Nothing like the ultralight gear to have fun with those little bluefish. Top and bottom rigs with those pretty pink pill floats were on point, coincidentally at the point. Squid and cut bait did better than Fishbites. Good time seeing Suzanne, Scott, and the crew, also everyone I was meeting out there. It was like a reunion this week, lot of people out there that were all fishing and know each other, good times.

The little puppy drum are hitting in the surf two at a time, not keeper size but fun to catch regardless. We were hitting small flounder when the blues slowed down. Not keepers and so small they were pop tarts, meaning if you whacked the head and tail off you could cook them in a toaster. They were hitting cut bait and mullet rigs; last week they were hitting our spoons.

I ran into Dan Iancangelo the other day on my way to the beach and he had that twenty-three foot surf rod with him. We put it together in the parking lot by the air pumps and I got to give it a few dry casts. Talk about a beast of a rod! That thing is huge, but workable in the surf. Not sure I would want to surf cast with it but I could see tossing some bait a mile or two. We will see how it does this week in the surf. It will be some effort to bring in any large fish; the butt of the rod is at least an inch wide. I see a new DSF tournament casting rod in our future. This rod definitely turns some heads. I just had to watch the power lines behind me or I would have gotten fried. The best part was the looks and comments from people passing by, yeah there were some jokes to say the least. No I was not overcompensating. I'm going to need a six-foot surf rod holder for this beast.

Spoke with Dave Bebee at the Cape Henlopen fishing pier. He said the action has been good for the little fish and there have been a lot of burrfish catches. One guy caught a burrfish that could have topped two pounds and when Dave went back to check the fish with a scale they had let it go. He said it could have busted the current IGFA record at one pound six ounces. So if you catch a beast of a burrfish may want to check the weight before you toss it back.

It feels like fall fishing out there with these temperatures and striped bass are already schooling up. Hitting them with swim shads, and small bucktails around the back bay areas and tidal creeks. Look for them on structure in the Lewes Canal and along the grass and mud banks.

Save the date! On October 14th, Delaware Surf Fishing is hosting the first annual 2017 Chillaware Surf Fishing Tournament with the help of our sponsors Big Chill Beach Club, Liquid Board Shop, Crooked Hammock Brewery, Big Chill Surf Cantina, Taco Reho, Helly Hansen, El Dorado restaurant and Diamond State Custom Tackle. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Frets 4 Vets. This is a family-friendly event. We will have raffle prizes all day at Big Chill Beach Club at the southeast end of the Indian River Bridge donated by our sponsors. Patrons will be able to watch the Chillaware Surf Fishing Tournament live on the beach from the deck and event tent. Sponsors will also be donating prizes for our fifth- to twentieth-place winners. You can sign up at Liquid Board Shop or online at delaware-surf-fishing.com. See you in the surf!