Over the past week, I have had a few encouraging reports of larger rockfish caught from Delaware waters. Patty at Captain Bones in Odessa and Steve at Smith Bait in Leipsic both reported slot rockfish between 28 and 35 inches caught on trolled plugs. No one thinks this is a blitz, but with most folks catching smaller fish that seldom exceed 12 inches, this is at least encouraging.
I have also had very good reports from my friends in North Jersey of big striped bass inside the Three-Mile Limit. So far most of these fish have been caught from boats, but one friend, fishing from the beach, did have a small group of bass come within casting range busting on bunker; however, they completely ignored his pencil popper.
Closer to home, slot rockfish were caught from Indian River Inlet on Sunday during the day. The fish hit soft plastic lures on lead heads.
As I am sure we all know, Delaware has not enjoyed a good fall run of rockfish since Superstorm Sandy. The ocean-migrating fish hug the Jersey shoreline until they get just north of Cape May then head out into the ocean, skipping Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The Fisherman Magazine has been tagging striped bass from the north, and those fish spent a lot of time in the deep water of the canyons. Could our fish be doing the same thing?
Right now through December is prime time to catch and release a big rockfish. I realize that some anglers won’t wet a line trying to catch a fish they have to release. There is no bigger meat fisherman than I, but striped bass have been on a downward cycle for three years, so releasing the big females is the right thing to do.
If you have a boat, you have the ability to cover more water and the chance to catch more fish than the shore-bound angler. Depending on where you live or keep your boat, you may want to fish the upper bay, the ocean or Indian River Inlet.
The upper bay has a lot of structure around the power plant and the various shoals. Chumming with fresh bunker is a very good way to draw fish to your boat, and that works very well at the power plant. Trolling with Stretch or Rapala plugs is also a good technique. This is best done around lighthouses and shoals.
I will troll with two plugs tied to six feet of 20- to 30-pound Ande monofilament leader, with the best speed as slow as the boat will go. You must watch the rod tips to make sure they are vibrating at the right frequency. Any change in their movement indicates a fouled plug, the boat is going too fast or there is a small fish on the lure. If the plug jumps out of the water, that is a sure sign the boat is going too fast.
Live-bait fishing can be very deadly. Back in the day when weakfish, trout, ruled the local waters, live spot were the hot ticket, and they will work just as well today. Since spot can be hard to come by, live eels will appeal to stripers. Most of our local tackle shops carry this bait and sell them at a reasonable price.
I have found that spiny dogs love them some live eel. I also discovered they don’t bother that bait nearly as much during a hard-running current. I will use live eels when we have a hard-running current, then switch to plugs or bucktails when the current drops off.
Indian River Inlet is probably the most difficult location to fish in Delaware. I don’t like to fish there on outgoing water. I fish the incoming beginning close to the southside campground and drifting up the inlet toward the entrance to South Shore Marina. I will do the same drift on the northside including the slough by Burton Island.
I will employ a variety of baits from live eels or spot to plugs to bucktails to metal jigs. I like to see birds in the air diving into the water. Not those little terns, but those big laughing gulls and the black-backed ones that take French fries from the tourists. Just be sure the captain always keeps a lookout, since there is bound to be at least one nut case around who is paying no attention to where he is going.
Finally, we have the oceanfront. Trolling while looking for birds is the best technique here. I would pull Stretches or MOJOs and keep my eyes peeled in hopes of finding some working birds. Also keep an eye on the GPS to be sure you remain inside the Three-Mile Limit.
Good luck!
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Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.
