System overload

Seems like the entire planet came here on vacation last weekend. That is great for the businesses in our area; the traffic … not so much.  Easy enough if you learn to live around it and avoid it at the right time. 

Get where you are going early and stay late if you are hitting the beaches. That’s the best way to avoid traffic: stay on the sand all day. Fortunately the fishing has been off the hook lately. 

The action is slow for some species and hot for others. The spot bite at the Cape Henlopen fishing pier came hot last week. Anglers were bailing fish two at a time and filling coolers. Spot are great for the table; a light flaky meat that is great tasting. 

You need a bunch for a meal and fortunately they are hitting hard at the pier. They are also great bait for flounder and striped bass, as well as other predators. 

Live lining them for a flounder is a great way to catch a big flattie. Keeping the spot alive is another issue. 

They have to be kept in circular cages or tanks. 

Flounder have been slower than most are hoping, but some are catching quality fish. The offshore action was picking up then slowed down then picked up again. Have to love fishing … one day is never like the rest. 

Minnows and white Gulp are working well around the inland bays, Broadkill River and the Lewes Canal.

Bluefish are around, but it’s mostly the summer snappers. Good to eat if you like bluefish; I happen to love ‘em. 

There are still some big bluefish lingering around. 

They have been moving between the Lewes Canal, Canary Creek and Broadkill River with some larger striped bass mixed in the school. 

This has been happening every year now since those big blues showed up three years ago. Mullet rigs for the blues in the surf. 

The DS Custom Tackle Modified Mullet rig will save you money on bait and catch more fish. You can find them at some of the better local shops.  

The kingfish bite in the surf has been amazing over the past week and a half. They just turned on heavy one day. The weakfish hitting in the surf are small but there have been a few decent sized at over fifteen inches. 

I saw a few five-plus pound weakies caught near Delaware. Good to see the big tide runners coming back, let them go so they can continue to eat the little ones. 

There seem to be plenty of them all over the beaches and Delaware Bay. Fishbites, bloodworms or sand flea formula has been the best for artificial baits. Squid, Fishbites and sand fleas are working well in the surf too.

Spanish Mackerel have been hot and heavy in the surf. They are following huge schools of silversides and we are catching the macks on spoons and other metals. 

This has been some fun action and I have no idea how long that will last; it varies each year. This year is much better fishing in my opinion, especially for the surf. 

The cooler temperatures are helping keep the fish close to shore. Even during the dead heat of the afternoon we are catching fish. 

The only issue we are dealing with is this west wind and the flies. If the wind has  a “W” in the direction the flies are going to be an issue that day. How much of an issue depends on the amount of wind. Heavy winds the flies will stay close to the ground and near objects to avoid wind. On a low wind day the flies are just all over you. Every day we come up with a number based on the wind conditions, we call it the DFM, the Damn Fly Meter.

The offshore tuna bite has been great one day and not so much the next. 

Check out the charters for trips and go on the weekdays avoid the crowds. We also seem to have better weather on the weekdays; it is like Mother Nature knows. The headboats have been doing well on their trips. Great way to get the kids fishing.  

Pond hopping has been fun and evening action on top water has been decent and a much better time to fish when it has been ninety degrees all day. The mornings are preferred, as it is much cooler in the early morning than the late evening.