Well, we survived the start of the summer season. There were a lot of people here for Memorial Day weekend, but the fish must have gotten the memo because they were the one thing not in abundance. Everyone is asking why was the fishing so good before the weekend? Well when you increase the number of boats and people on the beach by a factor of a thousand, the fish tend to notice the increased activity. More people in and on the water. The start of the season always seems to have not-so-great fishing. That isn’t to say fish weren’t caught, but the action for the number of people trying to catch could have been better. Parks were closing at capacity by 11 a.m. at the beach.
There were bluefish in the surf, around the inland bays, the Cape Henlopen fishing pier, and in the creeks. There were some of the larger gators caught, but for the most part we have summer snapper blues around. We are hoping to still see will still see some of the bigger blues near land for the nest couple of weeks. We have been using the DS Custom Tackle modified mullet rigs and they are helping to increase the catches. That little hook holds the bait on the rig and you get more shots at catching fish and less time putting on new bait.
There are plenty of the smaller fish in the surf, but everyone is still trying for the big blues and striped bass. You can catch kingfish, sand perch, puffers (burrfish and northern), short bass, and of course skates and dogfish.
The cownose rays are here and running the surf. Sharks are also present but not as many just yet, that will start changing by next week as the water gets warmer.
The black sea bass action offshore has been great for the charters and boats. Check out the local charters for trips. I recommend taking weekday trips; there’s less competition out there while fishing and for some reason that is usually the best weather.
The fact you won’t have a lot of traffic offshore is the best reason. Nothing like a full day on the water just about by yourself. Weekdays make the best fishing days this time of year. The beaches are the same: Surf fish the weekdays there there are fewer people out there.
Beach clean-ups are now on Tuesdays. The next one is June 4th in Cape Henlopen at Point Comfort Station crossing. That is the one near the lookout and pilot house or ship station on the tower. We meet by 9 a.m. in the parking lot at the small bathhouse. We provide gloves and 5 gallon buckets but prefer if people bring their own. Water provided by DS Custom Tackle and snacks after from Iron Hill Brewery.
Flounder action has been great around the Cape Henlopen fishing pier when the water isn’t brown and dirty.
The bluefish action there is off and on. Flounder have also been good in the Lewes Canal, and the inland bays are picking up too.
Speaking of the inland bays, if you are a boater please check out Bakers Channel in Rehoboth bay, it has shoaled in and is nearly impassable with 18 inches of water at low tide. Lot of boats had it rough over the holiday weekend!
The weekend should be a good one for fishing … we’ll see how the catching pans out.
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Rich King has been fishing since he could walk, thanks to his grandfather who was an avid surf and deep sea fisherman. Get more fishing information and photos at Delaware-Surf-Fishing.com.
