It has been a miserable spring for fishing, but it is beginning to look a little better. On Monday, we had a brief taste of summer, resulting in pretty good fishing. But on Tuesday, we were snapped back to cooler temperatures. The water temperature at Lewes was 55 degrees = Monday, but that may drop by the weekend. At the Delaware Lightship Buoy, the water temperature was 51 degrees. At least we are moving in the right direction.
I like to begin my season catching shad at Indian River Inlet. As of Monday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had not closed the parking lot on the northside, so I had hoped to fish there Tuesday.
I went to the inlet Tuesday and the Northside parking lot was open. Unfortunately, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a fence that has closed off the area I like to fish. The fence begins about 50 yards east of the bridge and runs about 75 yards west of the structure. There were a couple of guys fishing for tog east of the fence. I watched them for a while, but I didn’t see them catch anything.
I moved over to the southside and at least there were no fences there yet. I sat on Dot and Harry’s bench for about a half hour and watched a few guys; they had the same luck as the folks on the northside.
If the birds had been squawking and diving and fish breaking under them, I would have really been upset. Such was not the case. Not even the small terns were doing much under the bridge.
This is just the beginning. Soon the parking lot, bathhouse and the entrance to the campground will be closed. A different entrance will be made to the campground and port-a-potties will be placed instead of the bathhouse. The southside is also in for some construction, so expect to see loss of access there too.
Another place to fish early in the year is Broadkill Beach. Back in the day when weakfish or trout ruled the Delaware Bay, this is where the first of the season were often caught. My friend, the late Hoss Cochran, would fish here and even if he didn’t catch the first trout, he would claim he did.
Today, it is black drum that draw anglers to this beach. Baits include sand fleas, clams and crab. Use a circle hook tied to a short piece of 50- to 80-pound leader and a fish-finder rig so the drum can move off with the bait. Let him go a ways before engaging the reel and the tight line will set the hook.
You should fish with two rods: one cast far out and one lobbed just past the breakers.
These drum won’t be the 80 and 90 pounders that will show up later at the Coral Beds. These are the 15 to 20 pounders that move in early in the year.
I guess it is wishful thinking, but ever since Dan at Dan’s Tackle told me about those 8-pound trout in his gill nets, I can’t get them out of my mind. If there are any more around, they too could show up at Broadkill Beach. No need to change baits or tactics. Trout will eat clams, sand fleas and crabs.
Flounder are going to be around as well. They will show up in shallow water that heats up first. If the water has a dark bottom, like the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, it will warm quicker than water with a bright, sandy bottom.
Fish the canal on the last two hours of the incoming current, through the slack and then work the first two hours or more of the outgoing current. Fish with a live minnow and no weight on a spinning rod placed off the stern. Use a bucktail with another live minnow or a Gulp! I use the crawfish that you jig across the bottom.
Begin from a point that will allow the longest drift. Incoming current means drifting from the pilings on the west side of the canal down along the docks working your jig in the eddies behind every piling you can.
By the time you reach the site of the old railroad bridge, the current should be slack to outgoing. Start drifting back along the bank paying particular attention to the structure at the Savannah Road bridge. Work along the docks and the boats at Fisherman’s Wharf. The construction at Angler’s Dock should be bypassed.
The bank all along the east side of the canal goes down from shallow to deep. I drift it the same way.
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.
