After a cold and wet spring delayed the normal start of the fishing season, summer began with seasonable temperatures and improved fishing. Even the much-maligned Lewes-Rehoboth Canal is finally beginning to produce some keeper flounder.
Reef sites 6, 7 and 8 are seeing better flounder fishing, plus improved action on kings and small croaker. A bucktail with a strip of squid or a nuclear chicken Gulp! mullet or sand eel have been the best bait for flounder. The kings and croaker seem to like bloodworms or squid.
In the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, the same baits plus the always-popular squid and minnow combination have produced flounder with some folks getting their four-fish limit. In theory, the outgoing current should be the best time to fish, but I’m not sure that’s the case this year. As I have said many times, the best time to fish is when you can go fishing. If that coincides with the outgoing water, so much the better.
The Broadkill River also holds flounder plus the occasional small croaker. On Broadkill Beach, kings and croaker have been caught on bloodworms and peeler crab. In the upper reaches of the river, expect white perch on bloodworms. According to Dan’s Tackle, the crabbing in the Broadkill has been very good.
The pier at Cape Henlopen State Park is seeing some spot and croaker on bloodworms. The occasional bluefish comes over the rail along with a few skates.
Some keeper flounder have been caught from the pier by anglers who walk along fishing each pilling they can get to. Live minnows or jigs and Gulp! have produced most of these fish. Kayak anglers can get inside the old pilings at the end of the pier where they jig up flounder.
Fishing from Lewes Beach can be fair for anglers soaking bloodworms or cut bait. Expect a mixed bag of croaker, kings, skates and perhaps a few small trout. The best times to fish here are when the bathers and sun worshippers have not arrived or have left for the day.
While reports from the Inner and Outer walls have been slim, I expect there are keeper rockfish available at dawn, dusk and after dark. Most of the folks who fish out here at night are a bit tight-lipped about their success. Poppers would attract rockfish as long as it is light, then try swimming plugs such as the Rebel WindCheater after dark.
I had no reports of big blues or rockfish in the surf. I expect they have moved north and won’t return till fall.
I did have good reports of kingfish in Fenwick Island, plus a few small croakers from Herring Point to Fenwick. Bloodworms on a two Chestertown hook top and bottom rig is a good setup for kings. Sometimes the kings will be tight to the beach, right behind the first wave, while at other times it takes a long cast to find success. If conditions allow, try casting a bucktail tipped with squid or Gulp! and working it back through the white water where a keeper flounder just might surprise you.
I know a lot of anglers enjoy fishing in the bays behind Indian River Inlet, but the news from there is not good. A few more flounder were caught, but not enough for most people to get anywhere near a limit.
The inlet has seen keeper rockfish caught on drifted sand fleas after dark. Use at least two fleas on a circle hook and drift them tight to the rocks. If you must use any weight, keep it as light as possible. One or two split shot should do the trick
The best fishing in the area has been at reef sites 10 and 11, the Old Grounds, and B and A buoys. I have seen several limits of flounder plus some keeper sea bass taken from these locations. No hot setup, but a bucktail with a teaser has certainly been a popular choice. Strips of squid or Gulp! on the bucktail and teaser is customary.
The offshore tuna bite has moved from the Washington to the Wilmington Canyon. Bigeyes have joined the yellowfin with a good number of gaffer dolphin also in the mix. This is a meat fisherman’s dream come true.
The key to success out here is finding the fish. Look for temperature breaks along the canyon walls and then run to that location. There are several companies that provide temperature data, and if you plan to fish out here on a regular basis, a subscription to one of them is a good idea.
Billfish have been in the mix, including the big blue marlin caught by the crew of the Tail to Tale between the Washington and Norfolk canyons.
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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.
