Blueline tilefish record broken again

On July 25, Jesse Kegley from Townsend brought in a 21.8-pound blueline tilefish that he caught in the Norfolk Canyon on the Patient Lady with Capt. John Schneider. This fish beat the current state record of 19.7 pounds, set only a few weeks ago by William Fintel of Lewes, by two pounds and has been recognized by DNREC Fish and Wildlife as the new state record.

Not too long ago, the only people who deep dropped at the canyons were a hardy brand of anglers who found the idea of cranking up a big fish from more than 600 feet fun. There were some who used electric reels to lessen the burden, but most did it the old-fashioned way, by hand.

With many offshore charters costing more than $1,000, captains began to realize that a happy customer is one who takes some meat home. So long as the tuna, wahoo and dolphin cooperated everything was fine, but on those long days when nothing comes into the spread, it is nice to be able to drop a bait to the bottom and crank up some meals.

As is always the case, when a fish that hardly anyone caught becomes popular, there is the danger of overfishing. Blueline and golden tilefish are slow-growing and long-lived, so removing too many from the population can be disastrous. To prevent this, the National Marine Fisheries Service has placed a seven-fish bag limit on tilefish until NMFS acquires better data.

While I have been fortunate to have fished in the canyons many times, I have never done a deep-drop trip. I did have one trip planned, but when we arrived at the dock at 0400, the starboard engine would not turn over.  I hope the good captain I asked to include me in his next deep-drop adventure will come through before the year is over.

As for Mr. Fintel, please do not feel bad. My son Roger caught a world record snowy grouper only to have that record broken three times. Last year, he was able to take the record back with a 73-pounder. Good luck to you.

Go early

We are in the middle of summer, the weather has been pretty good and there are fish to be caught. The biggest problem with catching these fish is all the competition from other anglers. I find the best remedy for this is to get out on the water very early in the morning. For many years I have begun my fishing days no later than 0600, and in most cases I have avoided the crowds. My last trip to Indian River began at 0615 and we were one of the very few boats in the lot. The same is true at the Lewes Boat Ramp, where a 0600 start resulted in us and one other boat at the launch in mid-July.

If you fish the open water of the bay or ocean, you won’t find it too crowded even on weekends. However, if you are going to fish Indian River Inlet, the Inland Bays or the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, an early start is critical to success.

Another advantage of getting on the water early is you get off of the water early. Most of my Delaware Bay trips are done by 1300, and even my ocean trips seldom last past 1400. The number of boats at the launch ramp is less, and by getting off the water by early afternoon there is less chance of encountering a thunderstorm.

Fishing report

The excellent croaker fishing we have had all summer seems to be diminishing. The head boat fleets in the bay are finding fewer croaker, but on the plus side, they are catching more flounder. On Wednesday, Doug Elliott and I fished the Broadkill River and the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal from 0800 to 1130 after another fruitless run into the bay for flounder. We only caught about 15 croaker where on previous trips in the same location we had caught more than 50.

In the ocean, the flounder fishing has been pretty good. Reef sites 9, 10 and 11 have all produced, as have the Old Grounds and the rough bottom around B Buoy. There will be a blue moon on Friday, and this could produce strong currents that will hamper deep-water bottom fishing.

Offshore action remains very good. Bigeye tuna are the primary target of many trips with dolphin, tuna and wahoo also taken. Closer to shore, chunking at the inshore lumps is producing bluefin and yellowfin tuna.

The Fenwick Shoals have seen pretty good fishing for small blues and the rare Spanish mackerel. Triggerfish have been caught over wrecks at the same location.