Murphy’s Law applies to fishing too

For those unfamiliar with Murphy’s Law, it is actually quite simple. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. While that is the basic law, there are a few others that fall under the same banner. One of my favorites is, all constants are variable. I remember trying to convince my brother, Jay, a student at Drexel in Philadelphia, that this was true. He studied design and relied on all those mathematical constants he was taught as the basis for his work. Unfortunately, he was killed in an auto accident right after graduation, so he never had time to gain the experience that teaches the truth of these laws.

I, on the other hand, have been allowed to roam this earth for 73 years and learned long ago that everything Murphy said is true. Take last Saturday for example. I was invited by Capt. Scotty Gold to fish on the Rehoboth Star. My biggest concern was the full moon that day. By all known science, the fact that full moons produce strong currents is a constant. I planned ahead and carried lots of eight-ounce sinkers so I could at least keep the bait on the bottom in 80 to 100 feet of water long enough to attract a flounder. I needn’t have worried. There was hardly any current and I was able to jig my rig on the bottom with only a four-ounce sinker.

Not only was there no discernible current, the wind was calm. No current and no wind and the boat does not move. When the boat does not move you end up fishing pretty much in the same place and unless you get lucky and drop the bait on a flounder’s head, not many will come in contact with your offering.

As an example of how little the boat moved, at one point I must have been over an entire colony of sea robins. I would drop down, crank out the slack and have a sea robin on the line. I must have caught 15 of the little creatures before the captain took pity on me and moved the boat to a different location.

I must admit, we did catch a variety of fish. I personally had a flounder (short), many sea bass (also short), one croaker and the aforementioned sea robins. Others caught sharks, skates, blues, keeper flounder and one of the largest American eels I have ever seen.

On the positive side, the lack of current and wind made for a beautiful day on the water. There were several young folks aboard and what I suspect were adults with minimal experience on the ocean. Considering the previous Saturday was nasty as a cob, I believe I will take the better weather, even it meant fewer fish.

So, in spite of Mr. Murphy’s Law, all hands had an enjoyable experience.

Fishing report

The holiday weekend should see excellent fishing in most locations. The flounder bite in the ocean has been outstanding. On Tuesday, I saw four of the biggest flounder I have seen all year caught at Reef Site 10 on a bucktail with Gulp!. Limit catches have also been made at reef sites 7, 8, and 9 as well as the Old Grounds. A bucktail or other jig baited with strips of squid or fresh fish and worked directly over hard structure continues to be the hot setup. Putting a small teaser above the jig can increase the chances of connecting with a flounder.

I have also seen more keeper sea bass caught at the Old Grounds and sites 10 and 11. This is a welcome sight since these fish have been absent from the inshore grounds for most of the year.

Croaker have moved into the ocean and are being caught at the Croaker Canyon, reef sites 9 and 10, the Old Grounds and over rough bottom between B and A buoys. Some big croaker remain in the bay at Site 8, but they seem to have left the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal.

Surf fishing remains very slow with only a few croaker and kings taken from the beach. Sharks and skates are always available.

Indian River Inlet is also on the slow side. Bigger but fewer croaker have been caught from the rocks on bloodworms and sand fleas. Live eels have taken short rock plus a few keepers after dark at the Coast Guard Station. The Inland Bays hold short flounder and small croaker.

This could be a very good weekend in the canyons. We are supposed to get a bit of a northeast blow on Friday and that could stack the bait up along the 100-Fathom Line drawing in large numbers of white marlin. Dolphin action has been very good, and those who know how are still bringing in bigeye tuna.