Hook'em & Cook'em
Fishing Report - Updated: 1/31/2012

1/26/2012
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and is keeping all those New Year's resolutions that were made for 2012.....I know that everyone made a resolution to get out and do more fishing this year even though fishing has slowed to a crawl for the time being.
With that being said, Capt. John Nedelka is still taking out charters for Tautog and doing well. The Judy V. will be going out this week-end. A full day trip from 7am-3pm will cost you $75. This will be the last week-end to fish for tog before the regulations change to 16" and 5 fish per person.
We are currently closed for the season and will re-open week-ends in March.
If you need anything for fishing, please visit our store in South Bethany, Hook 'em & Cook 'em Outfitters. Or call 302-539-6243.

See you in the spring,
Deanna (Mrs. Bert)

11/27/2011
Happy Thanksgiving everyone and what a great week-end for fishing. The bulk of the stripers have been running up near and in the mouth of the Delaware Bay. Most of the boats are fishing at the 8's, the Valley and the Rips.
Most are chunking with bunker, using live eels or trolling with Stretch 25's or 30's. The reports are not as good as last weeks catches but they are still there.
There are those that are still catching a keeper in the Indian River Inlet. Although most are still short there have been a few keepers that have been taken. Here most are fishing with live eels, live spot (if you can find them now) and artificial lures such as Storms or Tsunami. The colors have been bunker, shad or pearl in 5" or 6" sizes. Last night most of the action was on the last of the incoming tide near the Coast Guard wall. If you can find minnows they have been working for some people too.
While trolling out front (from the Old Coast Guard Station to Bethany) for the rock fish many reported a lot of big blues. These fish are measuring anywhere from 20"-30".
For those that were trying inshore fishing we saw sea bass and tautog come in from Site 10 and 11.
The tog were doing well in the inlet until this past week. They seemed to have slowed for the most part. The baits are green crabs, Asian box crabs, white leggers or sand fleas.
The surf fishing report has remained bleak. Maybe we will start seeing some of these fish being caught on the beach soon.
With the season slowing down some we will be switching to our fall/winter schedule. The store at Indian River Marina is now open Monday-Friday 7am-5pm, and Saturday and Sunday 6am-5pm.
We have plenty of eels, green crabs and stone crabs. Sorry we don't have any live spot and are not expecting to get anymore this season.
That's all for now.
Deanna (AKA Mrs. Bert)

10/8/2011
What a beautiful streak of weather we have been experiencing around our area this past week. I hope everyone got out to enjoy the sunshine and nice temperatures.
The fishing around our area has really seemed to have slowed down.
Fishing in the inlet is showing some small flounder with a rare keeper coming out of the water. Blue fish still continue to run, but the numbers have dropped.
Rockfish are very few and far between with keepers being picked mostly at night and with live spot.
On a brighter note there are reports of some more keeper size tog being caught out on the rocks using either green crabs or sand fleas.
The inshore bite has slowed as well, with mostly throw back sea bass, with a few keepers in the mix. Some blue fish and reports of a few cod showing up already.
The surf seems to be producing some blue fish and maybe a rock fish if you are lucky.
Off-shore boats have not really gone out since last week-end.
The boats that went out Saturday came back with glib reports. Some had few mahi and one had a report of a Blue Marlin report. Those boats were chunking and fishing anywhere from the Wilmington to the Spencer.
We have a lot of boats out over night Saturday into Sunday and should see them returning in the hours to come. Most are getting flats of butter fish and sardines for chunking. Some are also taking ballyhoo just in case they are being caught on the troll.
One boat that came in to get bait, said that he had heard from one of the over-night boats that the bite was good around 4am at the Baltimore. We shall see when they start heading in to the dock how good the bite really was.
I will post the off-shore report later and keep you up to date.
So until then.....Keep Fishing,
Deanna (Mrs. Bert)

10/2/2011
I know it has been a while since I have updated this report.....sorry for the delay, but better late than never.
I would first like to start out by saying how saddened we at Hook 'em & Cook 'em are on the passing of a great fisherman, Frank Gessler on the Boy's Toy.
Franny suffered a brain aneurism and died on Sept 16th. at the age of 30.
Franny will be remember for always having a smile on his face, bringing in the big blue fin tuna and always trying to put his tackle on his brother Tommy's account.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Christine and son Lucas and of course the entire Gessler Family.

The fishing was really getting hot and then Hurricane Irene decided she would scare everything and everyone out of here. Ever since then the fishing has slowed down dramatically. Can't tell if it is from there being no one here to fish or if the fish have moved out.

The surf is showing very little going on, but some days we hear of blue fish and some small rock fish showing up. Mostly being caught on fresh mullet.

After the water settled down the flounder started making an appearance in the inlet again. Some days better than others, but lots of throw backs being reported with some nice size keepers in the mix.
Again fresh mullet was key in the larger keepers. Gulp swimming mullet in 4" or 6" or 6" grub. The favorite colors seem to be New Penny Shrimp, Pearl White or Glow. Use these on a 3/4-1 1/2oz jig head. Some are getting keepers on a live minnow, paired up with cut squid.

Blue fish showed back up in the inlet, these are larger now than what was being caught earlier. Use a buck tail, Hopkins Lure, Gotcha Plug or a Kastmasters Lure. Mostly showing up on the incoming tides.

Striper are still hiding out waiting for the cooler water to return. If you want to try your luck fish up under the bridge to the mouth of the inlet (if you dare) using white buck tails, Tsunami Lures or live spot. (Sorry we don't have any of those yet, hopefully soon.)

The flounder that were being caught in the ocean have moved out so if you want to try your hand at black sea bass try going to B-buoy or east of the Old Grounds. These spots have been showing some nice size sea bass with 5-10 keepers per person. Use salted clams or squid to catch these tasty critters. The Spectacle with Doc Peoples and his crew went out a couple of days this past week and had nice catches both days. Wally and his gang had some good size keepers on his trip out on the Miss Amy.

Now remember Oct 11th will be the last day to fish for black sea bass until Nov 1st. There is a closure from Oct 12th-31st.
Now tautog (black fish) just opened back up and the first day proved to be very good for Jimmy and Johnny Coffiey of Wilmington, DE. They took there little boat out to an unknown location and came back with 50lbs of keepers. Unfortunately, they were the only ones that were able to hook these tricky fish using green crabs.

The head boat Judy V. has a few trips since the storm passed through. These trips are have been landing black sea bass, blue fish and croaker. Some days are better than others, but that's why it is called fishing. If anyone is interested in going on the Judy V. we are still running our morning half-day trips. These trips are from 8am-12pm and we do recommend that you call ahead for a reservation.
We will continue running our half-day trips until the last day of sea bass fishing, which is Oct 11th then we will switch to a full day schedule on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and fish for tautog.

The off-shore report has slowed tremendously with very few boats going out and very few fish being caught when they do go.
Some have been lucky to hit the right spot at the right time for yellow fin tuna, but if you are interested in fishing for white marlin that seems to be pretty good for those of you that want to go for a long boat ride to the Norfolk Canyon.
The Finominal has had two good release days this past week. The Predator went on an overnighter and came back with a mako, wahoo, tuna, mahi and a release sword fish. The Capt. Ike had good luck last week also on an overnighter with 5 keeper tuna that weighed in at 50-60lbs.
There have been a few private boats also going out, some come back skunked some just come back with one or two and maybe some mahi.
Well I believe that brings us back up to date, so I am signing off for now.
Keep fishing,
Deanna (Mrs. Bert)

7/23/2011
Well hope you all are trying to keep cool during these sweltering temperatures. One way to to stay cooler is to go out on the water and get fishing.
The fishing remains hot along with these temperatures. The off shore bite continues to be the best we have seen in years. As some would say it is back to a normal year.
Charter boats as well as private boats continue to go out to the Poor Man's Canyon, Hot Dog and Hambone to get either Blue fin or Yellow fin tuna. The numbers may not be as many as when the season first started but they are still impressive.
The biggest blue fin tuna of the year was brought in by private boat "Boy's Toy" this fish weighed in at 108lbs and was caught out at the Poor Man's Canyon.
The American Amibition and Capt. Ike II continue to be top charter tuna boats to date.
With numbers ranging from 5-7 fish per trip. They weigh anywhere from 30-40lbs. They were being caught on the troll, but now we are starting to hear more reports that they are being caught on the chunk with butterfish and sardines overnight and trolling during the day.
Along with the tuna we are seeing some wahoo hit the docks as well. Again, American Ambition brings in a top weight of 41lbs.
Mahi are still coming in, nice large ones as well as a few peanuts here and there.
We have had one sword fish brought in by Sandy Panik, of Frederick, MD. This 49.8lb sword was caught out at Poor Man's on an over night trip.
The Inlet fishing still remains good with just a little bit of a slow down with the heat.
The rock fish are still showing up with live spot and mostly in the evening to night time hours. However, there are the occasional striper still brought in during the day. The weights are from 9lbs to 15lbs. Not huge, but nice keeper and eating size.
The flounder still are coming to the dock, most are being brought in with live spot, but minnows still work too.
A nice size 12lb flounder was brought in by Randy Colona, of Rehoboth, DE. He caught it using a fly in the Inlet.
Some inshore fishing has picked up with more keeper sea bass coming from the head boat Judy V. and other charter boats in the marina. #1 Hooker has brought in trigger fish, Capt. Ike II has brought in nice catches of spade fish, trigger fish, tautog and flounder too.
The Miss Ene II has had a couple of nice trips with, believe it or not, Atlantic cod in the mix.
The beach fishing remains ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. We have heard that there are small spot and king fish. The best fishing on the beach is at night when the SHARKS come out.
They guys are hooking up with some fresh tuna belly on a 8/0 hook and bringing in some nice size toothy critters measuring 6-8'. Be careful, remember you are no longer allowed to beach and release a shark. This is suppose to be done in the water. Good way to lose a foot, don't ya think?!
Well that's it for now.
Keep Fishing
Deanna (AKA Mrs. Bert)

Happy 4th of July!! This week-end is shaping up to be a great one for Inlet and Offshore fishing.
The flounder still remain steady with more keepers coming to the docks.
Charter boat Gale Force has been coming back from the Inlet with a lot of nice keeper flounder.
Most are using squid and minnows, Gulp baits as well as live spot. The minnows and the Gulp will get you more of the smaller variety and the live spot are getting you bigger ones.
We have still seen some rock fish. They are either being caught with flies or live spot. And mostly at night.
The Canyons have been producing a lot of nice yellow fin tuna this year. They seem to be closer to us this year and not as far south.
The boats are generally going to the Wilmington to the Baltimore. Some are stopping in the Poor Man's.
There have also been some nice sized mahi seen. Kelly Horning, from the Fish Whistle, was fishing her father Charlie and caught a beautiful 42.6lb fish.
The inshore bite has started to pick up with more keeper sea bass coming in, as well as the return of trigger fish.
#1 Hooker went fishing Friday and Saturday and brought back a mixture of sea bass, tautog and trigger fish.
The surf fishing remains the same old same old. Small king fish and an occasional blow fish on blood worms. No one has seen much more action than that.
Well hope to see you at the tackle store this week-end, it has been a busy one.
Keep Fishing,
Deanna (Mrs. Bert)

6/26/2011
Now that summer has official started there is no excuse for you not to get out and get fishing. The bite is hot on the Inlet and Off-shore fishing arena.
The Inlet is producing a lot of nice keeper flounder that are being caught on the west end of the Inlet. These fish are generally being caught on live spot, squid and minnows and Gulp baits with jig heads.
The rock fish are still being caught as well. These fish will be mostly throw backs during the day with more keeper sized fish showing up at night to early morning. Some are throwing out flies, some are using live spot, and some are now using surface lures like poppers.You will find these fish up by the bridge pilings down to the Coast Guard Station wall.
There have also been many medium sized blue fish running through the inlet. These fish are being caught on bucktails, Hopkins lures or Kastmasters.
They are running anywhere from 2lbs to 6lbs in size.
Tuna are still out to the Canyons. Mostly from the Baltimore to the Wilmington. Yellow fin are being caught on the troll with ballyhoo and some are having luck on Green Machines on a spreader bar.
There have been reports of many small tuna out there that are playing havoc with the teasers and making life fun for twisting up your lines. Be prepared.
The inshore bite is still pretty much the same as last week. There are good days and then there are some not so good days. Throw backs are plentiful for black sea bass with some keepers in the mix and occasionally you will see a flounder or two come on board. These fish are still on the wrecks but sometimes if you get the right drift on the right wind on the right current you can see them on open bottom. We have seen our first trigger fish come in on Friday.
The surf report remains the same. Small kingfish, small spot and some blowfish. These fish are all being caught on live blood worms or artificial blood worms Fish Bites.
So far the fishing looks to be good for this summer season. What a great reason to get outside and enjoy what is here on the Delmarva Peninsula.
Until next time,
Keep fishing!!!
Deanna (AKA Mrs. Bert)

6/12/2011
Through the week the temperatures heated up and so did the tuna bite out off shore at the Wilmington and Baltimore Canyon's. Boats that are venturing out are coming back with a nice amount of tuna per boat. Like the guys that fish on the Reel Passion with Capt. Paul Forrest. They went out to the Baltimore and had 8 yellows and 2 mahi caught on ballyhoo.
The boys from Milford, DE that went out between the Tea Cup and the Baltimore and brought back 7 yellows the biggest weighing in at 64.3lbs.
Jim Semerteen, of Dagsboro, DE caught a 17.3lb mahi while fishing out at the 40 Fathom Line.
Our first Big Eye Tuna were brought to us from the boys on the Stress Reel-lief. Don Wingate, Brant Hart and Fred Winward, of Roxanna, DE caught their two out at the Wilmington. One on a cedar plug and the other on ballyhoo. They weighed in at 137 and 150lbs.
Charter boat Mega Bite had a good trip to get some yummy tuna too. The went to the Baltimore and came back with a nice catch with the biggest weighing in at 69.4lbs.
On Friday our biggest yellow fin of the season was brought to us by good old Tony Burr from the Liquid Handler. He and CC Lee went to the Wilmington Canyon too. They brought back a 90.6lb yellow fin and a 157.6lb big eye tuna as well as a 23.1lb mahi.
Then there was also the gang on the Fish Whistle with a count of 9 yellows.
The inshore bite is picking up with more black sea bass and some flounder showing up. The head boat Judy V. has been running 4 hour trips out to site 10 and 11 as well as fishing open bottom and have had some luck with the flatties.
Some reports have been coming in about the Old Grounds producing some nice keeper flounder too.
The inlet is still bring us some nice keeper rock fish being caught on eels or spot. Some have been caught on buck tails, but mostly the live baits have produced the keeper sized fish.
Flounder are starting to come in from the inlet as well. These fish are running anywhere from 18" to 23". Steve caught a 7.8lb flounder while drifting in the inlet on Friday.
Blue fish or the snapper size are also there so if you are seeing your worms come back up bit off that is the culprit.
The surf is still the best place to catch a tan and a nap. Although you might get lucky enough to see some small king fish and blow fish. Fresh bunker was used to catch a nice keeper the other day out at 3-R's. So, all is not lost.
Well that is it for this week.
Keep Fishing
Deanna (AKA Mrs. Bert)

6/5/2011
Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Week-end and took some time to honor our fallen heroes and thank those service men and women that protect and service this great country!
On to the fishing report for this past week. What a hot week it was temperature as well as fishing.
Monday started out pretty slow but ended with a 487.6lb Thresher shark being caught out at the Old Grounds. Angler, Brian Wazlavek, of Milton, DE, caught this big shark fishing with a mackerel fillet while he was on the "Pirate King" out of Lewes, DE with Capt. Ted Moulinier. Capt Ted originally took the shark to Joe's scale at Lewes Harbour Marina but had to truck it to us when the shark broke Joe's scale. Sorry Joe.
The large blue fish are starting to make an appearance out at the 12 Fathom Lump. Doc Peoples from the "Spectacle" took the gang out for a day of trolling and brought back 20 blues, all averaging around 10-13lbs.
Tuna also came in on Monday from the boys off of "Boy's Toy" They had a catch of 7 yellows. They were also trolling ballyhoo.
"Capt Ike II", Captained by Dave Collins, and the "Dana Lynn" Captained by Bob Smallwood, both had charters yesterday and went trolling for blues as well. They had a very successful trip with "Capt Ike" bringing in 177lbs and the "Dana Lynn" bringing in 230lbs of blue fish.
Through the week it was pretty slow, but then the yellow fin tuna started returning to hit the docks here again at Hook 'em & Cook 'em. We saw Tony Burr, of Newark, DE and his gang bring in yellows on Friday and Saturday. They were fishing out at the Wilmington trolling ballyhoo.
The "Spectacle" went out a little further on their second fishing trip of the week. They came back with a nice catch of tuna and some mahi as well. These fish were caught on a family trip for the Kovatch's of Dagsboro, DE.
John Coleman, a former Hook 'em & Cook 'em employee, went out to the Wilmington Canyon and brought back some yellows with their biggest weighing in at 63lbs. Their fish were caught on hand tied Crystal sea witches tied by our daughter, Brittany.
One blue fin made it to the docks weighing in at 40lbs. It was caught out at the Chicken Bone and was brought to us from the "Black Widow" Captained by Cutter Paye.
The inshore bite for sea bass was pretty good for the "Karen Sue" this week-end. Capt John Nedelka took a full day trip on Saturday. He ran out to the Washingtonian and came back with a nice catch.
Nate Walker caught a 4.8lb sea bass when he was fishing out at Site 11 with Capt. David Kincaid on the "Ambush".
The "Miss Ene III" had a full day trip and brought in some cod and some bass. Capt. Ed Wagner said he had more throw backs than keepers on the sea bass.
The head boat "Judy V." has been making trips out to the inshore sites as well. The bite has been somewhat slow but there have been keepers taken home by some and throw backs for others.
The Wheeler family from Wilmington, had a great trip even though they might not have gotten a lot they had a ball. Jimmy, from Hockessin, DE took home 8 keepers, but also had lots of throw backs.
As the days get warmer we are looking forward to seeing more keepers come to the area along with flounder too.
Speaking of flounder...the boat "Horizon" did get some keepers drifting out at the Old Grounds and and Site 11. They caught 6 keepers.
Flounder are finally showing up in the Indian River Inlet in bigger numbers. Many people are reporting they are catching a lot of undersize fish, but are finding more keepers than last year at this time.
The inlet is also still popping out some keeper rock fish. Frank Hunters caught a 12lber on a chanteuse Storm lure, while Bill Winkler took his sons fishing on two separate days and caught 5 rock fish weighing in at 23, 18, 18, 11 and 9lbs.
Bill uses live Hickory shad for his bait.
Blue fish are also coming to the fish cleaning table from the inlet. They are still on the snapper size, but there have been some nice ones as well...like an 3.8lb blue and a 10lb rock fish that were caught by a grand mother and grand daughter team.
With only a few small king fish, blue fish and a blow fish now and then the surf remains the best place to catch a nap and a tan.
Okay, that is a wrap for this past week, hope to see you back next week.
Deanna (AKA Mrs. Bert)

5/27/2011
While the rock fish bite has slowed it has not disappeared. Anglers are still finding some off of the rocks as well as from boats. Keep in mind now that they are on the smaller size and there are few of them, but don't give up fishing for the striper. They are still using the same tackle to catch these fish, such as, Storm or Tsunami Lures, white bucktails with white worms, live eels or live bunker or herring.
With less of the "SLOB" stripers in the inlet it has made way for the blue fish to start showing up. Most of these fish are on the 2-5lb size, also caught using bucktails. But Hopkins or Kastmaster Lures work too. Remember to use some steel leader on those rigs, blue fish have some sharp teeth and this will save you some time and frustration while fishing for them.
Flounder seem to have slowed down a little bit. You will still find some being caught in the Indian River Bay and around by the VFW Slough. You will have to work for them using minnows and squid, herring or Gulp baits.
The surf seems to be a slow pick with some striper still being caught. Tom Weiss brought us a nice 28.4lber that was caught with fresh bunker on a fish finder rig.
And there are some small spot and kingfish also being reported to us.
With the return of black sea bass season the boats headed out on Sunday to get on the wrecks and catch some fish. The head boat Judy V. went on a full day trip. There were quite a few fish caught with many keepers and some throw backs as well. Our own Chris Adams caught 6.5lbs of sea bass along with a 7lb pollock. Others went home with anywhere from 5-10 fish per person.
Karen Sue and Miss Ene III brought back bass and some cod too.
Now that the sea bass have shown up there are some guys trying there hand at shark fishing. Jimmy Bunting and David Long caught a 135lb Thresher shark while out at B-Buoy using our fresh bunker chum.
There have been some off shore trips that have ventured out to the canyons and been successful.
Last Sunday Scott Stapleford and Jimmy Hughes went to the Baltimore Canyon and came back with a 52.9lb blue fin tuna. This fish was caught using ballyhoo.
A 75.2lb blue fin was caught by the crew of the Reel Life. Joseph Cangianelli, Kevin Hood and Marcus Hammer were on the 100 fathom line half way between the Poor Man's and the Washington Canyon. They fished a blue and white Ilander with ballyhoo.
Then the "Liquid Handler" went all the way to the Lindenkohl to bring back the first wahoo and a 17.8lb mahi of the season. They were also caught on Ballyhoo with sea witches.
Thursday night Phil and Evan Falgowski brought in the first yellow fin of the season. They were fishing with Mark Stephens and Charlie Horning out at the Wimington Canyon and caught these 35 and 37lb tunas using skirted ballyhoo.
Seems like things are starting to pick up and the fish are starting to come in from all areas of fishing.
So come in and get your bait and tackle and get out there this week-end and enjoy yourself.

Keep fishing,
Deanna (AKA Mrs. Bert)

5/18/2011
BLITZ, BLITZ, BLITZ......the stories are true the rock fish are blitzing in the Indian River Inlet. Come get your spot on the rail or get out on a boat and get drifting. Use Storm Lures, Tsunami Lures, white buck tails with white worms, live herring, live bunker, live eels and flies. Tuesday night produced record amounts coming out of the water. Reports anywhere from 200+ fish being taken. The weights seemed to be from 20-40lbs. 30-50". We can't tell how much longer this is going to last so you better get out there soon.

5/14/2011
If you are looking for some hot fishing news you have come to the right place. What started out the week as being an okay night striper bite turned out to be super hot by the end of the week.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights on the incoming tide were fairly good with catches from 10 to 20 pounds. Friday was a bit slower then it all broke lose on Saturday evening's incoming tide. The fish were boiling into the inlet and being caught left and right on white bucktails with white 6" worms, Tsunami or Storm Lures, Stretch 25's, spot, live herring or eels. These fish started biting around 5pm and didn't stop for almost 2 hours. These were the big ones anywhere from 20-40lbs. Like the ones from Amanda Williams, of Millsboro, DE, she caught a nice 46.5", 30.7lb and an 18lb rock. They were caught on a Storm Lures in a blue back color.
Then there was the "Couples Night Out" group of Chad and Teneille Tingle, of Selbyville, DE and Heath and Crystal Berger, of Reading, PA. They got their 8 keepers using live herring.
Our very own Mike Baumgartner caught his first citation striper using a white bucktail. It weighed in at 35.4lbs and measured 45.5". John Klerlein, of Milton, was trolling a blue Strectch 25 when he landed a 26 lb fish.
Needless to say, fish were being cleaned for an hour and a half after closing.
Now on to other fishing news....flounder fishing in the back bays seems to have slowed for the meantime. I have seen a couple come in over the last week, one weighed 2lbs and the other one weighed 4.1lbs. It was caught by Rick Haden, of Dagsboro. He was fishing on the Gale Force in the Inlet using live shiners.
For those of you that do any surf fishing the beach at Sea Colony had some keeper rock fish and some blue fish hit the beach. They were using fresh bunker heads on 6/0, 7/0 or 8/0 hooks.
For those of you interested in wreck fishing....don't give up hope May 22nd is coming and sea bass season will open up. Until then I would stick to fishing the inlet.
The Judy V. and the Capt. Bob II both got out on Saturday. They went fishing up in the Delaware Bay for Striper and Black Drum.
The bachelor's party for Skip Ward had a great day of fishing with 5 out of 7 drum being landed.
Now, if that isn't exciting enough, there was a boat that went out off shore fishing for tuna today. They came back in with our first blue fin tuna of the year.
This tuna weighed 43lbs and was caught using the good old fashion natural cedar plug out at the Tea Cup. Congrats go out to crew of the Reel Life.
If you haven't made it out to the inlet to fish for the Stripers I would recommend that you get there fast, the run won't last forever!!

Pictures for all the fish mentioned here are in the picture gallery, check them out.
Until next time,
Keep fishing- Deanna (Mrs. Bert)

05/08/2011
Happy Mother's Day! Hope everyone has done something nice for mom. I got the day off, but I still have to do a fishing report, guess that is not too bad.

The fishing around the area continues to be on the same pace as last week. Just when you think it is going to start to get good it slows down again then it picks up then it slows down.

If you are fishing out in the ocean there have been reports that there are sea bass out there that are of nice size. Too bad you cannot keep them yet, but just wait until May 22nd.
The tautog are still around on the wrecks but the numbers of keepers seem to have drop some. Most are getting 1 or 2 keepers, some if they are luck will get their limit of three. The Miss Ene III went out on Saturday and came back with around 20lbs of tog. The headboat Judy V. went out as well and had a few keepers with a cod on board too.
The last day to fish for tautog is May 11th, so if you want them you better get out there soon.
A few cod are still being picked up on the wrecks too. They are of nice size weighing 3-5lbs.

A few hard core fisherman are heading out to try their luck at either shark fishing or tuna fishing. They are heading south....way south....to get to the warmer water, but there have been no fish of that kind brought back to us yet. We will have to wait until that water temperature gets somewhat warmer.

The surf is showing some nice sized rockfish when you are lucky enough to hook up on one. We have weighed in a 38lber and a 19lber, caught at Fenwick Island over the week. Have heard of a few from 3-R's and Dewey Beach too. They were caught with fresh bunker, which we have at both of our locations. Just cut the head off and throw it out there on a 6/0 hook. Small blue fish are also being caught in the surf.
Some days are better than others for people fishing in the Indian River Inlet. One day they will come in and say the fishing overnight was good, mostly on flies for rock fish. Then there are days when they'll say "nothing is biting out there". When they are being caught they are jigging using white or chartreuse buck tails with white twister worms under the bridge. Or, they are long lining using flies up by the Coast Guard station.

Fishing in the back bays for flounder has been slow but not to slow for Mark Lowman, of Bethany Beach. He caught an 8.8lb 28" flounder while he was fishing on the South Side of the Indian River Bay. He was using a super sized minnow, that he got from our store, on a plain hook. Along with that big fish he also had a 20" fish. He did tell me that there were other boats around him that had netted a couple of nice sized ones as well.

Some fisherman are also using fresh herring or Gulp on a jig head to catch flounder.

Flounder are still 18.5" and 4 keepers per day, per person. This regulation will change on May 11th when the size drops to 18".

Well that is all I have to report for now.
Until next time....Take your Mom fishing, and since it is mother's day....bait the hook for her!

Deanna (AKA- Mrs. Bert)

04/30/2011
Well with the warmer weather setting in people are definitely getting the itch to fish despite the inds that came with that warmer weather.
One of our customers came in on Monday with an 18.5" flounder that was caught on a Gulp swimming mullet and a jig head over at the VFW Slough. There have been others that have told me they have seen others catch a lot of throw backs with some keepers in the mix. Also have heard of stripers being caught around Massey's Ditch and around the Power Plant as well.
The Inlet is starting to heat up with stripers, tautog and a couple of blue fish making an appearance.
Butch Emmert and Ralph Short caught their limit of stripers while fishing in the mouth of the Indian River Inlet. They were using chartreuse colored bucktails. Others have reported that there have been more keepers showing up that are being caught on artificial lures and flies too. Most are being caught on the beginning of the incoming or the end of the outgoing tides.
Tautog are being caught in the inlet using green crabs, shrimp or salted clam. Some are catching their limit others are finding just one or two.
Out in the ocean things are still good for the tog fishing. The headboat Judy V., charter boat Karen Sue and other private boaters continue to go out and find tog on Site 10 and Site 11. Green crabs, salted clam and shrimp, again the favorite baits.
The first flounder of the season from the ocean came from the headboat Judy V. Phyllis Blakney, of Phila., PA, caught a 20" flatty fishing with green crab on Saturday.
Cod are still around at wrecks that are 15 miles south east of the inlet. Tony Burr caught 18 cod on Friday and 10 cod and 6 tautog on Saturday. The tautog weighed in at 9.6lbs.
The surf was starting to look good last week end with a 41" 37lb rock fish being caught. But not much has been caught over the past week with the winds blowing so hard.
Let's hope for some better weather for this coming week.
Get out and go fishing.
Deanna (Mrs. Bert)
04/20/2011
Hi folks! It has been a long cold winter and it is now time to dust off those fishing rods and get out and go fishing.
Reports are slow coming in, but there are a few fish out there if you are will to put up with the wind, rain and cold.
I have heard that some flounder are being picked in the Rehoboth Bay and around by the VFW Slough.
Most are using herring or minnows and squid.
Tog are also being picked up around the bridge and down toward the Coast Guard Station. Most are using green crabs, but some are using shrimp.
On occasion there are some stripers being taken on flies. Pink and white is the latest I heard.
Bert told me that yesterday there was a striper taken on 3R's. That all sounds promising.
The wrecks are producing some nice size tautog. The head boat Judy V. went yesterday and brought back fish from 2lbs-4lbs. Not monsters, but nice eating.
Doc Peoples and his crew went fishing out at Site 10 and came back with fish for me to clean too.

Well come in and say hi and get ready for a great season.
Signing out,
Mrs. Bert

9/28/2010
Here is the latest on the fishing news from Indian River:
The offshore report has slowed down since the Non-Hurricane came through. The water temps have cooled down some and also spread out to the point that it is hard to pin point a place to go fishing for the tuna. The few boats that have been going out have returned with mahi and wahoo.
There have been a few that are still running trips...some of the charter boats like American Ambition had a wahoo, Captain Ike II had some mahi, small yellow fin and a hammerhead shark, Pandemonium also had a hammerhead shark and mahi. Some private boats like G-Force had a nice blue fin tuna, a wahoo and some mahi and Reel Extreme have had some luck finding some mahi as well. There have been a few reports of white marlin releases but they have fallen off considerable since before the storm when they were in a frenzy out there.
The inshore report is still producing some nice keeper bass, a few flounder and some blue fish. The "Undertaker" went out on Friday and had some nice sized sea bass that weighed in at 2.5lbs. The total weight was 38lbs and a 3lb flounder. The head boat Judy V. is still running half-day trips for those fish. The Capt. Bob II has been running full day trips with nice returns of sea bass and some flounder.
Some charter boats like the Amethyst and #1 Hooker have been running trolling trips for blue fish. They have been coming back with blues and some bonita and false albacore.
Captain John Nedelka, of the Karen Sue had a half-day trip this past week-end and brought back a nice catch of sea bass. One weighed in at 4lbs.
The inlet has slowed down but there are still a few keeper flounder and striped bass showing up.
Just this past Friday Jimmy Dove, of Lincoln, DE caught a 10.7lb flounder using a Gulp 6" Grub in Electric Chicken.
Earlier in the week the Sheets Brothers used live mullet to land their keeper flounder and Joe Reese, of Columbia, PA caught a 7.4lber on live spot.
The striper have been a little sketchy, but someone came into the tackle store today and said they were putting some keepers in the box up by the bridge.
The blue fish have slowed down some as well, but they ones that are being brought in are on the larger side, weighing up to 4lbs.
The back bays are very slow right now with little action if any.
The surf has been way to rough most of the time to fish it, but on good days there are some flounder, nice sized blues and still skates and sharks.
I have to say, it has really slowed down since Labor Day week-end, but this is the best time to enjoy the area. Not as much traffic, no crowds and the weather (if it ever straightens out) is the best this time of year.
Don't forget Tautog season opens Sept 29th. That's tomorrow!!!! So come in and get your live sand fleas and live green crabs.
We still have live spot, live mullet, minnows and other various baits.
that's all for now!!!
Keep casting!
Deanna (Mrs. Bert)

8/14/2010
Hi All,
Hope you all didn't give up on me yet because I know that I have slacked in my duties as of late.
So let's get down to it....
The surf report is pretty normal with some kingfish, some spot and croaker being caught with the good old standard "Fishbites" Bloodworm or the real deal.
There has been a lot of talk about all those big sharks being brought in at night from the South Bethany area. If you are wanting to give that a try you need to get yourself some tuna belly or fish carcasses. Mahi and blue fish work the best. Or you can also use whole fish blue fish for baits. This type of fishing is best done by taking your whole rigged baits and kayaking them out off the shore about 50-100 yards. Then just sit back and wait for the action to happen. From what I hear it is very exciting.

The inshore report has been getting better everyday with more and more keeper sized black sea bass and flounder showing up. These fish have been caught anywhere from Site 10, A-Buoy down to the Washingtonian. Some flounder have been coming in from the Old Grounds as well as B-Buoy. Like Bruce Nowakowski, of Nassau, DE, caught a 7.3lb flounder while fishing out at Site 10 with green squid and a white teaser.
And Sean Leiby, of Philadelphia, PA, who caught 4 keeper flounder while fishing on the "Horizon" out at the Old Grounds with a squid and minnow combo.
If the water gets too rough for you, you could stay a little closer in and try your hand at fishing at the Pipe Line down off Bethany for trigger fish and maybe you will get some croaker or king fish as well.
The Head boat Judy V's 1/2 day trip as well as the Capt Bob's full day trip are picking up more and more keepers everyday.
Like, Thomas Palm, of Baltimore, MD, who went fishing on the full day trip on the Capt. Bob II with Capt. Roger Meekins. He came back with this 4.6lb black sea bass and other keeper size bass as well.
And the Groff's of Cecil County Maryland that go fishing regularly and came back with a good catch of black bass. This was also from the full day trip on the Capt. Bob II.
The Captain, Roger Meekins also brought back a 5.3lb Black sea bass, his largest bass ever. Way to go Crusty.

The offshore report has been a little slower on the action as of late. There have been a few boats that have tried their hand at it over the past couple of weeks, most brought in mahi with just a few yellow fin showing up.
A few wahoo have also come to the dock. The first was from the boat "Unbelievable" with a 52lber that was caught out to the Triple Wrecks. This was the largest of the season here at Indian River until The Fish Whistle went out fishing last Tuesday and brought in one to top that weight. This one weighed in at 62lbs and was caught by Johnny Horning while fishing out at the Baltimore.
The only tuna that were seen in any large numbers were from the gang from Chain Reaction. They found the spot to be and brought in 5 yellow fin. All weighing in from 50-60lbs. They were trolling around the Washington Canyon that day. Way to go for the Clubb's and crew.

Now on to the Inlet report....the rock fishing has slowed down with the warmer water temperature but you will still find an occassional keeper. Mostly at night and primarily with live spot or eels.
The flounder are still coming in, with a lot of large ones in the mix.
But, Steve Sheets, of Quarryville, PA, brought in one that weighed 8lbs and was caught using live mullet. He was fishing on the South side of the Indian River Inlet. He also had brought one in that weighed 6lbs earlier that week.
And then there were Joseph and William Thieme, of Catasauqua, PA who caught three flounder while fishing in the Indian River Inlet using live spot. The heaviest fish weighed in at 7.7lbs.
AJ Sinibaldi, of Newark, DE, was fishing in the Indian River Inlet with his parents and hooked up with this 9.4lb flounder while using minnows and squid. His mom was more excited that he was.
But the most excited fisherman of the week had to have been my son Christopher. He was asked to go fishing with a Mike Esham and his friend in the Inlet. I have never seen a kid smile more, I believe his face was frozen like that for 3 days. He went out in the inlet and were just one fish away from landing their limit. They were using live spot too.
The blue fish continue to bite on both the incoming and outgoing tides. For the most part these fish have been some what smaller than normal, but I am happy to report that we are seeing bigger ones come in from the Inlet boats. The Gale Force has been bringing in some rock, flounder, a few croaker and some larger blue fish for their charters.
Well I think that covers it for the past two weeks.
So until next time, Keep Casting,
Deanna (aka Mrs. Bert)

06/27/2010
Hi everyone hope you have been enjoying the summer like weather we have been having lately. Feels like it is July or August.
Let's start this report in the surf....the skates and sharks are still the main catch out there, but word has it that at night you can get a nice catch of kingfish while fishing with either live or artificial bloodworms. Most people are using the surf king fish rigs or a top and bottom rig with small hooks.
Flounder fishing continues to be a good choice for the inlet. There have been lots of throw backs with some keepers in the mix. I would say that for every 10 fish you catch you may find 1 keeper. A first time fisherman, Terry Stough, of York, PA came into the shop on Friday and asked for some advice on what to use and where to go. We suggested a 6" Pearl Storm lure and sent him out to the Inlet to try his luck and two hours later he returned with an 8.8lb flounder he landed. A lot of people are jealous of a first time fisherman that lands a fish that big.
Sonny Maio, of Northern Virginia, caught a 6.5lb flounder while fishing over on the VFW Slough. He was using a minnow on a plain flounder hook.
The rock fishing has slowed down considerably since last week. The water temperatures have risen and any that are being caught are being caught at night with Poppers or other artificial lures such as black Bombers, Tsunamis or black bucktails with black worms.
The bluefish are still around in the inlet, they are running on the incoming and outgoing tides. Just look for the birds and the choppy water and throw out a bucktail, Hopkins lure or a Kastmaster. They like anything shiney, and they do not require bait.
The offshore bite has slowed down if you are looking for yellow fin in the Poor Man's. The fish seem to have followed the edge of the warm water that has pushed north.
Boats that did try their hand at it came back in with mostly dolphin, gaffer size to peanuts, and there were a few lucky ones that had a blue fin.
But the best catch of Saturday was the boat Liquid Handler with Anton Burr, Larry Watson and Howard Deaughtry. They left at 5pm on Friday night and came back to the dock with 3 Big Eye Tuna. They weighed 170, 155.2 and 103.5, along with a 40 yellow fin. Two more big eye broke off and a story of a midnight Mako fight that was at least 250lbs. They were glad that it broke off because they weren't prepared for that big guy. They were fishing way out at the Lindenkohl Canyon. That is one heck of a ride, but was all worth it to those guys. Congratulations!!
The head boat Judy V. continues to see improvement in the black sea bass fishing with more keepers showing up on the wrecks. The half day trips have been seeing on average 2-3 fish per person. Some times the morning is better, sometimes the afternoon is better. This all depends on the tides and the winds. I guess that is why it is called fishing and not catching. There have also been nice sized tautog caught and released, but that all changes July 1st when tog season opens back up. We can't wait for that.
We are fishing everyday both morning and afternoon. Reservations are recommended.
The full day trip on the Capt. Bob II saw a lot of keeper black bass and a flounder as well. The full day trip runs on the Capt. Bob II and is limited to 25 people, and reservations are required for this trip.
Flounder fishing in the ocean is starting to improve with a few more flounder coming in to the scales. Now don't think that they are setting the world on fire, but they are starting to bite more.
Well that's all for this week!
Keep Casting,
Deanna (Mrs. Bert)

06/20/2010
Happy Father's Day!!!!If you like tuna fishing then you are in luck. The yellow fin are here. Get in your boat and get out to Poor Man's. It all began on Friday afternoon around 2pm and never stopped until around 9pm that night.
The first boat to the dock was the "Stacey" that brought in 12 yellowfin totaling over 478lbs. and from then on they just kept coming. Four Play brought in 4 fish weighing in at 156.5lbs, Fish Whistle brought in 10 tuna weighing in at 356lbs, No Worries with 221lbs.
To mix it up a bit one Capt Doug Krisher, on the "Unbelievable" brought in the heaviest mako of the season weighing in at 180lbs with their tuna. And Todd Buchanan brought in a 120lb Mako while out to the Poor Man's.
Everyone was reporting the same thing....Poor Man's with Ballyhoo. The bite was red hot.
The Saturday bite was a bit slower with boats still bringing in about 2-5 per boat. And one with a White Release.
The inlet fishing has slowed down with fewer keeper stripers being caught during the day and only a few being caught at night. Most are using live spot, live eels or artificial lures such as the Tsunami and Storm Lures. John Shaffer, of York, PA, caught a 37.6lb rockfish while fishing with a rigged eel.
The flounder have also slowed but there are still nice flounder coming in with Kayla Speece, of PA, bringing in a 2.8lb flounder on squid and minnow. John Lindsay, of Dagsboro, caught one that weighed 8.4lbs while fishing on a fly; and Phillip Chandler caught 2 weighing in at 7.5lbs. These were are caught in the Inlet.
We also have had some bluefish caught in the Inlet, one weighed 6.5lbs and was caught by Chris Hey, of Pittsburg, PA.
The sea bass bite is still slower than it should be with a few keepers being brought in on the boat and an occasional flounder coming in from the ocean. Boats are having to go off to wrecks further out to get more keepers in the boat.
The surf report is still showing skates and sharks, but there have been a few people coming in reporting king fish still.
Until next time...Keep Casting,
Deanna

06/13/10
This week had a slow start but finished with a bang.
Reports in the surf are that there are a few king fish showing up, but very few. If you are going to try your hand at this use a king fish rig with the artificial bait Fishbites Bloodworm or the live bloodworms. And if you are looking for skates and sharks you are in luck. That seems to be what everyone is reporting back.
Fishing out in the ocean for black sea bass and flounder started the week very slow and finally turned around on Friday and Saturday. The headboat Judy V. has been getting out during the week but had been reporting just a few bites with no keepers at times. But Saturday that all changed with customers bringing home about 2-3 per person. Now that doesn't sound like a lot but it is a big improvement from what has been going on.
A few flounder have been coming in from out at D-B bouy. A nice one that weighed in at 5.25lbs.
The inlet fishing has slowed for the rockfishing but has improved for the flounder fishing. There are some still being caught in the inlet, but you will only see the keepers being reeled in at night. Frank Clark, of Ocean View, caught a 28.2lb rock fish while using a Wind Cheater plug on the end of the incoming tide.
Bluefish are running on the tides so throw out a bucktail with or without a worm and have some fun.
There have been flounder brought in while fishing in the inlet. Most people are using either minnow and squid combo or "Gulp" on a jig head. Tom Hargreaves, of Bethany Beach, caught a 7.8lb flounder using a Gulp eel. And John Lindsay, of Ocean View, caught a 3.3lb flounder on a "Gulp" bait while also fishing in the inlet.
Most fisherman are fishing on the north side of the inlet anywhere from the Coast Guard wall and westward to the bay.
Now lets move on to the offshore report....the week started slow for this fishing too. But with the IRBA having a shark tournament this past week we saw some nice action with the Makos and Threseher sharks. The excitement started on Friday when a 560lb Thresher Shark was caught by Jay Richwine off of the "Saltwater Cowboy" This shark was a female and when she was cut open to start the cleaning process 3 pups were pulled out. The pups appeared to be very very weak and we were unsure if they were going to live. So they were put in our bait tank to try to get them a little healthier. After about an hour or so they were let go in the marina. When they first entered the water they seemed to twist and turn in circles in the water and then they took a dive and came back up. After about 30 seconds or so they appeared to be doing well as we watched them swim around in the marina. Saturday morning we had a report that one had been spotted still swimming around in the marina by the fuel dock.
Back to the tournament fishing.....the heaviest mako was 172lb and caught by David Cropper while fishing on the "Gummy Bear".
The heaviest blue fish weighed 11.2lbs and was brought in by Joe Nobel on the Miss Donna.
And for the tuna report, Charlie Horning and his gang on the "Fish Whistle" brought in the first yellow fin tuna of the season with 7 tuna coming in to the dock. The heaviest one weighed in at 41lbs. Capt Charlie reported that they were fishing out at the Poor Man's Canyon. They were fishing with spreader bars with ballyhoo.
People are still bringing in some blue fin tuna also. We have been told that they have been caught out at Massy's Canyon.
That's all for now.
Keep Casting
Deanna :-)

05/17/10
UPDATE TO THE WEEK END REPORT
On Sunday evening at 5pm I was about to close up the shop for the day when I received a phone call. It was from a cell phone and it was hard to hear. All I could make out was "is anyone going to be around to clean a tuna?" Then I heard "we won't be in until around 6-6:30." All I could think was...man I'm tired, but the first tuna of the year is coming in we had better stick around. So, I told the guy we would be here to take care of his fish.
5:30 comes around and here comes a boat. A boat that had decided to go out that morning to go sharking. I had thought they had already returned to the dock for the day. They surprised us with the First Thresher Shark of the season. The "Undertaker" with Bill, Bill Doherty, Jr and CJ Walus came to the dock with a 216lb shark. They had been out near the Twin Wrecks that afternoon and were using Hook 'em & Cook 'em's Special Chum Mix along with a blue fish fillet on the hook. Bill, Jr, the angler, said it took almost 2 hours to bring the fish to the boat. Congrats to them.
No sooner had I looked at the clock ,it was about 6:10pm, I looked out the window and the boat that had called about the tuna had arrived!!
"Margin" had come in with our first blue fin tuna of the year. It weighed 66.4lbs and was caught just north of the Norfolk. Tom Dorwalt, the angler, said they caught it on a blue Ilander while trolling.
After Christopher had cleaned,steaked and bagged the fish all that was left was the clean up.
So two and a half hours after that phone call we were finally on our way home. That was definitely worth it.

05/15/10
If you were looking for good fishing action, then it was a great week to fish the inlet and a bad week to be a rock fish.
The week had a slow start but then around Thursday that all changed.
Rock fish started showing up on Thursday at the mouth of the jetty and steadily moved in for this week-end.
Over all the bite improved both day and night. Sometimes it didn't seem to matter if it was day or night or what tide you were fishing on.
The night bite was great on Friday with some people refering to it as a "Frenzy" all along the inlet. This all happened between the beginning and the end of the tide with many fisherman catching there limits with an hour or two.
Paul Cronshaw and John Quattlebaum caught their limits Friday night before the thunderstorms. Others said they fished after the storms around 3am and they were still landing fish off the rocks or by boat.
Fisherman reported catching anywhere from the bridge to the Coast Guard Station on both the North and South sides of the Inlet.
Most fisherman have been catching there keepers using white bucktails with white worms, some have been fishing with Tsunami and Storm Lures. 5" & 6" lures in colors that range from golden mullet, shad or blue back herring.
Most of the fish have been reported from 30" up to 45". We have had several brought in to the fish cleaning table that ranged in weight from 13-24lbs.
Not to be out done by the inlet the surf had a few rock fish on Friday evening, before sunset. A 19lber was brought to our southern store in South Bethany from the surf at Bethany Beach. It was caught on a finger mullet. So you better have finger mullet along with that tried and true bunker bait.
Blue fish were also reportedly being caught in the inlet, but not in any large numbers yet. They were of the snapper variety and ranging from 12"-16".
Along with the blue fish the shad are schooling out in the inlet too. Most are snagging these fish with spec rigs of various sizes and colors. One man reported that he caught shad for almost 2 hours the other night.

Flounder action has slowed a bit, but only more fisherman have turned their attention to fishing for the striper right now.
A few flounder were brought in on Saturday. Minnows on plain hooks or bucktails, or Gulp "Pearl White Swimming Mullet" on a 1/2 oz jig head are still the ticket when fishing for the flatties. These fish are still being caught in the back bay around the same areas....Massey's Ditch and the VFW Slough. It is still is too early to see them out in the ocean.
And while tog fishing is closed and black sea bass is still closed, ocean fishing is still in limbo.
Only one week left until we can fish for those sea bass, we are counting down the days!!! Come on May 22nd.
Until next time...keep casting,
Mrs Bert (Deanna)

05/07/10 @12:45pm
What a beautiful week it has been. Hope everyone has gotten out and enjoyed it whether you are a fisherman or not. (Hopefully you are, but I won't hold it against you! ;)

Rock fish have still been hitting in the Indian River Inlet, but have admittedly it has slowed down some now that the water temperature is on the rise. You will probably see smaller ones being brought in than the larger ones now. But with that said, Bill Winkler, of Frankford, brought in a 42.9lber that he caught while in the Inlet and using a live hickory shad. (Picture in gallery)
For fishing the Inlet, Storm Lures and flies are the tackle that most are choosing, but if you are able to catch bunker, herring or even a shad (and keep them alive) you can use them to land a nice keeper as well.

Rock fish are still in the surf, but word has it that the blues are starting to make it in to the shore too. Most are still using fresh bunker. Remember, the key to using bunker is to cut the head off about a 1/2" back from the gill and use that part. Use the remainder as chunks for the blue fish.

Tautog have slowed a bit in the Inlet. Most are reporting that they are catching much smaller ones now. Marcus Munday of Felton, De brought a 6.6lber in Thursday. He beat his father fishing, but we won't rub it in. (Picture in gallery)
REMEMBER: THE LAST DAY OF TOG FISHING IS MAY 11TH. SO GET THIS LAST WEEK-END IN!!!!

Flounder are still being caught in the back bays, Debbie Roach , of Wilm., DE broughtin a 4lb flounder on Sunday. She was fishing with her family (the only girl and the only one to catch a fish and on a pink rod) in the inlet. She was using a minnow on a bucktail. (picture in gallery)
The bait of choice has now changed to minnows and squid. The tackle has been a variety of things...from plain bottom hooks to bucktails to green machines. I guess the fish are hungry and not to picky about color.

I checked on www.saltfish.net and found out that the drum fishing is starting up in the Delaware Bay on the Coral Beds. An 85lber was caught by a young man named Lucas. The fish looked to be as big if not bigger than him. Luck he didn't get pulled over! Use whole surf clams for those monsters.

Off-shore fishing has not started yet, but we can't wait to see the first yellow fin to hit the table.

I have not heard of any blues being fished for out in the ocean...let's hope that they will fill the void when tog closes and while we wait for sea bass to open. Let's all pray to the fishing gods to make something happen!! ;)

Till next time, keep fishing.
Mrs. Bert (Deanna)
Hook 'em & Cook 'em

04/27/2010
Well the weather has warmed up and with that the fishing has also picked up.

We will start with rock fishing.....Striper fishing in the inlet has been very good either by land or boat. The guys that are doing well by land are using flies, the best color seems to be pink and white. The guys that are fishing by boat are using white bucktails or fishing with artificial lures such as a Storm or Tsunami.
If you go to the Delaware Bay you will find the best fishing up around the wall or the mouth of the bay. And if you travel further north you will find them in the channels around the spawning grounds. Check out our fishing gallery for a rock fish caught by John Coleman of Middletown, DE. He caught and released some nice trophy sized fish.
The surf has been producing some rock fish, most are being caught using fresh bunker. They are being caught from Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island.

Tautog....Tog fishing in the inlet is still going on, but you will find that most of them are on the small side. If you go out to the in-shore wrecks you will still find fish from 2-3lbs and a few larger ones in the mix from 5-10lbs. Capt. John Nedelka, of the Karen Sue had some citation fish along with others in the mix. Check that out in the fishing gallery. The bait of choice has primarily been green crabs, but some days they bite on clam or shrimp. So, take a little bit of everything to be prepared. Remember that the tog limits have changed...they are now 3 per person per day and 15" size limit. Tog will close on May 12th and open back up on July 1st.

Flounder have been showing up in the inlet and the back bays of Rehoboth and Indian River. They are biting on shiner, minnows or herring. Some have been trying the tried and true Gulp. Gale Force charters caught a couple keepers over the week end with minnows. (Their picture is also in the gallery)
It is still a little cold in the ocean for the flatties to be showing up, but you never know. I have heard of one or two showing up in the surf last week.

This year the flounder fishery will see a closure. DNREC, in their infinite wisdom, has put a closure for the first time ever beginning Oct 13th until December 31st. The size limit is still 18.5" and 4 per person per day.

A small school of blues showed up in the inlet and on the surf last week, but not many have been seen since then. But don't give up hope. Where there is one there will be more following soon. Just throw out something shiney or some oily bait like bunker when you see the birds circling. Hopefully we will see the large blues next month out in the ocean too.

We all have to wait until May 22nd to go sea bass fishing. NMFS has put an emergency closure on these fish. They have also stated that they reserve the right to close this fishery again if they deem necessary due to a quota being rea