Delaware Fishing Report Week of October 30th

By Eric Burnley, Sr.

Delaware Bay

Just legal rockfish are being caught from Augustine Beach to the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal and the Broadkill River. They are hitting bloodworms, cut bunker, live eels and top-water plugs.

Striped Bass (Rockfish)

A more common catch in the upper bay has been white perch on bloodworms. They are available along the shoreline from New Castle to Woodland Beach and in the tidal creeks and rivers. Catfish are also in the same locations and will take bloodworms or cut bunker.

I am still getting reports of keeper trout caught by trolling Stretch 25s across Ship John Shoal. I suspect this may be over by the time the storm and next cold front move out.

Sheepshead

Reef sites throughout the bay were producing a mixed bag of sheepshead, triggerfish, croaker and the rare flounder. How much will be left once we get back out on the water remains to be seen.

The Outer Wall and the Ice Breakers saw much improved tog fishing. A few charter boats managed a limit of keepers as did a few private boats. Green crabs and sand fleas have been the best baits. During periods of high seas, the inside of the Outer Wall produced very well and was considerably safer.

Rockfish seem to be the primary target in the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal as the flounder seem to have moved out. Live eels have been the primary bait with at least one keeper taken on a surface plug.

Inshore Ocean

As late as Wednesday, before the storm hit on Thursday, boats were coming back with limits of sea bass. My guess is once the seas settle down the larger sea bass will have moved to deeper water.

Offshore Ocean

I had no reports from the canyons out of Delaware last week and I don’t expect any this weekend.

Indian River Inlet

Tog fishing at the Inlet has improved. Still a lot of shorts, but more keepers are caught every day. Sand fleas and green crabs have been the beat baits.

Legal rockfish were caught at night on live eels, but over the weekend that slowed down.

Not much action on bluefish or flounder.

Surf Fishing

The oil spill that fouled the sand from Broadkill Beach to Ocean City kept most fishermen off the beaches that were open.

Freshwater

With 1,000 pounds of trout stocked in the White Clay Creek you should be able to find some quality fishing in quiet conditions if the rain doesn’t dirty the water too much.

The ponds should see good bass fishing and the pickerel should be active as well.

The upper reaches of the tidal creeks and rivers will also hold bass, pickerel and crappie.

Tog Fishing Tips

TautogTog are not the easiest fish to catch. They live in rocks and wrecks where your rigs go to die and they can inhale a bait and spit out the hook much faster than the time it takes to tell about it.

I tie my own tog rigs using a two to three-foot section of 40-pound fishing line. One end gets a perfection loop. I tie a double surgeon’s loop on the bottom for the sinker and another surgeon’s loop in the middle for the hook. Use a Mustad Beak hook size 2/0 or a Virginia style hook in the same size.

Drop the rig straight down from the rod tip. Keep the line as close to a 90-degree angle to the water as possible and pay attention to what’s going on at the end of the line. Be prepared to strike before the fish bites.

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