Delaware Regional Fishing Report

OCEAN

Reports of good night fishing at Conquest for kings. Russ Howe and his friend caught a dozen kingfish with seven keeper size on clams. Yellow and Bluefin tuna along with gaffer dolphin have been slamming butterfish at the inshore lumps, and Massey’s Canyon. Jenny Donahue landed a 35-pound yellowfin at Massey’s on butterfish. Reef sites 10 and 11, the Old Grounds, A, and B Buoys are still the place to be for flounder with squid, minnows working well. The Katydid returned to port with scores of flounder and bluefish from the Old Grounds. Sea bass are also showing up in greater numbers alongside the flounder. Flounder fishing at the Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay is slowly improving with a few more reports this week than last week. Most anglers used jigs with squid. Paradise Marina and Short’s Marine in Long Neck are hosting “The Ultimate Flounder Pounder Open” Aug. 19-21 with more than $100,000 in prizes. The tournament is limited to the first 250 boats who register and registration will start at the Paradise Marina in Long Neck at 9 a.m., Monday Aug. 1 through Sunday, Aug. 14 at 9 p.m. The fee is $250 per boat. Sheepshead are biting near the rocks at the Indian River Inlet on crab. Spanish mackerel and small bluefish are still chasing spoons at Fenwick Shoal. It’s been mostly kingfish for surf anglers on Delaware beaches, with bloodworms as the most successful bait.

DELAWARE BAY

Captain Bones Bait & Tackle reported good fishing at Slaughter Beach, and Woodland Beach with white perch, catfish, small croaker, and slot striper hitting on a mix of bunker and bloodworms. Michael Huff checked in at Captain Bones with a 6-pound, 2-ounce catfish that he caught at Greens Beach on peelers. Yellow, Red Can, and the submerged rock jetty off Augustine Beach hold slot sized stripers. Bunker is working well, however, peeler works great at the submerged jetty. Port Mahon has yielded its fair share of slot stripers as well on bunker. Flounder fishing is improving at Crossledge and Miah Maull Shoal with squid and minnow combinations producing the most fish. Big sheepshead are being taken at the Outer Wall and the Icebreakers with sand fleas and crab serving as the top baits. Frank Tier landed a 12-pound,  7-ounce sheepshead at the Icebreakers, as did Hailey Swithenbank with a nice 9-pound, 9-ounce sheepshead, and Robert Warehime weighed in one at 10 pounds, 6 ounces at the Lewes Harbour Marina caught on sand fleas. Captain Joseph Crowley brought in a 14-pound, 6-ounce sheepshead from the Outer Wall. Bigger croaker and spot are being caught at the Cape Henlopen Fishing pier with bloodworms as the best bait. Kayakers that are able to access the pilings at the end of the pier are having decent luck on flounder with jigs and minnows. Steven Herr landed a citation 7-pound, 6-ounce doormat at the Lewes Harbour.

RIVERS

Anglers drifting eels in the Lewes & Rehoboth Canal are catching slot stripers near Savannah Road and the railroad bridges. Keeper flounder although hard to come by are biting near the Savannah Road Bridge on shrimp, squid, and minnows. Wilkie Jarboe caught a 17-inch flounder and a 22-inch striper using gulp jerk bait in the canal during the early morning hours. If you don’t mind a few bugs, there is good night slot striper fishing in the Christina River. I went out to the I-95 Bridge, as well as the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge in Wilmington and had success on stripers around 24 inches with a white bucktail on the outgoing tide. If you can get your boat in shallow water, the spillway under I-495 near the I-95 Bridge has good evening action on the outgoing tide, however, the action drastically slows after the first four casts.

PONDS

George Rumsey landed two largemouth bass at Lake Como weighing in at 6 pounds, and 5 pounds, 8 ounces. Both fish were caught on senkos and both were released. Most of the bass have moved into the shade, fishing during the early morning and evening hours has produced the most fish.

On Saturday, Captain Bones Bait & Tackle will host a duck and goose calling competition along with the Delaware state duck calling championship with a grand prize of $500. The winner will advance to the world championships in Stuttgart, Arkansas. Register at Captain Bones, 3195 DuPont Pkwy, Odessa, DE 19730. Registration begins at 8 a.m.

Email your fishing info and fishing photos to jtaviano@delawareonline.com or tweet @JeffreyTaviano.