As bad a week as it was to be finishing up Christmas shopping, it might have been even worse to be a striper.
Virtually everyone had some good news on the striper front last week. After a subpar end of the week, there was some decent fishing on a weekend for a change. The mouth of the Delaware Bay once again hosted the bulk of the fishing, though numerous fish were also reported from Indian River Inlet.
Capt. Carey Evans of the Lewes charter boat Grizzly passed along a recent striper smack down with double digit keepers and three times that many throw backs. Capt. Rick Yakimowicz seconded the rockfish fishing success, noting that the fish came from as far over as Prissy Wicks shoal and ranged over to outside the Bay. Capt. Joe Morris of Lewes Harbor fishing reported that anglers working out at Site 11 ran into big bird plays with rampaging rockfish and blues under them. Fishermen had success tossing lures such as bucktails or metal, or pulling plugs. Capt. Joe reminded anglers that stripers caught in federal waters must, sadly, be released.
Dragging eels or live spot through the rips has been a productive way to get in on the striper action. Using a similar technique, but substituting bucktails instead of live bait, can also score some runs in the striper game as well. Tipping the baits with some sort of "sweetner" in the form of a strip of meat often enhances your chances of success. I always liked a strip of mackerel in the spring, particularly back when there were mackerel around.
Tog fishing, according to Capt. Rick Yakimowicz at Fisherman's Wharf, continues to be good although recent full moon tides have made the angling more difficult. Bay structures and reefs have been providing decent fishing. Often during the periods of heavy tidal flow the slack tide phases fish the best.
Capt. Rick also passed along that long range sea bass fishing with Capt. H.D. Parsons have provided good catches of jumbo sea bass for passengers. One of the cool things about these trips is the increasing numbers of big cod that have appeared in the catches. These trips are a super way to stock the freezer with delicious white filets.
Lots of great fishing going on right now as we come off the moon, so take a break from the madness at the mall and wet a line today.
For fishing tips, or to comment on this article, email captjackrodgers@comcast. net
≈~≈The Daily Catch Team≈~≈
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