The Delaware Fishing Report offers information on when to fish, where to fish, which species are biting, and how to catch them. It is written weekly by veteran Delaware angler Eric Burnley, Sr.

Delaware Bay

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As long as you were not fishing within 10 miles from me, the bluefish action remained steady in the Bay. The fishing pier at Cape Henlopen State Park and the beach on either side of the pier saw good action on mullet or bunker as well as on lures such as SP Minnows and poppers.

Black drum were caught at the Coral Beds and from Broadkill Beach and a few flounder were taken from the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal and the fishing pier.

Patty at Captain Bones in Odessa told us white perch continue to please shore fishermen working from Augustine Beach to the fishing pier at Woodland Beach plus all the tidal creeks and rivers. Bloodworms are the best bait for the perch.

Big striped bass continue to be taken and released by anglers fishing with cut bunker on non-offset circle hooks from shore at Collins Beach and from the pier at Woodland Beach.

Steve at Smith Bait in Leipsic said everybody is fishing for black drum at the Coral Beds off of Slaughter Beach. Baits are either clams or crabs.

Dan at Dan’s Tackle in Milton said nothing much has changed from last week. There are bluefish, black drum and striped bass caught from shore at Broadkill Beach. Baits include cut bunker and bloodworms for the striped bass, clams and crabs for the black drum and cut bunker for the blues. Lures such as SP Minnows, metals like the Hopkins or poppers will take the stripers or blues if they come by in numbers.

The key to success here is to be here when the fish show up. There are also big blues in the Broadkill River as far up as Oyster Rocks Road.

At Lewes Harbour Marina they reported black drum caught on clams and crabs from Broadkill Beach and the Coral Beds. They also saw blues caught at the fishing pier at Cape Henlopen State Park. A few flounder were taken from the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal on minnows and Gulp!

Breakwater Tackle on the fishing pier at Cape Henlopen State Park reported some very good bluefish action from the pier and from the shore on both sides of the pier.

Loretta Smith used her fly rod to subdue a big blue from shore and when she went to remove the hook, it fell out. The big fish had twisted it all out of shape.

I fished from shore there on Tuesday evening and put a halt to the bluefish action. I must apologize to all the rest of the fishermen there for being the albatross.

Indian River Inlet

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Old Inlet Bait and Tackle said there were big blues, striped bass and a few tog caught out of the Inlet during the week.

On Tuesday evening a few big stripers were caught from the North Jetty on SP Minnows and bucktails. The South Pocket has seen big blues during the week on cut bunker and mullet. Blues and stripers have been scattered at the inlet all week. A few keeper tog have been caught on sand fleas and green crabs.

Surf Fishing

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The action in the surf was pretty good on Saturday when the Old Inlet had their Spring Surf Fishing Tournament. They had 170 anglers catch 61 big blues, 3 flounder, one striped bass and one black drum. The one striped bass was a 49-inch fish of a lifetime and won Ryan Stetser $1,000.

Overall surf fishing produced good action at 3Rs Road where big blues came and went often enough to make fishing worthwhile. It was bait and wait with mullet or bunker.

Back Bays

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Rick’s Bait and Tackle on Long Neck said you don’t have to travel to the Inlet or the beach to catch big blues. There are some cruising by Massey’s Landing. Fish with cut bunker or mullet or cast SP Minnows or bucktails. A few flounder have been caught on minnows out of the Back Bays.

Inshore Ocean

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From the reports I received from Lewes Harbour Marina and Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em it would seem the tog fishing has slowed to almost a stop. The ocean structure and the Outer Wall did not produce very well last week.

Offshore Ocean

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No report.

Freshwater

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Patty at Captain Bones in Odessa recorded three citations last week. Stephen Miller had two. The first was a 2,41-pound smallmouth bass caught on a Roostertail out of the Brandywine Creek and the second was a 3.9-pound pickerel from Garrison Lake caught on an unknown lure. Finally, Nicole Costabile caught a Delaware Citation Palomino trout weighing 3.10 pounds from White Clay Creek on a Powerbait worm.

Taylored Tackle in Seaford told us this unpredictable weather has made fishing hard to figure out. They are catching blue catfish in the Nanticoke River and Broad Creek on cut bunker, sunfish or white perch. Snakeheads are more active and will take live minnows or frog lures.

Bilge Pumps

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Before you put your boat over for the first time, make sure the bilge pump is working. It only takes a few seconds, and it is far better to find out the pump is not working when the boat is on dry land then to find that out when the boat is sinking.

Related Topics:  delaware bay, dfw, fishing, freshwater, indian river inlet, ocean and coasts, outdoors and recreation, surf fishing, wildlife