Eastern Marine Fishing Report ~ 11/13/2009

With last weekend’s forecast looking as good as it could possibly get and reports of big Striped Bass abounding, the Delaware Bay and Indian River Inlet were laden with heavy boat traffic. It seemed that everyone had the same idea in mind and that was getting hooked up with big linesiders and enjoying a picture perfect day on the water. The Lewes ramp was full by 4:30a.m. and many parked their rigs along the Pilot Town roadside when all else failed.

All depending who you talked to and the locations they fished reports varied. The one thing all agreed upon was that boat traffic was heavy and paying attention to your fellow boater was at a premium. A few customers we talked to this week said they encountered sticky situations at the Indian River Inlet. Real-estate was at a minimum and getting into close quarters was not uncommon. I received a few complaints from customers here at Eastern about larger charter boats almost swamping them upon returning to the inlet. I tried to explain that the captains of these vessels have to be committed when navigating the inlet. It’s not that they are trying to purposely endanger anyone. Backing down off the throttle is just as potentially dangerous for them. Combine excessive boat traffic with the second swiftest current on the east coast and you can see the recipe for disaster. So keep your eyes open your wits and where withal about you! It’s similar to arriving at a crowded eatery; if there is an extended waiting line find another place to dine for the meantime.

As I said earlier reports were sketchy all depending who you talked to. Norman Buczik and brother Mike fished the 8’s and had good success trolling stretch 25’s. Norman had one fish that taped out to 50 inches and weighed 31 lbs. The other fish Norman and Mike boated were in the 15-20 lb range. Norman said everything was going their way until the rest of the fleet showed up and he ran out of room to troll. Norman said most who showed up at the 8’s were drifting and on the chunk, which made it impossible to troll effectively. Charles Hodgson fished the Cape May rips on Tuesday and also did well. Charles was drifting eels and managed 2 Stripers. His largest fish was 18 lbs 4 oz and 38 inches in length. Hodgson also crossed the eyes of a dandy 9lb Bluefish that was 28 inches long. Good job Charles and good luck in the future.

With the arrival of Ida fresh water information has been sparse, however there were a few highlights for the week. Shane Barrett of Newark Delaware went on a fishing excursion to Lum’s Pond with father Kenny. Shane was fishing a large shiner under a bobber when he connected with an impressive Largemouth Bass. Shane and Kenny drove over to us folks here at Eastern Marine after they finished their day of fishing to see exactly how heavy Shane’s bass was. Remember we are an official Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament weigh station here at Eastern. When I saw Shane’s bass I was positive we were going to be filling out some paper work. Shane dropped his girthy Largemouth on to our scale and she was 5 lb 8 oz and taped out at 21-1/4 inches, good enough for Shane’s first state citation, and I am sure it won’t be the last. Shane’s father Kenny Barrett has schooled Shane well and we look forward to citing more fish from Shane in the future. Oh by the way… Shane wanted everybody to know that he bought his shiners here at Eastern Marine and they are the liveliest he has ever used. Congrats again Shane and Kenny. Until next time try to stay dry and with plummeting water temps be careful out on the water.