Fishing Reports by Mike B. at Eastern Marine

At Ship John Light a solid Striper bite is in high gear, as is the norm this time of year. Chunking fresh Bunker as usual is all that is needed and good limit reports of fish in the 28-inch plus range have been common. Don’t forget from July 1st through August 31st anglers are permitted to keep 2 Stripers from 20” – 26” in the Delaware River, Bay, and its tributaries. Along with Stripers anglers have encountered an unusually steady Flounder bite that is producing some impressive flatties from off the old lighthouse. Go to baits have been Berkley Gulp Alive in the 4” swimming mullet, fresh Bluefish belly, and large Bull Head Minnows.

Further down the bay just above the elbow of the Cross Ledge at G6s a small wreck is located just off the buoy. Chris Brown of Eastern Marine launched out of Port Mahon and boated limit catches of doormat Flounder to 26”. Chris said Berkley Gulp Alive 4” inch swimming mullet in chartreuse and giant Bullhead Minnows tipped with squid were his go to baits. The 14 Foot Bank was another location that customers were pinpointing as a hot spot for doormat Flounder. Many anglers I talked to seemed to think that the majority of big Flounder were being taken in 20’ – 25’ of water from all three locations.

Along the shore the surf report has been positive with Croakers, Spot, and Kingfish. Bloodworms, Fishbites, and small offerings of clam have been top performers. Many anglers use light surf gear and small top and bottom rigs tipped with Bloodworm to harvest spot. They then in turn have fresh cut bait or live Spot to live line targeting predatory fish. Large Sand Tigers have been caught along the Delaware Shore at Conquest, Key Box, and 3r’s road. Some anglers are kayaking fish baits as far as 400 yards offshore and paddling back to man a surf stick in anticipation for one of these hard battling predators. Sand Tigers in the 5’ – 7’ range have been common this season.

Indian River has given up a steady Bluefish chop for the whole summer. Although the size has varied from day to day, most incoming tides have provided anglers with plenty of fishing action. From the bridge to the second bend on the south side has been the strike zone according to most anglers we spoke with. Johnny Justinson said an ever-increasing Flounder bite is to be had along the south wall of the Indian River Inlet and the keeper to throw back ratio is quickly starting to improve. I can’t wait, as I will be spending the second week of August along that south wall myself. Yes, yours truly will be getting into the swing here shortly. I have to be honest, hearing and reporting about other anglers trips and experiences is a blast but not as fun as telling the stories yourself. Until next time take advantage of this heat wave and remember to be prepared and cautious when enduring excessive heat indexes.

Catch 'em and Cook 'em

These topless style traps are also easily stackable which helps save space during transportation and storage. Optional add-on tops are available for each model if you prefer a fully boxed cage.

Check out our CRAB TRAPS page for sale items, and don’t forget to browse our newly expanded Crabbing Department for other goodies including J.O. Spice products, Crab T-Shirts, Crab Trap Hardware, Floats and much more!

Fishing Reports by Mike B. at Eastern Marine

National Fishing Week Delaware will also include the Division’s 24th Annual Youth Fishing Tournament from 10am to 1pm Saturday, June 12 at Lums Pond, Wyoming Pond and Ingrams Pond. For further information, please call 302-739-9918

Matt Borelli showed up at Eastern Marine with two impressive Black Drum tethered to the console of his Carolina Skiff, one 55 pounder and the other an outstanding 88 pound boomer. Matt and family spent the night out on the Coral Beds cracking Quahogs and it sure did pay off. Congratulations to Matt and family on their success, citation honors for their Boomer, and continued good luck in the future. A solid Striper bite is still to be had at the Indian River Inlet at night off the jetty and along the rocks. Anglers throwing bucktails with strips of fresh cut bait (herring, shad, bunker) have done extremely well. Storm Lures, Tsunami center post baits, and Bomber Long A plugs have also produced limit catches of Stripers. Further up the bay good reports are coming from buoy R”6L” where Striped Bass have been stacked up. Customers here at Eastern have been leaving Collins Beach and anchoring up in the section of 20ft water just off the buoy. Fresh Bunker has been the ticket, and not much else has seemed to grab their attention but limit catches of fish have been fast and furious.

On the fresh water scene Michael Schenck of Wilmington Delaware fished over the Memorial Day weekend. Upon arriving at Eastern, Michael hoisted an enormous 6 pound 4oz Largemouth Bass on to the scale. With a length of 20 inches and a girth of 15 ½ inches Michaels bass was a real chunk to say the least. Schenck received citation honors for his fish, congratulations on your fine catch Mike.

The Pure Fishing order that I told you about last week did arrive and as promised we have some new additions to our tackle department that will wow you! Penn Conquer and Sargus Spinning Reels. Penn Torque and Shakespeare Ugly Tiger Lite Jigging Rods. Abu Garcia 176 Cardinal surf set-ups, along with Cardinal 300i ulta-lite reels for trout and panfish. We have Shakespeare rod and reel combos designed for specific applications. For example the trout kit comes with an ultra-lite 5’ foot rod and reel spooled with 4 lb Stren fishing line, accompanied with a medium size tackle box filled with spinners, bobbers, split shot, terminal tackle and a complimentary jar of Berkley Power Bait. We also paid special attention to customer requests on different fishing lines. Stren 100% Fluorocarbon and both Berkley Fire Lines, Crystal and Tracer braid are here in store. Finally our selection of Berkley Gulp and Berkley Gulp Alive is a must see for any individual who fishes fresh or salt water. I am especially stoked about the new Berkley Ghost Shrimp. Anyone who has used the older New Penny Shrimp by Gulp will be interested in this new innovation. Well, that’s just a little sample of some of the new products we are currently promoting. Get out, enjoy this weather and after stopping at Eastern Marine (your one stop tackle shop) go load up on your favorite target species.