By Eric Burnley Sr.*
Updated: Feb. 3, 2011
DELAWARE BAY Very few people are fishing the lower bay as the water temperature has dropped into the low 40s. I would bet there are rockfish still hanging around the shoals, but with the colder water and the heavy population of dog sharks, catching them would be difficult.
In the upper bay and lower Delaware River catfish and the occasional short rock have been caught on cut bunker. For whatever reason, the white perch bite fell off last week.
INDIAN RIVER INLET Several keeper rockfish were caught out of the inlet over the weekend. Bucktails, shads and flies fished behind a sinker accounted for most of these fish.
I did not recieve any reports of tog caught from the rocks although I did see several folks fishing there on Saturday afternoon..
SURF FISHING Nothing but dog sharks from the beach. I am surprised that ling have not been caught considering the warmer than normal weather.
INSHORE OCEAN .I was able to get out and try the tog fishing last Saturday as a guest of Captain Scotty Gold on the Bandit. We left the dock at Southside Marina around 0630 and ran 30 miles southeast to a spot that the captain thought would hold good numbers of fish. He was correct.
The bite began as a slow pick but by noon had turned into some steady action. We were in 50 to 60 feet of water about 12 miles offshore using green and white legger crabs for bait. The weather was beautiful and with the Bandit set with two anchors we stayed right on top of the structure.
By the end of the day, at least two men had a 10-fish limit of tog and the average catch was 4 to 5 fish per person. I kept the average down by failing to connect with a tog. Other head and charter boats running out of Indian River also had good catches last weekend.
It has been a week since I had any report of rockfish along the Delaware Coast. The bite out of Virginia Beach remains red hot on both rock and bluefin tuna.
FRESHWATER I really wanted to do some freshwater fishing this week, but fortunately, I landed a couple of writing assignments and had to stay on the computer. Perhaps this week.
Ponds from one end of the state to the other are producing bass, crappie and pickerel. Live bait is the top choice with small spoons and jigs also popular.
The tidal creeks gave up catfish and a few small rockfish last week. Cut bunker was the best offering. White perch were no shows.
It won’t be long before yellow perch begin their spawning run and they have been active in Maryland for several weeks. The waters around Perryville, Port Deposit and Havre De Grace are still providing good yellow perch action.
A small minnow on a jig head fished under a bobber is the a good bait choice. Grass shrimp also work on both white and yellow perch.
WINTER SHOWS Delaware does not host any big name boat or fishing shows, but in nearby Maryland there are several that are worth attending.
The OC Seaside Boat Show will be held in Ocean City, Maryland from February 17 to 19. Most of the local boat dealers will be there offering good winter deals on their products. The show also attracts fishing vendors as well as the usual assortment of banks, food vendors, magazines and public service originations.
One of my favorite shows is the Pasadena Sportfishing Group’s Fishing Flea Market. The event is held at the Earleigh Fire Hall on Route 2 about 5 miles north of Route 50. The dates for this year’s show are February 18 and 19. It is about a 1.5 to 2-hour drive from Delaware.
This show offers just about everything you will ever need to fish the Chesapeake or Delaware bays. Not only that, but since many of the products are homemade the prices are very reasonable.
In addition, the fire company prepares pit cooked roast beef and those sandwiches are worth the trip all by themselves. They used to sell raw oysters, but I am not sure those are still available.
Over in Dorchester County the local MSSA chapter will have their annual flea market at American Legion Post 91 on February 25. I have not attended this one, but reports indicate it is worth the trip to Cambridge.
For the past few years there has been a fishing flea market in Laurel, Delaware at the fire house. To date, I have not heard if they plan on holding it again this year, but if I do get any information I will pass it on.
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