WGMD Fishing Report

Thursday was just, plain cold.  A few boats went out, but I could not get any reports from them, so I will try again on Friday.  I did get one report that there were birds acting fishy at the Eights, but no fish were caught in the area. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has voted…

Wednesday was cold and windy with falling temperatures and a little snow.  Let’s hope the rockfish will still be here when the weather settles down. Amanda at Lewes Harbour Marina has checked in some impressive rockfish.  The first of the season was a 30-incher caught on a red and white Stretch 25 by Dave Houck. …

Tuesday was windy with rain and fog.  Small craft advisories are already up for Wednesday. Just as the rockfish are beginning to show up off the Delaware Coast, we get a period of nasty weather.  The good news is they did pass by for the first time since Super Storm Sandy, now if they will…

Sunday was a bit better in the weather department and if anyone from Delaware went fishing, I will have their reports on Monday. For today, we will get back to more tips for tog fishing. Always use the freshest bait you can get.  Live green, while legger, box, fiddler or blue crabs work well.  I…

Small craft advisories were up for Saturday, but Sunday looks fishable.  Tog fishing has been good with lots of small fish and a few keepers. A few tips that may help you catch more tog and there by catch more keepers. Number one, use braided line.  This has been the best invention for bottom fishing…

Small craft advisories were back up again on Friday, but the Grizzly with Captain Cary Evans did manage to get out tog fishing.  The catch ratio remained the same at five to one keepers to shorts.   Captain Evans told me they caught fifty tog and were only able to keep ten. The west to northwest…

Thursday saw small craft advisories up for the bay and ocean and to the best of my knowledge no boats left the dock.  Right now, the weather looks better for the weekend and I hope it holds so people can finally get out on the water. With the holiday season right upon us you may…

The weather cleared up on Wednesday, but will be windy again on Thursday.  Amanda at Lewes Harbour Marina said the Katydid went out on a tog trip and returned with 20 keepers.  As has been the case all fall, they caught numerous shorts, but were only able to cull out the 20 keepers. I then…

Tuesday saw gale warnings up for the ocean and small craft advisories up for the bay.  Wednesday may be fishable and we hope a few boats will be able to sail. It looks like bag limits for spot and croaker will be in our future.  The highest number in the suggested options is 50 with…

Monday was cold and windy and I darn near froze to death at the Millsboro Boat Ramp as I attended the official opening ceremony. DNREC Secretary Garvin hosted the event with several other speakers including Senator Tom Carper.  Millsboro Pond has been maintained by DNREC Fish and Wildlife Section since the 1980s.  The town owns…

Sunday saw small craft advisories up and they will remain up for Monday and possibly for most of the week. Saturday the weather was fishable, but the tog didn’t cooperate for Delaware boats.  Tommy at Lewes Harbour Marina said he saw five tog cross his cleaning table all day. At Old Inlet Bait and Tackle…

Saturday saw improved weather and I am sure some folks were on the water.  I will have their reports on Sunday. Still looking ahead to regulations for 2020 and 2021 we could see something never heard of before in Delaware.  A bag limit on croaker and spot.  Croaker do have an eight-inch minimum size while…

Friday was still a bit windy with the remnants of the Thanksgiving gale being felt. To continue our discussion of what new regulations may look like in 2020 and 2021 it appears we will see a 28.78% reduction in bluefish landings for both recreational and commercial fisheries.  The stock is over fished so cuts must…

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and unless fishing was a part of the plan, the weather was fine for getting to grandma’s house to fill up on turkey and football. With the ocean migratory stock of striped bass still holding tight off the coast of North Jersey it is not looking good for…

Wednesday saw gale warnings up in the afternoon so boats did not take any chances and remained at the dock.  I did get a late report from Tuesday.  The Grizzly with Captain Cary Evans had a good catch of sea bass and porgies from ocean structure. If you enjoy fishing for summer flounder, I hope…

Tuesday was a beautiful fall day, but for the boats that tried tog fishing the news was not so good.  Tommy at Lewes Harbour Marina said he saw exactly two tog cross his cleaning table on Tuesday. Clark at Old Inlet Bait and Tackle told us there was a good run of short rockfish through…

Monday was nice but the fishing out of Delaware was not too good. Amanda at Lewes Harbour Marina said the boats that fished for tog caught very few.  Tuesday looks like another good weather day and hopes are high for better fishing. Captain Monty Hawkins on the Morning Star out of Ocean City, Maryland did…

Sunday was a beautiful fall day with bright sunny skies and air temperatures in the 50s.  There was just one little problem.  That pesky 40-knot northwest wind that had gale warnings up in the ocean and small craft advisories up for the bay.  I did take a ride just to get out of the house…

Saturday saw good fishing weather and the few boats that remain in the water were able to get out and catch some tog.  Gale warnings are already up for Sunday so enjoy those football games and family times. At Lewes Harbour Marina Tom said the Katydid with Captain Brent had a good catch of tog,…

There will be three options for striped bass regulations in 2020. Option One would have a 28 to 35-inch slot limit and one fish per day bag limit for recreational fishermen.  Commercial fishermen would see their catch drop from 145,085 to 118,970 pounds per year. Option Two would give recreational anglers a 28 to 38-inch…

Thursday was decent with light winds and mild temperatures. Captain Cary Evans on the Grizzly had a boat limit of tog for his six anglers. I tried tog fishing at Indian River Inlet and didn’t do nearly as well.  I stopped by Old Inlet Bait and Tackle for a quart of green crabs and was…

Wednesday saw small craft advisories up and to the best of my knowledge no boats sailed from Lewes or Indian River.  The rest of the week looks a tad windy, but the weekend could be fishable. I did get a report from Captain Monty Hawkins on the Morning Star out of Ocean City.  On his…

Tuesday saw some leftover seas, but the wind dropped out and a couple of boats were able to get to the tog grounds.  The Katydid with Captain Brent brought in 17 tog for his party of five which is just three short of a boat limit.  Captain Cary Evans on the Grizzly had 31 tog…

Monday was not very nice with a nasty north to northeast wind, fog and drizzle.  Did I mention it was also cold with air temperatures in the 40s?  I must admit I have no idea what we are going to find once we finally get back out on the ocean and bay.  The water temperature…