The great spring mackerel fishing has vanished

"The spring has sprung, the flowers has riz, I wonder where the birdies is?" — A.A. Milne

It might be more apropos here to change the "birdies" to "mackerel," but the truth is no one really knows.

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz reported somewhat improved mackerel fishing on their last foray out to the briny deep, but the fishing has not exactly been the sort of action one hopes for. It's tough, for sure, to find them when you are the only boat out looking. It certainly didn't used to be that way.

"There are certainly some mackerel out there," said Capt. Rick Yakimowicz out of Fisherman's Wharf in Lewes. "From what I've seen, and what I've caught, there are absolutely mackerel out there. The problem is that not too long ago there used to be, on any given April day, anywhere from 20 to 40 boats out there looking for them. Today it's just me."

And perhaps not even him for long.

One of the sad parts about the collapse of fisheries (perhaps shifting dynamics in fisheries is more apt) is that, like real good open bottom fishing for flounder, or bucktailing for trout, a whole generation of anglers has grown up without knowing just what mackerel fishing is.

Regardless, the savvy skipper will be sailing in the event that weather is, in fact, permitting one of these weekends. It's a good bet that some tog fishing is in the offing.

Striper fishing has been pretty good all throughout the Delaware Bay region. There was a big bite in Roosevelt Inlet on primarily short fish. The fish seem to be scattered all along the beach from the Delaware Bay beaches all the way down through the ocean suds.

While some of the fish have been landed on bloodworms or bunker, bucktails have been luring plenty of linesiders as well.  There are certainly some bigger fish around to be had as commercial anglers have been tallying them.

White perch have picked up on the rare days that the wind isn't blowing and even on some days it is.

Dan’s Bait and Tackle in Milton confirmed that they had steady results on the feisty panfish though expect tougher conditions with the late week’s storm flooding. One thing to remember is that on those warm days in spring the wind is often blowing hard from the southwest. Normally that actually cools down the water which can lead to an off bite.

Also, that wind steaming across the marshes can really roil the water up, and while you can surely catch perch in "dirty" water, it is much tougher. Smart anglers will switch up and select bloodworms for bait during those days as the increased scent in the water helps attract the fish.

Warmer days are in the offing next week and things are starting to shape up. Good luck and good fishing!