Delaware Regional Fishing Report

Ocean

Good news from the Indian River Inlet. ... Keeper rockfish are showing up! Joe Isaacs netted two keepers weighing at 20 pounds, 8 ounces and a 15-pounder at the Inlet. Matt Mundok and Matt Basie had a good day at the Indian River landing a 32-pound, 8-ounce rockfish. Ray Ajalli and Cy Brinn caught two striped bass measuring 37 and 35 inches while trolling a white mojo with a chartreuse swim shad in front of the Henlopen Hotel in Rehoboth Beach. J.P. Turansky, Billy Low, Jay Huss and Brad Pecoraro also trolled off Rehoboth Beach and netted rockfish in the 36-pound range using mojos. Surf fishing, however, has been anything but exciting. Most anglers have been connecting with skates and dogfish on various baits. Tog fishing at Site 11 has been decent. Danny Hitchens fished the reef with green crab and caught a 10-pound, 1-ounce blackfish. Ernie Stone also fished Site 11 and brought home a 9-pound, 3-ounce tog.

Delaware Bay

Could it be? Ben Smith’s state record for rockfish set in 2012 with a 52-pound behemoth caught in the surf could be going down. That’s because Paul Santa Barbara landed a 62-pound monster striper while trolling a 32-ounce mojo near the Overfalls. The fish was weighed in at Hook’em & Cook’em and measured 50 inches in length with a 30-inch girth and is a pending state record. The fish hit just when Paul stepped back to light a smoke and took approximately 20 minutes to pull in. Rockfish are beginning to be caught near the mouth of the bay, but there are keepers in the northern end as well. Brandon Poffenberger and Jason Baker fished Collins Beach with frozen bunker and checked in two keeper striper with Patty at Captain Bones measuring 29 and 28 inches in length. They also caught a few throwbacks at 26 inches.

Rivers

Keeper rockfish are beginning to show up on fishing lines for anglers heading to the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. Drifting eels has been the most effective. White perch and catfish are the main game of the Delaware River at Battery Park. Bloodworms and minnows have been doing the trick for the white perch, and bunker have been attracting channel catfish. There are still plenty of trout in White Clay Creek. Minnows and earthworms have been the best baits. I haven’t seen any anglers in the fly stream likely indicating that the trout there have been untouched.

Ponds

Multiple citations were brought into Captain Bones Bait & Tackle this week. Richard Fairweather fished Garrisons Lake using a jig and minnow combination. He managed to catch a 5-pound, 2-ounce largemouth and a 1-pound, 8-ounce crappie. Dave Thomas also fished Garrisons Lake and hooked a 2-pound crappie on a jig-minnow combo. Mike and Barb Trexler got in on the crappie action at Horseys Pond. They were using minnow-jig combinations as well. Ed Raymond had luck fishing Wyoming Pond with stick baits. He pulled in a nice 5-pound largemouth.

Email your fishing info and fishing photos to jtaviano@delawareonline.com or tweet @JeffreyTaviano.