DELAWARE BAY The storm did a lot of damage to the fishing in the bay. As of Thursday nothing of note had been caught since the preceding Tuesday. No tautog, no rockfish, nothing.
That’s the bad news; the good news is the water temperature is still in the mid-50s and the weather remains mild. I do believe we will get back to the great fishing we had before the storm once the water has a chance to settle down. Exactly when that will be is anyone’s guess, but mine is sometime early next week.
INSHORE OCEAN No one has fished out here for more than a week. Even if the fish were snapping, it would still be difficult to access them due to continued small craft warnings. Once again I believe we will get back to good fishing once the water has a chance to settle down.
INDIAN RIVER INLET I fished here on Thursday with Harry Aiken on his boat. We were on the water by 6 a.m. and left around 10 that morning. During that time Harry caught three short rock on a white bucktail and a white worm. I had a couple of hits on a variety of lures, but was unable to get a hook into anything. Another boat caught six or seven rock fishing in the same location with white bucktails and white worms.
The water was very dirty and we had some problems with weeds on the lures. The dredge working by the Coast Guard Station was no problem for us as we drifted along the rip from the Green Can to the entrance of Southshore Marina.
The crowd was small, but we still had a close encounter with a boat trolling along the rip. He came so close to our bow that I could have easily stepped aboard. When I voiced concern at his course, he said we were fishing on the "eel side" of the rip. Harry and I have a combined 120 years of fishing experience at Indian River Inlet, and neither of us was aware there was an "eel side" or any other side for that matter. By the way, he was the only one trolling; everyone else was drifting and casting.
SURF The beach is in pretty bad shape after the storm. As of Thursday, Herring Point had reopened, but all other access points were closed. I have no idea when we will be able to fish again or if anything will come to the beach when it does reopen.
FRESHWATER The storm did nothing to improve the state of fishing in the ponds or tidal creeks. Before the blow crappie and bass were caught from the ponds with live shiners or small minnows the top baits.
The tidal creeks produced some white perch and catfish on bloodworms. The White Clay creek still holds a few trout.
The Nanticoke River and Broad Creek have given up bass and crappie as well. Once again live bait has been the best bet.
WINTER TOG FISHING Due to the ban on sea bass, tog will have to be the primary target for late fall and winter bottom fishing. Tog will be active so long as the water temperature remains above the mid-30s. After that, they lay down on the bottom or in a crevice and go into a sort of hibernation.
My problem has always been anchoring on top of tog-holding structure. First of all I hate to anchor my boat mainly because I don’t do it very well. Second, unless you have a crew that is experienced in anchoring and can let the anchor down exactly when the captain says; it will be a long day. This is the reason I do my tog fishing from a head or charter boat.
Once on the structure it is critical to keep your line at a 90-degree angle to the water. Constantly lift the sinker a few inches up off the bottom to prevent it from falling into a hole and becoming part of the structure. This also allows you to detect the slightest bite and set the hook before the bait is gone.
Once a tog is hooked it will head back to the wreck or reef and try to hide. You must prevent this. Use a stiff rod, 60-pound braid and a conventional reel with the drag tightened down. As soon as the tog is hooked begin to lift the rod and crank in as much line as you can to get the fish away from the structure. A big tog will start pulling back after you have made a few cranks. Hold on and do not give up drag. This is between you and the fish; may the best one win.
After you have made a stand and the tog once more begins to move to the surface, don’t be surprised if he makes a few more runs for the bottom. These become easier to control and you should soon have you prize in the cooler.
Just about any type of crab will tempt a tog. I have had excellent success using Gulp! Crab and Shrimp. The good thing about Gulp! is the tog has considerable difficulty removing it from the hook..
