Woo-hoo we’ve got fish! There are all kinds of fish now: black drum, striped bass, flounder and even gator bluefish are rumored to be around. That is hard to tell since people are posting pics from last year to get a little rise out of others on the internet. I’m going to go explore and see what I can fish up. We do have a lot of places to go catching now and that is good. Everyone can spread out and have some fun.

Shad are getting thicker in the Delaware River up north. The shad anglers are loving life. The shad researchers at the Brandywine River Restoration Trust are not. Their grant was frozen for a year-to-year population study. Sadly we are going to see serious issues in our fishery due to cuts like this. The BRRT is asking the public, recreational anglers, to send in anecdotal reports on shad migrations focusing on the Brandywine and the Christina watershed. Contact the BRRT for more information.

The environment is about to take a big hit, so pay attention. With deregulation coming to many industries, expect consumption advisories to be more of an issue, if we are even told of these issues anymore. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know most of Delaware waters are polluted to the point you shouldn’t eat anything you catch. That information is literally on DNREC’s website. This is why I catch and release. I’m not down with eating toxic, poisoned fish. Increasing industry and deregulating will make our waters much worse.

Tautog are being caught at the inlets on green crabs or sand fleas. Digging up fleas is easy now. They are just on the water line, shallow in the sand if you do have to dig.

Migratory striped bass are along Assateague and Delaware waterways. The Delaware River up north is still seeing great action on bunker chunks or bloodworms. Quick note about bloodworms: The algae (seaweed) they are packed in can host a lot of invasive critters you can’t see, some in larval stages. Make sure to dispose of the bag and algae in a trash container, not out in the waterways.

Black drum are south and north of us so that action will be here usually until about mid-June. There’s plenty of time to catch one from the surf or a boat. They will soon congregate on the coral beds. The Delaware Bay beaches are the best action. Ocean beaches have seen a few drum caught but the bay beaches produce the most. Use clam, crab or sand fleas for drum bait.

White perch are still fun with plenty of short striped bass in the mix. Crappie action has been good for anglers targeting them. Snakeheads are hitting. The waters are waking up fast as the outside air temps smack 80 degrees. This weekend, temperatures drop a tad after the rain Friday into Saturday. Fish don’t care, they are already wet. That overcast weather is perfect for striped bass action. If you are looking for a striped bass alternative bait try green crabs.

Fishbites has some new formulas coming out and one of them is mullet. I’m looking forward to seeing how that does around Delmarva. I was taught to fish with artificial lures. There’s no reason to kill a small creature (bait) to catch another creature only to release it. Fishbites allows me to use bait without harming a critter. That might sound dumb to some people, but every little bit of effort helps when it comes to conservation.

Trout are still being caught in the stocked areas of Delaware and Maryland.
Crabbing will get better as the water warms up. In many back bay shallow areas of the inland bays, crabs are being caught. I usually wait for at least the second molting, so the winter mud is all gone. Blue crabs make great bait for drum and striped bass. Learn to cut them up and use the crab knuckles for bait or use half a crab. Fish don’t clean their crabs before they eat them.
Have a great weekend.