Way North & Delaware Fishing Report, 9/28/2018 Update:
The unfavorable conditions continue, from the dam and from the sky. Fishing at the flats remains difficult, with a few bass and stripers to be found on topwater at daybreak but mostly just poor water quality and lots of floating debris. The best bet up north right now is fishing for catfish, which don’t seem too perturbed by the conditions. Cut herring and bunker are top baits. Most of the anglers targeting stripers continue to run south to where the waters clear up a bit, down towards Tolchester and beyond.
There are catfish biting on bloodworms and cut bait in the canal, and also in the mouth of the Elk, plus a few white perch. In some of the upper reaches of the tributaries and creeks it’s possible to find less-disastrous water conditions and catch some bass. Unfortunately, however, the best bet is to travel a bit or wait for water conditions to improve.
Way North & DE Fishing Report, 9/21/2018 Update:
The conditions have been on an unfavorable trend for the past few weeks due to the dam flow, and the forecasts for the immediate future aren’t great. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the weather is going to improve (thanks Florence). Good news is the bite is hot slightly to the south and water conditions there have made the rockfish action excellent. You’re going to want to chug those topwater poppers very early in the morning for some action on the flats, with chumming and live-lining small spot or perch later on in the day. Jigging smaller sized soft plastics has been effective for stripers as well as some other species mixed in. Still, many anglers looking to fill the cooler have been heading down to Tolchester and points south. (See the Upper Bay report, for the details).
Some of the freshwater species in the area, such as the catfish and bass, are getting picked up around deeper water near submerged debris and such. Those guys are getting caught on bull minnows mostly, but soft worms as well as nightcrawlers will be great during all times of the day. Cut baits will also take the cats, which as usual have provided the most reliable bite. Holes, channels in creek mouths, and also the Canal have all been good bets for the catfish.
Perch are scattered around everywhere; be sure to lay into them with small spinnerbaits.
Way North & DE Fishing Report, 9/14/2018 Update:
Editor’s Note: Due to Hurricane Florence, some areas of our region (particularly to the south) will be unfishable this weekend while others may be fishable but with challenges like unusual tides on top of breezy conditions. Please note that while we’ve done out best to gather quality intel, basically, as this storm causes radically changing conditions, all bets are off.
The conditions have been on an unfavorable trend for the past few weeks due to the dam activity as well as the meteorological forecasts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the weather is going to improve (thanks, Florence). Good news is the bite has been hot in other areas slightly farther to the south where the water isn't so turbid. Water conditions including falling temps have made the rockfish action excellent. You’re going to want to chug those topwater poppers very early in the morning for action, with chumming and live-lining small spot later on in the day. As always, the tide is playing a major role for the area. Jigging smaller sized soft plastics has been effective for stripers as well as some other species mixed in.
Perch have been all around, so be sure to lay into them with small spinnerbaits soon, as it seems likely the changing conditions will literally flush the Bay of most of its residents, baitfish and all.
Captain Cook of First Light Charters, in Lewes, reminds us that in Delaware waters the closure of sea bass has been changed and these fish now remain fair game through December. He also mentioned that light tackle and fly anglers have been catching stripers, blues, and also a few shad, at night.
Way North & DE Fishing Report, 9/7/2018:
The Conowingo Dam has still been pumping out the heavy discharges recently, so fishing is a bit tricky to manage, especially when combined with the late summer heat. However, live baits are crushing it out there, especially when targeting keeper rockfish using live spot. Use an 8/0 circle hook just under a four to six inch spot’s dorsal, and let her rip. Anglers have been catching some stripers on live perch, too. The outgoing tides have been producing much better results recently, especially during dusk and before the sun is even up. The Susquehanna flats are still a bit slow, but many of the mouths of the channels and tributaries in the north are doing well with both largemouth and stripers.
in areas with clear water, topwater has also been doing great recently, with lures such as the Chug Norris and Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows. Again, morning is really putting on the numbers but the bite dies out quickly as the temperature gets into the high 80’s. Spot aren’t quite up this far, so you’ll need to venture a bit more southerly to reach those guys (the mouth of the Chester has been a hotspot for them). Fall is quickly approaching and (hopefully) the changing conditions could make for more consistent results around the board.