# If everyone shows up...



## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

You don't want to go crazy and fish the bay or Matapeake with all those boaters on the loose on opening day - Do you? Join us Saturday the 19th for our journey to Delaware's 3R's and Indian River Inlet! 

Watch out stripers and blackfish (or TOG if you prefer)!


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## Duke of Fluke (May 22, 2002)

I prefer blackfish myself, but who would know what I am talking about? LOL. I can't wait. I just hope the tog are in by then.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Just to get you guys pumped up! 

Delaware DNR Report for April 14th:

"OCEAN – While heavy winds, strong rains and high seas kept most of the boats in the marina, and made it nearly impossible for even the shore fishermen to get a bait in the water, the action should be on again by this weekend. Stripers were reported in both the surf and along the jetties at Indian River Inlet before the stormy weather moved through and should be back on a feed by the weekend, if not earlier. Tog fishing is also picking up for anglers soaking green crabs and frozen fleas in the jetty rocks along the north and south shores of the inlet. Flounder reports also have been good – especially for this early in the season – in the inlet, with fishermen scoring on legal fish around the entrance to the South Shore Marina, the Burtons Island Slough, the VFW hole and back in Masseys Ditch." 

I'm ready to ROCK!


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!
In the north corner we have SandCrab, a militant fisherman with a large surf cart. He is toting his 8 ft baitcaster armed with bucktails. His partner today will be Rockfish--a feisty beast with a striped mask.

In the south corner we have the Duke of Fluke, a sort of mysterious man around these parts--yet to be seen in action by the announcer. He no doubt has an arsenal of heavy artillery--probably some stiff baitcaster set ups designed to yank em right out of the rocks. His partner today will be the blackfish--also known as tog. He is adept at hiding in the rocks and then stealing the bait.
And they're off! In a strange turn of events they have turned against their partners. Sandcrab just nailed his 34" partner--Rockfish with a 1 ounce bucktail tipped with a 4" white worm and a 1/4 ounce trailer. Ouch. That hurt. Duke of Fluke had to work slowly and methodically to coax tog out of the rocks. Just as tog trusted DoF enough to try the green crab, DoF tossed him out of the water and into a 5 gallon pail filled with ice. Brutal. 
In an even stranger twist of events, DoF is burning his partner to death. Now he is eating him. I've never seen such pleasure on a man's face.
DoF and Sandcrab are finally meeting in the middle of the jetty. What's that? They are shaking hands. They are going home.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Husky - You should be an announcer!  

Hope you didn't ruin my bucktail setup taking it out of Rockfish!


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Looking into getting some fresh herring or bunker. I got a bunker source - hopefully, they will have fresh when I get there tomorrow.


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## Billr (May 26, 2002)

gentlemen. i don't like this, but i must let you know. there is a strong east wind out there today[thursday]. small craft warnings are up, and beach crossings are closed. tomorrow, more of the same. possibly walk ons at beach, but call tomorrow between[8-4:30]. the inlet should be okay. the # to call is 302-227-2800 that is the park office. if there is anything i can help with just post here.


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

Billr,

Are there stores like 7-11 or gas stations that stay open all night and sell bait around IRI or Cape Henlopen?


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

BillR,
Any idea if it'll be cleared up on Saturday?


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

yuck, I'm seeing 14 mph winds with gusts up to 19 mph and temps in the low 50s.

That's pretty windy ain't it?


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

If surf is bad how about fishing on the pier? Cape Henlopen...


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

After seeing the forcast I don't feel so bad about being on call this weekend. Looks like if there's any fishing to be done, IRI is the place though it doesn't look to promising for tog with the low water temps. I think I'll fish Little Falls in Parkton tomorrow morning for rainbow trout. I always get my limit there and it's easy fishing.

Catman.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Catman,

One of these days I have to do some ultralight fishing for trout with you. How far from Baltimore is the falls?


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## Billr (May 26, 2002)

jangwuah. there are a couple gasstatiopns open. both on rte 1 &24. i don't know about bait. depends on when you expect to get here. what kind of bait do you want. i'll see what i can do. i don't think the surf will[crossings] will be open. possibly walk ons. the inlet should be ok, but will get crowded. same at cape, but beaches may be better. the phone at cape is 302-645-8983.


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## Speegs (Aug 28, 2000)

Old Inlet Bait and Tackle will be open at 6 AM on Saturday for all of you guys venturing down to IRI on Saturday.... For those of you coming from up North, there are a few bait and tackle shops once you hit Lewes on DE Rte. 1. R & R Sports Center in Lewes should be open early as well b/c the freshwater trout season has started in Delaware already and there are quite a few freshwater areas along Rte. 1.... Good luck to all of you guys the Striper action has been incredible at IRI the past few days. My advice is if you have a large group coming, get there early b/c the locals and regulars have been out in full force, especially on the incoming tide, so spots will be hard to come by. Look for a 17' Pro Line with a red decal.... I'll be out there with you guys about 100 yards out from you.


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

Sandcrab...Little Falls is about 35 minutes from my house which is next to Johns Hopkins University. I'd be delighted to have you fish with me. Little Falls is sort of secluded compared with the rest of the trout streams in the area. Not a lot of traffic there. If you like ultralight you have to wade the Daniels area of the Patapsco River for smallmouth with me. I've been fishing it for over 40 yrs. and know some real sweet spots. I usually strat fishing it around mid June. Nothing fancy, just a pair of shorts and an old pair of tennis shoes. Looking forward to it.   

Catman.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Catman,

Sounds like a plan - nothing finer than catching smallies in a stream on 2 lb test! Keep me in the loop and let me know after June. That's when I move into my new house and I know I'll be busy as heck.

Do you fish any of the reservoirs up around you? I have a 14' jonboat and a 55 lb thrust saltwater trolling motor that I use to fish Tridelphia (closed now to all). Maybe I could meet you on the reservoir and we could do some freshwater fishing for LMB, pickeral, or musky.


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

Snadcrab...Some of the smallied will definitely test your skills with 2# line. I fish Liberty for fresh water strippers, largemouth, and walleye. The stripper spring migration is just about done but fall fishing can be outstanding. I used to keep a boat at Liberty and would hit it after work just about everyday. Lots of good structure to fish. We'll do it. BTW, where's the new house going to be?

Catman.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

I can always use my spare spool with 4 lb test line for smallies.

New house in Bowie. After I get settled in, I should be back into the fishing groove.


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings All!

Just read the latest forecast for Saturay, and reluctantly decided to stay home. With tidal surges, E-NE winds @20-25 mph, and the high temp forecasted below 60 degrees (without the wind chill), that three hour drive sounds very unappetizing...

Wishing all who do show up a great day of striper fishing (the worse the weather, the better the fishing is the saying I always heard.) All that cold seawater dumping in will probably put the kabosh on any other species. Remember to take plenty of pics and post reports. I'll have to wait until May 04 (coincedentally my oldest son's birthday) to sample IRI's bounty. At least I know the tog will be in by then, with a possibility of weakies and blues. Good luck to all!!


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Jake the man,

Husky and I have changed our plans to just fishing IRI for the elusive cow bass. The surf is just going to be too unbearable to fish. We plan on getting to the inlet around 6 AM and fishing till after the high tide.

Hope to meet you another time!


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings catman!

Shorts and sneakers is the ONLY way to fish for smallmouth! Anything else is just plain old bass fishing...


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings Sandcrab!

If I had two good knees, I'd probably join you. The conditions will certainly be right for big stripers... nothing else would even THINK of feeding under those circumstances! If all else fails, try a 2 oz bucktail with a chunk of mackeral or fresh bunker... sometimes you just have to wave some meat under their noses!


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## catman (May 28, 2001)

Jake...I know what you mean by the knees. Even wearing Korkers, I dread the thought of walking out on those jetty bolders. I've got 100 yr. old knees trying to carry around a 59 yr. old body. I've been putting it off but I think a knee replacement is in order at the end of the fishing season. I'm retiring at 62 so I'll be giving the old body a good tune-up at the companies expense.

Catman.


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

The knee stories, huh.
As a young almost 28 year old, I'd like you to know that I have a hole in the cartilage of my knee. While it means no weight lifting with that leg, it does have some benefits. I tend to know when its about to snow. The pain is unmistakeable. It gets numb when I drive for long periods of time (don't have to worry about shaking my leg or anything).


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## Speegs (Aug 28, 2000)

Just saw the latest weather forecast for tomorrow. This is as of 2PM Friday: 

Saturday: Partly to mostly cloudy. High 60F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph becoming 5 to 12 mph by afternoon.

Tides:

Indian River Inlet Bridge 

10:13 AM - High 
3:31 PM - Low 

Indian River Inlet Coast Guard Station 

11:16 AM - High
4:18 PM - Low 

Hope it helps you guys out.... Seems like a long drive down to IRI from Annapolis just for a couple of hours of fishing.... You may want to reconsider and check out the back area of North Side Marina and set up from the rocks around there. They are pulling some big flounder out of that area all the way down to Burton's Island. It's easily accessible from the Inlet. The average size on the Flounder has been between 4 and 9 pounds. I'm going to fish the IRI tonight starting around 6 or 7 PM, so hopefully I'll have an update for you guys about those big stripers, or "cow bass" as Sandcrab calls them....


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

What to target the flounder with?


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

Husky, surf gear just in case????


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

It looks like the afternoon will be calming down a bit. We might be able to do the surf in the afternoon. Sandcrab had said there was a flood warning for the coastal area. Plus, I don't think the coast would be holding up well from the weather. I'm no surf expert, but the little I have read seems to indicate it wouldn't be a good time for the surf. Can anyone else add some knowledge as to if fishing the shore after a big storm like this would be productive or not?


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

speegs (or anyone else),
could you tell me how to get there from IRI beachfront?


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

Husky,

Read this article... seems like the conditions are right for big striper from the surf...
http://www.stripersurf.com/clams.html 

-John


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## HuskyMD (May 19, 2000)

hmm...I'm game for anything. 
It's worth a try. If we do end up surf fishing in the afternoon, you may have to drive your car so we can fit all the gear. It will depend on how big SandCrabs surf cart is.
I'm off to a meeting--see you tomorrow morning 4 AM.


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

I can drive my car... Not a problem.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Husky,

So the plan now is to fish IRI in the AM and fish the DE surf in the afternoon?  I did not get a lot of bait because we were fishing at SPSP and we did not need squid, cut bait, etc. I could have stopped and gotten fresh bunker if we'd plan on fishing the surf. What's up? Please call me at home.


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## Billr (May 26, 2002)

it looks ok for tomorrow, but i don't think the surf is going to be too good. in fact this morning there isn't too much left. the crossings are still closed. i was in old inlet tackle shop this morning and they will open tomorrow at 7 am as usual.if you come in on 404 to georgetown, come to route 1 via rte 9 as you go south on 1 R &R tackle is a few hundred yards. they are open at 6 am. about two miles south at 1 & 24 you will see two gas stations open, on the northbound side it's a wawa store. you can get coffee and sandwiches there. the water at the inlet looked decent this am. should be good sat. am. all you have to do is get the rock to see things your way. that ain't easy. some not many tog being taken. flounder only the boats are getting them. hope this helps. i'll be there sometime in the morning but i gotts get the grass cut, but my mowere is getting balky.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

Bill,

Always nice to have a local guy check things out before us out of towners come into town. 

Thanks for the insight.


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## DOVERPOWER (Jun 26, 2000)

You guys have talked me into it,I will give my woodland beach honey-hole a rest.I will be fishing either the south jetty or behind the coast guard station.Dont be a stranger.


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