Delaware Bay Bass Fishing Report

[steve1]

DELAWARE BAY – With water temperatures still too cold for the rockfish run to get underway, bay anglers have been warming up on white perch. Bloodworms are the top producer, but it's tough to find a tackle shop that stocks them before the stripers move into the bay. If you can't find bloodworms, the second choice is grass shrimp which can be dip netted from most of the tidal creeks and around dock pilings and bulkheads. Some of the top locations for the perch over the past few weeks have been the shoreline at Broadkill Beach, Bowers Beach, Port Mahon and Woodland Beach. Anglers fishing at Woodland have been watching progress on the new fishing pier. The project is expected to be ready for anglers by the time the rockfish run gets underway in April.

PONDS – Panfishing action has been red hot in the public millponds for the past few weeks, with reports of yellow perch, white perch and crappie coming from ponds up and down the state. Live minnows have been the top bait for the perch and crappie. Chain pickerel also are providing quality fishing in the ponds, with catch reports from First State tackle shops including several weigh-ins over the five-pound mark. The pickerel are hitting live minnows, shiners and crankbaits. Bass fishing has been slow, with mostly one- to two-pound fish being caught on live shiners fished tight to submerged structure, with the exception of Trap Pond State Park where several bass reaching the 6 and 7 pound marks, have been taken in the upper end on live shiners.

Pond fishermen looking for something a little different will have the opportunity to score on a few rainbow trout at Block House Pond in Lewes and Tidbury Pond in Dover. Both of the ponds will be stocked with trout averaging 11 inches over the next few weeks. Also scheduled for stocking will be a number of two-pound-plus rainbows and browns. In addition to their fishing licenses, anglers aged 12 and over are required to have a trout stamp to fish the ponds during the early trout season.

TIDAL Rivers – White perch are being caught along the shores of the Delaware River, C&D Canal, Christiana River and the smaller tidal rivers and creeks below the canal. With bloodworms just about impossible to find, most fishermen are using grass shrimp or night crawlers.

NON-TIDAL STREAMS – While there haven't been many fishermen trying their luck in the upstate streams, there have been a few reports of success on smallmouth bass in the Brandywine and trout in White Clay Creek and Beaver Run. The smallmouth are reported to be hitting jigs baited with small shiners or minnows. Trout fishermen are concentrating their efforts in the deeper holes, where they're finding trout willing to hit jumbo mealworms or night crawlers.
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