THE EIGHTS, DE - The Fisherman
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THE EIGHTS, DE

The Eights (Lat 38 50.000 Lon 75.02.050) are located at the mouth of Delaware Bay, well inside the Line of Demarcation making the area a perfect spot for striped bass fishing. There are a series of rips here that will hold stripers on every stage of the tide. The area is marked by three red buoys numbered 8, 8A and 8B, hence the name. The depth runs from 92 to 25 feet and the bottom is a series of undulations that create the rips.

Drifting with live eels is the most popular technique for catching striped bass in the area. Nothing fancy, just an eel impaled on a circle hook tied to three feet of 50-pound leader on a fish-finder rig and dropped to the bottom. Experienced anglers may choose to hold the rod and know when to engage the reel to set the hook. Those with less experience should put the rod in a holder and let the striper hook itself.
Trolling with Stretch 25 or 30 plugs can be very effective. I tie mine to six feet of 50-pound High Seas mono line and drop back about 50 feet behind the boat. Keep the boat speed slow, no more than three knots, for best results.

When the current is running hard, troll along the rips and allow the current to carry the plug into the rip. Some anglers will hold the boat in position up current from the rip and drop the plug back to waiting fish. Be very careful with this technique as most boats will be trolling across your position and accidents may occur.

I like to jig bucktails or metal lures while drifting eels. The live eel is usually the most productive, but sometimes I will catch a striper on the jig while the eel is untouched.

The Eights are easily accessed from the boat ramp in Lewes. It is a short run to this location from Roosevelt Inlet and over half the trip is in water protected by the Inner and Outer walls.

Stripers are present during the spring and fall with fishing lasting well into the winter if the weather remains mild. These seasons are well known for nasty weather and the rips will build to dangerous levels when the wind is strong against the current.