IRI......
Everyone is right about IRI...
It's both a great fishing spot where lots of nice fish are caught and also a horribly overrated location where a lot of people who drive a long way can be really disappointed.
There is a degree of tackle shop hype about IRI. The key issues are (and if you read, say, The Fisherman carefully,you'll see) is that 1) sometimes catches by boaters in the inlet and from shore aren't differentiated 2) 95% of the really nice fish are caught by 5% of the fishermen (particularly Stripers) who LITERALLY FISH THERE ALMOST EVERY NIGHT. It's the same names over and over and over and over again. These people know the tides there by heart, they're out there thick and thin, they're outfitted with corkers and often go out to the end of the jetties, etc.
The currents are unbelievably strong and the fishing there is very timing related.
A recipe for complete dissapointment is someone who is a somewhat novice fisherman used to just fishing a few easy access piers, reading about IRI and then driving down some summer weekend for the first time. They're going to lose insane amounts of tackle in the rocks, get tangled constantly, and go home grumbling.
Locations can be VERY erratic; the FIRST time I fished the bank of the Broadkill River north of Lewes three years ago, in ONE hour I caught 6 trout between 7 and 8 lbs. and 2 more between 5 and 6 lbs. And I was there by myself.
I've never done as well since and do worse every time I go; got skunked there a few weeks ago
