Finally, a good-weather Saturday and anglers were able to get out and enjoy some early spring success. Sunday was another story, but at least we had one good day over the weekend.

Tog provided the best action with three-fish limits caught in the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Head, charter and private boats all reported success and a few keepers were caught from the rocks at Indian River Inlet. We stopped by Lewes Harbour Marina on Saturday afternoon to watch Joe clean some very nice tog with wheelbarrow and buckets full of fish waiting their turn. Tog season will close on May 10, so get out there and catch your share before they become off limits.

We fished the surf on Saturday from the North Beach near Conquest Road and caught nothing. Friends working closer to the inlet had small blues on cut mullet. The water was dirty on the last of the incoming to halfway through the outgoing, but cleaned up a bit when the wind shifted from southeast to northeast.

On Tuesday, I spoke with a friend on Long Island, N. Y. and he said they were covered up with bluefish. Most in the three to seven-pound range with some smaller and some larger. The blues were chasing bunker out of the water along the beach and pushing bait into the back bays. The water temperature was in the low fifties while ours was in the upper fifties. We can only hope this action will find its way south sometime this spring.

Flounder fishing has been hit or miss. Big fish have been reported out of Indian River and Rehoboth bays with a few keepers taken out of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. Friends I spoke with said the number of fish caught has been high while the number of keepers remains very low.

Capt. Mike Rivera ran an offshore bottom trip on Saturday catching good numbers of big sea bass along with a few cod and pollock. He also had a hagfish on board and this, I believe, is a first for Delaware. He was working wrecks along the 50-Fathom Line.

Catching keeper rockfish out of Indian River Inlet has been slow. The best bite over the weekend was in the pre-dawn hours when black lures worked best. I have heard nothing so far this spring about live herring action here as this technique usually accounts for some nice rock during the spring. Perhaps the 10-fish limit on herring has curtailed some of this activity.

The cold and windy weather since Saturday has not improved fishing and the weekend is not looking too good either. We need a nice string of calm and warm days to kick start the action and they will arrive sooner or later.

BAD NEWS - The Cape Henlopen State Park Pier is closed until further notice due to structure concerns. We had been told by park officials at a recent DMS meeting that the pilings were under inspection and a decision on the safety of the structure would be made by late April. The decision is in and the pier is closed.

As I understand the situation, repairs will be made and portions of the pier may be open sometime this year. The replacement cost for the pier is $16,000,000 and that is not going to happen anytime soon. I am sure the state will look at building a smaller pier at some time in the future, but for now one of the most popular fishing sites in the state is closed.

DELAWARE FISHERMAN’S ALLIANCE - On Monday, April 28, a group of concerned fishermen from Delaware met in Millville to form the Delaware Fisherman’s Alliance to speak for the plight of the recreational fisherman and the industry he supports. As we know, this group is constantly under attack from various camps including so-called environmentalists who want nothing more than to see us off the beaches and the water.

The recent lawsuit in North Carolina pitting the National Park Service against the Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife that would close the beaches to surf-fishing vehicles along with the current deplorable state of affairs with summer flounder management are two good examples of why recreational fishermen need to stand up and be counted.

To find out more about the organization stop by or call Butch or Clark at Old Inlet Bait and Tackle at 227-7974.

FISHING FLEA MARKET AND OPEN HOUSE - Cedar Creek Outdoorsman on Route 1 just north of Milford will hold a fishing flea market and open house on Saturday. Expect to find great bargains at the flea market and in the shop as well as on Parker boats in the yard. See you there.