I had a few folks respond to last week’s article on boating safety.
Bruce White was kind enough to send me information on the requirement that everyone born after Jan. 1, 1978, has to have passed an approved boating education course before operating a boat. That means if you are 44 or younger, you have to comply with that rule.
If you are unable to get to a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary class or prefer online instruction, the Delaware online course (Boat-ed.com) is a good alternative. Bruce suggests this course is also good for a review because it is free unless you need to take the test and receive a certificate.
Then I saw several posts from anglers who were in a flounder tournament last weekend. Apparently, there were quite a few uneducated and very rude captains on the water. Running at full speed through the fleet was one complaint I heard more than once, and just a general disregard for everyone on the water seemed to be the theme for the weekend.
Then, just to prove great minds think alike, my friend Capt. Mark Sampson, who writes a weekly column called Chum Lines in the Coastal Fisherman, also chose boating safety as his subject last week.
He pointed out that in crowded conditions, with boats of every size from 73-foot sports fishermen to 6-foot personal watercraft, there are rules of the road that apply to all vessels, no matter their size. His example is the Ocean City Inlet, and that can be a real zoo as boats run in and out, then head for the Route 50 Bridge, Sunset Marina, Sinepuxent Bay and the commercial docks.
Who should give way to whom is all spelled out in the rules of the road, but there is little chance to read that when a big commercial boat is coming at your 16-foot tin boat from the port side in a narrow channel! You had better remember the rules really quick. In that case, the 16-foot tin boat has to yield to the large commercial boat, because the larger vessel is restricted in its ability to maneuver due to the narrow channel.
Summer surf
Surf fishing has been pretty good this summer. Last year I didn’t catch anything from the beach and only went once or twice. This year I have caught kings and spot, and I plan to keep going now that pompano have showed up. The first pompano was caught on Saturday on a worm from 3R’s Road and measured 13 inches. Josh Willey caught the second from Fenwick Island; that fish measured 16.5 inches and hit a sand flea.
Two friends of mine fished Delaware Seashore State Park over the weekend and caught good numbers of kings plus a couple of bluefish. Both are excellent surf casters and can send their rigs halfway to the Azores. This reinforces my findings that the fish are out well past the breakers.
If you are serious about fishing the surf, plan to be there before sunrise and get off around 10 a.m. You can also fish from around 4 p.m. until dark.
Fishing report
We begin with two big fish.
The first is a pending Delaware state record cobia. Scott Brooks caught the 90-pound cobia close to Bethany Beach on a Captain Mitchell bucktail with a white worm. He weighed it in at Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em.
Jesse Norman was fishing on the On a Rampage with Capt. David Hopkins when he hooked a 10.4-pound flounder. This true doormat was 30 inches long with a 23-inch girth. It is the largest flounder I have heard of this year, and was also checked in at Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em.
Burt at Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em described the fishing as decent, and I agree. If you go out in the bay or ocean with reasonable conditions and work at fishing, you will catch something.
Flounder are available from the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal, the Back Bays, the Old Grounds and the reef sites in Delaware Bay, but there are just not as many as you would hope for. Boat limits are rare, and charters make up the difference with triggerfish and sea bass. In the bay it’s croaker and spot.
Tuna have moved inshore and have been caught on the chunk at the Hambone and the Hot Dog. This is a chance for small boats to get in on the action and catch some really big fish.
Speaking of really big fish, bigeye tuna are in the canyons. If you want a fish to test your endurance, I can think of nothing better. And they are some of the best eating of all the tunas.
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Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.
