To no one’s great surprise, the secretary of agriculture has opened bids on parcels of the Redden State Forest that will allow hunting clubs to secure these public lands for their personal use. I wrote about this a few months back, and when I tried to let my state representative and senator as well as the state agriculture department know I thought this was a serious mistake, I didn’t get a warm response.
My representative and senator both said they had no power to stop this since the secretary of agriculture didn’t need permission from the Legislature to proceed. The office of the secretary said no public hearings had to be held and the secretary had the sole power to do what he thought was best for the public good.
As a lifelong Delawarean with deep roots in Sussex County, this is what I think went down. The farmers and the hunting clubs in Sussex County got the governor’s ear and convinced him to allow this bidding to take place with the intent to cut the deer population to limit the damage to farm crops. Anyone who hunts knows there are numerous ways to deplete the deer population without giving private clubs unlimited access to public land. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe the governor is what anyone would call an avid or even occasional hunter, so when people who are experts in hunting and farming asked for this, it was easy to sell the idea.
I have no problem with farmers who claim crop damage on their farms caused by deer. My problem is allowing private clubs to lease public land. I realize they aren’t making more land, so if clubs want to expand their property they will either have to pay a lot of money for a private lease or convince the governor to give them private access to public land.
My other fear is this will not be the end of the problem. Once the precedent is set, there will be other hunting clubs that will want a seat on the gravy train. How can the governor or secretary of agriculture say no when they have already set the precedent?
Fishing report
With the Fourth of July holiday upon us, I expect many people will want to go fishing. Right now, the weather looks hot and steamy, perfect for fishing. The marine forecast for Saturday and Sunday calls for west to southwest winds of five knots and seas less than 2 feet. One word of caution: in the summer, the wind often picks up out of the southeast in the afternoon as the temperature difference between the water and the land increases. This can make for a bumpy ride home.
Right now, the offshore fishing is about as good as it gets. The tuna bite is red-hot with bluefin, yellowfin and bigeyes available in the canyons. Some bluefins have been caught on the inshore lumps, but most of the action is in the deep.
A run offshore is not cheap. Gas is $3.50 a gallon at the marina, plus there is ice and bait to pay for. Charters start at $1,000 and go up depending on the size of the boat. If you, like me, don’t have that much money, it’s the inshore grounds for us.
Unfortunately, the inshore grounds are not exactly covered up with fish. This is not to say there are no fish, just not as many as we would like.
Believe it or not, but Delaware Bay is one of the better locations right now. All the reef sites hold fish, and while the flounder are most likely to be too short to keep, if you keep at it, you should be able to cull out a few to take home.
In addition to the flounder, there are kings and trout on the same reef sites. While the bag limit for trout is one per day over 13 inches, recent reports from boats that fish here on a regular basis indicate more limits have been caught than at any time in the last few years.
The head boats out of Bowers Beach and Lewes have been hitting the bay every day, and the cost is much more reasonable than going offshore.
The beach will be packed with vehicles, so fishing will be difficult. Not a bad thing, since surf fishing is pretty bad. The same is true for Indian River Inlet, Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay.
Flounder and sea bass have come in from the ocean, but it is at best a slow pick. The Del-Jersey-Land Reef and wrecks in 100 to 150 feet have been the best bets for these fish.
It could be a bit crazy out there, so please wear your PFD.
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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.
