The Lewes City Council has decided to mark spaces in the parking lot at Roosevelt Inlet, but they will not install parking meters. This is very good news for fishermen and all others who use the lot to access the inlet and the beach. Not sure how many are city residents, but whoever they are, it is great that there are still some areas where you can go fishing or swimming without having to pay for the privilege.
Interesting fishing report
There seems to be an abundance of menhaden in Delaware Bay right now. DNREC Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Manager John Clark put out a news release saying that the commercial fishermen are finding their 7- and 8-inch mesh nets packed with these fish that should be able to swim right through. There are so many of them that they bunch up and clog the nets. The same fishermen find when they do catch a striped bass, these fish are so full of menhaden they spit them up all over the deck.
Now, before you jump in your boat, grab a cast net, head out for Delaware Bay and try to live-line a big striper, remember the water temperature is still in the 40s. While it is certainly possible that you could catch a big striper, chances are better if you wait until the water gets above 50 degrees.
Another interesting fact, to go along with the menhaden, is the presence of seals in Delaware Bay. They too are getting fat on the bunker and we can only hope they get out of here and head back north as soon as possible. Seals are not a fisherman’s friend. In talking with surf fishermen that work the rocks at Montauk, N.Y., they tell me about seals that take fish right off your line. You can imagine what they could do to the tog population along the Inner and Outer walls.
Menhaden have a history of abundance and collapse, so seeing great numbers of them now is not a great surprise. We can only hope they maintain this high population and bring in stripers, bluefish, trout and other large predators close to shore. Last year, off the New Jersey coast, they had large bluefin tuna within sight of land.
Fishing report
Right now, we have white perch in most of the tidal tributaries that feed either the Delaware or Chesapeake bays. The best catch I saw was made from a boat that was fishing in the Broadkill River, but I feel certain the land-based anglers may be able to do well from bridges or from the beach. Bloodworms or FishBites will do the job.
Yellow perch have been reported at Millington and Perryville, Md., on the same baits plus a shad dart with a small minnow. The photos I have seen show some good-sized fish taken from both locations.
Delaware ponds continue to produce bass and pickerel on various baits and lures. Jigs seem to work on both species and live minnows are also very effective. Pickerel are suckers for a slow-moving spoon that flutters and drops a bit before fluttering again. I caught a few big ones out of Broad Creek in Laurel on just such a lure.
I would expect to see some herring at the spillways in Milton and Laurel very soon. While they are fun to catch, they are illegal to possess, so it is not a good idea to target them. Better to wait for the hickory shad to show up. They are much larger and you can keep 10 of these. I tried to eat them, but they just didn’t suit my taste. Even my grandmother couldn’t make them taste right. They do, however, make great crab bait.
Weekend fishing shows
I spent the weekend in New Jersey at two fishing shows. The first was in Edison, and on Friday, it looked like they turned out all the men from the local old folks’ homes. I felt right at home.
The show was packed all day, and people, including me, were buying. I was in the Fisherman Magazine booth, and, at times, we had five people filling out subscription blanks.
This show had everything for the saltwater fisherman, from hooks to boats. My son Roger joined me around 4 p.m., and we spent over two hours walking around the show and stocking up on tackle.
On Sunday, Roger and I went to the Asbury Park Fishing Club’s show and spent another two or three hours looking and buying surf-fishing stuff. They have some very talented plug makers there whose work is more art than fishing lure. Prices begin at $50 and go up. I love their work, but I am not going to put a $50 lure in Indian River Inlet.
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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.
