On May 6, Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em reported a pending new Delaware state-record tog caught by James Milano from North Babylon, N.Y. He was fishing on the No Limit with Capt. Jon Azato over ocean structure using white legger crabs for bait. The current state record stands at 22 pounds, 7.7 ounces and was caught by Capt. Brent Wiest in 2022.
Regulations
As expected, the black sea bass regulations have been approved by the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife and will be 13 inches minimum size, 15-fish daily possession limit and a season that will begin May 15 and run until Sept. 30. It will reopen Oct. 10 and continue until Dec. 31. The daily possession limit for scup will drop from 50 to 40.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has enacted an emergency rule changing the slot limit from 28-35 inches to 28-31 inches. This is due to continued poor reproduction in the Chesapeake Bay. Each state has been tasked to make this rule change as soon as possible. I believe you can consider striped bass a catch-and-release fishery.
Old Inlet tournament
The Old Inlet Spring Surf Fishing Tournament was held May 6. The weather improved just in time and the fishing was good.
Michael Deirker won the top prize in the Open Division with 35 points. There was a tie in the Women’s Division, with Anita Chandler and Samantha Moyer each scoring 18 points.
The largest fish category and the largest bluefish calcutta ended in a three-way tie. Chris Swinehart, Michael Deirker and Mark Price all caught 19-inch bluefish.
Drive-on reservations
As promised, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has created a pilot program to control the number of surf-fishing vehicles allowed on state beaches during weekends and holidays in the summer. Beginning Saturday, May 20, through Labor Day, reservations will be required on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Reservations may be made beginning Tuesday, May 16, for Saturday, May 20, and reservations may be made beginning Wednesday, May 17, for Sunday May 21. Reservations can be made at destateparks.com/surftagsales. Reservations will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. The fee is $4 per day. You may also call for reservations at 800-499-8221 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.
Off-peak surf-fishing tags do not qualify for reservations. Reservations cannot be made in person at state parks or at the DNREC Central Office in Dover.
You must print out your reservation and display it on your dashboard for enforcement officers to see. Surf-fishing permit holders can access the state parks beaches from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. without a reservation.
Marine Recreation Information Program
The results of the 2022 Marine Recreational Information Program are complete and as always, they are terrible. As an example, in 2022, charter boats operating out of Delaware caught 1,863 summer flounder. Now consider that there are at least 20 charter boats running from Lewes and Indian River. Each carries at least six anglers. If you figure this out over a season that runs from May through October, it would come out to around one flounder per person. I know boats that limit out on most trips.
Then we have black sea bass. According to the MRIP, private/rental boats caught 63,165 black sea bass, inland. That would include Indian River Bay, Rehoboth Bay and Delaware Bay. I don’t think so.
I could rattle on about these numbers, but it wouldn’t matter. The bean counters at NOAA will just say that’s the best available data and keep on killing recreational fishing. We won’t get reliable data until we get a system where each angler reports his catch directly to a central base and those numbers are calculated as the actual catch.
Fishing report
Fishing has improved with the weather. Black drum have been caught along the ocean beaches and the shoreline of Delaware Bay from Broadkill Beach up to Slaughter Beach. Boaters are catching big boomers at the Coral Beds and off Bowers Beach with clams, sand fleas and green crabs the most popular baits.
Boats running to ocean structure are finding tog. Green crabs and white leggers have been the top baits.
The surf is providing a mixed bag of blues, kings, striped bass and black drum. It is far from a blitz, but if you wait it out, you just might connect with a nice fish. Cut bunker for the blues, bloodworms or Fishbites for the kings, sand fleas for the drum and stripers.
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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.
