Trout season is only a week away

As I sit here watching snowflakes drift by my window, it seems impossible that Delaware’s trout season will open in a little over a week. The two downstate ponds, Newton near Greenwood and Tidbury in Dover, will be stocked with rainbow trout, and both locations are currently closed to all fishing.

At 7 a.m., Saturday, March 2, anglers will line the edge of these ponds, and the trout will be bombarded with all sorts of baits and lures. It is not so much a fishing event as it is a social gathering. And that’s just fine. Families can get outside and enjoy themselves while putting together the makings of a good dinner. 

This is the perfect event to introduce young folks to the joy of fishing so long as the weather is not miserable. Right now, the long-range forecast calls for a low in the morning of 30 degrees and a high of 47 with a 10- to 20-knot northwest wind. That’s not too bad for the second day of March.

You don’t need any fancy tackle to tackle these trout. A 6-foot light spinning outfit with 10-pound mono line will do just fine. Some anglers do well with earthworms while others go with whole-kernel yellow corn (resembles trout pellets used in the hatchery), and still others use spinners and even flies. Take a little of everything, and if the guy next to you is catching and you’re not, switch to what he’s using.

You will need a general fishing license and a trout stamp. Young and old people may be exempt. Check with your local license agent or online.

More on striped bass

Last week, we discussed the striped bass situation, and since then, I received additional information from the Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland. David Sikorski is the executive director, and he prepared a press release after attending the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meeting in Virginia. In it, he shared a graph showing the removal of striped bass from the coastwide population as prepared by the ASMFC.

The graph begins in 1982, when the striped bass stock was at its lowest, and goes until 2017, which is the last year these figures are available. In 2017, the recreational release mortality was 48 percent of the total removal. The fish we took home represented 42 percent of the total mortality. The commercial harvest was only 8 percent, and their dead discards represented only 2 percent of the total removal.

I think this calls for some serious consideration of the practice of catch-and-release fishing on striped bass. There have been studies showing that release mortality can be as low as less than 1 percent or as high as 30 percent. The variation is due to proper handling and water temperature. Perhaps striped bass fishing should be closed during the summer months or at least require anglers to keep the first two fish they catch and then switch to other species. This would be very unpopular in Maryland, where rockfish make up the bulk of the summer fishery.

Last year, Maryland did recognize the problem with catch-and-release mortality. They lowered the minimum size to 19 inches and required non-offset circle hooks when live bait fishing or chunking. There was less-than-complete acceptance with the circle hooks, as anglers complained the fish ingested them and came up gut hooked. I would write that off as improper use or just refusal to change, but a very good friend, whom I trust completely, had the same result when chunking, so that left me scratching my head.

The recreational fishing groups who keep pushing for gamefish status for striped bass don’t have a leg to stand on. With commercial fishermen taking only 10 percent of the total mortality and recreational fishermen accounting for the other 90 percent, I would hope we have heard the last of them.

Fishing report

Tog continue to be caught out of Lewes and Ocean City. The cold water has made the fish a bit slow to bite, but boat limits have been taken and fish over 10 pounds have been caught.

The black sea bass fishing out of Virginia remains very good. My son Ric went out with Ken Neil last weekend and, in spite of less-than-ideal conditions, they managed to box a boat limit of big knotheads. This season will end Thursday, Feb. 28.

Actually saw a few folks fishing the spillway at Milton last Saturday. Don’t know if they had any luck, but at least they got out and gave it a try.

Reports from the upper reaches of the tidal rivers and creeks indicate pickerel fishing remains pretty good. Still not much on yellow perch with only scattered reports of small males.