The folks at NOAA have posted in the National Register the new regulations for black sea bass and summer flounder as approved by the Mid-Atlantic Council. With this posting earlier this week, we expect the black sea bass season to open Friday, May 1, and continue until Dec. 31. The minimum size will be 12.5 inches and the bag limit will be 15 fish.
Summer flounder will have a 16-inch minimum size from Jan. 1 until May 31, then from June 1 until Dec. 31, the size limit will be 17.5 inches. The bag limit throughout the year remains at four fish.
Correction: In last week’s column I made a mistake. The federal default regulations for black sea bass have the season beginning May 15, not May 1.
Canal Flounder Tournament
Delaware has its answer to Maryland’s White Marlin Open Friday, May 15. That’s the day when Lewes Harbour Marina holds its Canal Flounder Tournament. True, we don’t have 400 multimillion-dollar boats, but we do have 400 anglers. While our anglers don’t pay thousands of dollars in entry fees, they do donate 50% of their proceeds to help those with pancreatic cancer and their families. And the party after the tournament is over is a fun time with excellent food and drink. All of this for only $50 per angler, and $25 for kids 15 and under.
The boundaries for the tournament begin at the Rehoboth Bay entrance to the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal and continue the length of the canal until it terminates at Roosevelt Inlet. You may fish the inlet, but not outside the inlet. From the inlet, you may follow the Broadkill River up as far as Oyster Rocks Road, but you may not fish any of the tributaries.
Fishing begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. All fish must be weighed at the Lewes Harbour Marina Tackle Shop by 4 p.m. As a general rule, if you catch a fish that looks to be a contender, bring it to the shop ASAP. In the event of a tie, the fish weighed first will be declared the winner.
Cast for a Cure
This is a surf-fishing team tournament. All entry fees, and the money raised at the live and silent auction during the awards dinner are donated to the Beebe Medical Foundation Patient Special Needs Fund.
The idea for this tournament was developed by Brandy Timmons and Clark Evans after both suffered the loss of someone to cancer. To date, the tournament has raised more than $60,000.
On Saturday, May 16, the teams of four will descend on the beaches of Delaware Seashore State Park and attempt to catch more and bigger fish than those other teams competing against them. Brandy and Clark expect 35 teams to compete this year.
The entry fee is $50 per person. If you would like to fish this great event, get your team of four anglers together and then drop off your entry fee at Old Inlet Bait and Tackle or send a check made out to Cast for a Cure, c/o Old Inlet Bait and Tackle, P.O. Box 129, 25012 Coastal Hwy., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.
The awards banquet will be held from noon to 3 p.m., Sunday, May 17, at Hockers Family Restaurant, 30244 Cedar Neck Road, Ocean View. An auction of items donated by local merchants will be held during the banquet; those proceeds will also be donated to the Patient Special Needs Fund.
Fishing report
Surf-fishing has been unexpectedly good. When the beach is not covered with water from a hard northeast blow, surf-fishermen have been able to catch black drum and striped bass on sand fleas. It began at Bethany/Fenwick and then moved up to 3Rs Road where the good bite continued right up until early this week, when Dan Nuemann caught and released two big stripers, 35 and 37 inches, on sand fleas. A few bluefish have been caught on spoons from the beach at Cape Henlopen State Park.
The hickory shad are so thick at Indian River Inlet that even I almost caught one. I pulled the hook trying to lift it out of the water. Shad darts worked from the northside just west of the bridge.
A few keeper flounder from the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal on minnows. A few tog from the inlet on sand fleas and a few more from ocean structure on green crab.
Blue catfish are available in the Nanticoke River on cut gizzard shad. The Laurel spillway holds crappie that will go after a minnow fished under a bobber.
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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.
