Saturday was the opening day of trout season in Kent and Sussex counties. I had planned to try Tidbury Pond in Dover after having poor results for the past few years at Newton Pond near Greenwood. To this end, I set my alarm for 5 a.m. and went to bed early. I got up when the alarm went off, shuffled into the bathroom, looked out the window and saw that it was dark, cold and raining. At this point, an executive decision had to be made. I decided to go back to bed.
I got up again at 7 a.m., and after a warm breakfast, I drove to Dover. By the time I got to Tidbury Pond, it was apparent many fishermen had left, so I was able to get a parking spot close to the water.
I met a young couple just leaving who had their limit of nice trout. They were from New Castle County and had left home at 2:30 a.m. That would have put them on the pond around 3:30 or 4 a.m., where they would wait until the 7 a.m. start time before they could fish. They certainly must love a trout.
I headed for the pond to see what it looked like before rigging up my rod. The bank was still pretty crowded, so it must have been a real zoo at 7 a.m. I was happy to see several families fishing, including the folks next to me. A mom and dad with two little kids, a boy and a girl. The dad was very patient and kept untangling lines, baiting hooks and making sure the kids had every chance of catching a fish. Unfortunately, neither one did.
On my left was a gentleman fishing three rods. He had them on rod holders that imitated the forked sticks we used to use when fishing the spring mud sucker run in the Brandywine Creek. I did see him catch a trout on a jig head with a plastic tail that was just sitting on the bottom.
In talking with anglers and observing other fishermen, it appeared that fishing with jigs was the hot setup. I saw one guy casting a spinner, but I did not see him catch a fish. If anyone was using natural bait, I did not see them.
Tidbury Pond is a better trout spot than Newton simply because it’s smaller. The trout have less room to spread out and, therefore, the fishermen find them concentrated in a smaller area.
The downside is Tidbury is located close to a populated area. From what I saw on Saturday, I suspect it was packed when the season opened at 7 a.m. This is why my friends from New Castle County spent three to three-and-a-half hours in the cold and wet to secure a good fishing spot.
I did get one report from Newton Pond. As usual, a few folks caught a few trout, but many went fishless.
Striped bass again
Boy, the interim report on striped bass has really stirred up the pot. I am getting opinions from up north and down south, and it sounds like deja vu all over again.
Back in the mid-1970s, I was part of the first State-Federal Striped Bass Management Board. There were three representatives from each state from Maine to North Carolina.
Our first meeting was in Salisbury, Md., where I discovered that each state knew exactly what the problem was with the sinking population of striped bass. It was overfishing in another state or region. No way could the Virginia pound nets have any bearing on the overall population drop. And those New Jersey pin hookers couldn’t possibly hurt the spawning stock.
Now, we have all this finger-pointing all over again, and this is only the beginning. Wait until May when the peer-reviewed report comes out and the board has to set new regulations. Talk about nobody being happy.
Fishing report
Tog are still being caught on crab baits. On Sunday, Chris Huk and Mike Lewis ran out and caught their limit of tog to Mike’s 18.6-pounder. They were finished fishing by 11:30 a.m. and were back at the dock before the rain hit.
Other than that, I have no saltwater reports. I do have reports of white and yellow perch from local spillways and the upper reaches of the tidal rivers and creeks on bloodworms, grass shrimp and jigs. Crappie have been caught at the spillways in Seaford and Laurel. Jigs have been the best baits.
The cold snap at the beginning of the week appears to be the last gasp of winter. I have not broken out my bathing suit, but I do believe spring is on the way.
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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.
