The fishing and hunting community has lost a very good person. Kelly Racz of Kelly’s Outdoors in Millsboro passed away at his home Feb. 3.
I first met Kelly when he and his father ran R and R Sports Center on Route 1 in Lewes. At the time, I was the editor of the Delmarva edition of the Fisherman Magazine, and I called on them to see if they had any fishing reports or if they would like to advertise. Kelly was always pleasant to talk with and gave generously with his time.
Once he moved his business to Millsboro, I lost contact with him personally. I did keep up with him via Facebook. I knew he was on dialysis, and I suspect his health problems finally caught up with him.
I do want to express my sincere condolences to all of his family and friends. I know they are suffering from this great loss.
No Limit
The charter boat No Limit has sunk off the coast of North Carolina. The boat’s crew and all hands were saved by other boats in the area, but the boat is a total loss. From the post on Facebook, it appears a hose broke and flooded the hull.
No Limit is out of Indian River, but fishes wherever the action is best. I suspect they were in North Carolina chasing giant bluefin tuna. Capt. John Azato has won several tournaments and holds some Delaware state records.
If you own a boat, just think of what you would lose if that boat sank. Then multiply that by at least six if your boat ran charters. It would be bad enough if you were fishing for sea bass and flounder, but when you go after big bluefins, the cost of fishing tackle goes up with the size of the fish. I hope Capt. Azato had enough insurance to cover the loss.
Now the good news
Several people with lots of experience with striped bass have seen good news with the current cold temperatures and snow cover.
The first to mention the possibility of a good young of the year was John Clark, director of fisheries for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. I was complaining about the lack of fish in my weekly fishing report and he answered by saying these current conditions just may lead to an improved striped bass spawning success.
The next person I heard from, with a similar outlook, was John Kurtz, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. He has hopes this extremely cold winter will result in a much colder water temperature for spawning striped bass. Spawning occurs when water temperature is between 57 and 68 degrees.
A study by Angela Giuliano found that recent striped bass spawning seasons were shortening due to rising water temperatures. Warm, dry winters were the cause of the short spawning seasons. The warmer water also failed to produce the small creatures the striped bass fry needed to survive their early life.
There may be another reason why the Chesapeake Bay is not producing the number of striped bass young of the year as it once did, and that reason is global warming. The stripers are moving north as the water in the Chesapeake Bay is warming and finding more suitable conditions in the Hudson River complex. Their YOY chart shows above-average YOY in 2020 and 2022. In 2021, the YOY was above the 25th percentile.
Meanwhile, in Maryland the YOY was well below the average from 2020 until 2025.
The cold weather is not all good news for fish. Down south in North Carolina, the cold snap has shocked speckled trout. I have seen this when I was down there back in the day when we were fishing for giant bluefin out of Hatteras Village. The trout just come up on the surface like they are dead. Believe it or not, some of the locals go around collecting them.
Correction
I must make a correction to last week’s article.
In the last part of the work, the editor changed my words from a “large sports fisherman” to “a large group of sports fishermen.”
These mother ships carry smaller fishing boats that may be as large as 40 to 50 feet. They are large sports fishermen and the owners of both the mother ship and the smaller boat then fly to the chosen location and may fish for several weeks to set as many records as possible. For the most part, they use light tackle and fish for records in 2, 4 and other light-line classes. They target tuna, marlin and dolphin as well as other big fish.
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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.
