Spring has sprung rather well. There are fish biting, the black drum arrived not long ago but really showed up in force this past weekend in Chincoteague. A plethora of anglers trying for them helps too. Once the first few fish are caught by the regular folks, eventually the word gets out on the down low and then the beaches slowly fill up. Then the internet is alerted and the beaches are packed. Chincoteague and Assateague were action packed last weekend — not heavy action, but decent catching for many anglers. Most are using clam for bait. Fishbites will work as it warms up a little more. The clam, crab and sand flea formulas work best. Sand fleas are still deep in the sand. I would go catch some blue crabs and start baiting with half to whole crabs. I’ve seen crabs in pots around the inland bays in the shallower warmer areas. I’m not eating crabs until they fatten up and get that winter mud out of them. Black drum should show up soon along Delaware beaches but the cold drop this and next week might make that an issue, we will see.

Short striped bass action and keepers are all over the Delaware Bay. Bunker chunks are the preferred baits in the boats. Anglers from shore are using bloodworms and bunker chunks. Mostly bloods for white perch but striped bass in spring will feed on bloodworms too. Make sure you are using the legal circle hooks, despite the incidental catch rule. If you happen to catch a keeper striped bass on non-legal gear in Delaware you can still keep that fish. The striped bass limit is 28 to 31 inches for the slot limit and one fish per angler.

The new fishing ruler is out and available in all bait and tackle shops. It has Jonah crabs on it. I don’t know why either, but I guess we can drop pots on the way to the canyons, maybe?

The Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier shop will open up on the first of May. It would be nice if the parks could get the pier back to usable order. I don’t want to be one to complain but how is it we keep paying all our license money and what not, and we keep losing more fishing access than gaining access? The answer is not something anyone wants me to put in the paper. Let’s just say non-bipartisan pet projects keep burning up the money we need to sensibly maintain our fishing access. Also it would be nice if anglers would get organized and manage to get along for 10 minutes. If you all don’t get organized and start forcing DNREC to make these things happen, it will just get worse. I know this because I’ve been dealing with and watching it for years. Currently I’m watching the economic decline of the fishing industry in Delaware first hand. No one in change seems to care because no one is making them care. The pier is a great example of upkeep lack creating less access to fish.

The loss of surf fishing tackle, gear and bait sales income to shops is an economic impact example. If you can’t get to the beach to fish you don’t buy gear here, you go elsewhere such as Maryland or the OBX. Let me explain. I can’t tell you on Tuesday/Wednesday that I definitely want to fish on Saturday/Sunday, and more importantly where. The bite changes daily and moves, but I can’t move spots or beaches with the reservation system. You can’t even beach hop during that time. This is if I manage to get a reservation at the beach I actually want to fish. The reservation system is killing the economic impact of surf fishing. People can’t make plans for trips months out without a guarantee they can actually get on a beach and fish. Instead, it has shifted to booze, tanning lotion, bug spray and beach game gear.

It reminds me of the time parks asked me where they could make reserved areas on the beach for fishing only. “We want to reserve or block off the best areas to surf fish so we can allow nonfishing too,” they said. I was like you’re kidding, right? You want to reserve the best places to fish for just the anglers? You know that isn’t how surf fishing works, right? That never came to fruition. Just put up gates and the problem will work itself out. I am a broken record about that solution. Anglers will have easier first access, as they should, because you are required to fish, and the resource is protected with limits. And fishing’s economic impact increases in the community.

Bowers Bayside Bait and Kayak Rentals opens this weekend for the season. They will host their second annual Youth Fishing Tournament Saturday, July 12. Put the date in your calendar, it will be a lot of fun for the kids. Bowers Beach has seen some action from short striped bass, and catfish in the river at the inlet. The jetty project is about completed on the north side. Fishing at Bowers Beach will just pick up from here as the season progresses. The shop there will guide you about different spots to fish and what species to expect. Bowers has a lot of little out-of-the-way places to explore. Rent a yak and take a little aquatic tour of the area, and don’t forget your fishing gear. The bonus this time of year with Delaware Bay beach fishing is the lack of insects.

Get out and fish, you never know what will show up and what is out there now. That’s the beauty of fishing. The one that got away is whatever you want it to be and it always gets bigger.

Keep in mind this time of year the air gets super warm and water is not.  It was 80 at the house the other day.  The water however is unhealthy cold temperatures.  Jumping or falling into the water, the shock to your system can be deadly.  So unless you like the polar plunge and are prepared for that shock, jumping in the water on a hot early spring day is not a good idea.  The coming weekend will be much chillier and a little wet compared to last weekend.  I’d still go fishing - that is striped bass weather and those black drum aren’t going to stop and eventually work their way up here.  The temperatures crash back into the 30s at night on Sunday that will change the fishing again.

Crabbing season is now open in Maryland for pots.