The state of Delaware’s surf-fishing tag program is a joke. The program is no longer for the real surf fishermen, for whom it was intended. It’s now for swimmers, raft riders, loungers, cornhole players, sunbathers, cookouts, beer-drinking people — half of whom cannot even catch a goldfish in a fish tank, let alone surf fish.
It’s a darn shame for us longtime, dedicated surf fishermen who do seriously surf fish and take care of the beach, which I have done for the last 43 years. I’m a 63-year-old Delaware fisherman, and I wasn’t fortunate enough to get a surf-fishing tag this year, as they sold out in record time. And with the COVID-19 restriction and most of the state-run offices closed for the last year, I didn’t get a chance to purchase one then.
What makes me maddest is that so many of the people who have purchased a Delaware surf tag go there to lounge around on the beach. They aren’t fishermen at all, and they don’t care about surf fishing. They take a fishing rod out of their 2020 Volvo SUV or something equivalent, hang a 6-ounce weight on the line and pitch it overboard, set the rod in a sand spike and commence every other activity but fishing, which the tag is meant for.
I wish the state of Delaware would make a designated area for “real surf fishermen,” who actually fish when they are on the surf-fishing beach.
Again, the Delaware surf-fishing program is a joke!
Kevin Register
Camden
Editor’s note: The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has announced that up to 1,000 additional one-year surf-fishing permits will be issued for 2021. More information can be found here.
