Over the past two or three weeks, we have lost two fishermen who went out on their boats by themselves and died.
The first was a gentleman down in North Carolina who left a port below the Outer Banks in his 30-foot-plus center console, and when he didn’t return on time,his family called the Coast Guard. They and several other agencies launched an intense three-day search and found neither the fisherman nor his boat.
Several days after the search ended, his boat was found 83 miles offshore with the outriggers down and all lines out. Another search was launched, but it too was ended without finding the fisherman.
We can only guess what happened. The boat was put on autopilot and something happened to the fisherman. He ended up in the water, and there he remains.
The second event was closer to home. It occurred in the Elk River in Maryland. A 27-year-old Wilmington man went fishing alone in his 17-foot center console. This time his boat was found with no one aboard.
According to the Coast Guard report, a dive team recovered his body from the water near where the boat was found. At least his family will have the knowledge of where his remains are. I don’t know if that helps when you lose a loved one or not.
If you are going to fish alone, please wear a PFD at all times. Both of my sons fish from kayaks and both wear PFDs while in those tippy boats. I know Roger has gone overboard at least once. If Ric fell out of his kayak, he wouldn’t tell anyone.
I have to admit, when I had my 24-Albemarle I often took it out by myself. It was easy to call the dry storage folks, drive over, get onboard and go fishing.
No, I didn’t wear my PFD at the time. It never occurred to me that anything could happen, and the only PFDs I had were the bulky orange ones. Today, I have the CO2 vests that I don’t even know I am wearing.
While I no longer fish alone, I am sure some of you do. If so, please wear your PFD at all times and be very careful when setting lines or doing any work around the sides of the boat. If you feel a medical emergency coming on, get on Channel 16 right away and call for help. Activate your EPIRB and then lay down and wait for help.
I feel certain both of these men didn’t think that this would be their last fishing trip, but it was. Don’t let your next trip be your last.
Fishing report
OK, let’s get this over with. I finally got to go fishing for the first time in 2024. I packed up my truck, purchased some clams and frozen crabs at Dan’s Tackle and headed to Broadkill Beach to catch a big black drum.
When I arrived at the parking lot, there was another fisherman airing up his tires as I was airing down mine. I asked him how he made out.
“Been here all day and never had a bite,” he replied.
That should have discouraged me, but I am not easily discouraged.
Once up on the beach, I saw there were only two other groups of fishermen. I picked a spot between the two and set out two rods – one with clams and one with crab. After my usual 10-minute wait, I checked my baits. Both rigs were heavy as I reeled them in. As soon as I saw them coming through the surf, I knew why. Both were covered with that brown hairy seaweed. I knew then my fishing day was over.
Meanwhile, every other fisherman in Sussex County was catching big bluefish either at the fishing pier at Cape Henlopen State Park or along the beach beside the pier. If they weren’t there, they were at Indian River Inlet or 3Rs Road. It didn’t much matter what they used. The blues hit cut mullet or bunker, metal lures, plugs such as the SP Minnow in bone or surface lures. These were not little blues. Some exceeded 30 inches.
This was the greatest run of big blues in the surf in many years, and there I was at the only barren beach for miles catching brown, hairy seaweed.
Old Inlet Bait and Tackle reported one customer had a 10-pound bluefish and a 17-inch flounder at 3Rs Road on mullet. On Tuesday, the blues hit metal and plugs on outgoing water at Indian River Inlet.
Lewes Harbour Marina said Julie Stevenson, Mike Fischer and Alan Brittingham caught several big blues from the beach north of the fishing pier at Cape Henlopen State Park.
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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.
