DNREC’s 2013 Delaware Fishing Guide is Now Available Statewide
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control 02.04.13
The new 2013 Delaware Fishing Guide has arrived with a colorful splash and is being distributed to fishing license dealers throughout the state, including many hardware, sporting goods and bait & tackle shops. Anglers also can pick up a copy of the guide, along with their fishing license and trout stamp, at the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife’s main office in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, and can get it online too – by visiting the DNREC website.
This year’s guide features a fresh new format – magazine-sized, reorganized and in full-color. Inside, anglers will find information on Delaware’s fishing license requirements and the F.I.N. number program, as well as sections on tidal sportfishing, freshwater fishing, fishing regulations, and general angling information. Other topics include trout stocking, fish consumption advisories, invasive species and Delaware’s artificial reef program.
“We are pleased to have the 2013 Delaware Fishing Guide out several months earlier this year to better serve the fishing public,” said Division of Fish and Wildlife Director David Saveikis. “This bigger, better guide also was produced at a significantly reduced cost in the new format, and we will be able to use those savings to help match our federal funding for supporting important programs such as fisheries research, fishing and boating access, and aquatic education.”
This year’s guide also features the winning photos from the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife’s 2012 Fishing Photo Contest. Open to Delaware photographers, the contest focused on photos of Delaware’s young anglers that fit this year’s theme, “Carrying on the Tradition.” Felton’s Joseph Corning won first place for his photo of his granddaughter, Emily Bonavita, which appears on the cover. Other winning photos are also found inside the guide.
Changes for this season include season, size and creel limit updates to tautog, sea bass and Spanish mackerel regulations, and changes for freshwater trout fishing in two stocked downstate ponds – Dover’s Tidbury Pond and Greenwood’s Newton Pond – where a trout stamp is required from the first Saturday in March through April 1, unless otherwise exempted by law. Both ponds are closed to fishing for 14 days prior to the season opening. Other changes include allowing bowfishing for invasive snakeheads in non-tidal waters, unless otherwise prohibited by local ordinances or other area regulations.
New facilities this year include a new fishing footbridge at the Garrison’s Lake Access Area near Smyrna, and the fully renovated Lacy E. Nichols Jr. Cedar Creek Boating Access Area near Milford, which features eight 16-foot wide concrete launch lanes, five full-floatation aluminum boarding docks, a full-floatation aluminum courtesy dock and ample parking.
“This handy guide provides a user-friendly summary of fishing opportunities in Delaware, from freshwater ponds and rivers to the Delaware Bay and ocean,” said Fisheries Administrator John Clark. “Every angler should pick one up to add to their fishing gear.”
For more information on the 2013 Delaware Fishing Guide or on fishing in the First State, please call the Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914. For freshwater information, anglers also may call the section’s Smyrna field office at 302-735-8650, or for saltwater information, the Little Creek field office at 302-735-2960.
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