The Garrisons Lake aluminum fishing pier on the north side of the lake is to close Monday, Oct. 16 for repairs after having been damaged by a fallen tree during a recent storm, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife announced today. Repairs are expected to be completed by end of week but are weather-dependent.

Garrisons Lake’s South Boat Ramp, pond, and shoreline fishing are unaffected by the pier’s closure and will remain open while repairs are made to the pier.

For more information about the fishing pier closure, please call the DNREC Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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Bridgeville angler Sydney McBroom with the third consecutive state blue catfish record caught from the Nanticoke River, which weighed in at 53 pounds. /Submitted photo.

DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Weighs in 53-Pounder
Taken from Nanticoke River by Yet Another Bridgeville Angler

If it’s starting to sound like a broken record, that’s exactly what it is: For the second time in less than a month, the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed that Delaware has a new state record blue catfish. Sydney McBroom of Bridgeville landed the 53-pound whopper – which measured 46.5 inches in length and is believed to be the largest freshwater fish caught since DNREC began keeping recreational fishing records – midmorning Sept. 22 on the Nanticoke River.

McBroom caught the big cat fishing from his boat, using a whole bluegill as bait and landing it after a 20-minute wrestling match. His catch eclipsed a record that lasted just 20 days, a 48-pound, 7.2-ounce specimen taken by another Bridgeville angler, Chris Andrews – and another fish, which, like the three most recent blue catfish state records, was caught from the fertile catfishing waters of the Nanticoke.

“You use a big fish to catch a big fish,” Mr. McBroom said of landing the mammoth blue catfish, which stands as the fifth state record of the 2023 Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament. “I don’t fish for attention, I fish for fun, I fish for me. You have to go onto the water and put your time in. We’d see a mess of nice catfish (every time we went out). That was just our day.”

McBroom’s record catch was certified by Cpl. Kyle Wharton, Delaware Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Police, at Lewes Harbour Marina in Lewes. His blue catfish catch shattered Mr. Andrews’ state record caught Sept. 2 by more than 4.5 pounds after Andrews had surpassed the previous record (set in April 2022) by four ounces. A list of all Delaware fishing records for both freshwater and saltwater species can be found on the DNREC website.

More information about the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament and state record fish can be found in the 2023 Delaware Fishing Guide and at de.gov/sportfish. The guide is also available in printed form from the DNREC Fisheries Section, from the Licensing Desk in DNREC’s main office in Dover, and from license agents throughout the state.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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Chris Andrews’ night-time fishing trip with friends on the Nanticoke River netted him a state-record 48-pound, 7-ounce blue catfish that eclipsed a Delaware record for the species lasted less than a year. Photo courtesy of Chris Andrews

DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed a new state record blue catfish, the fourth state record of the year for the 2023 Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament. The 42.5-inch, 48-pound, 7.2-ounce blue catfish was caught on cut bait earlier this month by Chris Andrews of Bridgeville, while fishing in the Nanticoke River on his personal boat at night with friends who helped him land his massive catch.

“Fishing is a big part of my life – I go out about three times a week, so I guess you’d say I’m an avid fisherman,” said Andrews, noting it was just another quiet end of summer evening on the water – until he felt a strong tug on his line. “I knew it was a big one, just not how big. I got the fish up and close to the boat multiple times, but it would just take off pulling my drag. I had a smaller net than usual, so it took multiple tries (to get it into the boat). After about a 5-minute fight, the fish was landed.”

The record catch was weighed at Taylored Tackle Shop in Seaford and certified by Sgt. Nathan Evans, Delaware Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Police. Andrews’ blue catfish eclipsed the previous state record set in 2022 by James Lord, by only 4 ounces – but as DNREC Fisheries biologist Devon Scott, who recorded Andrews’ catch in the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament, noted, “They’re both behemoth fish.”

A list of all Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament state records is available at the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Delaware Fishing Records.

More information about the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament and state record fish can be found in the 2023 Delaware Fishing Guide and at de.gov/sportfish. The guide is also available in printed form from the DNREC Fisheries Section, from the Licensing Desk in DNREC’s main office in Dover, and from license agents throughout the state.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

Multiple Blue Ribbons-Winner and First-Time Contest Victor Are Awarded Best in Show in State’s Annual Wildlife Art Competition

A 10-time Delaware stamp contest winner who added another blue ribbon to his run of artistic success and a first-time winner of a state stamp competition have claimed top honors in Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp and Trout Stamp art contests, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. Well-known in Delaware for his seven winning state trout stamp entries, as well as for three previous waterfowl stamp competition wins, Jeffrey Klinefelter took Best in Show again for his painting of a redhead duck which will grace the 2024/25 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp. A painting of a rainbow trout by Trevor Dumaw of Colorado Springs, Colo., was awarded first place and will be featured on the 2024 Delaware Trout Stamp.

The annual stamp art competition drew 14 entries for the 2024/25 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and 12 entries for the 2024 Trout Stamp. The Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that submitted artwork must include the motif of a redhead duck on open water. Trout Stamp artwork entries could depict a rainbow, brown or brook trout.

As the 2024/25 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp winner, Klinefelter, of Etna Green, Ind., receives a $2,500 cash prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of his first-place entry. An artist who likes who likes to paint from his own photos, Klinefelter over the past 30 years has won numerous contests in states including Nevada, Ohio, Delaware, California, Oklahoma, Oregon, North and South Carolina, Indiana and Colorado. After winning the 2023 Delaware Trout Stamp last year, he rang up a fourth blue ribbon in Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp contest.

As the 2024 Delaware Trout Stamp winner, Dumaw receives a $250 cash prize and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp artwork. Dumaw credits his passion for wildlife art to countless hunting and fishing trips in upstate New York, where he was born and raised. At age 20, Dumaw put his career on hold to enlist in the U.S. States Army as a military policeman. He was deployed to the Balkans before completing an overseas tour in South Korea, where he was assigned to the United Nations Joint Security Battalion, and a deployment to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dumaw finished his military career as a police investigator before being honorably discharged. As an artist, his preferred subject is the wildlife he’s surrounded by at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains.

Other winners were:

• 2024/25 Waterfowl Stamp – Second place: Guy Crittenden, Richmond, Va.; Third place: John Stewart, Wilmington, Del. Honorable mentions: Caleb Metrich, Lake Tomahawk, Wis.; Marion Orchard, Severn, Md.; Michael Kensinger, Altoona, Pa.; and Jonathan Milo, Monroe, Conn.
• 2023 Trout Stamp – Second place: Dennis Arp, Edison, Neb., brook trout; Third place: Tory Farris, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, brown trout. Honorable mentions: Tiffany Beczkalo, Dallas, Ga., rainbow trout; Walter Wincek, Elyria, Ohio, brook trout; Matt Doyle, Everett, Pa., brook trout.

Artwork in each contest was judged by a different set of five judges, with each judge separately evaluating and scoring the respective contest artwork in person.

The 2024/25 Waterfowl Stamp judges were: Carrie Lingo, Delaware Ducks Unlimited representative; Drew Clendaniel, stamp collector; Lori Crawford, Delaware State University Professor of Art; Elio Battista, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish member, and Shawn Sullivan, wildlife biologist.
The 2024 Trout Stamp judges were: Noel Kuhrt, stamp collector; Ed O’Donnell, Trout Unlimited member; Sam Palermo, avid angler; Linda Parkowski, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish member; and Mike Steiger, fisheries biologist.

The winning 2024/25 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will be available for purchase July 1, 2024, and the winning 2024 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available for purchase Jan. 1, 2024.

The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, started the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving wetland habitats vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $3.6 million has been raised. A Delaware Waterfowl Stamp and hunting license are required for most waterfowl hunters.

Delaware began requiring trout stamps for anglers in the 1950s, and a Delaware Trout Stamp and a general fishing license are required for most anglers to fish in designated trout waters during certain seasons. Funds from the sale of the stamps are used to purchase trout to stock in select streams in northern New Castle County and in two downstate ponds.

More information about Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp contest can be found at de.gov/waterfowlstamp. More information about the Trout Stamp contest can be found at de.gov/troutstamp.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov; Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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The Griffith Lake boat ramp and parking lot on Williamsville Road near Milford is to close effective immediately due to construction activities associated with dam safety concerns, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife manages the Griffith Lake boat ramp and parking lot, while construction work at the dam will be coordinated with Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).

Water flow problems at the Griffith Lake dam initiated the closure. Anglers who fish from a boat or shore from public fishing access areas at Griffith Lake can alternatively use the nearby Blairs Pond boat ramp or Haven Lake boat ramp near Milford.

For more information regarding the boat ramp closure, contact the DNREC Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 68,000 acres of public land owned or managed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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