DOVER – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife has confirmed a new state record in the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament: a 22-pound, 9.6-ounce false albacore, caught July 13 in the Atlantic Ocean by Jason Conrad of Fleetwood, Pa. The fish was 35 inches long and had a girth of 22.5 inches.

Conrad caught the fish, also known as bonito and “little tunny,” aboard the charter boat Canyon Hunter out of Indian River Marina, captained by Travis Scott. Conrad battled the trophy for 15 minutes before bringing the record fish into the boat.

The record catch was weighed at Hook’em & Cook’em, an official Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament weigh station located at Indian River Marina, with the catch initially confirmed by Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Officer William Adkins.

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

More information on the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament is found in the 2019 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from license agents throughout the state.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 49, No. 213

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DOVER – Delaware’s Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish will meet at 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 25, in the DNREC Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901.

The meeting will include DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife presentations on the 2019 Delaware Sport Fish Tournament and on recent division public land acquisitions. For more information, including the meeting agenda, visit the Delaware Public Meeting Calendar at https://publicmeetings.delaware.gov/Meeting/62203.

For more information on Delaware wildlife, please call the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Wildlife Section at 302-739-9912. For more information on Delaware fisheries, please call the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No. 168

LEWES – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife has confirmed a new state record in the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament: a 79-pound, 6.4-ounce cobia, caught in the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 10 by John Burbage of Ocean View. The fish was 56½ inches long and had a girth of 28¼ inches.

Burbage was fishing alone about a mile and a half off the Bethany coast when he caught the record fish. He hooked the cobia by sight casting a whole Atlantic menhaden (bunker) and fought the fish for an hour and 10 minutes before finally landing his trophy.

The record catch was weighed at Hook’em & Cook’em, an official Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament weigh station near Rehoboth Beach, and confirmed by Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers Sr. Corporal Oran White and Officer First Class Timothy Koebel.

For a listing of all state fishing records, please visit the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Delaware Fishing Records webpage.

More information on the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament is found in the 2018 Delaware Fishing Guide. The guide also is available in printed form at DNREC’s Dover licensing desk in the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and from license agents throughout the state.

• Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 48, No. 244

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DOVER – Fishing offers an outstanding opportunity to enjoy Delaware’s great outdoors and spend quality time with family. To add to the experience for anglers age 15 and under, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife today announced a new youth division of the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament with smaller qualifying sizes for trophy fish than the tournament’s adult requirements.

The Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament is an annual program sponsored by the Division of Fish & Wildlife to promote recreational fishing opportunities in the state and recognize anglers for outstanding catches. The tournament now includes 15 species of freshwater and 30 species of saltwater fish eligible for recognition. With the smaller size requirements in their division, young anglers will have an increased chance to be rewarded for their trophy catch.

The new youth division also includes a Live Release Award program for those who choose to return their trophy catch to the water unharmed immediately after landing and measuring for length. This measurement must be verified by a witness who signs the Live Release Award entry form.

Young anglers who submit an application for their trophy catch will receive a colorful citation showing the type of fish they caught as well as an award lapel pin. The color fish illustrations on the citations are reproductions of original paintings by artist Duane Raver Jr., and are suitable for framing.

Fish entered in the tournament must be weighed at an official Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament weigh station, available at most bait and tackle shops. All fish entered must be caught in a sporting manner with hook-and-line. The Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament and the Live Release Award programs are open to the public with no entry fee.

For more information, including a list of tournament- and live release-eligible species, minimum size requirements and rules, click Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament. Applications for the Live Release Award also are available online, or may be picked up at any Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament weigh station.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 47, No. 155

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DOVER (April 26, 2017) – DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife today announced the first recipient of the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament’s new Elite Angler award is Thomas Passwaters Sr., of Milford, a longtime avid angler and tournament participant.

Anglers who earn Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament recognition for five different species within one calendar year will be designated as a Delaware Elite Angler and receive an award plaque commemorating their accomplishment. Any combination of saltwater and freshwater citations qualifies an angler for this award, although no more than two can be live-release awards.

Mr. Passwaters’ five qualifying trophy catches were:

• Chain pickerel, 4 pounds, 7 ounces, caught from the Broadkill River
• Crappie, 1 pound, 9 ounces, caught from Silver Lake, Milford
• Largemouth bass, 6 pounds, 7 ounces, caught from Tubmill Pond
• Yellow perch, 1 pound, 3 ounces, caught from the Nanticoke River
• White perch, 1 pound, 3 ounces, caught from the Nanticoke River

All five fish were weighed at official Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament Weigh Stations, which include many fishing tackle dealers and bait shops throughout the state.

Passwaters received his first tournament citation in 1978 for a 6-pound largemouth bass – and still has that citation, which was signed by former Governor Pierre S. “Pete” duPont IV. In addition to receiving numerous Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament awards over the years, two of his proudest fishing moments were being crowned the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament Master Angler of the Year in 1988 and 1989, the last two years that award was offered. More recently, he received the 2016 largest yellow perch award for a 2-pound, 3.2-ounce catch.

Passwaters installed a 120-quart cooler with an aeration system in the bed of his pickup truck for the sole purpose of keeping his trophy catches healthy and alive. “I am very passionate about trying to do all I can as an angler to maintain the health of my catches that I weigh in for the Tournament. I am proud to say that all five of the qualifying fish I submitted this year were kept healthy, weighed in as quickly as possible and released back to the waters from which they were caught,” he said, adding, “All of my fish were caught from shore, showing that you do not need a boat to participate in the Tournament.”

“The Delaware Elite Angler award is a new addition to this year’s Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament,” said Fish & Wildlife Fisheries Biologist and Tournament Director Bruce Cole. “Catching five different species of fish that meet the minimum weight requirements for Tournament recognition within one calendar year is a difficult task. The fact that Mr. Passwaters accomplished this feat so early in the year is astounding. It’s appropriate that someone with such a storied association with Delaware’s Sport Fishing Tournament be crowned Delaware’s first Elite Angler.”

For more information on the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament, including information on how to enter your big catch in the Tournament, click Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament and Live Release Awards, or call the Fisheries Section at 302-739-9914.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 47, No. 88

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