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The Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife Sportfishing Tournament is a great way to get recognition for your special catch.
You are out fishing in Delaware and you hook into the big one. After a long, tough fight and a few scares that it has gotten loose, you finally reel it in and it is a beauty. What could add to an experience like that? How about getting recognition for your catch from the Delaware Sportfishing Tournament and maybe even becoming a new State record holder. Not only is entering the tournament a good idea, entering the tournament is easy and free.
The Delaware Sportfishing Tournament is an annual program sponsored by the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife to promote recreational fishing opportunities in the state and recognize anglers for outstanding catches. The origins of the tournament date back to the late 1930’s when the Board of Game and Fish Commissioners arranged a fishing contest for fish taken or landed in Delaware. The goal then was to increase interest in fresh and saltwater hook and line fishing in the state, and the tournament was a big hit. In the early years of the tournament, cash rewards were paid to anglers catching the largest fish in three saltwater and three freshwater categories. The tournament has grown to include 14 categories in the freshwater division and 28 categories in the saltwater division. Several other species are recognized annually under the category “Unusual Species”. Although cash rewards are not offered anymore, the Sportfishing Tournament is still a very popular program receiving as many as 3,585 entries in a single year, as it did in 1986.
Only fish caught by hook and line will be considered for the tournament. The tournament recognizes both fish killed and fish released alive. If you kept your prize catch, it must meet a minimum weight to be entered in the tournament. If you released your catch, the tournament’s Live Release Award is given to those fish that meet a minimum length. The minimum weights and lengths for recognition are set by the tournament director and listed in the Delaware Fishing Guide which are available wherever Delaware fishing licenses are sold or online at www.dnrec.delaware.gov/fw/Fisheries. Those entries that meet the minimum requirements receive a certificate recognizing their catch and a patch. The biggest catch of the year in each of the categories also receives a trophy.
To enter a fish for recognition, bring it to a participating weigh station that is listed in the Delaware Fishing Guide and fill out an entry form. Live release applications can be obtained from the same weigh stations or downloaded from the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s website. Remember that you are responsible for submitting your recognition form, not the weigh station. The Delaware Fishing Guide also has a list of state record fish, so if you catch a fish that may be a new state record, have the weigh station call the Division. Qualified staff from the Division will come out to confirm the species of the catch and verify that the scale has been certified. To be accepted as a new record, the fish must exceed the weight of the previous state record by the amounts specified in the tournament rules. The complete tournament rules are in the Delaware Fishing Guide.
The Delaware Sportfishing Tournament is making several changes for 2012. Due to the increasing popularity of tuna fishing, the single minimum qualifying size for tuna will be replaced by minimum qualifying sizes for the three most popular tuna species entered in the tournament: bluefin, bigeye and yellowfin. The minimum qualifying weights are 70 pounds for bigeye and yellowfin, and 100 pounds for bluefin tuna. Although the Division will be issuing citations and patches based on the new minimum sizes, the state record will continue to be reported for the general category of tuna because most entries received in previous years did not list the species of tuna caught.
The minimum qualifying size for weakfish has been reduced to reflect the current rarity of catching a weakfish that is large enough to meet the minimum size that has been in place for the past 30 years. Hopefully, the weakfish population will continue to rebound and the old minimum qualifying size can be reinstated in the coming years. The Sportfishing Tournament Director is also considering adding other species to the tournament, such as cobia.
Setting a new record with your catch is not easy given the size of some of the Delaware state record fish, but new record fish have been caught almost every other year over the past ten years in the saltwater division. Some of the notable record fish caught in recent years include the 21 lbs. 4 oz. tautog caught by Glen Cave and the 873 lb. bluefin tuna caught by Dan Dillon, both in 2005. In the freshwater division, the records have lasted longer, but 2012 is notable in that two new state records have already been set. A new state record largemouth bass was caught back in March and it broke a record that had stood since 1980. James Hitchens landed a 10 lbs. 10 oz. bass that beat the former state record by 5 ounces. A new state record tiger muskie, weighing in at 16 lbs. 4 oz. was caught on the Brandywine just two weeks ago by James Stewart.
Those big fish are out there, so hit the water, catch a big one, and enter it in the Delaware Sportfishing Tournament. A new state record may be yours!
