(^ ^q F*tS Herald & Lantern 25 April '84

outdoors with Lou Rodia Fishing Is a Hair Behind Schedule I

Everyone who is fishing in salt water right now is almost' exclusively seeking mackerel. .While there is a fascination for some- to catch three, fbur^or five mackerel at a time, and while mackerel is like the only game in town that you have to play, many of those fishing for mackerel keep hoping for finer. things. jThey look for clues. Does anvone know where the I- J'-

blues are? As of this writing they are off Virginia and heading up. What about weaks? Commercial netters have bagged some in Delaware Bay. Black *lrum reports? At last reading, we have had _ no news on net catches of black drum in either Chesapeake or Delaware Bays. What about fluke? Fluke broke wide open in

Wachapreague Va. about two week ago ( by the time you get this). That means that we should see our fluke in the inland waterways about four to five weeks iater, making that target date about May 1 to May 5. WH AT DOES ALL of this mean? That means that fishing is a hair behind schedule, but some warm weather could catch it up. If you .plan to fish for

mackerel, don't delay making your trip. Macks have a way of doing strange things. They are all over the place one day and scatter to Lord knows where the next. They bite like mad when they want to and at other times, they get contrary. Right now we are enjoying a banner mackerel season. Lots of the fish are above two pounds and some would actually top three pounds on the scale. Cranked in on a 30- to 50-pound fishing outfit, mackerel do not present such a formidable opponent, especially when they are hooked and caught on mackerel tree' rigs which have three or4 four lures attached. t It's production fishing rather than finesse fishing. While it can be -fun, it can also be work. Lots of mackerel trips are shortened by angler request when they have filled their sacks and coolers and are more than willing to come back to the dock early. But, mackerel can add a dimension to your light tackle fishing which is available in salt water if you fish your own boat or if you fish on an uncrowded party boat. Take along a light or ultra light outfit. Cast a small lure and go k after a mackerel one at a time. It will take lots longer to fill your bucket or bag. but you'll have a lot more fun doing it. MAKE Sl'KE. however, that you break out the light rig, you have cleared it with the party boat skipper or mate, or with your fishing buddies if you are on a private boat. For the cost of a mackerel charter, you might want to try another approach. Talk a small group of your buddies into going on -a mackerel charter. Charter boats take anywhere from one to six as a general rule although * a few boats do carry more than six. Once you get the group together and agree to the "rules" you can fish with the heavier gear until you have sufficient mackerel to meet your needs and then you can switch over as a group to the light stuff. Or, you might just want to fish light gear all day for mackerel. Sometimes, a little chum will draw mackerel to the surface and they are even more fun on a fly rod. That's strictly charter or private boat action, however. We'd not want to be responsible as to whether or not you'd end up in the drink if you tried casting a fly rod on a party boat. Mackerel are the challenge of the moment, no matter how you fish them. Meanwhile, keep an eye on that water temperature Keep an eye on th^tails of the mackerel you are catching. When the temperature starts to creep up over the 50-degree mark toward 55. look for blues, weaks and fluke. When the mackerel start coming over the rails without tails, it means that bluefish are biting the tails of and before long blues will replace mackerel. DRl'M TOURNAMENT: %on't forget to set aside some time to fish the Lower Township Chamber of Commerce Black Drum

Derby between May 11 and June 10. The four-week fishing event offers weekly as well as grand prizesThe three largest black drum caught each week will earn prizes as will the three largest overall in the Delaware Bay event. W. Boyd Tyler of Cape May Court House is tournament director. Freeholder Anthony T. Catanoso is honorary Tournament director. Contestants will have their fish entered in the Cape May County 49th annual fishing tournament. Registration for the tournament is $1.50. Registration blanks are at a number of area tackle shops. Preregistration is required. Anglers wishing to register by mail can do so by mailing their name, address and $1 to the Lower Township Chamber of Commerce. Box 276, Wildwood Villas. N.J. 08251: Each angler fishing the tournament must be pre-registered to be eligible for prizes. If you mail in your entry request by May 1 you save a half dollar, by the way. You can send several names with one application. but include the address and $1 for each applicant. Anglers can fish the tournament in their own boats, from charter boats or from party boats, but boats must leave and return to Cape May County ports. Drums must be caught on rod and reel and must be weighed in at an official Lower Township Drumfish Derby Weighmaster. TROUT C ATC HES: Dennisville Lake provides the

only trout fishing for Cape May county anglers who want to fish close to home. You can travel out of the county for trout, but here it is Dennisville Lake, period. That's because the lake in Dennisville is the only one which will hold Trout at all. Fred Machulzski of Newark1" Del. caught a three-quarter pound trout. His brother Alfred, caught one weighing 14 ounces, and brother Ferdi had one which weighed in at 14 ounces. The trio of fishing brothers are all visitors to Joe Schneider's Den- t nisville Lake Campground. All caught their trout from shore. Two of the three fish took minnows while one was caught on a meal worm.

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