As an overcast Sunday morning turned into a sunny afternoon on Keybox Road beach in Delaware Seashore State Park, about 15 members of Brennan McKone’s family snacked and played games, keeping an eye on their surf-fishing lines for movement.
“It’s kinda rough right now, so either you can’t get it out far enough or it just takes it right down the beach,” McKone said. “But usually, later in the day, when the wind calms down, we catch stuff.”
McKone, of Dover, said he had no problems using the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s new online reservation system last week, as numerous others reported, as well. Department spokesman Michael Globetti said they had “no issues.”
Background:To avoid ‘chaos’ over surf-fishing permit sales, State Parks introduces reservation system
However, Keybox was far from full of surf-fishing vehicles. Cape Henlopen State Park surf-fishers reported a little more volume Sunday, but not that of a holiday weekend.
“Next weekend’s gonna be the proof in the pudding,” Bruce Orr, of Middletown and Rehoboth, said as he drove off Keybox Sunday. “Just because there’s gonna be a lot more people hitting the beach.”
The new surf-fishing reservation system was created to prevent the long lines of people that formed at state parks in 2020, hoping to obtain one of a limited number of permits, as well as the malfunctioning website debacle of 2022. This year, an unlimited number of permits are available, but anyone wishing to drive on the Delaware beaches on weekends or holiday must have both a permit and a $4 reservation. (You can still walk onto fish surf-fishing beaches with just a fishing license, after paying the park entrance fee.)
This Memorial Day weekend, reservations are required Saturday, Sunday and Monday. For Saturday and Sunday, the department’s online reservation system opened at 11 a.m. Tuesday. For Monday, the system will open at 11 a.m. Thursday.
If previous years are any indication, reservations will likely sell out. The system closes at 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and on weekends and holidays, it’s open 8 a.m. to noon.
The department has not released a maximum number of surf-fishing vehicles allowed on Delaware beaches at any one time. The number will be evaluated frequently throughout the season, according to the department’s website, subject to change due to beach conditions, presence of protected species and use.
More details about the reservation system are available here.
Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught
