Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife |
Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament
Dear Angler
Due to significant increases in costs without an increase in revenue, the Division of Fish and Wildlife has had to make some serious cutbacks in our annual operating budget. These were very difficult decisions and unfortunately one program cut was the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament and the Live Release Award program. Therefore, as of January 2007, the Division of Fish and Wildlife will no longer process citation forms submitted by anglers or weigh stations, or verify potential state records. All citation forms that are received by the Tournament Director will be kept on file. It will be a priority to reinstate the Tournament and honor all filed citation forms should our financial status change for the better.
Sincerely,
Roy Miller
Fish and Wildlife
Program Administrator
2005 Winners
Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament Rules
- The Sport Fishing Tournament is open to the public. There is no entry fee. Charter boat captains are eligible. Weigh masters are eligible provided their fish are weighed in at a weighing station other than their own.Click here for the listing of official Weigh Stations.
- All fish entered in the tournament must be caught within the boundaries of the State of Delaware except those caught beyond the three-mile limit in the Atlantic Ocean. Any fish caught outside the three-mile territorial sea must be landed in a vessel leaving from a Delaware port and returning to a Delaware port.
- All fish entered in the tournament must be weighed at an official Delaware Sport Fishing Weigh Station
- All fish entered in the tournament must meet the minimum weight requirements as set up for this year's tournament.
- All scales used to weigh in fish must be certified yearly by the Delaware Division of Weights and Measures (Department of Agriculture).
- No smallmouth bass will be recognized from Kent or Sussex Counties unless Division of Fish and Wildlife qualified personnel examine and approve the catch.
- A fish will not be recognized as a state record unless qualified personnel from the Division of Fish and Wildlife approve the catch. In case no Division of Fish and Wildlife personnel are available at the time of the weigh-in, the angler must save the entire fish for examination and approval at the earliest convenient time for the Division.
- In case of a tie for the largest fish of the year or a new state record, both fish will be recognized.
- To replace a record for a fish weighing less than 25 pounds, the replacement must weigh at least 2 ounces more than the existing record. To replace a record for a fish weighing 25 pounds or more, the replacement must weigh at least one-half of 1 percent more than the existing record. Example: at 100 pounds the additional weight required would be 8 ounces. Any catch that exceeds the existing record by less than the amount required to defeat the record will be considered a tie.
- The tournament Director reserves the right to disqualify any entry.
- All entry forms must be filled out completely and in a legible manner by the weigh master. The signed forms should be mailed in by the angler.
- The tournament runs from January 1 - December 31. No entry forms for the previous tournament year will be accepted after 4:30 p.m. January 31.
- Only one citation per species of fish will be issued to any individual during the tournament year. In the event an individual catches a larger fish than the one for which he originally was issued a citation, a new citation will be issued for the larger fish if the individual returns the original citation.
- Only one saltwater award and one freshwater award will be issued to any one individual during the tournament year.
- Special citations will be issued upon approval of the tournament Director in the case of unusual catches or extenuating circumstances (young children, disabled, etc.).
- The State of Delaware assumes no responsibility in the certification of a catch for consideration by the International Game Fish Association or any record keeping body other than the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament. If the angler wishes to qualify his/her catch for consideration in some other tournament, it is the responsibility of the angler to ensure that his catch and weigh-in meet the appropriate criteria. The Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament makes no distinction based on line classes or sex of the angler or fly versus conventional fishing gear.
Minimum Qualifying Weights
for Freshwater Fishes
NAME OF FISH SPECIES | WEIGHT IN POUNDS (Minimum) |
---|---|
Largemouth Bass | 5 |
White Shad | 5 |
Pickerel | 4 |
Smallmouth Bass | 2 |
White Perch | 1 |
Yellow Perch | 1 |
Trout | 2 |
Crappie | 1 |
Bluegill | 1 |
Carp | 15 |
Catfish | 6 |
Striped Bass | 20 |
Striped Bass Hybrid | 5 |
Minimum Qualifying Weights
for Saltwater Fishes
NAME OF FISH SPECIES | WEIGHT IN POUNDS (Minimum) |
---|---|
White Marlin | Any* |
Blue Marlin | Any* |
Shark (Excluding Mako) | 100 |
Tuna | 60 |
Black Drum | 50 |
Cod | 20 |
Dolphin | 15 |
False Albacore | 12 |
Bluefish | 14 |
Flounder | 7 |
Tautog | 7 |
Sea Bass | 3 |
Weakfish (Sea Trout) | 9 |
Porgy | 2 |
Kingfish | 1 |
Atlantic Mackerel | 2 |
King Mackerel | 10 |
Wahoo | 20 |
Atlantic Croaker | 3 |
Swordfish | Any |
True Albacore | 30 |
Mako Shark | 100 |
Striped Bass | 20 |
Live Release Award Program
![Watch catch and release online, free Watch catch and release online, free](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/04/25/10/338419BD00000578-3557352-image-a-19_1461577812526.jpg)
Minimum Qualifying Lengths
for Freshwater Live Release Awards
Catch And Release Film
NAME OF FISH SPECIES | LENGTH IN INCHES |
---|---|
Largemouth Bass | 20 |
American (White) Shad | 23 |
Pickerel | 24 |
Smallmouth Bass | 16 |
White Perch | 12 |
Yellow Perch | 12 |
Trout | 16 |
Tiger Musky | 30 |
Crappie | 12 |
Bluegill | 10 |
Carp | 29 |
Catfish | 25 |
Striped Bass | 37 |
Striped Bass Hybrid | 22 |
Walleye | 22 |
![Free Free](https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/36/750x445/1098685.jpg)
Minimum Qualifying Lengths
for Saltwater Live Release Awards
NAME OF FISH SPECIES | LENGTH IN INCHES |
---|---|
White Marlin | Any |
Blue Marlin | Any |
Shark (Excluding Mako) | 66 |
Tuna | 46 |
Black Drum | 45 |
Red Drum (Channel Bass) | 45 |
Cod | 36 |
Dolphin (Fish) | 41 |
False Albacore | 26 |
Bluefish | 33 |
Flounder | 25 |
Tautog | 25 |
Sheepshead | 22 |
Spanish Mackerel | 22 |
Sea Bass | 17 |
Weakfish (Sea Trout) | 31 |
Porgy | 14 |
Kingfish | 13 |
Atlantic Mackerel | 17 |
King Mackerel | 36 |
Wahoo | 50 |
Atlantic Croaker | 19 |
Swordfish | Any |
True Albacore | 32 |
Mako Shark | 66 |
Striped Bass | 37 |
Gray Triggerfish | 20 |
Watch Catch And Release online, free
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