The Beach Coalition Is Going After Your Surf Fishing Access In 2020


The Beach Coalition is at it again, they want you off their beaches.

(August 2019) … I will apologize now, this is a long read, but it is very important.

Your surf fishing trucks are a “crisis”. Your parking in front of their houses on the surf fishing beaches you pay to access, it is a crisis for them, their guests, and renters. Read into that last one, mostly their renters. You will see crisis and critical used a lot below. You will see important names thrown around. Those names work for you, the voting citizens of the state of Delaware.

Below are excerpts from a letter. The first is parts sent to the HOA’s along the park at Fenwick Island State Park. In this letter it is explained that the Beach Access coalition needs $4,000 so they can pay their lobbyist and lawyer to fight for their private use of your state park public beaches. If you don’t recall we were told that the Coalition has no issues with the public using those beaches so long as there are no vehicles parked there. In order for any person to access that area, by foot, they have to walk over a mile from the bathhouse. Any takers want to drag the family and all that stuff out there? There aren’t any facilities there either, wait till you have to walk a mile to use the bathroom.

Do you see how this becomes an exclusive beach for just those houses? Despite the fact they will tell you the public does have access to that area, it is a lie. You are not allowed to park in their HOA’s nor are you allowed to park along route 1. The only “public” that has access to those over the dune accesses are the houses across route 1 in some areas. That is all the “public” that is allowed to access, not you.


The last parts I put into this article, are the Beach Coalition’s “game plan” or Situational Analysis (their words) they sent to DNREC, our legislators, and our administration in Dover. These people are taking videos of you all out there and pictures. They are using crowded holiday weekend pictures as the example. There is nothing about how little the crowds are on the weekdays and non holiday weekends. Seems they just want their own beach with no one around to bother them. The video is a shot along the beach on Fourth of July weekend. That is how they analyzed the situation.

The Beach Coalition shouldn’t have poked this bear. The surf anglers and citizens of Delaware are tired of this and honestly filling up the beaches near you on purpose. Because they can and paid for the access. Every other walk on beach at the drive on beaches has zero issues, NO ONE CARES! I have interviewed a lot of walk on beach goers in the other parks, they could care less, they are happy to be at the beach. These coalition people live at the beach and are unhappy, that is sad, I feel sorry for them. How can you be so unhappy living at the beach.

I thought long and hard about putting this out there, but I think the public not only needs to know, but has the right to know. That once again a small group of people are trying to usurp the parks that belong to the citizens of Delaware. Get in touch with your state reps. I don’t want to post email addresses, I get phone calls when you all clog mail servers.

Just an idea, but if you poke the bear eventually it wakes up. If the state just took away these accesses for these housing communities and they had to use the bathhouse access, or get a tag and drive on like everyone else, that would solve a lot of problems. Not to mention the parks would make bank on dune tickets.

Click here for email contacts to email your state represenatives.


Fish On!
Rich King


These are pictures the coalition sent to the state etc. Apparently if you aren’t holding your rod you aren’t fishing, so say the people who don’t fish. The dude throwing the bird wins the internet today. This is what you get for taking pictures of people in a public place.

Poles and lines line the beach from IHV to the Park Swiming area_ almost all unattended

Pictures taken on a holiday weekend, as if the beaches wouldn’t be crowded. I see some spaces between trucks that are very accessible.

Beach coalition, fenwick island houses
At the end of the IHV Boardwalk, July 6, 2019

LETTER …. “On Saturday, July 6, 2019, the beach at the end of the IHV Boardwalk was wall to wall trucks and unattended fishing lines. Of the owners, guests and renters that arrived at the end of the IHV Boardwalk to have a quality beach experience, many turned around and returned to their homes. Photos of the beach that day, a video of the situation on Fenwick Island and an update are attached.”

LETTER … “The coalition is in need of significant contributions from all of us at this critical time.”

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LETTER … “The Delaware Beach Access Coalition has been working hard to prevent this type of situation from happening in 2020. Attached is an update concerning our activities before the Commission of Parks and Recreation and the Delaware Legislature. Every member of the legislature received a copy of our Situation Analysis, photos and some excellent letters. Now we begin out “end game” where we meet personally with the leaders of the legislature, DNREC and the Carney administration. Our goal is three no parking areas totally 400 yards out of 11 miles of beach available to surf fishing trucks. One of the three no parking areas is the southern 150 yards of the Delaware Seashore State Park (IHV Boardwalk). We are also seeking greater enforcement of the surf fishing rules with the intent of reducing the number of fake fishers.”


Just a heads up … The DSSP section is the area at 3R’s near the pylons, that means they are now asking to take access out of another park, not just Fenwick Island.
These folks call the rangers constantly about people not fishing etc. They leave out chairs, EZ ups, tents, and umbrellas all night long to save spaces on the beaches. We are not allowed to save spaces with our vehicles, no one is allowed to do that either on any park beach. Seems hypocritical to call surf anglers out for fishing when you are breaking a simple rule as well. I can go out on that beach any Friday night and find all kinds of sweet new beach chairs etc. That is technically abandoned property on state park property. Not long ago I pointed that out and was told I was inciting possible criminal activity if anyone took these chairs. They aren’t supposed to be there. Why isn’t anyone forcing them to not break that rule?

LETTER …. “We are also seeking greater enforcement of the Surf Fishing rules with a goal of decreasing the number of licenses sought by fake fishers. ”

Interpretation ….. They think by reducing fake fishing it will reduce the numbers of vehicles on the beaches or tags needed. These folks have obviously never seen the other drive on beaches on a busy holiday weekend. Nor have they paid attention to all the people complaining they didn’t get a tag this year so they could actually fish.

LETTER …. The best lobbyist in Delaware is assisting us. However, to have a robust “end game” we must raise an additional $4,000. Please send your contribution (hopefully $100 -$200) to Delaware Beach Access Coalition. (I took out the address)


Delaware Beach Access Coalition Update and “End Game”

  • For all of 2019, the Coalition has been working hard to educate the Parks and Recreation Commission, legislature, conservation groups, the Press and the Carney administration to the crisis of trucks on the beach. If you own a beach house and cannot have a quality beach experience on weekends and holidays during the Summer Beach Season, the beach house is of diminished usefulness and value. 
  • In January there was a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission to consider, for the first time, limiting the number of beach driving permits that could be sold to 17,000 and increasing the license fees.  The Coalition conducted a letter writing campaign and clearly made know the harmful impact of the current overcrowded situation. The only lawful reason for a truck to be on the beach is to facilitate a surf fisher “actively engaged in surf fishing”. Most trucks on the beach are there unlawfully.  The material and testimony supplied by the Coalition was powerful. The Commission voted unanimously to limit the number of beach driving licenses and increase fees.
  • The Coalition then supported the passage of SB 66 in both the Senate and House Committee hearings and delivered a package of material to every Senator and Member of the House with a situation analysis, excellent photographs and excellent letters from beach home owners prevented by using the beaches near their boardwalks to the beach by excessive numbers of surf fishing trucks. 
  • SB 66 was to dramatically increase enforcement the surf fishing rules. The 2019 legislature improved the situation surrounding enforcement when passed unanimously, but not as much as hoped. There was a dramatic increase in the number of full-time park rangers. Two rangers were added to the budget because of the attention brought to the issue by the Coalition. There will soon be eight rangers instead of six!!
  • The legislative session ended on June 30.  Now, the all-important “End Game” of seeking the three no parking areas that are so important to the health and sustainability of seven beach communities on Fenwick Island and North Bethany.  Brian McGlinchey of McCarter Government Solutions, LLC, the lobbying arm of Law Firm McCarter & English is assisting the Coalition.  Brian is, by far the best lobbyist in Delaware for this issue. We will be meeting personally with the leadership of the legislature, DNREC and the Administration over the next six weeks.   
  • To have the most robust campaign and to pay accumulated bills, the Coalition must raise an additional $4000.  The owners in the seven communities that will so greatly benefit by these three no parking zones are being solicited for addition contributions. If you have not already done so, Now is the Time to Contribute. Send checks to the Delaware Beach Access Coalition, Inc

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