78 - CAPE GAZETYE, Friday, May 30 - June 5, 1997
Rhodes named enforcement agent of the year
Major Jim Graybeal of the Divi-
sion of Fish and Wildlife likes to
say that the "can-do" attitude of
Cpl. Gregory Rhodes is what sets
the officer apart.
Rhodes is the winner of two
awards for 1996, both of which go
to only one fish and wildlife en-
forcement agent in the state.
Rhodes, a father of three and
Seaford resident, is the Fish and
Wildlife Division Employee of
the Year and the winner of the
Shikar-Safari International
Award.
The Shikar-Safari Club Interna-
tional began as a social hunting
group, but has since become a
considerable conservation force,
paying for game wardens for Pak-
istan, paying to transplant moose
to re-establish them in Colorado,
funding the education of Zambian
wildlife officers and purchasing a
Super Cub Airplane, equipped
with two-way radios, for the Mex-
ican Game Department to halt the
rampant poaching of desert sheep.
During a massive snowfall last-
January, Rhodes helped find a lost
child. There was 18 inches of
Cape Region Fishing Report
Alex Makowski shows a
keeper flounder he caught on
a minnow in the Broadkill.
[
L ,'
H
snow on the ground and the child
had left home and begun to walk
through the woods in sub-zero
temperatures.
"I basically tracked him through
the woods. That night it got down
to 10 below zero. If we had not
found him, he would have died,"
Rhodes said.
Rhodes explained that the little
boy got lost in the dark on Jan. 10,
confused by the deep snow and
ouldn't find his way home.
Rick Sylvanis shows the 20
pound striper he caught in
the surf recently.
TIDES
Indian River Rehoboth
Date l Inlet Beach
5/311
t. m
II m.I
mm
Roosevelt Oak
Inlet Orchard
m
6/1
N
6/2
6/3
6/4
6/6
While he waited for help, the
child dug a snow cave for shelter,
"You do not do what you do for
accolades . . . But it [the two
awards] makes me feel good I am
very honored."
"You are only as good as your
next case," Rhodes said.
His resume includes time spent
on the interview committee for
the selection of new fish and
wildlife agents, assisting in the
elver or baby eel poaching pre-
vention project and running
Camp Awareness.
The Camp is run for approxi-
mately 100 children and it teach-
es boating and firearm safety,
archery and other environmental
activities. "The kids just love it,"
Graybeal said.
Rhodes conducts training in
boating safety, is the statewide
supply officer for the Division
and recently made two arrests
leading to the revocation of hunt-
ing licenses for two people
caught poaching wildlife red-
handed. He also is a board mem-
ber of the Delaware Fish and
Wildlife Enforcement Agents As-
Mike Short photo
cPL. GREGORY RHODES
sociation, a group hoping to raise
the salaries of Delaware's fish
and wildlife agents.
"I have a philosophy," he said.
"I treat honest people honestly
and give them the benefit of the
doubt and I treat an outlaw like an
outlaw... What I enjoy about the
job is no two days are the same."
"He is the first one to answer
the call...Greg is a pleasure to
work with and always maintains a
positive "can do" attitude," Gray-
beal said of the former Coast
Guard officer.
Cape friends group
The May 28 meeting of the new
friends group for Cape Henlopen
State Park never materialized.
With only a handful of people on
hand, the meeting never really be-
gan.
But organizers will try again
next month. Stay tuned for details
and please consider joining be-
cause a friends group can be a
wonderful addition to any park:
The Friends group at Trap Pond
has raised thousands of dollars
for that park and could work sim-
ilar wonders here.
A friends group can also boost
volunteer efforts, give the park
some political pull and generally
be an advocate for one of the
most unique areas in Delaware.
Trout and
kids' tourney
By Michael Short
Delaware Bay has yet to hit its
stride, but early season fishing
near Roosevelt Inlet and other
shallow water areas has been out-
standing for trout and flounder.
Wreck fishing and bluefish
trolling and chunking are also pro-
viding outstanding catches as are
freshwater ponds which are giving
up some really nice bass.
Don't forget this Saturday is the
annual kids tournament at Cape
Henlopen State Park (there are de-
tails below).
The tournament comes just in
time for the good flounder fishing
and there should be some nice
catches for the kids.
Delaware Bay
Lewes Harbour Marina reports
that small, soft plastic lures and
bait are catching fish around Roo-
sevelt Inlet. The best time for trout
is usually the evening and the Fer-
ry Wall and other shallow areas
near shore also work.
Don't ignore the Cape Hen-
lopen Fishing Pier, especially for
flounder, in four to six feet of wa-
ter.
Roosevelt Inlet and Broadkill
Beach may be the hottest inlet on
the Eastern seaboard. R & R
Sports Center reports that trout
and flounder catches have really
turned on.
Earl Lankford and Leon Carlisle
flounder hot;
this weekend
had trout to six pounds from
Broadkill Beach. Vince Dwyer
and Steve Klein had trout to 24-
inches one mile out from the inlet.
Floating jig heads tipped with
peeler and squid.
Once you find the trout, drop
the hook and start bailing.
Gene Hastings caught an 8.47
pound trout in the north pocket.
Sharks to four feet have moved
into the bay and the twins, Bob
and Tom, teamed up with a pair of
drum from the Coral Beds.
The full moon in recent days
produced some excellent drum
fishing, including Patrick
O'Neill's very nice catch of 80.8
pounds. There was also a rumored
whopping 104-pounder caught by
a Cape May vessel.
There are tautog on the outer
wall, but the most unusual catch
this week was a 28.8 pound
striped bass for Lewes man Chuck
Ulrich from the Coral Beds area.
Fishing must run in the Ulrich
family.
Check out his wife Karen's in-
novative fishing lure earrings
sometime.
What makes his catch so unusu-
al is that he was fishing with
clams for a black drum.
Atlantic Ocean"
Surf action has been slow with
occasional hl0w toads, sea mullet
and bluefish.
Bluefish action continues from
the Buoy line out for chunkers and
trollers. Russ Kennedy reported a
limit from the Delaware Light.
There are night fishing trips dur-
ing the weekends for blues from
Fisherman's Wharf. Lewes Har-
bour reports that chumming is
probably producing more fish
than trolling right now.
Sea bass fishing from the Old
Grounds continues strong with
humpbacks to four pounds.
There were mako and blue
sharks reported offshore, but still
south of us in the Chincoteague
area.
Freshwater
Kersey's Outfitters reports good
numbers of largemouth bass on
worms and spinnerbaits. There's
no one set spot, but nice fish are
being reported on the artificials.
Kids tourney May 31
The Seaside Nature Center at
Cape Henlopen State Park is call-
ing all kids, 13-years-old and un-
der, to participate in a children's
fishing tournament, at the Cape
Henlopen Fishing Pier.
Children can begin registering
at the picnic pavilion at 10 a.m.
The tournament will continue un-
til 2 p.m.
Prizes, donated by Hoss's Pier
One Bait and Tackle, will be
awarded to the anglers that land
the longest and heaviest fish of the
day: Park entrance fees, $2.50 per
Delaware vehicle, $5 out-of-state
vehicle, will be in effect on tour-
nament day, Saturday, May 31.
