Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Did we really need to begin fluke seasons so early?
Early in the spring, I opined in this space that fisheries managers should not have sacrificed size for season. It was an unpopular view, but I think reality has vindicated my opinion. I get a plethora of fishing reports from charter captains, headboat skippers and tackle shops fed to my inbox on a weekly basis. And so far this fluke season, there seems to be very little fluke fishing going on. Sure, there are some scattered reports of a keeper here or a keeper there, but participation seems low, with most anglers tangling in the spring striped bass run or, on the party boats, still getting into ling and cod fishing. Water temperatures remain too low for consistent fluke fishing in much of our area, and those who have caught keepers have …
Monday, May 9, 2011
Where did you fish for summer flounder on Saturday?
In one of the great portrayals of journalism Hollywood has ever put out, the Stars and Stripes team patrolling Vietnam in Full Metal Jacket has to be one of the best. In explaining the meaning of the Tet holiday, one Marine Corps journalist said to another that it was like "Christmas, New Year's and the Fourth of July all wrapped into one." Here in New Jersey, anglers look at the start of fluke season much in the same light. It's Christmas, as we're getting the gift of another season, New Year because (let's face it) the year revolves around fishing and the Fourth of July because, well, it's a day to celebrate our God-given right to fish. Of course, Uncle Sam never wanted for us to be that free. There is an 18 inch minimum size limit and, …
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Size limit will remain at 18 inches; season to last through late September
New Jersey anglers will have to contend with another year of an 18-inch minimum size limit for summer flounder – also known as fluke – in 2011, though the length of the open season on the popular species will last significantly longer than last year. The state Marine Fisheries Council voted unanimously at its meeting Thursday afternoon to approve regulations setting an 18-inch size limit and a season which runs May 7 through Sept. 25 on summer flounder. Anglers will be able to keep eight fish per day. In 2010, the regulations included the same 18-inch size limit, however the season ran from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Anglers were able to keep six fish in 2010. The set of regulations approved at the meeting represents …
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Christie signs bill creating free fishing registry
Anglers will not have to pay to fish in 2011, but they will have to register with the state. A week before New Jersey's striped bass season begins March 1, Gov. Chris Christie signed into law a bill designed to create a free registry of the state's recreational anglers. The bill provides for the state to create a registry system to account for recreational anglers, which brings New Jersey into compliance with federal law. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which regulates fisheries management policies on the federal level, all recreational anglers must be registered with either the federal government or a state agency in order for scientists to keep better records of catch data. States with fishing licenses use their licensing regimes as …
Monday, January 31, 2011
Fishermen claim a struggle to earn a profitable living under stringent state restrictions
It's a cold 8 a.m. as the last boat sails out of the Belford Seafood Co-op's inlet. The fishermen have already fallen several hours behind, having needed to clean off their ships from the severe snowstorm of the night before. There are chunks of ice floating in the waterway — an obvious reminder of the extremes of this particular winter season. The four classic conflicts of drama are: man versus man, man versus self, man versus society and man versus nature. Unlike many professions, a fisherman has to deal with all four. Nature tops the list. The fish are out there. It is only the ability to get out and catch them that separates those who can survive in a fisherman’s world from those who cannot. Because they carry a variety of stress on …
