The season is picking up on the water and off. Fishing reports are coming in from local captains and there’s more reaction to the Magnuson-Stevens Bill.
Captain Adam, Adam Bomb Sport Fishing, Cape May, was out scouting and reports there is a ton of bait in the Delaware Bay and predicts that fishing will take off within the next week or two. He is beginning daily striper open boat and charter trips. He has some good early season spots marked out where he saw some nice fish and tons of bait.
Give him a call at 846-7396 or 602-6834 and get out there soon.
Captain Fred at Harbor View Bait & Tackle is open on weekends for the next couple of weeks and then he’ll be open daily. He’s got live eels as well as frozen bait. He says there have been stripers on top of the water in the bay and there should be some good fishing this week.
Offshore is still producing good catches of sea bass with fish going as much as 7-pounds.
The Miss Chris Fleet, Third Avenue & Wilson Drive, Cape May, will start sailing March 21 and 22 for stripers. Call 884-3939.
The Atlantic Star, Park Blvd, Wildwood Crest, continues to battle the weather and still get in some fine fishing. Besides all the sea bass they’re bringing back, they also brought in a 25-pound golden tile fish. (see photo) Call 729-7776 or 729-3400 to be a part of the action.
Here’s a portion of a press release from Greg DiDomenico, Garden State Seafood Association, Jim Donofrio, Recreational Fishing Alliance, and Ray Bogan, United Boatmen of New York and New Jersey:
In a press release on Feb. 27, Alison Chase of the Natural Resources Defense Council, speaking for members of the Coastal Ocean Coalition, quoted “close to a third of New Jersey’s most important commercial and recreational saltwater fish and shellfish are depleted or are being overfished.” This pronouncement was in support of the New Jersey Coastal and Ocean Protection Council Act that would give environmental activists authority over fisheries management decisions.
Of the thirteen species of fish and shellfish that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is in charge of, only three are considered overfished (summer flounder, scup and butterfish), and fishing groups are working with the Council and independent scientists they have retained to address this. (Neither sea scallops nor striped bass are being overfished.)
Three out of fifteen hardly comes “close to a third,” but this type of exaggeration is part of the strategies of the environmental crisis industry that has decided to overthrow a fisheries management system that has proven it can effectively manage our State’s and our nation’s fisheries.
When I spoke with Jim Donofrio, RFA, he told me that exaggerations such as these are confusing. What is hoped for is to get some “flexibility” in the M-S Act and recognition of the progress that has been made. He says, “The Pew Foundation reports are environmental fraud; spreading misinformation. Overfishing has become a buzz-word to get people’s attention.”
The press and public have been bombarded with warnings of the demise of summer flounder, yet the data shows that summer flounder stocks have increased by nearly 400 percent since the Mid-Atlantic Council implemented a management plan.
Greg DiDomenico, executive director of the Garden State Seafood Association, said “after three decades of experience in managing our fisheries in both state and federal waters we are trying to reach the point at which the welfare of the fishermen and of the communities that they support is in balance with the welfare of the fish and shellfish stocks that they harvest.”
In the House of Representatives, Feb. 13, legislators including Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), introduced bill #5425 to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to extend the time period for rebuilding of certain overfished fisheries and for other purposes.
FYI – There is an error in the Tiger Musky/Muskellunge size limits on p. 22, 2008 Freshwater Fishing Digest. The size limits for the two categories of waters were reversed. The size limit for Tiger Musky and Muskellunge is 36 inches and the size limit for Trophy Musky Waters: Mountain Lake and Echo Lake Reservoir is 40 inches.
April 4-6 Wildwood Boat Show and Fishing Expo, Wildwoods Convention Center, Fri: 2 p.m.–8 p.m., Sat: 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. www.wildwoodsboatshow.com.
April 6 – Fishing Flea Market, Cape May Convention Hall, Beach Drive, 660-7650, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. This is a great to sell off the equipment you don’t use, and at the same time buy some new things you might need. Call 660-7650. There will be old, new, used, antique fishing equipment, rods, reels, lures, and nautical décor for sale. Admission is $3, children 12 and under are free.
Be sure to send your fish stories and pictures and Be My Guest reporter. Send info to cmiller@cmcherald.com.
