These last few weeks of striper season are certainly proving challenging. Windy and rainy days mixed with beautiful days of above normal temps; all to insure that we don’t give up too soon.
Reports are few and far between this week but blues and tog are being caught, and of course, those great stripers are still around. (See photos)
The fifth annual Fight Leukemia Fishing Tournament took place on Nov. 21, and the Grand Prize for biggest bass went to Bill Simmerman with a 25.55-pound lunker. He went home with a Van Staal Spinning Reel.
Chris Southard was the blue fish category winner with an 11.16-pound fish netting himself a Star rod.
A check for $3700 went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help fight Leukemia.
The tournament to honor the memory of local fisherman/surfer Chris Hagel, has raised over $11,000 for the Society. (www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.)
On Thursday, Dec. 3, Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1st) presented his bill before the state legislature for a free saltwater fishing registry. The proposal met with strong opposition from the DEP who wanted to amend the bill to contain a fee. This amendment did not pass and the bill (S-2194) will be considered again in the first months of 2010.
I had the opportunity to speak with the Senator later that day. He exposed the difficulty neighboring states are having with a licensing procedure and he is committed to a free registry for New Jerseyans.
He believes there are other ways to fund the Department of Fish and Wildlife. One idea to consider would be a “conservation lottery” where only the willing would be taxed and monies collected would be constitutionally protected for the intended purpose.
More to come on this important topic.
Mark your calendars for the Atlantic City Boat Show for Feb. 3-7, 2010. They always have a great section of fishing gear and equipment besides the latest boats.
There’s some interesting yet conflicting news on the boating front. Info-Link Technologies Bellwether Report shows boat sales were up this year, only the ski boat segment losing ground, but still, graphs show sales remain significantly below the highs of a few years ago. (http://www.info-link.com/bellwetherreport.asp.)
In related news, Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. will discontinue production of Century Boats (Panama City, Fla.) effective immediately while MasterCraft Boat Co. is recalling employees to its worldwide headquarters in Vonore, Tenn. to ramp up production.
All photos submitted appear online at SeeMyBigFish.com. Be sure to send your fish stories to cmiller@cmcherald.com. This column appears first online at capemaycountyherald.com
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