The Atlantic City Power Boat Show and Fishing Expo was quite a deal. Or lots of deals, I should say. I don’t know how many boats were sold, but the crowd was sure a happy one.
The fishing market is always my favorite part. It’s interesting to note which vendors draw the folks in and which representatives are standing by themselves.
Anything with a ‘show discount’ sign, drew attention. I saw a good number of new rods, boat polish, and lures being purchased and several booths had info to help a boater ‘go green.’
Joe Wrigley from the RFA talked with me about the saltwater fishing license for NJ, and as you probably know, the RFA does not support such a move.
It’s a complicated issue since NOAA will require a federal registry in 2010 and by 2011 will more than likely charge a fee for that.
Wrigley and others I’ve talked to, would probably accept a NJ licensing system with a fee attached IF the monies raised went to a dedicated fund for fishing issues.
Senator Jeff Van Drew has proposed a bill that would put in place a NJ registry with no fee attached. But the question remains, how long will that last?
Since a fishing licensing/registry is coming, NJ could make the best of it by beating the federal agency to the punch and raising money to support NJ fishing.
NOTICE: The Wildwood Boat Show scheduled for April 3-5 has been cancelled. Citing the difficult economy as the reason for the cancellation, the Chamber of Commerce hopes to bring the show back next year.
If you want to visit another show, check out the NJ Spring Boat Show at the NJ Convention Center in Raritan tFeb. 19-22. Visit MacEvents.com.
Offshore fishing reports from the Atlantic Star, Wildwood Crest, continue to come in. They’ve been out in some pretty tough weather with strong currents. Some anglers managed to catch the limit of sea bass with fish up to 6-pounds. Carlo Lugo, Patterson, managed to bring in his limit of sea bass and had a nice 8.5-pound tile fish for the pool winner.
Another day, Bruce Mattner, Philadelphia, caught the limit of sea bass with a beautiful 12-pound cod to win the pool.
Check out SeeMyBigFish.com and be sure to send your fish stories and pictures to Be My Guest reporter. Send info to cmiller@cmcherald.com. This column appears first on capemaycountyherald.com
This season marks the 50th anniversary of the OCMTC. The club has endured some lean fishing and ever-changing regulations yet are as active as ever in the reef programs and club tournaments. Their tournaments are all free excluding the Overnight Tournament. This year they are working with the Ladies Invitational Bluefish Tournament for cancer research and has a kids outing for the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and other affiliates. OCMTC welcomes individuals and families to join in the many activites and tournaments.
Wildwood – So Liberals here on spout off, here's a REAL question for you.
Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…
