Few things are more frustrating than waiting for the fish to arrive and just when they are expected, the weather disappoints. Stay ready, fishing is going to pick up soon.
Captain Ray put TideRunner in the boat in the water this week so it is all set for the fishing season. He says the water is still pretty cold for catching on the fly rod. He went out one day in heavy fog and found 49 degree water around the inlet when going to the back bay where it was a little warmer a front came through with strong winds and rain chased him off the water. High winds kept him at the dock the rest of the week. Ray can’t wait to get that first striper on the fly for the season. Captain got out one day when it was too windy to fish the salt and did some freshwater fishing, catching some pickerel on yellow/orange Mickey Finn flies.
According to Captain Skip Jastremski striper fishing was great, then slow, and is now picking back up. He had some larger stripers in the 30-pound range of late. He also reports some black drum caught in the last week. With May on its way, it wouldn’t be a shock to see drum and stripers on the same trip, he says.
A reader asked me about the USS Radford. Here’s what I found: A much anticipated addition to the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Artificial Reef Program is the USS Arthur W. Radford, the longest vessel yet to be deployed anywhere off the entire Atlantic coast.
The Arthur W. Radford measures 563 feet in length, 55 feet in beam and displaces more than 9000 tons and will lie in approximately 135 feet of water as part of the Deljerseyland Inshore reef. The distance from the surface to the top of the vessel will be 60 feet allowing novice as well as experienced technical divers to explore, speargun hunt and catch lobsters. The massive reef is anticipated to become the premier dive attraction in the Northeast.
Ever wonder how you can determine if your local stream is healthy or polluted? Are you already a stream monitor but want to expand your toolbox of skills? Or are you new to the water world and just curious of what insects and critters live in your local stream and want to get involved protecting them? A two-day interactive classroom and field workshop will help you learn about stream health. You will receive effective methods to take action with this information to protect your stream if it is healthy or document harm and pollution to help clean it up if it is not. May 4 & 5, 8:45 a.m. – 4 p.m., Prallsville Mills along the Delaware River, 13 miles north of Trenton, Route 29, Stockton. Call 633-9241 or e-mail danielle.donkersloot@dep.state.nj.us
Send fishing reports, comments and pictures to cmiller@cmcherald.com
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
