Winter weather is always tricky and more and more captains are pulling their boats but for those brave souls, success is possible.
Captain Dan Schafer left the dock with Chris for one of the last trips of the year and reports that the water was nice and clear with the exception of some left over Sandy debris. He hit up the tog first finding them in their back-bay December haunts. They tagged them pretty well with fish to 5 pounds before stopping at another December spot where the stripers tend to winter. The fish were sitting in a 20 foot stretch of water. Dan and Chris sent down spot and pinfish on jig heads and every time the flats skiff went over the fish, they had either a miss or a rod doubled over on another bass. They stayed on the fish for a few hours making the rounds over this small zone landing bass to 29 inches. Dan’s skiff is out of the water now and he’s making his way down south to the Florabama coast for a couple of weeks.
NEWS: NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife announced that survey data from Merrill Creek Reservoir suggests that it may no longer be necessary to stock lake trout since there may be enough natural reproduction to sustain the fishery without supplemental stocking. Lake trout stocking will be discontinued after this year.
NJDEP reminds all that hunting and fishing licenses for 2013 are available at all license agents and online at www.nj.wildlifelicense.com
The 2013 Freshwater Fishing Digest is available online in PDF format. An interactive version will be available soon. The print version will begin arriving next week in sporting goods stores, license agents and division offices.
To view and print the Digest visit www.njfishandwildlife.com/digfsh13.htm
Reminder: All New Jersey fishing and hunting licenses expire on Dec. 31, regardless of when purchased.
Saving Seafood reports that the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations (Dec. 13) released the text of the FY2013 Disaster Assistance Supplemental including $150 million for fisheries disaster relief. The emergency spending contained in the bill is equal to the president’s request, and contains no earmarks. The bill next goes to the full Senate, and must pass the House before it goes to the president for signature.
NOAA Administrator, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, has announced that she will leave her post in February, 2013.
Keep sending your reports and pictures to cmiller@cmcherald.com. All pictures submitted are posted online at www.capemaycountyherald.com.
Avalon – Eighty percent of working-age Americans have jobs, and the average after-tax income is up almost $4,000 since before the pandemic, significantly outpacing inflation.
