The Fishing Line: September Season: Unpredictable

Flounder season is over and we are waiting for those big stripers to move in. This shoulder season still offers fishing action.
Kingfish, snapper blues, sea bass, trigger fish, flounder, stripers, and weakies are being caught off the pier and in the Grassy Sound area. The kids are having a great time catching snappers or sea bass off the pier. Crabbing in the back bay continues to be well worth the trip.
The Acona Crew, Mullica Hill took home about four dozen crabs. They were caught mostly during incoming tide in Turtle Creek using bunker. The Herr Family, Avon, Indiana also caught a bucket of crabs behind Turtle Creek .
Smokey of the Soul Cruisers caught a nice keeper flounder near the marina using minnows, incoming tide and Esme Pugh, Dallas, Texas caught two kingfish and some sea bass on squid off the Grassy Sound Pier, incoming tide. John Mooers, Dennisville, was catching bluefish and kings on mackerel at the top of the tide on the fishing pier, too.
The folks at Frank’s Boats remind us that the crowds have left and with less boat traffic you can expect a very enjoyable day on the water. And there are plenty of fish to be caught – sea bass, bluefish, kingfish.
As far as crabbing goes, it should just get better every day. Frank’s will be closing up Sept. 26 so don’t put off getting out on the water another day.
RFA NEWS: When the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council met in Galloway Township, funding options for the state’s Bureau of Marine Fisheries took center stage. “After rather contentious debate amongst Council members with input from the public, the governing body voted to conditionally endorse legislation that would create a state conservation lottery to provide funding for the state’s natural resources, including marine fisheries. The Council also supported the creation of a dedicated Striped Bass License Plate, so long as both options provided funding directed to the Director of the Division of Fish & Wildlife to be utilized by the Bureau of Marine Fisheries.
“The Council also voted to endorse the idea of a Saltwater Fishing License, although as noted by Council members, there is no legislation currently in play which would implement a marine license in New Jersey,
“Despite National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reported revenues of $100 million in sales tax revenue (on $1.6 billion in gross sales) generated by recreational fishing in the state of New Jersey, the FY 2011 budget appropriates only $600,000 to the Bureau, with additional funding coming in the form of federal Wallop-Breaux funding derived from a 10% federal excise tax on fishing equipment sold in the state.
According to Capt. Adam Nowalsky, Chairman of the Recreational Fishing Alliance’s New Jersey chapter (RFA-NJ), “Marine Fisheries has been fighting for years for the funding to do their job in support of New Jersey’s anglers,” adding “If the state’s unwilling to allocate more of the fishing community’s direct taxes back toward the marine resources, then we believe a constitutionally protected revenue stream through a lottery makes the most sense right now.”
Also discussed at length was a formal procedure for public comment during future Council meetings. A document outlining the Council’s new guidelines for public comment was formally requested by the RFA-NJ after the July Council meeting, when it was stated by the Council Chairman that the public would not be allowed to ask questions at Council meetings.
The Council also decided to hold a special meeting in April each year to set that year’s recreational regulations, including size, season and bag limits. Typically this takes place in March, but the change, initiated by a change in Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission schedule, will allow for this well attended meeting to be held in a more centralized location.” For more information, visit www.rfanj.org.
Send your fish stories and photos to cmiller@cmcherald.com.