The Fishing Line: Weather or Not

October ‘s winds and rains really limited fishing trips these past days but as usual, there’s always news on the fishing front.
Bill (bucktail willie) Shillingford fishing out of Whale Creek Marina finally got out after the stormy weather and found striped bass hungry with 12 on Monday and 14 Tuesday. Willie even found some in the 20-29 inch range on Wednesday. Then the bite slowed but he still managed 4 in the 24-28 inch range. By Thursday, he only caught two but one was a fat 32 incher.
Willie isn’t seeing much bait around inshore to hold the fish but clearly these fish have been in ocean as they were a bright silver. Willie recommends using a white bucktail with 7inch chartreuse worm, few caught on rattletraps. Should be plenty more by press time.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted to address additional conservation of river herring and shad through an interagency working group. Once abundant throughout the region, river herring (alewives and blueback) and shad (American and hickory) populations have declined to historic lows in recent decades as a result of habitat loss, overfishing, and other factors. Their depletion has sparked serious concern.
The Council has been working for several years to develop management measures to help assist the recovery of river herring and shad populations. After extensive discussion, public testimony, and consideration of more than 37,000 public comments during last week’s meeting in Philadelphia, the Council determined that additional management of river herrings and shads under an FMP was neither required nor appropriate at this time. Instead, the Council adopted a motion to establish a working group composed of regional, state, and federal management partners that will work to holistically address river herring and shad mortality and stock status throughout their range. For additional info and related documents, go to http://www.mafmc.org/actions/msb/am15.
Are you putting your boat away for winter soon? Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) says recreational boat owners need to take special precautions with E-10 gas (http://smtp.boatus.net/t?r=5&c=26099&l=1217&ctl=22327E:42FC89D12F2588562210F8AEF937C7F2&)gas and review their insurance policy before they put their boat to bed for a long winter’s nap.
It’s highly likely that your boat’s gasoline contains a mixture of up to 10 percent ethanol, which is known to damage engines and boat fuel systems, especially over the long winter storage season. If you have a portable gas tank on your boat, try to use up as much gas as possible. Any remaining gas or gas-and-oil mix that’s left in the portable tank can be put in your car or outdoor power equipment, respectively. The goal here is to use it up as quickly as possible.
If your boat has a built-in gas tank that cannot be emptied, add a fuel stabilizer, and then fill the tank as much as possible, leaving just a smidgen of room for expansion. This will greatly reduce the amount of moisture laden-air that can enter through the tank’s vent and potentially condense on inside tank walls over the long storage season. The goal here is to prevent water from being absorbed into the gas and ethanol mixture, which if left unchecked, results in phase separation and damage to the boat’s fuel system and motor. For more info about winter storage, go to www.BoatUS.com/seaworthy/ethanolwinter.asp .
NEWS: Proposed amendments to the 2014-2015 Fish Code, New Jersey Register, Sept. 16, public comment period ends Nov. 15. Submit comments electronically at www.nj.gov/dep/rules/comments or mail to Gary J. Brower, Esq. ATTN: 05-13-08 NJ DEP Office of Legal Affairs Mail Code 401-04L, PO Box 402, 401 E. State St., 4th Floor Trenton, NJ 08625-0402. Information at www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2013/fishcode_proposal.htm or www.nj.gov/dep/rules/notices/20130916a.html
Jersey Shore Beach-n-Boat Tournaamnet, statewide, multi-fish tourney ends Nov. 30. Not too late to check out www.beachnboat.com
The Fishing Line runs year round (short hiatus in January) so keep sending your reports and pictures to cmiller@cmcherald.com. Column and pictures are posted online at www.capemaycountyherald.com and on Facebook. Keep them coming. N.B. Pictures in today’s issue are from earlier this season.