The Fishing Line: Winter Break

It certainly has been an unusual year for fishing. Weather, new regulations, registry vs. license. Isn’t is a great sport? I wish all of you ‘fair winds and calm seas’ and plenty of time to go fishing in 2011.
The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife Freshwater Fishing Issue of the Fish and Wildlife DIGEST is now available on the division’s website and will arrive at license agents soon. In addition to regulation information, anglers will find several articles concerning fishing in New Jersey of interest. To view the PDF version, either in its entirety or in sections which download faster, visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/digfsh11.htm ; for the interactive version, visit http://www.eregulations.com/NewJersey/fishing/freshwater on the publisher’s website.
On Nov. 30, NOAA announced that the fee for registering with the National Saltwater Angler Registry will be $15 as of Jan. 1, 2011, a change affecting many anglers and spear fishermen in Hawaii, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Anglers from other coastal states are exempted from the federal requirement when they comply with state regulations, as 22 of the nation’s 24 coastal states have saltwater angler registries or licenses exempted from the federal requirement because they are providing registry information to the National Saltwater Angler Registry.
“If you have questions about whether this applies to you or not, best thing to do is log on immediately to www.countymyfish.noaa.gov for details,” said Jim Donofrio, executive director of the RFA. “You still have time to register federally at no cost for the next 365 days if you get online and sign up right now,” Donofrio said.
The New Jersey Senate voted unanimously (36-0) Dec. 20 in support of legislation requiring the DEP to establish a free recreational saltwater registry to meet federal data collection requirements set by the Magnuson Stevens Act. The bill approved by the Senate (S1122) along with its companion bill (A823) approved by the Assembly on March 22, now needs only the signature of Governor Chris Christie in order to direct the DEP Commissioner to establish and implement a free state registry program for saltwater recreational anglers, modeled on the registry program established by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
And now a great story to end the year with:
On Nov. 5, Jen Wesh, her mom and her aunt left Fortescue just before the top of the tide. The goal was to spend some “quality time” on the bay before the fishing season ended. It was a cool 55 degrees and the water temperature was 53. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the winds were calm. It was a great day to be out on the Delaware Bay.
They went out to the “first drop off” in 22 feet of water and waited for the tide to turn. There were only two other boats within shouting distance. After sitting for about an hour, just as the tide started to ebb, Jen felt a slight tug and then a run off. She was using light tackle, a 6’6″ ugly stick and a Penn Spinning Reel. The fish practically spooled her reel while she fought to get it close to the boat.
About 30 yards out, the fish broke the top of the water, and she saw it was a really big striper. She brought the striper to the boat three times, to no avail, as it continued to dive and peel line. Finally, after a good twenty minute battle, they were able to net the fish. It took two of them to lift it into the boat. The fish measured 46-inches and weighed over 40-pounds.
When she returned to Higbee’s Marina, Charlie (who manages the ramp) told Jen her fish was the biggest he had seen that day. Seasoned anglers stopped by to see the fish caught by the “woman on the Katie Scarlett.” One even asked: “Were you women out there alone?” Jen smiled and said: “Yes.” The striper caught on bunker on a fish finder rig, was the first striper Jen, ever caught.
Hold onto that thought.
This column will not run during January, 2011. It will return Feb. 2. Happy New Year, everyone and thanks for all your support.
You can keep in touch by e-mailing cmiller@cmcherald.com