For New Jersey Saltwater Fishermen

[Fishidiot]

As part of the federal govt's goal of improving data on marine fish management and quota allocation - anglers who fish in tidal waters in certain states will be required to register with NOAA. New Jersey is one of the states that require this registration (because it doesn't require a salt license). Registration will begin on Jan 1. You can call at 888 674 7411 or hit this site:

http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov/mrip/

Registration is free. The above website also indicates which other states require this registration. This is a good program and the data that can be gathered (presumably from phone creel surveys) will be beneficial to fisheries management. Again, wait till Jan 1st.

 

[1wt]

For the last couple years NJ is using "beach replenishment"
That simply means that the rich guys from NY have summer homes on the beach. Every year the beach gets eroded away. The locals pay for the replenishment of the rich guys summer homes! LOL They didn't go to college and have no idea where the tax money goes! All the sand makes a nice rich man's beach, but it wrecks the surf fishing.
The surf water is always brown now and the fishing has declined big time!
You can still catch, but you have to go out a few miles "chunkin" in a big boat to catch with dead bunker chunks! The stripers have become scavengers in the dirty brown water. They are only caught on bait now.
Southern NJ was the Weakfish Capitol of the world a few years ago. The weakfish are gone!! Now it looks and smells like a Cesspool!!
I think that you are better off fishing the remote streams up here for trout.
IMHO!!

 

[Fishidiot]

1WT,
While I share your disdain for beach replenishment I would respectfully disagree with your characterization of NJ saltwater fishing. To be sure, beach replenishment projects in certain areas have had bad ecological results (in some cases in NJ they've even deposited unexploded WW1 munitions). However, with the constantly changing nature of beaches, these affects are temporary. NJ isn't the only state conducting these dubious projects. To claim that the waters are always muddy and striped bass "are only caught on bait now" is simply wrong. Weakfish populations are cyclical, like bluefish, and are down in the Chesapeake Bay as well. This is due to population fluctuation and harvest and unrelated to beach replenshiment projects. NJ beaches IMO fish better and are much cleaner and safer than they were a generation ago. Remember the AIDs tainted needle scare?
If you'd prefer to trout fish in PA and skip the NJ shore, suit yourself - but surf fishing remains outstanding along much of the NJ beaches notwithstanding beach replenishment projects.

 

[1wt]

"However, with the constantly changing nature of beaches, these affects are temporary."

Not really, my friend! They do it every year, sometimes twice.
I remember the AIDS needles also. That was the start and now there is a spot larger than Texas in the Atlantic that is filled with plastic trash!! It's getting bigger and will be there for a thousand years.
I used to live in Cape May so long ago. I was employed by a wonderful company Harbison-Walker Refractories that the locals called the Magnesite Plant. Now gone, but the huge Heavenly Place was located at Cape May Point. I could toss a stone and hit the Concrete Ship from the outfall pipe.
Not bragging, but I was the first person ever to walk out on the pipeline with a fishing rod!
Almost every cast would catch a 12lb weakfish or a 4lb flounder.
The canal was loaded with summer flounder. Anyone could go out a block and catch hundreds of weakfish and flounder.
The water was clean then. I could see the hundreds of flounder eyes only five feet from shore when I checked the beach with a flashlight. I was a proud member of the United Steel Workers Union...... great job with top money! I had a super easy job as a Lab Technician. That's all I really did on second shift!! Went fishing every night LOL
At the Magnesite Plant they had a big rotating screen to catch the incoming fish and put them back into the bay. They would hit the screen and go down a shoot into the bay. Every night I would see thousands of fish, weaks and flounder and a couple sea robbins. I would keep a couple big 6lb flounder for tablefare.
Anywhere along Cape May Point I could cast a metal Hopkins with a light spin rod and catch a weak of a blue almost every cast.
Maybe we had lots of needles back then, but the water was clear and filled with fish. Now the water is dirty brown almost every day. Also we have seaweed and lots of jellyfish, skates, and dogs. The sport fish are gone.
Just go to the Point and walk down to the water. Now it is brown and smelly with weeds and trash everywhere.
It is a Cesspool!

 

[Fishidiot]

Okay...
I stand corrected: The entire New Jersey shore is a mud brown cesspool. There's no fish anymore. Don't bother registering to fish next year.

 

[jayL]

I enjoy the jersey surf, and posts my dave and fred have me itchin to FF it.

1wt,
Sure things may not be as good as they used to be, but do you think you are suffering from golden age syndrome a bit?

 

[Fishidiot]

Jay,
Here's some motivation - click on the "Bluefish Massacre" vids:

http://bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml

Of course, you don't see this every day but when it happens - unforgettable! Maybe we'll luck into a day like this in 2010.

 

[Fredrick]

I like the one were they played the jaws soundract with it . Oh that movie was on last night in HD. ITS EVEN BETTER IN HD ITS LIKE WATCHING FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAIN :-D

 

[Fishidiot]

Fred,
You bet - greatest movie ever made. :-D

Although not in NJ, one of the groundbreaking events in FFing in 2009 was the capture (unintentionally) of a great white shark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnaAOl7lEvI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.backpacker.com%2Fgreat_white_fly_fishing%2Fblogs%2Fdaily_dirt%2F1196&feature=player_embedded

 

[1wt]

"1wt,
Sure things may not be as good as they used to be, but do you think you are suffering from golden age syndrome a bit?"

LOL!! yea, I'm afraid I am Jay!

Fishidiot,
Sorry about the negative vibes. I just can't get over what the commercial fishing, beach replenishment, and a building on every square inch of sand has done to the NJ beaches.
I hope you catch them good with your fly rod. Ya never know, things just might pick up next year.

 

[Fishidiot]

1WT,
No worry. It's a forum message board - folks post their views and opinions and agree or disagree.

Hopefully, we'll see an abatement of the beach replenishment boondoggle in the future.

 

[Fishidiot]

Bump...

Just did this today - only took about 5 minutes (and free). They promised to send a card within 30 days.

NOTE: This is also required for Maryland. MD requires a Chesapeake Bay stamp so, if you only intend to fish the bay, I'm not sure whether you need to register but it wouldn't hurt to just do it too. The registration proccess is all in one for the Atlantic States - you just click which ones you intend to fish in 2010.

 

[CLSports]

Thanks Fishidiot.

I had heard for years about this registration/license thing becoming a reality, but I did not know it had started this year.

It seems as though it is free this year and there will be a fee charged next year to fish the salt. ($25 - $35?).

I am actually glad this is happening and I hope the money goes toward improving the NJ coast.

This actually covers all of the eastern states. I registered for Florida as well.

Rob

 

[wetflyguy]

I play in the surf nearly every week from March till Dec.
mostly Sandy Hook .
Fishing is still good just have to move around.
Got my card in the mail last week.

wet