Friday, June 27, 2008

More Kingfish


From the Ventnor surf this morning...

these are *great* eating fish... and the heads will be used for bait tomorrow morning!

Monday, June 23, 2008

The Value of Diligence

Ecclesiastes 11

The Value of Diligence
Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.
2 Give a serving to seven, and also to eight,
For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain,
They empty themselves upon the earth;
And if a tree falls to the south or the north,
In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know what is the way of the wind,[a]
Orhow the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.
7 Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;
8 But if a man lives many years
And rejoices in them all,
Yet let him remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.
Seek God in Early Life
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
Walk in the ways of your heart,
And in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,
And put away evil from your flesh,
For childhood and youth are vanity.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Game Violations - illegal harvesting of stripers and trout

and other species for that matter:

Poaching and Game Violations reporting Info:

Many people complain on the internet about these violations. Here's your chance to do something about it. Copy these numbers, take them with you, and make the call when you see something.

You don't have to risk a confrontation, just make the call. Please be aware that undercover officers are stretched very thin, and it may not seem like your calls are always responded to. However, all calls are logged. Even if nothing is done that time, they will eventually get caught if enough people make complaints.

So please make those calls when you see violations. Don't take the law into your own hands and risk danger to yourself or your family.

Feel free to copy these numbers and keep them with you for easy reference. --


NJ Operation Game Thief - 800-222-0456

NJ Poaching violations report (24hr hotline)
(877)-927-6337

South Jersey Warden - 609-292-7172
609-748-2050

Sandy Hook Fishing Violations - 732-872-5970

US Coast Guard/OOD - 732-872-3428

Marine Enforcement violations - (609) 748-2050



2008 Commercial Regulations
http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/2008/comregs08.pdf



For any suspected Dumping or Environmental violations, DEP:
1-877-927-6337

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Striper Candy - The Northern Kingfish

Well I finally got out and fished.

Yes I went to the surf, cast a rod with bait, and caught fish.

"Where?" might you ask?

Ventnor, NJ.

"What did you catch?"

Several Northern Kingfish.



From the NJ Fish and Wildlife:

Northern Kingfish: A Profile

by Heather Corbett
Assistant Fisheries Biologist

The Northern kingfish, Menticirrhus saxatilis, is popular with many saltwater anglers, and it's no wonder. These fish are known to put up a good fight, and their tasty, white meat is well worth the effort.

Northern KingfishCommon Names:
Other names for the Northern kingfish include king whiting, sea mullet, northern whiting, roundhead, sea mink, minkfish, whiting and barb.

Characteristics:
Northern kingfish are part of the drum family, Sciaenidae, which also includes weakfish, spot, Atlantic croaker, red drum and black drum. Since they lack an air bladder, Northern kingfish do notmake typical "drumming" sounds like other members of the drum family, but they can vocalize somewhat by grinding their pharyngeal (throat) teeth.

Notable characteristics are the long spine on the first dorsal fin and a barbel on the chin. Dark, irregular bars are present along the body of the fish. The first two bars form two distinct V-shapes. The bold markings and a dark longitudinal stripe behind the pectoral fins distinguish it from the two other species of kingfish. The markings on Southern kingfish and Gulf kingfish are not nearly as prominent and do not form the V-shaped pattern.

Range:
Northern kingfish are found in the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Yucatan. They are most commonly found from the Chesapeake Bay to New York.

Habitat:
Usually found in schools in shallow coastal waters, Northern kingfish prefer areas with a hard or a sandy bottom. They regularly appear along the Atlantic coast from late April to October. It is unknown where Northern kingfish migrate for the winter, but it is thought to be offshore and in deeper water.

Size:
Northern kingfish can grow 18 inches long and can weigh up to three pounds, but greater lengths and weights have been reported. Commonly, these fish range from 10 to 14 inches long and weigh from one-half to 1.5 pounds. The largest ever recorded anywhere, a three-year-old female caught in a commercial gill net, was more than 21 inches long and weighed 3.3 pounds.

The New Jersey state record was caught in the surf in Margate on Oct. 25, 2003 by Art Higbee, who used bloodworms for bait. The fish was 18¼ inches long and weighed two pounds and six ounces - just three ounces more than the record set 10 years ago.

Spawning and Growth:
Spawning typically occurs at the bottom of bays and sounds, but has been reported to occur outside of estuaries. The spawning period ranges from April until August, depending on the region; older fish tend to spawn first. Males become sexually mature around age two and females around age three. The eggs float, and within 46 to 50 hours, they hatch in waters 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Northern kingfish grow quickly during their first year of life. Fish spawned in late May or early June can reach a length of 11.8 inches by October. The major period of growth is from mid-summer to late fall, with little or no growth occurring in the winter.

The average life expectancy of the Northern kingfish is two to three years, although they are known to live as long as four years.

Feeding:
Northern kingfish are bottom feeders that eat shrimp, small mollusks, worms, young fish, crabs and other crustaceans. Compared with other members of the drum family, the smaller eyes, barbel, inferior mouth and body shape indicate that Northern kingfish feed primarily by using their senses of smell and touch.

Commercial Fishing:
Currently, there is no directed commercial fishery for Northern kingfish in New Jersey, so any commercial harvest is landed only as bycatch. In 2002, 1,500 pounds of Northern kingfish were reported harvested commercially in New Jersey. Most were caught by gill nets and otter trawls with only a few caught by fish pots and traps.

Recreational Fishing:
Late summer produces the best results, and fishing can be done in the surf or by boat close to shore. Small hooks and light tackle should be used and clams, bloodworms or squid cut into bite-size pieces are the most effective bait. Fishing in the bay can be done by anchoring in shallow water about eight to 15 feet deep and chumming with clams. Single or double hooks can be used, depending on your preference, with a small weight to assure you are fishing on the bottom. Some anglers like to use bobbers also. The same bait and hooks are used for surf fishing, which is the more popular method. Try retrieving your line slowly to improve your catch.

References:
Bigelow and Schroeder (1953), NMFS (2002), Virginia Tech Web site, http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/www/macsis/fish.htm

--------------------

and from me, here are some more pictures:


Sunday, June 1, 2008

Finding a stream of your own

from Orvis, but a good read:

How to Find a Stream of Your Own
By Tom Rosenbauer

Battenkill at DuskEach of us yearns for a stream of our own, a place visited by only a few other fly fishers each season, where the tight feeling in your chest when you round the bend to check if anyone is in your favorite pool could be banished. You can find such a spot and it might be closer to home than you think.

There are no more secret medium-to large-sized trout streams. They lie exposed to easy casting, publicity, and tradition. Small streams are where you’ll find a place of your own. The easiest to find are the smaller branches of major trout streams. As you climb up the trunk and into the narrower limbs, crowds and other annoyances like canoes and inner tubes dissipate. Your chances of finding a huge trout decrease, but most often the sheer number of trout per square foot of stream increases dramatically. An adult trout can thrive in a pool the size of a large coffee table as long as at least part of this pool is over 2 feet deep or one edge of the pool has a log or rock they can use when danger threatens.

I often drive along one of my favorite streams with another fisherman and casually ask “Would you fish that?” “Naw, looks too small and brushy” is the usual answer and I put on my best poker face (which the Wednesday night crew will tell you is not too good) and agree. It’s almost axiomatic that streams like this look shallower from the car, and until you get off your butt and wade them that you see how deep the pools are, and you see that by working directly upstream you can get as much as a 30-foot cast, which is more than you need on a tiny stream. I have also found that by hiking upstream or downstream on these trickles, the streamside brush and the size of the pools open up. One such river near my house looks impossibly small from the road but if you bother to hike upstream 50 yards you’ll find a waterfowl pool that is 50-feet wide and 6 feet deep. It holds plenty of trout as long as the skinny dippers haven’t frightened them for the day. You don’t always have to go to the very top of the system, of course. Sometimes you’ll find a small tributary that no one bothers with well down in the course of a famous river. My advice is to skip the first hundred yards, as most people try a few casts off the main river and then give up. Persistence will pay off. Don’t rule out irrigation ditches, either. Trout get sucked into irrigation systems and some of them are almost like spring creeks. One of my best evenings of trout fishing in California was in an irrigation ditch in the Fresno raisin country. A word of caution: Little streams look notoriously fishy at high water and the realities of mid and late-season water levels can be disappointing. Just walking the banks won’t tell you much unless you happen to hit one at a rare time when there is a hatch of insects and the fish are rising. Small stream trout are remarkably talented at hiding their presence, seeing or sensing your presence long before you can see them and bolting under the nearest flat rock or log, rather than bolting upstream through a pool where they can be spotted. When I was a kid I found them either by poking along the undercuts in meadow streams with a stick or (gulp) worming them. Better yet is to fish them in prime time—late May to early June in the East and before or after runoff in the West. When you do find one of these gems, leave your tip flex or fast action rods at home. Casts are very short, often just a few feet of fly line. You need a full-flex action to straighten the leader with these short casts—plus it’s just more pleasant when you feel the rod bending. The new Superfine Trout Bum rods or a classic bamboo rod are the sticks designed for this kind of fishing. Do you need a super-short rod? It really depends on the size of the stream, and whether you have room behind and in front of you. With meadow streams, you can get away with an 8-foot rod and sometimes need one to keep your casts out of low brush along the river. In some mountain streams, trees don’t grow right up to the banks so you can get a 20 or even 30-foot cast behind you as long as you are casting straight upstream. But when you venture into the true wooded gems that most people walk by, you’ll be happier with a 61/2 or 7-foot rod that will fire a bushy dry under streamside brush with ease.

------------------

6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

8We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.


--- 2 Corinthians 4