Free saltwater registration progress

Free saltwater registration progress: I have talked the past couple of weeks about the drive in New Jersey to have a free saltwater angler registration as opposed to a paid license. Things are continuing to move forward on this.

A senate committee gave its unanimous approval last week, and the measure was scheduled for a vote by the full senate on Monday, Dec. 20. It appears the votes were there to pass the measure, and it then goes to Governor Christie for his signature.

Assuming that the state senate gave it the thumbs up, it might be a good idea for all of us to call or drop a note to the governor indicating our support of this free registry.

Thanks to many of you, the recent fishing flea market put on by the Barnegat High School Fishing Club was a great success. This great group of young folks led by advisor Brett Taylor did a fine job of raising funds to underwrite their activities in 2011.

We now have another flea market coming up in January. The second annual Lacey Township High School Fishing Club will be holding their market on Saturday, Jan. 15, from 8 a.m.- 2 p.m., at the Lacey Township High School.

Club advisor Terry Stuart tells me he still has tables available for vendors at just $25 for the day. For further information give Terry a call at 609-693-5510. This can be a great remedy for those "cabin fever" symptoms that we all get at this time of the year.


The fishing opportunities are really dwindling now that the real wintry weather has arrived. About the only opportunity with a real chance to catch anything is to go out on a head boat to either the inshore or offshore wrecks.

I have gotten some very nice reports of big blackfish and some large codfish on the offshore wrecks. Jeff Bauer, the mate on the "Carolyn Ann III" out of Barnegat Light tells me that they have been catching some real big blackfish and will continue to sail for another couple of weeks or until the weather really turns sour.

On a real positive note, Jeff says that catching and releasing blackfish is really starting to catch on for the anglers fishing the "Carolyn Ann III." He points out that it takes between 10 and 12 years under ideal conditions for a blackfish to reach the legal limit size of 14 inches.

Posted in: fish news