Ocean City partyboat visits site where world-record tog caught in 1998
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Searching around for some mid-winter fishing news Friday got interesting.
The North Star partyboat that operates from Ocean City Fishing Center went offshore on a 12-hour trip Friday that commemorates the world record tautog.
A little background: On Jan. 20, 1998, Hammonton's Anthony Monica caught what is the still-standing Inter-national Game Fishing Association world-rec-ord tog (aka blackfish) of 25 pounds while fishing off Ocean City on board the North Star.
When North Star captain Tim Barrus got back to the dock Friday evening, he said they had quite a few limits of tog and some mixed catches of tog and codfish. They had 10 or more tog that topped the 10-pound mark and cod that went 7-10 pounds.
He said a southerly swell made it a rough morning but the ocean calmed and conditions were "nice." Barrus said he moved around in 90 to 130 feet of water in the same area they caught the world record.
Mary Barrus reported earlier Friday that previous tautog catches have been "really good" with lots of limits. She said the tog average a very decent 7 pounds with some going between 10 and 14 pounds. The heaviest fish caught Thursday was 12 pounds, she said.
The North Star runs eight hours Monday-Saturday starting at 8 a.m. and 12 hours Sundays at 5 a.m. The fare is $65 inshore and $85 offshore.
Paul Thompson is running Porgy IV from South Jersey Marina in Cape May. He has a trip scheduled for Sunday and another that was developing with phone calls from eager customers for today. Like many others, Thompson is amazed at the mild winter and continued decent fishing conditions.
"We caught them last weekend," Thompson said Friday. "The fish are still around."
That's what Mike O'Neill said Friday. He had an ocean duck-hunting trip Friday on the Stray Cat open/partyboat. The last time he went fishing was last weekend, when one of the customers on board picked a 13-pound tog.
O'Neill sounded a little disappointed at the size of that fish, indicating they often catch bigger fish. The heaviest tog caught on the Stray Cat this year weighed 16 pounds.
O'Neill said one of the problems with fishing for tog this time of year is keeping green crab, which is the most popular bait for them.
He said, however, that tog will bite on just about any sea critter with a shell.
In fact, he relayed a neat story about one angler who takes shrimp to use for bait when he goes fishing for tog. O'Neill said this angler buys cooked shrimp from a store and brings along some cocktail sauce. He said the tog gobble the shrimp and then the angler enjoys eating what's left over on the journey back to the dock.
O'Neill has an offshore codfish run scheduled for Sunday, and has some room on the boat. He expects to leave the dock at Seaview Harbor Marina in Great Egg Inlet at 4 a.m. Call 609-391-9630.
Incidentally, tog regulations in place at the end of last year carry over to the beginning of this year. One of the changes planned for this year is an increase in the size minimum from 14 to 15 inches. But any changes in the regulations won't go into effect until signed into law, according to state Department of Environ-mental Protection spokesman Lawrence Hajna. So right now and likely to the end of February, it is still a four-fish daily possession limit at 14 inches.
A tip about a run of mackerel inshore off North Jersey did not develop, but a report about continued decent striped bass fishing along the beaches did.
Bob Matthews at Fisher-man's Den in Belmar Marina said Friday that surfcasters, actually mostly anglers fishing from jetties, are still getting striped bass. He added that up until a week ago they had some keepers, but lately they are mostly shorts less than 28 inches.
"It's crazy," Matthews said. "This time of the year, it's a bonus. Last year, we were shut out (mainly because of the snowy weather)."
Not a lot of surfcasters are out there trying anywhere along the Jersey coast, so the information coming in is limited. Matthews said good reports are coming from Deal and Long Branch.
And the surfcasters are having more success now plugging with lures such as Bombers rather than Ava jigs and teasers, which had been successful in late fall and into winter.
Matthews said at least two of the partyboats out of Belmar Marina are targeting mackerel, but they are sailing a "good ways" off to get them.
Matthews also reported that captains of the offshore boats say they see bird action and stripers "very close" to the beach on their way out. Miss Belmar and Golden Eagle are two of the bigger boats jogging offshore.
The striped bass season is open in the state from zero (surf) to three miles but closed until March in back bays and inlets as delineated by the colregs demarcation lines on NOAA charts.
Ocean Explorer and Mohawk, two other partyboats out of Belmar Marina, are concentrating more inshore for tautog.
Some anglers might remember mackerel. There used to be a strong inshore run in the spring that kind of sparked the excitement for the start of the local fishing season.
That really has not happened for some time.
A couple of reminders:
Recreational anglers age 16 and older must register to fish in New Jersey, and it can only be done on the Internet. Go to www.saltwaterregistry.nj.gov
The Atlantic City Boat Show is at Atlantic City Convention Center Feb. 1-5....
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