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Saltwater Fishing News

Officers Hook Summer Flounder Violators

The Big Mohawk New Jersey conservation officers, posing as anglers out for a day of fishing aboard a Belmar party boat, caught the captain and his first mate deliberately killing undersized summer flounder and filleting them for bait to boost patrons’ chances of landing more of them.

The captain and owner of the Big Mohawk, Christopher W. Hueth, 48, of Spring Lake; his first mate James R. Dugan Jr., 50, of Belmar; and another crewman, Michael A. Worrall, 32, of Hamilton, face thousands of dollars in penalties for a variety of marine fish violations witnessed by the undercover officers. Five patrons of the Big Mohawk also were hit with summonses......


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2nd Annual NJSWF Banquet

Nj Saltwaer Fisherman PartyMembers and guests of NJ Saltwater Fisherman.com started the new fishing season off with a bang Saturday night at the 2nd Annual NJSWF Banquet. Not only did all have a great time, but the party also managed to raise money for the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF), an organization dedicated to preserving fluke fishing for recreational anglers.

This year's event was held at the Connolly Station Restaurant and Tavern in Belmar, NJ. The change in venue over last year proved necessary due to the extraordinarily high turnout. In fact attendance was doubled from last year. However the restaurant had room to accommodate the large crowd, including an outdoor deck, which was perfect for the warm spring evening. The buffet style dinner was equally perfect. It consisted of Stuffed Flounder, Farfalle Primavera with Shrimp and Chicken Marsalla.

Looking at the prize table, one would think it was Christmas Eve at the Daddy Warbucks mansion. Spanning four banquet tables, the prizes ranged from lure assortments to rods and reels to free 6 pack charters. Awarding all this bounty took nearly a full hour to accomplish! Rod "Hotrod" Houck, founder and administrator of NJ Saltwater Fisherman.com exclaimed, "What can I say but, 'Wow!’ Thank you to all that attended. And a very big 'Thank You' to all that donated those great prizes!" .............

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Romer Shoals to Barnegat Light

Barnegat Fishing StriperFrom Romer Shoals, Shrewsbury Rocks and down to Barnegat Bay bass are everywhere. Anglers across the Garden State pursued trophy bass this week and finally found keepers. Captain Steve Purul aboard the Reel Fantasy charters from Barnegat has been in the thick of bass season all week long. Captain Steve had the Green Briar Fishing Club out to score 30+ stripers including 5 keepers to 30”. The guys scored with stripers from the Back Bay to the inlet area on spots and artificials.
Wayne Smith from Manahawkin has been picking bass off the surf every night for the past week from Island Beach State Park in Sea Side Heights. Wayne tells me 1 out of five are keepers with plenty of surf action.

From Pt. Pleasant Captain Joe aboard the Irish Ayes also slammed away at blues and bass. Captain Joe has been working south about two-three miles off of Manasquan Inlet. The crew managed to get passed some big blues and scored bass up to 24 lbs.

Hunter 2 from Keyport trolled almost everywhere with no luck until they spotted birds working off the hook. The crew found striper's with the shad umbrella rig and had plenty of action on the depth finder. Hunter 2 landed 13 Striper's and two big bluefish all on shads. One Striper was a keeper and the rest were 24" to 27".

Over the weekend over 1000 boats were chasing bass from Romer Shoals to Shrewsbury rocks. Anglers tried it all from clams, eels, jigs and trolling umbrella rigs. With November here Party boats are in full swing and should see good jigging action with the drop in water temperature over the next few weeks. The fall bass are definitely early and a bit bigger and more aggressive than last fall. This proves the bio-mass are getting a chance to grow and thrive off New Jersey. Now is the time to get out there and make it count.

Did You Know?
Built in 1898, the Romer Shoals Lighthouse is located in Raritan Bay between Staten Island and Sandy Hook. It marks the Swash Channel to Sandy Hook.
Fish On!

Fluke-a-Thon 2: The Sequel

Eight teams took off from their respective ports along the Jersey shore Saturday in hopes of winning Fluke-a-Thon 2 and the $400 first prize. Also at stake were cash awards for second and third, as well as a $400 largest fish Calcutta.

This was a follow up event to the first Fluke-a-Thon which was held back in mid-July. Although that one was billed as the 1st annual Fluke-a-Thon, the members and friends of New Jersey Saltwater Fisherman (NJSWF.com) just couldn't wait a whole year to have another one. And so, Fluke-a-Thon 2 was born. As Sam3, Global Moderator of NJSWF.com commented, the Fluke-a-Thon was "back by popular demand!"

Great start for Team Brickken!

Early weather reports suggested that the tournament might have to be postponed or canceled. But as tournament day grew nearer, the weather forecast improved greatly. And early Saturday morning Administrator and founder of NJSWF.com, Rod Houck (Hotrod), gave the all clear. Many of the boats in the northern part of the state took off in some nasty weather, including last month's Fluke-a-Thon champions, Team TNT who were fishing out of Atlantic Highlands. Team TNT captain, The Broken One, said, "Well, left the ramp around 6 in a blinding / driving rain.... turned on the XM Nexrad and actually looked rain free and fine for our destination.... set coarse(sp)and got there in beautiful conditions. Weatherman actually blew it again as the predicted S wind was SW, then straight north. Got rid of the slicks as it heated up quick and turned real nice."

That was fortunate for them since much of the pre-tourney talk was centered on who could actually beat Team TNT. They certainly had a bulls eye on their backs throughout the day.

Read more: Fluke-a-Thon 2: The Sequel