Slow Winter Flounder Pick

The boat has been running great and I was hoping to stay in the water through spring...but today we picked up about a 5' x 2' length of carpet in the wheels. I will be hauling out this week to make sure there was no damage and the wheels don't look damaged.

Anyway, on a lighter note, we did manage to get some fishing in. With water temps still low (41.2 to 43.5) we managed only one flounder at 13.5" and very fat. In speaking with some of the local captains and guides it seems that the fish have yet to spawn. Many of the fish caught during the week were full of eggs and sperm. Which is good news, we still have a shot at them. Last year we had similar water temps this time of year and the mad dog bite on winter flounder didn't really pickup until mid April.

Hopefully this week will warm the water a few more degrees to that magic number and the bite will turn on. And hopefully the carpet incident was a minor one and we will back at it this weekend again.

The Garden State without the Agricultural Dept?

I received an e-mail tonight about a rally of farmers taking their tractors to the Statehouse. Also in the e-mail was information that I did not know. That the Department of Agriculture has been opposed to many legislature items against the recreational angler. Below is the e-mail I received, what do you think my fellow anglers?


Go to the link below and vote YES .

Farmers fear Corzine plan
Thursday, March 27, 2008
By Gene Robbins
Angry Hunterdon farmers plan to rev up their tractors Tuesday and drive them to the Statehouse to protest the governor's proposal to eliminate the Department of Agriculture as a Cabinet-level agency.

As many as 50 tractors and horse trailers from the county and northern New Jersey will rendezvous at Dave Bond's farm on Route 579 in Delaware Township. They'll gas up and leave by 8 a.m. to roll down routes 29 or 31 in time to reach a "Save the Department of Agriculture" rally in front of the Statehouse Annex, West State Street, from 10 a.m. to noon, rain or shine.

Not coincidentally, the Assembly Budget Committee convenes that day at 9 a.m. on the fourth floor of the Annex.

The slow-moving tractor-cade should be quite a spectacle, and could snarl commuter traffic. Farmers are out to make a point, although pitchforks and even placards on wooden stakes are prohibited.

From Tom Fote:

The saltwater anglers in NJ have not been treated fairly over the years by the Dept of Agriculture. They have supported the commercial fishermen over the recreational anglers at every turn. They support the menhaden boats in state waters, against striped bass gamefish, fought against recreational Sunday clamming and many other recreational concerns of the years.Their name was bought up at the latest Senate Environment Committee hearing of the Pots Off the Reef bill as supporting the potters over the recreational anglers. Over the years they were not friends of the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the recreational anglers. I would not consider it a loss at this time. Their functions could be absorbed by other agencies. A lot of the local agriculture board have commercial fishermen members and take up their positions at the local level.

You have a chance to show your feelings. The wording of the question is a little tricky since you need to vote yes if you support doing away with the Dept of Agriculture.

Tom Fote


Subject: NJ Dept AG

Below is a link to a poll on whether the Garden State needs the agriculture department. Please take the time to vote.

http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=OPINION

First Winter Flounder Trip of '08

It was a nice sunny day with light winds in the mid forties. Water temps ranged from 39.5 to 43.2 degrees. Despite the mild winter we had I was surprised the with the water temps. Especially since it has not warmed much with the recent slightly warmer weather we have been having.

Armed with plenty of flounder chum, corn and blood worms we set out for our first spot. It was slightly less crowded than I thought it would be. There was only about a dozen boats just South of the Mantoloking Bridge. We set the pots out, started a heavy corn slick and had not even a tap after about an hour. We did see a few fish netted from a sailboat about a hundred yards away.

At our next spot along Herring Island we boated a nice 14" flounder in no time, but that was it for that spot. After moving over near Dale's Point we managed two more fish...a 14.5" and 15.25" blackback.

While it was not a stellar day, despite the wind against the tide conditions and cool water temps we managed to keep the skunk away.

Flounder Season Approaches

There is a lot of buzz around here the past few days. I have been preparing rods, reels, jigs, rigs, sinkers, and list goes on. It is only a few short days till the opening of Winter Flounder for 2008. I have for many years fished opening day and am sad to say this year I will not be due to family obligations and the Easter Holiday.

In seasons past I have also typically caught a fish over four pounds on opening day and hope I can continue that tradition fishing the day after the official opener. if you are out on Monday the 24th give me a shout, will be glad to share real time reports.

Time to Fish

I did not end up doing any fishing but I did poke around the bay a bit and there is a lot of bait out there. We had 4 aboard for a cruise around the bay...this was good since it simulated the weight of three aboard plus gear. She ran nice and cool, handled good and is ready to go for the 2008 season. I am glad to put the running hot/overheating issue to bed.

Even idling in the slip for 1 to 2 hours prior to the trip and after she still ran well below 180 and the risers only reached about 75 degrees. Now it's time to fish!

Fluke Belly for Bait

What a crock...now that they jack the minimum size up, they legalize the use of fluke belly, back or ribbons for bait. Follow the link below to read the full article from the APP.

APP Article

Oh Happy Day!

Indeed it is...launched the boat today after finishing up the installation of the new raw water intake system. The hoses, valves and elbows are all installed and clamped. All that is left is to bond the whole system. That will have to wait...we are launching today!

After the hoses were installed I reinstalled the battery shelves and boxes, all that remains with the electrical system upgrade is to install the new batteries. They are in, just waiting to be picked up from Sun Harbor.

On the shakedown run she ran a little hot. After inspection there was a ton of grass in the heat exchanger and hoses from last season. Now with the sea strainer in place that will all be eliminated. After cleaning the leftovers out she ran great, only getting up to about 165 degrees and the risers ran at a cool 75!

Can't wait to get back on the water on a regular basis and start catching again. I was so elated with being back in the water that I forgot to take pictures of the completed system, I will take some next week and post them with hopefully pics from my first striper of the season.

The Verdict is In

On the 2008 summer flounder season that is. The NJ State Marine Fisheries Council voted unanimously to raise the minimum size to 18". We will retain the same bag limit at 8 fish but will have a shorter season by a week. The 2008 season will run from May 24th through September 7th.

Ready to Get Wet!

I am ready! Finished up all the major stuff that needs to be done before going in the water today. I rewired the wash down pump and always-on buss bar for electronics memory. They used to be on the start battery and both always hot. I moved them to the house battery and the wash down is now on the fused side of the house load so it no longer has 24/7 power like it did.

We used Yacht Brite Pro Polish on my boat and two others yesturday. The results were great, all the boats looked great. The best part was despite the chilly temps it went on and off extremely easy. So easy it actually took longer to use the polisher than it did by hand and all three of us polished our boats by hand...even Mark with his 37' Bertram!

The battery boxes went in along with stops that I made out of starboard to further secure them. I just did not trust the flimsy straps that came with the boxes. Plus the plastic box sitting on a starboard shelf is very slick and moves easily. The house battery box I had to remove the handle on one side to get a good fit but since I don't carry the batteries around in the box nor did it seem to be structural in anyway felt it was not an issue to do so. Otherwise I would have either had to go with a tray again or a smaller battery...neither of which I felt were options.

The only thing left to do before going in the water is to connect the hoses for the raw water intake, just waiting on the hose to arrive. Assuming there are no issues with the hose and connections I should be launching this Friday!