The back bay is alive with activity where anglers have reported interesting catches, according to Robin Scott of Ray Scott’s Dock in Margate. She said that many of her charter boats and boat renters caught 30- to 50-pound cownose rays behind her dock.
“They look like flounder when they begin to surface,” she said, “and the kids are having so much fun trying to reel them in.”
Mark Vogin and his son, Ethan, 5, brought in a 50-pounder Sunday morning.
Another interesting catch came offshore.
A rose fish was brought in by David Rubin of Margate, who was fishing for tile fish at the ...<< MORE >>

Despite breezy conditions and dipping water temperatures the bite was still on last weekend both inshore and offshore. Robin Scott of Ray Scott’s Dock in Margate said people were catching “tons” of fish. “It didn’t matter if it was high tide, low tide, incoming or outgoing…everyone was catching something,” said Scott. The trend to flounder fishing in recent weeks has been using frozen sperring, three to a hook through the eyeballs. Scott was turned on to this method by regular customers Lynn and Fred Simon of Philadelphia. The water temperature in the bay dipped to ...<< MORE >>

By HEATHER HOLTZAPFEL JAMES There’s no shortage of fish in this area, and many anglers can attest to that. Robin Scott, of Ray Scott’s Dock in Margate, said the back bay in her area is stocked with fish. Scott and crew are currently celebrating 50 years and she reported that she hasn’t seen so many fish in all her years as she has this season. “I don’t recall a better season,” Scott said. “There is no shortage of flounder, and there is no reason the season should be shortened or extending of the limit size ...<< MORE >>

If it's been a while since you've gone fishing in New Jersey, the Department of Environmental Protection has a special message for you: We want you back.

That's the upshot of a newly launched direct-mail and radio-advertising campaign that invites anglers to rediscover the pleasures of freshwater fishing and reminds them that fishing in New Jersey is time and money well spent.

"New Jersey's thousands of miles of rivers and streams and more than 4,000 reservoirs, lakes and ponds offer some of the finest freshwater fishing available anywhere on the East Coast," DEP Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson ...

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NOAA Fisheries Service is undertaking an initiative to build a new program to improve the collection, analysis and use of recreational saltwater fishing information.  Part of the initiative will include creating a national registry of saltwater anglers.   To learn more about the program go to:

http://www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/hotnews/recfish/
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With three weeks of trout stocking still to go this spring, there's still plenty of great opportunities to fish in any of the state's 180 designated trout stocked waters. Nearly 475,000 trout have been stocked thus far, and over the next three weeks another 96,000 trout will be released into 60 of these waters.

Little rain has fallen since the trout season opener on April 5, and fishing conditions have been nearly ideal. As temperatures begin to warm and the opening day excitement begins to fade, savvy anglers know that May is one of the best months ...

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The deer harvest totals, by zone, season and county, for the 2007-08 deer seasons are now available on the NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife Web site. Data goes back as far as 1972 for those interested in harvest trends over the past 35 years.

The data is linked from http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/deer.htm#harvests where visitors will find a great deal of information about New Jersey's deer herd and its management.

        

ASMFC Withdraws New Jersey Tautog Noncompliance Finding

Washington, DC - ASMFC Chair George D. Lapointe has notified the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior that the Commission has withdrawn its noncompliance finding for the State of New Jersey with regards to its tautog management program. New Jersey notified the Commission on March 25, 2008 that it has implemented management measures that achieve a 25.6 percent reduction in exploitation as required by Addenda IV and V of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Tautog. The measures, which include recreational bag limits, and season closures for both the recreational and ...

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The 2008 Freshwater Fishing Digest is now available online at http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/digfsh.htm . The Digest is also available at all license agent locations. A list of license agents can be viewed at http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/agentlst.htm . Trout season opens on April 5. Fishing licenses are available at agent locations or they can be purchased and printed at home at the following link: https://www3.wildlifelicense.com/nj/start.php

        

The NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife will host a Freshwater Fisheries Forum on Saturday, March 1 at the Batsto Village Visitors Center in Wharton State Forest, Burlington County. The forum will begin at 10 am.

The forum will provide an opportunity for anglers to learn about freshwater fisheries research and management, culture and recreational angling in New Jersey, and to share their views and recommendations. Division biologists will be on hand to answer questions

Pre-registration is not required but is appreciated, and will help ensure that all attendees can be accommodated. Pre-register by calling 856-629-4950 or ...

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