sports

Htnld fc Unlern 2 Dtcunbrr 81

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Thanksgiving Day 1981 ‘found me at home with my two dogs Yogi and Soifm counting my many blessings, and thinking back on the many pleasures I had in this last fishing season.*A couple of years ago I caught a 43 lb striper down in the Rips with Ron Tompkins (4 the \nllas, but this year all fishing seems to • have cpme to a screeching halt, and nothing seems to motivate a great number of us anglers this year. ft seems that every season is different and while winds and scarcities plagued us all this year, we * still had a pretty good season if we took everything into accouht. The resourceful angler will find some good fishing when the regular spots do not produce, and that was the story this year. OUR BLACK DRUM season started off with a bang in late April, and then did not produce at all in May. In mid June there were scattered reports of good catches, but by this time everyone had quit going out after the big fellows. I caught one drum on the Red Beard with Jack Osborne, and gaffed one for John Manganarao on the Janie T VII for an all time low, but at least I didn't get skunked the other /trips during drum seasoii produced at least ore 8 lb weakfish, so all wasn’t lost during these wonderful

times.

The big weakfish didn’t really hang around very long - some fellows got into them on the ocean side, but by the end of May they were getting scarce and by mid June they had disappeared altogether. I DID HAVE a chance to get out with' Palmer Way on the Ginger in June, and we got nine slammer blues (we could have caught more, but' that’s ^ll we could use): then I had some friends from- Alabama visit, andjl got them into a school of Snapper blues in the ocean, and we had a ball with light tackle.

This made me realize that sometimes we expect too much,'and that we’ve had such great fishing in previous years that we’ve sort of gotten spoiled. 1 fished tq the South Jersey White Martin Open on the 'Mitt Pehfteld with Cpt. J<H*y Drosea, and missed a white marlin on a green machine. The next day we caught three yellow fin tuna, and had a great day. Two weeks later Cpt. -Joey was fishing a tournament and got a double-header of blue marlin, and I got a chance to snap a lot of pictures, and relate to the successful anglers and the boat. THEN ALL summer Jack Osborne, Keenan Osborne, Cpt. Dan Murphy and I caught yellow fin tuna almost every time we went out on the Red Beard, and each one of the three caught and released white marlin while I was missing another one on a green machine (I had my share of chances to catch a white, but I couldn’t connect). In August I got a chance to be an' observer in thfe South Jersey Tournament of Champions, and had the opportunity to take photo S ees of Sal Sorace ig a 550 lb blue marlin on his boat the Five Star. WE COULDN’T find many weakfish in the bay, but one night I>ou Rodia, Bob Nealy and I got into them up around Mihh Maul Light, and we had a ball. The next day ^Lou and I returned there with three of his friends, and had another good catch. 1

Ocracoke Inlet. In the last part' Of life 'ZTZt J?* MacGregor, John Manganarao, and I caught five big channel bass (Red Orum) with Cpt. Thurston Gaskill in Ocracoke Inlet — and that, in my book, is a perfect ending for a season. WE DON’T have many fishihgdays left in 1981, but

we can stop and count our fclCSSings, and then look forward tb imu. 1 iuuue 2 lot of new friends this year, shared a'lot Of good fishing trips, and wound up with a lot to be rateful for. So, all in all, 1981 wasn’t^all that bad. It's getting close to Christmas now, so next

week I'm going to.try to spoflight some Christmas (J»_yt can be uui witter ‘ .a fisherman’s tree. After Christmas we've only got a few short months, and then it will be mackerel season. So sway with the tide, don't lean against it! Just thank God you can still go fishing, and you’ve got it made

ONE LAST thought: I ahve one mroe thing to be ihankfisllpuf The dedication of tj^e Soutn cape Maj' Meadows to the Nature Conservancy insures that at least one mroe vital part of our Jersey Cape is to be protected, and allowed to remain natural. That’s a* good blessing to close on.

I got introduced to Loran C this year, and in years to come I’m sure its going to be a big asset in finding fish. It will also help me get home in a fog, and that’s an

added extra.

Then, in the ninth inning of the 1981 fishing season, I traveled to Hatteras with our club, and got introduced to a new way to catch puppy drum off a bar in

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