24

Herald & Lantern 28 December '83

outdoors

sports

'with Lou Rodia

Frost Fishermen Eye Perch, Whiting

Sure it is cold and there is ice on the puddles and frost on your car windshield. The oil burner is running and March and April are a ^long time away. Football is winding down and the indoor sports are becoming more and more^attractive. The Flyers are up there and the 76’ers are moving along Soon the USFL will be practicing and before long we* *ll be into our second football season. Fishing is way down there ii\ the priority list. Right? Ndt so if you are a cold weather fishing fan (did you say nut) and like the challenge of fishing when the temperature hovers around the freezing mark. Two kinds of fishing present themselves right nowin salt water. One is perch fishing and that’s usually concentrated on the Mullica River, where a goodly number of 4

fishing fans gather each year to fish for white perch in the hole just west of the Parkway Bridge over the Mullica. Collins Cove is oftentimes frozen over even though it is salt water and'when the ice will support fishermen (usually when it is eight inches to a foot thick) the frost fishermen come out of the warm houses and head for the ice. Before the cove freezes over, however, boat fishermen also fish for the perch and for them there is a frustration which sets in when the ice is starting to form and their sport is put on hold until it gets either warmer and the skim ice disappears or it gets so cold that the ice forms and they can walk out to the fish. BUT THERE is another kind of frost fishing which is near and dear to the hearts of a lot of anglers.

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That is the fall-winter fishery for whiting and mackerel which annually makes its appearance on the central-north Jersey Coast. We have both fish off our shores but we have neither anglers in numbers nor boats available to go for them. So if you hanker for a day of fishing, pick good weather and head for Belmar, Barnegat or Brielle, where there are boats sailing daily for the whiting and mackerel and nightly for whiting. Whiting will bite at night, apparently drawn to the boats by the lights. They will often hit two and three at a time like the mackerel do. Few if any mackerel are caught by whiting anglers once the daylight disappears and the artificial lights go on, however, so if you are looking for mackerel, day fishing for them is your on-

ly option.

Whting also are caught farther north in Monmouth County from the surf and the jetties. The Long Branch Pier is noted for its fine whiting fishing but it takes cold weather for several days to bring the water temperatures down to where the whiting will Needlers

Sail On

CAPE MAY - The league leading Needlers team continued their winning ways in Women’s Volleyball League action this past week as they went up against Thunder & Roses. In game one the Needlers jumped off to a commanding 6-2 lead due largely to the fact that Thunder & Roses were playing with only four people. The Needlers never looked back as they went on to win 15-2. With the score 7-2 Needlers in game two, Thunder & - Roses’ Jan Mackenzie served to bring Thunder & Roses back to within two points at 7-5. Strong serving on the part of Needier Luann Catanoso made it 11-7 Needlers. The Needlers’ consistent play in game three helped them compile an early 10-2 lead as Debbie Palmer and Marie Flacco covered the court well. The Needlers then went on to win the game 14-4 and sweep the match. In the second match the second-place Shire t6am battled Havin' Fun. In game one the Shire had an easy time of it as Jan Kellaway served for 10 straight points. Margaret Oleksiak and Marlene Mediuch excelled on defense for the Shire as it went on to win convincingly 15-4. In game two the Shire’s Jan Kellaway and Amy Truman consistently found the open spots as Havin' Fun was forced to play with only four players and consequently lost the game 15-7. The Shire completed the sweep in game three as it destroyed Havin’ Fun 15-3. STANDINGS Ntedlm i*.; TNe Skirt |*.S KoaaLadit* i*.; Thaodn-4 Rom* g-ig C-Vie* Hovia' Foa 2-2t

move into the shallow water around.the pier. As a fledgeling whiting angler, you should make your first few trips on party boats to learn some of the techniques used in bagging

whiting.

There is a basic whiting rig which is not unlike the mackerel “tree” we are used to along the Jersey Coast. The whiting rig is usually tied on monofilament with three hooks. The best hooks we have found are the wide^gap gold ones in the 1/0 to 3/0 size. A short piece of red or pink tubing slipped over the shank will up production on the whiting rig. A six to eight ounce sinker gets the rig to the bottom. Use 30 to 40 lb. test line and a revolving spool reel on a medium action boat rod. Some whiting fishermen like spinning tackle but the choice here should be a medium to heavy rig. Whiting often hit two and three at a time. When they bite the action is fast and furious and catches of 100 or more fish per trip are not uncommon. BEST BAIT for whiting is a strip of herring on each hook until you catch a whiting or two. Then switch over to whiting strips. One of the best whiting baits is the strips taken from the silvery underbelly of a County Bag Of Deer Up TRENTON - New Jersey hunters harvested the second highest total of 10,091 deer, 184 in Cape May, during the six-day firearm season, reports the state Division of Fish, Game^arid Wildlife. The record for the regular firearm season is 10,485 deer, taken in 1981. The 1983 harvest was 58 deer higher than last year, with the Cape May County total up from 158 in 1982. Hoop Shoot Champions To Advance

N. WILDWOOD - Three boys and three girls, ages 8-13, won the first round of “Elks Hoop Shoot’’ free throw contest at North Wildwood Recreation center and have been named county champions. They are: Ages 8-9 — girls, April Dilks, Middle Township School; boys, Johnnie Bogan, Middle Township School; Ages 10-11. — girls, Kimberly Mueller, Middle School 3; boys, Dwayne Shockley, Middle School 3 ; Ages 12-13 — girls, Rose Hall, Margaret Mace; boys, Brendan Conner, Teitelman Elementary. First place trophies were awarded to one boy and one girl in each of the three categories. Hie six champions now advance to the district finals at Atlantic City Jan. 15, where they will compete with other winners from throughout the Elks South District.

whiting. The whiting seems to stay on the hook better than the herring. The water temeprature on the Jersey Coast is hovering around the 45-46 degree mark right now and that’s ideal temperature for the whiting. Large schools of fish are within a half hour of the inlets and with the numbers of fish and the close proximity to the inlets it makes for plenty of fishing time. Many of the boats are sailing two-a-day schedules. Catches of 100 or more per trip are not uncommon. As a bonus there are mackerel mixed in with the whiting and on day trips anglers are picking up goodly numbers of mackerel mixed in with the whiting. A few cod are also being caught on the whiting trips on open bottom. Boats are sailing daily and nightly from Brielle, Barnegat Light and Belmar. Cod trips are also being scheduled from all three port^and anglers can also look at cod as a third winter fishery. This year’s showing of cod is the best we have seen in many years for cod. Catches of 100 to 200 cod per trip are being reported, again by the boats sailing out of the Barnegat-Belmar and Brielle area. SMOKING FISH: You might consider a whitingmackerel trip this time of year to get some fresh fish for the table, but smoking some of them is not a bad idea. There are hickory, apple and cherry chips available in the stores, but if you are into woodcutting you can possibly pick up some of your own. If you come across an apple or cherry tree which has to be cut down, chain saw chips are about the right size for smoking fish.

Pick a clean spot free of leaves and debris, make a few chain saw cuts, gather up the chips and take them home to dry them out. Spread the chips in thin layers on aluminum or other trays and allow them to dry naturally. Or you can ‘cure’ your chips by drying them in the oven set at 180-200 degrees for an hour or two. When the chips are dried keep them in a heavy plastic bag or in a metal can until you are ready to use the chips in your smoker.

If You See Red Seagull Here’s Why It used to be “Red Sails in the Sunset” as the old song goes, but now it may very well be'red seagulls. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has recently sprayed some 300 seagulls with a harmless red dye on their underwings, bellies, and tails. These birds were netted and sprayed in central New Hampshire as part of an attempt to find out about the movements of the gulls, especially with respect to inland feeding concentrations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking anyone who spots a red seagull to report the sighting to Rene Bollengier, a wildlife biologist, at (603) 225-9621. These birds, which are also marked with numbered red or yellow streamers, are expected to migrate from New Hampshire as far south as Virginia •

• Cape May County« ALMANAC

MOON PHASES/POSITIONS Th* Moon - * affect on the Tide it greatest when closest to Earth (In perigee) and when In direct alignment with Sun * earth (full * new moon phases). On and about these dates, low pressure systems and/or strong winds (depending upon direction; may result in/Ioodlng. and extremely

Compute approximate times of high t low water for your area by adding or subtracting the following number of minutes for each tide phase in

the ride Table.

LOW HIGH Great Egg Harbor Inlet Minus 12 piuslO Ocean aty(Btfa St. Bridge) phsSS ptusB Corsae Inlet (bridge) ph>21 ptus 7

Set lale aty

(Ludlam Tbaro Bridge) TIDE TABLE - Computed for Cape May City ^ beachfront; for other areas, see mWm 1 Correction Tin*s Pius21 ptus 4 DATE HIGH LOW Seven Mite Betdi ptus 15 o • ■ P » a.*, p-at. ^ „ 1 Sun 6:304:41 -12 *7 ^nne Hartior 2 Mao 7:02-7:25 12:27-1:13 (Great Qiannet Bridge) 3 Tue 7:42-6:02 1:13-1:56 P* 1-43 plus40 4 Wed 8:304:43 1:56-2:37 Hereford Inlet (AngteMa) 5 Tbu 9:00-6:25 2:343:16 plus 13 o 6 Fri 9:40-10:06 3:16-3:52 Wildwood Beacfa 7 Sat 10:30-10.49 3:534:30 Minus 2 minus 17 8 Sun II:M-:i:31 4:304:06 w,i*«vw4 10 t£ 12:13-12:28 ££££ JGrassy Qisanel bndgr) 11 Wed 1:01-1:17 7:11-7:38 P" 846 12 Thu 1:51-2:13 8:164:24 Cape May Harbor 13 Fri 2:49-3:15 9:15-9:15 plus 1 minus4 14 Sat 3:51-4:22 10:11-10:07 Five Fathom Bank 15 Sun 4:50-5:21 11:05-11:01 plus 15 nius« 16 Moo 5:434:14 11:56-11:54 Can* M.v P«n. 17 The 6:33-7:04 -12:51 ^ ^ 18 Wed 7:22-7:52 12:50-1:41 ^ . Ph “* 19 Thu 8:064:44 1:43-2:31 McCne Shoal 30 Fri 9:004:35 2:35-3:18 P ,ulS2 plus 27 21 Sat 9:52-10:30 3:36-4:04 Delaware Bay 22 Sun 10:45-11:23 4:17-4:54 Bayshore Channel 23 Moo 11:40- 5:14-5:47 (Bay-Canal JunetMD) 24 The 12:1612:35 6:154:43 pi^so 25 Wed 1:15-1:31 7:30-7:44 P Miam , P*" 40 26 Thu 2:13-2:33 8:254:42 . ^ Miami Beach 27 Fri 3:12-3:36 9:274:36 P* 1 * 79 P*“«* 4:15-4:40 10:33-10:30 Dennis Creek Entrance 5:11-6:37 11:16-11:21 plus 117 pfeaH 5:564:23 -12:66 Brandywine Shoal Ught The 6:43-7:06 12:12-12:52 pfcntl

29 Sun 30 Mao