sports

outdoors with iou Rodia

Fishing Still Good; It's Always Better Here

9 Weakfish have been making a good showing along the coast. Reports of good weakfish catches came from as far north as Brielle and our own boats also reported weakfish catches for Jersey Cape fishermen. It is a mixed , bag with large blues, lots of sea bass and some blackfish. While party boat sailing schedules are 'limited, some action can be had by making a few calls or stopping at the marinas to check with some of the local skippers. On the weekends, action oppor-

tunities are better as well as on Veterans Day, when more boats plan trips. What's good about fall fishing is the variety, size of the fish and lots of rail room. Surf fishing is still pro- . ducing bluefish, with some real slammers being reported. FRESH WATER fishing offers another alternative for anglers looking for some hook and line excitement. New Jersey, despite being a tremendously builtup state, still can and does offer fantastic fishing opportunity. While hunting is

somewhat more restricted because of population buildups, the state has excellent hunting as well. And, starting with Nov. 10, small game enthusiasts can take to the woods for squirrels, pheasants, rabbits, quail, grouse and woodcock. When you secure your hunting license, make sure you get a copy of the hunting and trapping compendium tc clear the dates, since there is some variation in the north and south zones between small game dates and waterfowl dates. It is better to be sure. NEW JERSEY hunters are expected to bag over 350,000 pheasants, over a half million rabbits, 125,000 quail, a quarter of a million squirrels, and around 40,000 grouse. Deer hunters in the state are expected to capture between 22,000 and 25,000 deer in addition, trappers are expected to harvest about 400,000 muskrats, 42,000 raccoons, and 13,000 red and grey foxes. And all of this, remember, in a state as populous as New Jersey. The prime reasons for consumptive use of the resources in hunting and fishing is for recreation, enjoyment of the out of doors, population control in most species, and man's basic desires to hunt. Some may not agree, but most of my hunter friends and I make no apologies for our activities. WE HAVE BEEN actively involved in fun fishing for over half a century and nearly as long as a hunter. We have had a basic love for the out of doors which is reflected in our way of life. Boats, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and just being outside come from a family heritage based on being close to the soil and to nature. And, while none of my family at present retains on active interest in farming, there seems to be a primeval urging in the spring to get some kind of a garden started. Making things grow, be they

vegetable or animal, is inherent to us. Because the way of life in this country allows us to live well and to feed our families with the fruits of our labors, we do not HAVE to hunt, fish, or even ' garden, for that matter to survive. AS A RESULT, we have to emphathize with some of the fishermen and hunters we saw on a recent trip to Spain. For those who have not seen it, Spain is a majestic country, rich with history, torn by thousands of years of strife, and it possesses the most mountains of any country in the world, percentage wise. In many areas we visited, people have to fish and to capture wild things to literally put food on the table. One of the first things that impacted on us was the virtual absence of birds. We see more birds each day by accident in my back yard than we saw on a two-week visit there. As long ago as the early 1800's, Washington Irving (whose works I read in High School and promptly forgot about ) tells of the lack of birds in his book, Tales of the Alhambra. He also tells of watching a peasant trying to catch birds from atop one of the towers in the ruins of the Moorish fortress that overlooks the city of Granada. That "angler" was using a fishing pole and some imitation flies to lure unsuspecting birds to the hook so he could in turn have them for dinner. SO HEAVY has the pressure been on birds of all kinds that few are found anywhere in Spain. Hunting is out of reach for most of the people because there is relatively little game left in so rich a country. As a result, some hunting is available for the rich and for those who live and work on the farms in the valleys. But the primary motive for hunting for the less than privileged is to put food on the table. It is not a fun time for the average Spanish hunter and little, if any, is available for the city dweller who cannot afford the luxury. IF A YOUNGSTER is given an air rifle or the equivalent of a .22 rifle, both of which were ours at an early age, the purpose is | not to shoot as a sport at I targets, as we did in our I growing up years. Pellets or shells are too expensive ■ and are used primarily to I harvest birds. Again, birds | of any kind. I Fishermen we saw along I the southern coast have J even a more difficult time, j There is little sport fishing I in the Mediterranean. Some shark fishing is I available from Marbella and Porto Banus in the high I season summer months. As I has been the case for thousands of yearsjhesea I is harvested for whatever it might offer in the way of fin I and shellfish. All is destin- ! id for the table. Nets have 1-nesh almost as fine as the screens on your windows to :atch bocca rones, shrimp and other small fish which are promptly put on the able. ON THE JETTIES along he beaches we visited, tnglers spend hours fishing or bocca rones, which are a form of sardine.

Their rigs are simple — a 14 or 15 ft. cane or fiberglass pole, a 20-ft. length of monofilament line, a float and a No. 12 or No. 14 hook. If the size confuses you, remember that you can put about 50 No. 14 hooks on your thumb nail. Bait can be either bits of j shrimp or a dough ball * made up of corn meal, flour, bread and mashed up boccarones. In some of the good days, we saw anglers with 25 to 50 boccarones. IN SOME instances, we saw two anglers sharing one pole. One would handle the long rod and the other would patiently bait and rebait the hooks and take off the fish. Some we talked to took the fish home to eat and others sold them to small restaurants which feature grilled boccarones or dee-fried boccarones on the menu. Another source of food was the octopus which can be caught around the stone jetties. The fishermen make up a small board gadget with a lead keel on the bottom and a twopronged hook made from a coat hanger on the top. The hook-board arrangement is around five or six inches long and about an inch or so wide. A fish head or a small boccarone is tied on the top of the board under the prongs and a hand line is attached to the rig. IT IS TOSSED out among the rocks and it sits there waiting for an octopus to feed on the bait. When one is spotted, it is snagged by the hook prongs. It, too, is destined for the table for someone. In two weeks, we saw two caught, so fishing for octopus is far removed from the realm of sport fishing. Since we have been in and around the tackle business as a family for over 30 years, tackle shops intrigue me. What astound-

ed me was the price of equipment. . A reel which comes over the counter at . most tackle shops here in the states at $50 is three times that in American money. Ana for a Spanish angler to buy one, remember that *fue average wage there is ^10,000 to 15,000 pesatas a month in their money. That translates to $600 to $900 per month — a range considered middle class in Spain. So a $150 reel is virtually out of the question for nearly all of the anglers we talked to or saw. I GUESS we who come from a land of relative plenty and plenty of opportunity tend to gloss over things like fishing for fourinch long fish to put food on the table. We can literally turn up our noses at the excellent opportunities we have here in fresh and salt water. We can grouse about our lack of hunting success, but we still can go hunting if we choose. In most European countries, gie choice is not one . which is available. If there is hunting and fishing it becomes a must to help keep a family fed. Or, it is reserved for the very rich, by virtue of cost, regulation and availability. Rec Openings COURT HOUSE r — Gregg Arnold, recreation director of Middle Township, has announced that there are still openings in a number of programs for the fall season. These classes include belly dancing, children's crafts, tumbling and gymnastics and Children's Creative Theatre. All programs are staffed by qualified local individuals. If interested, call the Recreation Office, 465-3520.

^ Cape May County ALMANAC NOVEMBER

• MOON PHASES/POSITION'S The Moon's ajfecl on the Tide is greatest when closest to Earth (in perigee) and when in direct alignment with Sun tt earth (full ft new moon phases) On and about these dates, low pressure systems and/or strong winds (depending upon direction; may result in flooding, and extremely Mooa Phases First Quarter Nov. 38 Foil Moon ' 8 Last Quarter IS New Mooa i ... .22 Perigee 20 XpoRee TIDE TABLE Computed for Cape May City beachfront, for other areas, see Correction Times DATE HIGH LOW 7 Wed 6:43- 6:58 12:13-12:48 8 Thu 7: IS— 7:35 12:52t- 1:29 9 Fri 7:58— 8:11 1:28-2:06 10 Sal 8:22- 8 49 2:02- 2:47 11 Sun 8:58- 9:27 2:34- 3:24 12 Mon 9:37-10:12 3:06- 4:04 13 Tue 10:2S— 11:06 3:45- 4:49 14 Wed 11:18- 4:30- 5:47 15 Thu 12:06-12:19 5:38- 6:53 16 Fri 1:12— 1:24 7:01- 7:58 . 17 Sat 2:16- 2:31 8:17- 8:58 18 Sun 3:22- 3:39 9:22- 9:51 19 Mon 4:22- 4:42 10:20-10:42 20 Tue 5:17- 5:37 11:14—11:32 21 Wed 6:07- 6:26 —12:09 22 Thu 6:54- 7:15 12:21- 1:02 23 Fri 7:40- 8:03 1:10- 1:52 24 Sat 8:26- 8:50 1:57- 2:39 . 25 Sun 9:13— 9:40 2:45— 3:28 26 Mon 10:01-10:30 3:30- 4:14 27 Tue 10:50-11:26 4:17- 5:02 28 Wed 11:44- 5:10- 5:55 29 Thu 12:18—12:35 6:00- 6:52 30 Fn 1 12— 1 27 7-13— 7 48

CORRECTION TIMES Compute approximate times of high ft low water for your area by adding or subtracting the following number of minutes for each tide phase in the Tide Table. LOW HIGH Great Egg Harbor Inlet Minus 12 plus 10 Ocean City (9th St. Bridge) plus 35 plus 22 ftprson Inlet (bridge) plus 21 plus 7 Sea Isle City (Ludlam Thoro Bridge) plus 66 plus 43 Sea Isle City Beach minus 2 minus 21 Townsend Inlet plus 21 plus 4 Seven Mile Beach plus IS 0 Stone Harbor (Great Channel Bridge) plus 43 plus 40 Hereford Inlet (Anglesey) plus 19 0 Wiidwood Beach Minus 2 minus 17 West Wiidwood (Grassy Channel bridge) plus 46 plus 43 Cape May Harbor plusl minus 4 Five Fathom Bank plus 11 plus 1 Cape May Point pliis46 plus 34 McCne Shoal plus 28 plus 22 Delaware Bay Bayshore Channel (Bay-Canal Junction) plus 31 plus 36 Miami Beach plus 75 phis 71 Dennis Creek Entrance plus 96 plus 84 Brandywine Shoal Light plus 77 plus 52

I MONAGHAN'S ! AUTO TIRE CENTER

I EXPIRES NOV. 21, 1984 | ■ Brake Service - Year Choice | i*88 : ■ Additional parts and service ■ extra if needed

12 WHEEL FRONT DISC. Install new I front brake pads and rotors • Install new OR ■ front grease seals and pack Front wheel _ bearings • Inspect ■ calipers and ■ hydraulic Z svslrm • Add fluid ■ and road test car. 1 ■ Does not include rear ■ wheels.)

4 WHEEL DRUM: la- fl stall Dew brake lining ™ and resurface all four I drums • Install new ■ K (root grease scab and _ repack front wheel ■ bearings • Inspect | hy draulic system, add ■ fluid and road test ■ car • Most L'.S. cars ■ and some imports.

MOHAtiHAN ■ EXPIRES NOV. 21, 1984 | • (heck ekargbgiad starting $41.88 | I ■lutallie* rotor, 4ew spark plags ■ rSettimiag to reammeoded specs ! • Labiate aad ad jastcboke I •Adjastcartareto: 6<ytinder can. 148.95 ■ I ^-cylinder cars. $49.88 ■ 6-cyt Electronic ignition ! STANDARD KMTTON Md S8.00 Iw po«». I condenser and Additional latxx i. *_J

[^llHEE22ZD S

M0NA6HAN

AUTO TIRE CENTER 315 Diiui Or. - Rto Grtafc - 886-1116 Ooen Mon thru Fri 7:30 to 5; Sat 8 to 12

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