sports

outdoors with Lou Rodia

Tournaments Are Not Just for Fishing

Fishing tournaments do more than add to the accumulation of fisliing tackle, trophies or citations for the winners. Oftentimes, valuable information can be derived from the catch records and statistics which are part of running a tournament. Over the years, the records kept by tournaments have recorded the * ups and downs in a number of species of fish. When the catch is down, the tournament entries drop. When the catches start to accelerate, the entries pick up. As the size of the fish get bigger each yeaf, the tournament records so indicate. And, if the size of the fish increases and the numbers of entries drop, it is an indication that a cycle is peaking. When lots of small fish are caught, it usually signifies that a species of fish is on the upswing. FOR THE PAST two or three years, flukp catches have been escalating. The past season saw food to excellent fluke fifing, starting with an earl* season in Delaware Bay arid the inland waterways" aimcontinuing through to fall. The fish caught in 1984 were plentiful, as well as larger than those recorded in 1983. Kingfish also began to show up in the catch records in tournaments up and down the coast. Surf anglers and back bay fishermen began to weigh in kingfish in the fishing events. Large numbers of smaller weakfish point to a bounce back in that species. Tournaments also started to indicate early on that the striped bass was in serious trouble. It was in the catch records in tournaments that the size of fish and the numbers caught began to show a pattern — fewer fish and bigger fish, indicating that there was little or no survival rate and/or breeding taking place. TOURNAMENTS occasionally are created to take advantage of a particular

species of fish which is ia^ 1 abundance. Some survive < if there is a basic stability to the species and enough 1 are caught in the low end of i the cycle to make a tournament viable. 1 In 1984, Cape May l County's annual fishing | tournament recorded several things. One is that I the bluefish population remained consistently good and big fish weretlominant in the species. Catch records also show that there are lots of fish all along the weight range. This indicates that the year classes following the big slammers are healthy. Fluke catches also proved that this species is also on the upswing. While quite a few doormats were caught, the bulk of the season's catch was in the one to three pound class — an improvement over the year before and definitely a sign that fluke fishing remains a viable target for the next several years. AN UPSURGE of entries does not always indicate that there will be a continuation of success. Several years ago, lots of small croakers began to show up in the angler entries in fishing contests. Croaker fans began to hope for a return of this fine eating fish which is loads of fun to catch. But, the following year showed not one single entry and there have been only a few caught and entered each year since then. Certainly, this is no indication that we'll never see croakers again. It means, however, that it is extremely unlikely that we'll see a return of these fish to Cape May County waters in the near future. IN THE PAST week, results of the annual Greater Avalon Fishing Tournament were announced. The entries showed that bluefish, fluke and weakfish, in that order were the most popular fish in terms of numbers of entries. That follows the pattern being catalogued by the Cape May County

fishing tournament which draws to a close Dec. 31. Tournament directors Frank Holberg. Bob Moran and Phil Judyski said the 1985 Greater Avalon Fishing Tournament will feature an expansion of prizes in the, fluke, weakfish, bluefish and kingfish categories in recognition of the fact that these are the most popular fish in the tournament. The tournament committee also removed striped bass from the list of fish which will receive awards in 1985. These fish are in serious decline and the coiqmittee indicated that they should foster any effort to protect and preserve this game fish. It is hoped that by taking the fish off the list of potential prize winners, anglers may be less inclined to fish for them. CAPE MAY County's tournament judges also removed the striper, from the list of fish which will get tournament recognition in 1985 and in future years until this species bounces back. The 1984 Avalon tournament was divided into two classes. One class included fish caught from a boat in the bay or ocean. The other was for fish caught from surf, pier or rockpile. There were 13 awards for the first category and five in the second category. Two special fish awards brought the total number of fish given recognition to 20. All of the winners received a silver plaque mounted on mahogany. The plaque featured the Avalon logo and the-name of the fish for which it was presented. WINNERS AND the fish they caught are as follows : Bluefish, Frank Reed Jr., Avalon, 19 lb; Dolphin, Philip Judyski Jr., Avalon, 27Vi lb; Fluke, Frank Heise Jr., Stone Harbor, 8 lb. 44 oz.; Kingfish, Kim Marburger, Norristown, Pa., IV4 lb.; Ling, Barbara Garry, Lancaster, Ra., 34 lb; Seabass, R. D. Detson, Lilburn, Ga., 3 lb. 2 oz. ; and Tautog, George Crombie,

Philadelphia, Pa., 114 lb. Also Tuna, (bigeye); Tom Tozour, Avalon, 280 lb.; Tuna, (vellowfin) Betty Rogers, Avalon, 904 lb. ; Blue marlin, Vince Tague, Avalon, 5194 lb.; White Marlin, Fritz Brenner, Avalon, 61 lb., Weakfish, Rob Kazio, Stone Harbor, 13 lb. 9 oz., and Thresher Shark, Gray Bender, Marysville, Pa., 170 lb. IN THE SURF, jetty and pier division, the winners were: Bluefish, Bob Moran, Avalon, 18 lb. 14 oz.; FTuke, Jeoff Christ, Pottstown, Pa., 8V4 lb.; Kingfish, Joe Tillman. Crofton, Md., 103}< lb.; John Lieb, Cape May Court House, 9 lb. 10 az.; and Weakfish, James Klimas, Kew Gardens, hi. Y., 8Y« lb. Special awards went to Dirk Smith of Avondale, Pa., with a 51-lb. wahoo and Patricia Wilson of Pine Hill, with a common Butterfly Fish. Judges in the Cape May County Fishing Tournament will meet Friday, Jan. 4, to determine the winners in the county fishing event. The county contest will soon mark its 50th anniversary. This event, sponsored annually by the Cape May County Board of Freeholders through its Public Affairs Department, is part of the county's tourist promotional activity. Over the years,

thousands of fishermen have received citations, recognition pins and entry badges for their participation in this year-long event. There is no advance registration or entry fee. The tournament generates reams of publicity for the county's sport fishing. The recreational fishing industry generates dollars

for the county's economy throughout the year. In the off season, boats arc refurbished, repowered, painted and readied for the upcoming season. Dockside accomodations are improved and anglers and boat operators alike woak on their fishing tackle in anticipation of the first appearance of fish in county waters.

Faunce In First Place

CAPE MAY — Faunce Enterprises jumped into first place with a fourgame whitewash of 1 jghting Dimensions in city men's power volleyball. The scores were 154; 15-9 ; 15-13 ; 15-13. The play of George Butler and the defense of Andy Butler and Mark Yourason were the key for Faunce Enterprises in game one. The spiking of Rick Fen-ante was the only positive development for Lighting Dimensions. Game two saw the spikes of Jack Costello continually finding the holes in .Lighting Dimension's defense. Lighting Dimensions took a 12-8 lead in game three behind the efforts of Jim Papale and Bill Abadie Faunce recovered behind the spikes of Andy

Butler to win the game. Pete Kakoyannis' and Ted Fen-ante's hits were not enough for Lighting Dimensions to win the last game. Whippoorwill Campground dropped into second place after forfieting four games to The Potter. League Forms AVALON — The Recreation Department Winter Men's Basketball League is starting to organize. Names are being taken for the draft that to be held in mid-December. League play begins Monday, Jan. 7 Game nights are Mon day, Tuesday and Thursday For Information call Fred Bock at 967-3066.

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