_ sports

outdoors with Lou Rodia o

Crabbing Is Inexpensive , Fun Sport

Crabbing can be fun You can use a boat, crab from a pier or street end bulkhead or from a sodbank along a tidal creek. Equipment is not too expensive, and bait is readily available While crabbing gets good in spurts, there are usually • some crabs around And. if vou do get a mess of blue claws, they are an epicurean delight if prepared properly There is no license required for recreational crabliers They may use scoop nets, hand lines or collapsible box or star traps Recreational crabliers may use no more than two com mcrcial crab pots The limit on crabs is one bushel per day jut person. Recreational crabbers are not per milled to sell their catch. THERE is a minimum size on oralis To tie legal. New Jersey blue claws mast measure four inches across the lop of the shell ifrom « .

i point to point' Soft crabs i must be 3V» inches long and I shedder crabs must measi ure at least three inches to ; be legal All female crabs with an egg sac attached must be i returned to the water immediately This is immportant because it is these egg sacs which provide the continuing supply of crabs for our future Crabbing Tips: Mossbunker makes the best crab bail since it has lots of oil in it This oil leaches out and makes a slick for crabs to follow back to the bait OTHER <;ooi) crab baits include chicken necks and backs; flounder frames and heads, hluefish carcasses and cut up pieces of eels Any of these baits improve their catching qualities if Ihey are allowed to ripen a little in the warm sun Don't keep crabs in water after they are caught Best places to keep crabs are in

u cal r\ | -V " Sailing j Yachts f \ 22-44 FT. J ^ PIER 88 Marina \ 2 Sailboat-Fishing Boat Rentals^ \ Gas • Bait • Tackle • Slips \ \ 88th and the Bay \ \ \ Sea Isle City 263-8811 \

a wooden basket or in a cooler which has an open drain at the bottom to allow melted ice water to drain out Crabs kept in a bucket of water soon die If you are crabbing from a boat, look for a sheltered place around a back bay island. Get out of heavy boat traffic If you are being bothered by too much boat traffic, move out and find another spot which is less travelled. WIND CAN affect good crabbing from a boat. If the wind is making the boat "yaw" too much, you can help the situation by using a second anchor to hold the stern in place. To avoid the expense of a second anchor, you can usually keep the stern from swinging too much with a cinder block or a couple of sash weights on the end of a light rope Another good stern anchor is a gallon bleach jug filled with concrete. Set an eye bolt in the concrete before it hardens. Such an anchor won't hold a boat in heavy tide, but it will also serve as a drag anchor « one which slows down, but does not stop the boat > if you are drifting too fast to ■ catch fluke in back bay tidal waters CRABBING stays good well in October Most crabbers quit too early. And. for family groups, crabbing is great fun for the youngsters They can find a lot of action on a crabbing trip and thus can escape boredom (Tabbing gives them something to do If you do not have your own boat, a visit to any one of the many local boat liveries will give you access to excellent back hay sheltered water for crabbing The rental for a day ' some even rent for half days or by the houri is

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nominal and you can get all of the necessary instructions on how to operate the boat and where to go for some good crabbing. Most boat liveries rent or provide the equipment needed for crabbing. They also sell extra bait, crab lines or crab nets and traps. M AKK A crabbing outing part of your seashore summer vacation. Make a crab feast part of your gourmet dining pleasure. Fishing Reports- Meanwhile. on the fishing scene, ocean and Delaware Bayfluke fishing has improved Weakfish and occasional blues make this fishing a good pick for the week. Bluefish action has chilled somewhat with bluefish spread all over the place with no real concentrations There are some big fish around. Most good reports come from anglers who are fishing hluefish lures down deep and on extremely long lines. There are no 'magic' lures around. The fish are being caught on the old standby rigs such as hootchies. dark spoons or Rebel and Rapala plugs Some are being taken on , plain old-fashioned tuna < feathers or cedar plugs < Use of wire line or down ; riggers helps get lures to * where the blues are. So do | sleds i also called planers ». , These can be fished from ( the rod or from hand lines. \ depending on the size If you use a sled, however, re- \ member that letting out too much line on a sled can be counter-productive) If you let out Too much line, the water pressure on the line holding the sled creates a belly in the line and that belly will pull the sled up closer to the surface than intended KKPOKTS: Some good catches of fluke were reported at Vitello's Din k. Sea Isle City Doug Robinson and Ron Serfass of Ocean View caught 23 fluke on minnows in Ludlam's i Bay Carl, Bert and Eddy i Bergman, of Denville. i caught 27 fluke and to i weakfish on minnows and squid i At Strathmere. Candy | Jankowski of Frank's Boats i reported improvement in fluke catches but added that I lots of weaks are showing up. The weaks go one to 3 lb Frank Mellor of Wenonah had 25 fluke for his group Travis llawk of Bridgeton led his group to 20 fluke and one weakfish. Carol Mast. Reading. Pa., caught a 5% -lb fluke Candy also reported some sea bass IIARBOK MIST Report Cap! Bob Dunkelherger of the Harbor Mist out of Stone Harbor's 96th Street loca tion at the foot of the drawbridge reported improved fluke fishing with a few weaks ami bluefish mixed in. Guy Hamel of Manchester. N H . caught eight fluke from two to 3W lb on onefour hour trip. Drum News: Capt Dor Cramer of the Capt. Cramef I reported a big school of big | drum at Peacock Shoal off J Hereford Inlet one day last i week Hank Rauflie of Lans J dale. Pa. boated a i 30-pounder but most of the | 10 or 12 hooked by Capt. \ Cramer fares were lost to \ broken lines when anglers j tried to horse the fish rather i than to play them. The big j school was located about t

three miles out off Stone Harbor. BOAT OPERATOR S LICENSE: We said we'd pass on more information on a boat oprator's license. Here is what the Division of Motor Vehicles has to say about it : Acting Motor Vehicle Director Robert S. Kline wants to remind motorboat operators that a license is ^ needed for motorized boats " in all freshwater bodies or tributaries such as lakes, creeks or rivers that are not affected by tidal conditions. Kline also warned that it is unlawful for anyone under the age of 13 to operate a motorboat. "Operators of motorized boats must be 13 years of age or older," he said. Kline defined bodie^ of water where a motorboat operator's license is not required as tiddal waters ( usually salt water ) such as inlets, estuaries, bays and ocean waters. WHAT THIS means is that if you do operate your boat in what is defined as fresh water, you do need a license. But, if yoifr boating is confined to salt water areas, you do not. Now. if you have any doubts as to where the fresh water and salt line is defined by the state, check with any licensing agent who issues fishing licenses for water fishing and he can give you a compendium of the fresh water laws which defines what the state actually considers fresh water IF YOl' ARE a licensed

New Jersey driver and do in fact need a boat operator's license, you can have an endorsement made to you? current driver's license. The fee is $3 a year and it is issued for four years to expire with the four-year driver photo license. For your first operator's license, the fee will be prorated according to the expiration date of your driver s license. If you are not a licensed New Jersey driver and are 13 years old or older, you can get a separate motor boat operator's license for a fee of $12 for four years plus a $1 50 photo charge. WHAT THIS says is that you do NOT have to buy a • boat operator's license to operate your boat in tidal waters or the ocean. You can get one if you want one or if you are operating in fresh water areas where one is neded. If your local licensing agent tries to sell you a license you do not need, don't buy it Refer him to the NewJersey Division of Motor Vehicles in Trenton for a clarification, or merely show him this clipping if you save it. It should be enough to support your contention that you do not want or need a license The address in Trenton for Motor Vehicles is 25 S Montgomery St.. Trenton. N.J 08666 The phone number is 609-292-5203

Stone Harbor Loop Starts Girls* Play

STONE HARBOR - Girls Basketball got undr way this week of July 8 Junior Girls. 14 and under, started Thursday night First game turned out to be a close one. Gold defeated Blue. 18-16 Chrissy Yost led all scoring with 14 points The following game was won by two points with Maroon coming out the victors over Green. Junior Girls played again night. Blue against Green and Gold vs. Maroon Blue came out on lop 18-6. Meg Beison led the scoring with 10 points. In the second Gold won their second league game 12-4. Yost had 6 points IF THERE are girls who would like to play in the league they are invited to come to the 96th Street courts Monday through Thursday around 6 p.m. The Senior League also got under way. Opening night was Tuesday, and the first game pitted the Eagles against the Green Waves. Barbara Damn and Katie Blum both had 15

points The Eagles came out on top 48-25 The Eagles defense allowed only 4 points in the second half In the second game, the Maroon Bulldogs versus Blue Hens, the Hens won 25 to 10 Leading the scoring was Kelly Blum with 8 points. THE SECOND night, Thursday, saw the Eagles facing the Blue Hens. Blum led all scores with 16 points, but it wasn't enough to keep the Blue Hens into the game They lost 52 to 28. The next game was Bulldogs versus the Waves, the Bulldogs won 56-17. Shelly Ridge way led the team with 10 points.

p~~?!s!«yn^ Schellinger Ave. At The Bay ! The Only Fishing Pier in the Villas I OPEN DAILY 7 A.M. 886-0120 vx. I I FISHING-CRABBING IV <£» T3"" I j BOAT RENTALS V Ms I I SNACK BAR-BREAKFAST T ' | NIGHT FISHING flt/jSPSc Vaj. I j Mention Ad And ! i Recetve KD% — r-fM — | Discount On A* Mjvlr j j BootRentob '