sports

On 6 Hot Spots ' and Following the Fleet

Quality is creeping in to the fishing we are enjoying on the Jersey Cape Bigger fish and the exotic fish are starting to show in increasing numbers Weather is playing a part On good days 'which we enjoy most of the time right now - fishing is good Of course, when the w ind blows too hard or a front passes through to upset the water, there is a drop in the number of fish caught Lots of times, the reason is that while lish are still there to be caught, it is too uncomfortable to get to the hot spots UK CiKT asked a lot about hot spots Party and

> charter boats are reluctant ! to pinpoint locations in their reports because they then get bedeviled by the 1 weekend warriors who follow them The better fishermen choose not to reveal their secret spots for basically the same reason A case in point is a Saturday event we witnessed A charter boat heading out decided to stop to adjust a slipping fan belt His fares decided to pass the time by dropping a few baks into the water Soon the charter boat was surrounded by the mosquito fleet. A BUDDY «also a charter boat skipper' saw

what happened and thought the first boat was on to fish. A radio call indicated the reason for stopping. The other boats stopped because the charter boat stopped And they didn't leave again until the fan belt was tightened Later that same day we were fishing in Great Egg Inlet Most of the boats were well inside. Two Ocean City party boats came out and fished generally where all of the boat.1) were for a while. Then the party boats ventured out farther The inside fleet followed. It reminds one of the mother hen and the chicks. FOLLOWING the fleet is one way to up your chances to catch fish, and it does work at time. However, following the fleet and becoming a harassment is another thing altogether We listen to radio chatter. Right now. when blucfish are hitting extremely long lines, it is sheer rudeness to cut across the back of a boat with lines out unless you keep well astern of the boat. No one likes their lines" cut off or tangled by those of another boat, so keep well behind the others, especially if the boat ahead is fighting' a fish. SIMPLE courtesy compels < we hopei that when you approach a boat that is on to fish, you do it slowly and with some consideration for those already on to the fish. A kamikaze approach to a school of fish only serves to put the fish down and makes them harder to catch for everyone. We wonder where . courtesy has gone There is a boat which prowls the hack bay behind Stone Harbor It shall remain nameless for qbvious reasons. Somehow this particular craft and its crew manage to find the biggest group of boats which are fishing and then proceed to waterski in that area. It is as iHroteking the fishing boaLs is part of the fun. WE MENTIONED hot spots earlier A hot spot is no more and no less than a good place where fish might be caught or are being caught under the existing circumstances Hot spots change from day to day Wind and tide working against each othei or in concert with each other can make or break the current hot spot on a day to day basis There are few short cuts to the current status of a hot spot and we can't all try them all each trip we take. A check with the better tackle shops where you fish helps get last minute information. Rapport. with other fishermen who are out in the days preceding your trip might also serve as a source of information. Radio contact with other boats also helps LEARNING TO read the" water you fish in ( look over the charts and see where fish MIGHT be) helps screen out unproductive water. Look for edges, dropoffs and sloughs. Look also for big stretches of open bottom. Open bottom generally is unproductive, since nothing is there to hold bait fish or to offer protection to the fish.

Carry a chart of the waters where you fish. If you luck onto a hot spot or if you seek one out and find that it produces fish, mark it on the chart for keep the information in a log book of some kind) so you can find the spot again. CHANCES ARE that a spot which produced once will do so again if and when the conditions are the same or close to it. Remember that 90 per cent of all of the water you see anywhere in the world never had any fish in it; never will have any fish in it and it was never intended that fish be there. Of the to per cent of the water that is left, remember that fish are only in that 10 per cent of the water part of the time. That means that if you fish by chance or by bad information nine of the 10 . times you will be fishing in the wrong place because you probably are in one of those places that never has fish in it. Think about it. It is an amazing statistic. Insulate your fishing chances by fishing where you MIGHT have a chance to catch a fish. What's worse to find a hot spot once and not be able to find it again. Keep alert and line up prominent shoreline markers NAMES: Joe Kalana of Collingswood. caught a .5 lb. fluke on an outing from Larsen's Marina in Sea Isle City His fish- was caught < near the Avalon Yacht Club .on a minnowsquid combo. Joe also weighed in a six-pound weak fish from the same area... Bruce Wahlrab of Absecon caught a 13-lb. . 15-oz. blue fish at FEB Buoy while on a trolling trip with Boh Campbell on Bob's boat Freedom Hunter Joe Bello Sr. of Sea Isle City, boated a 5-lb 9-oz fluke in Townsend's Inlet. He was fishing a minnow and squid combination bait and spinning tackle.. Adrienne llasse! of Townsend's Inlet caught a 12 lb weakfish at Townsend's Inlet. She was fishing out of Pier 88 Marina on Hank Hassel's boat Bullet Her fish hit a minflow bait W ayne Bliss of Maple Shade weighed in a 12:it lb bluefish at Larsen's Marina. The fish was caught at FEB buoy Don Batzell of Wildwood Villas caught a 6 lb 14-oz fluke on Cape Boh Schumann's Sea Star out of South Jersey Marina Boh Salukas of Philadelphia weighed in an 8'i lb doormat fluke he caught on a minnow bait while fishing in Ludlam's Bay i.ou Vitiello of Vitiello's Dock weighed in the fish for Salukas. KINGFISH REPORT: Dick Ochs of I^ncaster. Pa., weighed in one of the first kingfish reported this season. A few others have been caught. Dick's fish was taken in the ocean off Stone Harobr. according to Lou Bachman. weightmaster at Smuggler's Cove in Stone Harbor. LEUKEMIA BENEFIT: The real winner in the Fish For Life III tournament set. for Aug. 20-25 will be the Leukemia Society of America, South Jersey Chapter. This, offshore trolling event, which is held concurrently at Cape May

and Atlantic City, is expected to raise thousands of dollars for the society. Over 100 boats will compete for $100,000 in prizes. Separate weigh stations will be operated at South Jersey Marina and at Harrah's Marina Hotel Casino. Prizes will be awarded for white and blue marlin tuna, dolphin, and wahoo. Boats will fish within a 100-mile radius of Cape May and Atlantic City. For information call South Jersey Marina at 884-2400. STATE RECORD? A 44ni-lb. sailfish may be a new state record for Howard Feiler.of Yardley, Pa. His fish was caught on a trip to the Wilmington Canyon on the Mad Hatteras. charter boat skippered by llerk Marcella out of South Jersey Marina. On the trip, a swordfish. a tuna and a dolphin were boated Feiler's fish hit a green machine trolling lure. The current state record was set last year on a boat out of South Jersey Marina. Forms seeking recognition Avalon Sets Regatta AVALON — The recreation department is sponsoring its 2nd Summer Catamaran Regatta Saturday. This event runs at the 44th Street beach. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. Skippers' meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. and first heat begins at II a.m, Three sizes of boats 1 114' 16' and 18") will compete for points in three separate heats. New entries and spectators are welcome For information call 967-3066

for the possible state record are already being filed. CLUB EVENT: The Got Em On Fishing club annual fluke tournament produced lots of fish in the two to four-pound class, but some six-pounders apparently have taken the lead in this club dvent Weigh-ins are at Rodia's Tackle Shop in Rio Grande Among those weighing in big fluke were Kenneth Reynolds of Lancaster. Pa., with a 6-lb. 14-oz fluke; Mike Sheahan of Philadelphia. with a 6' 2-pound fluke; John Carver of Philadelphia with a 6-lb. 7-oz. fluke and David Walker of Sewell with a 6-lb. 6-oz. fluke 4th Marine Flea Mart STONE HARBOR - The fourth annual Marine Flea Market, will be held 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Stone Harbor Marina. Stone Harbor Boulevard at the 96th Street Bridge into Stone Harbor. The flea market will feature all types of used marine equipment, parts, accessories and engines < no boats ) . Several area marine dealers are participating, and individual sellers are welcome. The market offers the boating public an opportunity to sell marine equipment no longer being used (including electronics, fishing and skiing gear, books and decorative items), and to find desired equipment that may no longer be available new. Call 368-1141 for further information.

Cape May County ^ ALMANAC | August, 1985 MIMW PHASES/POSITIONS CORRECTION TIMES I h* M'Kin i effet 1 on the Tide i> Compute approximate timet greatest when i Inset! la Forth »/h'*h * low water fur your i in perigee i and when in direct """ bV oddmg ur subtracting alignment »ifh Sun I Forth the following number uf t/ull * new moon phases i (In minutes far each tide phate in and about these dates, low Tide Tahle Hindi idp/N-ndinK upon direr lion I mav result in flooding and/or extremely law tides Moon Phain l-OW HK.H l ull Moon J® Great Egg Harbor Inlet I. ait quarter * Plus 12 plusio \e» Moon it Oeean City . 9th St Bridge' v "r a plu* IS plus 22 \po*pe ; Corson Inlet 'bridge .Perigee M P'u»2" plus 7 Sea Isle City ' l.udlam Thoro Bridge ■ plus 66 plus 43 TIDE T \Bl> Sea Isle City Beach Computed for Cape Mas City minus 2 minus 21 brach/'onl. Jo, Mr. mom. ..r Townwnd Intel Co„M.oo r,M. |u>„ I.ATH MUM UM Srvnn Mite Bench a m pm a m pm pfuj, gj „ ' " £ *'2 " "!;! Stone Harbor 3 Spl 10 24 10 *. I't'ti 4 21' , Channel Bridge > 4 Sun II iw 1122 I 4f. .111 plus 40 Mi in 1 1 :.| :» 22 it Hereford Inlel 1 Anglesey I- Tue 12 iM 12 U • '.9 i. 26 plus 19 U 7 Wed 12 44 t la ti .is m Wilduond Beach rw 8 '.hu -"! 1 1 '* 817 Minus 2 minus 17 10 £ i'S is "IS mi* , II Sun 4 14 4 .15 III 10 II in 'Grassy Channel or.dge 1 12 Mon a 21 42 II 02 1159 ,P'Us4S plus 43 13 Tue 6-17 6 35 11 52 Cape May Harbor 14 Wed 7 09 7 22 12 52 12 45 plus I minus 4 < 15 Thu 7 54 H ur. I :» 1 15 FlVr Fathom Hank 16 Fn " 35 8 47 2 24 2 24 plu,„ / , 17 Sal 9 18 9 31 3 07 3 13 ,, K IH Sun 10 IM 10 17 3 47 3 59 . „ a> Po,nl '• 19 Mon 10 50 II 04 4 29 4 47 P,u**i plus 34 20 Tue II 43 II 56 5 10 5 37 McCrte Shoal 21 Wed 12 35 5 56 6 34 plus 28 plus 22 72 Thu 12 50 I 30 6 49 7 40 Delaware Bay * £r: lit -2 V? Bayshore Channel 2 2U2. 'nwm'wm auyewnasnm. 26 Man 5 17 5 45 II 06 II 56 P plus 36 27 Tue 6 21 6 40 ( 2 U3 Miami Beach 28 Wed 7 12 7 JO 12 46 12 57 ' plus 75 plus 61 29 Thu 7 56 8 13 I 36 I 48 Dennis Creek Entrance * 30 Kn 8.18 8 53 2 20 2 14 plus 1 14 p|„i *; 31 Sa. 9 16 9 31 u» us Brandywine Shoal Light Plus 77 plus 52 I

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