sports

outdoors with Lou Rodia. Transition Time: Fishing Lags , Hunting Next

This is transition time on the Jersey Cape. Things happen quickly. Fish are on the move So much so that the Delaware Bay. which was alive with fish one week, quieted down for a few days after a northeaster and a couple of squalls over the weekend. How long the bay will stay active depends on how severely the weather shook up the fish A day-to-day check will be the determining factor in the future of the bay fishery for the

season. That's where your telephone will come into play. Call around for the day-to-day reports. The ocean fishery continues to feature variety — fluke, weakfish. tuna, albacore. bluefish. sea bass, blackfish and porgies. It is too soon to pack it in for the season. Surf fishing has started to pick up and should get even better as the mullet pour out of the back bays The mullet run has already started, by the way. Area

tackle shops are packaging ) mullet for the upcoming ? bluefish-weakfish surf season, which also has begun MEANWHILE, the first hunting activity has started for 1985 Railbird I season opened up and will continue through Nov. 9. This is a pastime which is missed by a lot of hunters since there has been a decline in bird numbers for many years. The population of railbirds is increasing. Few of today's hunters haye ever been railbird hunting. A lot of the old £ timers who guided railbird fi parties are gone and most * of the remaining guides Q have quit. But a guide is not g necessary if you can find a 0 railbird hunting buddy, g You need a flat bottomed £ boat, a push pole and lots of a shells if you find railbirds. £ They offer a real shooting 5 challenge. K HAII. BIRDS are found in S the meadowlands around C Cape May County and on up the bay coast into Cumberland County. They are also found in the bays all the way to Tuckerton. Railbirds generally go hand in hand with flood tides. Not enough tide to cover most of the meadow will keep the birds from fishing properly Keep an eye on the tides When you see one of those nice high tides which lap at the edges of the causeways' going into the barrier islands and see most of the grass covered except for patches here and there, you have found ideal mudhen shooting. Mudhens are another name for railbirds. by the way. HAVING FOl'N'D the high tide the next step is to get a push pole eight or 10 feet long and some kind of a stable. Hat bottomed boat. A light aluminum boat with little or no keel to hang up in the grass will work To flush mudhens. pole the boat through the tips of marsh grass which stick out over the high tide The birds will congregate in the grass that is above the high water As you move

through a patch ot grass, the birds will swim ahead of the obat until they run out of cover. They will then flush as they fly to the next patch of cover. To hunt effectively, one person should pole the boat. The shooter should be standing in the bow. Be sure you are comfortable standing and the boat is not to tippy. You might kneel if this is more comfortable. SHOOTER AND the part ner poling the boat can change positions periodically. Just be careful as you move around in the boat. Always be sure your guns are not loaded when changing positions. A good gun for railbirds is a 12 gauge with No. 7' 2 shot. Don't forget ttot mudhens will generally De found in a steel shot onlyarea. so don't get ticketed for hunting with an illegal missile. Some railbird shooters prefer 20 or 16 gauge shotguns. Railbird season always lights the controversy between devotees of the double barrel shotgun, the pump gun and the autoloader. There are pluses for all three. We have always liked doubles because they are relatively free from mechanical problems; it is easy to tell if they are loaded or unloaded. and easy to load and unload in cold water. SOME LIKE the third shot in auto-loaders and pump guns. Singlebarrelled guns offer a good sighting plane. Whatever your preference, be sure to clean your gun well on returning from railbird shooting trip. Don't foreget, you will be hunting over salt water and the dampness and salt spray will create lots of problems for the metal if the gun is not tended to promptly on returning from the field. Best hunting is two hours before and an hour after high tide. Daily bag limit for clapper rails and the common gallinule is 10 birds. Bag limit for sora rails and Virginia rails is 25 per day. in single or an aggregate If you plan to hunt railbirds remember, too. that it is illegal to hunt from a boat with a motor running Always tilt your motor up when shooting to 1 indicate that it is not being operated FISHING REPORTS — CAPE MAY: Barry Linninglon and fellow bankers from Morrisville. Pa., kept 25 weaks. 48 fluke and four I blues on an outing to j Delaware Bay on the Hun1 tress with Capt. Dan Guss. They fished west of 60 Ft. Slough. Joe Chiopola and his crew from Mullica, N. J. caught 47 weakfish. 27 fluke and three 1 blues Donna Specht of } Norristown, Pa. caught 18 | fluke on her first ever ] fishing trip on the Miss l Cape May. Jim I Minnie boated a 4'a lb. weakfish. The Miss Cape May is now sailing all day. leaving at 8 am .The Sea Star II also ' reports excellent fluke and . weakfish catches. Tom | Patterson of Wildwood f Villas caught 52 fluke. 4 Dave Johnson of Coll- " ingswood. caught 38. George Adams of Philadelphia, decked 26

fluke. Richard Ord and Roberta May of Philadelphia teamed for 62 fluke. On the Happy Days. fares also recorded excellent fluke catches all week long. Kevin Hoffman of Pottstown, Pa., boated a pool-winning fluke to lead the Dick Hoffman charter from Pottstown. Pa. Sunday's charter for the Barracuda Fishing Club produced a good catch of fluke and weaks. The Happy Days sails daily at 8 a.m. on all day trips On the Porgy III. Bob Graham of Philadelphia caught 39 fluke and Joe Bell of Philadelphia caught 34 fluke. Roger Reed of Newark. N. J., caught a

6-lb. 2 oz. fluke. Some two to three pound weakfish were caught near slack tide. SEA ISLE CITY: Rudy Robinson and Thelma Battle of Franklinville. combined for 75 fluke and sea bass on an ocean trip with Capt. Neill Robbins on the Capt. Robbins. BennyBrown of Philadelphia decked 40 fish. Eric Degannes of Camden caught 40 fluke and sea bass. Night bluefish catches have been excellent. The Capt. Robbins sails Friday and Saturday nights only for blues and daily at 8 a.m. for sea bass and fluke. In the lower bay the best fluke producing areas are (Page 49 Please)

Schellinger Ave. At the Bay f 0 The Only Fishing Pier in the Villas \ \ OPEN WEEKENDS ONLY ~ \ 8 8 FISHING-CRABBING r- c** 9 8 BOAT RENTALS M B 8 SNACK BAR-NIGHT FISHING "B ? 886-Q12Q i jJPml mi ? ? BOAT RENTALS II ( 8 THRU THE WEEKEND " ~ 8 P PLEASE CALL AHEAP \ SHRINK WRAP YOUR BOAT j For Full Protection From | ) The Harsh Winter Elements: 5 3 ? n • No Ropes to Loosen / • No Tape or Glue to Mark the Line 5 J • No Framing to Remove and Store i J • No Heavy Winter Covers to Remove t / and Store i ' No Off-season Repairs to Cover 9 • No Aggravation i ' ; MAKE YOUR WINTER STORAGE < ' ARRANGEMENTS NOW BEFORE ! » IT'S TOO LATE! J ! A ! Avalon Pointe Marina Inc. ! 1 2\M) Old Av.ilmt Houlcx.iiiJ J j AV.IIMII \eu Jitm'N IlMJiiJ , PHONE ((>()<)) 967-4003 \

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Winter Storage " & Repairs for Boats 13' to 50* Area's Most Copiplete Winter Service Program • Inside or Outside Storage In Our Yard or at Your Home • Expert Engine- & Hull Repairs • Custom Installations • Repowering • 30-Ton Lift Factory Certified Mechanics Electronics & Accessory Storage OUTBOARD MOTORS WINTERIZED ft STORED Coming Oct. 5 & 6: OCTOBER BOAT FEST In-Watcr Boat Show & Open House Featuring: EGG HARBOR • BERTRAM ' REGAL BOSTON WHALER • STINGRAY • ROBALO ST/dkNE HARBOR MARINA, INC. ISr 1 Stone Harbor Boulevard 3b8 1141 V • ^ Cape May County ALMANAC SEPTEMBER 1985 MOON PHASES/POSITIONS CORRECTION TIMES The Moon s effect on the Tide it Compute approximate times greatest when closest to Earth °l h'sh * low water for your I in perigee I and when tn direct ar,a adding or subtracting alignment with Sun & Earth the following number of Ifull * new moon phases! On minutes for each tide phase in and about these dates, low the Tide Table pressure systems and'or strong winds (depending upon direr lion) may result in flooding and/or extremely low tides Moon Phase* I.OW HIGH ► u" * Great Egg Harbor Inlet N>w ST P,Z? r . p,us,° First Quarter II Ocean . 9th St Bridge i plus 35 plus 22 Xpogee t Corson Inlet i bridge > Perigee is plus 21 plus 7 Sea Isle City 1 Ludlam Thoro Bridge i plus 66 plus 43 TIDE TABLE Sea Isle City Beach Computed for Cape May City minus 2 minus 21 ..... ... Towraend Inlet " " plus 21 plus. MIC HK, I, S«ven Mil, Beach a.m. p.m. a.m p.m .. .. 28 Wed 7 12— 7 30 12:46 — 12:57 M c. 29 Thu 7 S6- 8. 13 1:36- 1:48 Stone Harbor 30 Fn 8:38 8:53 2:20— 2 34 < Great Channel Bndget 31 Sat 9:16- 9:31 3:00- 3:15 P>us«3 plus40 1 Sun 9.54-10:08 3 36- 3:55 Hereford Inlet lAngleseat 2 Moo 10:30-10:45 4:11- 4:32 plus 19 0 I £5 '.VS:'"* fff" i:55 wiw»o«ite.a, 4 Wed II 46— 5.11— 5:46 umm, 5 Thu 12:02-12 23 5 46- 6:26 * , w . . ' ™nus 17 6 Fn 12:44- 1 08 6:23- 7:24 West 7 Sat 1:32- 1:56 7:13- 8:34 'Grassy Channel bridge) 8 Sun 2:28- 2 52 8:22- 9:40 P'us46 plus43 9 Mon 3:37- 4:00 9:32-10:38 Cape May Harbor 10 Tue 4:46- 5:05 10:31-1128 plus I m.nus4 II Wed S:48— 6 04 11 28- F,ve F,lhofI1 Ba[T , 12 Thti 6:40- 6 56 12 19-12:21 ^i, ^"k. 4 IS Fn 7:26- 7:42 1:04- 1 14 P „ „ „ Plus> 14 Sal 8 11- 8 25 LSI- 2:03 Cape Point 15 Sun 8 54 9 09 2 36 2:54 P|us* plus34 16 Mon 9:39- 9 55 3 18- 3 41 McCrie Shoal 17 Tue 10 26- 10 41 4:01- 4 29 plus28 plus » 18 Wed II 17- H 18 4:45- 5 w Delaware Boy 19 Thu 12 10 5 32 6:15 R.v«hnre (>,„„l 20 Fn 12 14 I 08 b 26- 7:21 Bay shore 21 Sat 135 Mil 7 30 8 33 ' Bay-Canal Junction i 22 *»nn 2 42- i 15 8 44- 9 42 Plus«7 plus 36 23 Mon 3 54- 4 23 9 53- 10 42 Miami Beach 24 Tue 5 07 5 29 10 54-11 36 P'»»75 plus61 25 Wed 6:06- 6 24 II 50- Dennis Creek Entrance T. ?n fJt fS'iifiS P,USIM a Sat 8:14- 8 27 \ ^ 2 A2 , Sho.1 Ltght 29 Sun 8:47- 9:02 2:27- 2:51 Plusi7 PlusS2 30 Mon 9:20- 9:38 3:03— 3:29