Today I received an email from Bill Cleary. Bill is a childhood friend of my father’s and also he runs Clearysnotebook.com. He was extremely helpful in getting news out about my father’s accident last year. Bill wanted to let me know that another friend of my father’s, an avid fisherman, had passed.
Jimmy Coppola was a great guy. He always had a funny story to tell me about my dad and his childhood. He along with his wife Roe have raised a great son, Anthony. In this small world that we live my wife Donna worked with Roe for a few years in Donna’s first career. When I would stop in to see my wife she would always greet me with a smile and tell me that Jimmy was doing something on the ”boat”.
I know we all share in the sorrow of losing a loved one and send the family our condolences.
Timmy T
Below is a picture of Jimmy with a nice flounder, caught on Bob Bevan’s boat the “Gracie”.
This was my second trip with Miss Fortescue, however my friend Andy and his Father have been faithful customers for years.
I cannot say enough about Captain Jim and the Miss Fortescue crew, the mate was top notch and didn’t miss a beat. If your looking for good fishing and a pleasant crew head on down to Fortescue and fish with Captain Jim and the crew of Miss Fortescue. Open boat leaves daily at 7 AM.
I know the flatties are coming in but if you got the time and the energy it might be worth it to try a late afternoon trip for the Drum!
Captain Bill Dickson out of Bayway Marina in Cape may Court House brought in some nice Drums last week. I got a report from Megan and Clint Brown who were on the boat, Bill is Megan’s uncle, that the fish are there right at sunset. They got to Brandywine at about 2:30 and fished till 7:30 catching alot of sharks and skates. At 7:30 the run came through and 5 were caught in an hour. With enough fish for the freezer they headed for the barn. Great day on the water! Below are pics of the catch, Megan said that the three to the back of the pic are what her and Clint caught. The only thing she told me was to bring big sloppy clams and that they are getting hot and heavy in in the bay and it should be a nice weekend!
Catch em up!
Timmy T
Remember regulations allow (6) fish at 18″ or greater
Season will run from May 23 thru Sept 4
Below is a press release for the Cape May Harbor Fest. Cape may is a beautiful town that celebrates the fishing industry as well as any town in the country. Go there and see for yourself the wonderful things going on, not only June 20th, but all year ’round!
Stay tuned for more info!
On Saturday, June 20, 2009, the City of Cape May will host its annual Harbor Fest. Quite simply, Harbor Fest is a celebration of seafood and song; the sea, its culture, and its ecology.
While Cape May’s beautiful and convenient harbor will provide the overall setting for Harbor Fest, most land based activities will be held at or near the Nature Center. A large section of Delaware Avenue, which fronts the Nature Center, will be closed for the event. The Nature Center, with its distinctive bright blue roofed tower, is readily identifiable from anywhere in the harbor. Located just adjacent to the Coast Guard Base and the Corinthian Yacht Club, the Center is situated directly across the harbor from Cape May’s marinas and the Cape May Canal. Venues around the harbor will be linked by trolley and water taxi which are furnished for the event.
What is being planned?
Since its inception as a whaling village in the 17th Century, Cape May’s economy and culture has been linked to the sea. But with the promise comes a challenge. Harbor Fest is intended to heighten awareness and appreciation of this fragile resource.
Additional information about Harbor Fest is available on the web: www.capemayharborfest.com or by contacting the Greater Cape May Chamber of Commerce, 609-884-5508, or via the web: www.capemaychamber.com. Boating specific information including slip availability can be obtained from the Dockmaster at South Jersey by calling: 609-884-2400 or email: Dockmaster@sjmarina.com.
We fished Thursday and Friday afternoon 6 hour trips. The weather for day 1 was very rainy and windy in the beginning, which provided for some rough water, however after about 2 hours on the water the sun fought its way out and things calmed down. In fact it was so cloudy when we started out I opted to leave my sunglasses at the dock. This proved to be a mistake, but the Captain was nice enough to lend me a pair. We did pretty good on day one, we landed about 6 fish total, with the biggest being an 11lb 5 oz brown trout (see photo). Rick hooked up about a 4lb steelhead, which after surprising us put up quite a fight with some nice aerial acrobatics (see photo).
Day 2 the weather was just short of perfect, sunny and about 75 degrees. The water was so calm it was amazing. We asked Captain Ernie to take us out and try to get some King Salmon. The Captain advised he had taken a 17 lb King earlier that day, but alas the fish weren’t biting for us on day 2. We did get a look at some nice kings on the underwater camera…but we couldn’t get them interested in the afternoon bite. Andy did take a nice 5lb rainbow on day 2, which we released due to the large amount of fillets we had from day 1. Both Rick and Andy attempted to persuade me to put on the sunglasses that I had borrowed from the Captain on day 1, they believed it brought us good luck (see photo). The glasses were “not my style”, but they made for some fun as we dubbed them the “Billy Mays” and who knows…maybe they were lucky?
Overall the trip was a success. I am planning on returning in August or September, when the Kings really start biting! Captain Ernie was a gracious guide and seems to really know how to get to the fish. We highly recommend Fish Doctor Charters and Lake Ontario fishing, it is a short 5 hour drive from Philly. The nightlife in Oswego is actually more lively than it appears at first. We happenned to be in town when they were having the annual bridge street run, which as the name doesn’t imply is actually a bridge street pub crawl. The local college kids from SUNY Oswego campus seemed to be having a great time. If your considering a trip up email me and I will be happy to give you some good insight.
Catch em up…..
Courtesy of NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife at:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/news/2009/reefrock4-09.htm
Beginning in April 2009, four million cubic yards of rock generated from New York District, Army Corps of Engineers dredging operations will be deployed on nine New Jersey reefs over the next three years as part of the Artificial Reef Program. The dredge rock, consisting of shale, sandstone and granite ranges in size from basketball-sized pieces to boulders. The rock will be transported from areas along the Kill Van Kull, Arthur Kill and Newark Bay via tugboats and deployed by hopper scows at predetermined locations.
During these reef construction efforts the work will be continuous so boaters must constantly be aware of the reduced maneuverability of the tugs and allow them the right-of-way. Commercial fishers must relocate their gear to other areas not slated for deployment or risk gear damage.The following nine reefs will be receiving dredge rock:
Adding rock to the ocean floor provides much needed hard-structure habitat for fish, lobster and other marine life. The rocky ridges and rock piles will become attachment surfaces for invertebrate marine life, such as mussels, barnacles, sponges and anemones, and will provide hiding places for bottom-dwelling species like sea bass, blackfish, crab and lobster. The rock will create productive fishing grounds for centuries to come. |
A hopper scow of rock being towed to reef site. Click to enlarge |
The deployment schedule is subject to weather and sea conditions. Rock deployments commenced on 4/21/2009 at the Cape May, Great Egg, Deepwater, Wildwood, Townsends Inlet, Atlantic City and Garden State North Reefs. Rock deployments will commence on the Axel Carlson Reef on 5/27/2009 and the Shark River Reef during 2010.
For further information on this deployment contact Hugh Carberry at 609-748-2022.
For information on past and planned deployments see the Artificial Reef Deployments page.
Below are maps of reef grids for the nine reefs in PDF format. Each grid depicts the deployment locations as well as associated 150 foot buffer areas. These deployment locations and buffers should be avoided by commercial fishers who set unattended gear such as pots and traps. Setting pots or traps in these areas may result in damage or loss of gear.
Atlantic City (pdf, 925kb)
Axel Carlson (pdf, 820kb)
Cape May (pdf, 580kb)
Deepwater (pdf, 260kb)
Garden State North (pdf, 645kb)
Great Egg (pdf, 230kb)
Shark River (pdf, 310kb)
Townsends Inlet (pdf, 235kb)
Wildwood (pdf, 230kb)
Today we attended the Strictly Jersey Boat Show. With overcast rainy skies it wasn’t bad, the show was a nice grouping of boats both in the water and out. There was a tent with several vendors and a nice hospitality area. The show host, South Jersey Marina, did a great job of keeping it intimate with a good mix for the charter captain right down to the weekend boater.
There was one vendor in particular that I was interestd in. I left for the day with my wife going to a first communion for our niece. My wife was not happy of our choices for the day. She enjoys fishing just as much as I and a leisurely day in Cape May would have suited her. With her birthday coming up in June she has been bugging me for a new fishing rod. Not just any rod but a pink one. Well as I strolled the show I saw a line of girls clothing and what else, a pink fishing rod. I snatched one up and spoke with the owner for a few minutes. After obtaining my new rod and speaking with him I felt justified to head to the Lobsterhouse (my wife and I’s first date) for some clams.
Regardless of the gloomy weather, my wife’s smile was vindication for leaving her high and dry for the day. I guess I will have to buy her something else for her birthday…………
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