April 11: Tog Fishing in New Jersey, Jenni Ackerman (The Fisherman) Returning as our lead speaker for 2025 by popular demand, Jenni Ackerman will open the season with a timely presentation on fishing for Tog. If you haven’t seen Jenni in her weekly “Open Boat” presentations as part of the Fisherman Magazine videos, you have been missing out on a ton of extremely useful tips on fishing the New Jersey coast. Although still early in her life and career, Jenni has been fishing since her days growing up in NJ and fishing the beach with her family. Currently working as the Media Coordinator for The Fisherman Magazine, you can find Jenni on UTube (search Open Boat with Jenni Ackerman), and her full profile on LinkedIn.
May 9: Fishing our local NJ waters, Capt. Steve Palmer (Miss Beach Haven, and Jingles Bait and Tackle) Steve Palmer returns to the VHFC with what will surely be an interesting seminar on fishing our local waters. Steve is the owner of Jingles Bait and Tackle, and Co-owner of the party boat Miss Beach Haven. The MBH was built down on the eastern shores of Maryland by a company named Chesapeake Boats. Her overall length is 80 feet, with a beam of 20 feet. This vessel is powered by twin MTU 600Hp diesel engines giving her a cruise speed of 18kts. The cold mold construction makes for a most comfortable, quiet and smooth ride. There is a spacious cabin with plenty of seating room, two bathrooms and shelter from rain. There is also cover along the sides of the boat for fishing in inclement weather. The Miss Beach Haven Is equipped with state-of-the-art electronics and fishing equipment.
June 13:The Rutgers University Fluke Tagging Study, Chase Wunder and Doug Zemeckis (Rutgers University)
A joint presentation on an important project in our waters, a Summer Flounder tagging study. Chase Wunder is the Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Research Fellow at Rutgers University and is the principal investigator of this study. Dr Doug Zemeckis, who is a co-investigator on the study, returns to VHFC for the fifth time. Doug has a BS degree in Marine Science from Rutgers University and a PHD in Marine Science and Technology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He currently works as a County Agent, Associate Professor with Rutgers Cooperative Extension where he focuses on delivering educational programs and conducting research to address issues related to fisheries, aquaculture, and coastal resource management. If you are interested in learning about preserving our fluke fishery, this is a seminar you don’t want to miss.
July 11 Topic is not yet decided but Jim Hutchinson Sr & Jim Hutchinson Jr. editor for the NJ edition of The Fisherman magazine will also make the presentation of the Melanie Boytos Award for our 2024 winner Tyler Leary.
August 8: Tips to improve your catch, Greg Cudnik (Fisherman’s Headquarters, and Fish Head Charters) Captain Greg Cudnik is a passionate saltwater angler with a vast knowledge on our local fishery and saltwater fishing tackle. Greg is the general manager of Fisherman’s Headquarters and also runs Fish Head Charters, a Light Tackle & Fly Guide Service. He is also the Editor of FishingLBI.com a fishing report blog focused on the waters of Long Beach Island.
September 12: Tog Fishing off the jetty, “Bayside Dave” Etelman This year, club member Dave Ettleman moves off the beach to discuss the best tactics and gear for catching trophy tog from our local jetties. Well known in the local fishing community through his YouTube videos, Facebook page, and other social media, Dave will give us the best advice possible on claiming keepers from the jetty. Dave runs a popular Facebook group called “Surf Fishing LBI with Bayside Dave” which has 5800+ members and growing. It’s an online forum for surf anglers, novice through expert, to share their knowledge of the sport and fishing reports from the beaches and jetties of LBI. The group also supports and promotes the local bait and tackle shops.
October 10: Marine Electronics, Brian Favre (Martek Marine Electronics. Brian will talk about those seldom used features that are common across the major Brands of Marine Electronics. Learn how to get more out of your electronics. More details coming soon.
November 14: No speaker for our final meeting but instead, we celebrate with a pizza meeting along with a slide show presented by Phil Simon. This is a collection of all our VHFC photos taken in 2025 from your fishing reports and our special events along with all your FOM entries. So come on out and enjoy a few slices while you swap fishing stories with fellow anglers. Be sure to attend and provide your colorful comments for a fun final meeting for this year.
