Guest Speakers for 2019

April 12 : Dr. Doug Zemeckis – Dr. Zemeckis grew up spending his summers at the Jersey Shore and fishing recreationally throughout New Jersey and beyond. Doug transformed his passion for the ocean and fisheries into a career in marine sciences after earning a B.S. in Marine Science from Rutgers University and a PH.D. in Marine Science and Technology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He currently works as a County Agent, Assistant 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. Doug will share some of his expertise related to New Jersey’s fisheries and the impact of climate change on our marine fishery resources, commercial and recreational fishing industries and fisheries management.

May 10: Captain Greg Cudnik – Greg is a passionate saltwater angler with a vast knowledge of the 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. Greg will share information about light tackle striped bass fishing in or area. His simple presentation theme “Scale Down For Light Tackle Striped Fun” will detail topics like rod/reel choices, line/leader and best knots as well as his top five springtime lures. With current trends in the fisheries (less bigger fish but more smaller ones), a light tackle approach will ensure fun on the water even with small fish. Greg will also give an update on recent happenings with the early May fishing and what he’s looking forward to this season.

June 14: Britta Wenzel Executive Director “Save Barnegat Bay” – Britta has been actively involved with the protection and restoration of Barnegat Bay since her childhood. At 18, she was named Ocean County’s “Environmentalist of the Year”. She served on the Lavallette Borough Council from 2003 to 2009, affecting many environmental programs and policies. She currently drives Save the Bay’s advocacy efforts by working alongside locally elected officials, county government, state legislators and federal representatives. Britta’s current position as well as her personal experience of being an advocate from her youth will help to inspire and directly inform the public on important Barnegat Bay issues.

July 12: Jim Hutchinson Sr – Jim is a local fishing professional and writer for many newspapers, magazines and online publications and will discuss crabbing in our local waters. Jim will start with information on crab biology, and then give us some tips acquired over his 60 years of experience on catching, cleaning, and picking crabs. Jim will also bring some crab dip for everyone to taste and is going to bring handouts for a few crab recipes.

August 9: Rick Bushnell President of Reclam the Bay – Rick is a Certified Shellfish Gardener and was instrumental in forming the organization 2005. After reading about the problems in the bay, he decided to lean more by getting involved in a program to grow shellfish and teach others about what he learned. That led Rick to the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program. BBSRP was established by Rutgers, DEP Bureau of Shellfisheries and the County of Ocean to train, educate, and motivate citizens to become involved in improving the bay. Reclam the Bay volunteers have grown over 1 million hard clams and oysters each year since 2005 and use them as living representatives of the bays ecosystem. They educate people about the requirements of shellfish that serve as watchdogs for good water quality and explain the impact of people on these natural resources.

September 13: TBD

October 11: Capt. Bret Taylor — Capt. Brett is a licensed USCG captain who has been avidly fishing Barnegat Bay and surrounding waters for the past 20 years. Capt. Brett will use an “Open Forum” type of talk. He will discuss fall fishing techniques in Barnegat Bay and the surrounding waters including fall fishing off LBI. He will focus mostly on fishing by boat but will also cover kayak and land based fishing. Bring any questions you have and Capt. Brett will do his best to answer them.

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Fishing Facts

Of the fifty United States, thirty-eight have a striped-bass record. New Jersey has the largest striped-bass record—a 78-pound 8·ounce whopper that was caught in 1982. The state with the smallest striped-bass record is Iowa. That landlocked striper weighed only 9 pounds 4 ounces and was caught in 1983.

There’s something fishy about beer these days. Fish Tail Ale is popular as ever, and New Jersey’s Flying Fish Brewery is one of the state’s largest specialty breweries. There’s also Washington’s Wild Salmon Organic Pale Ale, Florida’s Land Shark beer, Delaware’s Dogfish Head beer, and two versions of Stingray beer—a lighter version from the Cayman Islands and a dark beer from Canada.

The triangle fly is probably the most unusual of saltwater flies. It’s one of the few, if not only, flies tied to a treble hook. It’s also barely a fly at all, because hardly any material is used. It is complete after tying the two straw pearl twinkle flashes and the tiny tuft of natural squirrel, leaving an entire hook fully exposed. Incredibly this barebacked treble fly is a knockout when it comes to sea trout.