Guest Speakers for 2018

April: Bob Misak – Bob is a Field Editor for The Fisherman magazine, a local fishing expert and one of South Jersey’s best known anglers especially noted for his jetty fishing. Bob will discuss jigging methods and chumming for weakfish with shrimp.

May: Captain Fran Verdi – Captain Fran pilots the Francesca Marie, a 27′ May Craft center console. Fishing from the back bay to the ocean, Fran fishes for striped bass, bluefish, fluke, sea bass and tog inshore and tuna and shark offshore.

June: Captain Al Majewski – Captain Al pilots the Debbie M a 23′ Dusky and with over 35 years fishing Barnegat Bay, Al is a recognized local expert. He has taught several classes on fishing Barnegat Bay and is a published author with articles in The Fisherman and Saltwater Sportsman magazines.

July: Jonathan Klotz – Jonathan is a Fisheries Technician for the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Fisheries. Jonathan with discuss APAIS – Access Point Angler Intercept Survey – a recreational fishing survey run throughout the state. APAIS is the collection tool used for data gathering on recreational fisheries. Jonathan will also address proper fish handling and other ways to reduce fish mortality. He will also discuss Barotrauma – a condition experienced by deep water fish brought quickly to the surface – and how deadly it can be for effected fish.

August: Jim Hutchinson Jr – Jim is a former Managing Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), a national political action organization dedicated to safeguarding the rights of saltwater anglers. After 6 years with RFA, Jim rejoined The Fisherman family in early 2015, as Managing Editor. Jim is also a former trustee at the Tuckerton Seaport and Museum and president of the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic Committee. Jim spends much of his fishing time from the beaches of LBI to the back waters of Little Egg and Great Bay. Jim will discuss weakfish.

September: Bill Figley – Bill spent his career as a Fisheries Biologist for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and is considered by many to be the patriarch for the Artificial Reef Program within New Jersey. By the time Bill retired, over 140 wrecks, 3500 patch reefs and 14 million tons of various materials had been sunk on the ocean bottom. Bill is an avid hunter / fisherman and VHFC is proud to have him as a member.

October: Jeff Dement – Jeff is the “Fish Tagging Program” Director with the American Littoral Society managing the largest and longest running saltwater volunteer program in the US. He has been with the Society for over a decade and manages the tagging data from almost 1000 volunteer anglers from Maine to Florida including fishing clubs, and charter boat captains. Data from the program is shared with the volunteers, the general public, and the National Marines Fisheries Service. Jeff will provide an overview about the history of the Society’s tagging program since its inception in 1965.

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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.