Guest Speakers for 2026

Speakers for 2026

April 10: Early Season Doormats – Tips to Wipe Your Feet on your Biggest Fluke Yet, Jenni Ackerman (The Fisherman)

Returning as our lead speaker for 2026 by popular demand, Jenni Ackerman will open the season with a timely presentation on fishing for our most popular species – Fluke. 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 YouTube (search Open Boat with Jenni Ackerman), and her full profile on LinkedIn.

May 8: Greg Cudnik (Fisherman’s Headquarters, and Fish Head Charters) Spring Striper Fishing followed by General Q&A

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. Greg will talking about Spring Striper Fishing in the Barnegat area. As always, he will share some “special techniques” and answer all your questions.

June 12: Jim Hutchinson Sr & Jim Hutchinson Jr. editor for the NJ edition of The Fisherman Magazine.

Topic is not yet decided but there will also be the presentation of the Melanie Boytos Award for our 2025 winner Marty Friedrich. Jim Hutchinson Jr has his fingers on the pulse of everything Saltwater Fishing. He always shares useful information on fishing the current status of our regulations. You never know, buy Jim Hutchinson Sr usually brings some “treats” for all to enjoy. You will not want to miss this meeting. Again, congratulations to the 2025 MBA winner – Marty!

July 10 Brett Taylor Tournament Fluke Fishing – Barnegat inlet + Outside; plus Drift and Trolling Motor Etiquette

Brett Taylor is a seasoned fishing enthusiast and professional writer with a deep passion for the sport. He has been involved in fishing for over 17 years, with a focus on trophy summer flounder/fluke and striped bass. Taylor’s expertise extends to various fisheries, including fluking, trolling, and offshore fishing. He is also a charter boat captain and the owner of Reel Reaction Sportsfishing LLC. His work includes writing for On The Water magazine and The Fisherman, where he shares his knowledge and techniques for catching a variety of species off the coast of New Jersey.

That’s Brett in the photo with an 8.75 lb Fluke.

August 14 Peter Clarke – NJ Artificial Reef Program

Peter Clarke is a Principal Biologist with the Bureau of Marine Fisheries at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Division of Fish and Wildlife. He serves as the GIS Specialist and is the current head of New Jersey’s Artificial Reef Program, overseeing 17 artificial reef sites along the state’s coast. His work focuses on artificial reef construction, biological monitoring, and habitat enhancement for fish, shellfish, and crustaceans, while also supporting recreational fishing and scuba diving.

Peter has been instrumental in major reef projects, including the sinking of the historic Tamaroa rescue vessel in 2017 to create a new artificial reef. He has presented extensively on the program, including at seminars hosted by Rutgers Cooperative Extension and through the NJDEP’s official podcast. He holds a strong background in marine biology and is actively involved in research, data collection, and fishery management initiatives, including work on blue crab fisheries and recreational survey development.

September Date TBD: We are planning something special for the September Meeting. Stay tuned – we will be updating the details on this event as they become available.

October 9 TBD

November 14: Year in Review Slide show by Phil Simon.

No speaker for our final meeting but instead, we celebrate with a pizza meeting along with a slide show. 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.

These were our Speakers for 2025

April 11: Tog Fishing in New Jersey, Jenni Ackerman (The Fisherman)

May 9: Fishing our local NJ waters, Capt. Steve Palmer (Miss Beach Haven, and Jingles Bait and Tackle)

June 13:The Rutgers University Fluke Tagging Study, Chase Wunder and Doug Zemeckis (Rutgers University)

July 11 Jim Hutchinson Sr & Jim Hutchinson Jr. editor for the NJ edition of The Fisherman magazine

August 8: Tips to improve your catch, Greg Cudnik (Fisherman’s Headquarters, and Fish Head Charters)

September 12: Tog Fishing off the jetty, “Bayside Dave” Etelman

October 10: Artificial Reef Restoration, Bill Figley.

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.