2012 NJ DEP Native Fish Art and Writing Contest Winners Honored

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Robert Ivan

Native Fish Art and Writing Contest Winners Honored

Erin M. :: 1st place :: 4th Grade :: South Harrison Elementary School

Isabella G. :: 2nd place :: 4th Grad :: Washington Park School

Ava F. :: 1st place :: 5th Grade :: Malcolm S. Mackay School

Liam S. :: 2nd place :: 5th Grade :: Millstone River School

Nick P. :: 1st place :: 6th Grade :: Brass Castle Elementary School

Tyler D. :: 2nd place :: 6th Grade :: South Harrison Elementary School

Timmy Y. :: 1st place :: 7th Grade :: Scicore Academy

Galina B. :: 2nd place :: 7th Grade :: Jefferson Elementary School

April 10, 2012

The winning entrants in the NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Native Fish Art and Writing Contest were honored at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center in Oxford, Warren County, on the opening day of trout season, April 7.

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and DEP Commissioner Bob Martin were on hand to meet contest winners and their families, as they enjoyed a morning of fishing at the Pequest Fishing Education Pond. The weather was beautiful and sunny and everyone had a great time catching trout. Fish and Wildlife staff and volunteers assisted anglers to ensure they had a safe and enjoyable fishing experience.

After fishing, the winners of the contest received certificates and fishing equipment at an awards luncheon sponsored by the New Jersey Council of Trout Unlimited. Lt. Governor Guadagno and Commissioner Martin spoke at the luncheon and assisted with the awards ceremony, praising the winners for their excellent artwork and essays.

After the luncheon, winners had the opportunity to take a personal tour of the Pequest Hatchery and learn how brook, brown and rainbow trout are raised for stocking in New Jersey’s publicly accessible waterways.

The purpose of this annual contest is to encourage children in grades 4 through 7 to learn about New Jersey’s native fish species, and the importance of natural resource conservation. Students from around the state researched a native fish of New Jersey. They used the information learned to write a short story about one year in the life of that fish. Students then drew a picture that depicted a scene from their native fish story.

Visit www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/fishart_cert.pdf (pdf, 155kb) for a downloadable certificate for every student who participated in the contest.

Visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2012/fshartwinnrs12.htm for the official NJ DEP page.

Hunterdon Anglers Sponsors Family Friendly Fishing Tournament

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Robert Ivan

Hunterdon Anglers, Hunterdon County’s two-reservoir fishing club, will be holding it’s first fishing tournament on Saturday May 5, 2012 at Round Valley Reservoir between the hours of 7:00am and 3:00pm. Ed Harabin, President of the two-year old club, said, “This will be a family friendly event open to adults and children of all ages.” “It will be open to both members and non-members alike with only a modest entry fee.”, Ed went on to say. The tournament date was chosen for a number of reasons, including the fact that the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife will be stocking 6,000 trout in the reservoir just a few days prior to the tournament. The state stocking will include at least 130 big breeder trout any one of which could possibly be a tournament winner.

Another consideration for the tournament date is fish location. These trout hug the reservoir shorelines in the spring. No boat – no problem! “I want to encourage participation by shoreline fisherman including families with children” said Tournament Chairman Dennis Haggerty. At this time of the year the shoreline fishermen have just as good a chance as the boat fishermen do to land that trophy. Both the stocked fish and the holdover fish are within easy casting distance of the shore. Simple fishing techniques often work well in May.

This will be a trout tournament with three divisions: Brown Trout Division, Rainbow Trout Division, and Lake Trout Division. Cash prizes will be awarded to the lucky anglers who weigh in the heaviest trout in each division. Ed said, “Club members will be glad to share fishing techniques on the day of the tournament, just as we do in our monthly newsletter.” The club’s motto, “Share The Knowledge”, speaks for itself. Ed said, “If you are new to trout fishing come on out or give us a call. We are always willing to offer helpful advice.”

For tournament rules and club membership information, contact either Ed Harabin at 908-236-0697 or by email at double.anchor@yahoo.com, or contact Tournament Chairman Dennis Haggerty at 848-391-6873 or by email at njmenace@aol.com.

Our First Family Fishing Trip!

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Jessica Ivan

April 6, 2012 marked a momentous event in our family history. It was the first time that all four of us had ever been out on the boat together! For our youngest, it was his first time on a boat, ever, but he acclimated pretty quickly after a few surprised looks and one request to go back to the car. All it took was a fishing pole in his hand and a baby night crawler on his hook, and he was smiling and laughing. For me, it was the third time I’d been with Rob fishing and the first time I’d watched him teaching the boys how to fish. Lots of firsts!

On the drive in, nice and calm.

Rob slipped the boat into the water at about four o’clock as I zipped the boys into their PFDs. We set out from the dirt boat launch dock about five minutes later and headed out on the water. The newly fixed Mercury Motor sounded quiet and happy for the first time since we bought it, and the trip out to Ranger’s Cove was smooth sailing! Our eldest smiled and called for more speed as we bumped over the small waves. It was a bit windy, but not enough to cause too much chop.

The youngest has decided that he 'loves feesheeng'

Once we got to the cove Rob dropped the anchor and set about tying the lines with bobbers and hooking the baby night crawlers we had picked up at Lebanon Bait and Sport. The little guy took to reeling in the lines pretty quickly and was content to help Daddy cast and then slowly turn the reel, watching his bobber drift toward the boat. Our eldest had short patience and was soon asking to head back to the dock. It turned out that he has pretty good instincts; as we headed back we found that the winds were really picking up and had quite the bumpy ride all the way back to the docks. As we drove out of the parking area and started the drive home we saw the beacons flashing across the water calling for all boaters to head to shore.

Pretty choppy on the way back in!

Not a single bite on our lines, but we’ll be heading out for more fishing adventures soon. Maybe I’ll even learn to fish one of these days…I’ll keep you all posted.

Be a NJ Fishing Education Volunteer!

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Robert Ivan

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife needs volunteers to teach children about fishing at the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center.

NJ-Fishing-PequestTroutHatchery-Stonefly

Experience is helpful but not required to become a fishing education instructor. However, enthusiasm, energy and the desire to teach children proper fishing techniques and ethics are a must!

Classes run Monday through Friday from April through October and instructors can volunteer at times which suit their schedules. Interested applicants must be a Wildlife Conservation Corps (WCC) volunteer. Download a WCC application from the division’s website at: http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/wcchome.htm .

A training session for interested applicants will be held at the Pequest Trout Hatchery on Wednesday, April 11 from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Jessica Griglak at Jessica.Griglak@dep.state.nj.us or by phone at 908-637-4125.

Open Letter to Dave Chanda, Director, Division of Fish and Wildlife, NJ DEP

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Robert Ivan

March 20, 2012
　
Dave Chanda
Director
Division of Fish and Wildlife
NJ DEP
MC501-03
PO Box 420
Trenton, NJ 08625-0420
　
Mr. Chanda;
I am writing to you concerning the stocking of Lake Trout in Merrill Creek Reservoir and Monksville Reservoir. Myself and many NJ anglers feel the time has come to stop stocking Lake Trout in New Jersey waters.

Presently, I am the moderator for the freshwater section of www.njfishing.com. I talk, and fish, with many anglers who agree that the Lake Trout stocking program should come to an end.

I have fished Merrill Creek Reservoir for better than 10 years now and keep accurate log books. Recently, it seems I can not fish through the Lake Trout to catch other species. Years past, I did well with Rainbow and Brown Trout, now all I get are Lake Trout. One of the problems with Lake Trout in Merrill Creek Reservoir is that anglers really don’t target them there, many people focus on Bass. Some of the heavier tackle used to catch lake trout like downriggers and lead core line is not used at Merrill Creek because of the electric motors only regulation. As far as Monksville is concerned, the focus for most anglers there are walleye and muskellunge, not lake trout.

Many freshwater anglers fish for the fight and not so much for the table, the fight of a lake trout can be compared to reeling in a wet beach towel. So far my family has 2 trout mounted and hung on the wall, my wife has her former state record, an 18 lb. Brown Trout from Round Valley and my 11 lb. Brown Trout from Merrill Creek. I was holding out hope for the return of big Brown Trout but it seems the Lake Trout have all but taken over.

I do not understand why there is a closed season for Lake Trout at Merrill Creek if no natural reproduction is taking place. I understand testing has been done at Merrill Creek to see if natural Lake Trout reproduction is taking place, as anglers we would refute that claim. I have personally caught Lake Trout at Merrill Creek that were full of eggs.

In New Jersey, we only have a few lakes with the qualities to produce trophy trout and the power company is kind enough to let us fish one of them. Merrill Creek is my favorite lake.

A major concern is that lakes like Merrill Creek and Monksville will lose their forage base the same way Round Valley did. I still find it strange that the limits on Round Valley Lake Trout have been raised in an effort to reduce the Lake Trout population there, but less than an hour drive away Merrill Creek gets 3,250 lake trout annually.

Overall, I think Fish and Game has done a great job handling our resources, but I think it is time for a change; end the closed season on Lake Trout, and stop stocking Lake Trout.

I feel so strongly about doing away with the Lake Trout program, I am taking the time to sit down and write this letter to you. I am sure if you stop the Laker program now there would be praise for the decision from many of New Jerseys freshwater fishermen.

I will be taking my vacation in late May again this year in hopes of finding big Brown Trout in Merrill Creek but my hopes are fading as I reel in one Lake Trout after another. Maybe some day the big Brown Trout will make a come back and make fishing headlines once again.
　
　
Sincerely,
　
Andrew Still
Middlesex NJ 08846
Stillville4@yahoo.com