The
National Park Service
has proposed significant
changes to Assateague's
OSV regulations! Here's
what's being proposed:
NPS
plans to remove:
The
10,000 lb vehicle weight
restriction
The
7-inch minimum ground
clearance requirement
All
vehicle length and width
restrictions
Language about maximum
wheels per axle
Big
news for dual wheel
vehicles: These would
now be officially legal
in the rulebook, rather
than just being
permitted through local
NPS management decision.
These requirements were
established in 1976 and
NPS has determined
they're no longer
necessary for safe beach
operation.
WHY
THIS MATTERS: These
changes could allow more
vehicle types to access
the beach while
maintaining our
commitment to
responsible beach use
and preservation.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS: NPS
is accepting public
comments until March 18,
2025.
New
regulations start at
Assateague and maybe in
future apply to NJ
beaches to, so comment
How to Catch Saltwater Fish in New Jersey
(added 12-2020)
Do you want to learn how to saltwater fish in New Jersey,
but aren't sure where to start? You might be surprised when
you discover the number of places you can go and the variety
of saltwater species you can catch.
The first step is to check into current New Jersey
license and permit requirements. While New Jersey does
not require a recreational saltwater
fishing license, there are marine licenses and
permits that may be required depending on the fish
species and waterway. You will also be required to
register with the New Jersey Saltwater Recreational
Registry Program.
Next, you will need to check a New Jersey saltwater
fish identification guide and get the latest fishing
regulation updates.
From there, you may want to try surf fishing from a
shoreline or pier for species like striped bass,
flounder, or bluefish. You can fish from a shoreline or
pier using surf fishing gear
Find out about fishing seminars or events that can
help you learn basic saltwater knots and rigging
techniques.
After picking up a few tips on how to fish for saltwater
species in New Jersey, you will be ready to get out on the
water and try it for yourself.
New Jersey Saltwater Fishing
Tips
Get some simple tips on how to catch saltwater fish in
New Jersey so that you can plan a day on the water. These
suggestions can help you assemble the basic tackle you need
and find an accessible spot.
Get a 10- to 12-foot surf fishing rod with
medium-heavy power and medium action. Longer fishing
rods are required in order for you to get your baits out
beyond the waves.
You can try using 25 to 30-pound braided fishing
line and 40 to 50-pound fluorocarbon leader, depending
on the structure in the area. Use heavier leader around
rocks, concrete pilings, or bridges. Make sure your reel
has a high line capacity.
Live or natural baits work best. One of the most
common saltwater fishing rigs to use with natural bait
is a fish finder rig. A fish finder rig will work for
striped bass, flounder, or black drum. Try baits such as
clams or bloodworms.
Try saltwater fishing from the docks at John C.
Bartlett, Jr. County Park on Berkeley Island or from the
Ventnor Fishing Pier in Ventnor City, New Jersey. Use
the places to fish and boat map to locate additional
spots within NJ.
For more information on which species are biting and
where to go, you can also check current New Jersey saltwater
fishing reports.
This essay was in the Wall Street
Journal and features NJBBA past president Paul Harris.
Does
Fishing Have a Future?
As the young turn away from the sport, companies and
schools look for new ways to reel them in
By
Mike Toth
Paul Harris remembers driving to the New Jersey shore in
a Ford Model A to go fishing with his father.
âBack in the 1940s, weâd go to the old Phipps estate for
the weekend and fish for kingfish and croakers. Then
weâd drive back home to Philadelphia, where the mothers
and grandmothers were all waiting for the fish,â says
Mr. Harris, 75, who still fishes that 10-mile stretch of
shoreline, now known as Island Beach State Park.
Mr. Harris taught his two daughters to fish there in the
1970s, and he has fond memories of those times. âWe were
a crowd. Whole families would drive onto the sand and
fish together. The older kids would help keep an eye on
the younger kids. Now, you look up and down the beach,
you see very few families fishing. You canât get the
kids outside anymore.â
Indeed, according to the Recreational Boating & Fishing
Foundation (RBFF), children are less likely to go
fishing as they get older: Those aged 13 to 17 fish much
less than those aged 6 to 12. That trend is contributing
to a drastic decline in the popularity of fishing.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that the
number of anglers in the U.S. increased from 33.1
million in 2011 to 35.8 million in 2016, but the number
of total days they fished dropped precipitouslyâfrom
553.8 million to 459.3 million, a 17% decrease.
What is keeping older kids off the water? In his book
âLast Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From
Nature Deficit Disorder,â Richard Louv writes that loss
of discretionary time and increased screen use keep
young people indoors. But he thinks there is more at
work. âMuch of society no longer sees time spent in the
natural world as âenrichment,ââ Mr. Louv writes.
âTechnology now dominates almost every aspect of our
lives. Children are conditioned at an early age to
associate nature with environmental doom.â
Frank Peterson, president and CEO of RBFF, points out
the need for the recreational fishing industry to find
and mine new demographics. âI go to all the industry
meetings. Iâm a 67-year-old pale white male. I look out
at the audience, and they all look like me. We need to
attract more diverse audiences and women,â says Mr.
Peterson, whose âTake Me Fishingâ program (and âVamos a
Pescar,â its Spanish-language counterpart) provides
newcomers with everything they need to knowâfrom tackle
recommendations and knot-tying videos to finding a place
to fish.
That is how Kayla Carlson, a stay-at-home mom in
Jacksonville, Fla., and her family came to the sport.
âThree years ago, my husband and I were looking for a
fun Fatherâs Day activity for the family and decided to
try fishing. We took our boys to a private pond. They
loved it. We knew we had to learn more about it.â
Ms. Carlson, whose sons are now 6 and 5, found âTake Me
Fishingâ online, which directed her to a local fishing
clinic. âItâs an awesome resource,â she says. âWe all
fish four or five times a week. The boys have caught
hundreds of fishâred drum, sharks, snapper, pompano,
whiting. Sometimes we bring fish home to eat.â
This past May, Emily Negrin of Minneapolis stopped by an
âOff the Hookâ stand, a pop-up introductory fishing
experience that RBFF is setting up across the U.S. Owen,
her 7-year-old son, learned the basics of fishing from a
volunteer. Ms. Negrin says he has been on the water
nearly every weekend since thenâand that has rekindled
his grandfatherâs interest in fishing. âMy dad has a
stockpile of fishing poles that he dusted off so he can
fish with Owen,â says Ms. Negrin. âThe two of them have
a blast.â
RBFF is also trying to encourage more women to try the
sport with its âWomen Making Wavesâ initiative, with
blogs written by women and social-media platforms on
which visitors can share fishing photos and information.
Those connections are crucial, says Senior Vice
President Stephanie Vatalaro, because while 45% of
fishing newcomers are women, they drop out of the sport
at a high rate. âOnly 19% of women who fish identify as
an angler,â says Ms. Vatalaro. âTheyâre going into
tackle shops and reading fishing magazines, but they
donât see themselves. And theyâre not sticking around.â
While 45% of fishing newcomers are women, they drop out
of the sport at a high rate. âOnly 19% of women who fish
identify as an angler,â says Stephanie Vatalaro of the
Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation.
For young people, another inducement to try their hand
at fishing can be found in high schools, where fishing
teams compete for a spot in the High School Fishing
World Finals. Teams fish for freshwater bass that are
weighed and then released back into the water. This
yearâs finalists vied for nearly $3 million in
scholarships from 60 colleges that have their own
fishing teams.
James Hall coaches one such high-school team near his
Birmingham, Ala., home, and says that many team members
wouldnât fish otherwise. He too sees the young inspiring
the old to return to the sport. âThe first year I
started coaching, we had six freshman kids. Two hadnât
been fishing in years,â Mr. Hall says. âThe boats owned
by one kidâs father and the other kidâs grandfather were
collecting dust. The father and grandfather volunteered
to be boat captains, which the team needs, and that
reignited their passion for fishing.â
Mr. Hall says his team crosses social divides. âKids
with long hair, jocks with short hair. Kids on the honor
roll, kids who struggle to make CsâŚthey all get along,â
says Mr. Hall. âThe grunge kid catches a fish, the jock
shakes his hand and says âWay to go, bro!ââ
After seeing the drop-off in young people fishing on his
New Jersey beach, Mr. Harris approached staff at Toms
River South High School five years ago and offered to
help form and coach a saltwater fishing team. Students
from all grades are on the 19-strong Fishing Indians
team, and some of them had little to no fishing
experience before signing up.
âWe meet the kids on the beach, teach them how to tie
knots and cast,â says Mr. Harris, who lobbied members of
his New Jersey Beach Buggy Association, a local club, to
donate tackle for the teamâs use.
Meanwhile, tackle manufacturers as a whole seem slow to
embrace a new demographic. Most exhibitors at the 2019
ICAST (International Convention of Allied Sportfishing
Trades) trade show in Orlando, Fla., last month featured
photos of white adult males holding big fish caught with
the gear on display. Rod and reel maker Zebco, with its
mural of photographs of young, racially diverse men and
women engaged in a variety of outdoor activities besides
fishingâbicycling, tending a campfire, swimmingâwas one
exception.
Fishing eyewear company Flying Fisherman was another.
The firmâs president, Pat Sheldon, said he introduced
the Buoy Jr. Angler Polarized Sunglasses at this yearâs
ICAST to help cultivate young fishermen. The eyewear is
sized for kids but performs identically to standard
fishing glasses. âSame lenses as the adult models,â says
Mr. Sheldon. âFor kids to have a good fishing
experience, they need to see what the adults are
seeing.â
âMr. Toth is a writer and a former executive editor of
Field & Stream.
Each Year Regulations remain in effect until changed.
Until officially changed, regulations from
previous year remain in effect.
For the most current regulations, go to NJFishandWildlife.com/njregs.htm#marine or
call the marine fish âlisten-onlyâ information line
at (609) 292-2083
New Jersey recreational
marine regulations apply to all fish species when they are
possessed in state waters or landed in New Jersey regardless
of where they are caught. Saltwater anglers must comply with
the requirements of the New Jersey Saltwater Recreational
Registry Program. Click
here to learn more about the New Jersey Saltwater Registry
Requirements.
Resource Information
Anyone who takes fisheries resources may be required to
provide information on the species, number, weight or other
information pertinent to management of resources. Anglers
are encouraged to report all fishing activity after each
trip. Visit Fish and Wildlifeâs Volunteer Angler Survey at NJFishandWildlife.com/marinesurvey.htm.
