Sunday, January 15, 2011 /\/\/\ 12:48pm
Half way through January and this morning it actually now feels like January with the wind blowing twenty and the temperature less then twenty. I shouldn't be complaining AT ALL since I haven't had to lift a snow shovel yet. That being said, expect eight to ten inches by the end of the week.
The lagoon is frozen over pretty good this morning. It's time to plug in those ice eaters and bubblers.
Fishing reports are really scarce. Even any conversation, excluding politics and regulations has been at a minimum. North Jersey party boats are still catching. It's hard to believe that mackerel and stripers are mentioned in the same sentence. Mid week, Long Beach Island surf anglers were still finding short bass at Harvey Ceders.
More locally, the only sought after fish has been the white perch. We have been selling a few customers grass shrimp, but they have not been reporting back with any news about their catches. One tell tale sign that the fishing is "ON" somewhere is when one angler brings two friends the next day and buys twice as much shrimp and misc tackle as the day before. That is not happening. I believe there is a whole lot of fishing going on and just a little catching.
Collins Cove is the place to be in the Winter. Anglers will flock there once the ice becomes safe; six plus inches in my opinion. It's a pretty good trek through the woods and across the meadows through the Port Republic Wildlife Management Area. To fish the Collins Cove by land, someone has to blaze a trail through the woods and meadows to make it passable each year. I do not know if any anglers have made that effort just yet.
Q:What makes Collins Cove tick?
A:In the early 1950's Collins Cove was dug out by construction crews and the fill was used to build up the roadway now known as the Garden State Parkway. The cove became a fish haven as the fish found and settled into the man made holes. Over the past sixty years, the Collins Cove has mostly filled in. Even so, there are still some depth variations that hold fish. The fast current of the Mullica River does not flow through the cove and the white perch bunch up in the still water and just hang out. It's similar to what people do on a cold windy day. To stay warm, they tuck into alcoves of buildings to avoid the wind chill effect.
Q:Where is this Collins Cove?
A:If you are traveling South bound on the Garden State Parkway and you are going over the Mullica River Bridge, if you glance South West, it is quite common to see a couple of boats fishing in the bend of the river known as Collins Cove. If your looking at a road map, it will be West of the Garden State Parkway Port Republic Exit 48. If you want a visual, open up Google Earth; the LON LAT Coords are 39 32 56 N 74 28 33 W.
Q:Oh, that's the Mullica River. It's fresh water. Do I need a fishing license?
A:The Mullica River is tidal and the area of Collins Cove leans more toward salt water then brackish water at this point in the river. The fresh water imaginary line drawn by the State of New Jersey is several miles up river above the Lower Bank and Green Bank Bridges. The theoretical line is drawn across the river from two points known as Crowleys Landing --where the State maintains a launch ramp, accessed off of County Road 542 and the street named Seventh Ave --where it meets the Mullica River in the town of Sweetwater. A fresh water fishing license does not need to be purchased to fish down river of this line. However, the newer free 2012 salt water registry card is required to be in your possession.
Q:What kind of bait do I use?
A:Grass shrimp are the choice bait as they are small and easily digestible by the white perch which will have a slower metabolisms due to the cold temperature of the water. Bloodworms, when available, are an excellent choice bait too as you can get more then one bite before the fish strips the bait off of the hook. When the perch action is hot, little minnows catch bigger perch.
Q:Is there a size limit-bag limit on white perch?
A:There is no size or bag limit on white perch. When the catching is good, our house rule is a ten inch fish as that size perch makes for a real nice fillet. When Winter perch fishing, it's fair to be less picky and any perch over seven inches is considered a good catch. Smaller fish are excellent when baked with bones in; clean the perch by cutting off heads, tails, top dorsal and guts and make sure you scale it too. Perch prepared in this way have a lot more flavor then a perch fillet which is still excellent table fare.
Sea Ya

Saturday, January 14, 2012 /\/\/\ 4:09pm
Just to clarify about the NJ Saltwater registry renewal. There was some confusion because the Federal registry ran one year from the date purchased.
The NJ Saltwater Registry expires annually, rather than one year from the date it issued.
This means it expired on 12/31/11 and must be renewed prior to fishing saltwater in 2012.
http://www.nj.gov/dep/saltwaterregistry/index.html
Sea Ya ~ MizMo
Scott's Bait & Tackle
945 Radio Road
LEHT (Mystic Island) NJ 08087
Phone (609)296-1300
Fax (609) 294-1300
http://www.scottsbt.com
http://www.pennparts.com