Manasquan Inlet fish

[NJ219bands]

Caught a variety of fish at Manasquan Inlet last week on an Ava A17 and teaser rig. Landed 96 fish there this year. Tagged and released 76. None were recaptured yet.

[AndyS]

Why do you tag them ?

[bulletbob]

Caught a variety of fish at Manasquan Inlet last week on an Ava A17 and teaser rig. Landed 96 fish there this year. Tagged and released 76. None were recaptured yet.

That sundial would have ended up in the frying pan if it were me.. I used to like eating them as much as winter flounder..

did the skate actually hit the AVA or the teaser?.. I have caught them on baited jigs, not sure if I ever caught one on a plain metal jig... Snagged them on unbaited jigs, pretty sure.

I despise those things no matter where they are caught.. Damn things are everywhere, from tidal creeks to the deep ocean....

Tagging a few sounds pretty interesting though, just to see where they go, when they go,and what they do.. Most guys have a good idea where the game species go, and when, but most of us have no idea of where secondary species go, or what they do.. tagging non game species such as skate, sundial, hickory shad is a cool idea , and in my opinion is a worthwhile endeavor... bob

[Jigman13]

Def would've been filleting that dial... they're underrated and very tasty.

[NJ219bands]

Why do you tag them ?
tax deduction

[NJ219bands]

That sundial would have ended up in the frying pan if it were me.. I used to like eating them as much as winter flounder..

did the skate actually hit the AVA or the teaser?.. I have caught them on baited jigs, not sure if I ever caught one on a plain metal jig... Snagged them on unbaited jigs, pretty sure.

I despise those things no matter where they are caught.. Damn things are everywhere, from tidal creeks to the deep ocean....

Tagging a few sounds pretty interesting though, just to see where they go, when they go,and what they do.. Most guys have a good idea where the game species go, and when, but most of us have no idea of where secondary species go, or what they do.. tagging non game species such as skate, sundial, hickory shad is a cool idea , and in my opinion is a worthwhile endeavor... bob
Snagged the skate and didn't tag it. Kept all 8 hickory shad. A sundial that I tagged in Manasquan Inlet got caught again by a scallop boat 38 miles east southest of Barnegat Inlet. I started tagging sea robins this year but none were recaptured yet. I never tagged a skate yet. Hickory shad are too fragile for me to tag. ALS tags cost 60 cents each.

[Billfish715]

I've been using the "snap together" tags and have found them to be easier to use than the ones that have to be tied. Have you tried them yet? As for the variety of fish that are tagged, I've considered tagging fish like sea robins, sandbar sharks and skates just because they are often so plentiful but only to satisfy my curiosity. Many of the "trash" fish wind up in the trawls of commercial draggers. If those fish were ever tagged, the likelihood of any of those tags ever being returned is slim. I've only had two tags returned from smaller commercial draggers yet I suspect many more may have been just put on ice in the holds and offloaded at the co-op.

Much of the trash fish catch is boxed and sold as lobster bait. The lobster fishermen in Rhode Island buy barrels and barrels of skates to fill their traps.So, unless there is a larger interest in tag returns from sea robins and skates, I'll keep tagging stripers, fluke and sea bass. It's fun to get the tags back. I recently got a return from a fluke that I tagged last summer. It was recaptured to the day one year later in practically the same area where I tagged it.

To anyone is thinking about doing some tagging, by all means do so. It's a great organization and it's 100% tax deductible. Don't expect every tag to be returned, however. If you were ever to count every cast you made without a fish, you might be discouraged, but when that first fish hits, it makes all of it worthwhile. It's much the same as fish tagging. You don't get a lot of returns compared to the fish that were tagged, but when you get a notice and a goldfish patch because one of your tags was returned, it's a very satisfying feeling