Shark River shake down

[jakesdad]

Finally splashed for the first time this season, Got down at mid incoming, splashed and put the boat back together, grabbed some bait and took a couple of drifts in the river. If this was Friday 2 of us had 4 keeper size in 45 minutes.

We where the only boat in the river, water 55.7 and clean. got boarded by NJ State Police. They checked registration, NJ saltwater license, and for the first time ever I was checked for a valid NJ Safe Boaters Certificate. No problem had them all in my wallet. Very nice and respectful , thanked them for checking and off they went.

On a side note as we where getting ready to leave the dock, a boat pulled up and Tommy Joseph appeared. He looked no worse for wear, still as vibrant as ever, and still doing what he loves. Great to see him back and enjoying himself.

Everyone have a great enjoyable and safe season

Henry

[Gerry Zagorski]

Way to do it Henry... Best of luck this season!

[penn50w]

NJ Saltwater Fishing License??? No such thing.

Safe Boater Certificate??? Not required. A boat license is required for non-tidal waters only. Shark river is a “Tidal Basin”.

Please kindly fill me in if I’m missing something? Thanks

you need a Saltwater license for years now - it's free - https://www.nj.gov/dep/saltwaterregistry/
if you're driving the boat you need to take a safe boating course and need the certificate - To operate a vessel upon the waters of this State, an individual would need one of the following: a Boat Safety Certificate issued in their home State, a New Jersey Boat Safety Certificate, United States Coast Guard Captain’s License, or written proof of completion of a safety course approved by N.A.S.B.L.A. or one substantially similar to a New Jersey Course.

[Reel Class]

Technically it's a the registry and you should possess your registration card whenever you saltwater fish. It's free, and it literally takes 3 minutes to fill out the info.

Boater's safety certificates are a must and should always be in your possession when operating!

[dakota560]

Technically it's a the registry and you should possess your registration card whenever you saltwater fish. It's free, and it literally takes 3 minutes to fill out the info.

Boater's safety certificates are a must and should always be in your possession when operating!

Just to add to what Capt. Allen already mentioned, if you're 16 or younger or fish on Party or Charter boats you're exempt from having to register with the National Saltwater Recreational Angler program. Fish on a private boat and you're over 16 you have to sign up. As said, it takes very little time to do on-line. Issue most people had when this went into law in 2006 was whether this was a precursor to an official salt water license with fees. That's a topic for another day as eventually it's probably going to become a reality.

Check out the attached link.

https://www.nj.gov/dep/saltwaterregistry/

[dakota560]

Finally splashed for the first time this season, Got down at mid incoming, splashed and put the boat back together, grabbed some bait and took a couple of drifts in the river. If this was Friday 2 of us had 4 keeper size in 45 minutes.

We where the only boat in the river, water 55.7 and clean. got boarded by NJ State Police. They checked registration, NJ saltwater license, and for the first time ever I was checked for a valid NJ Safe Boaters Certificate. No problem had them all in my wallet. Very nice and respectful , thanked them for checking and off they went.

On a side note as we where getting ready to leave the dock, a boat pulled up and Tommy Joseph appeared. He looked no worse for wear, still as vibrant as ever, and still doing what he loves. Great to see him back and enjoying himself.

Everyone have a great enjoyable and safe season

Henry

Henry good to see you had a good day! Good to see enforcement make their presence, we need their help unfortunately with people who could care less about the regulations or resource itself. Any sign of the pin hooker in SR that's been discussed the last few seasons? Should NEVER be allowed to have a handful of people pay for access and privileges to a public resource which the general public are restricted from. It's the equivalent of allowing fresh water anglers to fish public waters for trout during the three week period prior to the opener when most lakes are closed to all fishing for stocking if they buy a permit! Absolutely without logic and an inequitable allocation of a vital resource between commercial and recreational. And the fact it might be quota based has no merit, by the time they're done in a small body of water like SR the damage has already been done when the season opens for recreational anglers.

[jakesdad]

Thanks for the follow ups, the post was meant to be a reminder as to what is needed if you are fishing from a private boat. We all are out for the enjoyment, so take a few minutes and make sure you have what you need. If anyone shows up to fish without a state card, just have them apply on their phone, you get an immediate response with your ID #.

Let's all have a safe an enjoyable holiday weekend!