Seeking private-boat bluefin tuna anglers for focus group: Feb 6, Toms River, NJ

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by JDTuna

With all due respect, I don't think this is an accurate representation at all. When bluefin do hold off NJ in the inshore/offshore areas (they really didn't this year), many boaters target them. In fact, even when the limit was just 1 per boat there were still lots of people targeting them on the inshore/offshore grounds. I have been out many times in recent years when there was a fleet of 50+ boats out there every weekend. This included both charters and private boats. The fish just passed us by as a whole last season so they weren't targeted as frequently in the past year.

I hear you JD.... I too know several guys who still target them inshore of the Canyon but not as often as they used to. Doesn't take too many trips burning a hundred plus gallons of fuel combined with the restrictive regulations we have for people to think twice about making the trip... The lack of fish this past year didn't help either...

However, if fuel prices stay were they are and there are fish around next year, a lot more people will be targeting them.