How to improve freshwater fishing in New Jersey:

[CPR1]

Indiscriminate harvesting, poaching, TXs and even the use of live bait can have detrimental effects on small waters. Ever see Larry Dahlberg's findings on live bait fishermen gut hooking 20, 30 or 40 fish to get 5 keepers? Just a handful of anglers can decimate a fishery due to delayed mortality from gut hooking. Increased enforcement is difficult because NJDFGW is short staffed. More staff means more funding. There are way too many waters in NJ that are closed for fishing/recreation. For instance, why is Wanaque Reservoir closed to the public? What a waste of a natural resource. There are so many other reservoirs in NJ that are fenced and barbed wired. Why? In FL you can launch a boat in a roadside puddle. They promote recreation on waters. Spreading out the fishing population to more waters may decrease the strain on the ones that are open to the public. Implementing recreation programs that require fees to participate (like the NWCDC) would drive more funds into the system to staff more officers to patrol.

[Mark B.]

Come, with all of your ideas, to:

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/new...rumnorth15.htm

[CPR1]

Originally Posted by UglyStick

F&W already "officially" has this in the Fish and Game Counsel. http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/councils.htm#fishandgame.

I still agree with Jimmy and Ed though and think The Freshwater Fishing Alliance would be valuable even if just "advisors to the advisors". What I like in particular about this is since F&W already gets a lot of input from special interest groups, getting input from a group that encompasses all freshwater fishing and not just 1 species or waterbody could be valuable.

A good manager listens to the people who are doing the actual everyday work to stay in touch with the reality of the experience.

The Federation of Sportsman's Clubs is a governing body that supports the creation of organizations devoted to fishing, hunting, etc. I have met with them to promote stocking of Muskies in NJ waters and they help facilitate the action. All you need is a few members in your "club" and you now have a voice. This would be a good place to start to form the alliance you mentioned in the previous posts. As it grows in members, so does it's strength, influence and ability to implement policy. Involvement & organization is the key. I for one would support this cause.

[UglyStick]

Originally Posted by CPR1

The Federation of Sportsman's Clubs is a governing body that supports the creation of organizations devoted to fishing, hunting, etc. I have met with them to promote stocking of Muskies in NJ waters and they help facilitate the action. All you need is a few members in your "club" and you now have a voice. This would be a good place to start to form the alliance you mentioned in the previous posts. As it grows in members, so does it's strength, influence and ability to implement policy. Involvement & organization is the key. I for one would support this cause.

Since you seem to have experience with the NJSFSC I'll ask you this... I looked at their website and other than having regional chapters by county or joining the organization as a member, I see no reference to them supporting the creation of sportsmen conservation organizations. Based on your knowledge, what specifically could they do to support the creation of The Freshwater Fishing Alliance as its own entity? Thx

[CPR1]

Originally Posted by UglyStick

Since you seem to have experience with the NJSFSC I'll ask you this... I looked at their website and other than having regional chapters by county or joining the organization as a member, I see no reference to them supporting the creation of sportsmen conservation organizations. Based on your knowledge, what specifically could they do to support the creation of The Freshwater Fishing Alliance as its own entity? Thx

I was told by their leadership that if a group of sportsmen have a particular mission, they can organize a "club" and register the club with the Fed. The Fed acts as a support structure to help the club achieve their desired goal. In our case, we wanted to get approval for the NJDFGW to stock muskies in Monksville. Trout Unlimited and other organizations, at the time, were powerful enough to prevent the stocking of muskies in Monksville. We gave a presentation to the Fed and included biologists to prove that the introduction of muskies to a fishery would not adversely affect other fish populations. The Fed provided the approval to move forward with the stocking. Another example was a group of angler that wanted to fish a stretch of the Hudson for stripers but there was no access. They organized and used the Fed to help them get a section of the river developed to facilitate shore fishing. These are specific goals that are unique to the needs of these clubs. In this case, the alliance mentioned on this board is to promote conservation and the preservation of NJ fisheries. There is no doubt that the Fed would be on board in supporting this cause as it help all anglers.

[UglyStick]

Thx for the reply - very informative...

Originally Posted by CPR1

In our case, we wanted to get approval for the NJDFGW to stock muskies in Monksville.

Yes, the effort that I believe was headed by Mike K. and Steve S. of Muskies Inc Chapter 22... great stuff...

[GetANet]

Great to see some new members voicing their opinions!!!!

[slider]

Great info on the Muskies CPR !...I'm not to sure that I'd like to spend too much time on Monksville reservoir rite now unless of course i was a Musky fisherman...Echo Lake pretty tough to get lots of action there also..One argument there is Muskies have damaged the fishery..Not saying its true but I bet if u asked more anglers would prefer other bodies of water than these two..I think most anglers would like to see a quick fix..But as i stated earlier this is a small state with too many anglers and of course boaters..To get a really quick fix on improving our fishing..Maybe something like selective stocking, meaning some lake sm bass stocked along with channel cats or walleyes, deeper lakes trout only..Think u kind of get my idea..probably won't work cause like I'v said pretty crowded state to please every one, especially non fisherman who prefer to water sky or go tubing and just tearing up the bigger lakes..Think we need more ideas..LOL

[AndyS]

So many great posts !! We do have many groups we can contact, NJF&G, The Sportsman's Federation and I just found another one, New Jersey Outdoor Alliance. NJFishing.com is also a good place to voice opinions too, it definitely helps to spread the word.