Your Predictions on the Future of Fishing in NJ

[Eskimo]

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Based on my experience of almost 30 years of fishing in New Jersey, I'm postulating there are three things that will profoundly affect the future of fishing in New Jersey:
1) Suburban sprawl and population growth
2) Increased immigration of anglers who never practice catch-and-release and have little respect for game laws.
3) Disease and invasive species

Based on those three things, here are my predictions for the future:

1) More stocking of gamefish and few 'native-born' gamefish.
Increased fishing pressure and harvest will far surpass wild fish populations' ability to replace their losses. The resulting lakes will rely completely on restocking by Fish & Wildlife to provide any recreational angling.
I see this already at popular suburban reservoirs such as Spruce Run.

2) The extirpation of Largemouth Bass from smaller water systems.
I'm seeing this already in some park ponds that once had wonderful populations of big Largemouth Bass for no other reason than few people bothered to kill them. In the past few years, the local migrant laborers discovered this source of food and recreation and hammered away at the ponds every evening until there was nothing left but small sunfish.

In the future, big Largemouth Bass will only exist on private property and large water systems that require a skilled angler with a boat. Ponds and smaller lakes will only be able to sustain panfish and carp.

3) More fishing clubs and leased private lakes.
Just like we see with hunters today paying exorbitant amounts of money for leases to have sole hunting rights on a piece of land, I predict more anglers will respond to high fishing pressure and fewer big bass by forming fishing clubs that will lease lakes and ponds on private property.

4) The veneration of the Northern Snakehead
As native gamefish population dwindle, I predict people will begin to look towards the Northern Snakehead as a substitute for bass. The snakeheads grow big -the current record in the U.S. is 17 pounds. They hit bass lures and I'm told their fillets are some of the best tasting of any freshwater fish. Judging by the snakehead's defiance of all the efforts to exterminate them, it appears they are prolific reproducers, too. What's not to like?

I think it will be a long time before anybody calls a Snakehead a "gamefish", but I predict in the future it will happen.

What are your predictions?



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[Delawareriver]

Go on bass barn and you will find several guys that call snakeheads gamefish already and rather fish for them then bass. Other then that I agree,

I also see flathead cats continue their spread and will be introduced into new waters as well.

[catfishonthelake]

New Jersey is a tough place to fish, always has been and always will be. We are the most populated state in the country and I think it's safe to say that our waters get pounded more than anywhere else. If anyone has ever fished out of state, or on a private lake, I think it's safe to say that our public waters in NJ just don't stack up to other places in the country. That's not saying you can't catch fish, but I just feel like some of the destinations I've gone too in New York, West Virgina, Pennsylvania, Virginia etc. do not have anything equivalent here in the Garden State.

I think a lot has to do with pressure, and people are going to jump on me for saying this, but these boards are part of the problem. 5 years ago I could go ice fishing on Pompton Lake, be the only person out there on a Sunday, jig up 70 panfish and have a 20 flags with pike, big bass and big pickerel all day. People still have some good days there, but the place is an absolute zoo now and it's nothing in comparison to what it was. And that has only been a few short years. I've been saying this all along, but watch what happens to the Passaic River pike fishery 5 years from now. Once you alert the bucket brigade, it's only a matter of time.

One thing we have going for us is that less people are fishing these days. Kids want iPads, not fishing rods. Laurie at Dow's told me she used to rent 40 boats on a weekend back in the day. On the other side of it, I see more saltwater guys eventually getting fed-up with all the BS they have to deal with and maybe taking up freshwater fishing.

The other thing we have going for us is that we have the best hatchery in the country. The state is constantly assessing fish populations and replacing what it lost. I can honestly say that I have not seen much of a decline in our fisheries since I first started freshwater fishing in NJ 20 years ago. In fact, it's gotten so much better, with more species diversity and more angling opportunities.

The invasive species, meh. They'll be here, but nature will adapt. The flatheads are not new and neither are the snakeheads. I've talked to Lake St. Clair guides and St. Lawrence Guides and everyone was all freaked out about zebra mussels and gobies, but the common belief among guys in the know is that the fisheries adapted. I fished for 3 days with a Potomac River guide this year for snakeheads and he says that the hype is definitely overplayed. We fished hard for snakes for 3 days and although we could see them, we couldn't get one to bite. And we caught like 30 bass.

So, after all of that......my prediction for the future of NJ fisheries....not much different then what it is now. Some lakes will be become less productive, some will get better. New Jersey has always forced anglers to fish a little harder, walk a little further in the woods, spend some time getting lost in the car and digging on Google maps nowadays. For those willing to put in the time, we will always have quality fishing.

That being said, promoting catch and release is the most important thing we can do as anglers. Just because it's legal to bring home a bucket of 50 panfish while they're spawning, does't mean you should do it. Just because it's legal to keep a big musky, doesn't mean you should do it. If you see someone fishing illegally or taking illegal fish, forget about being a snitch, report them. The future in NJ fishing depends on anglers protecting the resource we have.

[Poncho]

One gaurantee, licenses won't go down in price!!!!!!!!

[yumasdad]

Hear is a nugget of hope...TRUMP is a fisherman & will deal with the illegal problems. There will be a lot of job opening in eateries & landscaping after 2016...

[Duffman]

Ok I'll admit I'm a dumbass so hope to help out those not as forthcoming as me....

ven·er·a·tion
\ˌve-nə-ˈrā-shən\
noun
1 :respect or awe inspired by the dignity, wisdom, dedication, or talent of a person

ex·tir·pate
\ˈek-stər-ˌpāt\
verb
: to destroy or remove (something) completely

[Eskimo]

Originally Posted by catfishonthelake

New Jersey is a tough place to fish, always has been and always will be. We are the most populated state in the country and I think it's safe to say that our waters get pounded more than anywhere else. If anyone has ever fished out of state, or on a private lake, I think it's safe to say that our public waters in NJ just don't stack up to other places in the country. That's not saying you can't catch fish, but I just feel like some of the destinations I've gone too in New York, West Virgina, Pennsylvania, Virginia etc. do not have anything equivalent here in the Garden State.

I think a lot has to do with pressure, and people are going to jump on me for saying this, but these boards are part of the problem. 5 years ago I could go ice fishing on Pompton Lake, be the only person out there on a Sunday, jig up 70 panfish and have a 20 flags with pike, big bass and big pickerel all day. People still have some good days there, but the place is an absolute zoo now and it's nothing in comparison to what it was. And that has only been a few short years. I've been saying this all along, but watch what happens to the Passaic River pike fishery 5 years from now. Once you alert the bucket brigade, it's only a matter of time.

One thing we have going for us is that less people are fishing these days. Kids want iPads, not fishing rods. Laurie at Dow's told me she used to rent 40 boats on a weekend back in the day. On the other side of it, I see more saltwater guys eventually getting fed-up with all the BS they have to deal with and maybe taking up freshwater fishing.

The other thing we have going for us is that we have the best hatchery in the country. The state is constantly assessing fish populations and replacing what it lost. I can honestly say that I have not seen much of a decline in our fisheries since I first started freshwater fishing in NJ 20 years ago. In fact, it's gotten so much better, with more species diversity and more angling opportunities.

The invasive species, meh. They'll be here, but nature will adapt. The flatheads are not new and neither are the snakeheads. I've talked to Lake St. Clair guides and St. Lawrence Guides and everyone was all freaked out about zebra mussels and gobies, but the common belief among guys in the know is that the fisheries adapted. I fished for 3 days with a Potomac River guide this year for snakeheads and he says that the hype is definitely overplayed. We fished hard for snakes for 3 days and although we could see them, we couldn't get one to bite. And we caught like 30 bass.

So, after all of that......my prediction for the future of NJ fisheries....not much different then what it is now. Some lakes will be become less productive, some will get better. New Jersey has always forced anglers to fish a little harder, walk a little further in the woods, spend some time getting lost in the car and digging on Google maps nowadays. For those willing to put in the time, we will always have quality fishing.

That being said, promoting catch and release is the most important thing we can do as anglers. Just because it's legal to bring home a bucket of 50 panfish while they're spawning, does't mean you should do it. Just because it's legal to keep a big musky, doesn't mean you should do it. If you see someone fishing illegally or taking illegal fish, forget about being a snitch, report them. The future in NJ fishing depends on anglers protecting the resource we have.

I agree with you completely. Last winter while vacationing in Florida, I remember thinking to myself, "These waters are full of fish. You would think there would be more people fishing here.".

Nearly all states have a higher per capita of outdoorsmen than New Jersey, but due to the lower population density, the waters always seem to be a lot less crowded. You'll still see fishermen, you just won't see the Walmart-style stampedes that you see on some New Jersey waters.

Florida is ground-zero for invasive fish. The waters are churning with various exotics from South America, Asia, and Africa. Florida has been host to a different species of Snakehead called the Bullseye Snakehead (Channa marulius) for a long time now. The people down there tell me that the snakeheads haven't hurt the bass fishing at all.

From what I have seen in Florida, I question whether the biologists' dire warnings of an environmental meltdown when the snakeheads enter a water system are really true. I speculate the threats posed by snakeheads are overblown, just like all the news stores about pythons in the Everglades.



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[bassnblues]

I'm 49 years old and have lived in nj my whole life and been an avid fisherman since about 5 years old when my avid fisherman dad started taking me along. Except for trout season, I have never seen "bucket brigades" or Wal-Mart stampedes on freshwaters.

As for the future of fishing in nj, I think the freshwater fishing is better now than ever and hope that continues. Imo, saltwater is in trouble.

[FASTEDDIE29]

The future would be much brighter and better if the state would introduce Tiger Fish, Blue Cats, Payara and Arapaima to all our big river systems. This is just my opinion and I think it sounds delightful and challenging, just saying. Let's spice things up a bit! You know, KICK IT UP A NOTCH!!!!!!

[thomaskgrosvenor]

One thing I will comment on is that during my summer of explorative fishing in the North half of Jersey, I saw many locations where people would leave their lure packaging, cut out line entanglements and such laying along the shore even in some of the more remote locations I fished in. I don't really get those ones as it is very easy to clean up after oneself.

I had a few annoying occasions where my line would get stuck on someone else's line underwater. I would reel it though and wade out to get it. Sometimes there is still some good tackle attached, roll up the waste line put it in my pocket and properly dispose of it later.

Anecdotes aside, I don't think our fisherperson litterbugs are helping the NJ fishing situation any.