The slow death of Party Boats

[Sullivan]

I think it would be a number of things , mostly the lack of fish , Not trying to be pessimistic , but we all talk about it , Flounders , Mackeral , Whiting etc. Some fish are still good and of course I hope for good years ahead . There was an old saying "If all the codfish eggs hatched , you would be able to walk across the ocean on them" , before the factory ships depleted the cod there were 39 party boats in Sheepshead bay , and all ports had party boats . Young kids have so much to do these days that fishing is just not a priority . As I think about it , not only fishing , but we use to play stickball , I haven't seen that in years . Less people on party boats , but many more boat owners , and as said more open boat charters , things always change ! Lets all hope for good fishing .

[Tuna Tales]

December 26, 1984

Capt John DeRose

Spray III. Belmar, NJ

3:00 to 9:00 pm

About 90 whiting and ling for the 3 of us. Great trip...kerosine heater and all


Joe T.

[Scotty]

As I'm getting closer to retirement I hope there will still be party boats around in 10 years.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Fishing for hire is a tough business no matter how you cut it. Charter, Open, Party it doesn't matter.... You add up the hours, the expenses, the effort and the issues and there are many easier ways to make a buck.

No one gets into any of these businesses thinking their going to get rich and retire. It's a way of life, in some cases passed down from your family, in other cases it's a passion and you do it because you love it and hope to make ends meet.

I got my Captain's license several years ago when I had a break between jobs. I thought I might give it a whirl but after chartering a few times I discovered it wasn't for me. It's a ton or work, the business requires constant attention and truth be told, I couldn't see myself doing it every day.... Fishing for leisure is one thing, doing it every day to make a living is another and requires a commitment and comes along with a ton of pressure I was not prepared to take on.

Tip of the cap for all you do this, it ain't easy.

Having said all this, I'm thankful we have people who choose to do this otherwise many of us would have never got the fishing bug. My first trip was night Blue fishing on the Cock Robin and I was gut hooked deep. This great sport has given me many years of enjoyment since, along with great friendships and quality times with family and friends that are irreplaceable.

I too think that the youth in this sport are dwindling and it's a shame because they are going to miss out big time. There are however some that the sport still calls when they are exposed to it. I have a close friend who was not much into fishing and got into it later in life with his son Jake. This kid practically has gills and he's either fishing or his face is buried in fishing catalogs or watching You Tube fishing videos. He just started high school and actually formed a school sponsored fishing club. How great is that!!

I was also at the RFA both in the Somerset show and was amazed to see how many Moms and Dads are encouraging their kids to fish.... It was great to see their faces light up when you talk to them about fishing and the smile it brought to their parents faces.

I think there is still hope for this sport of ours if we simply take the time to share our passion with kids. Getting someone into fishing is one of the best things you can do for them. It's not for everyone but the few it calls will get a lifetime of enjoyment out of it.

Please take a kid and their friends fishing and support our local fishing businesses and this great sport of ours!!

[Detour66]

Yes many of the species we use to fish for are gone or we are not allowed to fish for them in any numbers. the winter flounder for example. I do think that Gulp/Bucktail jigging for Fluke has brought in a whole new younger crowd of fisherman. Now if we can only keep the regulations to a point where it's worth going fishing for there will be a steady crowd of new fisherman. Hence keeping the Party boats busy! But on the other hand there seems to be a mentality of driving the Party boats out of town since they are docked on prime waterfront property. We shall see but I hope the party boats continue to stay in business.

[tautog]

Closed seasons are a killer. They could do ok with the current low bags and high minimum sizes if you could keep fish all year. People show up for the shortened seasons and then are missing once limits lower or a species closes.

[Bass Specialist]

I think with the decrease in bag limits, the size of the fish required have to be bigger now, and the rising prices it takes to be in business are rally hurting the party boats. Especially for striped bass fishing. Maybe bottom fishing not so much. Almost every charter does open boat trips a few days a week for $100-$120 it's tough to hop on a party boat for $60. They can't get up and go that quickly or get up into shallower water. I've seen a big decrease in the party boat striped bass reports over the last couple years and an increase in the charter boats. Just my opinion.

[NoWorries]

Originally Posted by tautog

Closed seasons are a killer. They could do ok with the current low bags and high minimum sizes if you could keep fish all year. People show up for the shortened seasons and then are missing once limits lower or a species closes.

I agree 100% Closed seasons restrict the fishing businesses big time . No real winter fishery on top of that . Between the weather and the regs makes it real tough.

[Chris G]

I think fish come and go in cycles. But regulations are straight forward punishment for any recreational vessel trying to make ends meet. We had 70 degree days in Feb with pretty much nothing to keep. That's not fair. The long range boats could put together a catch easily on species we can't keep. The bay could be LOADED with winter flounder right now but, who would know? Same for weakfish in the fall.

Regulations are the industries biggest demise imo. The writing is on the wall.

[Inishmore3]

I always like what Gerry has to say on issues like this. He is honest.

My take is, if this industry was a stock, your broker would tell you not to buy.

A percentage of the youth is not interested. Even in fresh water fishing. The river by me used to be absolutely packed on trout opening day. Not anymore. There are no bait shops around here anymore. Even Efinger's is gone.

Like folks have said, the Ling are gone. Mackerel are gone. The Cod fishery north of New Jersey. Look at the catch totals for the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Tournament the last few Autumns. Not like it used to be.That catch list used to go on and on. Now it doesn't. Very few bluefish caught.

I agree with Chris G. The regulations hurt the industry. Only keeping female fluke is insane. The lack of fish hurt it as well. How many posts did you USED to see on how most of the boat caught 75 Ling a person? Many. Now we ask where are the Ling? Fifty Porgy per person. Winter Flounder used to be ten per person? Fluke was eight. Blackfish was ten in Delaware. All of this stuff adds up to the mess we have now.

The other problem is who takes over when the current caption and or owner gets up in age and nobody is there to take over. My first boat and fish caught was on the CA III in Barnegat Light, NJ. When Will and Gina feel they are too old to do this or just want to move on, there is nobody to take over like they did from their dad. Will's son has a career and so does Gina's daughter. The MBL out of Barnegat Light New Jersey is still around even after John Larson's passing. They were bluefish only. They now fish for fluke. The current captain isn't a son so if the family has had enough, that is it. The DM is now in Point Beach under a different name and the Ebel Family is done. I don't know about other areas of the NJ Shore. Who takes over if anyone?

Like the old Country song says "Whose going to fill their shoes"? Maybe the government, lack of rebuilding of some species and lack of interest will answer the question for them.