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by Gary Dickerson
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association April 1994 Newsletter)
The meeting of the Bluewater Fishing Club was called to order at 8:00 P.M. The president, Bill Fish, was happy to see 47 members out 75 in attendance. It was the April meeting and after a long cold winter the troops were eager to go fishing. After dispensing of the previous meeting’s minutes and treasurer’s report, Bill read a letter he received from the Deep-Swells Fishing Club challenging them to a fishing tournament. The rules were read and the members accepted the challenge. The entry fee of $20.00 for each participant was agreed upon to go towards prize money. When the meeting ended the members were setting up teams and strategy for the pending contest.
The May meeting is the time for the members to decide when and where their annual charter fishing trip would occur. After some discussion the members decided that they would charter the Sea Bird for a full day fishing trip for bluefish in July. The cost of the charter would be $45.00 per member if 40 or more signed up. The tally was 43 members and the trip was booked. The $45.00 would cover the cost of the charter and refreshments. The Bluewater members were excited knowing the outing would be filled with laughs, fish and camaraderie.
The September meeting’s newsletter informed the members that a guest speaker would give a presentation at their next scheduled meeting. The attendance at the meeting was the best of the year at 54 members. The guest speaker was Tom Fote from the JCAA. Tom spoke for 45 minutes, not about how or where to catch fish, but about how few they would be allowed to keep and how long the new size limits would be. Tom described what the future had in store ad how it would become necessary to become more involved. “We can’t just go fishing anymore,” Tom explained. “We have to get involved to protect and preserve what we took for granted for so many years.” The members asked Tom questions for 15 minutes and then thanked him for his informative talk as he left.
It was Bill Fish’s turn to address the members and he complemented Tom for the fine work he and JCAA had done during the past 12 years. Fred Heron asked to be recognized and suggested that the club become more involved and “do its part.” All the members agreed, but how could they show their support?
John Simpson stood up and said, “Maybe we can give a donation to the JCAA- say $10 per club member.” John went on to say that, “we don’t think twice about spending $20.00 to participate in a fishing tournament or $45.00 to go on a charter trip. Donating $10.00 per member to JCAA to help insure there will be fish to catch in the future or to prevent us from being closed out of one fishery after another by unfair management practices seems like the least we can do. Everything I’ve heard about JCAA shows they are fighting for our interests as sport fishermen. If we don’t support JCAA, there might not be a Bluewater Fishing Club at all in a few years!” The members discussed John’s proposal and agreed to a yearly donation of $10.00 per member to support JCAA.
Is your club similar to the Bluewater Fishing Club? My club, the Manasquan Fishing Club understands what JCAA is all about and know their goals reflect the best interest of sport fishermen like you and me. That’s why we have donated $5.00 per member per year for the past five years. We believe it is the best money we can spend each year on fishing. We challenge all other clubs to join in by giving their financial support with an annual donation from each and every member.
Gary Dickerson is a member of the Manasquan Fishing Club, past president and vice president of JCAA, chairman of the Fluke Committee and a JCAA Trustee. He can be reached at 908-892-4668.