The new striped bass legislation and regulations are expected to become law by early May. The bill that will allow one bass at 28” to just under 43” with a second fish at 43” or greater has now passed in both the Assembly and the Senate. The bill will also allow the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council to set regulations pertaining to striped bass seasons, size and bag limits in the future so that it will no longer have to be done legislatively. The legislation will become law as soon as it is signed by the Governor or if he does not sign it, the law will become effective in early May.
The Bonus Bass Program is being drastically changed as well. At their meeting on 4/9/15, the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council voted to change the program from one fish at 28” to one fish from 24”-28”. However, there will be a limited amount of tags that will be given out and the program will only be in effect from 9/1-12/31. Further, 40% of the available tags are going to be given to charter and party boats. The new regulation is currently being written and reviewed. It will then have to be signed by the DEP Commissioner before it becomes law. This too is expected to become law in early May. The old regulations stay in effect until the new ones become law. Therefore, anglers may currently use the bonus tag for an additional striper 28” and greater. That will end as soon as the Commissioner signs the regulation and then the bonus season will be closed until 9/1. Some people seem to think that to use the bonus tag they have to keep the two other fish first but that is not the case. Anglers may catch the fish in any order, and may choose to keep one, two or three fish provided they are within the required size limits. Those interested in obtaining a bonus card may do so by going to this link. There is an administrative fee of $2.
Regarding fluke, we are going to have a 128 day season with a 5 fish bag limit and a size limit of 18” as mandated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The NJMFC voted to approve the season that will begin on May 22nd and continue through September 26th. The enhanced shore-based fishing program which allows a 2 fish bag limit of fluke 16" or greater for Island Beach will continue. The NJMFC and our Bureau of Marine Fisheries would like to expand this program to areas in northern and southern New Jersey in 2016. They are currently looking for suitable sites where the program can be properly monitored.
The NJMFC also voted to reduce our sea bass season by 49 days from what it was last year so that we did not have to raise the size limit to 13”. Now we will be prohibited from keeping any sea bass from August 1st until the season reopens on October 22nd. Below are the 2015 sea bass regulations.
2015 Sea Bass Regulations
| Wave 3 | Wave 4 | Wave 5 | Wave 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | May 27 - June 30 | July 1-31 | Oct 22-31 | Nov 1 – Dec 31 |
| Bag | 15 | 2 | 15 | 15 |
| Size | 12.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 12.5 |
| Days | 35 | 31 | 10 | 61 |
We need nominations for our Sportsperson of the Year and Youth Education Awards. Please submit nominations in 250 words or less so that they can be printed in our newsletter. We will be voting on these awards at our June general membership meeting.
Please also support our high roller and new super 50/50 raffles. Our high roller raffle has nine prizes having a total value of over $3000. Tickets are just $2 each and the drawing will take place on 5/26/15. Our super 50/50 will have three cash prizes. Of the money paid out, the first place winner will receive 50% of the money, 2nd place 30% and third place 20%. Tickets are $10 each and the drawing will be held on 12/10/15. Tickets will be mailed along with our fluke tournament applications. However, if anyone else would like some tickets, just call the JCAA office at 732-506-6975.
Also, we have some exciting new features for our fluke tournament which will be held on 8/1/15. One is that there will be a 25K cash prize to the early entrant who catches the largest fluke in the tournament, provided it is over 12 lbs. We will also be having port and overall Calcuttas. All told, cash and merchandise prizes could exceed 80K. Be sure to read Paul Turi’s article for more details.
Lastly, just a reminder, most anglers are required to register or renew their NJ saltwater recreational registration for 2015.
To renew:
For those who were not previously registered, initial registrations may be completed at this same link. The registry is free and there is an explanation as to who needs to register on the web site.
