Scott'sBait & Tackle
   Weekly Bulletin for
Thursday, July 1, 1999

Everyone have a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!
Everyone at Scott's wishes you a safe and fun 4th of July weekend!  Watch for small craft advisories, as Fridays forecast is still heavy wind, SW 15-25 and 5-7 ft. seas.

Fishing reports from offshore have been picking up steadily during the last week.  Nice
keeper fluke and an abundance of Seabass have been reported from the areas of the Little Egg Reef , and the Garden State Reef South also commonly referred to as the tires. There have been some keeper fluke caught off the beach LBI at 60' water depths, too. No large quantities of fish are being caught, but it is a definite improvement over the lack of activity in the Great Bay, where the brown tide algae bloom is still present. Although,  I have heard a few optimistic reports that the algae has been clearing a little.  The best chance of catching a fish is still in and around the Little Egg Inlet area, where the incoming tide brings in clear water.

There have been many reports of sharks and skates being caught by the anglers who
would much rather be seeing fluke and weakfish.  Sorry Folks!, but it is a good sign for
the shark enthusiasts.  Those reports imply that shark fishing has high potential and we've already seen a 101 lb. Mako shark weighed in that was caught in the inlet side of Grassy Channel, strange but true.  Anglers, be aware that regulations on sharks changed this year a bit.  You are still allowed two sharks per boat/per day. There is a minimum size limit of 48" from nose to tip of tail OR  23 inches from front of dorsal to front of tail fin. Bigeye Sand Tiger, Sand Tiger, Basking, Whale & White Sharks are now illegal to take, possess or land. I haven't heard reports of any of them being caught here in recent years, so I'm assuming NJ is simply complying with the Federal changes that affect the entire east coast.  For those of you that like to eat the spiny or smooth dogfish, both Federal and NJ regulations still allow more than two and they do not fall under the 48” minimum size limit.  We have copies of the fish regulations available at the store if you would like to have one.

This weekend is a good time for a clamming update. The brown tide of algae which has
been with us for the last few weeks has had some effect on the general clam population in two ways.  First, the clams have stopped eating because they can't digest the algae properly, so they have slowed their growing process. You can be sure that the commercial clam growers are not too thrilled with this situation.  Secondly, some of the clams are burrowing deeper into the sand to get away from the algae. You may have to "dig a little deeper", as the song goes, to find them.   For those who are concerned about eating clams, no warnings have been issued at this time, as they are considered safe to eat.

Here's a suggestion for a non-fishing related boating excursion for the summer.  A
sandbar has developed between Tucker's Island and Little Sheepshead Creek and is
exposed only on the lower tides. Tucker's Island and Holgate itself  (part of the Forsythe Wildlife Refuge) are still closed to public access on the beachfronts due to the plover and other shore birds that are nesting at this time of year.  Spending a little time on the sandbar on a hot, sunny summer day will  provide some entertainment in the shell collecting department for the kids. There also may be tidal pools with the usual washed up critters in them. Observe the usual safe boating procedures; go slow so that you don't permanently ground the boat and watch the tides so that the boat doesn’t get stuck on the sandbar.

Summer time is here, and the temperature is on the rise.  Hotter waters in the lagoons are beginning to call for stronger measures for the keeping of live minnows and blue claw crabs. Standard storage for minnows when living on the water is to use a flowtroll, floating bait box, or even a minnow trap (with cork plugs in the trap holes to keep the eels out), and keep them in the lagoon behind the house. Additional info  During the hot summer days ahead, add some sinkers (8-10oz) to the storage container to submerge the minnows into cooler water---but don't sink the box all the way to the bottom, or forget to pull it up when you go fishing! Also, avoid keeping minnow boxes, and crab keepers out where a boat can hit them. If you find that you have a high death rate in your crab keeper, and you can't move it out to deeper water, it's time to use another tactic. Start checking the trap more frequently. When you pull the trap, take the live crabs and clean them and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. Never eat crabs that are dead in the water---they rot quickly, so it's a sure way to pay a visit to the doctor!
 

Crab cleaning steps: 1: Pin the crab down by one side, or by the front edge, holding the claws in place. 2: Grab the hind leg/paddle fin at the joint at the edge of the crab's back. Grasp the  shell point with your other hand, pushing down on the leg  joint as you pull firmly  up and away with the shell point. 3: You can clearly see the crab's gills. Use a knife to scrape the gills off. 4: Next, grasp the mouth pieces and twist them off. 5: Use the tip of  your knife to pull loose the crown piece on the bottom of the crab.  Grab the crown piece and twist it off. 6: Use a hose at close range to wash the guts right out of the crab.   Easiest to hold the crab in one hand while doing this. 7: Here is your nicely cleaned crab, ready to steam, chill or FREEZE, until you’re ready to steam them! Just pack the cleaned crabs into freezer bags or containers. Option on freezing the crabs---add water to the bags so that they don't dry out while frozen. For a step-by step with PICTURES, go the the Crab Info Page, then select How to clean crabs for cooking!