NJ Outdoor Women's League
"The Ones That Got Away"
May 15, 2004
"The Ones That Got Away"
May 15, 2004
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NJ Outdoor Women's League
"The Ones That Got Away" May 15, 2004 |
       
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By Linda LoPresti It was a magnificent, sunny but cool day on May 15th when the NJ OWL anglers met at Sandy Hook for their spring fishing outing. The group of eleven met at the North Beach and were treated to a stunning display of white and pink ragosa rose bushes in full bloom during the long walk from the parking area to the beach. Cathy Blumig and her mom Gloria were there with cameras in hand, ready to document our big catch. The ocean was sparkling, and was covered with dozens of private and party fishing boats beyond the sand bar. A really colorful and beautiful sight. Except they caught all the fish that day, and didn’t leave any for the surf casters! |
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Other anglers we saw included a red-throated loon trying to catch fish by diving beneath the water’s surface, and an occasional osprey trying to spot fish from the air, but they didn’t seem to catch any fish either. Still, we got a lot out of the day. Dorothy Obropta, the kahuna of surf casters, provided lessons on many topics: understanding slough formation (depressions beneath the water in the sand where fish sometimes hide out), tides, size and bag limits, and more. She also distributed materials including a chart that could be taken to the beach to identify and measure your catch to ensure compliance with this year’s regulations. |
 Dorothy points out how to detect a slough beneath the water. |
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| Our quarry was striped bass, fluke, and bluefish, but alas, the fish all went South that day. In spite of the tempting variety of bait including clams, fresh mackerel, squid and fresh bunker, there were no bites. |
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Sandy Norman spotted a fish swimming up current and sprinted to dangle the squid in front of its nose, but no luck! The group next to us brought in a sea robin, and Dorothy, brought it around to demonstrate how to handle fish like sea robins, which have dangerous spines.The catch of the day was by Karen Stauffer – she landed someone’s lost submerged fishing pole. Unfortunately the reel was missing. But just to show that the fishing lessons were a success, Karen took the plunge and purchased a brand new surf rod set up for herself after she fished with the OWLs. The following Saturday, armed with the knowledge and experience she picked up at the NJ OWL event from Dorothy, she marched back to the Hook and proceeded to catch a 24-inch striped bass on clams. That's some upgrade in her catch! Whether we caught fish or not, everyone had a good time meeting new friends and catching up with folks we already knew. And of course, we always learn a little something new on each NJ OWL event. As for surf fishing, we vowed to return and were certain that next time we’d all come home with fresh fish for dinner. |
 Linda (left) and Joyce fishing the surf. |
 Dorothy shows Sandy (right) and Karen the spines on a sea robin. |
