Think we will see Whiting in our lifetime?

[frugalfisherman]

Best I could do

[Blind Archer]

I grew up on the LB pier in the 50's and 60's and some 70's. The first fish of the year board in the tackle shop (which I made in 1962 for a striper, ironically I was fishing with herring strips for whiting) . 75 cents got you bait and a day's fishin. I owned the baseball home run derby pinball on really cold nights. George's clam chowder is still the standard I use. Having to "earn" your way onto the NE corner with the regulars as a kid was no small accomplishment. Once there, the old timers considered you one of their own. Offers of a whiskey spiked coffee "warmin-up" to a twelve year old wasn't even given a second thought. Gone are the days of whiting on the shore. I witnessed first hand, as many have, offshore, miles of juvenile spikes and ling floating and dying behind multiple trawlers . Were the nets full or were these crushed before getting squeezed through the large mesh? This waste is out of control. Larger mesh only works in the early set. Once the floor is covered everything gets pressed in. It's my belief that the winter fisheries we grew up with don't stand much of a chance of returning even with tighter restrictions imposed.
Global warming will move everything north, just as the southern summer fish species we see now in numbers.

[SaltLife1980]

All the older guys did work on them back in the day.. I dont think we will see them back as thick as they used to be.. Last year we picked up one while fishing.. was the first one i had ever seen in real life. My dad has pics of him out on my great grand fathers charter boat " Tillie" with more whiting then u could count

[billfish16]

Here is another pic of the pier.

[RBC67]

I remember all of the above. I was also one of the guy's that started the Long Branch Fishing club. Does anyone remember Roy's on 36 where you could trade 2 fresh whiting for 1 smoked

[Capt Sal]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Just wondering.. I remember when NJ party boats stopped sailing for Tog in about mid November.. It was Whiting time, and believe it or not no one gave a crap about Tog.... Fall Tog season was about 6 weeks maybe.. Started early mid Oct, and were done when the Whiting and Ling came in solid inshore.

The whiting/ling boats had decent crowds but were rarely packed, because the fish were close in, and ALL the boats sailed for them,, so there was always room. In those days, if I recall correctly most of the bigger faster boats as far north as AH would sail all winter as long as the bay wasn't locked with ice. [As it WAS some years]... I sure miss those days.

In my opinion, if the Whiting come back strong, it will take a LOT of pressure off the blackfish, as it will give guys another option... I realize it will probably never happen.
The big foreign draggers took most of them, and a lot of us recreational guys did our share of damage as well, taking home galvanized garbage cans full, and running them over to Leroys on rt 36 to have them smoked... I hope they come back, but to be honest, I fear I may never see another one.. They were easily one of my favorite fish way back when. bob

The foreign boats crushed the whiting?Our own draggers out of Belford did a number on them also.They still drag and sell ''spikes''.They still purse sien for bunker in the bay.I wonder how many weakies and stripers died as by catch.My oldest son is 40 and got in on the whiting run when he was a boy.My youngest son Jamey who mates for me is 34 and never got to enjoy our whiting run.Sad isn't it.Let us not worry about what we had let is worry about the future!

[bulletbob]

Not really "worried" about it Capt Sal... Just sad is all...
... If those fish were still where they should be, your job would be easier, it would give your clients more options, and the pressure on other species would be lighter..

Think about this.. Imagine if the Whiting came back in numbers, as well as the Winter Flounder... It would be a great help to all other stocks of inshore fish species, as well as the guys like yourself that take guys out to fish for them.. The past is gone, I realize that.. I am worried about the future.. Some of these fish really need a break from the guys that are dragging them off the bottom before they can even spawn.... bob

[Knot Guilty]

The only thing wrong with winter flounders is the season and bag limits.

[SaltLife1980]

Originally Posted by Knot Guilty

The only thing wrong with winter flounders is the season and bag limits.

Could not agree with you more.. if they just gave us a decent season and bag limit everyone would be happy and more boats could target them..

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Knot Guilty

The only thing wrong with winter flounders is the season and bag limits.

So you're saying the bays, rivers, tidal creeks are full of flounder of all sizes?, as they were all my life, until maybe 20 years ago?..

If I fished off the wall at Shark River or off Shore in the Shrewbury River, or the beach of Raritan Bay with sandworms, I can still catch a few dozen??.. As someone that used to fish for winter flounder a LOT, I find that pretty hard to believe.. It was nothing to catch a 5 gallon bucket of them in a few hours 100 yards from shore in Union Beach when I lived there.. Same thing with the Shrewsbury. I have a difficult time believing they are still around in those kind of numbers..
Hey, you guys still live there of course, and I moved away in the early 90's... maybe things have changed, but even in the 90's I noticed the catch sizes were shrinking each year... If I am wrong, I defer to the locals to set me straight on the numbers... bob