Fish On
And the Hi-Mar fishing club awards go to … The Hi-Mar Striper Club in Sandy Hook held its annual Angler of the Year awards dinner this past weekend.
All who attended had a good time. Bernie Sweeney, at the Shore Casino, Atlantic Highlands, put out his usual great spread. Bernie has a way of making every person feel like their affair is the most important thing going on at that moment.
Award winners are as follows:
For the Intra-Club Tournament:
Largest Winter Flounder: Jay Smith – 2.75 pounds
Largest Weakfish: Pat Kamienski – 5.64 pounds
Largest Fluke: Bob Kamienski – 7.18 pounds
Largest Blackfish: Steve Pagidas – 7.63 pounds
Largest Bluefish: Steve Pagidas – 11.83 pounds
Largest Striped Bass: Billy Rowan – 46.5 pounds
Angler of the Year: Steve Pagidas
For the Intra-Club Tournament, every species involved is assigned a certain point multiplier so that you do not have to catch the largest fish in every category to win Angler of the Year.
Additional awards:
Most Tagged and Released Striped Bass: Alan Beneroff
Most Tagged and Released Striped Bass, Charter Captain: Shawn Goode
Largest Tagged and Released Striped Bass: Ron McClelland – 40″
Second-Largest Tagged and Released Striped Bass: Charlie Blackwell – 28″
There were larger bass caught, but circumstances played a big part in a 40″ fish taking the award. Edgar Boyce caught and tagged a 41″ striper, but there was no camera on the boat to take a picture of the fish to turn in. Pat Kamienski caught a 42″ striper, but they had run out of tags on the boat she was fishing on.
The rules require that to enter this contest, the fish has to be tagged and a picture must be turned in showing the fish, with a measuring device in the picture to show the length of the fish. Then the picture and the tag slip must be turned in to the Littoral Society tagging chairman, Harold Smith.
The Sportsperson of the Year award went to Capt. Jerry Beaver.
The Hi-Mar Striper Club is the premier striped bass club in New Jersey. Most of the members focus their fishing on the Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook area. The club is made up of the area’s best charter captains, family recreational fishermen, and individuals who want to make a difference in preserving our precious fishery for generations to come. Learn more about the Hi-Mar fishing club on the web at www.hi-mar.com
Off shore:
The usual ling and jumbo sea bass action remains solid on the offshore trips. Norma K III, Gambler, Golden Eagle and many other local charters all fared well. Good weather this weekend allowed many anglers to get out and fill their coolers with a nice mix of porgies, sea bass, ling, hake and pollack, and even an occasional cod fish.
Recipe of the week
Every week I ask readers to send in their favorite local recipes to share with the rest of us. At the end of the year, I will post my three favorite recipes. Once we post them, you, the readers, will decide who will become the first annual “Fish on with Ron – Local Seafood Recipe Champ.” Please send your recipe and/or fishing report to me at [email protected]
First place will receive their favorite fishing picture reproduced on a 2-by-2-foot gallery-wrapped canvas photo. If you need a center piece over your fireplace, this is it. Remember, your recipe should also tell us where you’re from and how you came about creating your culinary masterpiece.
Our next recipe was published in the Newark Star-Ledger in 1975. John Cygan of South River sends this in. John has enjoyed this one ever since. John tells me the first time he tried this recipe, he used six calico bass, four perch and two largemouth bass – all freshwater fish.
Get the net: 4 out of 5 nets
Comment: Can’t go wrong
Difficulty: Simple
South River Fish Cakes
First parboil fish for approximately five minutes so the meat can be easily removed from the bones.
Add one cup of mashed potatoes per pound of fish and mix fish and potatoes together thoroughly. Use whatever seasoning you prefer (John uses fish seasoning, parsley and onion.) Form the fish-potato mix into fish-cake patties and dip patties in bread crumbs and egg and then pan fry. It makes a delicious fish cake
Chef: John Cygan, South River.