Forum

Nov 3, 2004 Meeting Minutes
Location: Sportsmen’s Center
15 in Attendance
Member count: 43
Treasury report: 2664.21 prev balance
Add 130 for raffle
New Balance is 2794.21

1) Recognition of special efforts and achievements go to the following members:
Thanks to Tom Long for the accommodations and hospitality
Congratulations to Jr member Derek Bongiovanni on his nice catch
Congratulations to Joe McGinley on his awesome 49 incher

2) Thanks to all who are participating in the Anton’s outing the weekend of Nov 13th. At least seven rooms have been reserved and paid for. This is a great way to thank one of our sponsors, who was one of the key players in making our spring raffle such a success.

3) Bob Jones spoke with PA area 6 biologist, Mike Kaufmann, regarding finding out who specifically is responsible for making the call on how many muskie holdovers there will be this winter.

4) We will be taking out the following people for a day of muskie fishing in an effort to raise awareness: Nov 11th Brian Clarke from Delaware Valley Outdoor TV show….and on Nov 12th the regional Shimano representative.

5) A New Jersey open fishing forum will held on December 4th at the Hackettstown Hatchery to discuss future plans. We encourage all our members to attend as this will be a chance to have an actual say in what will be happening to muskies in NJ.

6) The New Jersey Hackettstown Hatchery had a great year with muskies and by far their best yet. They stocked 14,300 fish in NJ waters, of which, 5620 went into the Delaware River from Milford, Dingmans, Bushkill, Smithfield, Gap, Belvidere, and Phillipsburg. They also shipped off 4960 to the PA fish commission.

7) March 14-20th some members are heading to Tony Grant’s place in Cave Run in KY. It is a very reasonably priced get-a-way and a good shot at a 50 incher. It is apx 10 hours to drive. If you plan on going, make resv NOW. They have a very limited number of rooms. Also, it is highly recommended that you hire a guide for at least the first day.

8) Musky catches- Get your release forms into the release chairman, Fred Jones, Sr. As mentioned in his web posting, data will be gathered from these reports at the end of the year, and it will be sent to the appropriate New Jersey and PA Fish Commission people. This is VERY VALUABLE information that will help shape the muskie fishery in the years to come.

9) Pittsburg Muskie Expo will be held the first full weekend in January. See http://www.extrememuskieexpo.c.....sburgh.htm for details. We had a great time there last year.

10) Christmas cards and calendars will be purchased and sent to our sponsors and muskie friends.

11) Letter on behalf of our members has been drafted and mailed to Lisa Barlow at the NJ Dept of Fish and Wildlife. Basically, we asked them to increase the size limit to 40 inches on all NJ waters, and to consider an even higher one on selected bodies to aid in the development of legitimate trophy waters.