TOWL HOWL

The call of the wild comes often up in the boonie mountains, but the local golf course?
According to a story in the Scotch Plains Patch, a very large coyote was sighted on Greenwood Drive at the Ash Brook Golf Course an attempted to attack a resident and his pet.
Al Ivany of the state Division of Fish & Wildlife says there are from 3,000 to 6,000 coyotes statewide and sightings are not unusual.
You can find out more about coyotes at www.njfishandwildlife.com.

FLATTTIE TOURNEY

The big tournament of the summer, other than scads for sharks, billfish, bluefish, is the 19th Jersey Coast Anglers Association's fluke tourney set for August 24, 2013.
The JCAA says "other than a hurricane" we will have the event August 24, rain or shine."
For more info, or to donate a prize, call Paul Turi at 609-660-2126 (h) 609-709-9215 (c) or email pturi6@comcast.net.

WATERFOWLERS NOTICE

The Feds still have to sign off on them, but tentative New Jersey waterfowl seasons have been approved for 2013-2014 by Fish & Widlife. You can find the proposed seasons on the division website at www.njfishandwildlife.com.

ROAD WORK AHEAD

It seems you can't go five miles in any direction in our neck of the woods without spottting those dreaded orange "road work ahead" "detour" or "bridge out" signs. The latter has been the case for the Jacob's Creek bridge in Hopewell Township for more than three years.
Now it's time for the fishermen to put up with this stuff. The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife says anglers and other visitors to the Ken Lockwood Gorge WMA should be aware that road repair work will be continuing this month to repair the gravel road. Access may be limited and fishing "may be impacted."
Have fun.

BLACK RIVER CHANGE?

When it was proposed by Fish & Wildlife that the in-season closure on the Black River in Hacklebarney State Park be dropped, there were a few snickers that suggested that conservation officers were just tired of making the half-mile hike from the parking area down the stream to check for violators... folks fishing before the 5 p.m. start on stocking days.
"Nothing is further  from the truth," said Lisa Barno in an e-mail. Barno is Chief of the Bureau of Fisheries.
She added, "two years ago CO's asked if we had ever looked into in-season closures - and admittedly it had been a number of years since in-season closures had been discussed. Their request was based on that when given the option Conservation Officers do prefer to maximize dtheir positive public reaction by patrolling when anglers are fishing as opposed to enforcing a closure, thus by design, limiting public interaction and preventing anglers from fishing - which seems contrary to the intent of stocking.
There are 16 waters, including Black River, closed from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on stocking days.
Barno said when looking over the list "we kept coming back to the Black River as it is less utilized than the other 15 waters with in-season closures and also because access was a good half-mile from the stream."
She added the later situation complicates the enforcement of the closure (delayed response to calls concering illegal fishing, additional time to patrol) that "it seemed one to consider for potential removal."
Again, this is a proposal. There will be a public comment period in late summer/early fall before the Fish & Game Council votes on proposed changes.

CHILLY OPENER

There was plenty of sunshine, but temperatures hovered just above freezing and a pesky wind made it seem more like weather associated with the opening of buck season than trout.
We didn't bother to wet a line up at Pequest, just chatted with colleagues and some fish and game personnel keeping hands wrapped around our hot coffee container.
But heaps of hardy souls were out and for the first time in a few years we actually saw trout being caught...in the Pequest behind the hatchery were wading anglers crowded around productive holes and riffs as well as a happy bunch of kids at the education pond at the hatchery. It was good to see younsters out and about in the outdoors instead of having their little faces planted in some electronic gizmo.
We also saw anglers coming out of the Musky with hefty stringers of trout.
Stocking continues this week, with hopefully warmer weather.

FUR FINANCES

By the looks of some of the lush pelts hanging at one of the displays at the recent Pequest Open House it's obvious some New Jersey trappers did well last season.
You can find out about fur prices as well as info on coyotes and racoons in dthe Spring 2013 New Jersey Furbearer Management Newsletter at www.njfishandwildlife.com.
It's in PDF format, look for a link from the trapping information page.