Four months’ worth of The Fisherman Magazine have already been signed, sealed and delivered to newsstands, tackle shops, marinas and subscribers. With the April printed copy still damp from the print run last week, we now return to our weekly online delivery schedule through November, and another 26 editorials (on top of the 12 monthly diatribes) to carry out a season on the run.
I haven’t written a weekly editor’s log since November. At that time, the New Jersey striper run was absolutely insane; while there was still plenty of work to do here at The Fisherman, including the weekly video forecasts and the report calls every Monday, I must admit I put a lot of mileage on my leaky waders from November through December, while also sending quite a few folks to voicemail. Sorry about that.
So for the next 34 weeks, New Jersey, Delaware Bay edition subscribers will get an email every Monday featuring the latest fishing reports, news, events, product reviews, and regional features covering surf and inshore topics along with an assortment of offshore and freshwater articles. And of course, my weekly editor’s log.
I should note now that I’m neither a democrat nor a republican; I’ve not registered with either party in nearly 20 years, which is why I don’t feel any political bias when spotlighting bureaucrats and politicians who do good things or bad with regard to recreational fishing. I say this now because I’m a political junkie. And coming at it from a fishing perspective, our right to sustainable fish stocks is regulated by those who are either elected or thusly appointed by those elected. If at some point this year you find yourself offended in partisan fashion to something I’ve written, please understand that I don’t see donkeys or elephants, only fish.
For example, some of my friends really dig Governor Phil Murphy and his policies; since the guy won the last state election (even if his challenger got more votes southeast of the Mercer/Monmouth line), I’m not about to trash the guy for his plans for school budgets, liquor licensing, or criminal justice; the majority has already spoken on that.
However, when it comes to the governor’s policies with regard to recreational fresh and saltwater fishing, if the issues aren’t covered in The Fisherman, where else can we turn for this news? Fact is, I started out my career nearly 40 years ago covering town meetings for my local newspaper, and I see The Fisherman as the only news source that covers issues that impact fishermen in the region. Sure, you’re going to get all those tips, tactics, gear spotlights and local reports on a weekly basis, but we also deliver the hard-hitting, non-partisan intricacies of politics and fisheries management; the bottom line is, if not us, then who?
Since first starting my professional fishing journey here at The Fisherman back in the fall of 2002, my only departure from this desk was for a six-year tour at the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) as a recreational fishing advocate. Very much like my editor’s logs, people didn’t always like my position on things, or perhaps the way in which I state those positions; suffice to say, my bedside manner could probably use a little tweaking. But there was a longstanding mission statement at the RFA which defined that organization’s sole purpose and goals; it’s a personal and professional mission that I still try to carry on to this day:
“To safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers, protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs and ensure the long-term sustainability of U.S. saltwater fisheries.”
If you’d like to see your thoughts, comments, questions or concerns published here in this space, I could sure use the help; like I said, we have another 34 consecutive weeks together starting with this weekly issue. By all means, email me at [email protected].
See you next week!
