Turning learning into earning, from Pomona to the Barnegat Bay.
Since 1969, eager students have flocked to Stockton University in search of educational opportunities. With Lake Fred on campus, and the shore just a few miles away, young minds with a passion for fishing were lured in.
A few of those Stockton Alumni combined their passion for fishing and what they learned as an Osprey and turned it into a living for themselves. I am one of those proud Stockton Alumni, class of 2020, and have been with The Fisherman for nearly 6 years as Central Jersey field editor.
Many classes at Stockton University helped shape me and some of my fellow students as we spread our wings into the real world, but one that stood out was “Saltwater Fishing and Ecology” taught by Dr. Adam Aguiar. A regular contributor himself to The Fisherman, he is one of the many amazing professors that continues to have a profound impact on the students that cross his path.
School Days
In 2016, I entered Stockton University as a biology major with a love for fishing but knew little about the fine details and science that goes into it. When picking classes, I came across an elective that sparked my interest, which so happened to be Dr. Aguiar’s saltwater fishing course. I was so intrigued by all this information I was learning and decided to take fishing to the next level by combining it with my knowledge of biology. Dr. Aguiar mentioned he was a biology professor, and I knew I wanted to take more classes with him and designate him as my academic advisor.
While going to school, I needed to make money to pay for my education, so I worked at Bass Pro Shops and Tackle Direct. I learned so much from my coworkers and other anglers that would stop in. By my junior year, I became president of Stockton University’s Fishing Club. Through this, several of us had the opportunity to volunteer at the 2019 Saltwater Sportsman National Seminar Series with George Poveromo and Alberto Knie.
After a few years of being in Dr. Adam Aguiar’s classes, and writing lab reports, he knew I had a passion for fishing and writing. He heard The Fisherman was looking for a new field editor and got me in touch with the magazine for an interview. Fast forward nearly 6 years and I am still using my knowledge on fishing and everything I learned about writing in school to create articles and connect with others in the fishing community.
Applied Knowledge
Two Stockton alumni, Frankie Quadrino and Thomas Ertle, both studied Marine Science and fished Lake Fred in between classes, and admittedly skipped class at times to drop a line. They both come from families that raised them on the water, making fishing part of their daily lives. Frankie worked on commercial fishing and party boats prior to and while going to school. Tom comes from a large recreational fishing family and has always had an interest of learning the science behind the fisheries and graduated high school from the MATES Academy in Manahawkin. Starting college in 2015, they were in Mark Sullivan’s fisheries course where they obtained in-depth knowledge of fish feeding patterns, migration routes, environmental conditions, and tide phases.
In 2022, they began talking about starting a fishing charter together, combining their knowledge and perspective from the recreational and commercial fishing industries to figure out the best way to catch more fish and turn it into a business. By 2023 they figured out who, what, when, where, and how to get this started. They decided to hone in on back-bay fishing and invested in a skiff. They obtained their OUPV (Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels) six-pack licenses by the beginning of 2024 and set sail that March.
Capt. Frankie and Capt. Tom target multiple species in Barnegat Bay including fluke where they typically start along flats, cuts, and ledges. When the early season begins in May, the skippers generally fish shallow waters in depths under 8 feet. They explained that fluke in these areas typically eat grass shrimp, killies, spearing, and other small prey so they try to mimic their diet with a specific style of rigs and jigs. “Usually in these areas, anglers will target fluke with your traditional rigs, either a high-low style bucktail rig with a teaser above, or a 3-foot leader, sinker, and a baited hook,” said Capt. Frankie.
Through their experiences in the back-bay waters over the years – perhaps with a little scientific knowledge gleaned from their time at Stockton – the captains have found that fishing a single light jig, 1/4- to 3/4 ounce, tipped with a 4-inch Gulp and a piece of bait works the best. Their favorite Gulp colors are white, chartreuse, and pink shine.
A Mixed Bag
Capt. Frankie and Capt. Tom head for marsh edges, flats, and channels to target spring stripers and blues. These fish can be caught at any time but are more active at dawn and dusk. The captains explained how striped bass tend to hang out in grass flats and channels during the day and become less active. “We specialize in catching these fish during the dawn and dusk hours typically on topwater lures,” Capt. Tom explained, noting how topwater poppers are their favorite way to catch these fish.
They will occasionally catch houndfish in the summer months using this method. Paddletails, diamond jigs, and jerk baits are also great ways to catch these fish. Diamond jigs, Rapala X-Raps, SP Minnows, and multiple types of shads such as Kettle Creeks and Z-Man shads are some of their favorite offerings, with Moreno Poppers and Heddon Spooks their go-to for topwater action.
During blackfish season, those fish are found at offshore wrecks and rock piles, and they move inshore in the spring to spawn. You can find these fish in the bays from late spring to early fall. These fish will eat any crustacean such as green crabs, white leggers, blue crabs, mussels, clams, shrimp, and sand fleas. When in the bay, they target blackfish on shallow water rock piles or bridges and fish for them with two methods; tog jigs and rigs.
“We usually use green crabs, white leggers, or clam for bait and will occasionally catch other species such as triggerfish with this method,” noted Capt. Frankie. Tackle for blackfish that they use includes 30- to 60-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, hook sizes from 3/0 to 5/0 Gamakatsu octopus hooks, and sinker sizes from 4 to 8 ounces depending on the current, depth, and area.
Puffing Stuff
During the warmer months of late summer when blowfish migrate into the bays, they typically prefer mud and sand bottom. While in the bay, they find them in depths from 2 10 feet of water, targeting these fish by anchoring and chumming heavily with clam chum logs. They use a traditional high-low rig with a 1-ounce sinker and pieces of clam and squid for bait. “As we chum, they will tend to gather around the boat and the action can be non-stop,” Capt. Tom said. While fishing for blowfish, they will also see kingfish, spots, croaker, weakfish, small sea bass, and porgies.
This past fall, I had the opportunity to climb onboard SedgeN’Sea Sportfishing (sedgenseasportfishingcharters.com) with Capt. Frankie to target back-bay stripers with insane topwater action! It was an afternoon trip, and the action just kept getting better as the sun went down. We could hear the bass blow up on the topwater lures and knew we got hooked up! It was a great trip, and I am proud of my fellow Stockton Alumni and his business venture.
Stockton University provided many opportunities for students to embrace their passion for fishing and combine it with their educational journey. Stockton’s Fishing Club, now run by Dr. Aguiar, continues to provide students with opportunities to engage with the community through volunteer opportunities and meet others in the fishing industry. Dr. Aguiar uses his biology background to study the science in fisheries. He is currently tagging and sampling striped bass whole his students keep logs on their catch variables such as wind and tides to determine significant correlations of feeding and location preference.
Dr. Cool as he’s often referred also participates in outreach projects with kids to teach them how to fish. One program is the Boy Scouts of America merit badge academy fishing merit badge. He also works with the New Angles for Success funded by Provost Diversity Award where Stockton students are trained on Hooked on Fishing Not Drugs, then become mentors for children in Atlantic City school district.
In addition, the professors from Stockton are also studying the ecological succession of reefs and wrecks in South Jersey through the use of side sonar, ROV use, and eDNA analysis. I guess it’s safe to say that the future is in good hands.
