IMPORTANT NOTE: The full version of River Views is no longer just for members. If your emailed copy of River Views ends abruptly look for this quote "[Message clipped]  "View entire message" at the bottom of the page. Clicking there will open up the full issue.

Did you know that back issues of River Views, the monthly newsletter of the HRFA, are available for all to enjoy on our website? Click here, or the River Views banner, to go directly there and catch up on your reading.

DON'T miss the 13 December 2022. As Part of the General Meeting, “HRFA Fishing Gear Green Market Bargains” Participants fee $25 per table.

From our past board meeting, I would like to bring to your attention a few items:

Dan Harrison proposed, and the Board approved, to assist the “Spectrum for Living” $2,500 contribution. The long-term benefits will include support for outdoor activities, including fishing, for the residents and the local community. To learn more about this wonderful organization click on their logo below.

Reviewing our current financial status, we came to the realization that the HRFA funding is in need. We appreciate the donations, and fund-raising efforts, but to help support the numerous commitments and programs we will be increasing the membership annual dues to $40 and Life Membership to $400. That will help us maintain the programs members and their families enjoy. Please note that the HRFA dues have not changed for over 30 years.

The following are the scheduled shows for 2023. Our presence is very important, because it provides an opportunity for the public to become aware of our organization, our activities and solicit new members. Spend a few hours volunteering at the HRFA booth and get FREE entry to each event.

As the restrictions of COVID-19 pandemic are fading out, our organization continues to function successfully, and our activities are increasing thanks to our dedicated members. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation. Also, I would like to remind those members, especially the recipients of the HRFA prestigious “Pete Barrett” award, that is expect from them to continue their efforts and contribution, to the best of their abilities. We are a charitable organization, we provide our services to many, and we expect our members to participate and support us, accordingly. As always, we thank all our members and friends for your help and appreciate your donations.

Be sure to also check out the H.R.F.A. Events Calendar below for this month's member birthday notices, holidays and events.

Garden State Outdoors Sports Show

World Fishing & Outdoor Exposition

"He was one of the go to guys when I had a question. His sense of humor was very dry and we laughed often on the phone calls. He was sometimes a pain in the ass BUT usually correct. I will miss our back and forth. Rest In Peace, my friend." - Dan Harrison, President 2017-2019

"As a long sitting EBoard member & past President, it saddens me to hear of Skip's passing. He was a good friend who always had the HRFA's welfare in sight. As Treasurer, he ran a tight ship and I could always depend on him with our finances. His dedication, contributions, and gravelly deep voice will be missed. Rest in Peace, my friend!" - Gil Hawkins, President 2014-2016

"We will always remember how much Skip loved his grandson and a good cigar. He was a key part of the HRFA and a major factor in the successes of the Hooked on the Hudson program. We will miss him greatly." - Carl Bruger (& Pat) President 2005-2007

The JCAA's mission is to work on behalf of marine recreational anglers. There are 30 likeminded clubs that belong to the JCAA. Thus there are many potential candidates for these prestigious awards.

Taking home the award for Sportsperson of the Year was the HRFA's Youth Angler Committee chairman Mr. Wayne Geider. Joining Wayne at the annual gala and fund raiser were his sons and 20 fellow members of the HRFA. Past HRFA Presidents Jim Campbell 2002-03-04) and Carl Bruger (2005-06-07) were counted in that number.

It was very stirring to learn our history turned on the heroism of two little known patriots at Croton Point during the American Revolution. Authors Scott Craven and Caroline Ranald Curvan shared awesome information on this famous geographical Hudson River landmark that left the impressive turnout of HRFA members and guests grateful that we now drive on “the right side of the road” compared to our British counterparts!

Rifle Jack Peterson and Moses Sherwood fired cannon balls at the British sloop Vulture causing the injured craft to sever anchor line and drift with the tide out of range but leaving infamous spy Major Andre to eventually be discovered and hung in Tappan NY. History buffs will recall he carried plans for West Point obtained from its traitorous commander, Benedict

Arnold who had been bribed the equivalent of 3 million US dollars today! Visitors to the area will discover numerous plaques attesting to these events and others in great detail.

The book, which this writer purchased, turned out to be a fast history read that covered Croton Point Park from its formations during the ice ages all the way to the modern park with the sealed over landfill and multiple picnic areas. Many HRFA old timers like me remember camping there for striper runs thirty years back and the off shore angling my now lost “potato rock". Plenty of momma stripers still call the area a birthing location for their progeny. The book is very thorough in explaining the checkered past of the Point not glossing over the atrocity of the landfill or the earlier centuries acceptable rape of the land to make stones brick and sand for the building of a great city.

Those unlucky enough to have missed the presentation can borrow the text from the new HRFA library that makes great works on fishing and the Hudson available to our membership. Do that or get your own copy for a great winter fireside read.

The book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Croton-Point-Park-Westchesters-Landmarks/dp/1467152382/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3L91ZSUZX0CQO&keywords=croton+point+park&qid=1659973355&s=books&sprefix=Croton+point%2Cstripbooks%2C75&sr=1-1

The authors also have a website: https://hudsonvalleychronicles.com

Only one bass was hooked and landed during the derby, and Tony Stellato caught the fish on a

Yo-Zuri Twichbait lure right before sunrise. The fish measured 28.”

We had an award ceremony where Tony received his prize and everyone that attended also

walked away with a gift.

Like always, Pete Musse did a great job on the grill.

Thank you to all that attended, and we hope to see you again at the 3rd Annual Bass and Blues Surfcasting Derby.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Not too long ago in the 1970’s, the Russian fishing fleet was taking huge amounts of fish, especially cod and haddock, off our nation’s coast line along with ships from other nations. The Russian fleet was different in that it was able to plunder our fisheries since it had a huge mother ship that was refrigerated and could store huge amounts of fish in its hold. Smaller Russian fishing boats would transfer their catch to the mother ship so that a lot of fish could be caught without these boats having to return to Russian ports to unload their catch. I still remember reading that these ships were catching a lot of lobsters but the Russians were throwing them back into the water since they were unfamiliar with them until some Russian chef discovered that they taste good!

To deter the Russians from depleting our fishing grounds and putting our fishing fleets out of business, our fishing community united behind the proposal to extend our coastline to a 200 - hundred mile limit. This would effectively keep the Russians and other foreign fleets out of our prime fishing zones.

I still remember Al Ristori, who was a tireless advocate to establish the 200-mile limit, visiting my club (Saltwater Anglers of Bergen County) and directing us to write letters, post

cards and sign petitions to get our politicians on board to this 200 - mile extension of our coastline that was eventually enacted.

Compared to what we experienced in the 1970’s is totally different than what other nations are experiencing now. Over the last two decades, China has built the world’s largest deep water fishing fleet by far with nearly 3,000 ships! Having severely depleting fishing stocks in its own coastal waters, China now fishes in any ocean in the world and on a scale that dwarfs some countries entire fishing fleet. It also has a huge mother ship with a hold that is refrigerated and can store thousands of tons of fish that the smaller fishing boats transfer their fish to it.

In the summer of 2020, the conservation group Oceana counted nearly 300 hundred Chinese ships operating near the Galapagos Islands, just outside Ecuador’s exclusive economic zone, the 200 miles off its territory where it maintain rights to natural resources under the Law of the Sea Treaty. Another Chinese fleet has also moved off the coast of Argentina to catch squid. It used to have six boats in this area and now it has 528 boats in this location and the annual catch rose from 5,000 tons to 278,000 tons! “We have a permanent Chinese fleet 200 miles off our coast “said Pablo Ferrara, a lawyer and professor at the University of Salvador in Buenos Aires, referring to the distance covered by Argentina’s Economic Zone.

How can squid or any fish survive this fishing pressure of 528 boats catching them on a continual basis? We all know that squid is a valuable food source not only for humans, but also for a large variety of fish that target squid for their nourishment. Taking squid in such large quantities has to severely deplete their numbers to a point where they are overfished and the whole ecosystem in this area is disrupted since other fish will not be able to feed on them.

The appearance of the Chinese fishing fleet on the edge of the Galapagos Islands in 2020 focused international attention on the industrial scale of China’s fishing fleet. While countries like Ecuador, Peru and Argentina are trying to restrict China from its territorial waters, there is little that can be done to restrict China on the open seas. The consumption of fish word wide continues to rise and at the same time stocks of most species continue to decline.

“The challenge is to persuade China that it too has a need to ensure the long-range sustainability of the ocean’s resources” said Duncan Currie, an international lawyer who advises the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition. “It’s not going to be there forever.”

From what I can see with China’s huge fleet and their placing 528 fishing boats off the coast of Argentina to fish for squid until they are gone – Good Luck with that since fish sustainability is not in China’s vocabulary!

(China, With Its Seas Depleted, Casts Nets Off Others’ Coasts, New York Times,

October 1, 2022).

"Wharton State Forest is back in the news.  I had hoped that when the Wharton user groups got together to defeat the Motorized Access Plan (MAP), the State's attempt to close a number of the roads in Wharton and require permits to use roads that were still open it was over.   Well, it’s not.  The state has a proposal to develop a permit system for vehicles using the roads that crisscross Wharton State Forest and of course a fee will be involved.  The state set up an on-line visitor and vehicle use survey.  Only problem, they left out hunting, trapping and fishing as user categories.  If the State really wants to know how the public feels they should hold a public meeting, just like they did for the MAP plan.  I think they are reluctant to hold an open public meeting because they know what the result will be - Edward Markowski, President NJOA

Carl Bruger has been a writer for this newsletter educating and entertaining us who read River Views for a long time. Here is his latest gem.

November midpoint marked the Blackfish season for Jersey Anglers when the limit jumped from one 15” fish up to as many as five that size or better.

This scribe ventured from his new home in Hackettstown for a long drive to my old stomping grounds on the Point Pleasant canal. There I rendezvoused with old HRFA angling buddies, Wayne Geider (The newest JCAA New Jersey Angler of the Year award winner) and Tim Burden (a former recipient of the same well deserved honor). We set up behind the nursing home and tossed green crab offerings to the tog gods. Our gifts were quickly munched on, but under cold and windy conditions that made fishing needful of hand warmers, gloves and insulating clothes.

Numbers of blackfish were lifted over the fence by all, but I only managed two legals out of fifteen and my pals released every one of the dozen or so to grow that elusive inch most lacked to be a keeper. The exciting tog bite that resulted in a keeper fish well over a half hour later was the result of a classic hang-up in the canal bed rocks. Wayne told me to be patient and pull from every available angle and then let the line rest in the hopes that the grey chin would swim out of his lair.

It took all that time, but the wait was worth it as I cranked in half of my future dinner for three. My wife, Pat and our new neighbor, Ann, both enjoyed Panko fried tog fillets with fries and a huge tossed salad. This meal came after spending the evening feasting with hosts Tim and Kathy Burden devouring a superb meatball and spaghetti dinner, multiple side dishes with apple pie as the clincher. An awesome breakfast of eggs and bacon sent me home happy we would not fishing that day amidst icy wind and cold.

This is the optimal time to catch these toothy critters both for the reason that they have a five fish quota now and four in the January new year. They are still on inshore haunts and available from shore, small boat, or party packet. A simple rig is best with just one hook due to easy snagging of multiple hooks, or you might try a weighted special tog jig expressly designed for a crab bait sans sinker. Match the tidal pull with the appropriate ounces required to just hold bottom.

Newbies should be willing to lose rigs to the rocks because you will not find blackfish to be smooth sledding on sand or mud. Their buck teeth and stubby muscular bodies prove that they come from hard bottom areas where they shatter shells of whatever they devour.

Green crabs cut in half and sans legs and shell, entice most bites but white leggers work well off shore and sand “fleas” both will entice their share. If you are tired of striper fishing, blackfish opportunities couldn’t be better! Tie into a tog!

 Fight For the Hudson

If anyone would like a current JCAA newsletter please click here > https://jcaa.org/JCNL2209/Mainpage.htm

Paid Members only 2022.

HRFA Free money (split 50/50) for the last meeting was picked at the end of the October meeting.

The HRFA paid member picked from the bucket by Joe Albanese was Alister Symon and was announced to all present three times. Member Alister Symon was not at the meeting, so the HRFA free money goes back into the bucket till next month. Note: Treasurer holds the HRFA free money which is now at $52.00.

Will you be at the December 13th 2022 HRFA meeting to collect $52.00 of HRFA free money??????

What is HRFA Free Money? Are you a paid member.?

 At every HRFA in person meeting, half of the HRFA portion of the 50/50 money goes into a virtual jar. At the end of the meeting, a paid HRFA members name is picked (from a jar of all paid HRFA members) to receive the money. The name is announced three times. If the HRFA paid member is not present, the money goes back into the jar for the next months meeting. The process continues and is repeated at the next HRFA meeting.

Arnie Ulrich Membership Chair

For those people who join(ed) the HRFA in October (or later) of a given year, their new or renewal membership also is covered for the following new year. There is also a generous grace period (3 months) for those who are unable to update their membership in January, however paying your dues late puts a strain on the records maintenance and consequently the ability of the executive board’s planning of activities and events.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or want to help (time, skills, or financially) on any particular club projects or events, feel free to email me, Arnie Ulrich (kavester@aol.com) or call me at 1-201-304-4691.

Hudson River Fishing and Boating Public Access <--- click here

So how old is your fish? <--- click here

Have a photograph and/or fishing story you would like to share with the club? If so, we'd love to hear from you. After all, no one wants to see the same members over and over again. Email it to editorriverviews@thehrfa.org and we will do our very best to squeeze it into an upcoming issue of River Views.

This rather large largemouth bass was a serious contender for the HRFA Annual Fishing Contest. However, the HRFA Club President's 6lb. 3oz. largemouth bass remains in the lead.

Feby Philip caught himself some big stripers fishing on the Big Mohawk out of Belmar Marina November 10th. Looks like he enjoyed some great weather and calm seas too.

On multiple occasions, Scott Havner trailered his boat, treating family and a few lucky friends to some really great fishing on the river north of the Tappan Zee bridge.

On Veteran's Day Pete Chiavelli & Joe Albanese accepted the invitation. The day started warm and sunny with practically zero wind. While the temperature remained in the 60's, the wind nonexistent, and the water flat the sun disappeared and it rained all day long. The rain did not dampen the stripers' appetites which kept spirits high throughout the day.

The trio lost count of how many fish were brought to boat and released. Three were going home for dinner though. A few lesions from sea lice apparent on their skin indicated that these were mainly fish fresh from the ocean. So, they chased these bunker all those miles up river. That's an encouraging indication that the river is getting healthier every year.

There were lots of schoolies with many fish in the mid-30" range. There were several two or three simultaneous hook-ups (see selfie) during the day. Most fish were caught on swim shads but when birds were working over an area with fish visible on the surface top water plugs resulted in exciting explosions. Sometimes a fish would 'swing & miss' only to try again and again. Adrenaline producing, heart pumping action putting smiles on the faces.

(Sun.) HISTORY HIKE: “STERLING FORGE” with Doc “Made in the USA” Bayne (moderate) 1 PM NY: Sterling Forest State Park (Lautenberg Visitor Center, 116 Old Forge Road in Tuxedo) Free admission & parking! Registration required: 845-351-5907

(Sat.) NY: Trailside Museums &amp; Zoo in Bear Mountain State Park (PIParkway Exit 19 or Route 9W) Free admission! $10.00 parking per car No food or pets. Info: 845-429-2960

By Wayne Geider

Due to the restrictions imposed on our lives by the COVID 19 pandemic our plans are on hold. We hope and pray that one day volunteers may start working to refurbish Riverkeeper to her former days of glory when she was the world's first and only riverkeeper vessel. To offer your time and talents contact Dan Harrison at dharrison@cdtresources.com.

The HRFA hosts an annual fishing contest which runs from January through December and is open to all HRFA members. You have 30 days from the day you catch a fish to send in your entries. So, the deadline for submissions is January. As a member of the HRFA you and your immediate family are eligible to enter fish in any of our categories. Various divisions are available for prizes presented at our Annual Awards Dinner in March of the following year. Website updated daily. River Views newsletter updates below are done around the first the month. * indicates a new club record.

To be posted on Instagram, photos of your catch should be emailed or texted to Alex Spindelman: (845) 548-0003, a.spindelman@gmail.com