Happy Spring!! Finally we have some beautiful Spring weather. If you missed our big Fishing Seminar last Saturday, you really missed out. What a great turnout! Thanks so much to Bud Lyon, Randy Roash, Herb Hollinger, Bill Shillingford, and Rob Coffey for putting together some really informative presentations on Surf, Flounder and Ocean fishing. We had about 80 people turn out for a great start to the 2018 fishing season. Special thanks to Bill “Bucktail” Shillingford for all the great publicity that he helped with for this event.
Just the day before our fishing seminar, Scott Oliver took time out of his busy schedule to post our new turtle sign. Next time you drive to Sea Isle City, look to your right at the end of the trailer park for our new sign. If you are interested in becoming a turtle tracker, please contact me at bsjj911@comcast.net . We are waiting on criteria from the Wetlands Institute and I’m hoping to sign-up volunteers for a week at a time to adjust the sign as needed.
As we leave the month of April and enter May, please make sure you have paid your SFEC membership dues. We are behind in dues collection this year and have only received a little over half of our membership dues. We appreciate you mailing the dues to our PO Box 77. It is difficult during tournaments and social events to handle everything, including payments. So make sure you check that off your list!!
There are three Big Events in May:
Surf Fishing Tournament – Friday May 11/Saturday 12
Milkweed Planting Project – Friday May 25 at 4 PM Tecumseh Beach Entrance. If you are interested in ordering some milkweed plants for your own property they are $2.75 for a quart size plant. Contact Carol Ferguson (609-846-4100) for more information.
Milkweed Planting for the Monarch
Each year, the Strathmere Fishing and Environmental Club works to focus on and actively participate in various environmental activities that benefit our local community. For years, the SFEC has sponsored beach clean-ups, Diamond Back Terrapin rescue and awareness, catch-and-release tournaments, Osprey nest building and dune plantings. On May 25th the SFEC will sponsor and conduct our annual dune planting, but this year it will feature an added and interesting twist. Our Environmental and Dune Planting coordinator, Carol Ferguson, has suggested that Milkweed be planted throughout Strathmere to attract the spring migration of the Monarch Butterfly. The milkweed plant provides all the nourishment that Monarch needs to transform for caterpillar into the adult butterfly. For many seasons, Carol has organized dune plantings as she has recruited locals to help fortify the dunes with the usual plantings of dune and beach grasses and Goldenrod. These dune plantings are a very important component of coastal management as the SFEC has always striven to help strengthen the natural dune barriers that will offer protection during a storm. This spring season, Milkweed will be planted throughout Strathmere and will hopefully attract large numbers of the colorful Monarch Butterfly. Contact Carol: 609-846-4100.
Herb Hollinger, Sr. Opening Day Flounder Tournament – Saturday May 26
We are looking forward to some great fishing. There are several tournaments scheduled for June also. Check our website for dates and get your rod, tackle and lines ready!
Sallie Callahan – SFEC President