WILD NEW JERSEY: Fishing with Wild NJ: "King Cod" reclaims its natural throne in the Northeast

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WILD NEW JERSEY: Fishing with Wild NJ: "King Cod" reclaims its natural throne in the Northeast

Fishing with Wild NJ: "King Cod" reclaims its natural throne in the Northeast

All photos by Leif Pettersen

By Leif Pettersen, WildNewJersey.tv

Fishing for cod in the winter and spring in New Jersey was one of my favorite things to do as a young boy. My dad introduced me to this type of fishing in the early 1970's, and we fished for them through the 1980's and 1990's from the local party boats out of Belmar and Brielle. Unfortunately, as the years went by, the cod populations diminished due to commercial overfishing, first by foreign fleets, and then by domestic fleets.

Thankfully, over the past few years the codfish have been on the rebound. Tight restrictions put on the species over the last ten years in the New England area have started to pay off throughout the Northeast. The "prolific" cod is starting to re-appear in numbers. The codfish began to rebound a few years ago off Block Island, Rhode Island, Montauk, New York, and, of course, New Jersey, which is the codfish's southernmost range.

Codfishing has improved in New Jersey as these fish have "trickled down" and taken up residence on the local and offshore wrecks that exist right off our coast. Codfish are now being caught in respectable numbers in the spring, winter and even summer months as a by-catch while fishing for ling, sea bass and blackfish.

Because of the rebound in New Jersey, party boats, charter boats and individual recreational fishermen can again pursue the fish that was once "King." Party boats that sail for codfish include the Jamaica II, Jamaica and Paramount out of Brielle, the Gambler out of Point Pleasant and the Miss Belmar Princess out of Belmar, to name a few. These Party Boats generally sail through the late fall and winter, but some like the Paramount pursue cod during the warmer months in deeper water while fishing for ling as well.

I am glad to be able to take my son Leif cod fishing now in New Jersey, just as my dad did with me over 40 years ago. Hopefully this wonderful fish will continue to rebound for all to enjoy.

Leif Pettersen grew up fishing the Jersey Shore. His love for the ocean and fishing kept him in New Jersey and he enjoys all saltwater fishing, fly fishing, and cooking. More of his cod stories can be found on his blog "Cod Is King". This is his first story for WildNewJersey.tv .

Previous "Fishing with Wild New Jersey" stories: