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Jersey shore fish & invert collecting.

Do any of you collect things from the shore? My predator tank is doing well and I was planning on visiting the shore to net some live silversides and small shrimp,etc. I know you can find some real cool things in tide pools and along rocky inlets. (sea stars, clams, snails, crabs, shrimp, etc) anyone recommend an area good for this sort of thing.
 
hi--this may or may not help ya---i always went to Belmar, during low tide, with a 35ft long seining net. When i landed the net there was always different things i would collect. Baby flounder, sperring, stickleback, killies---4 different kinds of shrimp---all kinds of crabs, pipefish, starfish. You could always find clams,mussels, snails all over the place.
Now, not really sure---i haven't done any collecting in many years!!!!! ya know--work, house, KIDS!!!!
I've been thinking/planning on setting back up a 55 gal with specimens collected from the shore--just haven't put it into the works yet
and yes, during low tide there would be many tide pools where you should be able to collect fish and shrimp--i used a killie trap---always was loaded with fish each time i pulled it outa the water.
good luck!!! will be following to see how you made out
there is another member---Paulb---who has a tank with fish he's collected from SI---real interesting reading

steve
 
Thanks. I was hoping to get more detail. I am new to Jersey and I have only been to the shore a few times. Everywhere I look is developed with either a boardwalk or houses. I'm pretty tied up for a few weeks but I will check it out. Belmar is 1 hr & 20 minutes from me, not bad. I'll make a day out of it.
 
the last time i was at belmar, which was probably a year or so ago, there still was a few ' beaches ' that were there years ago when i was going down collecting---you should'nt have a problem doing any kind of collecting, as far as finding a spot goes
we certainly could ' get together ' and see whats around in the belmar area---that few weeks your tied up i'm also ' busy '--this would give me the push i need to get things setup for anything i do collect---
time to wash out the 5 gal jugs i used to collect the water in...
should be fun...let me know
 

rodclement

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
hey if you guys go I would love to tag along! I am also new to NJ and would love to learn a little about our local fauna!!! Let me know!

Rod
 
Sounds good. We have to plan something. I'll stay tuned to this post. I'm busy for 2 weeks. Sunday the 26th should be good for me. Does this work for you guys?
 
Another place I think might be good for collecting is Island Beach state park. It runs all the way south to Barnegat Inlet, I always wondered what was over there. I spent many summers on the rocks at Barnegat Light, but theres not much in terms of seining. At Island Beach, its more of a beachy situation, better for dragging a net.
 
i was there many, many, many---did i say many years ago, and your right---plenty of beach---i once caught a sea horse there
sure would be another spot i would like to go---things are sounding interesting, just gotta get a tank set up first
sure would like to do it this summer
 
We would catch some seahorses ,baby flounders and some colorful fish along with the baitfish in our draag nets as kids . We cought them in Brooklyn under the Mill Basin Draw Bridge late summer. If they could survive in that water they can survive anyplace ;D .
i would also be interested in going on a collecting trip . I assume further south would prob be better along with leter in the summer to allow water temps to rise .
 

magic

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I thought it was illegal to use a large net to fish in Jersey.

Bob
 

JohnS_323

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
We've done a few dives at the Belmar Basin. It's a good area to seine and dive for tropicals. It's definitely a fun way to spend a day. Plus there's Windmill right across the street with killer Chili Dogs!

Hmmm . . . I'll have to see if we're free on the 26th and tag along.
 
magic said:
I thought it was illegal to use a large net to fish in Jersey.

Bob

we're not fishing---we're collecting---i've never had a problem when i was seining

JohnS_323 said:
We've done a few dives at the Belmar Basin. It's a good area to seine and dive for tropicals. It's definitely a fun way to spend a day. Plus there's Windmill right across the street with killer Chili Dogs!

Hmmm . . . I'll have to see if we're free on the 26th and tag along.

I've done a few night dives where the ocean meets the inlet for lobsters---was really an awesome experience
I've never collected any fish from there---i did have what was called a ' slurp ' gun, which was a tube within a tube and the inside tube had a long handle that you would pull towards you --you would put the other end next to a fish and it would suck the fish into the tube---never got a chance to use it tho---kids got it and destroyed it---naturally--thats what kids do........
26th could be a possibility
 
I haven't been there in a few years but in the Belmar Marina I've caught many spotfin butterflys, look downs, orange filefish, a queen trigger, and tons of seahorses and pipefish. The latest in the year I've caught any tropicals was late October.
 
GregW said:
I haven't been there in a few years but in the Belmar Marina I've caught many spotfin butterflys, look downs, orange filefish, a queen trigger, and tons of seahorses and pipefish. The latest in the year I've caught any tropicals was late October.

wow--thats cool---how did you catch them? what did you use?
sounds like a good ' collecting ' spot
 
hurtback said:
GregW said:
I haven't been there in a few years but in the Belmar Marina I've caught many spotfin butterflys, look downs, orange filefish, a queen trigger, and tons of seahorses and pipefish. The latest in the year I've caught any tropicals was late October.

wow--thats cool---how did you catch them? what did you use?
sounds like a good ' collecting ' spot

I use one of those large rectangular aquarium fish nets wired to a 6' pole. I just pull it from the bottom up along the bulkhead. Night always seemed best for me. And the bottom of the L St boat ramp at low tide was good for the seahorses and pipe fish.
 
I have collected many species while Clamming and Crabbing down in Barnaget Bay Near the Lighthouse on LBI and near Clam Island...

I have brought many things back... Crabs, Clams, Starfish, Snails, Algae, Sponges, Etc....
The water is not deep when clamming anyways so it more or less wading waist to kneedeep...

It is kind of difficult to keep these local species in a tropical reef setting though...
But some do make it... the hermits, snails, algaes, featherdusters, etc....
 

rodclement

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
begs the question, for a native set-up, what temp water would anyone recomend? I can set a 40gal with existing live rock and sand have it ready for a colecting trip on the 26th! I am looking froward to this!

Rod
 
rodclement said:
begs the question, for a native set-up, what temp water would anyone recomend? I can set a 40gal with existing live rock and sand have it ready for a colecting trip on the 26th! I am looking froward to this!

Rod

when i set up my tank i used sand and water from the area i collected the fish from
at first i would collect sand, water and fish all the same time--get home, dump sand and water in the tank, get the filter running, then put the fish in---i never worried about putting the fish in right away cause the fish came from that same water---i never used artificial salt water or any live rock NOT from the area i collected from
having my tanks in the basement, its alway cool all year long---i never worried about the temp---once the fish get used to the temp, i never had a problem...
then, when it was time to restock my tank, i would collect more NEW water and fish---once i got home i would leave the fish in the buckets to get to the room temp, then put them in.
remember, the fish are coming from the ocean, where the water is constantly moving, and the temp is changing---so leaving them in the bucket in the same room as the tank till the bucket got to the room temp, didnt really do any harm to the fish, crabs, whatever
 
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