Fisher ?

[joc]

I don 't mean for pickerel LOL Apparently they are confirmed in NJ , extreme NO . NJ . Has anyone heard of any sightings in the pines ? Just curious as i'm certainly no expert , but i'm thinking the pines would provide good habitat ? I don't remember seeing or hearing anything .Using coyote as a reference , How long would it take for them to become re- established ? They seem to be migrating southward into @ least central NJ ....
Thanks ,
Joe

 

[dogg57]

I don't see to much about Fishers in NJ last time in the news was 2007 From what I read

Wild & Weird New Jersey

Tuesday, Apr 10, 2007 10:00am | COMMENTS (22)
It seems roaming bears will be welcoming back a long-lost resident and sharing their New Jersey habitat with Martes pennanti - the fisher. This sneaky predator, who can weigh up to 18 pounds, is one tough omnivore: it eats porcupines for lunch. Although it is more common in the northern climes of Canada, hunters have reported isolated sightings. Now a grad student at Montclair State has photographs to prove the fisher is back. From Newsday.com:

The fisher, a weasel-like animal about the same size as a large cat, may be back in New Jersey, long after it was thought to have disappeared from the state.
Charles Kontos, 31, a biologist and graduate student at Montclair State University has taken three photographs of the animal which is considered a ferocious hunter because of its sharp teeth and amazing speed.
​

 

[46er]

Looks like a couple have been verified in extreme northern NJ.

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/species/spotlight/fisher/

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/artcode08.htm

And they are included in the trapping regs of the Fish & Game code, see page 70.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2011/dighnt11-no_map.pdf

 

[dogg57]

If I have read these articles right Last seen was 2009
"There have been two confirmed sightings (Frelinghuysen Twp., Warren County 2004; Stokes State Forest, Sussex County 2006), and seven unconfirmed sightings from June through December 2007...three photographs of a fisher were finally recorded on October 5, 2006, in Stokes State Forest. Since then, numerous additional fisher photographs and sightings have been reported as recently as February 2009". Would be neat to see one. Also found this to be of interest. That Coyote attacks have occurred and the state saying so

COYOTE
Increase the coyote season length for the special permit night season.

The current season runs from the second week of January to the third week in February. The proposal opens the season from January 1 through March 15 plus removes the bag limit. Coyotes are well established through all 21 counties. Damage complaints have increased and attacks on humans have occurred. An increased number of permit applications prove an increased hunter interest.​

 

[RednekF350]

Things are looking good for a lot of species to expand their territories in NJ. Bobcats are on the rise too.
Like the fisher, you cannot target them on your trapline but if you do snare one, they have to be reported and surrendered to NJ F&W.
The expansion of the coyote/fox permit season was a welcomed change in this years regs. The best $2.00 I ever spent.
I am running a trapline right now for fox and coon but plan on some night permit coyote hunting within the next few weeks.

 

[manumuskin]

I seen a fisher in cook forest state park in nw pa.awesome critter.He poked his head up and looked at me and momma and lit out for better company. only weasels here i know of are your short and long tailes weasels,mink and otter.never saw a mink and only a few weasels but have seen a lot of otter.
by the way has anyone seen a bobcat in nj? I think i did back in the 80's but it was so quick it was hard to tell.defintely a large,wild,tawny cat but just too fast.

 

[dragoncjo]

I've seen them in central pa, but never NJ.

 

[PINEY MIKE]

There used to be a whole website about Fishers in NW NJ that had pics of them (taken in Jerz). Not sure if it still exists. I saw one backpacking in the Adirondacks while pumping water from a brook once. Cool looking critter.

 

[joc]

If I have read these articles right Last seen was 2009
"There have been two confirmed sightings (Frelinghuysen Twp., Warren County 2004; Stokes State Forest, Sussex County 2006), and seven unconfirmed sightings from June through December 2007...three photographs of a fisher were finally recorded on October 5, 2006, in Stokes State Forest. Since then, numerous additional fisher photographs and sightings have been reported as recently as February 2009". Would be neat to see one. Also found this to be of interest. That Coyote attacks have occurred and the state saying so

COYOTE
Increase the coyote season length for the special permit night season.

The current season runs from the second week of January to the third week in February. The proposal opens the season from January 1 through March 15 plus removes the bag limit. Coyotes are well established through all 21 counties. Damage complaints have increased and attacks on humans have occurred. An increased number of permit applications prove an increased hunter interest.​

 

[joc]

The attacks both happened in Monmouth County ,NJ , Middletown to be exact , in 2007 . Both attacks were on children under the age of 6 ,
Joe

 

[joc]

Things are looking good for a lot of species to expand their territories in NJ. Bobcats are on the rise too.
Like the fisher, you cannot target them on your trapline but if you do snare one, they have to be reported and surrendered to NJ F&W.
The expansion of the coyote/fox permit season was a welcomed change in this years regs. The best $2.00 I ever spent.
I am running a trapline right now for fox and coon but plan on some night permit coyote hunting within the next few weeks.

Apparetly there is a permit so you can hunt them @ night now as well ?! No bag limit either ? ( Coyote )

 

[joc]

I seen a fisher in cook forest state park in nw pa.awesome critter.He poked his head up and looked at me and momma and lit out for better company. only weasels here i know of are your short and long tailes weasels,mink and otter.never saw a mink and only a few weasels but have seen a lot of otter.
by the way has anyone seen a bobcat in nj? I think i did back in the 80's but it was so quick it was hard to tell.defintely a large,wild,tawny cat but just too fast.

Al- I have not personally seen one .They seem to be concentrated inSussex/ Warren /Passaic Counties .The state "stocked " them about 25 yrs ago with captured specimens from New England ,mostly Maine .My friends and family have seen them . People with game cameras up No . Jersey get them frequently . I suspect They would probably do well in the pines .
Joe

 

[dogg57]

This was neat to learn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hunting and diet
Fishers are solitary hunters. Their primary prey include hares, rabbits, squirrels, mice, shrews, and porcupines. While fishers and mountain lions are the only regular predators of porcupines, the fisher is the only predator to have a specialized killing technique. As observed by Robert G. Snyder in the Adirondack mountains of New York, a fisher first approaches from the direction the porcupine is facing. The porcupine tries to protect itself by turning to present its tail, covered with quills, to the attacker. The fisher then jumps directly over its prey, forcing the porcupine to keep turning to protect its vulnerable head. A dozen or more such maneuvers suffice to exhaust and confuse the porcupine into a stupor in which it can no longer protect itself. Then, by repeatedly biting and scratching at the porcupine's face, the fisher causes it to bleed to death. The fisher eats the porcupine by flipping the dead animal over and starting with its unprotected belly.

Fishers are also known to eat ground nesting birds such as grouse and turkeys. Often, young of the year and eggs make easy targets. Also, in some areas fishers can become pests to farmers because they will get into a pen and kill large numbers of chickens. Fishers have also been known to eat small pets left outside, such as stray cats and dogs. While this is rare, when densities are high and food resources are low, animals may become desperate.

 

[PINEY MIKE]

Besides the one I saw in upstate NY, I recall another family of hikers telling me a story about a Fisher they had in their lean-to up in the Dacks about 15 yrs ago. They made it sound rabid. Apparently, they had just reached their lean-to and placed their packs down and a few moments later the Fisher appeared. They backed away from the lean-to as the Fisher ripped through their packs to get at their food. I remember the family saying no matter how much they yelled at it and threw sticks at it, the animal just kept making growling noises and tearing their food apart. I thought it was a neat story at the time.

 

[PINEY MIKE]

Apparetly there is a permit so you can hunt them @ night now as well ?! No bag limit either ? ( Coyote )

I really dont see the merit to this. I was glad they were making a comeback in NJ. I absolutely love to hear their howls when they're in the area. I can understand a farmer or livestock owner's want to kill them, but hunting/trapping them for sport or no reason is pretty lame IMO. Their pelts aren't worth a crap and I dont think people eat or use the meat or other parts of the animal... just seems like a waste of life for no good apparent reason.

 

[manumuskin]

I really dont see the merit to this. I was glad they were making a comeback in NJ. I absolutely love to hear their howls when they're in the area. I can understand a farmer or livestock owner's want to kill them, but hunting/trapping them for sport or no reason is pretty lame IMO. Their pelts aren't worth a crap and I dont think people eat or use the meat or other parts of the animal... just seems like a waste of life for no good apparent reason.

I have no idea why they allow hunting of the only large predator we have verifiable population of in NJ and agree with all your points.I have talked to many hunters that think they are a threat to the deer population,hell deer are a threat to the deer population.I have found at least one fresh kill of a deer that appeared to be by coyotes.Wether they killed it or a hunter did and couldn't find it and the coyotes did I don't know.Then again some swear their a danger to children.Every coyote that has taken a look at me has taken himself elsewhere.I once knew a man who hunted crows,Now I love crows,I love their talk and their intelligence and while I'm sure their edible there is much easier birds to hunt that are bigger and not as smart.This man when I asked him what they taste like said he never ate one,I asked why he killed them then,he said for the sport,I can't understand that.maybe my IQ isn't high enough,thats got to be it.

 

[PINEY MIKE]

dogg,
Al was speaking of coyote.

 

[dogg57]

dogg,
Al was speaking of coyote.

Da on me Thanks Mike...next time I will wear my glasses

 

[PINEY MIKE]

This man when I asked him what they taste like said he never ate one,I asked why he killed them then,he said for the sport,I can't understand that.maybe my IQ isn't high enough,thats got to be it.

I know what you mean. I have some buddies I duck/goose hunt with, and although they're all great guys, a few of them wont eat our kills and I dont even know why they come. I have a very different stance on the birds we shoot than these guys. If Im not eating it, I aint shooting it. At least if Im not around they have a local chinese restaurant they drop the ducks off at so its not a complete wash.. still rubs me the wrong way but Ive learned to keep my mouth shut. Everyones got their own set of values I suppose.

 

[manumuskin]

I've learnt never to shoot at anything smarter then myself and crows seem to be,fortunately Iraqis weren't and I had carte blanche.