South Jersey’s First Family of Fishing
Some fishermen have tales – inflated tales – about their big catches and their amazing adventures on the sea.
Cody Melton is a fisherman with big tales, big catches, big adventures.
Only his stories are not inflated.
Melton, 32, has been there, done that.
Caught an 850-pound blue marlin? Check.
Combined with other family members to win over half a million dollars in tournament fishing last year? Check.
Runs a highly successful, high-end fishing fleet? Check.
In other words, Melton is living the dream. Work doesn’t seem like work. His job – leading top-of-the-line fishing excursions – is something that has become a part of his DNA.
And his family’s.
“Some people are lucky to work and do something they love,” Melton said recently. “I’m lucky enough to be in that position.”
Melton and his brother, RJ, own and operate Jersey Nutz Sportfishing, which has three vessels that take fishermen on trips out of Atlantic City and Point Pleasant Beach. The company also charters boats out of North Carolina in the winter.
“My brother and I started the business when I was a senior in high school,” said Cody Melton, a 2012 graduate of North Burlington Regional in Columbus, N.J., where he was a state wrestling champion.
How was his company’s name created?
“The Nutz part came about because everyone said we were nuts to start a charter fishing business,” he said.
The brothers got the last laugh. The business, now in its 14th year, is flourishing.
In 2012, they purchased their first vessel around the same time Cody was winning the 285-pound NJSIAA state wrestling title.
Deep family roots
For the Melton brothers, Jersey Nutz Sportfishing has deep family roots. Their father, Robert, who has his captain’s license like his sons, and their uncle, John Melton, “always had the love for offshore fishing, but they did it recreationally,” Cody Melton said. “A weekend fishermen-type thing. And they got my brother and I into it. My father has always been a big help in the business.”
The family’s fishing lineage goes back even further. The brothers’ great grandfather was a charter captain in Key West, Fla., and their grandfather was an outdoor enthusiast who had a sportfishing vessel.
“It kind of just kept progressing, and then my brother and I started the business,” Cody said. “My great-grandfather did some small boat charters in Key West with shallow-water fishing, but nothing like we do now.”
Cody runs the company’s biggest vessel, a 61-foot, $2 million custom-built boat that runs excursions out of Atlantic City, near the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino.
RJ handles the mechanical duties connected to the boats and is a part-time captain, though he doesn’t travel as much as in the past because he wants to spend time with his two young children. James Kerbaugh is the company’s other captain.
Trips run from the Jersey Shore in the summer, with guests fishing mainly for big-eye tuna and yellowfin tuna. “But we also catch a lot of white marlin, blue marlin, mahi, and swordfish,” Cody said. “There’s quite an awesome fishery here in New Jersey that not a lot of people know about.”
‘Southern’ fish in NJ
A lot of the “southern” fish come up the Gulf Stream and are captured in canyons that are 70 to 95 miles off the Jersey Coast.
In the spring and fall, Jersey Nutz does six- and eight-hour coastal excursions, during which clients fish for striped bass. It’s a little easier for families to do, Cody said. In the winter months, the operation runs vessels from North Carolina’s Outer Banks, with participants capturing lots of blue-fin tuna.
The excursions that run out of Atlantic City take off near the Golden Nugget and attract high rollers. Six people, along with the captain and the mate, are permitted on the boat and are treated to a high-end, luxury experience – complete with leather couches, air-conditioned rooms, TVs, beds, bathrooms, a kitchen, and showers. The cost is $7,950 (plus tip) for the guests, or $1,325 per person for the 26-hour trip.
The vessel, which has a Seakeeper that stabilizes the journey and reduces the “rock and roll,” is equipped with advanced technology that enables guests to find schools of fish.
“That’s the vessel I fish from when I’m doing all the tournaments,” Cody said. “The last few seasons, we’ve had a lot of good tournaments and won quite a few as well.”
Providing luxury on the sea, he said, has been Jesey Nutz’ brand in the industry.
“Our goal is to provide a first-class service from start to finish – and be the best at catching fish at the same time,” he said.
Some people use Cody and Jersey Nutz because they want to fish with such an expert. Some use the company because of the top-notch boats. Some take the trips because of the company’s great success at catching huge fish.
Cody once caught a blue marlin in the canyon that weighed 850 pounds. Repeat: 850 pounds.
That’s success.
“There are some monster, monster fish out there,” he said.
For Cody and his brother, the fishing, the excursions, and meeting interesting people is what makes their job so enjoyable.
It’s more like a labor of love, Cody said.
Wakes up smiling
“That’s really what drove us to start the business, and it’s still what really drives us,” he said. “I wake up every day smiling to go fishing because every day is different. It’s not like going to an office and sitting at your desk and kind of knowing what you’re going to do every day.
“Whether it’s the fish that are different and they bite differently, or the sea conditions that are different or Mother Nature is different, there are a lot of variables that go into it, which can make it harder, but it also makes it interesting,” he said.
Cody and RJ are also deeply involved in Melton Industries, a family business that specializes in diesel engine repair and remanufacturing services.
But fishing is what makes them tick.
A resident of Springfield, Burlington County, Cody said, “You never really know when you leave the dock how your day is going to go as far as success, but it’s never boring.”
One of the perks of his job is meeting people with different backgrounds. He has chartered boats for NFL quarterbacks and company CEOs – and every occupation in between.
“I’ve had clients who have turned into friends and still fish with me,” Cody said.
Those who want to learn more about fishing from Cody and his crew can listen to their podcast called Get ‘Em Giddy, and it sometimes includes some of the clients they take on excursions.
“It’s just something my brother and I have always said to each other – and we ran with it. You know, giddy in the sense of ‘get ‘em fired up,’” said Cody, adding that the slogan is written on each of the company’s boats and its apparel.
Melton and his family members were extremely fired up after excelling in tournaments last year and bringing home more than half a million in prize money.
“We won two tournaments with my family last year,” Cody said. “It was with my dad, my brother, my brother-in-law, my uncle’s kids. That was really cool. We had a really good tournament season.”
Among its wins, the group captured prizes in the fifth annual Jimmy Johnson “Quest for the Ring” Tournament out of Atlantic City. The tourney, which had more than 60 teams and over $1 million in payouts, was hosted by Jimmy Johnson, the former Dallas Cowboys football coach.
Jersey Nutz had the most total earnings (roughly $270,000) and the heaviest big-eye tuna, weighing 135.5 pounds.
And that’s not a fish story.
