Jetty thread

[DarkSkies]

One of the things that occurred to me when writing about the finchaser fishing hole.....

Is that a certain % or the anglers new to surf fishing really don't have an understanding of jetties, that some of us have......

* They have never experienced 50 fish nights....out there all by themselves...
* Have never been washed off a jetty....in the middle of a new or full moon tide...and had to self-rescue...
* Have never seen, beyond the well-noted NJ blitz fishing. that you can actually catch 20 and 30# class fish following the night tides....by paying attention to tide stage, feeding window, and forage fish patterns.....
* Haven't experienced, the consistent bite that you can find, throughout the season, by keeping good logs and exploiting any patterns, by fishing hard, relentlessly, when they do develop.
* Haven't experienced the absolute joy...and the adrenaline rush.....when you discover a few large fish feeding at night...that no one thought were there......
* These patterns aren't for the casual fishermen...and why some others and I have lived in our vehicles...for overnight or multi-day nomad fishing........ when there is a "jetty bite" in various areas along the Coast.

[DarkSkies]

Many of the NJ jetties are now covered......and we won't likely see that quality of night fishing return to NJ. for at least a decade...

They were such a big part of my fishing life.....Many times I had them all to myself and a few other nut-cases I know...because it's not easy to figure the patterns...and get into fish consistently....
Some of ya's...and some close friends who are addicted to surf fishing....have quit fishing the NJ jetties for good, and now travel nomad-like, to where the best bite is at that moment...along the East Coast.....it has become a lot of work....to find bigger fish consistently....







I thought this thread could be about jetties....anything at all.....your memories fishing jetties...old jetty pics.....sad or funny stories or mis-haps and near death experiences...or any pics you folks can find of jetties, back when they were pristine.....

I have taken hundreds of shots of the jetties that are now covered....I knew this day was coming.....
Will try to share them a few at a time as I get some spare moments....

In the meantime, would like to hear anything at all...that you folks out there...have to say about the Jetties...either the inlet jetties, or the groins that some of the towns had...and share some of your own memories...or pics......

Would love to hear your thoughts, good and bad.....and any pics you may come across.....
If we can't have the jetties...at least we can share the memories...:fishing:
Thanks...:HappyWave:

[jigfreak]

I used to fish the jetties a lot. Some of the most quality fish you could ever imagine. Serious slobs to the 30s. With the fishing getting worse and all that sand and crap its not worth it anymore to make the trek. I used to love fishing the shark river jetty though. I would drive up and fish it 2-4am with bucktails in the summer. Just a yellow bomber on the outgoing for other times of year. You rarely would get skunked. That was about 8 years ago. Went back a few times this year. For some reason it's not the same. Fishing sucked. The guys out there got robins and skates.
The inlet at island beach or the barnegat side is much better.

[robmedina]

I tripped and cut my pinky with my cell phone on a jetty.....does that count?

[storminsteve]

Haha.You are definitely hardcore!:d I met dark on a jetty once in the fall of 2012. We got into some nice stripers and blues for which I am grateful. I dont make a habit of fishing them because I dont have a death wish. I have a wife and family. If something happened to me there would be no one to provide for them. My .02

[jsarosi]

I remember fishing the jetties in Long Branch at night during the summer with plugs and rig eels catching bass and big weakfish back in the early 1980,s with Mark and Hans.
We use to fish all night some times hopping from jetty to jetty. Of course before the beach restoration projects. They should be restoring the jetties not pupping the sand off the shore. It is destroying marine eco systems that will take years to restore. Also live lining early mornings on the jetties of Deal. One time I lost my balance and fell between two rocks and had to get pulled out with help of my fishing buddies.

[porgy75]

I remember fishing the jetties in Long Branch at night during the summer with plugs and rig eels catching bass and big weakfish back in the early 1980,s with Mark and Hans.
We use to fish all night some times hopping from jetty to jetty. Of course before the beach restoration projects. They should be restoring the jetties not pupping the sand off the shore. It is destroying marine eco systems that will take years to restore. Also live lining early mornings on the jetties of Deal. One time I lost my balance and fell between two rocks and had to get pulled out with help of my fishing buddies.

I am not a big jetty guy. Have fished the shark river north side. That seems to be pretty stable. Could I ask you about how you would rig those eels and if you fished any weight to them? What was the biggest striper you ever got with one of those. Thanks.

[baitstealer]

Would like to know as well. have also heard that rigged works better than live and wondered why that would be
true.

[williehookem]

One of the toughest jettys I know is montauk under the light. I have been there a few times and got my share of the skunk. Best advice is korkers are a must. You also have to learn to fish with crowds. Don't ever fish bait there unless you are alone. Whatever everyone else is tossing you have to try to toss the same and keep in the rotation. Otherwise you will not be too popular.

[rockhopper]

I remember fishing the jetties in Long Branch at night during the summer with plugs and rig eels catching bass and big weakfish back in the early 1980,s with Mark and Hans.
We use to fish all night some times hopping from jetty to jetty. Of course before the beach restoration projects. They should be restoring the jetties not pupping the sand off the shore. It is destroying marine eco systems that will take years to restore. Also live lining early mornings on the jetties of Deal. One time I lost my balance and fell between two rocks and had to get pulled out with help of my fishing buddies.



The jettys have stripers and blues because there is a great bunch of food for them to eat. Filling them makes no sense because it kills all that life. It is sad that one day a thread about all the jetties that used to be will be like talking about all the buffalo that were all over the earth and now are only on some guy's farm. I don't think they will ever change the jetty at montauk. I don't know why they would even think about it. I feel for you guys it must not be fun.

[surferman]

^^^ X 2 and they also give you the shore breaks that calms down the wave energy. Good for us surfers because in some places it concentrates them and makes for good surfing. When all the jetties are gone the surfing will suck for most of NJ. Will have to take the ride out to long beach or montauk in long island.

[surferman]

I remember fishing the jetties in Long Branch at night during the summer with plugs and rig eels catching bass and big weakfish back in the early 1980,s with Mark and Hans.
We use to fish all night some times hopping from jetty to jetty. Of course before the beach restoration projects. They should be restoring the jetties not pupping the sand off the shore. It is destroying marine eco systems that will take years to restore. Also live lining early mornings on the jetties of Deal. One time I lost my balance and fell between two rocks and had to get pulled out with help of my fishing buddies.

Sounds like great memories thanks for sharing. I bet you guys used to catch a lot of big fish in close back then.

[jigfreak]

Some of you young guns probably have no idea. They were like having an inlet or point every few hundred yards. The greatest natural bait collectors and ecosystems on the Coast. The bottom and sides were usually filled with mussels. Mussels and all sorts of invertebrates living below the water line. Then you had the crabs, asians, calicos, rocks, and blue crabs that lived in the cracks and crevices. Feeding on the food that was all over. Adding to the great crab bites around the full and new moons. Add the baitfish migration to that mix and it was a virtual supermarket of bait and forage fish. The bait moved from north to south in the fall and from south to north in the spring. In full swing it had to pass the jetties and usually stopped to take a break at night.

There's a lot of jumping up and down about peanut blitzes this fall. I remember when the peanuts used to take a break during the migration. They would be between the jetties at night for weeks at a time. One school would move out, another would move in. It was pure mayhem fishing at night from those jetties. Throw a rattle trap, small popper, bucktail or shad and you could have fish all night. Not just schoolies but fish in the 20-30lb class. Right at your feet or no more than a half cast away. Those were the days that not many of the younger guys probably remember. Now gone for good except for the jetties that are left from belmar to squan, and the inlet jetties.

[CharlieTuna]

There's a lot of jumping up and down about peanut blitzes this fall. I remember when the peanuts used to take a break during the migration. They would be between the jetties at night for weeks at a time. One school would move out, another would move in. It was pure mayhem fishing at night from those jetties. Throw a rattle trap, small popper, bucktail or shad and you could have fish all night. Not just schoolies but fish in the 20-30lb class. Right at your feet or no more than a half cast away. Those were the days that not many of the younger guys probably remember.

I bet you didn't blab about it either. Just saw this video about the jetties and keeping it to yourself. I remember that's how it was when I lived in jersey 20 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MeLQ-fubAA

[7deadlyplugs]

Awesome thread gents I did not fish them like you all did. Thanks for sharing those experiences.

[albiealert]

You guys are lucky. I wish we HAD jetties in CT. There is a lot of breakwaters and bulkheads. Some sandy beaches which are tough to get to without a parking permit for the area. Jetties like the ones I have seen in NJ and LI would be a great new experience for me. Sorry to see they are taking them away. From what I read it does not make sense. Politics?

[fishinmission78]

The Barnegat jetty at IBSP has been good to me over the years. Outgoing tide, night time is the right time.
Thought you all might find this interesting. They are working on it and discovered an ancient shipwreck.
http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2015/12/what_is_that_mystery_shipwreck_found_under_an_nj_o .html

[DarkSkies]

I was down to Jetty Row lately and it saddens me to see what some of our favorite fishing space has become.

Saddened me even more to think that perhaps at another time two decades ago, we could have fought against this, and gained some headway, or at least gained some more concessions.

Anyone else wants to put up memories of the jetties in times they remember, feel free.

Thanks