Trenton makes, the world takes - lost fishing access in Trenton

[DarkSkies]

They should change that sign to "Trenton screws the fishermen, the world looks the other way.":2flip:

Drove past Katmandu and Duck Island the other day after Sergantsville to check out the spring herring and shad run. What I saw made me sick.

They still have the fences up by the Katmandu/Stadium area. They put them up 3 years ago because they said the bulkhead was "unsafe" for fishermen. I remember during the spring run a bunch of people and their kids used to sneak through the fence anyway. It was literally the best and least expensive place for a father to take his kids fishing for some light tackle action on herring and shad.

Further down the road, there is another park, same deal, fenced in for 3 years. I've snuck in both places, but one year they were writing summonses for $100. That was before they put the signs up, how were people to know it was against the law to fish there? :don't know why:

So I stopped fishin there, stopped bringin kids there, and I really miss that place. I wonder if any progress has been made on this? To me, it looks like nothing has been done at all. I wonder if anyone who lives near that area could weigh in and shed some light on what's happening. Seeing it again made me sad. :(

It seems no one in Trenton cares about the fisherman on a budget who doesn't have enough cash for a boat, the guy who just wants to bring his kids to the bulkhead for a few hours of fun and fishing, or the guys who want to get in a few houirs of fishing for herring and shad after work. Who speaks for these people? :huh:

[DarkSkies]

Some pics

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[DarkSkies]

"Temporarily" closed,,, is 3 years temporary???



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[bababooey]

They should change that sign to "Trenton screws the fishermen, the world looks the other way.":2flip:

It seems no one in Trenton cares about the fisherman on a budget who doesn't have enough cash for a boat, the guy who just wants to bring his kids to the bulkhead for a few hours of fun and fishing, or the guys who want to get in a few houirs of fishing for herring and shad after work. Who speaks for these people? :huh:

Hey Dark, now it's not just the bulkhead, they're screwing anyone with a boat as well. They're fleecing our pockets until there is nothing left to fleece. My big question is how are they going to collect the daily fee, put a guardhouse up there with a salaried employee?:don't know why:

From another site:
"New Jersey has now made the Trenton boat launch a pay ramp.

The ramp will not open until April 1 until November 30. Opened from 6 am to 2 am. Cost for Trenton Residents is $5.00 daily $25.00 annual. Cost for other New Jersey residents is $10.00 daily $50.00 annual. And for us out of state residents $25.00 daily $250.00 annual.

If you are interested in the permit you can call Myra 1-609-989-3628. The commission's number is 609-989-3169. "

[paumanok]

Trenton and how many other communities have closed off access to open water in recent years?

I remember reading how Brookhaven anglers posted on a couple of sites for support for their cause: keeping the beaches open. Unfortunately, I hadn't visited (didn't even know of) the sites till long after the fact. They prayed for support, for a show of strength, were ever grateful for the twenty of so anglers that made a showing. Constables must have really had a time controlling that crowd. Who won that one? Who won in Trenton?

Now, try this. A national fishing licence, by region: for us, the Mid-Atlantic Coast. There are more than three million recreational anglers that ply their trade along the coastal waters from North Carolina to Maine. Three million.

Some tiny township decides to close off access to coastal waters to fishing. Whose problem is that? A couple of hundred local anglers? What local politician trembles in his (or her) boots at numbers like that? Local anglers consider a protest on the beach. And what, hope for a showing of ten, maybe twenty fisherman to show up? I can see the constable fretting over that one.

But now consider that these local anglers have access to a list of over three million fishermen, all of them with an avid interest in access to open water. Their local problem is now a problem for over three million angry, licenced (ie. PAYING) anglers.

I think that might send some shock waves down to the local level. Now I (and over three million other anglers) am not dropping by the local bait and tackle shop for bait and lures; I'm no longer gassing up my boat and car at the local gas station; no longer grabbing a quick breakfast at the local deli; stopping for lunch or dinner at the local diner--me and three or four buddies sharing the trip; staying over night at a local motel, so I (and my buddies) can fish again tomorrow.

Early stages of something I've been pondering for a while. Any thoughts?

[DarkSkies]

paumanok, I merged your thoughts with one I started earlier about Trenton Access.

Shore fishermen have gotten shafted in Trenton, you can see from the pics that it's over 2 years (maybe 3? )since they closed it down. I read on another site that some kids were fishing the other day near where I took these pics. The police came and kicked them out.

Who out there will stand up for the rights of the average shore fisherman who used to fish these prime spots? Sure I understand it's dangerous, but for how many more years will it be closed?

I'm angry about this because it was an easy spot to take kids to and get them a few fish. Many underpriveleged families used to fish there, generations of people having a good time.

I guess these people who used to fish there are not sophisticated enough to organize and ask questions, so these prime public spots remain locked up.

I merged your comments with this thread so maybe we can spur some action here. I don't have a clue as how to resolve this, but if anyone can post any info here about what, if anything is being done, I would appreciate it.

I would be open to any suggestions of protest or working with any groups out there who are working in fixing this problem and restoring access. It's not fair that the average person with limited funds to fish now has a few less places to go, and nothing appears to have been done in over 2 years.


Everyone who remembers what it used to be like to fish the shores of the NJ side of the Delaware at Trenton is welcome to speak up here.
Opiinions of anyone else are most welcome here. Thanks, guys. I don't feel this will be resolved until they know there are more people behind it, as paumanok said.



paumanok, check your pm's, top right corner of the page.

[paumanok]

DarkSkies--this is certainly an important issue. I'm not sure many fishermen realize what an impact they can have on how our fisheries are run. There are a tremendous number of men, women and children who fish, who spend money fishing, who VOTE! This does not have to be a one-sided game.

[bababooey]

There are a tremendous number of men, women and children who fish, who spend money fishing, who VOTE! This does not have to be a one-sided game.

That sounds great, as a concept only. How do you influence the vote on this one? They have the boat ramps open because they are charging us. If you live out of state they are basically robbing you for the privelge of launching there. How would you go about influencing the Trenton government, in a time of budget cuts, to spend $x amount to fix those deteriorating bulkheads? :rolleyes:

[hookset]

Wow, you wrote this 2 years ago ds, and they still don't have access by Katmandu. Shame on them.

[DarkSkies]

DarkSkies--this is certainly an important issue. I'm not sure many fishermen realize what an impact they can have on how our fisheries are run. There are a tremendous number of men, women and children who fish, who spend money fishing, who VOTE! This does not have to be a one-sided game.


Wow, you wrote this 2 years ago ds, and they still don't have access by Katmandu. Shame on them.


I thought in light of the fight for Drag Island access now might be a good time to revisit this thread.
Paumanok, you said it in a nutshell....since you first posted that in 2009 the level of fishermen participation and activism is at an all-time low.

One example....
Several million fishermen who fish the Salt water on the East Coast, and yet less than 5000 showed up for the Fishermens March on Washington.:(

Hookset, I think it has been 5 years since I first wrote about Delaware River access at Trenton. Fishermen still don't have access at the aforementioned public access areas at Duck Island and Katmandu......

When are fishermen going to realize that this is unacceptable?

[finchaser]

Apples to Oranges with No disrespect these 2 can't be compared, Drag island is know by few and fished by even less where as Kathmandu has been fished heavily for centuries.We fished the Kat area for herring in the spring along with 100's of others, before Kat was built and the INTERNET existed . After Kat was built there was no access we fought for access and Kat gave us I believe it was 25 parking spaces to the right of the building . These spaces were labeled fisherman only violators will be towed.Then as usually happens came the low lifes leaving dirty diapers and garbage all over the area. Fisherman were told to keep it clean or loose access so the fisherman cleaned up and tempers flew people who didn't keep it clean. Then came the storm that ended it all. The river overflowed and damaged the fence and retaining wall which made the wall unsafe and so ended fishing as the cost of the new wall was astronomical, plus this is fresh water not salt and a license is required. People still fish along the river but not there.