Asbury Park Fishing Club Flea Market

[DarkSkies]

Capt Nick is a small plugbuilder out of Keyport NJ who's been making plugs for many years. He's not looking to get bigger, sell more plugs, OR sell plugs out of season

... there ain't nothin gettin in the way of his fishin time once the season starts.


You can only get his stuff at Asbury, and it's priced to sell all in one day. One hook poppers are $5, 2 hooks are $10. He's been doing the Asbury show for 6 years. He started building because he couldn't find a plug to cast the way he wanted. Nice meetin ya again, Capt.

[DarkSkies]

Gary Soldati runs Bigwater lures, he wasn't available for a pic but 2 of his friends were glad to show some of his stuff. .

[DarkSkies]

Billy McFadden is an icon in the plug building community. He's been doing it for many years, and has the weighting, sealing, and finishing down to a science. Richt now he's focusing on Atom40 profile plugs, and some small needles. Atoms $20, needles $10.

Many of the builders I talked to had nothing but good things to say about his generosity and advice he gave them. Billy and his friend were there, nice meetin you guys.

[DarkSkies]

Bob Hessel from Dingbat Lures. Been doing it for 7 or 8 years, one of his biggest influences was Skippy Lures. These pics don't do justice to the sweet airbrush skills this guy has. Cool meetin ya.

[DarkSkies]

Run by Rob out of Milford Connecticut. He's been doin it for around 2 years now. With a carpentry background, he's been building and fiddling with stuff his whole life. A few years ago he started playing with plastics to find plugs that would stand up to being banged around a lot. The result is Fish On-8 plugs, price range from $15-20.

Some of the biggest influences in his style have been Gary2's troublemaker. Nice meetin ya, man.

(your pics came out blurry, I'll have to catch up with ya next time, sorry)

[DarkSkies]

Glen Davis, another Asbury Club member. He's also a locksmith, been fooling around with fixing things and working on machinery his whole life, so plug building was a natural extension. 5 1/2 and 6 1/2" swimmers with bucktail, $20-25. Nice meetin ya again, man.

[DarkSkies]

Hope I got the name straight guys, I was writing notes faster than I can talk at the end, and can't read my own handwriting.

2 guys, Larry and Ralph. Members of the Asbury club, been doin it since 2004. Plug prices from $15-20. Nice meeeting you both.

[voyager35]

Dark, great pics! I really enjoy all the stories that go with them. It must take you hours to put them up in the threads. Thanks for all your hard work and bringing the show to us guys who could not go.

[DarkSkies]

Hey voyager, glad ya liked em. I do spend way too much time on those pics. Doing the shows is a chance for me to go places I might not otherwise be able to afford to go. Each show is like a mini vacation.

Meeting the builders, especially the older guys, is pretty cool too. We just buried a family member last week, every day I'm aware how short life is. I spend time on these pics as my way of documenting a small part of surf fishing history. I would give anything to have been able to fish 50 years ago, but I can't. So meeting a guy who has been fishing 50 years, and hearing him tell his fish stories, is the next best thing.

There's no guarantee any of us will be around tomorrow. I would rather honor some of these plugbuilding greats with a few admiring words and phrases.... than write paragraphs about them after they're gone, when they will no longer be able to hear our praises. OK, too much of the , so I'll stop. Seeing a lot of people pass away the last few years, in the fishing community, and in my life, has changed my outlook a bit. I'm glad to be able to say a few nice things here and there.

[buckethead]

Dark, sorry to hear about your family member. It is sad when we lose someone. You do a great job of eternally documenting the plug builders here. I am sure they all appreciate it just as much as we do. What is the next show you are attending?

[surfwalker]

Dark, nice coverage on the show, as usual, thanks. Sorry on your loss. You're right, life is too short, and the years go by too fast. Do the things you want to do now, don't wait.

[DarkSkies]

Buckethead, I should be at the RISSA show in April, a lot of the northeastern plugbuilders will be there. If you've never been there it's a great show, worth the trip.

Rhode Island has some of the most beautiful coastline along the East. If you wanted to take the family to that one, there are many fun things you guys could do before or after the show. Point Judith and other coastal areas are rich in maritime history and worth visiting.

I'll be hitting some of the local shows that are listed in the schedule here, long as Joe keeps payin for those fuel receipts. I like the smaller flea markets because you never know who you might meet there.

Do the things you want to do now, don't wait.

Thanks for the condolences, guys. Surfwalker, simply said, but profound, and good advice. I would add to that to visit the people you were meaning to visit, but were too busy to. There's no guarantee they'll be around when you decide you're less busy.

And if ya got something to say to someone, say it now. People always appreciate praise, kind words, and a sincere interest in how they're doing. They can't hear ya when they're dead.

[fishjay]

DarkSkies, great coverage of the show. I couldn't make it but your pictures made me feel like I was there.

See you on the beach soon

[DarkSkies]

The Asbury Park Club's show on Sun, March 14... It's without a doubt one of the most popular shows in the NJ/NY area. Builders from all over the country will be represented at that show.

If you only have the time or budget to hit one show this year, this is the one you shouldn't miss.

For anyone who's never gone before, it's craziness, pandemonium, meeting up with friends from afar, and some of the most well known builders of custom wood in the US.

It's definitely a trip, and something that should be seen and experienced by anyone who loves the surf.

[DarkSkies]

I'm putting this thread up ahead of time to give people advance notice to get to the show. If anyone goes and wants to report on it or has comments feel free to post them here.

[DarkSkies]

This is the show of all shows in the area when it comes to buying and seeing custom wood from builders all over the country, guys and gals. If you only have time to hit one show this year, this is the one.

Many of the new guys who've never been there start out like a kid at Christmas with so many presents he doesn't know which one to open first.

There's so much demand people start lining up at 1am the night before. In past years the line has stretched for a block long of hardcore plug junkies impatiently waiting for their chance to be one of the first at their table of choice.

Some others will come in after the show opens, take a liesurely stroll around, buy some hard to get plugs, browse the selection of vintage plugs for sale, and catch up on missed news by meeting some old friends who show up there every year.

The point is, is that this show fills different needs for different people. It's not only a place to buy, but also to see folks you haven't seen, or ones who live in other states. This show brings people from many states together as a first rite, a spring ritual if you will, signifying the start of a new surf season.

[DarkSkies]

For the first timers, here's the report and pics from last year.

[DarkSkies]

So many people know the members in Asbury, but I wondered how many know the history. They have a rich and colorful one. Check it out...

http://asburyparkfishingclub.com/his...hing-Club.html

The History of the Asbury Park Fishing Club
(Adapted from an Article by Bill Feinberg)

- Over the years, many fishing clubs, like other organizations, have come upon the scene only to disappear after a short life. Yet a few have remained, seemingly gathering strength with the passage of time. One of the oldest of this latter group is the Asbury Park Fishing Club. Why does one club survive and prospers when so many others have died on the vine? A glance at the Asbury Club's background may provide a clue.

- In 1888, Colonel James A Bradley, founder of the City of Asbury Park, and nine of his friends formed an informal surf-fishing club. Bradley donated four rocking chairs and an old brass bell which were installed on the pier on the south end of Asbury Park. Whenever any of the club members caught a striper, the bell was rung-one chime for each pound of the fish's weight. The fame of the club spread quickly and it ranks soon swelled. By 1890, it took the official name of Monmouth County Protective Association and adopted as it purpose "to prevent the useless waste of fish and to assist in the breeding of game fish."

Owing to the steady increase in its membership, the Club found it necessary to move its home to increasingly large quarters. In 1902, it changed it name to The Asbury Park Fishing Club, adopted a new constitution and a new purpose - "To protect saltwater game fish, to create good fellowship and to promote the interest of anglers." The objectives continue to guide the Club even to the present time and still appear in the constitution.

In 1913, the Club membership number 350. In the years from 1919 to 1930, more than 200 new members joined, bringing the enrollment to almost 552. This figure increased to almost 650 by 1925. Sine then the numbers have ebbed and flowed and at present time about 200 members are on the roster.

[DarkSkies]

One of the Club's sources of strength, in addition to its purpose, was the fact that its membership was always open to sportsmen "of good moral character," and it was an early melting pot of rich and poor, illustrious and unknown. All had one quality in common - their love of the sea and saltwater angling.

Over the years, certain names did stand out among the others on the membership list. This would include Hartie I. Phillips, writer of renown; Joseph Cawthorn, describe as "one of America's leading actors"; Christian W. Feigenspan, owner of Feigenspan Breweries of Newark, Ezra A. Fitch, cofounder of Abercrombie and Fitch; A.C. Steinbach, department store magnate; J. Lyle Kinmouth, organizer of the Asbury Park Press; A.F. Meisselback, manufacturer of the well known Meisselback fishing reels; A. E Griffith, manufacturer of the Griffith Piano; and Van Campen Heilner, renowned outdoor writer and editor of Field and Stream, to mention only a few.

- Starting early in the lifetime of their Club, the men from Asbury have accounted for their share of record fish. These would include a 63-pound channel bass caught in 1909 by Joe Cawthorn breaking the New Jersey high mark; a 286-pound bluefin tuna caught by Jacob Wirtheim in 1915 which toppled another Jersey record, only to be surpassed by fellow member Christian Feigenspan in 1923 with a work record bluefin of 407 pounds; a 55-pound striped bass caught by Frank Henes in 1913 topped another New Jersey Record only to be beaten by Club member Abe Flavell with a 58-pound 3 oz fish the following year. More recently, Club member Barry Goldman captured the world's record for Altantic Bonito in the 20-pound-line class with a fish caught in 1978.

The list could go on and would include such exotic as sharks taken from the New Jersey beaches and weighing hundreds of pounds. In addition, the Club has actively participated in fishing and casting tournaments capturing many prizes and honor. In the R. J. Schaeffer Saltwater Fishing Tournament, the Asbury Park Fishing Club took first place in New Jersey and stood among the upper five clubs overall for many years running.

- Of all the activities, however, none have more significant to the Asbury Club than those promoting its purpose to "protect saltwater game fish and... to promote the interest of anglers.". As part of these charges, it became an active charter member in such organizations as the Association of Surf Angling Clubs, the Izaak Walton League of America, and the New Jersey Fish and Game Conservation League. Its members fought successfully to make striped bass a game fish in New Jersey.

It has waged an ongoing fight against pollution, and it efforts in that area were recognized as early as 1922 by President Warren Harding who, in writing to the Club, said " I do wish you to be assured of my keen interest in behalf of the effort you organization is putting forth, for I regard it as of very great importance to the whole nation and of course, particularly to those section of the Coast line and tidewater country in which industrial development has been particularly extensive. Your organization, I am informed, has been able to develop a public understanding of these problems and has given very helpful consideration to the matter of methods in approaching that solution." Club member have occupied numerous fishery positions including membership on the International Convention for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, the Governor's Marine Fisheries Advisory Council, state and federal boards, and the like.

[DarkSkies]

In summary, a strong diverse membership, a reason for existing other than for pleasure alone, and action participation in the sport of fishing, and service in the cause of the environment have undoubtedly combined to keep the spirit of comradeship alive among the successive generations of Asbury fishermen for over a century. Fishing is still, as always, the common bond.

Today, just as in the past, the love of their sport and their ties to one another are important parts of the lives of the members of the Asbury Park Club. Perhaps their sentiments were best summed up by member Bob Inch, who some years before his death in earlier in the 1900s penned the flowing lines.

When our fishing days are over,
And we lay our rod aside,
And we bow our heads to meet Old Father Time,
Of all the things we ever did,
We never shall forget
Those fighting fish that hung upon our line.