NJ shore Memories and Old-time fishermen from the past...

[DarkSkies]

Asbury got taken over by the alternate lifestylers who couldn't afford Ocean Grove, Dark. Who remembers the Long Branch fishing pier, and frostfish whiting in November?

I decided to add another dimension to this thread. During the last few days I've met so many old timers and got to listen to them reminiscing how things used to be. In many instances what they are relating is new to me. I soak it up like a sponge, I really enjoy it.

So I'll periodically be putting up snapshots of some old time fishermen in this thread along with some cool fishing stories.

Some of them will be well-known, others maybe you never heard of them. I can promise you I will try to get the funniest or most unusual stories from them, in my usual folksy style.

I hope you people enjoy it. If you have any older fishing friends or relatives you feel should be featured here in this thread, feel free to PM me or e-mail me and I'll see what I can do.

[DarkSkies]

Met these 2 characters today in Point Pleasant. They had stories from fishin that pier you wouldn't believe!





I was honored to hear their fishing stories and how things were 40 years ago. I'll fill this post and the pics in when I can. In the meantime, here's a fishing nugget:

What was the biggest crab ever caught in NJ?

22", claw to claw (that's how they measured em back then), caught by Louie, in the 1950's.
The story - he caught it in the bay around 1955. It was the largest crab anyone had ever seen. Instead of eating it, Louie kept it in his freezer. Whenever anyone asked him about that crab, he would pull it out of the freezer and show it to them.

When they first told me this story, it seemed hard to believe. Then I realized the "claw to claw" thing, and I'm thinking this crab could have been at least 12" across the shell, or bigger, for it to "tape out" at 22". No matter how you look at it, that was an impressive crab, and could have been a record if he documented it back then.

Current NJ record crab:
Crab, blue8 1/2"pt.to pt1995William DoolManahawkin

Thr "world record" crab was caught in Va, and is around 11".


Long Branch cast of characters from the LB fishing pier:
Little Johnny
Shop Rite Eddie
Matty
Cigar Tony
Eddie the Hammer

[DarkSkies]

Frank (brown sheatshirt) and Louie (blue sweatshirt) have been fishin buddies for 14 years. They both used to fish the Long Branch Pier back 40 years ago, but didn't know each other then.

Some of the stories, as related by Frank and Louie:
The LB fishing pier used to have a chum machine ladling out chum. The fishing there was fantastic!

Frank used to catch buckets of whiting there on squid and clams.
He remembers one day of a "fluke blitz" where they caught fluke up to 5#, from 8-11:30am, at the end of the summer.

His advice:
"Listen to the old-timers, they know stuff! They taught me a lot when I was in my 20's, and that's how I learned to catch fish! "

Advice from Louie:
"Be patient and remember what you caught the big one on!
In 2007, Louie caught a 26 1/2" fluke in the PP inlet, and he was known as the "fluke king" for the rest of the year.

It was great meeting you guys. Listen to the old-timers, they know.

[surfwalker]

-Throwing out a bunker head on a handline, dragging it in and scooping up some nice crabs. Later to be seasoned and tossed into a pot of sauce.
-Walking up to a back bay bridge on the outgoing and drifting a fresh spearing (just siened) and picking up little blues with a Garcia rod and reel.
-Riding a bicycle to the inlet and catching all the blowfish you could imagine.
-Wading in the back bay waters, feeling for clams with your feet and have some one dive under and grab them.
-Catching tinker mackerel under the lights of a nearby dock, and having Moms bread them and fry them up like french fries.


Good clean fun- enjoyed and remembered with lasting impressions- the foundation.

Happy Trails

[Pebbles]

My parents loved going to Atlantic City when I was a kid. I came across this old photo from the 50's. It shows the crowd of yesteryear, before the casino's took over.

[jigfreak]

One of the reasons I enjoy fishing is I get to listen to the old timers. They tell great stories of yesteryear. They can recall things from how it used to be to their great catch. They are filled with pride. We should all take more time to listen.

[Shorelady]

Thought you might enjoy these. Quality of photo is not great, but fishing in your suit and tie?
I hope the photos attached, properly...









**********************
Shorelady, the pics attached great! Thanks for posting them. Welcome to StripersandAnglers.

I took the liberty of doing research about Seger's Sporting goods, and posted the 3 pieces you see below the 2 you posted. Was this someone in your family?








SOURCE:
History of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume 3, pg 242
By Lewis Historical Publishing Co

[madcaster]

Old timers ……I moved here in 1999 from the SF bay area. I have been fishing since I was a kid. Now I only live 3 miles from the bay in Keyport, so spring of 2000 I unpack the surf rod (which I found in a junk yard in Calif.) and slap on the old Dam quick 550 my father handed down to me. I drive down to the Grocery store where they sell bait. Pick up some bunker, which I never seen before. So I head down to the bay and rig up some bunker chunks and cast it out. This was early March when the bay is full of blue fish and I don’t know what blue fish are .(there are no bluefish on the west coast) I was the only one fishing in this spot and there was an old guy sitting in a station wagon next to me. Two minutes later my pole is bent over and I picked up the pole and set the hook and the line breaks. So I bring it in and the hook is bit off. So I pull out another hook (that as mono leader on it) cast out and 1 min later …same thing happens. I can figure out what’s going on. As I start setting up again, the old timer in the station wagon gets out and slowly walks towards me. He reaches out his hand and hands me a hook with a wire leader on. He says son you’re going to need this. So he tells me there blue fish and they have sharp teeth and to be careful when you try to unhook one. So I thank him for the hook and he turned and walked away as quietly as he came. I tied it up and then hooked into one …the fight was on and I landed it and I was hooked on blues fishing . Landed four more after that.
That old timer saved the day for me.

[Monty]

Great thread, thank you for sharing.