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

[bababooey]

I fished on the NormaKII with my grandfather. He liked to take me whiting fishing because it was fun and easy fish for a kid to catch. I think he also liked to have me around so I could carry the fish at the end of the day. I would love to be able to go turn the clock one day and fish with gramps again. Great times, brings me back, thanks.

[DarkSkies]

As related by Finchaser:


Fishing on the party boats, NJ and LI:

NJ fishing:
"We fished on the fastest of the NJ party boats at that time in the 60's and early 70's, the Superspray.
And the Buccaneer, which was later declared unfit for commercial use and sank at the dock.

There were no "heated handrails" back then. You suffered, and didn't complain about it.

Miss TakeII - first jigging trip.
Capt Whitey Morenz brought us as guinea pigs on his first jigging trip - before that they always used bait for bass and blues. He was trying out these new metal jigs, which later came to be known as diamond jigs or Avas.

We were the first fishermen in NJ to use those jigs, and also the "Bingle bananas"

Also went on Bogan's boats, have been fishing on Bogan's boats for 55 years.

Codfish in NJ:
Codfish used to be plentiful in NJ until the commercial draggers wiped them out. We used to catch them at the 1 mile marker out of Point Pleasant, Cholera Banks, Klondike, and Manasquan Ridge. No need to go to the 30 mile wrecks, as soon as it got cold, they were out there.

My father took me on a codfish trip in Feb when I was 6 years old. If I said something about how cold it was, he said:
'You want to be a man, don't ***** about the cold!' "

[plugcrazy]

Here's a pic of Capt. Morenz

[cracklepopper]

Historic Mantoloking pics. I can't imagine living at a time when the streets were unpaved like this.
http://www.jerseyshorevacation.com/M...kingImages.htm

[paco33]

barnegat and old beach pics

[skinner]

The ultimate beach buggy, back before they had air conditioning. Thanks for posting that.

[DarkSkies]

Captain Colvin's B&T was one of those places where you would go after a hard night's fishin. All the old salts would be there warming their cold fingers up.....warming their toes....comparing notes...and tellling fish stories and tall fish tales.

It was a great place to be while it was there. All sorts of fishermen passed through his doors, some famous, some not so famous.

I found this article on the NJBBA site.
http://www.njbba.org/i/newsletters/07May.pdf


We also have a promotional thread telling you about them and what a NJBBA membership offers.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...read.php?t=643


Read the story, and visit their site as well. They could always use a few good members, and will be at most of the major shows this Spring.

Cap Colvins Bait and Tackle Shop, Seaside Park


Pencil Popper – The Beginning
By: Bob Lick

Today any caster and
cranker worth his salt likely
has at least one Pencil Popper
in his plug bag. To my
knowledge, I am the first
person to ever cast a Pencil
Popper in Jersey waters. Let
me explain.

During the late 1950’s I
kept my old 1929 Model A
Ford beach buggy behind
Cap Colvin’s Bait and Tackle
Shop in Seaside Park. Cap’s
was considered headquarters
by many in the Seaside
area.

As I was only twenty
years old I was a less experienced
“regular.” In those
years Barnegat Bay would
often come alive with bass
from late April into early
June. Bucktails were the
primary lure used until the
original Rebel plug hit the
scene.

Despite their easily straightened
hooks the Rebel, along
with the bucktail, became
S.O.P. on the flats behind
Island Beach where I would
fish in a 14 foot plywood hull
skiff.

One day, after fishing a slow
morning session, my partner
Hal and I returned to Cap’s
for a late breakfast and to
bemoan the slow fishing.

While we were engaged in
“regular talk” a large man
walked through the door. No
one in attendance knew the
gentleman except Cap who
greeted him warmly. Cap
then introduced his
“regulars” to Stan Gibbs.

Since a very early age, I had
been reading my Dad’s copies
of Saltwater Sportsman
from almost issue number 1,
so my brain went, “Wow, Stan
Gibbs!”

Stan was on a sort of plug
marketing visit to Cap’s. After
general fishing conversation
he pulled out a funny looking
plug he said he was developing.
It was white, skinny, and
about 5-6 inches long. He
said he was thinking of calling
it a “Pencil Popper.”

Stan went on to explain you
could only work the plug correctly
if tied directly to the
line and you were able to pat
the top of your head and rub
your belly at the same time.
His instructions were to whip
the rod tip rapidly while reeling
slowly.

What happened next is one
of the highlights of my fishing
life. Stan held out his prototype
lure and gave it to me.
Why he chose me, I’ll never
know. Maybe he felt like helping
a young guy out.

Later that day Hal and I
were again on the water casting
the normal bucktails and
Rebels, again without much
success.

I got the idea to
experiment with the “Pencil
Popper.” You wouldn’t believe
what happened. On almost
every cast I had bass attacking
the lure while Hal went
fishless using the normal
offerings.

Feeling sorry for
him, I let him use the lure
after I had quickly caught my
limit of ten. He proceeded to
limit out.

Seeing our action a
Seaside Park resident friend
motored near us and hollered
over, “Bob, what the
hell are you using?” I responded,
“Pencil Popper.”

His response was, “What the
hell is a “Pencil Popper?”

From that day on my nickname
among the gang was
“Pencil Popping Bob” which
lasted a long time. We would
joke: “if you put a Pencil
Popper in Barnegat Bay the
bass would come from
Sandy Hook to jump on it.”

Stan Gibbs and I stayed in
contact via phone reporting
on each others fishing successes,
or lack thereof.

Years later he loved to hear
me tell him of some of my
great wet suiting nights in
Montauk using his Darters or
Bottle Plugs. Stan was a fine
gentleman, and I describe
him thus: “If you don’t like
Stan Gibbs, you don’t like
anybody.”
I consider myself fortunate
to have known him.