Long Branch...back in time

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

As related by Finchaser:

Fishing Gear:
"We used to use "old lady" shopping carts, wheeling them out to the pier and customizing them for fishing. We used to use aluminum pans on top, bending the ears down, so we had our custom bait trays.

Sometimes it would get so cold the bait would freeze, and we would have to keep it in our pockets, or in bags against our chests.

Rods and reels:
I used to use a Dam quick 550 and a Harnell rod as the standard setup.

The guys who complain about how cold it is in today's world would not have lasted back then. We would fish in 20 degree and colder weather, and when the wind was blowing 40mph. As long as the fish were biting, we were out there.

When the weather was better, we would fish there all weekend. We would get there on a Friday after work, set up our gear and poles, sleep on the pier, and not leave until Sunday. That was fishing!"

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

As related by Finchaser:

LB pier in the 1960's:

"I started fishing that pier in the mid 1950's, maybe 1955.
The pier was owned by Freddy Sowul and his son Fred Jr, great guys. Mattie Sowul helped out as well. Dolly and Dottie worked for them selling bait and helping to clean the pier.

Contests
1. Fluke contest:
Every week they would give away a big B&W 19" TV for the biggest fluke (no color TVs back then!)
2. Whiting contest:
When the whiting were running, you could get 10 free passes to the pier for every 3 lb whiting caught.

There were also holes in the back of the pier. That was where if you couldn't afford a rod, you could fish there with a handline for 50c.

We used to fish in the front NE corner of the pier, we owned that place!




Whiting Season:
The fishing was incredible! We would fish 3 deep at the end of the pier, and not manage to tangle each other up. We could each catch 150-200 whiting apiece when the fishing was good. Nothing went to waste. We ate fish every day.

We used to use wax and cardboard milk boxes to keep the fillets, packing the fillets in, letting them freeze, covering with a layer of plastic, then the next layer of fish.

We were happy when they invented spackle buckets in the 70's, because it made it a lot easier to hold the fish. One spackle bucket could hold 50 whiting fillets.

When we got a lot of whiting, we would run them over to Leonardo. There was a smoker there who would trade us. For every 2 whiting we gave him, we got 1 smoked one back. The fresh smoked whiting were incredible."

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

As related by Finchaser:


Long Branch in the 1970s to 1980's:

"Those were great times. Most of the Long Branch amusement area was owned by Carmen Ricci, who with his business partner Pat Cicalese owned the Haunted Mansion, and Carmen's Pizza, great pizza.

The Sowul family, Freddy Sr and Jr, owned the fishing pier for most of that time. The day to day operations, selling bait, cleanup, etc, were run by a Matty Sowul, a very nice woman.

Dolly and her sister Dottie worked for them. They were great women and always made us feel welcome.

in 1979 they sold to the Ricci/Cicalese partnership.



Some of the highlights:
Blue Dolphin:
Go go bar across the street. We used to go in there and drink whenever the fishin was slow, or we had frostbite from being on the pier for hours in 20 degree temps, and had to warm up with a little liquid refreshment.

I even remember when the original restaurant was at the front of the pier before a hurricane took it out.



Parking lot:
Across the street from the Long Branch pier. Owned by a woman, very nice. She deeded it to the city in her will, to only be used as a parking lot. The mayor back then found a loophole and sold it to developers who built the Hilton in the 80's. I remember there was a problem with that hotel, it had lopsided walls."

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

As told by Finchaser:

Words of wisdom from old timers:

"I am who I am in the fishing world today because of Charlie"

"He was an older Polish guy who took a liking to me. He would pick me up every Fri after he got out of work, and take me fishing. I fished with him from when I was 12 years old until the day he died.

I learned a lot from him. One time I was trying like heck to catch whiting, while he was getting them on every 2nd or 3rd cast.

After seeing how frustrated I was, he finally explained his technique."

"It's the little things that get 10% of fishermen 90% of the fish"

He was tapping the line with his finger, ever so slightly, as he reeled in. This extra movement was what was needed to get the whiting to hit his bait more often than anyone else's. That guy could catch fish after fish!

About Charlie:
He lived in Garfield, and installed non-skid strips on the stairs in schools for a living. His wife made great Polish food, which he brought to the pier and shared with me. Everybody loved him down there.

One of his favorite sayings was "Yak sie chojesz?" pronounced "Yach-she-mash" which means "How are you doing?"

He referred to me as "The Kid". Everybody saw us together so much, they thought I was his son. My Dad Angelo used to fish with us sometimes as well. We all had great times together.

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

As related by Finchaser and Joe Melillo:


Cast of characters:

"In addition to me and the guys from the LB fishing club, there were others:

The old timers:
These were the "older" guys when we started fishing there. We got to be fast friends, and they taught us a lot. Some of the ones I remember most clearly...

1. Reggie - Reggie was 7' tall, and used to spend weekends there with his wife Doris. She had a recipe for steamed fluke that was out of this world. They used to share the cooked fluke with us.

2. 3 fingers Pete - he was a regular, great fisherman. He had 3 fingers on one hand.

3. Cooper - he fished and hung with 3 fingers Pete.

4. Chet - an older guy, spent all weekend at the pier.



Rest of the characters:

Dominick Digirolamo - he caught a shark one time, around 60#. It took 5 of us to drag it up to the pier railing. What we used to get the big fish up at that time was like the "kid's pitchback" baseball backdrop people used to have in their backyard. It had a few ropes and a chain attached, and could hold almost any fish, even the shark. Well, we got that shark to the bottom of the rail, gave it one last heave, flipped it over, and almost fell on our aZZes! We all had a great time laughing over that.


Dolly and her sister Dottie - who used to clean the place up after we left. They ran a tight ship, were knowledgable, and always treated us guys well.

and the rest of us, Joe Melillo; his son; Me; my Dad Angelo sometimes; my son; Charlie my fishing mentor; Mark Ballocco; Gary and Brian Burda; and a few other diehard fish nuts like us! "

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

More Recollections, as told by Joe Melillo;

"I spent most of my younger life at that pier. Every weekend, and all summer, I was there, along with the rest of the guys, fishing until we dropped. The best times! "


Most unusual fish:

"I hooked a humpback whale one time while whiting fishing. The whale came in to feed on the whiting and had been meandering around the pilings. All of a sudden the whale shot out, snagged my line, and stripped my reel in a matter of 15 seconds!

That whale was about 25' long, and it did whatever it wanted to do. It hung around the pier for 3 days. I remember no one could catch anything while that whale was there. We were happy when it finally left!"

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

As related by Finchaser, and Joe Melillo:

Eventually the Long Branch fishing club had served it's purpose. We were patrons of the old Stevens Bait and Tackle in Long Branch, at the time in the 70's owned and run by Joe Le Presti.

Joe Le Presti was a great guy, a true gentleman, and an avid fishermen. He had the brilliant idea of assembling the best of the best surfcasters who came in his shop. We created a new club called Steven's Surfsters.

There were 39 of us in that club, which included Joe Melillo, me, and 37 of the best surfcasters we knew.

We started to enter fishing tournaments against other clubs. I don't want to brag, but we dominated the tourneys. We really kicked butt. But we put in long hard hours too. There were times when we went 2 or 3 nights with only a few hours sleep. We were committed to catching fish, and catching big fish.

I think it was during that time that I got my 50, and some other impressive fish that I kept. For the most part, as I got older, I started to see what was happening around me, to the point where I am now strictly a C&R fisherman. Of the hundreds of bass I catch every year, I keep maybe a few.

As for the history of the Surfsters, we continued to win plaques for awhile. They hung in Stevens B&T until Brian Zimmerman, the owner after Joe LePresti, had to give up the business because the landlord tripled his rent.

Eventually the Surfsters split up, with half of us joining Asbury, and the other half joining the Spring Lake Liveliners.

That was the point when Joe Melillo and I decided there was more to life than fishing non-stop. We wanted to make a difference for future generations.

We first got involved with the Spring Lake Liveliners when the town of __________ wanted to restrict our herring access. We marshalled all the fishing clubs together to fight that.

Then the issue arose where we were getting bullied by the out of state bunker netters. We decided to fight back, and realized we needed more than a fishing club.

We needed an organization that sounded bigger than it was, and that others would look to as a PAC. We needed politicians on our side, and we needed to push forward with some court cases if we were going to get anywhere.

Out of that need, arose the JCAA. We fought 11 long years to get those out of state bunker netters out of NJ waters. In the end it was worth it.

[fishinmission78]

That was a cool bunch of mini-stories, ds. Assuming you are putting in the pics at some point in the future, can't wait to see them. Now I understand the ogb part. Hats off to finchaser for all the work you guys did.

[clamchucker]

End of an era my friend, end of an era.

I too felt that way when the pier burned. In terms of todays dollars, you might need something like 20 million to put up a new pier by the time you got done with the approvals and infrastructure. That will never happen. The only standing local pier approaching that size is the one in Keansburg in the bay.

Finchaser, I remember when the JCAA was in the news with the bunker lawsuits. You folks did a tremendous job. Please accept my sincere thanks.

Dark, great job on the colorful and descriptive posts. I don't know where you get the energy.

[storminsteve]

How many people know that he, Joe Melillo, and a few other stubborn old farts were responsible for fighting to get the out of state bunker boats away from our bunker?
JCAA and bunker boats:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=5151

Did they do this in a few months? One year?

Hell no, they fought corrupt politicians, apathetic state officials, and the regulatory agencies for 11 years!

Yet I have never heard OGB or Joe Melillo brag about what they and JCAA members such as Tom Fote, Len Fantasia, Ron Sickler, and others did in the past, so that we have a future today!
JCAA history:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=5150

While other guys couldn't be bothered, or were content to "let Joe do it", there was a Joe, Ron, Bob, Tom, Len, and a few others from JCAA who, against formidable odds, and apathetic fellow fishermen, wouldn't give up until they gained some ground, marshalled the support of all the fishing clubs in the area, and got restrictions placed on the netters.

What is the significance of this, Dark?
Why are you preaching at us, why should we care what a bunch of grouchy old men did?

Because these guys were directly involved in the growth of the great NJ inshore trophy bass striped fishery we have today by getting those bunker boats removed.

I also ask when you see Fin post about the decline or lack of bass, take his words as gospel. He doesn't exaggerate, and his integrity is solid. This guy, and some others here and in the fishing world, have lived through the moratorium.

I didn't know this. A big thanks for all the work you and Joe Mellillo and the JCAA did, finchaser.