Sandy Hook access?

[storminsteve]

I second what buckethead says Mike. Sandy Hook has had some great fishing nights for me. Will really miss fishing there. Like you said have to move on. But it was always a safe place. Will really miss that part of it, and the nights where I got dozens of fish when the bite was good.

[finchaser]

My neighbor works for the water company there and was asked to relocate to another federal loaction as it may never reopen at all since it was on NObama's closure list before the storm

[porgy75]

I like that - nobama.
No change, except for the change you hear jingling in your pockets cause you are broke and the economy is down.
No love for fishermen.
No breaks for corporations especially the small businesses, Small businesses are the backbone of this country and the obama administration wants them all to pay for health care. And that is the only thing that obama has said yes to, the forcing small people to pay for health care costs for all, even the immigrants. And throwing and wasting money at the bailouts that did not work, like the insurance companies, and that solar energy company. People should have voted no to obama this last november. The novelty of having a black president is over. Now it's time to judge the guy on his record, And his record stinks. He will probably bankrupt america before his term is over. Just my opinion.

[hookset]

We are a passive society. The best fare on TV now is vicariously watching the lives of others. People complain about MTV and Snookie type shows but the ratings say that is what people want. So the same for Obama. He will go down as one of the worst presidents in history. US voters still are not voting in numbers to show any of them really care. Look at the % of voters who actually vote in an election. Then go to other countries where they have shed bloodshed to get elections going. See that the voter turnout is closer to 100% over there.

As for Sandy hook, it will be missed. I hope we can fish there again some day. The structure, and the coves, held bait for many times during the season. The point was for migrators but the coves and bays leading to the channel held resident fish every year. Will be bummed out until they open it again. Like Mike said you have to move on and find other places.

[GeoffT]

I'm not sure how safe the tip of the Hook actually is. Every time I take the long walk, I feel the hair on my neck standing up. And I feel like I'm being watched, especially when I go alone. Rumors have it there's a lady ghost haunting the trails leading to the rips.

[buckethead]

My neighbor works for the water company there and was asked to relocate to another federal loaction as it may never reopen at all since it was on NObama's closure list before the storm

That's gonna suck.

[Mike O]

All you politico's out there are delusional if you think that Sandyhook will never open again. It has to much to offer for the residents of NJ and elsewhere. How many people that enjoy the beach there in the summer months are going to want to pay 8$ a person to get on the beach like Belmar. If my math is correct that would be 24$ for a family of 4 not counting parking. And lets not forget all the "don'ts" on those beaches. No fishing, no food on the beach, no alcoholic beverages, no radio's and anything else they can think of. What about if you want to go on the beach wearing nothing but your balls, try that on any other beach in the state and they will hang you with them. I think the biggest point here is let's keep politics out of it, no one man can be responsible IF and I say IF something like that happens. And I'm pretty sure that it won't. Just my 2 cents.

[Monty]

I can't believe they would close the Hook for good. I could accept them saying it would reopen in 2014, but if they say they are closing it indefinitely I would be extremely disgusted.
Fishing is very important to me, the Hook is somewhere I have been able to go and always find solitude and water that I truly enjoy fishing.
I have so many great memories fishing there, I would be furious if they closed it permanently.
I fished the Sunday morning of the storm there. Entered the Park at 1:30 AM and was told they are closing the park at 5:00 AM and I need to be out of there by then. Went to the False Rip, 4 guys there, went past them fished for a while. Water was like a washing machine, white water, waves and some wind. The guys left around 2:30, I was alone out there and enjoying the fishing solitude. Had a solid hit Speedy's BD swimmer (cracked the plug), missed it. Then at 3:45 I caught a 32 inch Gator on an Afterhours Danny. That was it, finished fishing around 4:30, was out of the park at 5:15. For me this was a fun enjoyable fishing trip. Not a lot of fish or even a lot of action. But I got lost in the pursuit of trying to catch fish for a few hours, nothing on my mind but fishing, having fun in the wind, white water and crazy current that morning.
If they close the Hook permanently I'll fish elsewhere, but my opinion on a lot of things in this country would change big time. The Hook is an extremely important place for me. Its my favorite place.

[surfwalker]

Like Mike O, I started doing the Hook steady in the ‘80s. He and Monty reflect on good memories from that area. I also have good (sometimes great) memories from my walks there. Each step I take there now reminds me of an earlier time, an event, an experience, a learning lesson that keeps me entertained on those hitless/fishless hours.

Remembering how at B-lot you could park 15 feet from a rock wall, cast to blues that had pinned baitfish between 2 jetties. Then they filled it in with sand.

The fishable cove that was between C-lot and the bathing beach.

Stopping at the Ranger Station to get a monthly night pass hangtag-that was free.

The present sign that says Fishing Beach used to state Fishing Beach ONLY.

The parking lot at the end of the road at F-lot and an old timer who checked your car to see if you were really gonna fish, if not, then he would tell you to move on.

The old parking lot at North Beach where the concession stands are now.

Resting in my car after walking all over on the ocean side and watching the old timers come back at 7am and pull the pop tops off can after can of beer. Listening to their stories and techniques, while I pretended to be asleep. I don’t know if they liked plugging or just loved the beer more. I kept my distance, they were to be watched at the wetline, not pestered.

Close the Park down? I don’t know, they do what they want. But I do plan on making some new memories at some of those beaches in the future.

Maybe not as frequent as once, the time isn’t there (and maybe the Hook won’t be either).

[storminsteve]

I could accept them saying it would reopen in 2014, but if they say they are closing it indefinitely I would be extremely disgusted.
Fishing is very important to me, the Hook is somewhere I have been able to go and always find solitude and water that I truly enjoy fishing.
I have so many great memories fishing there, I would be furious if they closed it permanently.
The Hook is an extremely important place for me. Its my favorite place.

Like Mike O, I started doing the Hook steady in the ‘80s. He and Monty reflect on good memories from that area. I also have good (sometimes great) memories from my walks there. Each step I take there now reminds me of an earlier time, an event, an experience, a learning lesson that keeps me entertained on those hitless/fishless hours.

Remembering how at B-lot you could park 15 feet from a rock wall, cast to blues that had pinned baitfish between 2 jetties. Then they filled it in with sand.

The fishable cove that was between C-lot and the bathing beach.

Stopping at the Ranger Station to get a monthly night pass hangtag-that was free.

The present sign that says Fishing Beach used to state Fishing Beach ONLY.

The parking lot at the end of the road at F-lot and an old timer who checked your car to see if you were really gonna fish, if not, then he would tell you to move on.

The old parking lot at North Beach where the concession stands are now.

Resting in my car after walking all over on the ocean side and watching the old timers come back at 7am and pull the pop tops off can after can of beer. Listening to their stories and techniques, while I pretended to be asleep. I don’t know if they liked plugging or just loved the beer more. I kept my distance, they were to be watched at the wetline, not pestered.

Close the Park down? I don’t know, they do what they want. But I do plan on making some new memories at some of those beaches in the future.

Maybe not as frequent as once, the time isn’t there (and maybe the Hook won’t be either).

I agree 200% with what you both said. Monty I had some awesome nights out there. Lots of fat guys don't want to make the walk. Those are the ones that hang at Island Beach. It really does keep you in shape. The fishing back in 2010 in spring and fall was fantastic too, one of my best seasons overall. would surely be crabby if they closed it.

Surfwalker thank for sharing that. I gather that you are older than me, those memories seem like they transcend a few decades. It must have been awesome to be able to fish it during those times. Did you fish the Sea Bright wall as well?

[vpass]

I think they were talking about closing the NOAA Lab, I can't find anything referencing the closure of the HOOK. I hope it no so. If it is I might start smoking that medical marijuana. It funny how they attempt to take all our access then they want to Medicate us.

[bababooey]

What about if you want to go on the beach wearing nothing but your balls, try that on any other beach in the state and they will hang you with them. Just my 2 cents.

Quote of the week!

[Mike O]

You guys are right on with everthing you say. The old concession stand at North beach. I use to park there and walk all the way out to the original "Rip". Can't tell you how many bluefish blitzes I've had out there. When I was feeling a little lazy I would sometimes walk the trail everyone uses now to get to the old rip, the water back then came right up to the end of the trail. It was usually dead water there, but sometimes I got lucky and caught a couple of small blues there. Back then bass were few and far in between, but there were always bluefish around, although I was out there one time a saw a guy land a 54lb bass on a redfin. That fish had a head the size of a beer keg! It was a long tough walk back for him with that fish, but one I'm sure any of us would have made. I'm confident that I will be fishing there again before my ashes are sprinkled out there like I once asked my son to do when the time comes. I could not think of a better final resting place. I really love that place.

[hookset]

the water back then came right up to the end of the trail. It was usually dead water there, but sometimes I got lucky and caught a couple of small blues there.

Do you remember when there was a salt water pond back there near the rip? This was about 15 years ago. God I love that place too.

[paco33]

Good advice mike, thanks!

there were some meetings this week

The National Park Service will hold 2 days of meetings, Wednesday, January 23rd and Thursday, January 24 at the Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch, NJ.
These meetings are open to the public.
The 20 member committee will provide recommendations for the reuse of 38 historic buildings at Fort Hancock.
Please note: Wednesday morning the committee will be on site at Fort Hancock. The public is invited to attend at 1:45 Wednesday with public comment at 4 PM; on Thursday meetings will be open from 8:30 to 5:30 with public comment at 2:00PM.

For more information visit:
www.nps.gov/gate
All information can be viewed by clicking on
Fort Hancock 21st Century.

[cowherder]

It was also reported in the APP

http://www.app.com/article/20130123/...nclick_check=1

[finchaser]

Bye Bye this was on Nobama's MPA to close 2 years ago my neighbor who works for the water company( Federal) there with others were all asked to relocate to galloway township after sandy because the end is near.

[buckethead]

This was in www.NJ.com today

the NPS said it would be some time before the beaches there open. I don't see them being open for spring. It's going to take more than that to put everything back together. jmo


SEA BRIGHT — A dredge working off of the New Jersey coastline has pulled up a load it couldn’t handle.

A piece of unexploded ordnance was found in muck sucked from the ocean floor onto the "Dodge Island," a 266-foot-long hopper dredge as the crew was finishing a day’s work, officials said.

After the find about 4 p.m. the ship was ordered to stay put about a mile off Sea Bright, by the Coast Guard who cited the explosives hazard and rough seas, officials said.

A federal explosives ordnance disposal team was being sent to the scene, officials said.

The explosive has not been identified, but "DOD (Department of Defense) says it’s something to be concerned with, and until (they arrive) we are taking the appropriate cautions based on the size of the shell and the unknown hazard," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Fannie Wilks.

Wilks would not describe the shell.

The disposal team from nearby Naval Weapons Station Earle will evaluate the ordnance, she said. Also, she said, a Coast Guard team from Sandy Hook had evacuated most of the 17 people on board and then set up a safety perimeter around the vessel.

Bombs, artillery shells, and other types of ordnance from World Wars I and II are pulled from the waters around Sandy Hook about three or four times a year, Wilks said.

Recently a fisherman pulled up a cluster of eight unexploded grenades, which he delivered to the Navy at Middletown, she said.

Before Sandy Hook was a named part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, with everything from a nude beach to nature paths, it was used as a target range in testing ordnance for the Army before World War II, said a spokesman for Naval Weapons Station Earle.

Ordnance gone astray would often land without exploding, said spokesman Mike Brady, and was covered by shifting sands on the ocean floor.

Brady believes the explosive found off Sea Bright will likely be one of those unexploded shells from the range, he said.

Hurricane Sandy, in addition to reshaping large swaths of New Jersey landscape, has also likely restructured the land underwater, he said.

"I’m sure the storm kicked up a lot more (ordnance) that had been around," said Brady. "This is our first call since after the storm. I wouldn’t be surprised if we start getting more."

[ledhead36]

Might take a long while to put things back together. Things will be a mite crowded this spring.

www.nj.com
Sandy Hook getting $3.5 million to repair roads






Sand dumped by Hurricane Sandy covers the entrance to the parking lot of the Seagulls' Nest restaurant. Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger
Sandy Hook is getting $3.5 million for repairs to the roads inside the popular national park in the first round of transportation funding released from the federal Hurricane Sandy aid package

U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez (both D-NJ) announced the allocation today as part of $4.75 million provided through the Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Another $1.25 million goes to repairing roads in the Edwin B. Forsyth Wildlife Refuge in Atlantic County.

The funding is the first batch of federal transportation aid to go to Sandy Hook, which has been closed to the public since the hurricane inundated the sewerage plant, damaged underground pipes and ripped up large portions of the 7-mile multipurpose path there,

Park officials say they are trying to open Sandy Hook, which draws some 2 million visitors each year, in time for Memorial Day but noted the timing depends largely on how much money was earmarked in the Sandy aid package for repairs.

[storminsteve]

In the star ledger yesterday
Even if the access is limited if north beach is open I will be very happy.


Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger
A month after Hurricane Sandy struck, officials at Sandy Hook couldn't say if the popular ocean beaches there would even open this year.
Today, as crews continue cleaning up, officials said the goal is to reopen Sandy Hook which draws 2 million visitors each year this spring

A scaled-down version of the northern Monmouth County park should be open by Memorial Day, said Robert Hilton, executive director of the Jersey Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau. But the park may not have permanent restrooms or running water this season, he said.

Betsy Barrett, president of the Sandy Hook Foundation, said so far there are plans to open only three of the park's eight beaches: Beach B, North Beach and the clothing optional Gunnison Beach.

With fewer beaches open, the park will most likely have to limit the number of cars it can accommodate from about 5,000 vehicles to about 2,000 daily to avoid overcrowding, she said.

Barrett said the National Park Service, which operates Sandy Hook, may discuss with ferry operators making runs out of the Belford section of Middletown or Atlantic Highlands for New Jersey residents to reduce traffic going into the park.

Last year, ferries operated by Sea Streak and New York Waterway transported nearly 17,000 visitors to the park from Weehawken and New York City, she said.

This year is particularly important to have the park open, Barrett said, because many beach-goers may still have to avoid other hurricane-damaged beaches or they may be cash-strapped from their own storm repairs. At $20 a carload, Sandy Hook's entrance fee is still cheaper than other beaches for most families, she said.

"They?re going to be looking to Sandy Hook as their place for recreation that they never thought before," Barrett said. "It?s going to be a big deal this summer."

Pat Smith, a spokesman for New York Waterway, said, "We look forward to hearing from the National Park Service so that we can discuss possible ferry options."

Jay Cosgrove, an owner of Bahr's Landing in Highlands, said business took a slight hit since Sandy Hook has been closed. Normally, he would have had beach strollers, dog walkers, bike riders and other park users as customers these past few months, instead he?s served insurance adjusters, FEMA inspectors and volunteer beach sweepers.

He said he keeps his outside deck open only when Sandy Hook charges entrance fees from Memorial Day to Labor Day because of the crowds generated by the beaches.

"For me and our town, business is driven by Sandy Hook," said Cosgrove, whose restaurant is at the foot of the bridge across the Shrewsbury River from the park.