Party Boat In The River

[Billfish715]

It was not a very nice day on the ocean today (Monday). There was a party boat (Paramount I think) fishing in the Manasquan River today across from the doggie beach. I'm sure it was drifting in other spots as well, but that's where I saw it. It must have been a charter or a bunch of fishermen who just wanted to fish despite fishing only a stone's throw from the dock.

There were times when the Manasquan River was a very productive winter flounder fishery and the river was paved with party boats. That was mostly in the spring. It was just weird to see party boats from Point Pleasant and Brielle anchor at the edge of the channel near the golf course and just west of Bogan's dock.

I also remember a spring run of bluefish several years ago in the Manasquan Inlet that attracted party boats from Belmar, Point and Brielle to drift in the inlet with fishermen jigging for those "racer" blues.

For those of you who remember flounder fishing in the Shrewsbury River, I'm sure you have a few memories to share about that.

[Skolmann]

Gotta fish where the fish. Plenty of fluke in the river.

Made many winter flounder trips on party boats fishing the Shrewsbury. Bite was best around the slack tide. Used to “follow the slack” from The Quay (confluence of the Shrewsbury/Navesink to the sedge island up the Shrewsbury (or vice versa depending on the tide). The Miss Take II was flat bottomed and able to fish the shallower Navesink

[NJ219bands]

I had party boats fishing in Manasquan Inlet and Barnegat Inlet too close to me while I was catching early season bluefish on the north jetty. A guy on the Queen Mary caught my line while I was reeling in a bluefish, then the fish escaped.

[Tombro]

I remember flounder fishing on the Bulwark out of Waretown in the 70s. They chummed with corn.
Also the PBs at Rocky Point in the Shrewsbury/Navesink.
Finally, I recall being on the Big Mohawk in Shark River one spring day in the early 80s.

[june181901]

I recall boats from Brooklyn anchored opposite the Rum Runner in Sea Bright. I believe they were fishing the 'Major Bowes hole' named for the Amateur Hour host who had a home there.

[Billfish715]

Seeing a fleet of party boats in any of the historic flounder spots in any of the NJ rivers will all be images in our minds or in photographic evidence. The same plight that has affected our flounder fishing and fishery has also done the same to the flounder tommy cod fishing in Quincy , Massachusetts. Remember the bus rides to Quincy?

[Duffman]

Elaine B. Shoving off the dock and moving maybe 75 yards east towards the 11A for the incoming. Turn and move down to the 11 for the outgoing. Saint Paddies day was the kickoff. Stan Jr crushing mussels in a bucket with a baseball bat.

Painting sinkers yellow. Chestertown hooks. 35 MM camera roll canisters (remember those?) drilled out and filled with corn then attached to your line a foot above the hooks. Your own personal chum slick.

Jacks and also Franks rentals. Leaving the dock for the Sink with a giant chum pot, mussels, worms and not a PFD to be seen 😂

[Jigman13]

I still paint my sinkers yellows. And often make my own chum. And I'm only 39!

[John D.]

I recall boats from Brooklyn anchored opposite the Rum Runner in Sea Bright. I believe they were fishing the 'Major Bowes hole' named for the Amateur Hour host who had a home there.

You could fish the parking lot at Rum Rummler over the green fence and easily catch 30 fish in 3-4 hours fishing shoulder to shoulder with everyone else.

Marine Park in Red Bank used to be a great early March spot. I haven’t seen a fish caught there in over 35 years now and I still stop by there as I frequent Red Bank often.

[Billfish715]

Elaine B. Shoving off the dock and moving maybe 75 yards east towards the 11A for the incoming. Turn and move down to the 11 for the outgoing. Saint Paddies day was the kickoff. Stan Jr crushing mussels in a bucket with a baseball bat.

Painting sinkers yellow. Chestertown hooks. 35 MM camera roll canisters (remember those?) drilled out and filled with corn then attached to your line a foot above the hooks. Your own personal chum slick.

Jacks and also Franks rentals. Leaving the dock for the Sink with a giant chum pot, mussels, worms and not a PFD to be seen 😂

Great memories that will only be that………memories! It’s sad to know that today’s fishermen will never experience that fishery. Flounder also used to pour out of the rivers and bay and stack up “off the Cedars” down the
beach. They probably got scooped up along with the fluke that were just coming in. Fluke and flounder in the same area all to wind up in a trawl and into a co op or market.

[Tombro]

The Cedars also had a great ling fishery besides the flounder. It was the early 80s.
Flounder seem to be our ‘passenger pigeon’. Or was it whiting, or Boston mackerel…

[Billfish715]

The Cedars also had a great ling fishery besides the flounder. It was the early 80s.
Flounder seem to be our ‘passenger pigeon’. Or was it whiting, or Boston mackerel…

More like the canary in the coal mine.