September Fishing When

[Billfish715]

What a difference there is in the fishing now compared to "back in the day"! Who remembers?????............football Bluefins on the Klondike ( Who remembers the Klondike?), false albacore and skipjack tuna at the range buoys ( The what buoys?), Spanish Mackerel at the MI bell buoy, bonito and bluefish on Manasquan and Barnegate Ridges, at the Annex and Ole's, night blue fishing within sight of land. That's just the close in September fishing. We'll reminisce about the inshore ling and whiting and mackerel later. Did I mention the MudHole giant fishing?

[Joey Dah Fish]

It's those damn cormorants lol :eek:

[NoLimit]

In the 70's, we actually went from the Long Branch pier down to the surf one night and picked up "Frost Fish" right off the beach.

[Gerry Zagorski]

I've heard many stories from many different people on the Giants that were caught in the late 70s and early 80s in the Mudhole. Had the good fortune of talking to and fishing with Bob Pisano a few years back on a friends boat. Bob was one of the legends in this fishery and quite a character too. It's been said that he and his crew caught over 800 of them, one of which was over 1000 pounds.

[Billfish715]

In the 70's, we actually went from the Long Branch pier down to the surf one night and picked up "Frost Fish" right off the beach.

"Frostfish" AKA whiting were all over the inshore waters for a long time. Depression Era kids and adults would look forward to free food wherever and whenever possible since buying food was not often practical. Even during the rationing during WWII, people would go to the beach on freezing cold days and nights to gather whiting that became stranded on the sand as they chased sand eels into the wash. The cold temperatures out of the water stunned or froze them where they were collected for dinner. Hence the name "frostfish".

[Billfish715]

I've heard many stories from many different people on the Giants that were caught in the late 70s and early 80s in the Mudhole. Had the good fortune of talking to and fishing with Bob Pisano a few years back on a friends boat. Bob was one of the legends in this fishery and quite a character too. It's been said that he and his crew caught over 800 of them, one of which was over 1000 pounds.

800 is a stretch. The 1,000 pounder is for real. We fished for and caught a couple of 100+ pounders in our 19' Mako near the Oil Wreck in one short season. The giants would often feed on the whiting and ling out there. If you followed a trawler, the giants would come up to feed on the floaters that fell out of the nets much like the yellowfins do to the squid farther offshore. Drop a bait back and it was "fish on".

[AndyS]

.......and the Bingle Banana was the hot lure for Bluefish :)

[bunker dunker]

from august right thru October we would jig footballs at the Klondike on 6 oz
Bridgeport diamond jigs.i worked weekends on a pb out of pp.we would fish bluefish and would see those Bluefin just about every day.how about the "magic' hours trip between the channels when all you needed was a hand full of different colored Nordic eels and would come home with 10lb weaks,stripers,blues,fluke and sea bass.ling fish on the Mantoloking pipe. going striper fishing when it was 18" min and 10 fish per person and being back to the dock by 11:30am.

[Billfish715]

The millennials have no idea about what we are saying. Schupp's rowboats/skiffs tied up to the old RR.pilings fishing for 18" stripers next to the Highlands Bridge. Who remembers "jelly worms" for weakfish? How about " tiger tails" for them too? Did anyone ever fish for winter flounder in the Shrewsbury by the Quay or off the bulkheads by the SR marina? The Manasquan used to be lined with party boats in the spring fishing for flounder from just west of Bogan's to the Mantoloking Bridge. Who uses " nylons" or Pet Spoons to troll for bluefish anymore? Did anyone ever buy bunkers from the pound net fishermen in Raritan or Sandy Hook Bays? Shall I start on the MudHole/ Little Italy yellowfin tuna run?

[Billfish715]

Sorry for stirring up memories but there are some of us old guys on here who might appreciate looking back. Who would have ever thought there could be any other reels than those made by Penn? 155's, Squidders, 500 jigmasters, non skirted spinning spools........

[Short Cast]

And don't forget the bamboo poles we used.

[dfish28]

What about using coat hangers for double or triple flounder rigs..

[gypsy]

You mean Penn makes reels other than the Squidder?? I have 2 from the early 60's that were my dad's in mint condition and still fish with them, liked the jig master for the faster reterive. Long Branch Pier, fond memories, out there freezing my butt off with my father and uncle fishing all night for whiting, ling?? They were thrown back, monk fish? Nobody wanted any anglerfish, I can still remember a stray dog running around on the pier and a guy tossing a monkfish on the deck for the seagulls to pick at and the dog ran up grabbed the fish and ran away with it. We would fish off the jetty's at Asbury Park, if you had a fishing pole you didn't need a beach pass, seemed we always caught fluke, big kingfish off those jetty's , then get some candy on the boardwalk before we left. You could always tell when the Stripers were running by all the bonfires on Morgan Beach behind Gerrity's Breeze Inn. It took me a long time to catch a striper from that beach, usually huge eels. Before Fred's Bait it was called Wet Ghost bait and tackle. Across the street was Guy's Barbeque, and Morgan Seafood, they had a big smoke house, and we could always tell when they were smoking fish, as I grew up 100yds west of them. There was a bait shop under the train bridge on Olde Spy Rd called Millies, we would sometimes buy candy from her if I was allowed to pedal that far, and catching killies in the parking lot of the Olde Spy Inn with a stirng , bent straight pin, and a piece of bread, the bartender would sometimes come out and give us some free soda. Come summer we'd jump off the Morgan Bridge, before the bridge attendant could get to us. Seining at South Amboy beach was a blast, always looked to see what bait we would catch, always big spearing and killies, sometimes baby flounder, weakfish, bunker. Yes today is so different, if there were as many bonfires on the beach today as back then I think they'd arrest you, oh yea who can forget the deep hole in Cliffwood Beach by the Cat and the Fiddle where my father said the stripers would hole up, again big eels there also. It's good to go back, the world was different

[Offshoreafflicted]

.......and the Bingle Banana was the hot lure for Bluefish :)

Loved those things for bluefish. We used to try and get the whole boat to drop down and reel up at the same time to see how many we could hook up at once!

There was nothing better than night bluefishing on the Barnegat Ridge!

[bunker dunker]

when the 505hs came out and we all thought we died and went to heaven.how
about surf fishing with beach masters.now everyone is up in arms over the braid and we thought mono was the cats meow.when the 6 mile lump had all the 80-100lb yellowfins and the 9 mile lump was were the giants lived.when
we would take one of franks boat and live line bunker for those big weakfish.
when just about every party boat basin had a dinner and tackle shop.when you used a sinker and string to mark your place at the rail and everyone put there fish in burlap.yes I miss those days.

[Billfish715]

Gypsy, Thanks for a little history of the Raritan Shore area. I didn't know any other name for Fred's than what it is. If you ever traveled toward South Amboy, maybe you can remember the name of a very small B&T store on Rt. 9 South just before the Andrejewski overpass. I remember buying some crabbing gear there. Back then, there were lots of mom and pop B&T stores everywhere. So many stores have closed and with them have gone the information, instruction and knowledge that the owners could and would pass along to fishermen. I can remember so many local stores that sold fishing tackle. So many of them are gone! Try to get information from an acne-faced kid at Dick's! Try talking to someone at Cabelas or Bass Pro about where to fish or how to fish! There's no more reporters with daily columns to keep everyone informed. Sure, Al Ristori has a report that he does online but it's still not as complete as when it was in print going way back to his predecessors when daily pool winners were listed and the crabbing updates from Bayville were posted frequently. Guys post their reports on this forum but it's taboo to list any "spots"! The reporters seemed to be more helpful and informative back then.

[bunker dunker]

we would buy the star ledger just to read bob duffy's colume.how every Friday they would list every party boat from sheepheads to cape may and what they were fishing for.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Got my first fishing pole when I was 7.... A push bottom caster from Montgomery Wards which was in Menlo Park when is was not yet a mall....

First trip I ever took in the salt was a night bluefish trip on the Cock Robin in my early teens. That trip did if for me.... Caught them until my arms were too tired.

When I got my drivers license, heading to Sandy Hook at night fishing and sleeping on the beach... Well sometimes it wasn't to fish or sleep :rolleyes:

A friend of mine and I used to go with our girl friends. The night guard at the gate would ask to see your bait and if you didn't have pole or bait, he knew you weren't going to fish and would turn you away. This one time it was late and due to poor planning, we had no bait. Plan B I stopped at the grocery store on the way down and picked up some hot dogs.... When he asked to see the bait I showed him the hot dogs, he smiled knowingly and waived us through....Got attached by sand fleas that night... Needless to say the girls never wanted to go back :)

[BCinerie]

I still use my Penn 505hs loaded with 30 ande! Match up with my fenwick pacific stick. In the fall would
Put my 6/0 on it for tuna. 1985
Saved up 289 for a 50tw and 150 for a sabre stroker ! Still work great. Paid 150 to fish yellowfin at the Bacardi then sell them for 2 bucks a pound at co-op. Usually caught 10 plus 60 lbders Those are the good ole days!

[Capt Sal]

I've heard many stories from many different people on the Giants that were caught in the late 70s and early 80s in the Mudhole. Had the good fortune of talking to and fishing with Bob Pisano a few years back on a friends boat. Bob was one of the legends in this fishery and quite a character too. It's been said that he and his crew caught over 800 of them, one of which was over 1000 pounds.

Capt. Al Ristori landed the grander on Pisano's boat. I am the age bracket and have landed giants in the mud hole to 861lbs. Those were the days!!!!!!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Capt. Al Ristori landed the grander on Pisano's boat. I am the age bracket and have landed giants in the mud hole to 861lbs. Those were the days!!!!!!

Yep and those certainly were the days Sal. Wish I was there to take it all in like you, but the stories are a thrill too.

[bunker dunker]

bcinerie that's the same set up I use.one of my favorite jigging sticks.the
505hs is just a work horse,have caught everything on it.the fenwick and 505hs
are a deadly pair when it come to jigging sea bass & weakfish.i have 2 of them and use them both allot.

[courbeco]

How about the very first Fluke size limit in NJ.....13"? Mid 80's?

[BCinerie]

Yes, first limit was 13 or 13.5 back in 1984 ish?? we used to throw anything under 16 back. No meat anyway and I got stuck filet them. We fished the Mantoloking bridge area towards the canal with 8 and 10 lb freshwater stuff and could fill he cooler almost every time. Then we would run to Barnegat inlet and play with the 3-5 lb bluefish in the inlet all day. Fun times!!!

[CompTime Charters]

The klondike and the manasquan ridge are just SAND BOTTOM now. No grasses the would hold the bait like in the 80's. The grasses and nutrient rich layers have been ripped up and churned up by a mechanical means dragging thru the areas. It's a dessert out there now.

[Billfish715]

There is a very small "piece" still left on the Klondike but it's nothing like it was in the early 80's. imagine what the fishing would be like if there was no Sea Girt or Axel Carlson Reefs! It would be like fishing in a desert. Bottom structure attracts all sorts of small marine life which in turn attracts larger marine life. The Klondike and Manasquan Ridges used to hold sand eels which attracted everything else.

[mrfritz44]

What mechanical means? I could see scallopers dragging up the bottom, but what else could do that?

[Billfish715]

Here's a little history and geology of the "rocks". There is only "talk" about the draggers on the ridges but I've heard the "talk" from lots of sources all of whom are reliable.


http://njscuba.net/biology/misc_bottom.php

http://njscuba.net/sites/site_rocks.php

[Capt. Lou]

I've heard many stories from many different people on the Giants that were caught in the late 70s and early 80s in the Mudhole. Had the good fortune of talking to and fishing with Bob Pisano a few years back on a friends boat. Bob was one of the legends in this fishery and quite a character too. It's been said that he and his crew caught over 800 of them, one of which was over 1000 pounds.

I think u mean a thousand frost fish right ? 1000 lb'ER is definitely correct ! Possibly two I believe Al Ristori & Roy Parsons , was one of the Runaway factory employees got one also . Those days a true giant was 500 Lb plus , today a 73" is a giant !
Many Giants were taken from 17 to BA & later monster ledge area at the bend in
bend in MH . Great tuna fishing started about now & lasted some years thru November .
MH had all sizes of tuna in those years with strong runs !

[Capt. Lou]

.......and the Bingle Banana was the hot lure for Bluefish :)

Funny u mention that Andy don's son Joe lives little north of me in PA ! We talk about those bananas al the time ! This banana u could bring on a boat & catch fish !!

[unclegary47]

Watched show on Nova other nite showing trophy pictures from charter boats from 60s to today. Amazing difference. Absolutely shows stocks and sizes declining. Talked about "Jackson's apocalypse" on how and why jellyfish will eventually be the only things left. Very informative and very scarey!

UNC

[NoLimit]

Before the Star Ledger it was the Newark Evening News with the fishing reports

[Gerry Zagorski]

Reading through this again and was reminded of a school friend Phil. He and I got to talking one day and he'd tell me stories about his older cousin Alex that lived down the by the Manasquan River and how they'd catch Fluke and Flounder in the river. We hatched a year long plan to do just that as soon as Phil got his driver license.

He and his dad had an old 9.9 horse Clinton engine that was laying in the garage for years. Phil and I, being shade tree mechanics from working on our mini bikes, decided we were going to get that engine running and go fish the river. We pulled that baby apart, cleaned the carbs, fixed the pull start rope, put her in a barrel of water and had her purring like a kitten, or so we thought....

Phil and I saved and pooled our money and a few days after he got his drivers licence made the trip down from Fords to the river, rented a old wooden row boat in Brielle, strapped the old Clinton on it and off we went. First time out the old Clinton gave us some trouble and we had to row back in. But we were determined and it was back to the garage for some more tinkering to get that engine running again. Seems like every time we went out that darn engine would die on us but we kept at it.

We stayed in the area between the 34 bridge and the hospital by the canal because we could never trust the Clinton to get us back and had to stay within rowing distance. Luckily the Fluking in that section of the river was nothing short of spectacular. Every time out we catch a dozen or so Fluke each.

Fun times for sure and as I think back, planning those trips and the anticipation of going was as much fun as the trips themselves, as are the memories.

PS Not sure what ever happened to that Clinton but if any of you ever see one at a garage sale, don't be tempted..... Smack it upside the cowling for me and walk away ;)