NJFIshing.com Turns 15!!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Wow... Hard to believe it was 15 years ago in April of 1997 when this site first came online. I remember the day I met Simon, our original web master. Someone told me he had experience building web sites, we met over a beer and rather then let the opportunity pass over beer talk, Simon and I went to work.

Rewinding a little, it’s funny how people and circumstances in your life can change its direction. I had been working at IBM for 17 years and always felt it would be 25 years and the gold watch for me. Being in sales and having the good fortune to be assigned to the largest PC distributor in NJ I was in a grooved swing. I was at an IBM training session and one of the optional breakout sessions was Wireless Internet… I thought to myself hmmm, this sounds interesting so I attended the class.

After hearing how wireless and the Internet was going to revolutionize the way we live I had a hunger for more information. After the class I stuck around and chewed the instructors ear off. He told me that IBM would be introducing a wireless modem for laptops very soon and were thinking about how they were going to distribute it. This really got me going so in my spare time I started thinking about how best to sell this device.

I knew one of my close friends Gary had been working for McCaw cellular as a cell site engineer so he and I talked about their wireless data network. As luck would have it, they were just starting to build it out. They needed a modem and IBM needed a network. I decided to clear it with my boss and take on a little side project. Gary gave me the name and number of their VP of Marketing whom I arranged to make a call on.

I met with Arvin and sure enough, they had a network but no PC experience or no idea how they were going to sell the service. I had a modem and the knowledge of the PC channels, which they needed for distribution. Arvin and I immediately hit it off and strategized how best to team up and cell his service and my modems. After the formal meeting with all the staff was over, he pulled me to the side and offered me a job. I turned it down since I had 17 years with IBM and was not about to leave the womb. A few months later and with the PC business in a tailspin, I started getting some very persistent calls from one of their headhunters. I was resistant at first but he talked me into an interview. After lots of anxious negotiations and more then a few sleepless nights, I resigned from IBM and was working at McCaw Cellular. This is where I really got an education about the Internet and bought a personal copy of Netscape and started to surf around in my spare time.

It just amazed me how much information was out there and with my passion for fishing, I started discovering and frequenting some fishing sites, most of which were national. Fast forward a few years later and in my spare time I had secured the website address www. njfishing.com, met with Simon and started a regional site, the underpinnings of which was this very message board.

The message board started out slow, I think the first post was " Hey… Is there anyone out there?" It gained steady momentum in the next few years but it wasn’t until 2000 when our first sponsors came on. First few years I’d go down to the docks and talk to the various boats and tackle stores about advertising with us…. Most looked at me sideways and did not know much about the Internet and a few told me I was crazy. I was actually thrown off one boat that is now a sponsor of ours. There was however a few that saw the vision. The first one to come on was Mike on the Mi-Jo and shortly after Adam on the Canyon Runner. We’d get a few more added here and there each year, but it was slow going.

As a result of the growing popularity of site, In 2004 I had the opportunity to help launch the NJ Fishing Show, which lasted 3 seasons and brought even more people to the site. As luck would have it, about that same time McCaw was bought by AT&T and then Cellular One, I got caught up in a staff reshuffle and when the dust settled I was out of a job. In hindsight, this is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. When I came home and told Ruth she was floored. After working and traveling for 25 years, I had no intention of looking for a job right away and was going to use the time to take the site to the next level. As you might imagine, this went over like a fart in church, but I was determined.

Life is full of twists and turns so when you come to a fork in the road, be sure and take it. It’s been a very interesting and fun ride and looking back, I would not have changed a thing. I’ve met a ton of great people, made some life long friendships and would like to believe we added some value to our NJ fishing community along the way.

My sincere thanks to everyone for all their support over these past 15 years. Hopefully there will be many more to come.

[njfish4life]

Awesome site, excellent resources and interesting discussions everywhere.. hope this site is still around when my son is old enough to read and type

[HDMarc]

Great post Gerry! I've been addicted to NJFishing since I found it and have met a lot of great people as a result of it. Keep up the great work, your story of how the site has evolved is inspiring!

[frugalfisherman]

Find Tina Cervasio and bring back the tv show. I think about it everytime I leave the J2 and drive past the Shipwreck restaurant.

[joeya78]

Thanks Gerry for starting this, I remember using the new jersey map on the home page when I first came on here in 1997. I remember because I was working my first job out of school and I had to post the specials for the day to send a mass fax back then....and everyday i would check the reports ect. At the same time. I used the sight for many years without registering under a handle of my own, that being because I was a little intimidated of the Internet for many years .lol .who new by now I would be giving and getting reports on my phone daily and wouldnt think of going out without checking here first. Thanks again gerry

[ChaosStarter]

Wow, I had no idea this site was that old. Great job Gerry! Here's to another 15 years!

[Stumpy]

Happy Anniversary NJFishing.com!!!!!! Great site Gerry. Your hard work and dedication shows every time I log on.

On, and THANK YOU

[Overtime Fishing]

Great post, thats a pretty cool story. Hard to imagine how it was way back when. I was thinking the other day how bad it must have sucked for fishing without the internet. I dont even know how you would get the weather forecast without going down to the boat and turning on the vhf lol

[GDubya07]

Congrats - Jerry - you had a good idea and ran with it and it turned into this

Great decision and even better/more success going forward -

Thanxs for the site

GDubs-

[parker pete sportfishing]

the facebook of fishing.......lol, Its great to post daily reports... much better than waiting for the asbury park press .....b4 hook line and sinker...although i did love john Gieser's fishing reports