How Did You Get Into Fishing?

[Jerzfishermen]

I started fishing at age eight. My parents had a beach house at LBI. My father used to take me to the docks in Barnagat Light. The blowfish were plentiful at that time. I used to sit on the dock and catch bucket fulls of fish. My very first catch was a green eel. What a thrill that was. At age fourteen, I started to work the party boats. Did that until about I was twenty-three or so. Back than the regs were diffrent, whiting was all over and fishing was fun and enjoyable. I still find fishing my favorite past time and is still fun and enjoyable. It is just ashame that the powers to be have put such a squeeze on myself and others who love to fish. I am now forty-seven years old and still can fish with the best of them.

[Montauk Project]

Although I mostly fish saltwater now, I got my start fishing as a young boy on Lake Hopatcong. My grandmother owned a summer home on the lake, and every year when school let out my mother would ship my sister and I from the hot streets of NYC to the cool mountain breezes by the lake.
Our evenings would be spent at Bertrands Island, which the old timers on this board will remember was a great amusement park right on the water.

My days were spent fishing, starting out at about 8 years old. No kidding...I used a white string, wrapped around a short stick with a bent safety pin as a hook. I used dough balls as bait, and caught Bluegills on almost every drop. We called them "sunnies". I know now that there was a great variety of panfish in the lake then.
The water was so clear, you could see the fish venture out from under the dock and inhale the bait in about 6--8 feet of water.
I would catch an occasional yellow perch. Catfish too !
I remember the water was just teaming with all sorts of fish, we would use beach towels while wading in the shallows to trap and catch minnows.
As I got older, My uncle bought me my first real fishing pole, and I caught a big pickerel on a live minnow on the first day. I was "hooked"for life !
That was 40 years ago.
My last trip to the area shocked me. The small summer homes and bungalows were gone ! Replaced by Condo's and shopping centers. The dirt roads and trails were gone !. Replaced by busy roads and noisey traffic.
For me, I still have my memories...
I will never forget those lazy summer days on Lake Hopatcong.

[CaptBob]

Kind of natural for me, My Dad and two Uncles were Commercial Fishermen out of Belford, so needless to say I was on the water at a real early age.

Continued with them, mated on a couple Party Boats and Private ones, then as I was nearing retirement (from the adult job) I got my ticket and deceided that I wanted to Charter.

I must say it has been one of the best experiences in my life, I get to enjoy the water, and share with people their own experiences...........nothing like the look of a youngster who ties into their first fish Watching a Dad/Mom share the day with his/her kids is fantastic.

[SeaOx23]

At about 5 my grandpa and uncle took me and my older sister to Nomehegan Park in Cranford, NJ to fish for sunnies...In the summer we would fish off the docks in Lavallette for snappers and occasionally from the surf for blues and fluke...since then I have been hooked

Now while at school I fish the Susquehanna for smallmouth, walleye and the streams for trout in the sping, and when i am back in NJ you can find me anywhere from the Highlands to Cape May

[FDFisherman]

Met a girl (my wife) whose father has a boat! The rest is history. LMFAO!

Well actually my first fishing was when I was a kid fishing outta point pleasant for whiting in the freezing cold with my brother in law and ralphing all over the galley tables! . We caught barrels full back then!

[Life's A Beach]

Montauk - remember the cruise boats from Bertrand's Island? They were by far the biggest boats on the lake. Now that's the average size of the boats. Go into any cove on a weekend and you'll see thousands of big boats tied together drinking the day away. It has changed dramatically. Speed limits on the weekend and sobriety checkpoints. Weed harvesting isn't working and they won't approve dredging.


Lake Forest Yacht Club in the upper left hand corner; early 70s

[Richy B]

My first memory of fishing was when my Father re-married my Mom when I was eight years old. It was a Birthday Picnic with all my friends. My parents drove us in the back of my Fathers Rack Body dump truck from Ohio into W. Va. to fish in a stream. I don't remember catching fish, but I do remember when we got there I was so excited that I started to climb over one of the racks when we were pulling up near the stream, my Father hit a bump in the field, I fell back into the truck bed, and let's just say I'm glad I was able to have kid's later in life! LOL
I had one great day of fishing soon after that where my parents and I went to a farmers pond and caught boo-koo small mouth bass. We ran out of bait and were catching grasshoppers to put on the hook so we could keep catching fish.
I also fished Rahway river for trout in my teen years. then once my friends and I got to driving age, fished the Flat Brook, Steven's State Forest, New York fly fishing for trout, and catfish. We also fished allot in Round Valley and Spruce run by boat.
My neighbor got all of my buddies and I into Saltwater fishing when I was about 14. Mostly fishing for Blues and Mackerel.
I now strictly fish Saltwater and have given up on the Sweet Water unless it's a special trip for salmon.

[Montauk Project]

Yeah Lab, I remember those days very well. Bertrands Island amusement park was the place to be in the summer time. I also remember all of the pontoon boats that were on the lake. Back then the lake was used mostly for pleasure cruising. I believe that it is the largest lake in NJ, but the crazy boat traffic on the summer weekends has really changed the landscape.
My uncle was a chief in the Hopatcong FD...and I recall the firemans picnic every summer at Nolan's Point. Man...those were the days.

If anyone here fishes Lake Hopatcong this summer, I would really like to see some reports posted here. Even with all the traffic, it is still a great lake !

[MS22]

I was lucky enough to have two grandfathers that were both avid fisherman. They started me off fishing the lakes of central NJ near my home in Millstone for sunnies and small bass. After a few years, we moved to NW NJ and was lucky enough to have a large farm pond near the house that had good bass fishing. I would walk over after school and during summer breaks fishing until sundown. When I got old enough, my grandfather started taking me out on his favorite party boat which happened to be the Elaine B in highlands. An interesting group of regulars were usually in attendance(mostly older gentlemen like my grandfather) and most were very friendly...more than willing to lend a hand or provide guidance. We would get to the boat early to get our spot and allow time for my grandfather to read the paper, drink a couple cups of coffee, and catch up with his friends. My grandfather started me out fishing for fluke and I was hooked instantly. After my first trip I couldn;t wait to go again. I was always so excited to go fishing that i barely ever got any sleep(still have that problem today). Fishing for fluke became one of my favorite things to do. I loved it so much that I can remember asking him the next year to take me fishing with him in the fall and winter for ling, blackfish, and seabass. Early on those cold rough fall/winter days were hard on me as I got seasick numerous times...but always fought through it and eventually found my sea legs. The best part of the day was coming home and handing off the catch to my grandmother who proceeded to prepare a great meal of fresh fried fish and potato salad. During blackfish season I always looked forward to my grandfathers fish chowder...a great way to warm yourself up after a cold day on the water. As a teenager I continued fishing but not as much as i had used to. At this point in my life most of my time was devoted to sports and other endeavors. It wasn't until college that I really got back into fishing. Now I try and fish as often as possible on open boat trips, pbs and our family boat. I just wished i lived a little closer to the water so that i could enjoy it more often.

[msgold]

What a great question and a great deal of fun reading everyone's story how they started fishing, one of the best posts since I have been on this site. Thank you once again. Allot of great memories which we will carry with us always.