Frost Fish

[gypsy]

Long Branch Pier, what memories, as a kid going out all night with my uncles and dad. Always an adventure, Whiting fishing mainly in the winter, freezing my butt off, running inside to warm up, get a hot chocolate, run back out. Never knew what king of fish would show up, guys would throw the angler fish on the pier and let the seagulls eat them, one night a stray dog came onto the pier and carried one off. That is one memory I'll have forever, the way that fat fish hung in the dogs mouth as he ran off with it. My father told me of the days of frost fishing along the NJ coast. Sounds unreasonable but no reason to doubt it. Said the whiting would get thrown up onto the sand and freeze to it, just walk along the waterline and pick them up. We also would get everyone in the car on a Sunday in the winter, head to Belmar and wait for the party boats to come in, the fisherman would put fish on the dock that they wanted to sell to pay their fare and keep the rest. We would usually get a cod, or whiting from these guys, go home and have a fish fry. We didn't have a lot of time for fishing when you live on a small farm, so this is how we would get fresh fish, now they are no longer allowed to sell their catch, don't know why . As Bob Hope would sing Thanks For the Memories