Memories of our changing times

[Dollar Bill]

Still have my first Penn 65. Used that for everything on party boats before finally getting a JigMaster to reel the Bengal Bananas a little quicker. Think I still have one of those old lures somewhere with the dry rotted rubber.

[Capt. Lou]

The Bingle Banana was a great bluefish lure for years. I recently met Don's son who now lives ny me in PA.
Helped get him rigged up for Tuna this year , we had a blast discussing the lures his dad made.
He now does a lot of Striper fishing on a couple of local lakes I'll be going with him this season . Small world!!

[Capt. Lou]

Catching burlap sacks of whiting in sight of Ambrose Lightship
Ditto Progies buoy 16 POH
Tuna 17 & south footballs to Gts
Trolling Sea Girt range buoys for Albies tons of me'
BA Buy Gts
Belford channel load up on fluke
Shrewsbury / Navesink flounder galore
Ditto night runs for Stripers / Weaks
Ling every spring @ Cedars
Albies - Bonitio - Tuna Klondike & various inshore lumps
Mackerel fall , winrter , spring all u wanted at times
Kingfish off jetties LB area
LB Pier whiting - Weaks every fall
SH Rip nite Striper trolling
SR. blues / Stripers especially good in fall trolling U. Rigs
Nite whiting out of Belmar
MR big bluefin up to 200#'s
Canyon just stared trolling primarily load up BE's , YF , Tru Albies etc etc
Tile fishing on inshore canon edged 300' ft water
Cod SR. Farms, cholera , red square numerous wrecks inshore by today's standard
All Inshore lumps could give up Tuna in fall along with many species
Tog from jetties & all inshore rock piles
Shark wrecks to south & 30 Fathom line
BR tuna blues Albies bones Etc load up
Shallow water reduced lots of big fluke
I had the pleasure of enjoying all the above , never see much of this again !! I'm sure I missed some but u get the idea!

[tombanjo]

Originally Posted by Capt. Lou

The Bingle Banana was a great bluefish lure for years. I recently met Don's son who now lives ny me in PA.
Helped get him rigged up for Tuna this year , we had a blast discussing the lures his dad made.
He now does a lot of Striper fishing on a couple of local lakes I'll be going with him this season . Small world!!

Tell him to ramp production back up on those original solid bananas. The new knock offs suck. After a couple of blues they don't swim right.

[Grateful Dad]

I remember using Nordic Eels to catch monster weakfish in the early 80's on magic hour trips out of AH.
We would also use those wire spreader rigs for winter flounder in Barnegat Bay and the Shrewsbury river.

[Solemate]

Giant weakfish car topping at sundown in June by the Monmouth beach swim club in front of the towers. Used white buck tails with grape jelly worms. Long off the jettys after the pier went down in deal. Catch or die trying some nights

[Chris G]

Miss spring mackerel fishing. That was alot of fun..

[NJ Dave]

Catching a bushel of crabs all so big that measurments were not needed.
Blow fish off of the docks.
Flounder in good #s off of the docks.
Filling burlap sacks of keeper fluke and cleaning them on top of the washing machine in the basment with my father knowing that mom was going to flip the fu*k out.
Weakfish off the old IBSP wall

[Capt Sal]

I remember putting black shoe polish on our Ande mono to keep the shine down for tuna. No floro carbon in those days. Ocean City reels were the norm. Although there have been major improvements in the equipment we have now I still love to catch big bass on good old Ande mono! I still use reels older than most of the guys on this site lol Henry, you and I are the same age and were blessed to have enjoyed some of the best fishing in out own home state of New Jersey!

[jakesdad]

After reading the responses, I went out into the garage and pulled out my fathers old tackle box. It was old in the 50's. Found some handmade lures made from soul spoon handles, an old Penn with braid, homemade leadhead jigs, natural silver or tarnished, no idea to put color on them His old bamboo surf rod with eyes on both sides. I remember him telling me if it starts to take a bend reverse to the eyes on the other side.

Remembered working a 1/2 boat for Mackerel, fish were at the bell bouy in front of Shark River, those days we could do 4 trips. Fishing Augies for Bones, and going to the bottom and filling a cooler with 4-6 lb. fluke. Whatever happened to the Ammo grounds, the Acid Waters.

My first giant working for Bob Pisano, the days of fun fishing with Bob, Al Ristori, Tommy Bryant, Roy Parsons, Phil Delaney, those still alive I am still on speaking terms with. Phil still calls me "Half Moon" the name of my first boat.
Those that meet Bob Pisano at the NJ Fishing party a few years ago had pictures of what he caught in the past. Many of those old Striper pictures were from my Half Moon. We never stayed in, if we weren't chartered we went fun fishing with the gang of friends.

I tend to believe there is less pressure from boaters now, in the early 60's there where more than 15 party boats from Belmar, and a full dock of charter boats, plus the private boaters. More in the Point than now. We all carried well every day. Weekends most boats left early as we hit our Coast Guard licensed number. I also remember the day I went inside and got more tickets and by the time the captain arrived we had more than we should have had.
I still hear about that one.

I still remain friends with the fellows that I either worked with or alongside, some continue to fish with me, others like Tommy Buban, I still hop one once in a while just to bring back memories.

More to come as others jostle my memory, THANKS, Henry