Jim Shaffer's Blog

I bike across a rising, waking Keyport. As I pass through Front Street,  vendors are preparing for a street fair.

Food and music are in their early simmering stages, and both off to deliciously promising starts.

The weather is September beautiful with a touch of a cool wind whisking in off the bay.  As the sun grows in strength the breezes calm and the chop of the bay flattens to a ripple.

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Contrary to what some people believe, many recreational fishermen are on the front line of the conservationist movement.

Recreational fishing is an economically valuable and socially relevant use of our fishery. Fishermen care about the resource because we use it more than most people and have seen first hand what negligence and abuse can do to degrade and destroy it.

My introduction to saltwater fishing occurred in New York’s waterways during the early 1970’s. Centuries and decades of abuse put the fishery on the brink of disaster.  Read more »

“Truth is stranger than fishin’” Jimmy Buffett

Call me Jim. This is the story of my particular corner of the sea- the ocean around New York and New Jersey.

New York City has 578 miles of waterfront. I've lived on three of the boroughs and have fished from Canarsie to Harlem, Great Kills to Howard Beach, Riverdale to Battery Park.

I now live in Keyport, just 2 blocks from the beach. I'm like a kid on Christmas morning!  Read more »