An "Incompleat" Angler

“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!

As I fish and visit new spots, I'll share my discoveries in the world of recreational saltwater fishing around New Jersey. If you love the ocean, I hope I can keep it interesting for you.

Paramount to my reports is knowing the simple, ethical code I fish by.

This code was developed with friends who care about the ocean for one very simple reason- we need fish.

THE CODE
• We do not kill what we don't eat. (Sorry, baitfish this does not apply to you).

• No one throws any garbage in the water. Leave it better than you found it.

• Obey the local regulations and be vigilant in teaching others to respect the wonderful resource we have in our beautiful Jersey Shore.

Pollution and neglect had left New York’s waterways in sorry shape for much of the 1960’s & ‘70’s. After decades of decline, we are now in a period of renewal. There is still a long way to go, but the health of our waterways is headed in the right direction.

I know because I have seen it with my own eyes.

In recent years the water has improved. Along with cleaner water, there has been much money and effort spent to create great places for people to connect with nature neasr the sea.

My curiousity was simple-I wanted to know more about the fish I could catch in the nearby ocean on the trusty Garcia light-spinning outfit my Grandfather Willie Duffy, had given me on Christmas 1976.

The sea called and it was just a subway or bus token away. I studied bus routes to the places near the water. I made plans.

Growing up, I would pour over the newspapers looking for news about local saltwater fishing. Sometimes finding fish was easier than finding information, but I was tenacious.

Friday mornings when I was on summer break, I would bolt up the stairs the two flights from the basement to my Grandparents place in the two family brick house we shared on Staten Island.

The New York Daily News printed a column each Friday in which Jerry Kenny told of the catches from local party boats, occasionally accompanied by a map of the New York Bight with hot spots for that weekend highlighted.

Once in a while there would be a big story about the local ocean that would steal the front page; like when a 3,500 pound Great White was caught by Frank Mundus off Montauk in 1986, or when some poor, lost seals swam up on Coney Island.

Fishing gave me a way to reach nature in profound way.

I certainly was not seeing a whole lot of nature on the hard streets of Brooklyn.

The wilderness of the ocean was within reach and I was intent on finding it.

I spent hours reading library books looking for more information. The stories I read made my mind spin.

When I was old enough to use the NYC transit system, I made my way to the water to fish as much as I could.

With friends and family, I would spend days long in the sun and spent lots of time talking, mostly about fishing, but really about life.

When I was around fourteen, some of my friends and I formed the Todt Hill Rod & Reel Fishing Club. We would seek out fishing spots all over Staten Island and Brooklyn.

As we fished, we met other people who felt like I did about the sea. We lived in the nitty, gritty city, but we felt the primitive call of the sea.

You have a chance to experience on of the few truly wild sea, like generations before you.

Finding the best fishing spots is half the fun.

You will spend long days with a lot of laughs and maybe catch a few fish.
It is not hard to find fishing buddies. There are a potential few in every crowd.

For many of them, it is the same story. It may have been years since they were kids fishing. They smile with faraway eyes.

They'll tell you stories about one of their old favorite fishing spots and would tell you everything except where it is.

When you get people talking about their young, golden fishing days, they usually become as animated as children when recalling the memories.

As my experience grew and I saw new things, I began writing down information about the fishing spots that we found and the types of fish we caught there.

These were only words, but years later they bring the memories to life in full color.

By comparing notes with kindred spirits while fishing on docks, party boats and beaches, I’ve compiled some useful fishing tips and interesting information.

I’ve studied the masters and have managed to pick up a thing or two along the way. Picked up some pretty terrific recipes, too.

I will share these pearls with you.