[Togfather2530]

Originally Posted by Broad Bill

That is great news! Shocking but great! With all the money New Jersey recreational anglers pour into state and federal coffers, it about time a decent pier is in the plans to promote a legacy recreational activity. If it's draws fish anywhere near how the old pier did, it'll be an incredible success story. That area, proximity to structure in deeper water, lights at night attracting bait fish, crabs, lobsters attracted to the pilings and blackfish attracted to the crustaceans, it was a fisherman's dream. Some of the best fluke fishing I've ever seen came off that pier, especially in the fall when schools of big fluke came inshore for the beginning of the mullet run to store up energy before beginning their long journey off shore. I'd bet if we see sand eels return in numbers, you'll reestablish a night ling fishery as well with maybe a token whiting thrown in the mix. The ling / whiting fishery every night if you had a high tide was literally off the charts with triple headers coming up routinely. As soon as it got dark, sand eels would flood in and ling and whiting would follow. It was like clockwork. Plus it was a relatively cheap way for a family or anyone to spend a day at the shore with a chance of catching dinner or a fish of a lifetime. People who never knew the old pier have no idea how incredibly great it was. Good to see someone finally made the decision and financial commitment to replace it, never thought we'd ever see that happen certainly in my lifetime. Kudo's to the state and Long Branch for making this commitment. Job well done!

Living in the past reminiscing, I get it. The fishing isn’t comparable today.