NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

How time flies…. I remember in 1996 having a beer with a friend of mine talking about creating a site dedicated to fishing in NJ. As luck would have it, he told me one of our mutual friends was building websites for businesses and could probably help me out. I met with Simon a few weeks later told him what I wanted, gave him a bunch of documents and ideas and off we went.

We launched the site in 1997 and all we heard were crickets. Back then, there weren’t a lot of people on “the Web” and it was just about the time when dial up Internet Service providers like AOL were going main stream. Remember this sound, the dial up modem https://www.freesound.org/people/Jlew/sounds/16475/


I’ll never forget the first post on the message board either…. It read “Is anyone out there”?

Around 1999 we started getting a decent amount of traffic on the site and I remember going down to the docks all over NJ trying to get some charter and party boat owners to advertise with us. Needless to say, at that time most didn’t understand the internet. One Captain I approached told me “You’re crazy… No fisherman is going to go on the computer to read about fishing, get off my boat”!

20 years later we’re still here and going strong, that same captain became a sponsor with us and it’s been a hell of a ride. I’ve met a lot of great people here, many who’ve become lifelong friends. I’d also like to think we’ve helped more than a few businesses along the way and we continue to do so. The thing I’m most proud of is all the people we’ve put together and the outpouring of support here for our fellow fisherman, especially in their times of need.

So to celebrate 20 years, I’d like you to look back and share some of your memories, pictures and experiences on the site and with our community. Everyone who shares a story on this post will be entered into a random drawing and I’ll select 10 people to receive some NJFishing.com gear.

If you’re a sponsor here and would like to donate a drawing prize, please let us know. I will list them in this post as well as a link to your site.

Let me prime the pump with a few things and some pictures that might spark some memories.
- Tales of Fireball “he did me bad”
- Bill would start every post “ just got back”
- The Phantom Fishermen
- King of the Knoll, the Clam Man, Inkjet John
- Swallops!!
- Ice fishing party
- Our first Christmas party…. All 5 of us
- A visit from Tuna.com Dave, Paul and Sandro for our Sandy Fund raiser
- Sites been hacked. It’s back up….. Ooops it got hacked again.
- The old message board, one big forum….
- The new message board and a fresh water section too Andy S
- The RFA fishing trips or should I say boating trips
- PUOSU
- NJF Tuna Trips
- 911 :(

Lastly and most importantly a tip of the cap to all the people who have supported the site along the way. Our loyal sponsors, our webmasters Simon Bula and Mike Tese, of course our past and present Moderators Buckshot, River Rat, Andy S, Joey Dah Fish and the Charter Master LAB, Mike Wells (RIP).

My sincere appreciation to all who visit here and make this community what it is. Thanks for your contributions to the site, supporting our fellow members and sponsors and I look forward to hearing all your stories and seeing some old pictures.

Cheers!!

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

congratulations Gerry !

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Happy Anniversary NJF !!! :)

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Happy Anniversary!!! :)

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Gerry happy 20 years of great service to the fishing community!

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The wars, the multiple aliases, the banning's,, catching feelings, leaving for good, coming back again, rinse, repeat with multiple people and multiple times especially in winter. But all of these people, when something serious occurs, ban together like a community. It has been a long strange trip, but well worth the ride.

Here's to 20 more years

After 20 years, I still haven't figured out which one is the good looking brother and which one the mom likes best

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Oh my this site is as old as me.

Congrats on 20 years!

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Yep, been a hell of a ride. Some good times:), some bad times. :( I still remember asking your permission to post something for a Hi-Mar function, Spring Tournament I believe? No better way to get info out there!

Thank Gerry.

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Happy anniversary nj fishing. You guys have always helped me with any question i had pertaining to fishing. I check this site every day and always appreciate every post. You guys rule!!!

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Bring back the tv show!!!

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Congrats Gerry! Job well done! Thank you for letting us be part of it!

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Gerry,

Congratulations on 20 years from the REAL Bill Fish, aka Ice Cream Bill on here!

Keep up the great job!

Bill Fish
SWABC

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Gerry,
Congrats on 20 years. To think how much free time I had before NJ Fishing.

From lurking for a few years to being a member for almost 10 years. I do have to say the number of friends I have made over the years thru NJ Fishing of some really great people, and some not so great, is appreciated.

Continued success in the future.

Henry

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

From the helm of Pop-Pop's Toy, Bbbioonic B__ (didn't 'no' the spelling of that word was censored here:p), ROFLMFAOPMP, Roasters, Rockfish Smartie, Cawfee, Lady Di, Hefty trash bags, NJF Fantasy Football (ouch), fence shots, SeaTrekker, 'Always', Chelsea Roommates . . . .

Dang - I remember when door prizes outnumbered the guests at JJBitings.
Heck - I remember when our Captains were deckhands (& vice versa).

But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the first thing that came to mind when Gerry started this thread was how much I/we miss Mike Wells/Life's a Beach.

So I'll share a brief story about the first time I met LAB in person - it was on my first NJFishing fishing trip (Stripers aboard the Mi-Jo).
- Before departure Mike gave the mate a humongous piece of beef - "here put this somewhere where it won't get fishy" (I didn't know Mike was butcher, a GENEROUS butcher)
- When Rammfish Robbie hooked into what was thought to be a sizable striper LAB commented "Now we'll get to see how strong that Cajun Red Mono is. Looks like you got a 24 footer" Sure enuff Rammie was tangled with the boat next to us :eek:
- LAB proceeded to photograph Rammie fighting the 24'er with his Spinner held upside-down. LAB had a NJF field day with that one.
- This trip pre-dated all our RFA trips, but definitely set the standard: nice boat, good Captain, good food and laughs . . . but NO FISH :p

Now here's a shameless plug for 2 links on NJF:
- 9th Annual RFA Flukathon Sat June 17th Official Sign Up - Let's fill 'er up: http://njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95828
- Fond memories of LAB: http://njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60098

The friendships I've made with members and sponsors on NJF are priceless - thanks Gerry, it's genuinely appreciated !

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0310df1b.jpg

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Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

wow how time flies...but i can't be that old...
lots of fond memories and meeting great peeps from this site.
a big thank you to Gerry Z. for coming up with a great site...now if he could only catch a striper:p

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Congrats on 20 years & here's to another 20--at least!
Met some great fishers from the site and fished with them learning much & from the site itself.
Keep up the great work which we all know you will.....

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Congratulations on a job very well done

1)the truth is there is no good looking Zagorski brother

2)mom doesn't like either one

Bahahaha

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Congratulations to my ******* brother on 20 years of being the best damn NJ Fishing Site ever. Very proud of you and how you made you idea reality and continue to do great things on this site and herd all the cats. Wishing you many many more years of success

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Oh man... The Shrimpman lives. And oh BTW, fishing with shrimp is not the only reason people call him Shrimpman :)

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Congrats Gerry! See ya Bill

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This is the best fishing site in NJ! The best fishermen on the east coast belong to this site and if they don't belong they're NJF lurkers, LOL!

Friends, I've made a ton! Memories, we've made alot and I've only been a member for 9 years! WOW!!! I think this sites made me a happier person because of the awesome people and personalities I've met through the years!

MEET-N-GREETS, Ice party's, NJF holiday party's, Fluke fishing fundraisers, PUOSU, river clean ups, you name it! So much goes on here that is simply for the good of humanity! I feel this site brings people together! I'm happy I found this site 9 years ago while trolling on the internet! Thank you Cap'n Gerry and AndyS and all involved! Cheers to 20 more years! Cheers to the NJF brotherhood! :D
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Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

It's SO bittersweet, Looking back at the old message board and seeing Life's a Beach and Ms Gold, it saddens me so much. The brutal fights in the winter with LAB just flat out roasting people, it's a wonder anyone stuck around !
Funny thing was, I think Mike's antics projected a kind of unsettled peacefulness among the crazy world in which we live. It was for the love of the sport that drew us to the new website.
You can visit the old message board on the "way back" internet time machine.
https://web.archive.org/

Moving through the years I was reading so many Raritan bay reports and very few offshore canyon reports. I thought wouldn't it be nice if I could arrange a few offshore trips and get some of these guys off the bay and show them the waters of the canyons. It happened, and I think I ruined a few people along the way. The look on a persons face when they latch into that 1st yellowfin is priceless !!!

The website got me in touch with a gents I fished with back on the old Gambler, how cool was that !!

Amazingly enough Gerry reached out to me to be the moderator for the freshwater section, honored and never looked back.

I always say, posts bring more posts. If it hadn't been for NJF I would have never hooked up with what has become a very dear friend of mine.
I read a post from someone fishing the North Branch near Rt. 206. I thought, hey that is right around the corner from me. A few PM's later and we have been great friends every since. I can't begin to tell you how many great people I have met (and became friends with) along the way thanks to this website. It gets tough making new friends as you get older but we can easily find common ground here.
Don't know how many years I have been hanging around here, probably since the day my wife said "hey, you can read fishing reports on the internet"

Thanx again to Gerry and everyone who made this possible. Congratulations and cheers hope you have another 20 more years.

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

It's about the people and sometimes the fish!!! LOL! OHHHHH, I have plenty of pics..........
Salmon country M-N-G at Seth's, NY
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Fall kayak adventure on Greenwood in late fall, ohhhh boy! It was blowing 40 this day!!!
http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...ps969ac27a.jpg

Ice M-N-G @ Monksville! Yep, Thats the Shrimpman in the background. He wouldn't step on the ice but I believe his dog did, hahaha!
http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psc71bf78f.jpg

Our fearless leader and owner of JJ Bittings out on the ice for a 2015 M-N-G...
http://i1315.photobucket.com/albums/...psqbc5gpie.jpg

Sir Lard Almighty, Liveitup1.75 and myself attending the Raritan borough Trout contest! 1st, 2nd and 3rd belonged to NJF.....
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My co-captain and life long fishing partner!!!
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Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Whatever happened to 1.75 anyway ?
Nice post FE:cool:

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god bless gerry congrats on 20 years. i would like to say it is an honor to be part of njf .com brotherhood this site is great tight lines to all:D

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Man O Man!!!! 20 years !!! Wish I can remember when I made my first post way back when.

Was a young punk kid with no clue back then. Now I'm an old fart with a little more knowledge but still a major hack!

NEVER fished offshore until coming here. Andy putting those NJF trips together had me land my first YFT, mahi, and become a swordie connoisseur..:D

Learned some good drinking habits as well (Bulleit) love looking at bad hats (HA) never smile in a pic (HFR). Swallops, Halloween striped bass fishing masks, Bow monkey on the TNT, rubber chicken, "good job" posts and the list does on.

Oh yeah and trolling clam umbrella rigs. :D

Thanks Big Z!!!

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Congrats on a great site!AND MANY MORE

JC

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Nothing is supposed to last 20 years on the internet. And yet, here we are, going stronger than ever with no signs of slowing down. This community has changed my life with the knowledge I've gained, the adventures I've taken, and especially the friends I've made. We should all be proud of the community we've built here, and we owe a lot to Gerry for keeping it all together, knowing when to bust balls right alongside us, and knowing when to drop the hammer before things get too out of control. But even after feathers get ruffled and threads get locked, in the end we are all united by our love of fishing, and I believe that is what makes this place so special. From first-time posters to the oldest of old salts, we are all members of one of the greatest fishing communities ever conceived.

To Gerry, all our mods past and present, and all the people behind the scenes who keep this boat afloat, thank you, and congratulations on 20 years. I can't wait to see what the future holds, and I can't wait to experience it alongside all of you.

See you on the next adventure!

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

I'm one of those old farts that have been here since pretty much the beginning. I learned a LOT from you guys, and made some pretty good friends along the way.
And the memories!
-Hefty garbage bags
-the "shine box"
-Rammfish hooking a 24' Grady-
-First NJF tuna trip- "HE'S GONNA SPOOL ME!" (I still haven't lived that one down...)
- Another tuna trip- "Look, that swordfish has a lightstick in it's mouth..."
-Big Al's Striper Cakes recipe

20 years. Where did it go?

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Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Gerry,

You made it a legitimate resource in NJ Fishing Community. GREAT JOB in persevering along with bearing all the collateral BS that goes on from time to time.

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

I stumbled upon this site back in 2010. Registered immediately and never looked back. Almost exactly 7 yrs ago since signing up and I'm more than happy to say I've made a bunch of life long friends and "fishing buddies" through NJF. I honestly talk to a few of my NJF-based friends more than my long time lifelong friends because of one critical element: the commonality of being hungry, driven fisherman.

My fishing experience and skill level has grown by leaps and bounds. I've exponentially broadened my freshwater fishing horizons from just bass fishing to damn near every other freshwater resource we have in our great little state. I even learned how to ice fish which is something that never crossed my mind when I signed up here.

Great groups of fisherman, great get togethers, great holiday parties and most of all just a damn good, informative fishing website. Cheers to Gerry for building something great!

And great post FE!

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Congrats Jerry

This is more than just another fishing website, it is a great community with great people and I have met so many awesome people/ fishing buddies that became friends.

Right idea at the right place at the right time with the right person Getting-R-Done

Continued success for many more years to come

GDubs-:cool:

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Congratulations & Best wishes Gerry and moderators for 20 more years of continued success, good health, and tight lines.
You've earned it for putting up with some of the stuff you do.

THANK YOU ALL FOR A JOB WELL DONE.

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

See if this works... If you click on "your source for Fishing in New Jersey" you can see the old message board.

https://web.archive.org/web/19990427.../njfishing.com

https://web.archive.org/web/20010515.../njfishing.com

Love seeing the old names: NeverPuke, Sandspike, Troutgod, NJBOB, SeaBright slammer, River rat, Broken Bobber, GoMalley, Irish Angler and so on .....

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

Gerry congrats on the first 20 years. NJfishing is actually responsible for my marriage. Back in 2005 my now wife found me through post on the original forum. We were high school sweethearts and had broken up in 92. She was able to get my email address thanks to some post i had made. And we got back together in April of 05 and have now been married for 10 years and have two beautiful daughters.
All thanks to NJFISHING

Re: NJFishing.com Celebrates 20 Years!!!
 

congrats on 20 years gerry, and wow, what a great success story. i've been a member of this site for less than a year and it really has made a huge, positive contribution to my fishing/boating success. i think we can all agree that it's the people who contribute here that make this amazing site what it is. raised glasses to an even better 20 years to come....