[Reelron]

I remember my dad taking my brothers and I freshwater fishing, in north Jersey. Catching little Sunnies with worms on a cain pole.

First salt-water trip, at 10, on the Black Pearl out of Keansburg. I got sick as a dog but quickly got over it. It must have been a whiting & Ling trip, because I remember my dad telling me it was the fumes from the karosene heater that made me sick. We moved to Keansburg shortly after that trip. My dad wanted to be closer to the water. He used to come home from work on Friday, change clothes and head for Belmar. Once there he would mate on the Sea Jet or Miss Belmar Friday night. Then Saturday he would mate on a 6-pack called the Johnny R. Miss Belmar or Sea Jet Saturday night & the Johnny R on Sunday.

My brother and I sent our time seining bait on the Keansburg beaches and getting chased off the Keansburg pier for selling that bait. When we had a quater we fished on the pier for Fluke, Kingfish, Snapper Blues, and the occasional Striper. If we didn't have the quater we fished at the mouth of the Keansburg creek for snappers or we dug worms to make some extra money.

As we got a little older my brother lost interest but I kept on fishing and Dad started taking me on various party boats. My dad belonged to two fishing clubs in North Jersey, Kostacks Fishing Club & The Schyular Ave. Tuna Club. The Tuna Club only had 48 members and you had to be 21 to even get on the waiting list. Dad put my name on the list and I was 25 before I got in and then we actually cheated because I went in under my brother's name as dad had signed him up the year before me and he didn't want to join.

What a club, two trip to Quincy every year, various trips out of Atl. Highlands and Sheepshead Bay. Trips to Mass., Main, and Va. The guys signed up under various elected "Captains" for a Tuna Charter. Plus a Banquet every year! All this for dues of $.50 a week. Of course we also sold 50/50 tickets to cover some of the expense. I left the club when my dad got sick and lost interest, just wasn't the same fishing without him.

After my Dad passed away my brother got back into fishing and we did quite a bite of fluking in Raritan bay until he passed away. After putting up with my brother I can pretty much fish with anybody and I do. Just call me and I will be there to share the costs and the trip.

I miss that club and I miss fishing with my dad and brother but I will keep on fishing as long as I can hold a fishing rod and lean against a rail.