Fall 2020 Fishing

Fishing grounds . . . the NJ Upper Bay portion of the sixth boro. Quick question to be answered at the end of the post:  how many commercial fishing ports does NJ have and can you name them?  Eastern Welder is a perennial boat here;  Hyundai Victory is one of the ULCVs newly recent here.

I can’t tell you the name of the nearer boat,

but it certainly shows the influence of the deadrise boat from farther south. Click here for a technical definition of deadrise.

Fishing from pedal kayak has surged in popularity, and

can be fishing where they’re not expected.

Bjoern Kils and I on the New York Media Boat Defender visited the nearest NJ commercial fishing port, Belford NJ, the other day.

Although Belford has a lot of boats, it is NOT NJ’s largest fishing port. More on that assignment in an upcoming post.

Belford Creek is home to a diverse set of fish boats.

Given the trail of gulls following Trisha Marie, fish are being cleaned during the ride back to port.

Note the VZ Bridge and the Manhattan skyline visible from the Belford Channel.

Meanwhile dozens of small boats fish the Lower Bay this time of year, while whales gorge themselves on all the bunker in the Bay.

So . . . besides Belford, the other NJ commercial fishing ports are Point Pleasant, Viking Village in Barnegat Light, Atlantic City, Cape May/Wildwood, and Port Norris.  Viking Village is the largest at this time.  Belford is the newest.   More here. Looks like I need to do some more gallivanting . . .

If you’re looking for a non-traditional food for T’day in this non-traditional year, get fish.  It may not be all that non-traditional. Here‘s info on the Belford Seafood Co Op.

All photos and sentiments, WVD.

Spring Fishing 2020

It’s the sheer diversity of traffic on the sixth boro that keeps me coming back, although diverse does not mean unpredictable.  In summer, mermaids gather, specifically around the very day of the solstice.  In winter, fishing boats come .    In fall, the fishing boats are of a different sort.

Chele-C was fishing on the west side, and

 

Phyllis Ann over on the east

with Dutch Girl and

 

 

this boat I could not identify.

Eastern Welder has been a fixture in winter fishing as far back as I can remember.

 

Osprey are well known for their fishing ability, so I should not

have been surprised to also have seen HSV Osprey out extracting from the depths.

All photos by Will Van Dorp.

 

Fishing January 2018

A surprising feature of the sixth boro in winter is the fishing, dragging for clams.  And many thanks to Steve Turi for sending along this article about this fishery from north jersey.com.

Here are some previous winters’ posts about these boats.  And right about exactly eight years ago, I saw the greatest concentration of fishing boats here.

Successful fishing relies on knowing habitat;  famous statues have nothing to do with it.

The other day I thought about the irony of fishing here:  might be hazards near a tanker named

for a fierce reptile, Densa Alligator.

But it must have been a productive location.

Next time you enjoy a delicious bowl of clam chowder, think about these fisherman.

All photos by Will Van Dorp, who wonders whether there are more crude tankers like D. Alligator coming in this winter than usual.