Joshua Glantzman catches a fish in Pt Pleasant, 2006
Asbury Park Press 19 May 2006
Posts
Concerning the sharks in the area
New Jersey Courier 14 Jul 1916 If you read the Barnegat letter in this issue you will get the bayman's idea of the shark question; and will find that they are always here in the summer,in greater or less quantities. It does seem likely that there are more of them just now than the average summer brings; but again it may be simply because attention has been focused on them, and every person who sees one or who catches one, tells about it. For instance, two big fellows, 8 and 12 feet long, were caught Monday at Little Egg harbor inlet, and the captor towed them to Beach Haven, to have a picture taken of them, when ordinarily they would have been left to float away, or else to feed the pigs. At Seaside Park on Monday a twelve footer was caught by Dick Meyer and crew at the Larkin pound. Ordinarily, the catching of a shark in a fish pound is all in a day's work; but just now it is good for a newspaper story.
1916 Fishing report
New Jersey Courier 14 Jul 1916 Fishermen report the fish are unusually erratic in both bay and ocean this summer. Today there will be large catches, and tomorrow not a fish to be seen; while the schools will be found in some spot that had before been without a fish. The baymen are inclined to blame the sharks for hurrying the schools around and driving them hither and yon, so that the bluefish, weakfish, and other edible fish do not have time to stop and feed at their favorite feeding grounds. Friday of last week large numbers of big weakfish were caught off Waretown; and the next day not a fish ws seen--that is the way the reports come in.
The plight of Barnegat Pier in 1916
New Jersey Courier 14 Jul 1916 The fishing season at Barnegat Pier just about opened this week. The fleet can be found there mornings waiting for parties. The Pier is not as good a stand as it was five years ago. Now all the parties from up the beach resorts, come by auto, and either stop at Seaside Park,or else come down the main shore road to Forked River, Waretown, or Barnegat. This leaves only the Philadelphia and Camden and vicinity trade for Barnegat Pier. To make it worse, the railroad is all the time advertising the south Jersey fishing resorts, like Stone Harbor, and Anglesea, but will do nothing to exploit Barnegat Pier. If the railroad would take a hand, and help, the business at the Pier could be built up in a couple of summers far surpassing anything that it ever was in the past, for there are thousands of fishermen in Philadelphia who would come down if they knew about the place.