Jeff Weiss's Posts

NJ’s Diamond in the Rough: Island Beach State Park Survives Superstorm Sandy

NJ’s Diamond in the Rough: Island Beach State Park Survives Superstorm Sandy

Anglers Conservation Network / Blog Post / Hurricane Sandy / New Jersey / Recreational Fishing
Posted by     February 4, 2013   

Time flies after you’ve been broadsided by one of the largest natural disasters to hit the New Jersey coastline in over five decades.  Hurricane Sandy, or officially called “Superstorm Sandy”, came ashore just south of Long Beach Island and busted the hell out of our homes, businesses and natural coastal defenses.  The loss of life and property perpetuated by this storm are mind blowing.  Now, three months, hundreds of lives and billions of dollars later, the State of New Jersey and its residents are just beginning to salt out the final effects of this colossal event.Those of us who fish the mid-New Jersey coastline tend to be familiar with one of our brighter local jewels, Island Beach State Park, which is managed by New Jersey Parks and Forestry, a division of NJDEP.  IBSP took a heavy punch from Sandy.  Amazingly, due to its natural and well managed dune structures, the park sustained only minor damage to its infrastructure when compared to the grossly over developed beachfront comm... Read More »

Surf Fishing

Recreational Fishing
Posted by     December 6, 2012   

Decades ago, when a combination of hospital waste and tar balls regularly washed ashore onto what was once a very polluted New Jersey beach, I learned how to surf fish. I was an early teenager trying to figure out what made the grizzly ‘old fisherman I met on Long Beach Island so crazy about wanting to catch a Striped Bass. It seemed a mysterious event to me as I listened to the ol’timers talk about how they would catch Stripers, “back when we had bass”. I was not sure about what they meant by “when we had bass”, but as I began to delve deeper into my life’s pursuit the reality of their past tense as to why we had no bass was, for the short term, beyond my understanding. These ‘ol Timer bass fisherman, short of their scruffy nods towards the Holy, offered little information to share with me. I quickly realized that I had to learn the ways of Striper fishing on my own, as all of the locals where not about to divulge their well-kept secrets. Back then, before cellphones and the world-wid... Read More »