Jetty Fishing
People love their coastlines. To keep them from eroding, engineers need to erect structure to prevent erosion and provide protection from extreme weather.
Thus, man-made jetties, sea walls, sand dunes, barriers, bulkheads and breakwaters have been built beside ‘every’ major body of water. They adorn our coasts and make outstanding fishing platforms.
Jetties are magnets for ‘baitfish’ and subsequently game fish. They usually consist of large pieces of rock (granite) weighing up to 16 (US) tons each, or concrete rubble. Breakwater construction can be built parallel or perpendicular to the coast, as required.
Beachfront jetties are subject to ‘waves’ and ‘surf’. Inlet jetties inlets are protected.
Jetties punctuate the end of every city block that abuts ocean, or bay here in my neighborhood, Brooklyn, NY. Believe me when I tell you most jetties hold fish that lurk there – in season.
Give each potential spot or jetty a 10 minute test, by casting in every direction from your perch. Then, move on, initially to another spot on the same jetty, then to the next jetty.
Depending on the size and popularity of the jetty, if I see a crowd fishing on it, I’ll move to the next ‘jetty’, but not without sneaking in a few casts parallel to the jetty from the ‘land end’. Most anglers walk right past this productive area and go directly to the end of the deep end of the ‘jetty’. On large and heavily fished jetties, I have no problem joining an angler or group of anglers… provided everyone is conscious of where and when other fishermen are casting, as there is no reason we can’t fish together. Many times, on my walk back from the ‘sea end’ of a jetty, I noticed that midway on that ‘jetty’ was vacant, which means that I with alacrity will be able to try these potentially productive spots. Absolutely no need to ‘only’ fish at the far end. Waders are not a necessary when jetty fishing – some would even call waders dangerous due to their ability to fill up with water, should you slip and fall off the ‘jetty’. Nonetheless, I wear waders when ‘jetty’ fishing in the spring and fall and for safety’s sake, I’m always sure to wear a ‘surf belt’ tightly cinched around my waist, and often I wear a rain jacket also. In the summer, a bathing suit is just fine.
No matter what I’m wearing, I make sure to have some form of metal studs on my soles, for traction. Jetties are regularly washed over by surf and consequently slippery moss and slime grow on ‘jetty’ boulders. Walking on wet moss & slime is akin to walking on black ice. A word to the wise, ‘jetties’ are slippery and very dangerous. So for your sake, wear studded soles or ‘jetty’ cleats that can be strapped onto your boots.
Proximity to an inlet will affect currents around a jetty, so will spacing between jetties. Where jetties are close, the current will be slow. As a rule of thumb, jetties that produce best lie adjacent to noticeably stronger currents and are very probably located near an inlet.
Water depth around a ‘jetty’ seems to have an influence on fish catching production. Jetties surrounded by flat shallow sands are consistently less productive than other spots next to dugout deep holes on the sea floor adjacent to the ‘jetty’. These spots are preferable, but you never know… so ‘fan’ cast from each of your perches – to cover every possible spot. If ‘no go’, of course move to another spot, or try another jetty.
Try the ‘jetty’ closest to the an inlet, because the current in most cases will carry food past your jetty, that can draw ‘prizes’ close, so you can hook them.
In most cases your prey will hover in the sand very close to the boulder you’re on, so long casts and a long poles will be unnecessary. When a fish is hooked a longer rod will be cumbersome. For my jetty fishing, I use an 8’ (2.4384 meter) rod. You may also want to tote a long-handled net, a gaff, a short-handled lip gaff or a lip-gripper. These tools may help you to secure your catch and enable you to drag it over the rocks.
Most of my ‘jetty’ outfits are rigged with 30-pound-test braided line.
Building ‘Jetties’ has prevented the erosion of our coastline
while providing a good fishing platforms for all.
Keep casting,
Marvin
Pier Fishing
Its safe, friendly and colossal casts from the beach, are unnecessary. Bait fish shelter under piers, which means the ‘doormats’ you want will be there too. And… while fishing on a pier you ‘NEVER’ get seasick – and – the price is right!
Municipal Piers
Piers protrude from land and can easily be distinguished from jetties, docks and wharfs, as each is built for a different purpose, while all may serve as a noble platform, for angling.
Fishing Piers (Pleasure Piers)
Built for the purpose of providing boat-less anglers access to fishing grounds that are otherwise inaccessible and equally as important, as a place to walk, sit, relax and, enjoy scenery and fresh air. Sort of an aquatic municipal park.
Steeplechase Pier, New York City, Coney Island, Brooklyn. First built in 1905, then destroyed by a nor’easter. Then, rebuilt, and subsequently destroyed several more times before “Hurricane Sandy” which notoriously wreaked havoc between 22October2012 and 2November2012.
“SANDY” 22October2012 – 2November2012.
The new “Coney Island Fishing Pier” was re-constructed along with much of the boardwalk including the restaurant below.
Snack on the new boardwalk.
Coney Island Pier, Beach, Boardwalk & Parachute Ride.
This 2.5 foot shark was caught on 23July2015, while bathers swam nearby.
Beach viewed from the pier.
Spoke of the pier.
An upper tier of the Coney Island Pier.
Using traps, many crabs are caught off this pier.
Woman tosses a crab trap into the Atlantic Ocean from the pier.
Beach from Coney Island Pier.
‘N’ Train to Coney Island.
Subway To Coney Island
Sunset On The Boardwalk
2015 Nathan’s, Hot Dog Eating Contest (see video below). Matt Stonie Upsets Joey Chestnut!
American Veterans Memorial Pier, but to most of us Brooklynites, it will always be the 69th Street Pier. Before 1964 the pier housed up to four ferries, till it was replaced by the “Verrazano Narrows Bridge”, which links Brooklyn to Staten Island. The Verrazano surpasses San Francisco’s “Golden Gate Bridge” as the world’s largest suspension bridge, with a 4,260-foot-center span between two 693-foot towers. The bridge is so large that its design called for the towers to be angled slightly away from each other to compensate for the curvature of the Earth.
The Verrazano Bridge remains the longest suspension bridge in the United States, though seven bridges worldwide have surpassed it since 1981. It is perhaps most famous as the starting point of the New York City Marathon.
Docks
Docks are designed to accommodate boats.
Wharfs
Structures built on the shore, or sticking out from the shore into a harbor, or other watery body, to which vessels may be moored to load or unload cargo – or to lie at rest.
Structures built on the shore, or sticking out from the shore into a harbor, or other watery body, to which vessels may be moored to load or unload cargo – or to lie at rest.
Equipment
Most pier fishing requires only a basic rod, reel and simple tackle. Medium action spinning, or bait-casting outfits work well in most situations. Other pier fishing equipment may includes one or more coolers, a tackle box(s), rags, bucket(s), cutting board, knife, pliers, and tape measure. To transport all this ‘stuff’, a fishing cart is a good idea, or for a fraction of the cost, try a shopping cart.
