CAPTAINS, OUR CAPTAINS
By Jim Hutchinson Sr.
I grew up on an island at the New Jersey shore in the 1950s. During my years in elementary school, one of my closest friends was Joel Montgomery from Barnegat Light, New Jersey. One quality we had in common was that our greatest goal in life was to become a fishing captain.
I remember us sitting at our desks at the back of the classroom drawing the sport boats we would captain when we grew up. And yes, it was while we were supposed to be listening to our teacher.
Those early plans of ours never happened. Joel went on to a career as a successful custom home builder with a passion for antique cars. I became a high school English teacher and coach with a passion for writing about fishing. Funny how things work out sometimes.
I have learned over the years that working in the fishing industry is usually a labor of love. Rarely do you hear a captain complaining about the rigors of his job. Oh, he may gripe about trivial things like unpleasant clients or fishing regulations, but almost every captain I have encountered over the years loves what he is doing.
I decided to explore the topic of being a fishing captain. Since I live at the Jersey Shore, most of the captains I mention will be from this area. I am sure the general points I discuss are true of most ports.
Some 50 years ago or so, it seemed most fishing captains did it as a fulltime career. Some, like Capt. Owen Ridgeway of Forked River fame, supplemented their income as hunting guides when he was not hosting fishing charters. Ridgeway ran the Shir-bil.
Another, Capt. Dick Clineman of the Lady Caroline, fished out of Barnegat Light in the summer and took his boat to Florida for winter fishing. He and his wife would live on the boat while in Florida. I am not sure what she did when he was fishing, perhaps serving as his mate.
Capt. Fred Kalm piloted the Kalm Waters on many successful fishing trips out of Beach Haven. But when winter came to the southern Ocean County area in New Jersey he earned his living as a bayman, harvesting and selling clams.
In New Jersey, summer is the prime period for fishing, with spring and fall also offering opportunities. This leaves the winter months with little opportunities to earn a living as a fishing captain. Who works in the winter months and has summers off? Well, schoolteachers, of course.
The first teacher that comes to mind is Capt. Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown, New Jersey. Brett is a well-respected science teacher at Central Regional High School in Bayville, New Jersey.
But when summer arrives, along with weekends during the school year, he can be found filling fish boxes. As an aside, when the days get long in the spring he has been known to take out parties after school. His expertise on the water ranges from back bay fishing to inshore tuna.
Very often firefighters and police work double shifts. While this can be a demanding living, it opens up days during the week for those service workers to serve as captains.
Capt. Michael Greene is one of the top captains in the Long Beach Island area of New Jersey. When Capt. Mike isn’t piloting Lucky Stripes Fishing Charters, he is a valued member of the New York City Fire Department.
Another large group of captains are people who begin new careers as fishing captains after retirement from another career. Capt. Gary Dugan spent 11 years in the U.S. Army followed by a lengthy career as a social worker. He has now opted for an outside job running the boat Irish Jig out of Tuckerton, New Jersey.
Capt. Eddie Yates is now a highly respected captain fishing out of Barnegat Light after retiring from the military following many years of service. He runs the Susan Hudson and is usually booked every day of the summer and fall seasons.
In addition, there are still captains who have spent virtually all their adult lives chasing fish.
Capt. Karl Anderson began serving as a mate on offshore fishing boats out of the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club in his early teens. He went on to graduate from Kutztown University with a degree in television work. Rather than network television, he quickly turned to video work with fishing notables such as Mark Sosin and others.
While he still does a variety of communication work including extensive writing about fishing, much of his time has been spent running offshore fishing boats for a variety of owners. Florida is now his home base, and he has caught fish in various places including South America.
Now retired, Capt. Dave Shinn has another renowned captain, fishing in remote areas such as the coast of Africa and the South Pacific.
What did Capt. Dave do before he started his fishing career? Well, he was one of the top surfers on the East Coast of the United States until he decided to have a 44-foot hull beneath him instead of a 7-foot surfboard.
In summation, fishing captains may come in all shapes and sizes, but they have one common quality: they all love fishing.
If you would like to ask me a question or just tell me what a dope I am, please feel free to drop me a line at jamesghutch1@aol.com
