On Monday the weather was nice so I figured I would do some scouting of the beaches from Sandy Hook down to Bradley Beach. Lots of anglers have been wondering what the "new" False Hook on Sandy Hook would look like post the fall 2013 dredging.
I made the walk which wasn't bad in the hardened snow topped sand. Once you get out there there is no doubt less sand and less of a point. One thing is for sure, there isn't a 0-60 foot drop a few feet off the sand like there used to be. I was there on the outgoing tide and the area inside, around and out is more gradually tapered out then it used to be. Hopefully anglers won't try and push it and get out further than they should, the water still rips through there, believe me. Below is a short video panning south from North Beach and around.
My next nauseating stop was Monmouth Beach. First at Big Monmnouth and then Little Monmouth. Below is a picture looking south with the groin now half exposed as Mother Nature takes back the beach. By the time the summer season starts there will be the same amount of beach as there was last year, another 40 million dollar waste.
In Long Branch the Pier Village portion has slowed and the area near Takanasee is getting the business now. The sand is being pumped at a furious pace and the groins are getting covered in
varying degrees. I watched as the sand was moved up to a series of markers placed in the sand during the pre-construction surveying.......okay. And then I took a drive south to Ocean Grove and Bradley
Beach. I stood on the Fletcher Lake outflow and watched as the sand was pumped from the old fishing pier down. At this point you couldn't walk under the old pier if you tried and those groins in front of it are half covered. It will be a shame to see Bradley and Avon get the treatment in the next weeks.
There will be a lot of new structure, or lack thereof, along the Jersey Shore this season. Get out and make scouting part of your Cabin Fever breaking ritual.
