Big Monmouth during the last go around
Last week Frank Pallone and the his cronies announced that the next round of beach "nourishment" will commence this week. There's a couple of things going on. First, there's dredging happening in both the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers. Now that may be needed as the channels have been shoaling up which can be a problem and dangerous for watercraft on lower tides. There's nothing like running aground in places where you think there should be water and there's not. The Navesink is getting work from the Route 23 bridge in Red Bank to the Shrewsbury River. In the Shrewsbury the work will go from the Rumson-Sea Bright bridge, where a new bridge is being constructed, to Branchport Avenue.
The other part of this project, and the one I object to, is the dumping and pumping of sand in front of the Monmouth Beach Bath and Tennis Club. So basically it sounds like from Big to Little Monmouth.
That should keep the people in the above condos happy when it comes to next summer, if the sand sticks, which it never does. Unless you make some structural changes under the sand its just futile and a continuous money wasting effort to keep tax payers and voters happy, all the while destroying fish and marine life habitat. Frank claims to be "for the fishermen", well he's not. Dredging a channel may make sense, and make for better fishing, but that's not the motivation.
The second phase of the beach destruction will occur from Cedar Avenue, which is the light were you would turn to go from Ocean Avenue to Monmouth University, south to Pullman Avenue. That means it's all in front Lake Takanasssee and Plaza Court. In front of Lake Tak improvements were made to improve passage for the herring a few years after Sandy. They did the same at 8th Avenue in Asbury Park, but then pumped the beaches, which pretty much killed any flow of water and bait in and out of the outflow there. If you've ever fished that then you know how good that spot could be.
While anglers have enjoyed some good fishing from Pullman Avenue in Elberon to Whitehall Avenue in Deal as of late, it is basically just a highway that bait and bass jump on and catch a ride on. Yes, there is "that point", and a little structure, but that great stretch that used to hold groins and bowls that would trap bait, blues and bass, are all gone.
Sunday's shitty weather really cramped the weekend anglers plans, although I hear fish were caught here and there, and we'll see what Monday and the week going forward brings. There was a NE/E with a swell and a bunch of rain which may make it unfishable especially for a fly rodder. It may take a day or two or some goods tides to clean it up and then we'll see what's around as far as bait and bass are concerned. I see that there have been some bigger bluefish in the mixes both from the boats and beaches. Will the various sized bunker still be around? Will we switch over to a sand eel bite? You don't know until you go. I think I have a few more go's before I announce Quit #3.
