Brian Hickman started fishing at age 8 with his grandmother in Florida. Now the native New Yorker is a local pro, casting lines into the East River almost every night of the week, with 25 years of urban angling under his belt.
“I started with my grandmother and had a bamboo rod, a string and a cork bobber in Lake Okeechobee . . . then it just became a playful hobby,” he tells The Post on a recent summer evening, as he readies a shiny black rod for his next cast into the surprisingly blue waters at the southern tip of Randalls Island. Noting the color of this aquatic crossroads, he adds, “The river wasn’t always this clean.”
From self-taught laymen like Hickman, a 54-year-old IT professional, to those who want to nab some dinner, fishing in NYC is an unexpectedly common pastime.
“When you think of New York City, the last thing you probably think about is fishing,” says Eric Collins, whose family has owned Midtown’s Capitol Fishing Tackle Company since 1974 (132 W. 36th St.; 212-929-6132, CapitolFishing.com). “But at the end of August, don’t be surprised if you go to our Instagram page and see someone with a 45-pound striped bass caught in New York waters. And they’re safe to eat!” (The New York State Health Department does offer cautions on eating some local fish; check Health.NY.gov for details).
Sunset jaunts along the waterfront East River Esplanade from East 96th Street up to the Triborough Bridge usually reveal — amid joggers, cyclists, picnickers and amblers — more than a dozen city dwellers of every age and ethnicity hoping to catch a bite.
Their chances, of course, depend on the season, the moon phase and the tides. Experts say late summer is a good time to try your luck because many schools of fish are beginning their journeys south for winter, passing the city on their way.
Hickman ticks off the possibilities that can be plucked from the river: striped bass, yes, but also flounder, fluke, bluefish, catfish, perch and porgy. Sure, seagulls might eat your bait, and fragile lines can get caught on rocks and other metropolitan detritus, but the wins can be huge.
“The other day, I thought I had a garbage bag. And then it turned over,” Hickman says, brandishing a photo on his cellphone. “It was a fluke — 25 inches! Look at the size of this baby!”
Hickman sometimes brings a miniature charcoal grill and barbecues his catch right along the river. Other times he cooks it at his Harlem apartment. Occasionally he will gift it to a neighborhood restaurateur, who will serve him dinner in exchange.
Amateur anglers set up nearby, husband-and-wife team Feng Chou and Mei Lin eat whatever they reel in. The former delivery-truck driver and the housekeeper, who emigrated from Southeast China in 1997 and live in East Harlem, regularly spend a few hours on summer nights monitoring matching poles baited with tiny silversides called shiners.
“Sometimes we catch one, sometimes two, sometimes none,” Lin says with a cheerful shrug. She steams whatever they do snag, like a recent foot-long bluefish, with ginger and green onion.
Note that New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has restrictions on the amount and size of fish that anglers can take home. Check the DEC’s Web site (DEC.NY.gov), which also has info about the free permit that is technically required (but rarely enforced for novices), before you cast a line.
Contrary to popular belief, getting started doesn’t require expensive gear. “You need a rod, a reel, some bait and some patience,” Collins says. “We can get someone set up for $25 to $35.” Some rod-and-reel combos, though, can go for up to $4,000. Don’t forget some googly-eyed frozen bait!
In July, Collins’ store launched a fishing tour — all equipment included — that will run through November ($85 for adults, $79 for seniors and active military, $75 for kids; CapitolPrincess.com).
“We’re not going to fill the boats up every day, and we know that,” Collins says. “But if we can enrich the community, have people put down their phones and bring their kids, it creates a new way of communication without devices.”
The gleaming Capitol Princess takes guests from lower Manhattan’s Pier 36 on five- to six-hour trips to the Verrazano Bridge, the Rockaways or even northern New Jersey.
Other prime local spots for fishing include the Long Island City piers and the Hoboken waterfront. Lin and Chou travel to Long Island on weekends to fish. Hickman, who just started a blog about his fishing endeavors (IBFishin.wordpress.com), goes anywhere from Orchard Beach in The Bronx to Breezy Point in Queens. Despite his enthusiasm, he is realistic about the odds of success in his passion-fueled pursuit.
“Even if I don’t catch any fish I’m still happy,” he says. “But you just never know. Fish that are supposed to be here aren’t here. Fish that were never supposed to be here are here. My goal now is to catch a bull shark.”
