Swan Bay

[woodjin]

I guess this could be a somewhat forgotten place as I haven't heard it mentioned here before. My wife and I were driving last weekend and we discovered this place. I saw it on goggle earth and was curious. I didn't know it was going to be a WMA so I was pleasantly surprised. Swan Bay WMA is off of Turtle creek road in Wading River. It is a breathtaking estuary.

Since then I have fished there twice in the kayak. There is a maze of channals that one can easily get lost in. Exploring in the kayak in this area, I was amazed by the amount of life swarming about in the estuary. I didn't bring my camera in the kayak but I saw thousands of fiddler crabs housing in the banks. I think they were fiddlers but I could be wrong. I kayaked all the way out to the great bay.

Last night I went out again. Night time is a whole another world out there in a kayak. I could see the glow of AC on the south eastern horizon. I did some fishing but got a little freaked out when something very large was near the boat (remember the matawan creek inncident?) so I headed back. Caught a couple weak fish and a stripper, but they were all under sized.
The channel:

the remains of an old bridge or dock:

Turtle creek rd has some very cool rustic old houses on it, some abandoned. Here are some photos of an old tractor, very old steam engine, and mustang graveyard at roadside:

Jeff

 

[Ben Ruset]

That is pretty awesome!

 

[Boyd]

Yes that it an interesting place, I've been down that road before and saw the old tractors. Great photos! Here's the WMA map: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/wmamaps/swan_bay.pdf

What was the Matawan Creek incident?

 

[Hewey]

Yes that it an interesting place, I've been down that road before and saw the old tractors. Great photos! Here's the WMA map: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/wmamaps/swan_bay.pdf

What was the Matawan Creek incident?

in the early 1900s there was a shark in the matawan creek eating people, most likely a bull shark. there is a book about it but the name slips my mind. I have heard that jaws was inspired by what happend in matawan creek.

 

[bobpbx]

Cool Jeff, very cool. I'll bet its full of greenheads at times. I always wondered who would like to walk those saltmarshes seen along the Mullica River Bridge under the parkway. Bet we'd be eaten alive.

 

[BEHR655]

Nice. I was there a couple of years ago. Beautiful area.

Steve

 

[ebsi2001]

JAWZ! Dum, dum, dum...

<SNIP>...
What was the Matawan Creek incident?

In the summer of 1916 a shark attacked a swimmer and his dog in Beach Haven, Ocean County. The dog exited the surf: the swimmer, a man by the name of van Sant, was not as lucky. Finally dragged from the surf, he was brought to the old Engleside Inn, where he supposedly expired on the hotel's reception desk.

The shark(s) turned north for a "bite," and attacked/killed two more people before the shark(s) entered the Matawan Creek. Supposedly, it/they surprised a boy swimming in the creek, who said he felt the shark(')s(') rough skin. By that time, a hunt for the shark(s) had been initiated, and after some few days, two sharks were killed at Morgan's Beach/Creek. It could not be proven that the dead sharks had killed anyone, although that topic seems to be a matter of conjecture...

A year or two ago, the History Channel broadcast a programme about shark attacks, and this "incident," with newspaper clippings of the era were part of the "documentary."

BTW: The old Engleside Inn washed out to sea (with Beach Haven's boardwalk) in the hurricane of 1944...

ebsi

 

[Ben Ruset]

I think there is a book about this.

 

[woodjin]

I remember my Dad telling me the story whenever we would drive over matawan creek on the parkway. Later I read about it in a 1930's era book my Dad had entitled "Shawdows in the Sea". More recently two books came out on the inncident: "Close to Shore" (I was at the book signing) and "12 Days of terror". Both are great books but I would recommend "12 days of terror" over the other.

It is an amazing, though tragic, occurance which would be hard to believe if it was not documented proof. It remains to this day the single worst shark attack in recorded history by sheer body count. When in the creek, the shark attacked 3, perhaps 4 people, within a few hours. Not to mention the attacks in LBI and Spring Lake the week before. It remains somewhat of a natural oddity.

Jeff

 

[Kevinhooa]

Swan Bay Rocks

In days past I used to fish a lot in Swan Bay and Log Bay right near it and in a dead low tide you can see not only tons of stumps in both, but lots of ballast piles from the old ships that used to sail up the Mullica. I'm sure ballast piles are everywhere on the Mullica, but I noticed more near these two areas than I have anywhere else. There were also some that looked like rock piles on the depth finder, but with those I can't be too sure. It's weird to a small pile of fist sized stones jutting up from the water in an area full of mud and sand.

Kevin

 

[pinelandpaddler]

In days past I used to fish a lot in Swan Bay and Log Bay right near it and in a dead low tide you can see not only tons of stumps in both, but lots of ballast piles from the old ships that used to sail up the Mullica. I'm sure ballast piles are everywhere on the Mullica, but I noticed more near these two areas than I have anywhere else. There were also some that looked like rock piles on the depth finder, but with those I can't be too sure. It's weird to a small pile of fist sized stones jutting up from the water in an area full of mud and sand.

Very cool, Kevin. I'm guessing that the shoals of Swan Bay were troublesome for many unweary captains. I wonder if there were any channel markers in those days...

 

[tplife]

I guess this could be a somewhat forgotten place as I haven't heard it mentioned here before. My wife and I were driving last weekend and we discovered this place. I saw it on goggle earth and was curious. I didn't know it was going to be a WMA so I was pleasantly surprised. Swan Bay WMA is off of Turtle creek road in Wading River. It is a breathtaking estuary.

Since then I have fished there twice in the kayak. There is a maze of channals that one can easily get lost in. Exploring in the kayak in this area, I was amazed by the amount of life swarming about in the estuary. I didn't bring my camera in the kayak but I saw thousands of fiddler crabs housing in the banks. I think they were fiddlers but I could be wrong. I kayaked all the way out to the great bay.

Last night I went out again. Night time is a whole another world out there in a kayak. I could see the glow of AC on the south eastern horizon. I did some fishing but got a little freaked out when something very large was near the boat (remember the matawan creek inncident?) so I headed back. Caught a couple weak fish and a stripper, but they were all under sized.
The channel:

the remains of an old bridge or dock:

Turtle creek rd has some very cool rustic old houses on it, some abandoned. Here are some photos of an old tractor, very old steam engine, and mustang graveyard at roadside:

Jeff

Jeff, I can get you a good price on one of those 'Stangs...
Anyway, Tplife ran a muskrat trap line in '71 off Turtle Creek Road at the edge of Swan Bay's marsh. Got up at 5am to do the checks before taking the bus over to Green Bank Elementary. There's a well hole off the dirt-road portion where the road turns 45-degrees south...the old Sooy place.

 

[woodjin]

Cool. How did you make out with that muskrat trap? I'll have to look for that well.

 

[tplife]

Cool. How did you make out with that muskrat trap? I'll have to look for that well.

Not too bad, $2/rat. Wish your photo links still worked! It's a nice area in photos and in person. BTW, I knew Turtle Creek when it had a nice wooden bridge and small dock in the '60s. A cool place to fish with my dad as I remember.

 

[kayakmac]

I used to get $2 a rat in '67 - '68 when I sold to Stan McCarten in Wading river. He was a local "ratman". I got mine from the Mullica. The Wading always looked promising, but when your walking and rowing It's too far to go from Green Bank. Got a few foxes. Sold them to Walt Priest Jr.

 

[tplife]

I used to get $2 a rat in '67 - '68 when I sold to Stan McCarten in Wading river. He was a local "ratman". I got mine from the Mullica. The Wading always looked promising, but when your walking and rowing It's too far to go from Green Bank. Got a few foxes. Sold them to Walt Priest Jr.

Green Bank is a lovely little town full of nice people - as I remember it. But it's a long haul away from W. River, unless you're driving. I'm pretty sure Stan bought my rats too, but my trapline was only a 1/2 mile or one mile at most away from our house in W. River off Old Brace Road (good luck finding that!). I knew the Priests, I believe one of them was our Facilities/Custodian engineer at GB Elementary. Did you attend Oakcrest with any of the Bartlings?