Remembering Milt Rosko

It was only yesterday that during a casual conversation with a fishing friend that I became aware that famed outdoor writer Milt Rosko had passed away at 93 last November.

Born and raised in Newark, Milt attended West Side H.S., but lived most of his life in Watchung. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1951, raising to sergeant before getting into the business world as Operations Manager of Annheuser-Busch.

Outdoor writing was strictly a sideline at that time as the compensation was minimal despite the fact that magazines wanted good black and white photos which Milt was able to supply as he had the finest camera equipment at the time. That photography was also vital in producing angling books, and he ended up with 10 published books.

The Rod & Gun Editors of Metropolitan N.Y. were a pretty exclusive organization composed of the newspaper outdoor editors plus the editors of major outdoor magazines , but Milt’s pioneering work earned him a membership. He was just as enthusiastic about writing up night whiting fishing from the old Long Branch Pier as in detailing the new canyon fisheries for tilefish and game fish which anglers weren’t even aware of a few years earlier. Milt did quite a bit of pioneering himself with the Linda June which they even sailed to North Carolina’s Outer Banks one summer.

Milt also had a summer home in Mantoloking, and particularly enjoyed walking the relatively inaccessible portion to cast small lures for stripers, blues and whatever else might hit them before being released. As always, any angler who sought his advice was educated on the spot. Indeed, it was there where I last saw Milt a few years ago when he seemed to be doing well even though he was older than me.

I frequently hooked up with Milt and June (his wife of 69 years) for car rides to outdoor writer and conservation meetings. It seems like just a few years ago that the Fisherman’s Conservation Association of Staten Island arranged a party to present both Milt and I with their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Though Milt is now fishing heavenly waters surely teeming with fish, everyone who ever encountered him was left with positive memories of a man who worked hard to provide good fisheries for the future and who never passed up an opportunity to help others enjoy success in an often frustrating sport.

The forecast is for east winds at just 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon.