When incorporated in 1919, Brielle was a summer tourist destination with a fledgling recreational fishing industry. The Manasquan Inlet permanently reopened in 1931, ensuring Brielle's status as a center for recreational sportfishing. Anglers flocked to Brielle to participate in tournaments, party boat passengers drove down the shore to enjoy a day of fishing, and a fleet of sportfishing boats grew at the docks. The personalities and stories of individual anglers are as varied as the fleet of vessels, from the anonymous fishermen who fluked along the Manasquan River to Lou and Eugenie
Marron, a husband and wife team whose record-setting swordfish catches in the late 1950s remain unbeaten today. Exploits of Brielle anglers are recorded in fishing journals and sporting magazines from coast to coast.