Talking about the replacing the swivel with a knot…to me , it’s almost unnatural thing to do. After all, I been thought that swivel reduces the line twist. For more than twenty years it’s been what I have done. Yes, there were times when I wished I had a longer leader. And yes, I have friends who use long leaders in same manner Crazy is doing it. I will try to get more info from him, just to kind of figure out why he does what he does. What some people don’t realize, or they are so closed-minded to do so is that we are here to bring stuff to your attention. New leaders, new ways of doing things, lures you might have not know about it. We are not suggesting you go and buy everything, or change the way you fish. Our job is to educate you. Your job is to do a due diligence and figure out if this information is something you can apply the way you fish.
If you are like me and fished with nothing like Lami GSB rods for a decade and now you try a CTS rod and you can’t tell the difference then you should stick with a GSB. In my humble opinion, St Croix and CTS (and some other brands I am not familiar with it I am sure) have revolutionized fairly quickly the idea of a surf rod. But to say they they reinvented the wheel would be ignorant. I think Lamiglas revolutionized the surf rod with a GSB series years ago. And I am sure that years from now someone else will do it again. It’s called improvement, not invention. To think I would be fishing with two piece rods and loving it, it’s crazy. Few years ago I would have laughed at you if you even mentioned it. In fact, I was one of those closed-minded guys that looked at those who first raved about cts,gloomis or st Croix with suspicion. But you got to open your mind to new things. My first experience with ZB reels when they came out was not pleasant. Stupid holes on the spool would let the sand into the drag. But when I tried the current model I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. And Penn Torque…many of you have been asking about it. I reserved my judgment on the darn thing until I had a chance to use it. No, I don’t think it’s ugly, and yes I do think that if Penn made a reel in size between 5 and 7 and shave some weight they might take over the surf like 704 did years ago. Why do people like to crap on others who try new things is beyond me…it’s cool to play with new toys. Imagine if we at SJ had the same mindset. Ok, we created a good publication. We are done now. Just tune into us every few months for new issue and leave us alone. No SJ Blog, no videos, no STRIPETHON. Its life you are living..not a Groundhog day where you are doing same thing over and over and over…if it wasn’t for new toys, new places to fish, new gear, new seasons, if every day you went to your local beach and caught the same fish over and over..what fun would that be? its life, live it and enjoy it. And yes, it’s only a matter of time before we feature something that will prove to be a lemon….life gives you lemons, make a lemonade…in my case, with all the haters out there, I just had a lot of sugar…actually Splenda:-)
One of the things that irks me about my first book , The Art of Surfcasting with Lures are those that complain that ,yes, my book is great if you are from Long Island but irrelevant if you are fishing other places. First, I would disagree with generality of that statement because I have never read a fishing book, regardless who wrote it where I could not take something out of it and apply it to the way I fish. The second thing is, why would I talk out of my ass and tell you how to fish back bays of Virginia beaches if I never been there? I am astounded how some writers know everything about anything, anywhere. Sadly, I am only knowledgeable about the way I fish. And I can live with that..
My cold is finally starting to show signs of abating. Just in time to watch Patriots and Giants. I with both fans luck, you have to admit that is great to have two teams in our area 60 minutes away from the big game.
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I agree 100%
I am not neurotic but I like trying new things. I get curious about “what with this do” or “is this better then what I have for the fishing I do”. A lot of time buyers remorse isn’t so bad if I can sell it for close to what I paid so the risk is low if I don’t like it after the fact. Mixing it up and trying new things is a small but enjoyable aspect to the sport. I had my doubts about ZB but when i took the time to learn the reel top to bottom I realized I didn’t give them a fair shake to begin with. Now i am the proud owner of a 22 and learning a ton in the process. You don’t know if something sucks by reading online…you put your own personal time with it and make a decision later.
If I caught fish every day with the same gear I would get bored awfully quick. Why do people care so much about what others use? Ever wonder why the best surfcasters rarely post on other forums or discuss what they use and how much they catch? They fish for themselves and for the love of the sport…not to impress their cyber buddies. Surround yourself with folks who fish like you do and care about conservation not post counts or the cost of their gear.
I enjoy learning nearly every day about how SJ can help me get the most out of my casts.
I don’t know Z… i think re-reading your book or some old SJ mags/entries is pretty neat just to see how far you have come and what you have learned since then. How sad would it be if you didn’t “grow” as a surfcaster since those books?
↓Side note…Z did I miss a post about you writing some e-books about interviewing surfcasters in the SJ store? I’ll definitely have to pick the iPad version up thanks! I remember you mentioning it in passing but i just saw the sidebar/store links COOOOOOL!
Sorry, I really don’t care about football…I put all of my energy into Yankees baseball and Rangers Hockey…now I have something to look forward to when my wife puts on Housewives this weekend…
↓That was one of the best replies that I’ve ever read. Thank you, Matt.
↓lol Thanks. It has taken me a few hundred posts since the beginning of this blog…about time I actually SAID something haha.
Feel better Z!
(Matt, check youe email on downoload…z)
↓From someone that lives (and fishes) 3000 miles from N.J….
I have read Zeno’s books, and S.J. in the hopes of learning a few things and applying it to our fishery on the west coast.
His concepts of fishing inlets has helped me to get results while fishing directly beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. John Skinner’s bucktailing concepts mirror our ‘Hair Raisor’ fishing on the beaches of Pacifica.
I have to wonder if Zeno or John ever thought how far their insights may fly??
Albert Einstein once said:
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
Keep it up guys…
Iverfish
↓Keep it up Z. I love new toys. Wish I could try them all! Great post CTMatt my thoughts almost exactly.
↓Great Post – I totally agree.
We all “grow” as fishermen by trying new things, by going through errors and mistakes and (sometimes) success 🙂
The more I fish, the more I come down to the basics – a rod I like (not THE rod everyone talks about), a reel I trust and feel comfortable using and trusted lures.
What is fantastic nowadays is that you can fish with lures coming from Japan, Hand made plugs from CT, France, UK, Australia, your own flies, your own lures…
There is SO much to discover why would anyone limit himself? I fish with a pretty singular outfit and gear because after 2 seasons trying to “follow the mass” I detached my self from the crowd for much better pleasure and results.
But don’t get me wrong I have learned TONS with Zeno’s books, on the forums and especially by meeting seasoned surfcasters but at some point one has to “break out” of the mold, apply their own “rules”.
As Matt said it – a real fisherman doesn’t fish for the glory but for the pleasure and the love of the sport
↓I most appreciate your frankness and candor
↓All your books have been great as is this blog and magazine
I don’t fish LI but have learned plenty that applies to Jersey jetties
please keep up the amazing work you do for all of us
sending another donation to your cause now
Z, please ignore the haters & keep trying stuff & telling it how you see it, the good, the bad & the ugly.
Your efforts are appreciated & enjoyed. Thank you for the ‘zine & the blog & the videos. Even though I’m not from Long Island, and don’t fish there (I’m in NJ).
David Strom
↓I am going to try the knot this year instead of a swivel, unless im planning on running a teaser. That’s my “trying something new” for the year.
↓“One of the things that irks me about my first book , The Art of Surfcasting with Lures are those that complain that ,yes, my book is great if you are from Long Island but irrelevant if you are fishing other places. First, I would disagree with generality of that statement because I have never read a fishing book, regardless who wrote it where I could not take something out of it and apply it to the way I fish. The second thing is, why would I talk out of my ass and tell you how to fish back bays of Virginia beaches if I never been there? I am astounded how some writers know everything about anything, anywhere. Sadly, I am only knowledgeable about the way I fish. And I can live with that..”
Z I am not but I am blowing smoke up your Arse 🙂 I think that book was great, Great because it was able clearly define your practical approach and knowledge to surf fishing. There were alot of things I already knew but there were some thing that got clearer to me after reading that book.
I have a philsophy especially when reading books about fishing techniques, I try to be the glass is half full not half empty, in that I try to keep my mind completely open to new techniques even if they are counter to what I “think” is proper technigue.
I have read alot of book about fly fishing that have invaluably helped me surf fishing if you can beleive that. It is all about what you want to get out of the read than it is about a comparison between my percieve knowledge and what a book has to offer.
↓i read the magazine and the blog and it can be applied to fishing for sunfish in a farm pond if you have an open mind.
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