I don’t wear Korkers on local jetties. Instead I wear waders with felt. I know these jetties like a back of my hand, they are low to the water. On certain tide, primarily bottom of the low, Korkers help a great deal as you need to go to water’s edge to land a fish. Which was the case few days ago…but most of the time the felt is just fine. In twenty years, I never felt that I put myself in danger. Ever
So I diged out my Korkers, suited up and went to the jetty in the evening. Let me say up front that I detest walking with Korkers on dry rocks. I feel like I am walking on glass, constantly sliding. But I am a chicken, so I take my time. Unfortunately, the slobs that are fishing the jetty with bait got their shit spread out on rocks. Beer cans, bait, plastic bags, rods, like it’s a party there.
You know what happened next..I tried to navigate around all the stuff on the rocks, the dry rock and Korkers did their thing and there I was, laying in-between the rocks in short order.
Banged myself up pretty good in the shin, hip and wrist. But that is not all. The brand new, used once St Croix Legend that Lou Caruso just made me was not so lucky. I landed on it and broke it below the reel seat. Not only that but I feel on my reel too…..yes, my Penn Torque will never be same…. or one piece again.
Someone said, all that damage for a bluefish?
It’s not about the bluefish, or bass or bunker. it’s about a passion. As much as it pains me, literally, figuratively and in the wallet, I am strangely ok with it. Not with a slobs and what the jetty looks like after they are gone because that has been going on forever. I will never be fine with that! I am fine with a fact it could have been worse. Now that I had a chance to blow off some steam that is.
I always hear about “this person fell” ,”that person broke a rod” and have been remarkably fortunate to avoid a lot of things over the years. But in a last year , after never breaking a rod in twenty years I broke two, both on operator error. Then last fall in Montauk I fell chasing a blitz with a camera and landed on a camera LCD which cost us $600 to replace.
Yet as I sit here writing this few hours after I took a spill I can’t help it but to check up on tides now after my wife has went to bed. Maybe I can still sneak out for an hour or two somewhere where there are no rocks. Maybe back bays? I am telling you, we surfcasters have a diseased minds…lol
Or maybe a that is a painkiller talking….not sure yet..will let you know when I wake up.
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Glad you could walk away from it. I remember fishing the breezy point jetty and from time to time I’d see a guy with a pfd or those suspender pfds. and there was one guy who wore a soft helmet like a kids soccer goalie or a rugby player. he said the only thing he was afraid of was getting knocked out and going in the drink. I am sure it wont slow you down
↓Busted my eye open triping on fishing line on a jetty. 4 stiches to close it up at the ER. I had to fight with the insurance co. 5 months to pay.
↓Feel better Z, could have been worse
Glad to hear you are all rite, sorry to hear that the Penn and rod didn’t make out so well. But i’m sure St.croix will and Penn will fix you up. Since winning that reel in the contest a few years ago It’s been my go to set up and would be bummed if that happened to mine.
↓Everyone falls on the jetty, it is just a matter of when and how much it will cost you.
Now I wish I could sneak out for an hour in the surf. Problem is an hour still leaves me with another 15 min before I even see the ocean.
↓Thank goodness your ok and rods and reels can be replaced but our sickness(our passion) is hard to fix so next time I find myself getting mad I lost a plug or break a piece of gear I know it will pass and I will be back out there hitting the water with a smile
↓Glad your ok feel better Z
↓All I can say is that you’re lucky you didn’t go in the water with those waders on. At least you’re still here.
↓Sorry to hear about the fall and busted gear Z. Hope you heal quickly.
↓That sucks Z !
as you know it could have been much worse
and i am happy to know ….. you’ll survive.
↓Hey Z, if you keep busting things this season you might have to go out to the jetty with a wallyworld special 😉 Thanks for the blog!
↓I am sorry to read that your rod and reel got damaged, but I am glad you are okay.
↓I have had some pretty close calls and scratched up my VS because of those boulders. Now I use a Sargus/Mojo for those instances as I won’t feel too terrible if something went wrong. Its a tough call but to put my Legend/ZB in that situation makes me squeemish. I have enough trouble keeping that combo together in good order when i climb and bang them up on boulders in a field. Its inevitable. But getting a bottom half on a St. Croix isn’t too terrible and Lou’s work I am sure is still fine. I don’t think any reel could survive that abuse and i am sure Penn will help you out. But who cares about that…you are still alive!
↓After getting a pretty bad skunking I did the same…i checked the tides the next day after sleeping off the 3exhaustion and came back at it.
↓Glad to hear you are okay. You know Z, A Farragut Guy never would have fallen. lol
Vito
↓Feel better soon Z.
↓C
Farragut guy would have picked himself up, striped the braid off his reel and handlined s buctail to a fifty pounder…because that is how they roll
↓for you that don’t know, Vito still can’t get over the spanking he got from Jack Frech and High Hill Striper Club guys in the 60’s in Montauk when high hill rulled the place
I think faggarut lost every single contest between the clubs..what was it like 9 an 0 Vito?
That’s fishing for us surf-rats.Take some painkillers you should be good today. Tight Line.
↓glad to gear you are OK Z.
↓Been there done that Z, thats right it could have been a lot worse, where your damn korkers!! Glad your OK.
↓Diseased mind?……How about detached. lol.
↓I’ve had my falls the worste in Montauk it took 2 years for the skin on my shin to heal to the color its suppose to be .
↓2 falls, 1 reel, 4 rotator surgeries (1/2 a shoulder replacement), still fishin’… Best shoulder Doc around Jon Warner, Mass General. If you have shoulder issues check him out…
↓LOL
↓Ain’t fisin relaxin!? Feel Better Z
↓Z, Stop The Exaggeration, it was only 7-0. lol Take Care
Vito
↓Glad you didn’t end up in the brine. Flesh will heal, pride too.BUT DAMN the new Torque????? J/K glad you will be ok.
↓That’s why they call them “accidents.”
Glad you’re not hurt to bad.
Get well.
DZ
↓glad your fairly ok. sorry to hear about the gear though.
↓My renter’s insurance covers my fishing gear outside of the home also. Maybe your homeowners insurance will do the same, or renter’s if you rent like me. I added a rider for my photo gear and got paid when my camcorder disappeared.
↓Z,
Sorry to read about your spill.
Glad though that you weren’t hurt worse, those falls as you know can be life changing.
Gear can always be replaced, but not so much for the body parts.
Get feeling better soon!
↓z man i feel for you….i took a spill this january in the rain in the dark and no corkers..reaching for a fish on a nj jetty….on my third bounce on the third rock and feet away from very cold water….i threw my new rod an reel and grabbed the last rock i hit like it was my first girl friend…i stopped just short of the water….i crawled up the rocks an landed the short and walked funny for 2 months….hips just ain’t made to catch our dumb asses…glad your ok….be safe….the wife still brings it up
↓Glad you are alright Z! The gear is always replaceable! I forgot my korkers on an short evening trip a few years ago and while releasing a small striper I slipped on the wet green rocks. I instinctivley held my rod up high in right hand to protect it. I never saw the rock on the left side which took a bone chip off of my left elbow after splitting it wide open. Right near the not so funny bone. It took months for that injury to heal. I swore if that ever happened again I’d sacrifice the rod before myself next time… There’s been some scary jetty stories on this thread too! Hope you heal up quickly!
↓now lets get a look at the reel after a fall.
↓