From our guest bloger, SJ reader Greg Tucceri, who also won STRIPERTHON 2010 and Penn Torque last year

enjoy

Its Saturday Nov. 19  and just got done watching the Bruins stomp the Islanders. Phone rings and me and Steve start the plan for what we hope is going to be a productive outing in the surf. Winds have been those favorable south west for two days and the temps are still right. We both have high hopes because we both know the end is near. The weekend prior didn’t turn out like we had expected under the same conditions. Do one more check on the NOAA to check weather and wind dicrection, and all looks good. It’s now 11 pm and time to go to bed for a 3 hour nap. For what I hope is going to happen.

Its 2 am and the wind is howling like crazy up in north central Mass. Put on the fleece wading pants, under armor top grab a Gatorade for the rode and program GPS. Next stop south county R.I. I hate the ride this time of night this time of year for a few reasons. The past Saturday did the same trip and went a different route, one that goes through CT. The deer population in this stretch of roads is frightening, the last thing I want to do at that hour is hit one of those things and really ruin my day. So my GPS took me the other way. Well saw the state police in Mass and R.I. catch a few people speeding or who knows what else. It’s now 3 am and the phone rings to the sound of Steve saying you up. With my response already on the road. He then proceeds to tell me he hasn’t even left yet. To me shocking seeing he always seems to beat to any where we meet up to fish, with most of the time he already  has caught a few fish. We had earlier decided where to start and were going meet there. I’m am 5 minutes away phone rings 3:45. Change in plans lets go there later and start over there. Ok see you in 10 he says.
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Pull down that dirt road and my eyes are wide open like I have been up all night drinking 5 hour energy by the cup loads. I don’t what its but when I get within minutes away I start to get this second wind and the energy level rises. Put the car in park and its game time. Do that power stretch after being in the car for 2.5 hours take a leak and listen. The ocean is roaring like a freight train out of control. I am now thinking what the hell am I doing here this is going to be freaking impossible to fish, should have stayed home and fished for the land locked salmon that are up the river spawning. Suit up waders ,surf top, belt pliers,boga,head lamp check. Make a few plug adjustments and good to go. Steve pulls in a minute later and says what are you waiting for go fish. Open up my bag and snap on a SS 2. 3/8  heavy needle and started casting. Continue reading →

When you hear about a lure being completely sold out from a major tackle store, you would assume it’s some limited edition wooden creation. And sometimes that is true but these days that happens less and less often. Many surfcasters are affected by this lousy economy and are refusing to part with their hard earned money easily. The days of buying a lure because some racconeyed, shut-in who hasn’t seen sunshine in three months painted a special color in his basement are over. Today, surfcasters are buying stuff that catches fish .Period.

Where am I going with this?

 We been testing Daiwa SP Minnows as we do with all the gear we write about. We’ll reserve our thoughts for a review in the future issue of the magazine. But as much as we liked the sliding weight which made this swimmer outcast just about any other similar lure, and its fish catching ability, we were surprised when we were told that these lure were so hot in the spring that a big retailer on the cape cod canal was striped out of its inventory within days. When it comes to plastic lures, that almost never happens. You can draw your own conclusion of just how well the canal rats have done with it.

And now we will give you a chance to win one, courtesy of Daiwa. You can visit the SP Minnow by clicking here  

Happy Thanksgiving and good luck

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Not sure if many of you realize that you are a “day late” when reading this blog. I noticed this when we have a giveaway one day then all of a sudden the next day we get all the entries. We have no control when the Google Feed burner actually sends notices of new blog post however.I figured I mention it

I hope all you have a Happy Thanksgiving with your families.

Here is a  video we did in Costa Rica earlier this year..the full story is coming in the future issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine

[youtube width=”525″ height=”400″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctRuF105PY4[/youtube]

ps

Last weekend to enter your fish into STRIPERTHON 2011…Here is our latest entry from RI legend, Steve McKenna

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hmm, and I thought the fat lady has sung….ha, not the first time I been wrong

Those who walked the beaches on south shore this weekend and were in the right place were rewarded with some nice fish. And now we getting reports of good blitzes last two days in Rhode Island. Bass and blues feasting on herring. And the action was around the inlets (or breachways as they call them )

Of course, New Jersey rats are not complaining at all. I had guys telling me that they land 30 fish in the dark before masses arrived on Super Strike weighted needlefish and then go to work and leave madness to others..should be an interesting long weekend.

Speaking of inlets, I finaly fired up the MAC and while I was looking trough my files I found Skinner Seminar from last year SJ Seminar series. I thought that the part on currents was very revealing

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AoBxRJ_RWw[/youtube]

BTW..ever wonder just how one of the most intense bucktialer we ever had works his? Remarkably he does not give it much action with the rod. I told you that his book made me rethink many things.Here is a boat video he just released but listen to it for the part that relates to surfcasting and working a bucktial

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX6JzLTdQD8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

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I’ve used pliers from Hansom tackle since last fall and will  continue to do so. I have been using VS ones for years and both of these pliers will not cut a hook. Hansom will cut the braid much cleaner than VS but VS are stronger when you have to put leverage on the hook to pop it. But then again, you can get 5 pairs of Hansom for one pair of VS and you are not gaining much with VS for the difference in price

I’ve carried a scale with me since I joined the club in 1995. Big part of being a member is the annual competing. Yes, it’s based on the honor system but I am cool with that. I went through my insanely competitive stage where I thought I had to show everyone just how good of a fisherman I thought I was. Only to find out there is always a better fisherman out there. With more ink in his pen. I will never live down the guilt of what I put my wife trough when my son was just born. So I am debating, after years on my belt, should I lose my Boga grip? Yes, it does help with releasing fish a great deal and that alone I find it to be invaluable tool. But there are plastic gripers out there that do even better job of that, for less money. They don’t fill with sand and they don’t need to be rinsed. Besides, who cares if fish is 22 lb, or 29lb? It doesn’t make any difference to me anymore. I use the Boga as a tool for landing fish, I never actually look the scale any more

I had a Hunter belt so few years now. I really like it although Continue reading →

Have you ever walked through a minefield? Not the real one, but an imaginary one, the one where you have to choose every word carefully so it doesn’t get interpreted in the wrong way. Welcome to my world….Some of you have probably noticed page 9 of the current issue of the magazine were Tommy slipped in head photographer/hater magnet..Zeno Hromin..sad but true

 
Sometimes I delete stuff  that takes me an hour  to write with this one finger of mine. Sometimes mention of a certain products has potential to create firestorm of emails and complains. Fortunately that does not happen too often but it happens enough to make me consider carefully what I say. Which kind of sucks considering I am “shoot from the hip” kind of a person who likes to just write whatever happens to be rattling in my head at the moment.

 
Like right now, when I am looking at my gear in the garage. I’ve written about the changes that we go through before, something many surfcasters refuse to accept as part of life. They finally save enough money to buy that custom stick that someone recommended in a book years ago, only to find out that this author moved on to other things. I’ve always said that anything written on the internet and in print for that matter should be a starting point in your research, not a final answer to your question. There is so much advice floating out there you could go broke. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve probably recommended few Continue reading →

Lets finish the week on a high note by giving one of you chance to win a copy of John Skinner’s new book ” Fishing the Bucktail”. I’ve noticed that few threads have already sprouted in places, singing praise to the man. As I told him the other day, some of us look upon him like we do at fishing God. No bull there. That is why I was surprised to hear that his bestseller A Season on the Edge was only available in six location.

Anyway, if you live in NJ , have a ball catching fish till your arms hurt. If you are east of NYC…well, enjoy the football

Saltwater Edge, CampSite Sports,The Surfcaster, River’s End, Red Top, East End,Giglio, Fisherman’s Headquarters and Amazon have them in stock.

 I will drop a some at  LI Outdoorsman on Saturday morning and JJ Sports and Ramsey will have them on Monday. Here is the list of stores that have an advance copy you can check out. Fisherman Supply, Efingers, Brielle, Grumpy’s,Harry’s, Sport Fishing Outlet, Tackle Direct, Brielle, Betty and Nick,LH Water. In NY Tight Lines, Smiths Point, Saltwaters Tackle,Duffy’s, Paulies,Causeway,J&H, Sea Isle,Rocky Point, Cow Harbor,Terminal Tackle, Fisherman Depot, Capitol, Bernie’s. In New England  Falmouth, Snug Harbor Marina, CT Outfitters, Hook-up, Quaker Lane,M&D’s,Bear’s Den, Powederhorn, Surfland,Saco Bay,Newton,Larry’s tackle,CMS, Fisherman’s World,Larry’s and Goose Hummock. And i am sure I forgot some..

I got too many balls in the air right now but I hope when the dust settles I will be able to go back on the Mac and make some videos for you. Right now, just trying to keep all the balls floating..lol

One of these days Rich will finish his masterpiece and turn it into a movie..

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdZx4sDs3Yc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdvkuLx5m-M[/youtube]

I’ve seen a recent post on one of the internet boards asking about safety in the surf. I  guess after you fished for so long, almost exclusively at night, you stop thinking about safety in some sense.

I know that I have more screws loose than many of you. I almost never wear Korkers on a local jetty. Instead I wear waders with felt. If I can get away without wearing Korkers, I will. I hate those things, especially on dry rocks. They are a pain in the ass to walk with and they hurt my feet. Of course, places like Block, Montauk or Cuttyhunk are not the places were Korkers are optional.

Yes, I said I wear waders on the jetty. Would I recommend you do the same? No. By all means put on a wetsuit or a splash top. You will be much safer if you happen to fall in the water.

How about lightning? Do you routinely leave when lightning is in the area? I have done it on rare occasions.  It takes a lot of lightning to chase me away.

Swimming to rocks at night? I think it’s fun in certain places. I won’t swim to anything in Montauk yet there is no rock pile  in Cuttyhunk I probably would not be willing to at least try. Why? Because I never feel in Montauk that a giant fish is one cast away like I do in Cutty. I know its weird but that is how I feel. Besides, the strong currents and ever-present surf on the south side of Montauk  can be a pain to deal with.

How many times have I forgotten flashlight or had battery die on me and still continued fishing? More times I care to admit. How about swimming in waders to get to rocks? Been there, done that.

Yeah, I take some stupid chances, something I would never recommend for you to do.

But I do have my fears and you will probably find this amusing. Continue reading →

Yup, all us who were complaining about the sand eels and tins and tubes..I came to bite us in the ass. Most of us would kill for a bump right now..of any kind

I am glad to see that boys in NJ this fall have a same type of action as we did last fall on central south shore of Long Island. Make a mental note, you never know how much you are going to miss something until you actually lose it.

Sad state of affairs this fall run, I have to tell you. The other day I was fishing by one of the local Jones Beach bridges and I had a bump. Yes, a real, honest-to-goodness bump in November. Granted , I did not get a chance to get out much this month but when I did I caught nothing. I almost peed in my pants from excitement..of course I struck out but that bump made me cast another hour like a mad man. Pathetic

We asked our editor Roger to pick five  favorite pictures in issue # 10. You guys get one guess each. First five people that guess what pictures Roger liked will win each a lure from  Point Jude Lures…maybe you guys can put them to good use