Life before Tactical Angler clips…yeah, I am not ashamed to admit it. I tried clips few years ago and hated them. I couldn’t understand what the hype was all about. One night I lost 4 plugs for no apparent reason. They just slipped off the clips. I am also not ashamed to admit that I possibly tied on the clip the wrong way. This was a long time ago, when only Breakaway and Fast link were around. What really turned me off why when I straightened out a clip on a fish. That was it for me. I went back to Duo Lock and forgot about the clips. Then Crazy Alberto came out with his Tactical Angler clips. Although I love the dude like a brother, I still wasn’t inclined to use them. That memory of losing four expensive plugs in one night was deeply etched in my memory bank.

Then one night I left my leader wallet at home and I need to borrow a leader. Someone handed me a leader with a Tactical Angler clip. Beggars can’t be choosers so I reluctantly cast the cheapest plug I had in my bag, fearful of losing it the whole time. Not only did I keep using the clip but looking back, I can’t believe I been this stubborn and short sided not to use clips before. I have yet to lose a single plug and I have never lost a fish due to clip failure. The eye opening experience for me was an epic night (for me) at Cuttyhunk last year when we bailed cow after cow on rigged eels attached to the Tactical Angler clips. I was always told that to properly retrieve an rigged eel you have to tie directly. I was also told that zip ties wouldn’t work to rig an eel. None of that proved to be true. I know it is difficult to look at any clip and feel confident it won’t fail on you. After all, they look like just a glorified paper clips. Yet they work remarkably well. Certainly there are few lures, tins in particular from some makers which will give you a fits when trying to attach clips to them. The only sane way of doing this is to ad a split ring and then attach the clip to the split ring. But there is no denying that these clips work well, much better than my Duo Lock ever did. I don’t feel the need any more to put on a flashlight at night to change plugs, I can do it by feel. There is no need to make sure that the Duo Lock or Cross Lock is “snapped” in place. But best of all, there is a piece of mind, knowing that they work , and work well. If you hadn’t tried clips, buy yourself a pack and give it a shot. I think you will be amazed at just how much simple lure changing can be. Breakaway clips have been around for a long time but for me, Tactical Anglers is all I will use. They are bigger and stronger than others and it doesn’t matter that Crazy Al is the one who brought them to the market. The only things that it matters is that they work.

on to other things

Occasionally we ask for your opinions on what would you like to see in the pages of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. I am looking for general suggestions, like old time plug maker, history of the sport, how to fish a particular plug and specifics too. Like which person would you like to see interviewed, who’s artwork would you like to see featured or whose spot would you like to see blown out. Ok, I am kidding about the last one. I think we’ve done a pretty good job staying away from specific spots.

I have some ideas, like talking to Ralph Vote from Charlie Graves Lures or some of the old timers if I can get them to cooperate (this for the most part has been a tough nut to crack). Speaking of old farts I would like to wish my friend and local legend Vito Orlando speedy recovery from his wrist surgery. Vito caught so many fish in his life that he had to have work done on his wrist. Or at least that is the story we have heard. All kidding aside, I was just told about it, not sure when he had it done but we all wish you a speedy recovery. The Montauk surf would not be the same place without Vito’s infectious laugh and his zingers that he throws at one and all comers.

So let’s hear it, tell us who and what you want to read about it. The new issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal is only few weeks away.

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Another blog  post , courtesy of our guest blogger and SJ reader Jason Gribschaw

Enjoy it

Zeno

By Jason Gribschaw

So we touched on the highly attractive bass, tried some crabbing and maybe even a houndfish, now let’s hop back out front and hit the surf. 

For the bait crowd, summertime sharks have become a high target species.  So widely targeted, that paddling out baits has made its way north over the years and is drawing more attention than those who have been doing it for a long time would like.  I have not heard of any injuries reported due to paddling out nighttime baits, but it looks like the state of Delaware put a ban on it, and I could be wrong, but they may have even banned shark fishing from the surf altogether.  Oh well, now those guys will just have to say they are after bass, rays and skates and, in reality, become light tackle shark gurus. 

So what are you going to need to try your hand at sharking?  Well let me get you started.  If you are truly interested in this or want to become better, I strongly suggest looking further than what I have to offer.  In fact, my nighttime sharking adventures have been few and far between, but I have had some fun with it. 

First of all, many of the sharks you will encounter are small, and for that reason alone I have often used the same gear I do when I chunk bunker or fish clam for bass in the surf.  (Your hook of choice: an 80# leader, a little bit longer than normal, on a slider rig.)  This way, the bigger fish, that I do not necessarily want to handle alone, will eventually cut me off. 

Now, if you are interested in more than the 5’ brown sharks or the countless dogfish and skates, you are going to have to beef up the rigging.  Try crimping much heavier mono, or use a haywire twist on some wire to make more tooth and hide resistant leader.  I would still advise adding a good section of mono above your wire as well.  Think about the length of the shark you wish to tango with, and that should be the minimum length of your leader.  The problem here becomes casting, so if you go shorter, just remember to stay even with the shark as it makes a run along the beach. 

Other things that will help are tossing a chum bucket into the surf to draw them in.  If you start at high tide this is much easier, because as the tide goes out you will be able to retrieve it.  If the tide is rising, you are going to have to run a rope from the bucket up the beach and risk getting tangled or losing the bucket all together. 

Part Four

Bass, crabs, houndfish, sharks, skates, rays….what else can we get before the sun pops up and the beach becomes hot and crowded?

Well, if you are dead sticking for “shark week”, you may as well bring along a light outfit and bucktail or fly fish the surf, cuts, bars, pockets and inlets for some fluke.  Yes, fluke hit at night, and some of my better fluke have been taken around bridge pilings in the dark, but don’t stop when the sun pops up. 

Well, I take that back, as the sun rises you may want to put on a popper and try and stir up some action from a bass or blue roaming the area.  After all, some of you may have had a chum bucket in the surf all night drawing in the sharks and more skates than you planned on. 

Now if Big Rock steered you right and you are in the beach buggy gang, you are good to stick around for a bit longer, but if you are like me, it is about time to pack up some stuff (bait, rod, spike….) and start hiking it back to the car.  Don’t worry, I am not done; I just want to get that stuff off the beach before the sun is going to punish me for waiting too long.  And if you notice me walking the beach, I will likely take you up on a lift to or from an inlet or point (I do not like sand that much). 

Bass, crabs, houndfish, sharks, skates, rays, fluke and blues have all been added to the list of summer species at night and early morning.  What else is in store? 

The sun is up and it is getting hot on the beach, so I head for the jetty where I will stick out in the water, take a few splashes and stay cool.  The beach buggy crowd, that can travel with the “kitchen sink”, may want to hang around on the beach for a bit and try for some kingfish.  When they are around, these little guys are good for dinner.  They are found on the edges of bars, snacking on bloodworms or the fake stuff.  I am sure many of you have other baits, but those are two of the most common seen on the beaches around me.   You may even pick up a few blowfish this way as well. 

Our northern friends may be after some scup or porgy, depending upon where you live, but the NJ and south crowd may have to hop on a boat for that species.

Part Five

Bass, crabs, houndfish, sharks, skates, rays, fluke, blues, blowfish, kingfish and scup keep our list growing, and since the summer beach buggy gang is out in full force with multiple rods spiked, and children swimming in-between them, you can find me down at the jetty.  I am only kidding.  Multiple rods and kids in the wash do not bother me in the summer, I took off for the jetty a long time ago to avoid the heat. 

Down at the jetty I may be picking away at fluke, but if I was in NY, you are probably wondering, what is the point?  I feel bad for you guys and your 20.5” fluke regulation, but what are we to do?  Remember way back when the limit was 12”?  We had no problem catching big fluke back then.  So how about instead of pissing and moaning about the regulations, we go grab a lighter outfit or try the fly rod for some fluke.  Many of you release a lot of your bass and most of your blues, why not take that same attitude with other species as well? 

If I am not fluking, odds are I have scrounged up a bunch of tiger crabs and am tangling with tautog.  Once thought of as trash fish, tautog is now highly sought after by many people.  The shore based angler has a good shot at some very nice tautog, the boat guys try to win big pool money with the monsters in deeper water and some Asian markets are crawling with illegal tautog.  Tautog may be one of your best fish to put on the table, and pound for pound they put up one hell of a fight, especially if you are fishing from a jetty. 

This next fish is sometimes taken when targeting tautog, but if you truly want to target them, grab some smaller hooks and hope the triggers are passing by.  Or better yet, grab a spear and go for a swim.   If I said tautog were tasty, then I would be doing you a disservice if I did not mention how tasty triggerfish are. 

Since I have taken up enough of your time already, I will wrap up. 

Summer is a fun time down at the shore for both beach goers and fisherman alike.  Truth be told, it was summer time fun that my grandfather used to introduce me to fishing, and I have been hooked ever since. 

The choice is yours.  Rest up for the fall and stay in town, or take family and friends down to the shore and introduce them to some of the easiest fishing you can find.  Cook them up a good meal, and, who knows, they may take up fishing as well.  If not, at least they will have a better understanding of what the hell you are doing come November, when you are out getting a bass for Thanksgiving dinner to serve along with the turkey.

We all know that fish feed on what is available at the time. Kind of like you when you come home from work and open the lid on the pot to see what’s for dinner. You could say no thanks and go to bed hungry…but you know better. Because tomorrow you might find an empty pot. Fish do not know where their next meal is coming from and will rarely pass on a meal. So if only the smaller sand eels are present, well, then that is what they will feed on at the time.
But fish also have another habit, a tendency to occasionally zone in on a smaller size lure. This can be frustrating if you like to fish primarily big plugs like myself. Often switching to a smaller needlefish will work, but be prepared to give up casting distance and sink rate. And what to do when this situation is aggravated by either strong winds, fast moving water or large waves. Which is like every time I decide to go fishing in the fall 

Have no fear my salt soaked friend, we have found an elixir for your conundrum.

I personally am a huge Super Strike needlefish fish fan. I would say for every other brand of needlefish in my bag I carry three of SS ones. The big, seven inch are by far my favorite. But even they are on the light size. Their smaller versions have always intrigued me but with an 11 foot stick that is designed to be able to cast a live squirrel into the surf, casting small needles is not practical.

If they could only ad some weight to their smaller needles….that would be insane. Not only would I be able to load up my rod properly but their smaller size would be a killer when smaller bait is the primary food of choice. The ability of casting into the wind would be greatly improved as with smaller lure there is much less wind resistance.

Wasn’t I surprised when I got home from the airport and found a package from Super Strike containing their newest creations…..preloaded small and medium needlefish !

And now, you will get a chance to win these two lures. I am sure the winner will put them to a great use.

New….Super Strike Preloaded small and medium needlefish
1.7oz. and the 2-3/8oz.
Courtesy of who else, but the great Steve Musso of the Super Strike Lures
Visit them on the web at http://superstrikelures.com/

Good Luck to all

I had a pleasure of checking out line of CTS  rod blanks yesterday morning at OBI on Long Island. Our Rod Guru Lou Caruso was there along with my buddy Steve Petri who is always good for a few laughs. I was impressed with one particular blank. I can’t tell you which one  it was but I will tell you this. I would cast a 4 ounce DMag pencil popper, drink a cup of coffee and finish half a bagel and plug would still be in the air. Ok, I am exaggerating quite a bit here but I don’t have a rod (or at least I don’t think) that can cast that well. Maybe I just had a good morning, because I certainly have had days when I feel like I am doing everything wrong during the cast. In any event, something for you to keep an eye on. I assume you can pick Lou’s brain about the details, I am terrible with rod names and numbers. As soon someone says “slow tapper” or “parabolic” I cover my ears with both hands and start chanting “I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you” like a two year old….hey, I am good at some things, breaking down the rod to single components is not my thing.

I got some ideas for giveaways this week, something out of the ordinary, you’ll just have to tune in to find out. That is if I find the time…which lately has been hard. I do want to let you know that all of you that ordered William “Doc” Muller’s new book, “Surfcaster ‘ should be receiving it in a day or two. All the signed books were shipped this weekend. We have few extra left but that is it for signed copies. Locally you can find books at LI Outdoorsman, Fisherman’s Line and Saltwater Edge and Amazon. We will hold off promoting the book till we get it in more stores this week.Efingers, Grumpy’s ,East End Tackle, Paulies ,Giglio’s and Paulie’s should have them in about two days.

In other news, we  are having a “fall run” sale in our online store. The Montauk t-shirts , whatever we have left of them in stock  are on sale for 25% off of their regular prices. We have few left in few sizes, once they are gone that might be it for now. Also on sale are SJ reel bags.

Tommy is in Montauk, taking a well deserved vacation and chasing a Moby Striper

Let’s start first by announcing the winners of past week giveaways

Toby Lapinski guessed my favorite picture and for that he will receive 2 lures from Ace Baits

JohnR ( jsrusso@comcast.net) is the winner of the Guides Choice Bunka Boy giveaway.

Both of these gentlemen should contact me at info@surfcastersjournal.com and send me their mailing addresses. Congrats to both and yes, there will be plenty more chances to win I the future, so stay tuned to SJ Blog.

I  should have mentioned in the blog post, right off the bat, that I cranked up the volume on the guides choice swimmer so you can hear it better. That is not the actual sound level but instead it was meant to give you an idea of what rattle sound like underwater. I will try to retool the video in  so you can hear what I came out of the camera, although that won’t be an accurate decibel level either as camera is recording trough waterproof enclosure which muffs the sound….complicated, isn’t it?…lol

Anyway, I think you guys understand what I was trying to get across.

In other news…to say that I am surprised that we only have a handful of entries so far into the STRIPERTHON contest would be an understatement. You mean not one of those cows beached during NJ bunker blitzes or Canal mackerel madness made its  way to us? Weird, but its definitely making us think about what to do in the future. It could be that fishing for our readers has been awful. That is not out of the realm of possibilities. I know that personally, besides few days in Cuttyhunk, this has been by far the worst spring ever for me. But then again, I am not a good barometer of what is going on this year as I had much less time to devote to beach than usual. However, when I did get out, I usually caught…nothing. Or very little. What, you expected me to be like some other fishing celebrities and give you “wink,wink, I had a great year…as always” speech? Sorry to disappoint but that is not my style. I get skunked as often as most others and this year it seems maybe more.

The lack of weakfish is putting a serious dent in my willingness to fight through mosquitoes on a warm ,muggy nights. Damn, when they say you don’t know what you have till you lose it, they are not kidding. I can still see it my head clearly: half ounce lead head with red Man’s eight inch jelly worm. Flip it twenty feet in the inlet, place the seven foot St Croix parallel to the water and twitch it. One ,two, BAM !  That unmistakable headshake, those burst of energy, those gorgeous colors illuminated by moonlight ! It was almost automatic too. I remember taking a  10 plus pound tide runner at noon, on a 99 degree day with hundreds of boats in the inlet.

And now? Those same rips give up an occasional three pound bluefish…on a good day.

Anyone else has a love affair with these fanged creatures?

 News Release

Coastal Conservation Association New York

PO Box 1118, West Babylon, NY 11704
www.ccany.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 18, 2011               CONTACT: Charles Witek, 1-800-201-FISH

CCA NY THANKS GOVERNOR, LEGISLATORS FOR PROHIBITING COMMERCIAL STRIPED BASS FISHERY IN THE HUDSON RIVER

CREDITS LEGISLATION TO ANGLERS WHO CARE ABOUT NEW YORK’S BASS FISHERY

West Babylon, NY—Coastal Conservation Association New York is taking this opportunity to thank New York’s Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, along with the members of New York’s Senate and Assembly, for enacting legislation which will protect New York’s spawning population of striped bass.  The legislation, which Governor Cuomo signed today, prevents any reopening of a commercial striped bass fishery on the Hudson River until at least 2015.  CCA’s special thanks goes not only to Governor Cuomo, but also to the sponsors of the bill, Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti and Senator Mark Grisanti.

“The Hudson has been closed to commercial striper fishing since the 1970s,” notes Scott Emslie, CCA NY’s State Chair and a resident of the Hudson Valley.  When the Chesapeake Bay stock collapsed in the late ‘70s, from the Hudson that were largely responsible for keeping striped bass fishing alive in the State of New York.  Today, as the Chesapeake stock is again decreasing in numbers, we are pleased to see New York adopt this legislation, which will help keep Hudson striped bass available to the angling public.”

CCA NY has been active in the effort to assure that commercial striped bass fishing will not return to the Hudson River, and has supported similar bills since the year 2000.  However, it recognizes that a lot of people worked for this new law.  “We’re very pleased that this bill has been signed by Governor Cuomo,” said Brian O’Keefe, Chair of CCA NY’s Government Relations Committee, “We certainly worked for its passage, but have to give the New York Coalition for Recreational Fishing the lion’s share of the credit.  No one worked harder to get the bill passed, and they deserve the thanks of New York’s anglers.”

While the bill doesn’t permanently prohibit commercial striped bass fishing on the Hudson River, it effectively protects the status quo, and assures that no effort to create a commercial bass fishery on the river can begin until after the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has completed its next benchmark stock assessment. 

“Now, when people up and down the coast are complaining about a decline in the number of striped bass, New York has taken a strong stand against increased exploitation,” stated Bill Raab, President of CCA NY.  “New York has learned the lesson of the past, that the time to prevent a fisheries problem is before it occurs.  When Governor Cuomo signed this bill into law, he assured that no commercial fishery would be created in the second-largest striped bass nursery on the East Coast, at a time when the population in the largest producer area is not doing well.  It was simply the right thing to do.” ###

The stated purpose of CCA is to advise and educate the public on conservation of marine resources. The objective of CCA is to conserve, promote and enhance the present and future availability of these coastal resources for the benefit and enjoyment of the general public

Note: the volume of the video clip was increased so you can hear it..the actual noise level is much lower…..
One of the best things about  jumping into the Adriatic Sea is that the water is crystal clear. My son helped me with doing some short video clips. Unfortunately we only brought few lures with us. To be honest, the few lures that we brought dwarfed most fish we’ve seen and the only reason I brought them was to maybe do some underwater stuff.

Looking at one clip, something jumped at me. I never really gave much thought about how loud the rattle might be in the lures that have them. I am primarily talking about Guides Choice Bunka Boy because that is the of the four lures we brought with us.

The rattle is quite loud…I cranked up the volume on the underwater clip and I hope you guys can hear it.

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

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Of course, as its custom here at the blog, we will give you a chance to win one of these lures, courtesy of Guides Choice lures. You can see their entire line of lures at www.guideschoicetackle.com

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Figs NOT included 🙂

They said that good things come to those who wait. I hope so, because I have a  crater in front of my house which National Grid made 2 months ago instaling a gas line, only to hit Town of Hempstead line. They been arguing over who will fix it for two fing months! Not only that ,they never brought gas to my house but I have nowhere to park my truck. I hope good things do come….

On the good news front the new book by a person who is singlehandedly responsible for my fishing disease, the man whose books, Surf Fishing with Experts and Secrets of Surf Fishing at Night got me all wound up on surfcasting, William “Doc” Muller, is printed.

It should be in stores over next week or two. First batch of books went out to Saltwater Edge, Fisherman’s Line, Surfland and Long Island Outdoorsman today. Other stores are getting their complimentary copies and info as we speak as is Amazon. If you store doesn’t have it in the next week or so, ask them to contact me.

This Saturday Doc will be signing the books for all those that reserved signed copies. It’s a one shot deal for SJ Blog readers. After that the only way to get a signed copy will be at winter shows. How can you get one?

follow this link Signed books preorder

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 or email me at zhromin@optonline.net. All the preorders should be in the mail on Monday.

This is quite an undertaking by Doc. I wrote few books myself so I feel I have a pretty good idea of how much heart someone Continue reading →

I think this rainy Sunday deserves a special contest…this is the first morning I managed to sleep past 3 AM so yeah, I am feeling good. We will give you a chance to win something that you haven’t seen before.

These lures or “baits” as some would called them are from the company called Ace Baits, originaly from UK. They are 5 and 6 inch models and each one has slightly different retrieve method.

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How about I pick my favorite picture of this issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine and you take one guess what that is. The first person to guess the right page picture is located wind these three lures.

Here is the magazine for your convenience
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In other news, I found a box with a new Penn Torque Spinning reel after arriving from the airport this week. It was not meant for me but instead for the Greg T. the winner of our last year Striperthon contest. Yeah, it took a long time to get this puppy to the market and Greg elected to wait for the bailess version instead of taking the bailed model offered by Penn. So I opened the box, took few shots and a quick video and shipped it to Greg the same day. I figured you guys would want to see it

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx7-4WbcMHE[/youtube]