I did go fishing yesterday for an hour. I probably shouldn’t have but then again, according to my Doctor I shouldn’t go fishing …..ever. But then again, he is looking at it as what’s best for my elbow, I am looking at it as what’s best for my sanity. It was nice being on the water but although I made maybe fifty casts with a seven foot rod I can feel tingling in my elbow. Which is kind of weird since I have been pain free since January. Wait, check that. I painted a room in February and after that weekend I was screaming like a girl for a few days. So basically, this will never go away, sometimes it bad, sometimes is worse. Maybe once in awhile I’ll get to do it and feel nothing. That would be cool. But others have so much worse and they still fish. So will I.

Anyway, enough of self-pity. While I was casting, I thought about a discussion I recently read on a web. Specifically, how many plugs should one carry. What kind of question is that, seriously? And how can any one of us give advice on how many plugs to carry and keep a straight face?

I’ve seen guys trek with bags size of Lois Vitton luggage on their back, loaded with at least fifty plugs and I’ve seen guys walk around in wetsuit with a bucktails on a leader and another embedded in the wetsuit (don’t ask, I have no idea). Either one of these anglers was superior surfcaster than I am six days a week, and twice on Sundays. Was either one of them “fishing wrong”? I don’t think so. Each carried as many plugs as they thought they need it. Each person has to find their own comfort zone. There are only so many slots in the surf bag and competition for those spaces is intense as we all have way more plugs that we can use in a lifetime. But to tell someone you “must have” this of that plug in your bag is a joke.

I think we can all agree that Bombers are awesome plugs that catch as many fish along the whole coast of USA as any other. In fact, its probably the most popular plug of that type (regardless of your opinion on SP Minnow). So if we established that fact, then that is the plug that should be in everyone’s bag, correct?

Last time I cast a Bomber was…I am not sure, five years ago? Do I have anything against the Bomber? Hell no, are you crazy? But I usually do not have them in my bag, same goes for any plastic lip swimmer other then RedFin. Now Redfin is useless 90% of the time compared to Bomber or SP Minnow. So why I wouldn’t carry one instead of Redfin? Because its my bag, and that is way I fish. You could call me tomorrow that you caught twenty fish that wanted no other lure other than XYZ and I will still come down with a bag full of lead. I am a little dense

I have needlefish that does everything SP minnow does far from the beach and sluggo to do it in tight. For the whole month of May, I generally will not touch a plug. I have no desire or urgency to replace hooks either as I will be fishing with nothing but bucktails on my belt for the whole month. It wont be the first or last time when my partner Silver Fox starts nailing fish on Bombers or Darters. I am very happy for him and always offer my professional photo service…lol…but I never come back next night with anything but a TA Angler pouch full of bucktails and shads. Wrong? Maybe for you, but it works for me. I have friends who love, just love a bottle darter. Its their go-to plug, its their mojo plug. Its a plug I use few times a season at best. Caught plenty of fish on it but I rather have few SS darters in different colors than bottle darter. Its the confidence thing, something very few ever talk about. Because explaining the “confidence-in-a plug” is much more difficult then just recommending more must have plugs like SP Minnow, everyone current “cant-live-without-it” plug

And that brings me to my point.

Why does everyone wants everyone else to fish the way they do? To own same rod, same reel? If you like fishing with a clam and a beer in another hand, that is awesome. If you like to stuff you bag with $100 a pop metal lips swimmers you bought on ebay, good for you. And if you like to use a spare bucktails as an earring, I dig that too. Whatever way you like to fish is better than sitting on a couch. But no one should make general statements exactly which plugs you “must have” in his bag. There are no must have plugs. The only “must have” is one must have a desire to get his ass on the beach and cast. Everything else you can wing it

And we have not even gotten into different regions having different baitfish, water temp, bait profiles and such.

Now that i got off my chest..next issue of the magazine  is coming your way in few days

I really have no other way to put it

If you are going to watch ONE video this year then this has to be up there, on top of your list

probably most insane surf fishing video i have ever seen. If these dudes make a movie out of this trailer I am buying. You got to watch the last minute of it !

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ob5l1lkV-pg[/youtube]

and for today’s “how they get that shot?” segment, lets just say we have a looooooooong GoPro Stick..haha

Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine announces SPRING STRIPERTHON 2014

Coast wide Catch and Release Tournament on June 13th to June 15th

The STRIPERTHON 2014 is open to all subscribers of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. There is no entry fee, as a subscriber you are automatically entered. Subscribe today at www.surfcastersjournal.com to be eligible.

Only saltwater striped bass may be entered into the tournament.
All fish entered into the STRPERTHON 2014 must be caught in a surfcasting situation. A surfcasting situation constitutes contacting the ground, rocks, beach or a dock with ones feet. Any means may be used to reach these destinations, such as boat, ferry, swimming or kayaking but the fish must be hooked and landed while the angler’s feet are in contact with the Earth or something permanently affixed to the Earth.
All fish entered must be caught using a rod and reel and a legal live (or dead) bait or lure.

The CONTEST TAG will be posted on the blog at 5 pm on Friday June 13th. TAG must be included in the photo for each fish entered into the tournament. You may also download it onto your cell phone and show the TAG on your phone screen in the photo as well

All measurements will be ROUNDED UP to the nearest whole inch.
All qualifying fish have to be photographed with the CONTEST TAG and next to a measuring tape showing entire length of the fish in inches visible in the photo accompanied by a SECOND photo of the angler holding the fish. This event is intended to be a CATCH AND RELEASE competition, remember all fish must be photographed alive. Minimum size 32 inches

The largest fish by length will win first prize, second largest second prize and so on. In case of a tie, the first entry submitted will be placed ahead of a second entry of the identical size.

You must send us your entry pictures by 5PM on Sunday June 15th. Email pictures to info@surfcastersjournal.com with email heading “SPRING STRIPERTHON 2014”.  Include your name and phone contact.

Anyone caught cheating in any way will be disqualified, ejected and publicly shamed.  This means any photo editing, unannounced substitutions, entering fish caught by non members etc, will result in disqualification. We reserve the right to disqualify any entries in which the measurements are not clearly visible without enlargement. The SJ tournament committee will have final say in all disputes concerning the legitimacy of photos, size of the fish and quality of the photo submitted. Photos entered without a CONTEST TAG shown will not be counted, no exceptions.

Contest TAG must be printed at a size of 6 inches by 6 inches or larger.
You are urged to take whatever means necessary to protect the TAG. Designating a page in your leader wallet is a great way to protect the tag. It is also wise to print several extras because, water and paper don’t mesh well.

All anglers fishing in any STRIPERTHON 2014 tournament agree to do so at their own risk. Surfcaster’s Journal, it’s owner, partners, sponsors or employees are in no way liable for any injuries or accidents that may occur during the act of fishing or traveling, walking, boating or kayaking to or from a fishing location. By printing the Contest TAG  you agree to indemnify and defend Surfcaster’s Journal, it’s owner and/or employees against all claims, causes of action, damages, judgments, costs or expenses, including attorney fees and other litigation costs which may, in any way, arise from your  participation in the STRIPERTHON 2014.

First Prize – courtesy of Van Staal Reels

Van Staal 250 Reel vanstaal.com

Second Prize, courtesy of StormR http://stormrusa.com/

Choice of  one:

         STRYKR or Surf Top

AND

•   Torque Gloves     Cast Gloves        Watchcap Beanie      Neoprene Socks        Stickers/Decals     UV Shield Performance Shirt

Third prize, courtesy of CTS and RH Custom Rods http://www.rhcustomrods.com/

CB1003-1  10’ Surf & Jetty Series 2-4 oz. 1pc

Forth Prize , courtesy of Guppy Custom Lures http://www.guppylure.com/

Lure set 

Fifth prize courtesy of RockHopper http://rockhopperfishing.com/

Surf Belt a Quick Draw Pliers Holster and a Belt Clip

Sixth prize, courtesy of Super Strike Lures http://www.superstrikelures.com/

Lure Set

Seventh prize, courtesy of Hansom Tackle http://www.hansomtackle.com/

Saltwater Pliers

Eight prize

Surfcaster’s Journal Swag

.

also in the news for this weekend

“Doing time”

By Bill Wetzel

I had been fishing many areas in Montauk fairly hard from May to December taking notes, trying to figure out bait migrations, water temperatures, optimal tides, and winds as related to specifics pieces  of water. Back then there was no Internet, no cell phones, and only a few books out there to get whatever information I could.  Most of  us called  The Fisherman magazine the Bible.  By 1991 I thought I had many spots on Montauk’s north and south sides tweaked.

There was one area in particular that had looked promising, very few people fished it and I wanted to get beyond tweaked and learn as much as possible about it.  I set out to live in my sky blue 1988 Nissan  Pathfinder loaded with rods, food and fishing gear to fish those rocks and only those rocks from September 1st until September 30th. I slept, ate, drank, and fished the area only leaving once  per day to take care of personal needs and purchase supplies. During that month I learned how, when, and where the best time for stripers were most likely to stage on a feed. I would walk out at low tide in the day and find which side of a rocks had holes, I watched how currents ran on different tides and winds, picked up rocks to see what life was under them, I even did a little snorkeling to up my chances. By the end of the month I had logged in some fishless nights, some decent nights, and at least one fantastic  night (I’ll save that story for another time).  By working that one area hard, I realized that the others areas I thought I had tweaked  was merely fantasy,  and I had so much to learn.

In the following months and years I made an effort to listen to reports, but rarely follow them. Of course back then the reports came by word of mouth, and in code over the CB radio. I hade made the decision to fish the spots I had already thought I tweaked and try to learn more by fishing them under a variety of conditions throughout the season. I also took mental and written notes on every outing. What I learned from doing all this work  was a far better understanding of patterns of bait migrations, patterns of Striper movement, staging areas, drop offs, best winds, water temps… I really can’t put it in words. The learning, by the way, has never ended.

Ya know, I mentioned all this was “work”, that is a lie. It aint work when its fun. Getting out there in nature and learning the information yourself, and not chasing the latest and greatest to me is the most rewarding aspect of our sport of surf fishing. I know that some of you have so many obligations in your life it seems very difficult to put in the time. However if you put your efforts in just a couple of areas , and have the discipline not to chase reports, you will find yourself being rewarded not only by more fish,  but an almost spiritual awaking of your area. There are ways to get around some of your obligations, like taking the family on nature walks to your  spot. They will have a great day walking around the rocks or sands  while you are secretly scouting what you are going to fish at 2am . How about a  drive with the family? Make sure you do it at low tide and go sight seeing from spot to spot. Anything near the water and  everyone will be happy while you take your mental notes. The opportunities to scout and fish go as far as your imagination , or of course actual time. In reality you can chase Internet reports, read books, talk about fishing with your buddies, but there is only one way to get better at our sport, and that is putting in your time .

Canal Retentive!

By Dave Anderson

I suppose it’s no secret that I love to fish the Canal, it’s the place where I first started putting countless hours into fishing for striped bass. It’s also a place that’s has taken on many big changes over the 15 years that I’ve been fishing there. The big blitzes have turned everyone that can carry a rod into a self-proclaimed Canal Rat and it has made the battle for space a tough one. People get so caught up in the possibility of catching a big fish that they forget that there has to be some etiquette that goes along with it all!
One particular day I was down at the Ditch fishing a late-morning tide. It was sunny, hot and no fish had shown for over an hour. I was just about to call it quits when a fish blasted my pencil popper three times—and, of course, missed each time! I heard the screech of bicycle brakes pierce the silence from behind me and within seconds an old man was clamoring down the rocks to get in on my “action”. There wasn’t a soul in sight to my right and he chose to set up shop 30 feet away from me—too close for fishing in the Canal. I turned to him and said, “Don’t you think we might be a little too close together?” He cocked his head and inquired with an angry bark, “Are you trying to say I’m too close to you?”
So I said, “Yeah, you’ve got miles of open bank behind you and you’re going to set up THERE!?”
“I can tell you don’t fish down here much,” He said, “You’ve got a lot to learn!”
I couldn’t contain my laughter, so I just burst out laughing.
“Oh, what are you, some kind of tough guy?” Said the old man.
I just shook my head.
“They come a lot tougher than you down here let me tell you!” He yelled.
I shook my head and made another cast.
“Oh, you don’t think so?” He said, “Just wait, they’ll be here soon!”
He kept on his incessant yammering and finally I said, “Hey, I tried to be polite about it, I could have been a lot more…”
Before I could finish my sentence he said “Polite!? Ha! If you were trying to be polite you wouldn’t have said anything at all!”
“Oh I see, I’m supposed to just let you walk all over me.” I said with an ear-to-ear grin.
I decided at that moment that I was going to annoy my new friend to no end so I just started asking him as many questions as I could think of.
“Hey!” I yelled and he refused to look over, “Hey Pops!” He turned toward me. “Where are you from?”
“Why do you want to know where I’m from?” He asked with a drip of fear in his eyes.
“Well, if we’re going to be best friends down here, I might as well know something about you!” I quipped with an evil smile.
“Oh yeah, we’re gonna be REAL good friends!” Said the old curmudgeon.
I went on to tell him everything I could think of about myself that that was impossibly boring, and I asked him maybe 100 questions. The best one was “Have you ever gotten anything really big out of the Canal?”
“Oh yeah” He said.
“What are we talking? Forty? Fifty? SIXTY?” I asked with a tone that begged him to lie.
“Well, I’ve had them up to sixty,” He said, “but those big ones always get away before I can get my hands on them!”
The obvious mark of someone who has not fished the Canal for very long.
This is an example of something that has been spiraling out of control over the past five or so years. And it’s getting worse now with Facebook groups whose sole purpose is to alert all of the members of said group when the bite is on and they are encouraged to provide intimate details on exactly where. Undoubtedly started by someone who wants to do ZERO work and reap all of the benefits of other people’s time and dedication. We’re at a crossroads in surf fishing where people are not considering the damage they can do by posting details on Facebook, but that’s a subject for another day.
Guys who fish the Canal a lot know there is an etiquette to fishing there. It’s an unwritten set of rules that needs to be followed so that people can fish in harmony. For starters, you should set yourself up at least 60-feet from both of your neighbors. Then you have to time your casts to be in synch with those around you, the current carries everyone’s plugs, so the rule is that the guy downtide from you casts first and you follow him while the guy uptide follows you. It’s a simple formula that ensures no one ever gets tangled up out there.
When someone hooks up, the people downtide stop fishing. It doesn’t matter if all hell breaks loose with breaking fish in front of you, you have to wait until the hooked fish is clear of your area (or until the guy with the fish on gives you the go-ahead). When the Canal goes off with blitzing fish and huge schools of bait the best thing to do is talk to the guys around you and try to make friends with them. Help them land fish and try to establish a rotation so that everyone is getting a fair shot at the fish and everyone is helping each other. It makes a huge difference and you’ll never be stuck in the middle of great bite feeling angry because the guys next to you aren’t working with you. These bull-headed bastards that are taking over these days, come down and wedge into spots that physically cannot accommodate a caster and then verbal accost YOU for voicing your displeasure! There’s more to being a fisherman than catching a fish, there should be an ingrained sense of pride that comes with the way you conduct your business and the way you carry yourself. I guess it all boils down to things that should be obvious not to do. I always think of it this way, when I see a spot that’s blowing up with fish and there’s an opening I ask myself if I would be pissed if someone filled that spot next to me because of its size, if the answer is yes I move on. Or you can try just staring at that spot to see if one of the guys will yell up, “What are you waiting for? Get down here!” The Canal will never be what it once was, but if you play by these simple rules you won’t need blood pressure meds when you get home and maybe we can avoid a few of these altercations that have been becoming more and more intense on the Canal.

Send us your best Catch & Release Photo from this spring and you can win this awesome Pelican ProGear Elite 45 quart cooler.

Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine in conjunction with Pelican Product is proud to announce 2014 Spring Catch and Release Photo Contest.

All you need to do is email us you best shot at info@surfcastersjournal.com and on July 4th we will announce one winner who will recive a Pelican Pro Gear Elite 45 quart cooler valued at over $200. We will accept any submission of catch and release but we are would prefer to see more action photographs, of the actual release, instead  of then just holding up a fish for a photo. But both are fine, after all the most important part is to promote catch and release. So get your cameras out and start clicking away.

ps…we are extending the Catch and Release photo contest until July 4th to give you guys chance to  get in some good June action and photos

A lilted about the Pelican new Elite coolers

 yup…MADE IN USA

The winner of the Monster Custom lure giveaway from Choopy, RM Smith, Guppy and J.Stripe is dan menton

You have 5 days to contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com

If you don’t we will keep it and flip it on ebay and make a fortune. Ok, we wont but we might get them wet and feed them to some fish. In any event, congrats dude, that is some prize.

Speaking of prizes, I should be announcing the new Photo, Catch and Release contest, sponsored by Pelican Products. The winner will walk away with Pelican Pro Elite 45 quart cooler. Trust me, this is a beast of a cooler! Stay tuned

What should we do for this week giveaway? Hmmmm. How about a we continue along the same line, of giving you a chance to win some high performance gear?

Two winners, each winner receives one Pelican Waterproof Nemo 1960 LED flashlight

the Nemo™ 1960 LED brings the latest in LED technology to the dive market. Built compact and lightweight to fit inside your Buoyancy Compensator (BC) pocket yet bright enough to illuminate underwater exploration with 24 lumens. It is submersible to 100 meters and comes with a twist-on shroud. It’s ABS resin body resists chemicals, corrosion, and extreme temperatures.

1 Guaranteed for life –
2. Made in the USA. Torrance CA

• IPX8 rated, submersible to 328′
• 24 lumens output, with a 3-hour runtime
• Twist the shroud for easy on/off switching, even with gloves
• Compact and lightweight: 5.5″ long and 1.9 oz with batteries

Temperature, impact and corrosion-resistant black Xenoy polymer resin body

yet another video fro SJ resident genius John ” I-can-catch-fish-in-the-road-side-puddle” Skinner

This time John hammers fish on Bombers

Imagine that..a Bomber!..not a $200 plug from ebay

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_7p9QYbuh2Y[/youtube]

I touched on yesterday’s blog post about new Catch and Release Photo Contest sponsored by Pelican Products. The prize for your submission will be a 45 quart Pelican Elite cooler.

I’ll get more into the contest during this upcoming week (you just keep taking pictures) but I wanted to kind of share few thoughts on the cooler itself. I have another Pelican cooler in my garage with about 25 bag of ice from 7/11. We filled it on Tuesday, tossed a rigged eel in there on camera and have not touched it since. On Easter Sunday, five days later, I will open it and see what the status of ice. Hopefully my son will help out again with camera work. Then we eat some lamb!

I didn’t want to use shaved ice or block ice for a reason. I wanted to fill it with stuff any of our readers (and myself) would do, stop by 7/11, grab a bag or two and go.

The thing is, when I bought my previous cooler at Costco (which at the time I though it was a great cooler) half of ice would melt by the time I got to Montauk. Keeping rigged eels cold for days at the time was a major PIA where I resorted in caring another small cooler just for eels. And even then, they would be swimming in the mildly cold water more than ice and it would necessitate frequent trips to the 7/11 for more ice

How is this Pelican cooler different than that one? It has ice retention up to 10 days. 10 days?

If I spent 10 days straight in Montauk not only would I not have a job, but the locks on my house would probably be changed too. That is just sick! I was told they are made in USA, here in the Northeast, which is always a plus. This thing is built like a tank with one continuous two inch thick layer of polyurethane insulation.

The dual Handle system is pure genius, simple yet it works great when needed.

I just loved the latch, press and pull, easier to operate on the coldest of nights and with gloves. Not like my previous cooler where after closing it half dozen times the latch would snap and I had to resort to bungee cord to keep it closed.

Once you see the Sloped Drain Design, you will say “why does not every cooler comes made this way”.

And yes, there is even a Life Warranty against defects. The freezer-grade gasket seals this thing like there is no tomorrow and there is even a molded, lockable hasp and stainless steel place to thread your lock trough and keep the contents secure.

I don’t think no one is going to run to buy this cooler to toss a big bass in it. Because of their overbuilt design and thick walls they obviously have less room on the inside then the coolers we all have. But if you are a guy who travels and likes to keep his food cold and safe for prolong periods of time, from overnight trip and keeping your brusky cold, to keeping your food fresh for days and yes, even, gasp, keeping your bait in the freshest possible state, I cant imagine that Pelican would not be my first choice when starting my research on what premium cooler to buy. Whoever wins this bad boy will be one lucky SOB.

I cant wait to open the cooler on Sunday and see how much ice is left.

And eat lamb!

Happy Easter

I am happy to inform all our readers that Surfcaster’s Journal will be announcing Spring Striperthon 2014 Catch and Release Tournament within next few weeks. We are all set with dates and prizes but are still working on some last minute details.

The rules will be identical as last year .I think we borrowed some from Dave Anderson Surfcaster’s Classic tournament at  http://www.gotight.net/

By the way, for those of you that like competition, Dave runs a season long, team surf fishing challenge at gotight.net

You should really check it out if you like to add a sprinkle of competition to your fishing adventures and fish with a partner. Its a season long tournament that will in my opinion grow larger each year.

Back to Spring SJ Striperthon

It will be held on a weekend in June, same rules as last year although we will probably raise the minimum limit from 28 inches upward. All the other rules shoyuld remain the same.

This year, the Grand Prize winner will walk away with Van Staal 250 reel, courtesy of Van Staal reels.

Second Place winner will recive a huge prize package from StormR

Choice of one

• ·         STRYKR or Surf Top

AND

• ·         Torque Gloves
• ·         Cast Gloves
• ·         Watch cap Beanie
• ·         Neoprene Socks
• ·         Stickers/Decals
• ·         UV Shield Performance Shirt
• Total value of this package is over $400, all courtesy of StormR

RH Custom Rods, exclusive distributor of CTS rods will provide a prize for a third place winner, a CTS CB1003-1  10’ Surf & Jetty Series 2-4 oz. 1pc  Rod

If you have any suggestions, comments or ideas of how to make STRIPERTHON a better contest, please share your thoughts here.

This is by no means all, there are prize packages from Guppy Lures, Super Strike Lures, RockHopper Fishing and few others I am still working on. We are glad to be able to do this for our readers enjoyment and to promote catch and release. Like I said, there is no fee to participate but you must be a current SJ Subscriber to be eligible.

If that is not enough, shortly we will unveil our newest photo contest with a  prize that will definitely make you stop and notice. For best catch and release photograph of spring 2014, the winner will receive a brand new, built like a tank Pelican Pro Gear 45 quart Elite Cooler, courtesy of Pelican Products. You will never buy more and more ice when going away as Pelican will keep ice for 7 days!

So stay tuned for all these things. They all have one thing in common, our great readership and promoting catch and release and long term health of all species we catch in the surf.

And if you catch and release a bass over fitty…I will try to get you some casting lessons from this lovely lady