Continuing in our tradition of weakly giveaways, today we have another one for our readers but first the two winners of those Big Fish Bait Co Prey metal lip swimmers. The winners are Ronsimmons69 and Mike mpfeif420@gmail.com

You have 5 days to contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com with your shipping address. Consequently, we know that Larry’s Big Fish Bait Co website is not really operational and that he makes small batches and makes them available thought Face book. You can contact Larry trough his FB page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/BigFish-Bait-Co/122594234465082  or via email at bigfishlarry@hotmail.com with any questions.

Ok, Tommy and I are at Babylon Flea Market this morning at American Legion Hall 22 Grove Place in Babylon from 9 AM to 2 P. Stop by if you are in the area, we got some show specials for you as usual. Some new hi performance shirts, new SJ hats, and more goodies.

As for today’s giveaway, it is a courtesy of one of our readers who wanted to share some of his stash but wanted to remain anonymous. You know who you are.

We’ll draw two winner and each one will receive one lure. Today’s giveaway is for one

BLACK LABEL PLUGS 2 ounce Jointed Danny

and one BLACK LABEL PLUGS 2 ounce Surfster

I don’t need to tell you just how good these plugs look, you can see it yourself

Its that time of the year. Its too early to fish but you have already spent so much time shoveling snow you need a fix. Thankfully, we are getting into a show season. You get out of the house, spent few hours drooling over the plugs, bags, rod and reels and before you know it, its time to wet a line. There are a lot of shows in many different locales and SJ crew tries to hit as many as we can to shake some hands and thank you all for supporting what we do.

We came a long way in last four years but I still think the best is yet to come. I can remember like it was yesterday, sharing a room at Cuttyhunk Fishing Club with Tommy few years ago and discussing this idea of a magazine just for us, surfcasters. I remember Tommy saying ” Dude, I CAN do this”.Little did I know just how well he can do it. My hat off to him and everyone involved with writing for the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine and blog, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

We are going to be doing few shows so I figured today I would let you know where and what. Unfortunately, NY is lacking a real surf show, its lacking an even good all around show to be honest but it is what it is. We’ve all heard the reasons, lack of venues, too expensive, too much work. I wish The Fisherman would put together a similar show in the winter like they do in September. But as you can see, the weather can be a real deterrent when it comes to planning anything this time of the year.

So we are going to only be at one NY event, this upcoming Sunday February 16th at the Flea Market in Babylon at American Legion Hall 22 Grove Place in Babylon from 9 AM to 2 PM. Tommy made some new hats, more wool caps, new long sleeve performance t-shirts with brand new design and there is more coming before next week show at Surf Day. If you are in the area stop by and say hi. You know us by now, we are going to have some awesome deals as usual for those that subscribe at the show or extend their subscription.

The next show is 2/22 Jersey Surfcaster Surf Day in Lincroft NJ. This is now, in my opinion, the premier strictly surf fishing even in the northeast in the winter. From wall-to-wall seminars by surf fishing experts to multiple bag , plug and rod makers to tackle stores and every conceivable surf fishing accessories, if you need it, you’ll probably find it here. A great way to spend a day.

After that we will be at Berkeley Fishing Club Flea Market on 3/2. This even is famous for the custom plug builders it attracts and great deals can be found by browsing from table to table. We have fishing flea markets in NY but nothing like this.

Same can be said when we visit Asbury Flea Market on 3/9 in Asbury Convention Center. This Flea Market is put together by the Asbury Fishing Club and it features many local lure builders and rows and rows of tables selling everything from hooks and sinkers to insanely painted custom lures.

On March 22nd, Rivers End Tackle in Old Saybrook CT is hosting their annual Surf Day at the shop and the adjacent hanger with seminars and free food all day long. Not only burgers and dogs but venison stew, wild boar one year and who knows what this year. A great event that not only CT surfcasters attend but also many from NY and NJ and this is without a doubt because of respect for its owner, Pat Abate. For those of you that have not heard, Pat is in the process of selling the shop and retiring to Montauk where he will drive Vito crazy full time from now on. Ok, the last part is a joke but Pat has sold the store and will be retiring soon. He will be on hand to assure smooth transition to the new ownership. We hope to be there although not guarantied right now as we have some conflicts to work out.

And last but not least, the granddaddy of all fishing shows in Northeast, the massive RISAA show in Provident, RI from March 28th to March 30th. This giant show attracts all major fishing manufacturers and more than 12 000 people visit this show each year.

Tommy is working on another shirt design for upcoming show, it should be ready to debut at Surf Day.

Here is some new SJ gear

New SJ hats, green and gray

back and front stitched

We will ad knit caps and  hats to SJ store after this weekend

We added new pullover Navy blue hoodie with new design to the online store today

Many of you asked for this ,so here it is. Not a regular shirt but High Performance athletic long sleeve shirt with a brand new design for SJ.

SJ “Grim Reaper” High Performance long sleeve shirt (added to online store today)

This T-shirt works hard all day long thanks to AquaFX wicking technology and Freshcare antimicrobial treatment.

Rib knit 3/4″ collar

Heat transfer label

AquaFX – Wicking Properties

Freshcare – Anti-Microbial Properties

Double needle hemmed 5/8″ sleeves and bottom hem

New 10 inch stickers coming at Surf Day next week (and in store after that)

and some of our other designs are also available at the shows

Some of these items are now in the online store at www.surfcastersgear.com if you cannot make it to the shows. We will try to ad hats and caps next week.

Tommy and I sure hope to see you all, and shake your hand. Be safe out there

In this issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine on pages 10-11 we featured our Rod Guru Lou Caruso with a simple and effective way to configuring the tubes in your surf bag for carrying smaller plugs. Little did we know that we would get many emails asking about how to make them, where to buy them and such. So this past Sunday morning I hooked up with Lou at his man cave and we shot a follow up.

We also did three additional videos on how to completely disassemble and service Boga 30, new rubber rods clips for your roof rack and yes, even a video on servicing a Boga 60 for you Big Fish Hunters. Why separate videos for 30 and 60 Boga? Because as I found out first hand they are slightly different in the way their jaws are put together and therefore disassembling and assembling is a bit different. Those videos will be featured in future issues of the magazine.

I can honestly say that I was petrified of taking Boga apart and cleaning it. I had mine for five or ten years and I never took it apart the way Lou did it. But after watching him do it I realized, yes, even I can do this! Spare parts left over be damned !

[youtube]http://youtu.be/3sUt-0lSCNU[/youtube]

btw

Tomorrow we will fill you in on new Surfcaster’s Journal stuff that is coming starting with this weekend Flea Market and Babylon including new long sleves performance shirts with brand new design, new zip hoodies with another new design, brand new hats like this

and giant ten inch stickers

and more..stay tuned

Since we often feature one giveaway a week, its time to play again. But first we need to announce the winner of last week Bull Nose Pliers giveaway, courtesy of Fisherman Headquarters in Ship Bottom , NJ. You can see a full description here http://www.fishermansheadquarters.com/fishing-pliers.htm and they will have them at Surf Day in NJ in two weeks. The winner of the giveaway is roadrage79@comcast.net

You have 5 days to contact us at info@surfcasterjournal.com with your address.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/yhtAmd5voAw[/youtube]

Ok, on to other cool things. Like a chance to win these Prey Swimmers from Big Fish Bait Co. I’ve known Larry, the maker of these lures for many years now and his better half, the Fishchick. I just didn’t know both of them are more talented when it comes to editing videos than I am. Then again that is like saying that a fifth grader has better English spelling skills than I do. Whoever invented the MS Word spelling app saved my life!

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Y9k4_zeGdjs[/youtube]

Back to Larry and his awesome plugs. I tried to go on his website but it does not seem to be working properly. Maybe its just me…again. But the dude makes some awesome plugs and I will never, ever forget a day at the Sewer Pipe few years ago with Silver Fox and Donny Musso when I was manning a camera during an epic blitz. The problem was no one could get a fish to hit anything and yet they were swimming around our feet. The water was flat, the fish were on tiny bay anchovies and could not care about plugs, bucktails or flies. Don’t ask me why I went back to the truck parked in lower lot and grabbed a while Big Fish Prey and a rod . Do ask me why I did not take my at least my pliers if not a belt, as I had to call Silver Fox on five consecutive casts to borrow his pliers to unhook a bass.

Then I put the rod away, gave the plug to Silver Fox and grabbed the camera again. I got on to the giant rook at Sewer figuring I’d get a really good angle to a fish crushing the plug for video. But as hard as Silver fox had tried, he could not get a fish to hit . He did get half a dozen of halfhearted swipes. I came of the rock , grabbed my rod again, took my plug back and made a cast. Bam!!! Don Musso said its the must be the orange sides on the plugs. It definitely wasn’t my skills. haha

Whatever it was, Pray has been one of my favorite metal lip swimmers for calm to moderate conditions since I met Larry many years ago. I know he makes plugs in fits and starts but I do hope he resumes his plug making in full one day.

Today , we will give two of our readers a chance for each to win one Big Fish Bait Co Prey swimmer, courtesy of the Big Fish Bait Co.

Good Luck

A Guide to Guides

by Bill Wetzel

There are many different type of guides, but I believe all of us should share some similar qualities to give our customers what they are paying for. But why the heck would you book a guide, especially a surf fishing guide? That is a question I often get asked, and hear tossed around in fishing circles as well. On a personal level I have taken out some very proficient surf casters, some were writers, fellow guides, and very salty sharpies. Some names I am sure most of you would know. The reason they booked me? Well, it varied. Some casters wanted to up their game by tweaking a few things. It may have been learning a bait migration that they did not know about, fishing a type of water that they had little experience with, a tweak in their cast as simple as finger placement, learning new retrieves, the list is long. For others it may have been that they were coming from out of state and wanted to learn as much as they could about the area that they were only going to spend five days or so out of the year fishing. Maybe they have never surf fished before, and just wanted to get that experience from a professional guide? The list is endless.

If you are going to book a guide the first thing I think you should ask yourself is “what do I want to accomplish?” After you figured that out, then I would recommend doing some research on the guide or guides you plan on booking. Most will have a web site, but I would advise going beyond the website, by finding others who have booked the guide. The main thing that you want to know is if others had a good experience. Some guides like myself do very different trips based on ability. Therefore if you get into a conversation with someone about specifics of their trip it will help you if that person is if your ability level, so that you can make a better assessment if the guide is right for you. Here are some questions and things you should consider when booking.

• Be honest with your guide. A good guide will ask you as many questions as you ask the guide. Be honest of your abilities. If you are not, you could find yourself on a slippery rock, one hundred yards or so away from shore, at 2am, with six to seven foot waves coming at you, when all you really wanted to do is some gentle sand beach or Back Bay fishing.
• In your research find out if the guide lives in the area he is guiding. If the guide lives in Kansas, and wants to guide you in Cape Cod, you are better off staying away. A guide should have the area he is taking you tweaked to the point he knows more about the area than just about anyone. He should be able to tell you specifics about winds, tides, currents, bait migrations, and very intimate details about the area he is taking you. Of course you will not get to know those details until you are out there with him, but you can get a general feel for him in conversation.
• 
• Price. Most guides in the area you plan on booking should be in the same ball park. I would recommend not letting a difference of 50 bucks or so sway you in the other direction. Book the guide you think is going to best suit your needs.
•  Equipment. Most of the guides I know in both fishing and non- fishing fields can supply some great equipment. Ask what they have and what you will need. If the guide has better equipment than yours and he recommends that you use it, then by all mean use it. In many cases it is true, better equipment will enable you to catch more fish. Believe me I have been there on this one!
• Perhaps there is not any better advice I could give you then to tell you to listen to your guide. You are booking a guide in part due to the specialized knowledge of the guide. If he tells you to take off the SP minnow and slap a yellow darter on because there is a presence of larger baits, I would recommend doing it and listening to the details.
• Some other questions that you may want to ask or get asked.  Are you in good physical shape? How often do you partake in the activity you are booking? What type of equipment do you have? How old are you? Do you have any physical problems?  Always be honest and give as much info as you can about your needs.
• Taking a buddy or two? Depending on the kind of trip you are booking it may be wise for you to book with a buddy of equal skills to yourself. As a surf fishing guide I will tell casters that if your buddy is a beginner and you are an advanced caster then more than likely the trip will be limited to the caster with the lesser abilities. Further the guy with less experience usually will get more attention, simply because he needs it.

If you are considering booking a guide that takes you on a high mountain top, or sight fishing on a South American flat, or even your local surf fishing guide, I hope this helps you in your decision. See ya on the beach!

Bill Wetzel is what we like to call “The Hardest Working Guide in the Surf”. A quintessential Montauk Regular Bill works hard at teaching his clients the secrets of Montauk coves and consistently puts them on the fish. No wonder most of his customers come back for more year after year. Bill also runs a Surf Rats ball, Subscribers only forum at http://www.surfratsball.com/ There he exchanges ideas with his subscribers and of course, logs each and every one of his trips for all to read. Check it out at http://www.surfratsball.com/

Release
by Dennis Zambrotta
An hour of casting plugs and eels into the teeth of a steady southwest breeze and I had not a touch. I was somewhat puzzled as these conditions were perfect for this location. Only 24 hours earlier I managed four bass to thirty pounds in the less than ideal conditions provided by a cold northeast wind. I kept one of those bass for the grill and noticed it was loaded with 3 inch sand eels and baby lobsters. With the wind going southwest and sand eels in the area I was ready for the big score at this location tonight – it didn’t happen. Such is the unpredictable nature of surfcasting for striped bass. Too early to quit and with four more hours of the ebb tide remaining I high-tailed it to another location some two miles distant. After a fifteen minute walk I was on a rocky perch with the southwest wind now blowing over my right shoulder. The nearly full moon did its best to brighten the night but was negated by a low level fog causing an eerie glow. The eel still attached to my hook since leaving my last perch showed a sign of life by curling just the last inch of its tail. First cast with it produced a solid strike and subsequent drop about twenty feet out. I quickly lobbed the eel into the same location and had an immediate take from a 15 pound bass that didn’t miss its second chance at dinner. Three casts later I felt the telltale “tap, tap, shake, shake” of a bluefish take. I retrieved steadily hoping the blue would drop the eel and it did, but only after taking 8 inches and leaving me with a 6 inch “cigar butt”. I’ve used cigar butts with great success in the past and continued to cast with the butt. To my surprise no other bluefish took the butt but I did get a few “grab and drops” from bass that were either finicky, small, or both. I was hoping just finicky…
Now somewhat confident there were no other bluefish in the vicinity I hooked up another fresh eel and cast into the fog. At the very end of a wind aided cast I had an immediate take on my eel. I set on the fish and watched the water erupt some 100 feet away. Judging by the splash I knew this was a “decent” bass. Not long after her first run against a very tight drag I knew the word “decent” didn’t do justice for describing this fish. It wasn’t until she stopped and I tried to recover line that I knew she had some serious heft. At that point I wanted badly to see this fish. My mind started to race as I began scanning the water for any lobster pot buoys I might need to dodge. The thought of the eel sliding up my running line as so often happens when hooked up to a large bass made me a bit nervous, this feeling justified by having lost two very large bass in recent years at this very location when bluefish chomped my eels thus severing my running line. Seconds turned to minutes as I tried to hurry her in. My first glimpse of her white belly reflecting the foggy moonlight provided a guess of 45-50. As bad luck would have it she swam to my right and into some submerged rocks instead of left into the shallow tide pool. These rocks were much tougher for landing fish and I slid down a steep barnacle covered boulder into two feet of water. I grabbed her with both hands and grunted while lifting and placing her on the rock perch above me. I removed the hook from her upper jaw and then dug into the surf bag for my 60 pound hand scale. I placed my rod alongside her and she measured out at approximately 50 inches, then hoisted her up and my scale read 53 pounds. I glanced around quickly to see if any other fishermen had witnessed the catch but not a soul was in sight at this late hour. I then hurried into the shallow water to revive her for release. It took about 10 minutes in waste deep water for her to regain strength and stay upright, all the while cold water seeped into new holes in the backside of my waders courtesy of my sliding on barnacles when trying to land her. I followed her into deeper water as she slowly swam away making sure she didn’t show signs of turning over. She began to pick up speed as I followed her progress with my neck-light. Then with a strong thrust of her tail she disappeared out of sight, but never out of memory.

Editorial – Some thoughts on Catch and Release
by Dennis Zambrotta
There has been lots of chatter about Catch and Release on striper sites and social media recently. This is very encouraging. It has taken a while but the surfcasting community finally seems to believe there is something wrong with the overall numbers of striped bass. But I caution readers that much of what you may read about C&R could very well be misinformation. Being an old school surfcaster who’s been around for a while I’ve been through this before during the striped bass swoon of the 1980s. Before then the only Catch and Release practiced was throwing back an undersized bass less than 16 inches. Everything else was kept and many were sent to the markets – that was the culture. When the striped bass biomass dropped to unsustainable levels many fishermen including I reformed our ways and would sell no more bass. The Catch and Release ethic caught on and picked up steam among the striper coast. My surfcasting crew lived in our own little world casting the mainland Rhode Island coastline. In 1985 we expanded our horizons to Block Island – why? Because the last of the buffalo (or striped bass in this case) were out there in phenomenal numbers….but existed almost nowhere else. Casting on Block’s SW bar one dark night we had a good pick of quality bass, suffice to say at the time a 20 pound bass was considered a Block Island schoolie. I was in the process of weighing and then releasing a very nice bass when two unknown casters came up to me from behind. Now you have to realize that Block was a magnate for rod and reel pinhooker’s at the time because you could easily make a grand during a week of fishing. This was the nature/culture of the surfcasting game at that time. Anyway, I was expecting to be harassed for letting $80 bucks go swimming free but to my surprise the two unknown anglers praised me and couldn’t believe that someone else besides them had started the C&R practice. We introduced ourselves – the unknown casters were Bradford Burns and his friend Fred Thurber. Yes, the same Brad Burns who is the founding member of Stripers Forever – it’s interesting to note that Brad has always been an advocate of C&R. We all became friends and were very involved in the striper wars which were raging at the time. As the numbers of striped bass dwindled C&R became very popular and it appeared that its practice would become the “norm” along the striper coast. But then came the 1990s and restrictions on striped bass were relaxed. Size and bag limits were increased and a new term came into vogue when discussing striped bass that has changed the way fishermen view the species – that word is “keeper”. From that point on any bass that was larger than the minimum size limit was considered a keeper – something to take home. It didn’t take the fishing public long to take advantage of the relaxed restrictions – fisherman would talk in terms of how they did – “took my two keepers last night” was a very common phrase. Some thought they were still practicing C&R by releasing smaller than keeper size bass…. but is releasing undersize bass or all bass AFTER you’ve already kept/killed two bass still considered C&R? It stretches the intent and definition of C&R for sure.
I’m often asked how I practice C&R and what I recommend. I have a fairly complex answer. I release all of the larger striped bass that I’m fortunate to catch. After all, larger bass don’t taste very good and they kill my back if I have to lug them to my vehicle. They also have the potential to add cow bass genes to the gene pool when released. For trophy bass my suggestion is to only keep a cow sized bass if it beats your personal best. This allows someone the flexibility of keeping a trophy. I can’t in my right mind give someone grief about keeping a fish they are proud of. The great thing about this method is it keeps raising your personal bar and becomes harder to do as you reach the 30, 40, 50, and if you’re fortunate, the 60 pound pinnacles. I’ve killed one bass over 50 in my lifetime and been very fortunate to have released three others. But what do you do when you want one for the table? This is when “selective harvest” comes into play. If my wife asks me for a bass for the grill I will target a just legal bass between 28 and 32 inches. They tend to taste the best at that size and still provide plenty of meat. Just remember “Limit your kill – don’t kill your limit.”
Does C&R make a difference? When you think of it being practiced up and down the striper coast it most definitely makes a difference. But all the practitioners of C&R do it their own way. Some anglers may even hang the bass they intend to release on, dare I say it, a boga grip or hand scale. Surfcasters should not bash these anglers because the spirit of what they’re doing is what matters here – they’re trying to make a difference. I mean which bass has a better chance to survive? A bass that is handled with a boga-grip and then released, or one that is placed into the bass coffin in back of your buggy? And before you start giving anyone a hard time about catching bass on a diamond jig because it’s “too easy” consider that in most cases this method uses a single hook vice a multi-hook trebled plug – diamond jigs are a very C&R friendly method. As surfcasters we may all practice C&R a little differently, some of us fish sand beaches, some rock perches, still others on jetties/bridges. Good practice and release skills such as limiting the time the bass is out of water, and avoiding gill invasion, will increase the chances of survival. Just remember – we’re not all perfect but the spirit of why we’re doing it is the most important aspect of C&R. Please respect that.

Dennis Zambrotta is well know Rhode Island surfcaster and friend of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine since our humble beginnings.  He was fortunate to be one of the major players during the great Block Island Giant Striper Blitzes in 1980′s and he has recently wrote a  book about his experience,  Surfcasting Around the Block. A good read for any surfcaster.

Today’s giveaway will be an item we never featured on the blog before. But before I get to that, lets pick a winner of that fancy $500 Lamiglas Infinity stick, shall we?

We put all the entries into the random number generator and it spit out number  which corresponds with a fellow whose screen name is jerryboy and email address is JERRRYBOY@OPTONLINE.NET

Congrats dude, you know the deal, you got five days to contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com or you forfeit the rod. Not that I couldn’t have kept it but seriously how many rods do I need with this bad elbow? I see a little Zebco spinner in my future..lol

Ok, on to othere interesting things. Today’s blog giveaway is a courtesy of our sponsors from the Fisherman Headquarters in Ship Bottom, NJ. You can visit them at http://www.fishermansheadquarters.com/

And you can also see the pliers we are giving away at  http://www.fishermansheadquarters.com/fishing-pliers.htm

Why are these pliers different? Well, for one thing from what I can gather Fisherman’s Headquarters is the only place that has these Bull Nose aluminum pliers. The one weakness of  long nose pliers is that they are a little weak. There is no secret there. On a really cheap pair  the pliers will twist and bend when removing a stubbornly embedded hook (hopefully not from your buddy’s ass..although you can expect a decent amount of twerking if that happens).

I like the way they fit in my hand, and I particularly like the rubber grip. From what I have been told they are built to last with a little maintenance. Obviously, being winter and all we did not get to actually use them. The Fisherman Headquarters guys will have some at NJ Surf Day in few weeks so you can check out in person.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/HkLJX0RUGUY[/youtube]

Here is a full description

“Looking for a pair of fishing pliers designed for fishermen? Take a look at these bull nose fishing pliers. These pliers are precision CNC machined from heat treated aircraft aluminum. They are lightweight very strong and anodized (two-tone: half black, half silver) for corrosion resistance. These fishing pliers feature unique rubberized ergonomic handles for a solid comfortable grip even when wet. The pliers are spring loaded for easy quick action use. They also have replaceable tungsten carbide side-cutters that easily cut braided and monofilament line. Each handle arm has a hole for an easy and secure lanyard attachment.

These fishing pliers are made for saltwater fishing by an experienced award winning manufacture (who makes pliers for numerous major brand names in the fishing industry). They are about 7″ long and weight in at 5ozs. They are not the best fishing pliers for small freshwater species. However, they are exception for saltwater gamefish like striped bass and bluefish as well as pelagic species. These pliers feature texturized and tempered (hardened) carbon steel jaws for powerful gripping of hooks. Please note the jaw material is super strong however, with no maintenance, heavy use and exposure to saltwater the jaws will develop rust. To maintain, wash off and occasionally wipe down with a light oil. These pliers will offer great performance for many years. They out perform pliers twice their price!

Have you ever tweaked your pliers out of alignment when unhooking a fish? Common problem with most aluminum needle nose pliers. Not with these bull nose pliers! They are absolutely fantastic for unhooking quality gamefish.”

Again, you can visit Fisherman Headquarters at  http://www.fishermansheadquarters.com/fishing-pliers.htm for more information. The retail on these pliers is $39.99

Chasing Large: Self Motivation and Dedication

by Crazy Alberto Knie

I often get questions about chasing big fish and how my success is better than most.  Well, the truth of the matter is, I am not better than others and the key to my success lies in the motivation and dedication to the sport. As to the common follow-up question – they tell me they are too busy and can’t find the time. Well, that’s not good enough in my book.  We are all too busy and have priorities in life… but you must and really need to set priorities and set time for it. If you are really serious about it – it’s that simple! 

There shouldn’t be any excuses because my records shows, whenever I am not motivated or don’t dedicate my time to it (which are the ingredient for failure).  Believe me, I’ve been there and done that. My advice is to treat it like a business meeting and setting realistic goals. And that is to motivate and dedicate you for the big hunt. Obviously you’ve must have some skill sets but without motivation and dedication you are setting yourself to disappointments.  Moreover, anything less is setting you to “luck”, and that’s a different story altogether.  While we are on the topic of luck,  I’ve asked a few high rollers to shed some light on the word luck, and although they credit it to some “luck”… but most successful gamblers relies and put all in on their motivation and dedication! 

[youtube]http://youtu.be/u01VBFZb_YI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://youtu.be/lN4hAFZ6MH8[/youtube]

I read with great interest your replies of what you liked the most in the current issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine and not for selfish reasons. I am truly interested to know what our readers like. And I am glad there is such a broad range of topic and columns you guys cant get enough of.

On a purely selfish and personal level, I was surprised that so many mentioned Montauk Time & Tide videos. I often wonder if that is something people actually watch or is something that is dear to my heart for purely personal readers. I did get a very nice email from a gentlemen in Florida who thank me profusely for capturing part of the history that we will obviously lose in time. Because like great Vito Orlando always say, “Time and Tide waits for no man”. By the way, neither does Vito when is time to fish 🙂

But anyway, thank you for your kind words about all our writers, columnist and yes, even this videographer on the keyboard.

Speaking of videos..many of you have a Van Staal reel. A lot of you have many and from a personal experience I can tell you that there are not many issues with these reels if they are regularly maintained. Yes, I think we’d all prefer a drag that was a little more flexible from the totally tight to lose but you got to admit that the reel is solid. And them moving their production to China proved all the nayseyers wrong as there is no quality issues whatsoever that I am aware of between home or abroad made reels. Their rep, Craig VanStaalmo is always available for inquiry and super helpful. The only thing that bugs most people is the way the line lays on the spool in hourglass fashion.

Now lets be honest, I don’t know anyone who has lost a fish because of this. But it might bother you and we have an easy fix for you. Actually, “we” being our awesome rod columnist Lou Caruso. My skill level ends where his begins when it comes to tinkering with gear. But lets see him edit a video?

Haha..is better if we stick to our strengths I guess

This video was featured in past issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine at www.surfcastersjournal.com. You can log into your account and go to ARCHIVES and get access to all past issues, articles and video. You don’t need a lathe to do this, drill and a buddy, kid or Da Wife (this might cost you) should suffice.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/aQxEtRN56ws[/youtube]

Before they’re Gone

By Dennis Zambrotta 

Camaraderie – a spirit of good friendship and loyalty among members of a group.

            Something that many of us take for granted are the friendships we make while pursuing our favorite pastime of surfcasting stripers.  If we’re fortunate these relationships may last most of our lifetime and help mold who we become as surfcasters and people. 

            I’ve met many different people over my 45 years of fishing.  Many of them are very good fishermen and even better people – some have become lifetime friends.  You can’t even begin to appreciate or comprehend what you get out of these friendships as they will teach you many lessons about fishing… and life.  If you’re lucky you will share marriage celebrations, births of children, grandchildren, and then retirements. I’m now 57 and in recent years death has

 more and more become part of my life.   In 2013 I lost two very special friends to cancer.  I may not have ever met them if it wasn’t for surfcasting.  Ezidro “Zeke” Silva and Chuck “Crafty Angler” Vietry were both very special people in my life.  Remembering the good times and conversations I shared with them still warms my heart.  In our 35 year friendship Zeke became a big part of my life; he was the best man at my wedding; in fishing we witnessed and experienced the great Snowstorm Blitz together, a night when we shook hands after both reaching the ultimate surfcasting pinnacle of landing a 50.  Zeke was in constant pursuit of anything with fins, and was truly the inspiration for the phrase, “No Fish is Safe”.   Chuck Vietry was a fellow surfcasting history buff who loved researching the history of our pastime.  We spent many hours casting live eels at his favorite perches in Newport, Rhode Island.  He also had a creative writing background and freely offered advice to me while I wrote my book. Those of you who have read Surfcasting around the Block will recognize Chuck and Zeke’s na

mes on the books acknowledgement page.  In the next print run I’ll be adding both names to the Dedication page – never an easy thing to do but something I’ll now have done three times starting with my friend, the late Timothy Coleman in 2012.  The men whose names are printed on the dedication page might be physically gone from my life – but they will never be out of my memory. 

As we slip into 2014 I encourage every surfcaster to cherish and savor the friendships you make while casting the beach.   Make sure to take the very next opportunity to look your friends in the eye and thank them for their company and friendship. By all means give them a hug… because you never know when they’ll be gone.   

ditors note :

Dennis Zambrotta is well know Rhode Island surfcaster and friend of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine since our humble beginnings.  He was fortunate to be one of the major players during the great Block Island Giant Striper Blitzes in 1980′s and he has recently wrote a  book about his experience,  Surfcasting Around the Block. A good read for any surfcaster.