The winner of Tsunami Photo contest, who will receive a new Tsunami Elite Airwave Rod of their choice from the fine folks at Tsunami is picture #5. Congrats not only to angler but his dad too!

Please contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com with your choice of rod and shipping address. Please keep in mind that folks from Tsunami are at the giant Folsom show this week in AC so give them some time.

Speaking about the winners, neither the AOK Tackle awesome lure and hat giveaway, or StormR new gloves winner came forward. So we will stash those goodies for a MEGA giveaway for the holiday season.

I am sure you guys have saw a new video by SJ columnist John (I can catch a fish in a roadside puddle) Skinner uploaded few days ago. In case you missed it, here it is.

Surf Fishing with bucktails in rough water.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/WuYmp4qi2FM[/youtube]

In other news, according to YoDude the SJ Night Crew hoodies will be made at the end of the week or at begging of next. We will let you guys know first as inventory is (isn’t it always with us ?) limited. So stay tuned for that. Yo Dude is also making hats, wool caps and some stickers I was told..soon

There is a movement that is being spearheaded by some SJ subscribers and long time readers. They felt that although they can’t make ASMFC move any faster in coming up with new regulations, they would try to encourage responsible harvest on their own. You can visit the group at Facebook by typing in 1@32 in the search or click this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/433685153423751/

1@32 Pledge

At the October 2013 meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Board voted to accept the benchmark stock assessment which revealed that the female spawning biomass is in decline and that fishing mortality and harvest is too high. The Board moved to develop an addendum “to propose a range of commercial and recreational management measures for the coastal, Chesapeake Bay, and Albemarle/Roanoke stocks to reduce fishing mortality with a proposed implementation date of January 2015.”

To many surfcasters, the stock assessment findings are no surprise. There has been ample evidence provided in recent years about the declining striped bass spawning biomass.

While we are encouraged that the ASMFC appears to be moving to implement new measures to improve the striped bass biomass, we see no sense in waiting until 2015 to take action. The time to act is now.

The 1@32 Pledge is an interim step that we are proposing to help reduce fish mortality. While catch and release is always preferred, the pledge is simple…in situations when you do not practice catch and release, you pledge to only take one fish per day at no less than 32″. The 1@32 Pledge applies to striped bass caught from the surf or shore, on private boats, and party boats.

We are hopeful that the Pledge can help to rebuild the striped bass biomass, one angler at a time, as we wait patiently for the ASMFC to act. Please consider joining us in taking the Pledge.

We encourage you to share your Pledge with others via conversations, social media or other avenues. This grassroots movement will not only help striped bass, but will also serve as a “wake-up call” to the ASMFC that we are serious stewards of the resource. Take the 1@32 Pledge.

We want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. There is so much we are thankful for, from our families, great friends and all of our readers too. We hope all of you enjoy some quality time with your loved ones today. Remember that regardless how bad your day on the beach is, it is wonderful to come home to people that love you.

We think it’s fitting that today we unveil our Tsunami Fall Run Photo Contest. Folks from Tsunami asked us recently if we would like to have a photo contest where we ask our readers to submit their best pictures from this fall run, and they would award a winner a new Tsunami Elite Airwave Surf Rod of their choice. The only rule was, no dead fish pictures!

We sifted through all the entries and we are thankful to all of you that sent them in. We picked what we thought were the best ten. There were a lot of great shots but some of them we felt were to blurry or had a lot of noise so we picked what we thought the best candidates for you to vote on. This is the first time we are using this polling software so be patient if there are any issues with voting. We’ll get this right.

RULES

You can only vote ONCE and for ONE picture, so look trough them all and make a selection. ONLY SUBSCRIBERS to the blog can vote. Do not ask your brother-in-law,  your mistress and cat to vote for you. This is only open to subscribers of the blog. You can comment if you wish but the only vote that will count is one you enter using a official Tsunami Photo Voting box

Have fun looking trough some awesome shots from this fall run, have a great Thanksgiving with you family and enjoy pigskin too. Happy Thanksgiving everyone

Group Hug 🙂

[polldaddy poll=7600664]

What the hell is wrong with people ???????

By Lou “Rod Guru” Caruso

Yesterday one of the conservation minded fisherman in my fishing club was walking the beach getting in his last licks for the season. He passed a group of guys fishing the beach. He didn’t think anything of them as he went by and walked further down the beach. As was to be the case with most of us lately, the ocean was barren. Not even the occasional late season death rat. He worked his way back to where the group of fisherman were and instead of finding them he came across this !!!!!!

He sent this picture to me today. It turned my stomach !!!!!! As fisherman we are suppose to be the guardians of the fisheries, not the wanton slayers of every living creature. There was no need for this what so ever. Sure, dogfish are a nuisance but to kill all these fish for no reason and then line them up like this is just sick. When are people going to wake up?

If this type of garbage keeps up pretty soon we will have nothing to fish for.

Sorry, for venting but I had to get this off my chest

Who went to the beach this Sunday in that insane wind and single digit wind chill? You are better man than I if you did. I went to a weeding and was reminded in the morning why I stopped drinking long time ago. As my late grandfather would say, “If you don’t know HOW to drink, then don’t do it” ,or something like that. Translating from Croatian to English, you always come up with something that sounds more Cringlish than anything else.

I am guessing all of you by now know about our two new columnists for 2014. We promised you that we would never stop improving the Surfcaster’s Journal and this is another sign of our commitment on making it the best publication for the surfcasters.

Crazy Alberto Knie is one of the most respected surfcasters of this generation. In

addition to his uncanny ability to find big fish in the surf, Alberto is also an accomplish author, photographer and graphic artist.

“Chef” Chris Blouin is a RI surfcaster who has gained the respect of his peers over the past five years. Blouin is the head Chef at Providence Rhode Island’s Luxe Burger a posh burger joint with a gourmet twist.

We hope you’ll all join us in welcoming these two to our fantastic team. We’ll continue to try to bring you the best names in the business so that we can all continue up our games in the surf.

While I am on the subject on magazine. I know most of you know, but in case you do not, the magazine subscription is set up, when you signed up first, as a reoccurring thing that renews after a year(or two if you got a two year subscription). That is the way the website dude in Australia set it up when he wasn’t chasing kangaroos. So ,if you want to take this off , log into your magazine account, go to “account”, then click on “payment history” then “cancel subscription”.

In other news…

I am personally hoping for at least another tide, even if I have to do it in snow. I always hated when I cant make that “last trip” while my truck is full of gear and ready to go. I told my wife about a month or more that I was making a “last trip” after not catching a darn thing for a month locally. Then the sand eel thing happened and that was that….

By the way, before I forget, I understand our new columnist Chef Chris got engaged this week on a trip to Florida? In which case , congrats to him from all of us at SJ.

Also of note, our Rod Guru Lou Caruso got his personal best few weeks ago somewhere in Fire Island Inlet, so we extend our congratulations to him as well. I was going to have a blog vote for the Tsunami Elite Photo contest but I am waiting for our Australian web dude to fix something on the blog. Hopefully in a day or so.

If your heart is set on surf and turf this weekend, I would suggest you head down to NJ beaches. There are still fish caught in NY but most of them are small while NJ has a better and more consistent bite with bigger fish.

In case you have not seen this new video from SJ columnist John ” I-can-catch-fish-in-a-roadside-puddle” Skinner…check it out

As usual John is hammering the fish while the rest of us asks..where is everyone??? How come when we get one fish we get mugged by ten dudes and John, on every video just keeps catching and catching and catching and no one mugs him! Maybe like late Steve Jobs he does not believe in deodorant?

I doubt that. Most likely everyone knows and respects the man

You know we do

[youtube]http://youtu.be/sw2tuR_xqhM[/youtube]

and last but not least,

you can now “gift” a subscription to Surfcaster’s Journal to your buddies for holidays. Or any time. I mean, seriously, it there any bad time to receive a gift of the Surfcaster’s Journal? Maybe you have a buddy whose wallet is tighter than Kim Kardashian pants, maybe a buddy who does not know what we do or someone just starting in the sport. Or maybe you are just feeling jolly and generous for the holidays. If you are a subscriber or not, you can give a gift of Surfcaster’s Journal by clicking here. The gift is only good for one year (or two) subscription, after that time it’s up to them to renew it. You did your good deed

There are still fish around in my area although they have been getting smaller by a minute. The guys in NJ have them pretty good right now. Has anyone noticed the complete lack of bluefish. I mean, not just somewhat less, but absolute lack of them? The boats, particularly in Montauk last few weeks could not get away from them and along the south shore too. But on the beach? I have not seen one since October. Not one, and I spoke to guys in my club and others, and they all report same thing. Very weird season to say the least.

The winner of AOK tackle giveaway has one more day to come forward, after that he forfeits his prize and it goes back into our giveaway vault. We still have a lot of stuff to give away.

Our photo contest, sponsored by folks at Tsunami. We have to award one of you a Tsunami Airwave Elite Rod.

We also have to draw a winner of a CTS rod. If you remember, Rich from CTS Custom rod graciously offered to give one of his rod to one SJ reader who became subscriber this year. Rich will pick a # and then we will match that # to our subscribers personal # and that person will be declared a winner. Stay tuned for that

Winner of a pair of StormR either Cast or Torque gloves, graciously donated by fine folks at StormR is Sean Freeman. You have 5 days to email us at info@surfcastersjournal.com with your shipping address, glove choice and size and we will forward this to the folks at StormR.

There are major additions to the SJ staff happening as we speak. More content for you from the people you want to hear from. Announcement on this coming this weekend too.

Stuff for holidays..we’ll don’t quite operate that way. Meaning punctually..lol

You know how Tommy and I do SJ gear…unless you buy a hat or sticker when you see one, you might never have a chance again..ha

What can I say, it’s true. We make small quantities for the shows and then we don’t make them again. In case of SJ hats, we never made them again. That will change in about a week or two.

You remember the Night Crew hoodies, zipped and pullovers? They will be in the new online store in about a week or two. Hats ? Yup. Stickers. Yes. Not preorder and wait, but in stock. Yeah, we know we will run out but we are trying our best.

The new Surfcaster’s Journal Online Store is slowly getting built up. You can click “Store” link on the top on right hand side, you can go to http://www.surfcastersgear.com/ or you can click HERE.

All prices include shipping already until New Year and then we will revisit that. Right now we have few Lighthouse hoodies that we left from last order, all the Night Crew and Rope shirts you want and some Special MTK Limited and Time and Tide shirts in the “Specials” although those only in certain size.Books and DVD too

Right now, after getting up at 3AM to go to work, what I really need is this.

I think I am going to go ahead and order me one.,…from me to me for the holidays

Have an awesome weekend and stay tuned for news and more giveaways

To some of you who haven’t fished for a long time, catching the fish within a yard from your boots might seem like a pipe dream. After all, you already “invested” 639 hours of your time reading online post about which rod can cast to Bermuda

“Work the lure to your feet”

It’s an old adage, that old time sharpies (not yours truly) been advocating for years. Most greenhorns dismiss this and proceed to cast as far as they can

But sometimes ,you really are doing yourself a disservice by doing this

Why ?

SJ columnist  John “I can catch a fish in the roadside puddle” Skinner explains in this new video

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_K9fig1oUos[/youtube]

Since this is a holiday season, we will try to shower you with attention. Its not right that only ladies go gaga with your credit card while you get stuck with a  bill 🙂

First, the winner of the awesome AOK Tackle giveaway ,generally donated by AOK Tackle maker, Steve ” Papa Bear” Adams is  Brofish26@yahoo.com

You have 5 days to email us at info@surfcastersjournal.com otherwise the giveaway goes back in the SJ vault. Again, check out the whole line of the AOK Tackle awesome sand eel imitating lures at http://www.aoktackle.com/

Next gloves

How does that song goes by Dean Martin for those of you that remember who Dean Martin was ? “Baby its cold outside”. Well maybe not today but this week was brutal and as many of you know, since I got frostbite at work almost a decade ago I simply cannot fish in the cold weather or with wet hands. Generally I just stop fishing when it gets that cold.

This year I got a pair of new StormR Cast gloves. These are slightly redesigned then their original models. Obviously the biggest thing is the addition of Kevlar finger to both index finger and thumb on both hands. They made them a little more stealthy in looks which always helps with image conscious surfcasters (that wear GIANT logos on their chests..just saying). I used the Cast Neoprene gloves all week and as of right now I do not have a single complain. Changing plugs was not a problem, casting, no issues there. Warmth, pretty darn good although it was brutally cold. Tying knots? There are no waterproof gloves I ever tried with which tying the knots its easy. Doable, yeah, easy , never. I managed to change the leader but there is nothing like bare hands to retie the line.

I got the Cast because the have these features. A little thicker than their Torque gloves, micro fleece lining and a little thicker

• Cast Gloves
• Great for Use with Braid Line
• Premium Micro-Fleece Lined Neoprene
• Durable Hi-Grip Palm
• Kevlar Index Finger and Thumb Tip
• Easy On and Off Design
• Anatomical Fit
• 3mm Total Thickness
• Glued, Blind-Stitched and Liquid Taped Seams

To me, liquid taped seams and waterproof is the key. They also make a Torque casting gloves. A little shorter than Cast and not waterproof. These gloves, if they hold up during testing, will probably be my all around glove for year around, particularly when wetsuiting.

• Torque Gloves
• Great for Use with Braid Line
• Premium Micro-Fleece Lined Neoprene
• Kevlar Index Finger and Thumb Tip
• Durable Material on Palm and Fingers
• 2mm Total Thickness
• Adjustable Wrist Closure
• Glued and Blind-Stitched Seams
• 

Early testing results are good but the time will tell. Today we will give you a chance to win a pair of either StormR Toque or Cast gloves in the size you need, courtesy of StormR and SJ. Your choice.

You can check the gloves out by visiting StormR at and click on accessories http://stormrusa.com/

John Papciak
The Midnight Rambler
Hurry-Up Surfcasting

After reading the latest issue of SJ, and recent blogs, it’s clear that I am not the only member of the Surfcaster Piss and Moan Society. Early fall was nothing short of a disaster. But much like the Giants, it looks like the fall season still holds a little bit of promise.

But I am also aware of where we are on the calendar – and I know that a major storm or two could bring the game to an abrupt close. And even if the fishing holds up (with sand eels that is very much possible), I know my comings and goings in the middle of the night start to wear thin on my wife. And once we get into the holiday season, there is much much less willingness to lose me for extended parts of the weekend.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cocktail party as much as anyone, but my wife just does not want to see that grumpy face when I’d rather be on the beach on Friday or Saturday night.

Unless you’ve been living on another planet, you know most of the open beach action is all about sand eels. Lots and lots and lots of them. Sometimes too much, in fact. But there are fish on them. Not always a lot. It is still possible do the wrong thing or pick the wrong spot (more on that in a minute). But with the sand eels as thick as they are, I’ve been fishing places that have been cold many previous falls. I won’t spot burn here, but I came off the beach yesterday with an old fishing buddy. And we asked ourselves, when was the last time we saw sand eels like this, and when was the last time we seriously a spot like this on the open sand beach, plugging no less?

But the clock is ticking, so bring on the hurry-up offense.

With all this supposed bait and decent fishing, it is still very possible to pull the skunk card. I did that last Saturday morning. The wind had laid down just enough to make fly fishing possible. So I left the beefy stick in the jeep and headed down the beach with my 10 weight. And sure enough, as soon as a glow took control of the eastern horizon, we could see sand eels blowing up here and there – and often within 20 feet of the beach.

I was feeling bold, like I was in the right place, at the right time…and with the right gear.

Oh I caught them, I did! I caught at least 100 of them – sand eels, that is. They were so tight that I literally could not pull the fly through the water without hooking one or two.

“Very Picky” became the catch phrase of the day. One after another surfcaster stopped on the beach, to watch me fly cast into sand eels packed like a can of sardines. Even when I moved away from the rolling fish I still caught them.

Each surfcaster who stopped offered their opinion – and sometimes their condolences.

“I figured you’d be killing them with that fly rod”…

“We can’t buy a fish either, but we figured you’d be killing them with those flies”…

“You have a perfect match, why aren’t you hooking up like every cast?”…

Oh, how annoying after a while!

After an hour I ran out of excuses. Why was I able to stick good fish at will with the same pattern on an open beach two weeks earlier, same wind, same conditions, but today I was not able to buy a fish?

Well, I finally did hook up with something really nice…but then broke her off. Like a perfect pass dropped by a wide-open receiver, maybe it was not meant to be.

Under normal circumstances, with a kid’s soccer game at 8am the following morning…followed by field hockey…followed by more soccer, I would be done for the weekend.

But this is where you have to go into hurry-up mode. Call an audible. I was back on the beach at 5:30am the following morning.  The wind was now WSW, at a solid 25. It had been cranking all night. Waves were breaking over the outer bars, a good 2 casts out for even the best of us. This was not fly fishing conditions. The water inside the bar was like a washing machine, but perfect for bass to feed on sand eels. I was hooked up on the 3rd cast, thanks to the heavy super strike needle. Then again. Then again.

A friend of mine saw I was back to the heavy stick. He asked me what fly I was using. Smart ass. You gotta do, what you gotta do.

But I left them biting at 7am sharp. And as I drove home, I passed another beach where the concentration of birds suggested the mother of all blitzes was well underway. Trucks were crammed in everywhere. I had to get my tail home, and could not even stop.

I got my mini-fishing session in, and had to be happy with that. I was.

And as I write this, the forecast has the wind spinning all around the dial this week. And temps will dip to their lowest since last March.

More Hurry-Up.

Editor’s note

John Papciak is Surfcaster’s Journal columnist. To read his regular column and those of other contributors, articles and videos, subscribe to the Surfcaster’s Journal today.

First, from all of us at the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine let us wish you all a Happy Veteran’s Day. There is no greater service anyone can enlist in than putting their lives on the line so we the people can live safely in the greatest country in the world. We are all forever indebted to all members of our armed forces past, present and future. Regardless if you did your tour of duty in WWII or just returned from the Middle East, you are a hero to us and our families.

On this very special day, it is our distinct pleasure to announce a very special giveaway. ZeeBaaS Reels, one of the world’s premier reels for surfcasters is going to award one member of our armed forces, past or current, a very special, one of a kind digitally camouflaged ZeeBaaS ZX27 reel. The reel will be engraved with their name and branch of service.

How do you win this very special giveaway? You can’t. Today is a day not to reflect on ourselves but to cast admirations and thanks to members of our armed forces. So you have to nominate a friend, neighbor, fishing partner, brother, sister or anyone who you admire that is a past or current armed force member and who you think it’s a special person.

We are aware that EVERY armed force member is deserving of our thanks and admiration. But we only have one reel to award. So send us a email, letter or essay. Hundred words or five thousand words, we don’t care. Tell us why you think your nominee is deserving of this special ZeeBaaS reel, what makes him a special surfcaster, friend or someone you look up to. That is it.

You spent a life time enjoying the safe life in this great country of ours without giving much thought as to why and who made it so safe. Today, take a minute to reflect , take a look at your family who is joyfully gathered around you, and nominate someone who you think its responsible for us all having a great life.

Just a few rules

• Past or active duty veterans must be nominated by friend, family member, fishing partner, etc. If you have someone you would like to nominate, send us a email with your buddy’s name and branch of service, along with a few words of why you chose to nominate them. (its ok if you don’t know their branch of service )
• Nominee MUST be a surfcaster. Even if you know the guy who shot Bin Laden, he won’t win if he’s a trout fisherman only.  We really want to put this reel in the hands of a Surfcaster.
• While all who have served this country are more than deserving, we only have one prize to give so finalists will be selected by Ultra-Top Secret committee (known only by the NSA).   Winner will be selected by a random drawing of finalists.
• Winner will be announced on Memorial Day 2014 and will receive a 1 of a kind, digital camo ZeeBaaS ZX27 with their name and branch of service engraved in the reel.
• Send your letters, emails or essays to info@surfcastersjournal.com

We are going to be reposting this blog once a month. There is no need to send your submission today. Sit down, gather your thoughts and send us your entry. No ones life can be told in three lines typed on your IPhone