I am glad to see many smiling faces on the beach in November. The long anticipated sand eel bite has now spread out to many  places. We are going to celebrate it here on SJ Blog with a special giveaway from our supporter, Steve “Papa Bear” Adams from A.O.K Tackle, maker of T-HEX , some of the best sand eel lures. The winner will get 2oz & 3oz T-HEXs with Bucktail & Green Tube tail. Plus an AOK hat.

Also , stay tuned for new SJ issue this weekend and  a MOTHER of all giveaways coming on Veteran’s Day.

In mean time, check out AOK Tackle complete line at http://www.aoktackle.com/

Yeah, even his website “sounds” fishy. What do I mean? See for yourself at http://www.aoktackle.com/

Editor’s note #1

Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine if offering one day “24 hour free pass” to the magazine till Friday 4 pm. Go to the subscribe page and pick free access option

Editor’s note #2

This is a special contribution to the SJ Blog by Mr. Charles Witek

Striped Bass:  Where do we go from here?

By now, most of the folks on the striper coast have heard something about what happened at last month’s ASMFC meeting.  Unfortunately, the news coming out of the meeting was a little confused, and if you weren’t paying really close attention, you might not have completely understood what happened and what may—or may not—happen in the future.

There was good news.  The majority of the commissioners on the Striped Bass Management Board clearly recognized that there are problems with the stock, believe that harvest levels have to be reduced and have begun the process of making that happen.

There was also bad news.  The Management Board, in a decisive vote, decided to do nothing to prevent overfishing from occurring next season, some commissioners made it clear that they had no intention of supporting the harvest reductions that biologists believe are needed, and there is plenty of time between now and next August, when new regulations would probably be finalized, for those dissenting commissioners to derail the current process.

To understand where we’re going, we should probably take a quick look at where we’ve been.  According to the best available data, the striped bass female spawning stock biomass—the abundance of mature female fish—peaked in 2004, then began a steady and at times steep decline.  Striped bass anglers up and down the coast noticed the decline, which seemed particularly severe in northern New England; by 2007 or 2008, calls for additional restrictions on striped bass harvest began to be heard at ASMFC’s Striped Bass Management Board.  In March 2011, after a motion made by Paul Diodati of Massachusetts and seconded by Gene Kray of Pennsylvania, ASMFC began to move forward with an addendum that would respond to the decline in abundance by reducing coastwide harvest.  That addendum would have been released to the public after the August 2011 meeting; however, a motion by A.C. Carpenter of the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, which was seconded by Pat Augustine of New York, postponed such release until November, when a stock update would be available to the management board.  However, when the November meeting rolled around, Pat Augustine of New York moved to take no action on such pro-conservation addendum until after the benchmark stock assessment was released in the second half of 2012.  Mike Johnson of North Carolina seconded Augustine’s motion and, on a 9-6 vote, the motion to delay any harvest reduction was adopted by the management board.

The benchmark assessment was released to the management board in August 2012.  That assessment confirmed what so many striped bass anglers feared, that the population was truly in a serious decline.  Female spawning stock biomass had already fallen below the biomass target, and there was a good chance that it would also fall below the biomass threshold—meaning that the stock would, by definition, be “overfished”– by 2015 or 2016, unless managers adopted meaningful restrictions on harvest.  The assessment also confirmed what many of us had been arguing since the stock was declared “recovered” in 1995:  The current fishing mortality reference points were too high, and the current 2 fish bag limit and 28” minimum size imposed on the coastal fishery by ASMFC allowed too many fish to be killed.  Under the current fishery management plan for striped bass, the fishing mortality target, F=0.30, allows the removal of about 26% of the adult population each year, while the fishing mortality threshold, F=0.34, defines “overfishing” as removing more than about 29% of that population.  The latest stock assessment determined that the fishing mortality target should be reduced to F=0.180, about a 40% reduction in the allowable kill, which would result in roughly 16% of the adults being harvested in any year, and that the overfishing threshold be set at F=0.219, equivalent to the removal of about 19% of the adult population—well below what had previously been the target mortality level.  Further, the assessment predicted that, unless current harvest levels were reduced significantly, it is a virtual certainty that the striped bass stock will be overfished in 2014.

The conclusions contained in the stock assessment quickly spread throughout the striped bass fishing community, resulting in a host of reactions.  Most serious striped bass anglers recognized the problems being faced by the stock, and supported a harvest reduction that would take effect as soon as possible.  However, there was some disagreement about how any such reduction should be structured; some proposed specific changes in the current rules (e.g., adopting a coastal standard of 1 fish at least 32 inches in length), others argued for a slot limit to protect the big females while others raised the perennial issue of conserving bass by ending commercial harvest (which, in some anglers’ minds, included harvest by party boats and perhaps other for-hire vessels).  In making such recommendations, many anglers missed a very important point:  Before we could intelligently discuss changing regulations, we had to first convince ASMFC’s Striped Bass Management Board to incorporate the new fishing mortality reference points in the striped bass management plan.  Until that was done, all of the other discussions were purely academic.  And we could be sure that there were people out there who would do their best to prevent any harvest reduction from taking place.

The meeting of the management board took place on October 29, and played out in the manner that most seasoned ASMFC-watchers expected.  The conclusions contained in the stock assessment were taken seriously by a majority of the board.  That majority was led by representatives from New England, who have long borne the most serious impacts of the current decline, and clearly supported conservation measures.  However, the pro-conservation majority was opposed by a minority, predictably featuring Tom Fote, a governor’s appointee from New Jersey who has a long history of opposing any conservation measures that reduce the recreational kill.  But Massachusetts salt water fisheries director Paul Diodati handily dismissed the anti-conservation zealots by observing, in effect, that anyone who couldn’t understand the problems besetting the striped bass stock probably shouldn’t be sitting at the management board table.  That was undoubtedly an accurate observation, although it was probably lost on the anti-conservation crowd.

Diodati made a motion that directed ASMFC to initiate an addendum which would incorporate the new fishing mortality reference points into the striped bass management plan, and would also have reduced harvest for the 2014 fishing year by cutting the recreational bag limit to one fish, retaining the 28 inch minimum size and imposing proportionate reductions on commercial landings.  His motion was seconded by Richard White of New Hampshire.  However, the idea of imposing interim restrictions on the 2014 harvest met with substantial resistance.  As a result, Pat Augustine of New York, seconded by Roy Miller of Delaware, successfully moved to separate Diodati’s motion into two parts, one dealing with a new addendum incorporating the new fishing mortality reference points, one addressing interim rules for 2014.  The first motion passed easily; the second failed by a vote of 2 for, 12 against.  Thus, there is reason to hope that striped bass harvest will be reduced in the future, but there is also reason to expect that rebuilding will take just a little longer, due to the overfishing that will take place next year.

A lot of responsible anglers were disappointed that needed harvest reductions won’t occur in 2014, and a lot of angry comments have been made.  But in truth, such an outcome should have been expected.  ASMFC’s actions aren’t prescribed by law; there is no equivalent to the Magnuson Act that imposes an enforceable legal mandate to prevent overfishing, rebuild stocks within a time certain, etc.  ASMFC can, for the most part, do as it pleases, regardless of the ultimate result.  If striped bass were managed under Magnuson, a section of that law, which requires that managers “establish a mechanism for specifying annual catch limits in the plan (including a multiyear plan), implementing regulations, or annual specifications, at a level such that overfishing does not occur in the fishery, including measures to ensure accountability” [emphasis added], would have required that Diodati’s proposed harvest cuts, or something very like them, go into effect for 2014.  But ASMFC is bound by no such provision; as a result, both those who oppose needed conservation measures and those who just want to take a slower, more calculated approach to eventual harvest reductions opted to do nothing, and accept the probability that overfishing will occur.  That’s the way that ASMFC usually works.

So, as I asked in the title, where do we go from here?

I’m happy to report that, wherever we eventually end up, right now, we’re headed in the right direction.  At the February ASMFC meeting, the Striped Bass Management Board will finalize a draft addendum for public comment, which will propose adopting the new, lower fishing mortality reference points into the management plan.  We won’t know just how that draft amendment will look or what it will contain; the most likely scenario will see it offer two options—either 1) remaining at status quo, and keeping the current reference points of F_target=0.30 and F_threshold=0.34 or 2) adopting the reference points contained in the latest stock assessment, F_target=0.180 and F_threshold=0.219.  Hearings on the addendum will probably be held in March and April, and there will be at least one hearing in each state on the striper coast.  All interested anglers should make it a point to attend at least one of those hearings and argue for the lowered reference points, because you can be sure that the folks who don’t want to see their kill reduced will be turning out in force.

After the public comment has been received, it will be compiled and presented to the Striped Bass Management Board before the May ASMFC meeting, when the board will approve the final addendum.  Given the sentiment at the October meeting, it is very likely that the board will incorporate the lower fishing mortality target and threshold in the management plan.  The fact that the addendum will address only the reference points, and not the regulations needed to achieve the needed harvest reductions, will probably go a long way toward assuring passage.  Still, it will not be a slam-dunk.  The Tom Fotes of the world will not be standing still; they will be doing whatever they can to gain supporters on the management board and using every bit of the next five or so months to frustrate efforts to reduce the recreational kill.

The May meeting should also see the Striped Bass Management Board finalize another draft addendum that will present various regulatory proposals, all intended to achieve any needed harvest reductions, and this is where things will get interesting.

For years, despite anecdotal reports of a sharply declining stock, ASMFC assured anglers that the stock was not overfished and that overfishing was not occurring; often, when a concerned angler suggested that a harvest reduction was in order, more kill-oriented individuals dismissed his concerns by parroting those ASMFC assurances.  And, in fact, ASMFC was correct, the stock was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring—if F_target=0.30 and F_threshold=0.34 were truly the right fishing mortality reference points.

Of course, thanks to the new benchmark stock assessment, we realize that those were not the right fishing mortality reference points.  If we apply what we now know to be the appropriate reference points to past harvest levels, we find that overfishing took place—that is, the fishing mortality threshold was exceeded—in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011—while the fishing mortality target was exceeded not only in those years, but also in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2009, 2010 and 2012.  That provides a pretty good reason for why striped bass abundance has been in a continuing decline since 2004.  However, it doesn’t shed much light on how ASMFC will react to the problem.

The stock assessment noted that, in order to eliminate any real possibility of overfishing, harvest would have to be cut in half.  While such a cut might represent the ideal resolution, it’s unlikely that ASMFC will go that far.  Instead, they will probably seek some lesser cut that substantially reduces the risk of overfishing—hopefully, makes it much less than a 50-50 possibility but, again, while federal managers, operating under the Magnuson Act, may not adopt regulations that have less than a 50% chance of avoiding overfishing, ASMFC, which is not governed by Magnuson, may accept a far higher level of risk.  Whatever cuts are made will probably be based on 2013 harvest, which could be a good thing; 2012 harvest was notably lower than harvest in previous years, with F₂₀₁₂=0.20.  If harvest reductions were based on 2012 landings, the required reductions would be relatively minor, and probably would not have constrained harvest enough to avoid overfishing in many future years.  On the other hand, if the 2013 fishing mortality rate rebounds to the level typical of the past decade, when overfishing occurred in six out of ten years, reductions would be far more meaningful and more likely to have a positive impact on striped bass abundance.

What form will such reductions take?  Right now, it’s hard to tell.  A lot will depend on how many people who keep striped bass keep two fish, rather than one, when they go out, and how often they do so.  People who don’t keep fish don’t matter, since no reduction in the bag limit or increase in the size limit can reduce their landings below zero.  So what fisheries managers will do is first count up all of the fishing trips made (or, more correctly, estimated to have been made) during the year on which people kept striped bass.  Then they’ll look at the number of trips on which people kept two striped bass, and calculate what the percentage reduction would have been if all of those people had only kept a single fish.  If that reduction is enough to reduce fishing mortality to or below the Ftarget, in 2015 we’ll be looking at a one-fish bag limit and the current 28” minimum size.

On the other hand, if cutting the  bag limit isn’t enough to achieve the needed reduction (and, depending on how much harvest needs to be cut, it very possibly won’t be, as there are a lot of people who don’t kill two bass on a single trip), a similar procedure will be used to increase the size limit.  Based on the size of bass kept by anglers interviewed by surveyors working for the National Marine Fisheries Service, managers will calculate the reduction that could be achieved by a 1 fish bag limit and various increases in the minimum size.  The combination of one-fish bag limit and whatever higher minimum size that (when combined with reductions in the commercial quota) would theoretically bring fishing mortality below the new Ftarget would likely comprise the regulations adopted in the new addendum.

Of course, we’re talking about fisheries management, where things are never quite that easy.  It is possible (although, I think, extremely unlikely) that even with a 1-fish bag limit, the size limit needed to achieve the needed harvest reduction will be so high that managers decide to maintain a somewhat smaller minimum size, but reduce the length of the season to compensate (with the length of the season reduction again based on historical catch patterns).  In addition, we have to remember that a “slot limit”, which requires that fish both under and over a specified size range be released, is popular with some sectors of the angling community.  There are different opinions as to what an appropriate slot size might be; some folks would target immature bass, setting the bottom of the slot as low as 20 or 22 inches and the top end around 26 or 28 inches, arguing that such a slot would protect the entire female spawning stock.  Others would choose a higher slot—perhaps 28-32”, or something roughly similar.  However, any slot size would not be viewed in a vacuum.  Killing smaller fish—particularly immature fish—carries a conservation penalty.  ASMFC forced Maine to drop its bag limit from two fish to one when it adopted a size limit that allowed anglers to keep only those fish that fell into a 20-26” slot or were longer than 40 inches.  New York commercial fishermen had their quota cut substantially when the state replaced the 28-inch minimum size with a 24-36” slot in order to keep older, PCB-laden bass out of the markets.  So it’s pretty clear that if ASMFC ever adopted a slot, even with a 1-fish bag limit there would be a significant shortening of the current season.

And then there is the perennial question of “gamefish” status; eliminating the entire commercial fishery in order to allow anglers to harvest the entire allowable catch.  While that might sound good in theory, the chance of ASMFC ever adopting such a strategy in the upcoming year is extremely low.  The votes just aren’t there.  When you consider that the state which has been most aggressively supporting reduced harvest—Massachusetts—also has the highest coastal commercial striped bass landings, you begin to understand the problem.  A desire to conserve the striped bass resource and “gamefish status” do not necessarily go hand-in-hand.

If the current schedule remains on track, the regulatory addendum should be released after the May meeting, with hearings held in June and July.  It will then, if all goes well, be adopted at the August meeting, with a compliance date—the date when all states must adopt new regulations—of January 1, 2015.

That’s not as early as most striped bass anglers would like, but it is certainly progress, and can only benefit the resource.  In the meantime, anglers must keep informed, stand ready to write comment letters and turn out for hearings, and be ever vigilant to help assure that those who would derail the conservation effort will not succeed.

A lot of us lived through the last collapse, back in the ‘70s and ‘80s.  It was not a very pleasant time.  It is up to all of us to make sure that such a collapse does not happen again.

Ahhh, here we are, few years later and none-the-wiser. We seem to collectively forgot what it was like then. ..when I say then I mean few years ago

Waiting on the beach because you’ve heard fish were hitting tins few miles east yesterday. And you expect them to be at your beach today. Tomorrow the latest…

But they did not show up. Three days later they are still few miles east of your spot. Then you get a major cold front, and you say” This will do it”

So you are again at “your” spot waiting for these fish to slide west but they don’t. You hear that they had a banner day today at same place but you don’t have a beach permit for those spots and besides, it’s a long drive.

Any day now

They you get a major wind event. Southwest winds up to 50 miles an hour. Gale warnings for boaters posted everywhere. Well if nothing did it so far, this will. So yet again, you brave insane winds and toss your plugs in crazy white water at “your spot” and Glory to God in the Highest, you get few small bass! Yes, it’s finally happening. Tomorrow the cold front passes by, the water flattens out and you again are left with a thumb up your !@#%

And yet again, you hear that fish are still east of you, hot and heavy. But you don’t want to spend $ to buy a permit this late in the year. After all, they will be at your beach soon.

When will they finally start migration?

I hope I don’t eat my words. On the second thought, I hope I do because I could really use a ride to the beach where I at least feel I have a SHOT at the fish that takes less than an hour drive. I don’t need to tell you were the fish are. You’ve heard the reports for the past weeks, if not a month

When will these fish move? Including those in deep water that party boats have been hammering now for weeks?

Unlike all other migrating baitfish, mullet, bunker, peanut bunker, herring, anchovies, you name it, sand eels are different. How? All other baitfish migrate along the beach southward. Usually they will be tailed by migrating bass and bluefish. So yeah, if you had fish at XWZ beach yesterday a beach few miles west is usually a good shot today.

But sand eels move from deep water to shallow.. Are there sand eels on your local beach? I can almost guarantee it. Why are the fish not on them ?

Probably two reasons although keep in mind I am probably talking out of my ass. One, since we decimated the bass pretty good, population in the schools of fish are smaller, more condensed. They don’t spread out trough the whole region like they used to. And resident fish are few and far between.

The second reason, the beaches that have had consistent action probably have more bait and there is no reason for fish to move. And temps are not dropping fast, so that won’t get them to move either. So in all probability, you are looking at these fish disappearing one day and reappearing in South Jersey or Delaware. I doubt they will pass by your beach. Or my beach

The whole point of this post, you got to go where sand eel bite is  at. They are probably not going to come to you. Fortunately , within the last week the fish has
spread out a bit westward.

Btw..the way, there are some BIG fish around. Not sure if they will be this big but the man can dream 🙂

The winner of Super Strike Halloween Bunk O’Lanterns lure set giveaway is mark@brookmeadowgolf.com.You have 5 days to email us at info@ surfcastersjournal.com with your shipping address

I hope that you have recovered from all that candy last night. This is going to be more of a video blog than a regular post, just a quick note on the new issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Online Magazine due to arrive in about a week or so.

I also have some thoughts on sand eel bite and why so many are having hard time (including yours truly) catching fish. If I have time this weekend maybe I can sit down and write it. The short version is don’t do all the things that you usually do, wait for the fish. They are not coming..

Anyway, issue # 22 (where did the time go?) is almost here
Articles from
A focused approach – John Hanecak
Avoid the Stank – Dave Anderson
The last option – Frank Daignault (yup, THAT Frank D!)
Montauk Top 5 – Bill Jakob

Frank Pintauro Kuzia & The Canal

Your favorite columnist are all ready to go

John “I can catch fish in the roadside puddle” Skinner

Russ Big Rock Paoline

John Papciak

Lou Rod Guru Caruso

DJ Muller

Al Albano

Roger ” I am still cool” Martin

New 13 minute episode of Montauk Time & Tide documentary exclusively for our subscribers along with some how-to videos with our Rod Guru Lou and new rods for 2013 video compilation from The recent Fisherman Show

and yeah, some kick ass reviews of Tsunami new plugging rod, St Croix chunking stick, daiwa new sinking sp minnow, afterhours stubby and more.

Yeah, its going to be BIG

If you have not subscribed yet, what are you waiting for? Not only you get the current and a year’s worth of new issues but you get immediate access to all twenty one issues we have done from the day one.

Giddy up !  https://surfcastersjournal.com/amember/signup

And yes, here is the video review of the upcoming issue
[youtube]http://youtu.be/n5jtUY7T0zg[/youtube]

Since it is Halloween, its only right that we celebrate in style. I for one can’t wait to steal all the candy from my kids and fall into chocolate food coma. But you might be in a hunt for something more spooky, like these bunker Halloween Super Strike plugs?

Muuuuhaha. We got those

Their official name is Super Strike Halloween Bunk O’Lanterns lures and today (and tomorrow) we will give all our blog readers a chance to win a set of Halloween Bunk O’Lanterns by Super Strike Custom Lures.  Also, Super Strike will be giving another set of these on their FB page today so make sure you stop by and enter there to..and of course, become a fan of their page

Muchas Gracias Senor Musso and  Felize Halloween muchachas

( I had no idea that I can speak Spanish in addition to Cringlish till today)

The Midnight Rambler

John Papciak

Addition By Subtraction
I’ve been lucky enough to have been mentored by a few very good surfcasters over the years. I am guessing that some of the willingness to clue me in had to do with my rookie enthusiasm. But I also know that some of this “mentoring” only happened because of my ability to change how I approached things. And along the way, this very often required me to take a jab.

Years ago the late George Wade gave me an important lesson on bucktailing at North Bar in Montauk, during a Nor’easter. After he set the hook on the second fish – to my zero – he looked my way.

“What the F*** are you doing?” he screamed above the roar of the white water.

“This ain’t no Moriches!”

“Any @sshole can drop a bucktail into a inlet and catch a bass.”

I knew this was intended to be a dig on any residual confidence I might have been hanging on to after a good run in the spring at the said location.

Some other surfcasters might have been offended. Maybe it was just me, but I thought this was incredibly funny – and maybe a little true.

Ken Kassan, on the other hand, tended to be a bit softer on the delivery, but often just as direct.

“You really want to know how to fish bucktails?” he once asked.

“Go out fishing next time with a handful of bucktails in your pocket, nothing else…better yet, go out for a whole month with only bucktails. Leave all that other sh*t at home.”

And so I started to realize that addition by subtraction had an important place in surfcasting.

To put this into my own words: You might never really learn to fish a certain plug, or a certain style of fishing, unless you are mentally committed to fishing this way. And how committed could you be, if you could easily make a change the minute you thought it wasn’t working out?

Going out with the kitchen sink is probably the worst thing a fisherman can do, especially a beginner.

It is easy to understand the fear of possibly being stuck on the water without the hot plug or the hot color, but there is this fine line that is easily crossed when all those options becomes a major distraction.

I see evidence of the phenomenon whenever guys get together to talk about their favorite plugs.

“I really love the Gibbs needlefish, this is my favorite lure when fishing Montauk,” one might say.

“Really?” asks the next. “I’ve never had much luck with them.”

“When have you tried them?” inquires the first.

“Oh, a bunch of times, but I never get anything so I switch after a few casts,” is the common reply.

On the water we all do stupid things. On land, it all seems so obvious. You don’t fish a plug because you’ve never had much luck with it…but you’ve never had much luck with it probably because you’ve never really fished it long enough to know.

Well, I did take Kenny Kassan’s advice, way back when. At the time, Long Island had this electric Power Plant in Northport. Hot water spilled into Long Island Sound all winter long, and there were very often willing takers staged in the outflow on the coldest nights in February. A perfect place and time to dedicate night after night to bucktails. I learned about speed of retrieve versus current versus weight, and I learned the subtle differences of pinging the bottom every now and then, versus dredging the bottom – all stuff I might never have understood if I were rotating through the surf bag.

The same thing happened with needlefish.

You’d have to agree with me on this one – you pull a needlefish through the water and you wonder how in the world a fish might be drawn to strike this lifeless stick with hooks, right?

I was not an early fan, and I remember many conversations with many surfcasters, from Jack Yee to Manny Moreno. Manny finally convinced me I needed to change my thinking, and I agreed to take a few sessions in mid November and dedicate those to needles. And so one week I tried to put all the distractions of fishing reports here and there out of my head. My game plan was simple – start at a beach – any beach would do – and just walk and cast Gibbs needles. In this case, Jones Beach Field Six would fit the bill nicely, and so with a NE wind and building seas, I set out walking. It worked! After the third or fourth fish I learned that these stupid lures could catch fish.  It certainly helped that I was fortunate to have intercepted fish when prevailing reports were not so encouraging – to the point that my results were strong enough to tempt others to hit the same stretch of beach… using the same lure I had so little faith in a few nights earlier.

The latest experiment concerns fly fishing, and for the most part, the story is not so different.

A good bit of my current MO involves back bays in and around the Long Island Jones Beach area. This time of year, I’ll pack a ten weight along with a 10 foot Kennedy Fisher matched with my trusty old VS 300. I have found it hard to leave the spinning rod at home, but most nights the fly rod does match or out-fish the spinning rod… oh but I still fear those few nights when wind, depth or distance makes the fly rod a handicap.

Yes, I know there are some aspects of fly fishing the Northeast at night – under a variety of those less favorable conditions – that will never be fully mastered unless I resolve to leave that spinning gear at home.

Addition by Subtraction.

Sunday morning started off good, real good. While I waited for a buddy to come down to the water from the lot, I decided to make few casts in the dark at Kings. Like Vito always say (and I happily oblige) “fish the corners”. On about fifth cast my bucktail was engulfed. My elbow immediately went into Hi-Pain-Alert as I struggled to pump the fish. Every pump of the rod felt like getting stabbed with thousand knives in the elbow. But it was a “good” pain. Fish on the end of the line pain. When I see the fish in the wash, I said “I don’t want to lose this one”. I slide it on the sand and take few shots. Twenty six pound on my Boga and I am having an awesome day and it have not even started yet!!

I told you, I don’t need much to have a good day. 🙂

About the half an hour later the rest of my crew showed up and we walked into Caswells where we found brown and weedy water. The guys on the lead rocks at Kings were bailing fish but they were mostly rats although many had a “keeper” on a stringer. I guess when you spend all that money on wetsuit ,fancy reels and other equipment its prerequisite to have something on a stringer?..lol… Just busting some of my boys on those rocks, to each its own. There I was in waders and flimsy $60 Grunden plastic top looking like a Googan #1. Hey, I don’t feel like getting wet. I have massive shrinking problem when wet…ala George Costanza!

Later that day I decided that  today was not going to be a camera/SJ/video day. No, today was going to be “Z goes fishing for a change day”. The wind was wicked, the waters was froth and I left my plug bag in the truck.

Hmm, now you are a saying, this guy is nuts leaving all his plugs in the truck, but au contraire mon ami. All I needed was a bucktail pouch on my belt, some pork rind, pliers and Boga. That is. Plugs were going to be useless in that kind of wind. So I walked into a south side sandy cove at 11 AM and from second cast for about two hour caught fish on just about every third cast or so. All alone throwing an ounce and a half bucktail until I was joined by what looked like father and two teenage sons. One son put me to school by nailing ten bass on ten consecutive casts, while I stood on sand ten feet away. It sucks when it happens but it does. To all of us sooner or later. These fish were good size too, very few micro bass and plenty hi-teen size and bigger. Around 2 pm, unable to lift my elbow which by now felt like it swelled to the size of a beach ball, I went into town to get a bite to eat. The fisher were still there.

That cove (and all places I fished that day) looked like a wash machine. Hard northeast winds at 20 mph plus higher gusts turned green water into white. The whole cove was blanked in frothy waves, the kind of water where you just knew bass had to be in it. And they were

As I checked my messages I chuckled at the one from a friend, who said that he had enough of not catching fish, that winds made it impossible to cast, and that he is on the way home. It was UNFISHABLE he said! I could amuse you with how to cast in these type of winds, where in the wave sequence to place your bucktail, how important is your line pound test, how to modify pork rind and all that but that would take another book. Your best bet is to contact Bill Wetzel to show you this, live and in-person.

After engulfing 7/11 sandwich and refilling my thermos yet again, I was walking back into the south side. Hey, I was here, might as well keep fishing. My elbow was throbbing, my thumb was all chewed up, but I felt so alive looking at that water. To be honest, ALL the water looked like it should have held bass. But it didn’t and that was very puzzling. Yeah, few people did better than others but considering no rain and fairly clean water the whole weekend, there should have been fish on north side with that blow, under the light, in turtle cove, Browns, you name it .They were there but few and far between.

Anyway , as I walked and cast and walked and cast I came across a dude in a wetsuit who fished on the corner of the cove. He was hooking up on EVERY SINGLE CAST. Not every other or third, every cast! It was cool to watch him. The guys in the cove were picking a fish here and there but mostly wishfully casting tins, trying to reach the water he was in, but to no avail. I got on the rock about 30 yards behind and slightly to west (remember, I am in leaky waders and cheap top that leaks like a sieve) and fired up a cast. I nailed a fish on a first cast but then watched the wetsuiter get a dozen while I went without a touch. There was rock close to where he was but  the water was HUGE. If I could get there in between sets I might be ok on it but if I get caught in a swell..oh boy

F@#%^ it!

I made a mad dash over the thigh high water in between sets and almost managed to get to the rock before a wave lifted me and pushed me back ten yards. But I kind of managed to stay upright and dry. Then another mad dash to the rock and in less than ten seconds I was hooked up. Yup, being on the “right” rock means all the difference sometimes. No more than ten minutes later the  fellow rod breaks about two feet off the tip, as he is landing the fish. I thought he would jump off the rock, but he re-rigs with what is  now an eight foot rod and continues to clobber fish after fish. He must have landed 20 fish with a broken rod! It was awesome to watch.

(note in this picture full rod)

(Note in this picture a broken rod)

He got off after about an hour and a buddy of mine got on, and he continued to hammer fish after fish till dark.

I decided I had enough by then. There was a story left out of my biggest fish that took me for a ride before a jack ass on the beach decided to cast his tin across my line and break me off. It’s not important. Any fish I don’t “see” with my eyes I don’t get stressed over it. But when I see her, then I want to touch her and see her swim away.

Anyway, I got some sleep in the lot, got up at 4 am and made another walk into the south side. By now the northeast winds have abated down and water although still crazier than normal, has started to lay down. I spent some time with a  camera, watched Farragut boys land about twenty of so fish and split by eight AM. Just fyi, because I know many of you guys are wondering where this super secret “spot “is. That Sunday I fished Caswells, Driftwood, Stone House, Kings, Rat Hole, Browns, Sewer, Counuts, Warhol, Amsterdam, Frisbees, Ditch Plans, Hoffman’s and Cavett’s. Yup, few coves short of every spot from Camp Hero to Ditch Plains. Like Vito says, do the walk and sooner or later..you’ll find some fish. Beats hanging in the lot, that is for sure.

The bite was dying down fast and by next day I got these kind of depressing emails from friends in Montauk

” I had one bump last night and I swear it wasn’t because I hit the rock !”

“Six of us started at Shag and fished around to Hither Hills. Not a single bump”

Yup, there is nothing wrong with the fisheries. One good day makes up for all those fishless nights in Jones beach since June 15th

NOT!

With conditions we had, Northeast wind sustained at 20 and gusting to 35 we should have had fish on north side, south side and anywhere in between. That is what we used to have, but I guess those days are now just memory

The next day I went to Jones Inlet with some rigged eels with Silver Fox or as my wife calls him “You Other Wife”. I threw a rigged eel under prefect conditions on  perfect tide in October and never got a touch. Neither did he throwing plugs.

Back to what we are used to in Jones Inlet..a lot of nothing. Still looking for the first bass of the fall in “my spots” but I am open to visit your spots

really 🙂

And now a public service announcement. No, not really. Just letting you know about the big expansion project at White Water Outfitters, the Official VS Warranty Center in NY

White Water Outfitters is now located on 288 East Montauk Hwy in Hampton Bays, New York. They are the Official Warranty Center for Van Staal in New York. Their reel expert Bert also repairs reels from Penn, Avet, Shimano, Daiwa, Alutecnos and many other manufacturers. They also have a premier rod building shop. Captain Steve Petras, specializes in creating unique rods to meet your needs for surfcasting, in-shore, off-shore, and fly fishing. They even just moved into a new 11,000 square foot shop 2 weeks ago. Place is HUGE! If you are in the area come in and say hello!

White Water Outfitters YouTube Video Courtesy of “The Fisherman Magazine”

[youtube]http://youtu.be/hvoP7Z0xY8c[/youtube]

Think happy thoughts…happy thoughts

haha..yeah, I think we need some good thoughts for a change. So here is last week trip to Montauk during those wicked NE winds I promised you last week before I got sidetracked by important stuff

I got nothing to be proud of this year. In fact, I am kind of embarrassed. This is the first September since I have started fishing 20 years ago were I have not caught a single bass. Not one. Big fat zero for September. In fact, the bluefish ignored me too for the most part. Between Jones Beach and Montauk, this had to be the worst fall I ever had. I told a buddy few days ago if this Northeast Blow last week does not get things moving I might have to pack it in and take up golf. Ok, I can never really do that, but the fact I am thinking about should make you think just what kind of state of mind I am at.

Finally , in early October I had few bass on sandy beaches in Montauk. Rocks were still more or less dead. I don’t think anyone remembers Montauk being this dead in a long, long time. Then the winds came last week…

I got a call that Wednesday that the beaches lit up from Montauk point to Shineckock. Not so much on the north side , south side was a better bet. And deeper you went, better you did.

Thursday was another awesome day. Where was I? Working, of course. Finally I had to call in dead on a Friday and I was on my way. Of course the Friday was not as good as day before but that was only because I followed the crowds into Camp Hero. I told myself I should have known better but I didn’t. And I paid the price with only few fish.

I did get some shots of guys fishing the light and I have to say, I give them a world of credit for standing in that wash machine

Later in the day around noon I walked into Caswells alone, just the way I like it. I walked and cast, and walked and cast, doing my best Vito Orlando impersonation. I found two teen fish, a rat and a twenty plus which made my day.

I had to get home that night for work on Saturday and being that it was Columbus day weekend, I really did not think I would be coming back.  Latter I found out that some of my friends had up to fifty fish each and up to 30 pounds on Friday. This is why I said I was in the wrong place. But I took some pictures, did some videos, you know, the way I usually do. I rerely ever fish Montauk in the daytime anymore since I got the camera bug. You just can’t do both. When you are on the rock and bailing fish you say shit, I wish I was on shore with camera because others are bailing fish too and that makes for good footage. No, I rarely ever bail fish while others are watching, I am simply not that good. And I don’t expect you to understand camera thing. Just be glad I do because it makes the winter easier to take watching videos and pictures. And yes, the reason I do go where crowds are, and not where I want to fish, is because that is where the best picture taking opportunities are. Like I said, I don’t expect you to understand but I am just trying to explain why where I am fishing sometimes have very little to do with where the best fishing is.

Keep that in mind when you think you’ll follow me around..haha

So Saturday morning I am at work. Looking at winds outside and saying to myself, not strong enough to get me excited. Looking at the current Montauk wind at 12 mph does nothing for me. Then I check NOAA.

WHOA NELLY !!!

NE 20 TO 25 GUSTING TO 35 for Saturday afternoon and Sunday ???

Shit, I feel another “call in dead day” coming, but instead of the boss I have to call in a favor with Da Wife. This is going to be expensive, I say to myself. Like Louie Vitton bag expensive !

I can’t explain to you what these kind of winds do to a man. The water is absolutely wild. The waves are huge. The sweep is insane. The wind takes your plug and tosses it back into your face. As if Mother Nature is daring you to step into the water and then she hits you with a swell that makes you run back like a little girl. Yeah, your medical insurance should be current when you fish this stuff. Yet you feel so alive every time the wave smacks you around. You step back in and fire up another cast like a boxer that gets knocked down , gets up and yells “Bring it on bitch, is that all you got?”

That scene from the movie Forest Gump when lieutenant Dan is sitting on mast during that storm comes to mind as a good metaphor.

So there I am on Saturday afternoon on LIRR hatching my evil plan.

Ok it wasn’t really like that. And it turns out my wife just said be careful and have fun when I left at night. Helps to be married to a saint

I just knew driving and listening to Pink Floyd this was going to be a good day..just did not expected to be this good.

to be continued…

I told you few years ago that we are going downhill fast with the striped bass but many said “yawn”. Last year was my worst year in surf ever but it was awesome compared to this year. Shit, if this keep up I will be doing fluke and sea robin fishing only in a year or two.

Let’s see, who is too blame? Hmm, there is always someone to blame, right? Seals? Hurricane Sandy? Sand Eels? Pollution? Commercial dudes? Haul seiners? For hire boats? Recreational boaters? Poachers?

I am sure all those things have had influence but the major reason is right there in front of you. Take a look at the reflection on your PC screen. Yup, we are the problem and no I don’t mean the blog readers literally. I mean “recreational anglers”. I know most of you are more conservation minded than most but recreational fisherman kill too many fish.

Everyone wants to blame someone. No one wants to do a damned thing to make it better. Wait, is this a political speech? I could but I’ll spare you my political leanings. Commercial folks get the most blame but they are only what, 10 or 15% of all catches?

Yeah, it would help if we reduce their take because unlike them, we release our fish and give them chance to at least recover. Once they put a tag in their mouth, their life  line just went……………

Haul seine or should we call them gill net seine?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/YkAli4LrDoU[/youtube]

The only reason I put this video up was because it was remarkable how LITTLE fish they are catching these days compared to years ago. It appears what they are doing is legal although if you are going to be a stickler for details..they are not doing the tagging legally. According to NY State commercial striped bass law they must tag each fish before they tend to another. This goes for all forms of commercial fishing. Kind of impractical but that is the law on books.

17) A striped bass commercial permittee who takes and possesses a striped bass of legal commercial slot size shall immediately attach and securely lock into place through the mouth and gill a numbered strap tag issued by the Department immediately after removing said striped bass from their gear and prior to attending another piece of gear. All striped bass not of legal commercial slot size shall be returned to the water immediately without unnecessary injury. Possession of striped bass not tagged as required by this subdivision is prohibited

The “recreational” for hire fleet?

Ok, most of you want to sink every party and charter boat in sight when you see pictures like these, right?

But wait a minute. The party and charter boats, the ones that specialize in striped bass trips have been struggling all year. They been “mix bag fishing”  targeting bluefish and weakfish because they can’t find bass in the bay. Why not? Because with all the clam chumming, bridge fishing, eel drifting, they and private boaters HAVE ALREADY wiped out the resident population. Why do you think mullet run is exactly what it sounds. MULLET RUN but nothing but MULLET. Because we killed all their predators. Come fish with me, I can guarantee you a skunk in every hole in Jones Inlet that has produced for me last ten years. Every single one, did not hold a resident fish in last two years. School of bass are getting smaller and smaller. Years ago we used to have a good action from Montauk to Brooklyn at same time. Now you have to find ONE beach where fishing is decent. And the rest? Dead sea. Why do you think Brooklyn boats are running to FIRE ISLAND to catch bass? And now NJ boats too? Because they like the scenic ride or because they have no fish locally?

So pictures like these get really under your skin, right?

But lets examine who are these folks on these boats. Are they poachers, commercial pin hookers, prison escapees? NO. They are your father and grandfather, you local retires and disabled veterans. They are people who love fishing and can’t afford a boat or cant withstand the rigors of surf fishing. Can you really blame them, after a whole year of sucking wind on these party boats that they took their limits? Really?

And what about the captains? There are few that really do care, primarily the ones that specialize in fly fishing. But most can give a rats ass about you, the fish or environment. It’s a business and once they wipe one species out they will move to the next one. Change the boat sign from bass to blues to fluke and keep sailing. When everything fails, they will sell their boat and wave you goodbye…with a middle finger way up.

And yesterday we found some of them are fishing illegally in EEZ. You think captain tells his fares ” Folks, this is not legal but no one is watching so gaff away”? I doubt it. If they are doing what they are alleging, they crossed the line of ethics and morality. As far as I am concerned criminal charges should be forthcoming if this is proves to be true. But this is America, innocent until  proven guilty.

What about all those giant bass killed by the private and charter boats off NY and NJ last 6 years that were feasting on bunker? Wait, what about all the SURFCASTERS in NJ that were hoisting giant dead fish for pictures EVERY DAY and now they are all over the internet complaining about the lack of fish or that party boats are killing too many fish? How is that for hypocrisy among our ranks? Last two years there were PLENTY of bunker from Jersey to New York. You know what was on them? Sharks, whales, dolphins. Bass? What’s a bass? For hire dude don’t give a crap, he’ll take tourist on a whale watch. Money is money

Oh, you think Jersey guys did bad? Ha-ha. Go to Cape Cod Canal around Memorial day and watch the carnage. Trucks, bicycles full of striped bass. Fish being dragged on the streets, trough the grass as if no one ever ate one. To be fair, people in MA have a very different view on commercial fisheries. I believe all you need is a $100 permit and you too can be a pin hooker and sell you bass in season. Even nonresident. But they will come around. Their season was the worst in long time too.

You didn’t think I was going to leave Montauk blitz chasers out of the equation, did you? There are more bass killed after a good Montauk white bait blitz then a pin hooker kills in a year! A year!!!

And then our beloved striped bass go to winter over in VA waters where they get absolutely slaughtered by hook, line and net. Have you ever seen this video? It’s enough to make you sick to your stomach.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/X51MKCrn9RE[/youtube]

So we kick and scream, yet our brothers and friends were slaughtering these same schools few weeks ago on for-hire AND private boats off Montauk and along Long Island shore. Kind of Ironic right?

You got  organizations that claim to represent commercial sector, tackle trade, surfcasters, boat guys but who REPRESENTS THE STRIPERS?

Truth is , there is only Stripers Forever. They are the only organization that I am aware which puts the health of the species ahead of consumption, recreation and money. And they want only one thing ..gamefish status for the striped bass.

How in the world do we fix this? This mumbo jumbo of each state having is own regulations. How the hell is possible that we can regulate one species different in every state, when the same species is a migratory animal? Even worst, who came up with a law that you must release a 27 inch striper in Little Neck Bay in the name of “conservation” only to be legally harvested at George Washington Bridge later in the day, in the same state, few miles away? Or that a fish that swims from one state to another, can be eaten in one and not in another?

Did the same jackass made these rules as the one that told us years ago that because of PCB we should not eat fish caught west of Smith Point (or something like that)? And yet as soon as the fish went a hundred yards on the other side of Smith’s Point Park it was a fine meal? Fish “magically ” became a good for human consumption. Are we cretins?

I think that striped bass are too valuable of species to be caught commercially. I never felt like that before, but now I do. I come from a  family of pin hookers in Europe and many of you know that I have a great deal of respect for anyone who makes their living as a fisherman. People will say doesn’t everyone has a right to buy a striped bass to eat? Doesn’t guy in Kalamazoo has the same right to striped bass consumption as we do in places where stripers roam? Yeah…but

Let me answer that like this. Have you ever heard of commercial fishing in freshwater? Why was that outlawed? For the benefit of the PUBLIC? Hmmm, that is a novel concept, PUBLIC BEFORE SPECIAL INTEREST. I truly believe that making striped bass a gamefish is the only thing that can make this species thrive. It would still be managed by ASMFC, you would still have seasons and limits but the fish could not be commercially sold. No different than snook in Florida. Why do they realize the value of a snook as a fish as gamefish and we cannot? But I think before we get to that, we will have to put the brakes on what is going on today.

Let me ask you a question. Look in the mirror. Do you feel like an inferior man? Do you think that your value as a provider, as a protector of your family future is lower than another man’s? Does the fact that you don’t own a boat makes you a second class citizen?

I don’t think so. I work my ass off to provide for my family from 4 AM when I get up to go to the construction site, till 10PM when  I am often working on SJ related stuff at home.

Then explain to me how does your brother, uncle, father, friend, gets on a for-hire boat and gets to keep twice as many fish as you do?  Are the charter boat captains and party boat captains anointed by God as special people? Do their kids deserve a bigger meal at the God’s table then yours?  Since these dudes are considered “recreational” fisherman and are responsible for killing more bigger striped bass that any other sector of this fishery, I think it’s only fair that you personally make any and all efforts you possibly can to make sure that anglers that fish on the for-hire boats get same allotment as you do in the future. And that they never, ever pull the wool over your eyes and get you to agree that  their customers are more deserved of the bounty of the sea than you are.

What, did you mother found you on the street? I didn’t think so

In fact, I think it would be wise to ask NY DEC over the winter for your fish back. Which fish? The one that belonged to you, us , everyone and DEC decided to give it to for-hire sector as an “extra”.

The more I think about this, the more I get enraged. Not so much of commercial guys although there is no love lost there. But you got to admit that most striped bass “commercial” guys in our part are weekend angling pin-hookers who fill their tags and they are done killing. I actually believe that they care more about stocks than for hire fleet. Most of them only fish for striped bass and I feel they actually do care about the stocks future. The for hire fleet, with exception of many conservation mind captains, particularly fly fishing specialists, don’t care what they are fishing for as long as the boat is booked they will go out to catch skates. And they will make as many trips a day as they are fares lined up. And I can’t really blame them for what they are doing from a business perspective. They are trying to maximize profits. What I do blame them for lobbying to be able to keep more than anyone else. But then again, they are in for the money.

Let’s be honest, whoever is the first dude that came up with the idea of allocation for-hire fleet to double what every man, women and child in this state is entitled to, is a genius. Think about this. He took PUBLIC resource and sold it to his fares as “extra” fish. We got sold a bag of shit by our NY representatives on local levels who promised us that they will be a stewards of our, PUBLIC resources. But instead they sold us to the highest bidder.

striped bass is too valuable of a fish to our towns, to the tackle stores and manufactures, to our hotels that cater to fisherman and to slew of other related businesses that thrive because of the striped bass. The dollars spent on catching the striped bass by anglers dwarfs that of the commercial sales of the striped bass.

I think it’s for all of us that care about the stripers, and their future, to look into the mirror and ask yourself “Am I doing something about it”?

Other than bitching on online forums, that. Which counts only in getting you your  internet keyboard cred. But while you type your very eloquent and quite humorous replies, another school of stripers has been slaughtered at sea.

There is not a darn thing you can do about what’s going on today but you can, you should and you must do something about tomorrow.

The ASMFC meeting in taking place next Tuesday. I urge you, ask you and beg you to click on this link  http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/commissioners , find your state commissioners and send an email to each one asking them do reduce fishing mortality . That is it. This is not a time for gamefish, bag limits and slot size talk. We’ll get to allocation of who gets to keep how many fish once we know what they decided. But right now, today, we need them to REDUCE MORTALITY so we ALL stop killing too many striped bass. You can include a  brief explanation of how your fishing has been affected and keep it brief and respectful.

But  DO SOMETHING. Is the fish that was part  some of the greatest days of your life worth a five minutes of your time?

Only you can answer that question.

http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/commissioners

The striped bass management plan should be consistent with the best scientific advice available.  Thus, ASMFC should adopt a new addendum to the management plan that reduces fishing mortality to the level recommended in the new benchmark stock assessment, and also adopts the new, lower overfishing threshold recommended in the assessment.

This was original published on October 21 at reeltime.com. Here is a link to original article

http://www.reel-time.com/articles/conservation/continue-road/

Zeno

And We Continue Down That Road