I’ve used pliers from Hansom tackle since last fall and will  continue to do so. I have been using VS ones for years and both of these pliers will not cut a hook. Hansom will cut the braid much cleaner than VS but VS are stronger when you have to put leverage on the hook to pop it. But then again, you can get 5 pairs of Hansom for one pair of VS and you are not gaining much with VS for the difference in price

I’ve carried a scale with me since I joined the club in 1995. Big part of being a member is the annual competing. Yes, it’s based on the honor system but I am cool with that. I went through my insanely competitive stage where I thought I had to show everyone just how good of a fisherman I thought I was. Only to find out there is always a better fisherman out there. With more ink in his pen. I will never live down the guilt of what I put my wife trough when my son was just born. So I am debating, after years on my belt, should I lose my Boga grip? Yes, it does help with releasing fish a great deal and that alone I find it to be invaluable tool. But there are plastic gripers out there that do even better job of that, for less money. They don’t fill with sand and they don’t need to be rinsed. Besides, who cares if fish is 22 lb, or 29lb? It doesn’t make any difference to me anymore. I use the Boga as a tool for landing fish, I never actually look the scale any more

I had a Hunter belt so few years now. I really like it although Continue reading →

Have you ever walked through a minefield? Not the real one, but an imaginary one, the one where you have to choose every word carefully so it doesn’t get interpreted in the wrong way. Welcome to my world….Some of you have probably noticed page 9 of the current issue of the magazine were Tommy slipped in head photographer/hater magnet..Zeno Hromin..sad but true

 
Sometimes I delete stuff  that takes me an hour  to write with this one finger of mine. Sometimes mention of a certain products has potential to create firestorm of emails and complains. Fortunately that does not happen too often but it happens enough to make me consider carefully what I say. Which kind of sucks considering I am “shoot from the hip” kind of a person who likes to just write whatever happens to be rattling in my head at the moment.

 
Like right now, when I am looking at my gear in the garage. I’ve written about the changes that we go through before, something many surfcasters refuse to accept as part of life. They finally save enough money to buy that custom stick that someone recommended in a book years ago, only to find out that this author moved on to other things. I’ve always said that anything written on the internet and in print for that matter should be a starting point in your research, not a final answer to your question. There is so much advice floating out there you could go broke. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve probably recommended few Continue reading →

Lets finish the week on a high note by giving one of you chance to win a copy of John Skinner’s new book ” Fishing the Bucktail”. I’ve noticed that few threads have already sprouted in places, singing praise to the man. As I told him the other day, some of us look upon him like we do at fishing God. No bull there. That is why I was surprised to hear that his bestseller A Season on the Edge was only available in six location.

Anyway, if you live in NJ , have a ball catching fish till your arms hurt. If you are east of NYC…well, enjoy the football

Saltwater Edge, CampSite Sports,The Surfcaster, River’s End, Red Top, East End,Giglio, Fisherman’s Headquarters and Amazon have them in stock.

 I will drop a some at  LI Outdoorsman on Saturday morning and JJ Sports and Ramsey will have them on Monday. Here is the list of stores that have an advance copy you can check out. Fisherman Supply, Efingers, Brielle, Grumpy’s,Harry’s, Sport Fishing Outlet, Tackle Direct, Brielle, Betty and Nick,LH Water. In NY Tight Lines, Smiths Point, Saltwaters Tackle,Duffy’s, Paulies,Causeway,J&H, Sea Isle,Rocky Point, Cow Harbor,Terminal Tackle, Fisherman Depot, Capitol, Bernie’s. In New England  Falmouth, Snug Harbor Marina, CT Outfitters, Hook-up, Quaker Lane,M&D’s,Bear’s Den, Powederhorn, Surfland,Saco Bay,Newton,Larry’s tackle,CMS, Fisherman’s World,Larry’s and Goose Hummock. And i am sure I forgot some..

I got too many balls in the air right now but I hope when the dust settles I will be able to go back on the Mac and make some videos for you. Right now, just trying to keep all the balls floating..lol

One of these days Rich will finish his masterpiece and turn it into a movie..

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdZx4sDs3Yc[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdvkuLx5m-M[/youtube]

I’ve seen a recent post on one of the internet boards asking about safety in the surf. I  guess after you fished for so long, almost exclusively at night, you stop thinking about safety in some sense.

I know that I have more screws loose than many of you. I almost never wear Korkers on a local jetty. Instead I wear waders with felt. If I can get away without wearing Korkers, I will. I hate those things, especially on dry rocks. They are a pain in the ass to walk with and they hurt my feet. Of course, places like Block, Montauk or Cuttyhunk are not the places were Korkers are optional.

Yes, I said I wear waders on the jetty. Would I recommend you do the same? No. By all means put on a wetsuit or a splash top. You will be much safer if you happen to fall in the water.

How about lightning? Do you routinely leave when lightning is in the area? I have done it on rare occasions.  It takes a lot of lightning to chase me away.

Swimming to rocks at night? I think it’s fun in certain places. I won’t swim to anything in Montauk yet there is no rock pile  in Cuttyhunk I probably would not be willing to at least try. Why? Because I never feel in Montauk that a giant fish is one cast away like I do in Cutty. I know its weird but that is how I feel. Besides, the strong currents and ever-present surf on the south side of Montauk  can be a pain to deal with.

How many times have I forgotten flashlight or had battery die on me and still continued fishing? More times I care to admit. How about swimming in waders to get to rocks? Been there, done that.

Yeah, I take some stupid chances, something I would never recommend for you to do.

But I do have my fears and you will probably find this amusing. Continue reading →

Yup, all us who were complaining about the sand eels and tins and tubes..I came to bite us in the ass. Most of us would kill for a bump right now..of any kind

I am glad to see that boys in NJ this fall have a same type of action as we did last fall on central south shore of Long Island. Make a mental note, you never know how much you are going to miss something until you actually lose it.

Sad state of affairs this fall run, I have to tell you. The other day I was fishing by one of the local Jones Beach bridges and I had a bump. Yes, a real, honest-to-goodness bump in November. Granted , I did not get a chance to get out much this month but when I did I caught nothing. I almost peed in my pants from excitement..of course I struck out but that bump made me cast another hour like a mad man. Pathetic

We asked our editor Roger to pick five  favorite pictures in issue # 10. You guys get one guess each. First five people that guess what pictures Roger liked will win each a lure from  Point Jude Lures…maybe you guys can put them to good use

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZDmNv5FVRQ&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL3E5DE8D0A4F941CF[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sQHQVCSuhg&feature=grec_index[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-SenPl2DIQ&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Today is such special day. The Day when we thank our veterans for their service. But going on Facebook and saying happy Veterans day is not what this is all about. They should to be thanked, appreciated and respected every day of the year. In our book they do. So Happy Veterans Day to so many who gave so much .

Looks like Skinner’s book will be arriving today and after John signs them they should be shipped this weekend as will order to Saltwater’s Edge, East End Tackle, Fisherman’s Headquarters, Fisherman’s Line, Rivers End ,The Surfcaster and Red Top and Campsite sport shop…more stores coming soon. If your local store does not have it, have them order it for you.

If we seem a bit out of it last few days, you will have to excuse us. Continue reading →

Today’s blog is courtesy of our reader chef Chris Blouin

Zeno

A Great Night.

It was one of those nights were all the conditions were right to get into some big fish, a light rain, the beginning of a good northeast swell building and an incoming tide would welcome us at one of our favorite spots along the rocky coast of Rhode Island.

The weather decided to take a turn for the worst while we were gearing up and getting ready to hit the rocks. The rain was cold and nonstop, some occasional lightning would brighten the dark sky and a distant roll of thunder could be heard. The storm was far enough away and we were determined to fish. It was the type of weather that keeps the weekend warriors, report chasers and fair weather fisherman sitting at home on the couch watching reruns of Sex in the City. The surf could be heard from the road and we knew it was going to be big at the spot. We walked along the path, recently rearranged from Hurricane Irene, sewer cap sized rocks washed up from the beach during the storm now littered our path, the dirt walk ways washed away to leave small uneven boulders thrown about.

I looked down at my watch to see the bright green screen read 1:01 am; we worked our way down from the path to our desired rock. This is a special rock to us, a second home if you will. Many nice fish have been taken here, it allows two guys to work a 180 degree area and offers two small coves one on each side to land fish into, you couldn’t ask for a better rock. Plus its flat and you can get a great footing, a valuable thing when dealing with big surf. We watched the surf and sets of big rollers breaking 100 yards out on the far reef; the waves were 10 to 12 feet high and 3 to 4 sets coming in at a time. The water in front was frothy with beautiful sweeping white water and good current pulling thru. 

  Continue reading →

Ok, we gave you few days to browse trough the magazine. This is the time when you tell us how did we do. I mean , 190 pages plus and contribution from so many

• Steve McKenna
• Russ “Big Rock” Paoline
• Dave Anderson
• Andrew Chase
• John Skinner
• John Papciak
• Zeno Hromin
• Lou Caruso
• Frank Pintauro
• Ron DiCostanzo
• Eric Burnley
• Lou Tabory
• Armand Tetreault
• Ryan Smith
• Al Lemire
• Larry Wentworth
• Mike Fixter
• Wayne Hess

  Continue reading →