We will pick the winner on Thursday. And then hit you up with ANOTHER plug giveaway(blog only) for the weekend.
Maybe a Really nice Metal lip custom plug from a well known builder…
-Tommy
"BLOG ONLY" mega plug giveaway.
Dipped into the SJ secret stash and pulled out 11 lures.
READ CAREFULLY.
2 choopy needlefish
2 choopy metal lips
2 guides choice bunka boy swimmers
2 super strike loaded needles.
2 charlie grave tins
1 yozuri surface cruiser.
BONUS bumper sticker pack.
Look through the magazine and pick your favorite picture from issue #8. Any entry without a page number will NOT be counted.
Thanks
Tommy
15 plug giveaway on the facebook page.
Be in it to win it guys!!!!
Enjoy the summer
I am glad so many of you enjoyed the synopsis of our Cuttyhunk trip. Although I have a soft spot for Cutty I don’t think it’s any different then Block Island or Montauk or Martha’s Vineyard when it’s “on”. Maybe a bit less crowded and maybe that is one of its charms.
It’s been almost two years since we have been doing this blog. It’s time for me to step back and let Tommy entertain you as I am a bit spent.
I hope you are enjoying reading the issue # 8 of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine.
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Free giveaway on Facebook.
A young entrepreneur from around our way sent us some nice dressed hooks for a facebook giveaway.
Go check it out.
-tommy
Surfcaster…a new book by William "Doc" Muller
When William “Doc” Muller approached me this winter and asked me if I was interested in working with him on a book I was floored. I won’t give you the long version but will only tell you that Doc is single-handedly responsible for many of the things I accomplished in this sport. Because of his writing in The Fisherman and his books in the late 1980’s I got infatuated with surfcasting. Because he was a member of High Hill Striper Club at the time is why I joined too. My wife could tell you about sleepless nights I spent wondering if I would be accepted in the club with limited number of openings.
Although I always had a healthy dose of respect for Doc ,we kind of went our own ways. Doc left the club eventually and we had very little contact other than at the shows. The remarkable thing about surfcasting is that you can fish the same general areas yet rarely run into each other. Over the years I went through quite a few infatuations, with bait, metal lips, eel skins, bucktails, darters, rigged eels, you name it, I tried it. But I never stopped reading what the man had to say, even to this day.
So I was obviously honored to be asked to help him bring his newest book to life. I was amazed of how quickly he wrote it and how long it was. In time it takes me to write a blog post (yes, I know I suck at typing) Doc had a general outline of the book complete. After he finished editing the manuscript I finally got a chance to read it. At first ,I read through it and left to take family on vacation. I thought it was well done, thorough and quintessential Doc. His book on bucktail already gave you his spin on that particular lure so he didn’t spend a lot of time on that particular subject. But he sure did on others..
After returning from vacation I started the process of gathering pictures and read it again. I realized that this might be the most complete book on surf fishing I’ve ever read.
The most remarkable part of reading anyone’s book is being able to get into someone’s head. By that I mean, being able to see exactly how someone is approaching the sport of surf fishing. His and mine approach to surf fishing are nothing alike. I rarely use anything under two ounces and often throw rigged eels that are pushing ten ounces. My favorite pencil poppers start at about 3 ounces where he catches carload of fish on smaller pencil poppers. While you might find me in the inlet on occasion tossing five ounces of lead you might find him in the sound finessing a half an ounce bucktail or catching fish on Bombers and teasers.
I guess it took me few decades to realize but there really is no “wrong” way to fish. There is only “your” way. I always thought, “jeez, do we need another book on surf fishing” but after reading his I realized we did. And we will probably enjoy many others over the years. Because everyone has a different stories to tell, everyone mind works in different ways. Few are able to put it in words as eloquently as Doc can. I really think this might be the most complete book on surf fishing the northeast beaches that was written to date. There is something here for everyone, from beginner to novice. From picking up your first outfit to upgrading to braid and custom rods. From reading the beach, strategies and techniques to beach buggies and discussions on every lure we use in the surf. There are chapter on history of the sport, how to fight and land a fish, proper way to catch and release the fish and much more. There even is a chapter on joining a surf club, laying out for you all the pros and cons and informing you what you should expect from joining one.
All in all a well written book, a project that I am proud to be asked to be a part of. Expectations are for this book to be printed and in the stores sometimes in September, just in time for the fall run. As you know, Doc only signs copies at the shows. The readers of Surfcaster’s Journal Blog however will be able to reserve a limited numbers of autographed copies by sending me an email @ zhromin@optonline.net. Just drop me a note and tell me to put a signed copy aside for you when printed.
You can also click on the book cover which it will take you to our online store at www.surfcastersgear.com. There you can actually buy a “reserved signed copy” and it will be shipped to you as soon as its printed and sign. Of course, you can always pick up a copy in your favorite tackle shop when available. The book is 204 pages and I let Doc use many of my pictures in it. The price of the book is $19.95
It is kind of cool to be able to be a part of this. Last pure surf fishing book Doc’s has written was Secrets of Surf Fishing at Night, which was originally published twenty years ago. Funny how life works…if you told me then that one day I would be working with Doc I would have told you that you are nuts.
Learning from the Master
The Master speaks
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKomV_fmfNk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0hAPT_4dh4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL[/youtube]
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John Skinner has a new book coming out for holiday. It is basically everything you ever wanted to know about fishing with bucktails but you were afraid to ask. Brilliant if you ask me. I’ve read the manuscript and can tell you that it might be the best book I’ve ever read. Period. And you can quote me on that !
You can get more info about John by visiting his website at http://www.fisherslog.com/
Giving thanks
I hope you are enjoying reading issue # 8 of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. Where did the time go ? Issue # 8? I still feel like we are stumbling in the dark, trying to find the right key to press to make issue #2 live…like Tommy always says, it will be a lot easier when BassPro swoops down and buys us for a million bucks…lol
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Wolverine Tackle, makers of my favorite split rings to the list of SJ supporters. Visit them at http://www.wolverinetackleinc.com/ . You probably have their split rings on your lures and you don’t even know about it.
The winner of the book, The Complete Guide to Surfcasting by Joe Cermele
is Salty… agbullet27@hotmail.com
Please contact Tommy at corrigan1974@hotmail.com and give him your shipping address.
I would also like to thank all the contributors whose stories appeared in the SJ and particularly our columnists Andrew Chase, John Papciak, Dave Anderson, Lou Caruso and our newest one, Russell Pouline. I think you would agree that these guys are the heart and soul of this publication and adding Big Rock 4×4 column was something that we are thrilled to be able to do. Of course, there are always people in the background that toil in relative obscurity, like our talented designed Tommy Corrigan or our editors Roger and Marie Martin.
You will probably see a lot less of me in the near future and your emails might not be returned promptly and for that I apologize in advance. If you need anything regarding the magazine, feel free to contact Tommy. We do have a seven part series of articles about our recent trip to Cuttyhunk coming up on the blog in few days. I can guaranty you two things, its long and full of misspelled words. Which is basically the whole premises of Zenoisam…overwrite it and misspell it. Not on purpose of course, more because of a lack of proper education. Chasing donkeys with a stick instead of going to school in my youth was definitely not something I would tell my son to do….but it was darn fun while it lasted.
I’ll leave you with another shot from our recent trip to Cuttyhunk.
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Issue #8 of the Surfcaster's Journal Magazine is now live at www.surfcastersjournal.com
While you were celebrating the July 4th weekend, we were busy working on issue # 8 of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine.
So instead of you dreading work after the holiday, we gave you something pleasant to do. Tell your boss you need a little “alone” time. 🙂
Enjoy
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Two piece rods
To some extent the plug craze has been replaced by a rod craze. The most remarkable part of it that it wasn’t some super-duper-one-piece blank that has all the internet boards buzzing, but instead its two piece offerings from companies like St Croix, CTS and Century.
Who would have thought even 5 years ago that we would be comparing a two piece rods to one piece sticks? I would have personally put a large wager on the fact that after fishing my Lamiglas 1321M for ten or fifteen years, I will never ,ever fish with two piece rod.
And what am I fishing with today? Two piece St Croix Legends and Mojo rods.
I am not much of a “must get the hottest toys” kind of a guy. I buy my trucks used instead of new. I wear $99 LL Bean waders, $70 Grunden splash top and cheapest laced up Korkers boots they make. My plug bag is stuffed with Super Strike and other affordable lures. The only “fancy” thing I do fish with is a VS 250 that I’ve had for a decade. Its it so beat up, most of the paint is gone. And this is all fine with me, I prefer to let others beat up and test new products. If I learned one thing over the years is that hype is rarely justified when it comes to fishing products. If for no other reason than because our personal fishing styles are so different.
When we tested St Croix Legend and St Croix Mojo rods I was impressed in how light, crisp they were. In Mojo’s case I was surprised at the retail price too. That is a lot of rod for your money. My Lami 1321M seemed like a dinosaur compared to these rods. But one thing about the Lami, it has never failed me. It has tossed ten ounce rigged eels and ½ ounce bucktails when asked too. It has fallen with me from the rocks, whipped some big fish and fell on ground more time than I care to admit.
I was intrigued about the St Croix Legends but one thing gave me a pause, the placement of the reel seat. It was just too low for the way I cast. So I got two Legend blanks , a ¾ to 4 and 2 to 6 and had our Surfcaster’s Journal Rod Guru Lou Caruso wrapped them and placed the reel seat where I wanted. He also added butt cap, something I suggest all of you do it if you are fishing on the rocks. For few bucks its very good investment.
So although I used the factory Legends in Costa Rica and little bit last fall and this spring, I eagerly awaited the custom ones Lou was building. I finally got a chance to use them on our SJ annual Cuttyhunk trip .I thought this would be a great place to put them to the test. I used ¾ to 4 exclusively back home throwing lures and caught few fish . I already used this blank in Costa Rica on some very powerful Jacks and Hound fish and I had an idea of just how responsive it was and how well does it cast. Since my plan was to use rigged eels that were anywhere between 4 and 10 ounces, my 2 to 6 ounce model was going to get a workout…
And that was some workout!
It handled the casting of rigged eels into the wind with ease. It cast the rigged eels with a wind for a country mile. It swam from rocks to rocks with me, it pulled giant stripers onto rocks, it yanked the big 8/0 hooks out of the bubble weed forests on the bottom of the sea. It whipped the schoolie, the teen fish and even few twenties with ease. It handled many thirties without issues and forties were no match either. The darn thing is so light, so crisp, that after doing an all-nighter everything hurt but my shoulder, something I wasn’t expecting.
You are probably wondering after all this swimming, catching, falling, how many times did I have to adjust the guides to be in line with a reel? Exactly once and only because I placed the rod on top of the rock I could not get on, only to watch a wave sweep it into the water. I did find it and yes, the guides have moved a little but that is the only time I had to fix them.
All in all , I am thrilled with the performance of the Legends. I am sure many of you guys have had the same experiences with CTS or Century rods Lou or someone else has built for you. If I ever had reservations about two piece rods being inferior in any way to a one piece stick, I don’t have them anymore. There is nothing wrong with a having a one piece rod. In a lot of ways, one piece stick will always be more desirable because they have, well, one less piece. But there is no reason to not consider a two piece rod when looking into buying a new stick. Just saying….
