This is the time of the year when many of us have had enough celebrating, overeating and Gas X. What we need is a fishing fix. But unless you got some time off from work, expandable income and a desire to jump on a plane for a trip to warmer locales, you are probably doing a lot of YouTube searching for something to feed your need.

I know these crazy dudes are not in USA but not only are they insane (I would not advise ANYONE to attempt this without protection as you can see in the first video) but they also have great editing skills in telling these stories

Morning Tide

First video is a Wash Off…kind of Montauk on Steroids

[youtube]http://youtu.be/KUn5vCb89W0[/youtube]

Second is The Fish of a Lifetime

[youtube]http://youtu.be/OlSbJyes-pw[/youtube]

And last, the one that started the whole insanity..Only a Fisherman Knows the Feeling

[youtube]http://youtu.be/ob5l1lkV-pg[/youtube]

And on a serious note…message from Ross Squire FROM 1@32 about very important meeting for striped bass in nY

2015 NY Striped Bass Regulations

NY Marine Resource Advisory Council Meeting (MRAC) – IMPORTANT

The next meeting of MRAC is on Tuesday, January 13th at 2:00PM. The meeting will be held at the DEC offices located at 205 Belle Meade Road in East Setauket, NY. MRAC advises the NY Dept of Environmental Conservation on “issues pertaining to New York’s living marine resources and the fisheries these resources sustain.”

The bottom line is that while the DEC is not obligated to act consistent with MRAC, the council does have influence over their decisions.

***** THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MEETING TO ATTEND *****

At the last meeting, MRAC voted to investigate a 2 fish bag limit for the party boat/for-hire sector AND a 2 fish bag limit for rest of the recreational sector. I attended this meeting and the audience consisted almost exclusively of people aligned with the commercial sector and the party boat sector.

Given the make-up of MRAC, the great majority of recreational anglers are not represented proportionally and what was very clear during that meeting was that the ASMFC public comments were not fully recognized and represented. Charlie Witek and Bob Danielson did their best to represent and support the 1 fish bag limit that was favored by the great majority of the public comments received. However, they were drowned out and over-ruled by the other council members.

So while we may not sway the ultimate recommendations that MRAC makes to the DEC, a strong showing will remind the DEC members and leadership attending the meeting of the public comments and the overwhelming support for a 1 fish bag limit. It is the cover the DEC may need in order to enact 2015 regulations that are different from what MRAC advises.

I recognize that 2:00 in the afternoon is a difficult time for many. I requested having the meeting moved to the evening however MRAC was unable to gain a quorum for an evening meeting.

Your attendance, if at all possible, is important and is needed. Hope to see you there.

Ross Squire

As promised, we are going to start a 2015 with a very special giveaway from our columnist Crazy Alberto Knie.

There has ben a lot of fighting and jockeying for positions between user groups when it comes to who gets what allocation of striped bass harvest. But many of times, when tempers flare up, we forget that the only thing that really maters is What’s The Best For Striped Bass. I don’t think bass care if you hook it with treble, gaff it or nail it with bunker snag. I do think they care that there is enough of them still around to continue to spawn and be a premier inshore species in  the Northeast. Crazy Alberto created these posters to raise awareness of the plight of the striped bass. The first winner will get to pick one of these two prints while the second winner will receive the other one. Prints will be signed and embossed and shipped by Crazy Al to the winners.

Good luck to all who enter and I urge you to keep on fighting for the future of this most important species for us surfcasters.

If anyone is interested in purchasing these prints, please contact Crazy Al at alknie@gmail.com

And if you need to be visually stimulated on this New Year’s Day…because you have not fished yet this year ….here is another short film by crazy dudes from Morning Tides to get you in the mood

[youtube]http://youtu.be/9B4ZoCqdchQ[/youtube]

Whoa..did that suck! The server went down and our web designer ,one of the most capable  people i have ever met was in …..…wait for it….Antartica on his honeymoon!!! There are no towns in Antartica , never mind internet. He fixed the issue in five minutes yesterday morning with promise to make provisions that this never happens again if he is not around. We sincerely apologize to all of our readers for this inconvenience around the holidays. I think my wife would give me a stare colder than anything in Antartica if i suggested we go there on honeymoon. Heck I remember spending part of my honeymoon twenty years ago in Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. You have to understand this was way before Mr. Gore invented internet and there was a word “Lodge” in the name. Until the moment we arrived there she had reservations. …..been trying to get back there for twenty years now, but $500 a night for that place is never in a budget…

Anyway, we are glad to be back, tomorrow we will have a prints from Crazy Alberto for a giveaway so check in here

and today we will announce the winner of the RockHopper Surf Belt giveaway. The winner is Edward..

surehooked@gmail.com

You have 5 days to email us your shipping address to info@surfcastersjournal.com

Tommy is working on a new issue which should be coming your way in about two weeks. What do we have for you?

Obviously great new articles by the best writers and SJ columnists

We got another episode of Montauk Time and Tide ready to roll in January

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPGa0z1uD3Y[/youtube]

Full version of this interview with John Skinner, author of this holiday bestseller Striper Pursuit (the video version coming at a later date)

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYMo4wYyFog[/youtube]

Video column by our Rod Guru Lou Caruso

and yes, even I have an article in this issue. Its been awhile since i wrote anything..haha

And of course, for those of you that are subscribers, the first 25 minute episode of SJ TV should be coming your way on January 20th

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smv6ISt7u5k[/youtube]

Happy New Year everyone!!!

We wish you all good health, happiness and continued success in the surf

I want to wish all our readers and their families a joyous, happy and Merry Christmas. I hope Santa took care of all the items on your wish list. And even if he forgot a thing or two, take a look around and see those happy faces around you, on your kids and loved ones. That is why we live for

I am often asked where I find the time to do all the things. My answer is simple, I find a time because you, our readers , are worth the extra effort. Its a two way street. We try our best to give you as much of ourselves as we can without encroaching on any family time which always comes first. You in turn tell us that you appreciate it. Which makes us want to work even harder…its a vicious cycle

But its one I would  trade for anything in this world. Ok, I would probably dump you all for a date with Ms. Upton but that is not happening so we are kind of stuck together. Seriously, during this season where many of us are reflecting on our lives, and looking back on our year, I am most thankful for my supportive family, my friends and you guys that support us and make all the hard work worth the effort. So thank you again for being a part of what we do and we wish you all continued success in the surf and life in 2015.

Tune in on the blog tomorrow for a print giveaway from our friend Crazy Alberto and winner of Rock hopper Surf Belt.

I am not sure if I ever wrote a blog that is this kind of personal and almost (only almost because everything i do is SJ related) unrelated to SJ but here it goes. Maybe all these holiday lovey-dovey is getting to me?

Are any of our readers or subscribers either from Vero Beach/Sebastian Inlet area or do they fish these areas frequently and have some knowledge about them? Feel free to drop me a line at zhromin@verizon.net

I need to pick someones brain about a possible trip to sunshine state. Hit me up if you got time.

Number two..anyone has issues with entering the giveaways? Someone emailed me that they have to keep putting their email every time. Obviously i cant know of any issues unless you tell me so feel free to chime in. if you have any issues with blog or giveaways, we need to know so we can fix it, even if it is just an annoyance to you.

Number three is even more personal but hey, with, mights as well toss it out there too. You have to understand that I never went to college ( I did go to HS or more accurately AROUND HS for the most part……lol) never mind interviews or internships. I am like a bull, you give me a task, i complete it. Not very refined in any way

I lift thing up, then I put them down (as that commercial goes)

I got a kid who is freshman at StonyBrook University. Kid is obsessed with Wall Street, economics,semiconductors, Fed and God knows what else related to economy (and politics but thats a whole other story!!!). Not many kids get up at 5 AM before high school to read WSJ every morning . I didn’t say he wasn’t quirky…….

Anyway, kid is looking for an internship in the city or LI for summer so if someone has a suggestion or advice, feel free to drop me a line at zhromin@verizon.net  Obviously I am aware that internship for freshman are not very common in financial field but the kid is obsessed with financial industry and that makes him special..…or just plain weird!!!..and unlike his dad he can actually write in English and no, he does not speak Cringlish. He is the black sheep in the family when it comes to that…haha

So stay tuned for Crazy Al Print Giveaway and also a very special Guppy Lures giveaway, new issue in few weeks and SJ TV

Merry Christmas Everyone ..thank you all for you support and as long as you guys will have us, we will try to make SJ better

As promised, here is a preview of SJ TV debuting on January 20th for the subscribers of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine.

I will be quiet now and listen to what you guys have to say

[youtube]http://youtu.be/smv6ISt7u5k[/youtube]

Stay tuned for a preview of SJTV this weekend. We have a 6 minute preview all wrapped up and ready to upload to YouTube. The full half an hour version will appear on January 20th for the subscriber of the Surfcaster’s Journal. I’ll tell you this, even if you never tossed a chunk in your life you will appreciate the knowledge of Bill Fischer as he is explaining in detail everything from rigs to bait cuts all while catching fish up to 30 pounds on camera. Bill Wetzel, Lou Caruso, John Skinner, Crazy Alberto and Dennis Zambrotta are also scheduled to appear in the first episode.

The winners of pelican Mega giveaways are

1960 LED LIGHT   rickfraelick@gmail.com

2710 LED HEADLIGHT sudsy1@optonline.net

iPHONE 5 CASE jamesbeinlich22@hotmail.com

All three off you have 5 days to contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com with your shipping addresses. Congrats and thanks to fine folks from Pelican for making this possible
Today’s giveaway (you can tell was are in holiday giveaway mode here) comes from a guy who has been fishing Montauk beaches longer than I have been alive. I told you years ago that then current infatuation with custom this and that, particularly bags will not last. Neither did plug craze or recent rod craze either. Nothing wrong with these little moments of euphoria but they do all end sooner or later. What is important to me is who is left standing. Super Strike Lures are still here and still crazy productive. St Croix rods are not going anywhere and neither are VS reels. And Barry Kronberg from RockHopper Fishing has seen these things comes and go one…or twice. Considering he has been fishing Montauk beaches since 1961, he has seen a thing or two. And tried just about any new gadget that came on the market. And yet he still felt compelled to make his own as he was not satisfied with what he found. His belt clips are absolutely to me a must-have item on my belt. Often a bunch depending if I am wet suiting or wader fishing.

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Today we are going to giveaway a RockHopper Surf Belt, one of the finest surf belts we have ever used. Here is a description from his website

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Our Surf Belt is a really simple design that’s incredibly bomb proof and works the way it’s supposed to every time. Designed especially for use with waders and wetsuits, you can adjust your gear and make it as tight as you want while still wearing it. Move your gear around or lock it in place, your choice. It’s extremely comfortable, totally adjustable and incredibly secure. Made with Rockhopper’s attention to simple design and superior quality.

For more on these belts and his other products please visit

http://rockhopperfishing.com/

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and yes, we have MORE stuff for you coming up like this AWESOME plug from Guppy Lure Co

STAY TUNED

I want to fill you in on few things that are coming up from the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. We try to always improve on what we offer you for your subscription and we hope that these announcements would enhance your experience of being a subscriber.
Here is a preview of Episode Montauk Time and Tide documentary. The full 12 minute episode will appear exlusively for the subscribers in the upcoming January issue

[youtube]http://youtu.be/hPGa0z1uD3Y[/youtube]
We are also happy to announce that there will be a Spring and Fall STRIPERTHON Catch & Release Tournament Sponsored by PENN Fishing. As you know, we at SJ are big proponents of catch and release tournaments. We are in no way against taking a fish home for the table but we feel that current harvest levels are unsustainable. By running a catch and release tournaments, SJ in conjunction with our sponsors, hopes to bring attention to responsible harvest and current state of striped bass stocks in drastic decline. You will get a chance to compete for some great prizes, including PENN Torque reels and share some good nights with your friends.
There will also be a video column by our Rod Guru Lou Caruso and few other surprises.

We are currently making a list of shows we will attend, we hope to see you there and shake your hand and thank you for supporting us. You can renew your subscription at any of the shows and pick up some new SJ gear that we will be making for the shows.

Right now we are committed  to
CT Surfcasters Show in CT

Surf Day in NJ

Asbury park Flea market in NJ

RISAA in Providence

Berkeley Flea Market in NJ

Ward Melvile HS Fishing Club show in East Setauket NY

We are looking to add hopefully another show in NY in February or March so if you guys know of one , drop us a line
And last but not least, the first episode of SJ TV, approximately half an hour long will appear on January 20th exclusively for the surbribers of the magazine. We hope to have a preview trailer for you this week after we get all the graphics work done.

Let’s spread some holiday cheer with a really sweet giveaway from our friends at Pelican. I’ve been fan and user of Pelican products for many, many years and as impressed I am with their light I think their new premium coolers are absolutely sick. To think that you can have ice in a cooler for seven days before it melts is just insane. And i really like what they did with Hansom Tackle last year with their new light and lanyard combo. My fake very expensive teeth really appreciate the ease of turning the light on and off.

So here we go, three winner, each wins one prize at our discretion

First

Pelican NEMO 1960 LED Light

Second

Pelican 2710 LED  Headlight

Third

Pelican ProGear IPhone 5 CE1180 case

We are just few weeks away from 2015 (I know, its hard to believe) so I figured I would fill you in on few things we are doing for our readers. As you know, we never stop trying to make SJ better for our subscribers and 2015 should bring few new things that I am sure many of you will enjoy.
January issue will be packed with articles and videos including a full interview with our columnist John Skinner whose book Striper Pursuit seems to be THE gift of this holiday season.  We will feature the full video version later in the year too for those of you who are stimulated by a spoken instead of written word

[youtube]http://youtu.be/fYMo4wYyFog[/youtube]
Speaking of videos, our Rod Guru Lou Caruso’s column will now become a video column so Lou can save his typing finger for better things, like wrapping your custom rod. Speaking of rods, this might be the best time to contact him if you have a rod in mind for next year before the little bugger gets too busy with orders. http://www.louscustomrods.com/
The January issue will also feature Episode #5 of Montauk Time And Tide series. This 12 minute episode will look at how things have changed over the years.

We are going to try to make as many shows as we possibly can this winter and shake your hands and thank you for supporting us. We probably wont be able to make them all but we will do our best even if we have to split the crew on some weekends. For those of you that are looking for holiday gifts or cant make the shows, you can get 10% off on any order in our online store by using a code SJ10OFF.  The 10% off code expires Monday at midnight.

Another big news from us is SJ TV, a multi segmented video show for the surfcasters. The first episode, about 25 minutes long will appear exclusively for SJ subscribers around January 20th. You will be able to log into trough a link we are going to put up and watch the complete 25 minute episode in is entirety. The first episode of SJTV features Bill Fischer hammering bass up to 30 pounds on chunks, Crazy Alberto on Conservation, Bill Wetzel on bottle plugs, John Skinner and I make an appearance as does Lou Caruso with innovate way to protect your casting finger, and RI sharpie Dennis Zambrotta closes the first episode with The Last Word. I am hopping to have a trailer for you in few days.

Like every holiday season, guys from LIBBA are doing their annual toy drive. Here is the information
LIBBA Operation Holiday Spirit

20th Annual Toy & Food Drive
LIBBA is conducting its 20th annual Operation Holiday Spirit, Toy and Food Drive.  We are asking our fellow sportsman to help the needy children here on Long Island.  You can bring holiday joy by donating new unwrapped toys and nonperishable food (no glass please) to the Operation Holiday Spirit Drive.  Just bring the toys and/or food to one of our designated drop off sites which are listed below.  LIBBA Directors and volunteers will collect and distribute your donations in time for the Holidays.  You have no time to shop?  That’s no problem as we will shop for you.  All you need to do is mail us a check or money order payable to LIBBA.  Mark the check/money order in the memo area with O.H.S. or send a gift certificate to:  LIBBA, PO Box 816, Babylon NY 11702.

Thank you and from the LIBBA Officers, we want to wish all a safe and happy holiday season.

Trophy Tackle

The Camp-Site Sport Shop

Bob’s Bait & Tackle

Ralphs Bait & Tackle

Cow Harbor B&T

J&J Sports Inc

The Fisherman

Saltwaters Tackle

Lindenhurst Bait & Tackle

Sea Isle Tackle

L.I. Outdoorsman

Causeway Bait & Tackle

Bay Park Fishing Station

JJ Miles Truck & Auto Center

Crossbay Bait & Tackle

Harmony Bar & Grill

Fly Fishing Supply & Instruction

Those of you that are still fishing, lucky you. Those of us that are sick as dogs, well, get better soon. Most guys north of Brooklyn have given up although few hardy souls still are keeping it honest. Fortunately the weather has not been all that bad,. For those of you that are herring lovers, you should check out your honey holes. They are in so let the pickling begins.

We are going to have few announcements shortly when we put finishing touches on them but today I want to award the awesome C&R Surfcasting Custom Surf bag to one deserving veteran and pick winners of the Guppy Custom Lures giveaway. I don’t think I have to say this but I will anyway. Although this bag goes to only one person, to me all of you who have served or are serving now are heroes in every sense of that word. I’ll leave it at that

To make it absolutely random i took all the names, put them in a paper bag and got my lovely daughter to pick out a winner. And drum roll please..the winner is SGM George Simmons, currently stationed in Afghanistan ! I will get in touch with George to make sure we can deliver this bag to him. Again, thanks to all the veterans for all you did and for all you doing to this day. And special shout and thanks to SJ subscriber Gerard Doyle who donated this bag

Three winners of those awesome Guppy Pencil Poppers are

Ned Parillo

Joe Pinto

Daniel Menton

You all have 5 days to contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com with your shipping addresses

Art comes in many forms…this is one way of presenting it. I thinks its awesome

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/112780298[/vimeo]