More fish ….

I am going to keep this short and sweet. Salt Life shades winner AND new issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal are coming up. Magazine is done, we are just putting it together.

Few more thoughts on spring fishing.

I waited for my son to get up so I can ask him AGAIN if he wanted to go fishing for an hour. First time I asked him he told me he has to study for AP all day . But after he woke up and saw the excitement on my face, he said yes. So around 2  we headed out into the inlet.

Long story short, windy as hell, we were freezing our asses off. To make matter worse, NO FISH. Figures, I said to myself. Once I think I got something figured out, it changes on me. We casted bucktails for an hour until he said he was too cold. Ok, I sad, few more casts then. Bam, he nails a fish. Thank You Lord, I said to myself. Only after he brings the fish closer, I staring at it and rubbing my eyes. Weakfish? Are you fing kidding me!!

Yup, kid nails a weakfish on his first trip of the spring and that is the only fish we had. Let’s just say I was more pumped then he was. After we ate dinner I took a quick ride to the inlet where I found Silver Fox banging at bluefish. I took a short rod because I am petrified to cast anything over 9 feet and nailed few myself until bite died quickly at sunset.

Today, I was going to sneak out after dinner alone because my son does not like to be disturbed after school until he is done with his homework and studying, which sometimes means 10 o’clock. I was floored when he texted me from school on his lunch break and asked me if we can go again after school because he did not have a lot of homework. Do you have to ask ??

So we went out again today and although the winds were lighter, the fish were still not cooperating. I missed one fish on the bucktail because I am having hard time setting hook with this damned elbow. Then I had another hit and then it got quiet. Just as I was going to mention to him that maybe we should split I nailed a small blue. Then another except this one fought differently and alleluia, it had fangs! Another nicer tiderunner on a bucktail and then my son nailed one which he dropped at his feet.

I cannot tell you how happy I was to see weakfish again after all these years. About eight years ago I landed about 300 weakfish during the summer months. Mostly smaller from 3 to 6 pounds but I bought a bag of a thousand Mann’s strawberry jelly worms, dozens of jig heads and light rods. I was obsessed with weakfish. I spent more time in the State Channel, on the flats of OBI and Captree than at home. I ate , slept and dreamed of weakfish. And then the bottom dropped out..I have not caught a weakfish in at least two years or longer. Maybe four, I am not sure. I asked my son if he wanted to keep his for dinner and he said “Dad, why would we kill the fish that we barely ever catch anymore?”

I could not agree more

Yesterday I was mussing about fishing up front this time of the year. Now keep in mind that conditions and fishing itself are rapidly changing. Guys in New jersey can have a vastly different bite than guys in Rhode Island. I mean , it can be a BIG difference. In few weeks , all will more or less be the same, the migration and water temperatures acting as an equalizer. But I just wanted to kind of  show you why I write the stuff in my head…

After picking up my kid after he took his SAT test I headed to fish market to pick up two branzinos to grill  for dinner for my wife and I. The plan was to eat around 4 30 because at 5 30 we had to take him to his Junior Prom. Yes, I feel even older now. It was around 1 30 when I got home with fish and I looked at the tide chart. 4PM hi tide at Jones? Perfect. I could shot down Meadowbrook, ditch the truck in weeds, take the bike out of the back and pedal to a sweet little spot just inside the inlet.

I literally had one hour to fish because I had to be back by 3 30 to start dinner. I was stunned when I found an old-timer with a 1970’s Lami rod that looked like it weighs 3 pounds, casting a bucktail with a giant fluke belly instead of a pork rind in the inlet. He informed me that he caught a whopping 10 pound fluke in this spot last night. I thought that he was casting just about 20 yards off from where he should have but I said nothing. Last thing I wanted was to be perceived as some know-it-all jerk-off. I walked to my spot with a 7 foot St Croix Legend and started casting small 1/2 ounce bucktails. But first I had to deal with a wind loop on my vs 150. I swear, this reel is going to drive me @##$%^ insane. My big VS reels, the line lay looks like crap but I never had problems. This thing? It’s terrible with all line bunched up on the lip and if you look at the bottom of the spool it looks under filled. And this is after I cut back 6 times when with Silver Fox in Little neck the other night because of line coming out from underneath on a cast. Oh brother.

Anyway, I was looking for bluefish. I knew that they were not going to be showing, no splashes, no birds. In the spring the feeding frenzy can be so darn understated! Often time in this spot they will ignore every popping plug but they never ,ever ignore a bucktail. Sure enough on second cast I tried to set a hook on small bluefish. I say tried because although “pitching” a cast with a  7 foot rod with my elbow is doable, setting a hook proved to be as painful as hell. Anyway, all the fish I catch usually hook themselves (thank God for that otherwise I would have skunk every night). I landed the blue, released it and cast it again. Bam, another one, almost the same size, about 4 pounds.

I motioned to the old-timer to come over and join me. Obviously fish were in the hole and he did not get a bump yet today where he was. By the time he came over I had landed few more and then the strangest thing happened. Not strange if you been fishing for awhile but to me it’s still one of the most starling things. We stood at water’s edge and I was ready to pull a bucktail out of the water when dark shape rose from the bottom and nailed it. Now the fish is trashing not a foot from shore and it had stripes! I never let him ran and within seconds I had a 14 pound bass on my Boga. I had some thoughts of keeping it but the idea of driving a bike with rod in one hand and bass in the other….no thanks. So back in the drink he went.

We casted for about half an hour. We seen two more bass follow the bucktail right to the shoreline before turning away. I landed eight blues and two teen bass, the old-timer had a bluefish and we both missed some hits. East wind put a good belly in our line and it was hard to set the hook. If I was alone would have compensated by fishing with my rod down and setting hook “freshwater” style , sideways. But with two of us in close proximity, I did not want to take a chance taking his ear off on a hook set.

I started to deliberately under cast in hopes of getting another bass close to shore. He said after few minutes I guess the bite is over?I dont think so i said.  I cast into the hole, counted to four and did a twitch. Bam, bluefish on. He said “you are putting on some show, huh? ” I said no, I just know this hole like a back of my hand. Fifteen years of fishing this hole and getting skunked plenty here thought me where they will be and when. The only strange thing was that I would never fish this spot on east win. And it was east yesterday. So why did I go? For the same reason the bluefish will show at every sunset and sunrise this time of the year inside the inlet. It has very little to do with tide and wind. It all had to do with migration and empty bellies.

The last bluefish was much bigger than all others. I grabbed the leader but the leader broke and it swam away with my favorite bucktail in its mouth (Al, if you reading this I need a refill on those Liberace bucktails pronto). For you that do not know, our columnist Al Albano ties some of the sweetest bucktails in the world. I didn’t even bothered retying, I jumped on the bike and drove to my car. All I could think of was, I need to get my kid here tomorrow. He would have a ball.

Now that I snapped 3568 pictures of him and his date, I am sitting at home with iced elbow at 1 am writing this and waiting for a text to pick him up from his Junior Prom.

Was it worth the pain ?

Do you have to ask? 🙂

Vito is not going to be happy…but it’s better than sitting on the couch. Since casting a big rod is out of the question I bought some bunker and headed to Jones Beach during the week. I wish I could tell you that I caught a giant fish or even a lot of fish, but that would be embellishing the truth. The fact is, I had one runoff which I missed and the rest of the time I spent with a stinky thumb up my @#%.

Yea, bunker chunking is a tough sport…on your back. I never could get used to spiking the rod, I have to hold it the whole time and this is a murder on your back. Oh, wait I didn’t tell you I hurt my back at work? How about tweaking my shoulder while trying to get a wrench under the sink the other day?

Yeah, I am mess. But I can’t just stay home and hence my foray back into chunking. At least till my follow up doctor appointment in ten days or so. As I stood there like a statute I kept reminiscing about the old days. Not really that old, just few years ago when Silver Fox and I used to hammer big bass on chunks in June. I kind of got away from that last few years, but it might be something to look forward to if my fallingapartbody does not show some sign of improvement.

The most startling part was were I was. I would never fished up “front” in first week in May. Yup, I read reports from Fisherman’s Headquarters and Grumpy’s just like you guys and see the damage clams can do. But it’s never been my style. Besides I know that the bite on plugs will be either in the North Shore harbors or even better, in the State Channel on South Shore where I can be relatively left alone. Or at least until horseshoe crabs try to mate with my boot. At which point I will run out of the water like a girl screaming “Awwwww…gross”. Ha-ha…..I can’t stand those things, I know they are harmless but I just can’t deal with them. That and heights, two things I can’t deal with.

I know it’s just a matter of time. We are a week or two behind in schedule and water temperatures, but the big fish will be here soon , and then I feel the bunker chunks will come into their own up front. Till then, for me at least, any place inside the inlet is where I would like to be, if I could.

Lack of big skinny bluefish is a bit perplexing but hopefully they too are delayed by temperatures. It’s very hard NOT to enjoy those big racers crushing your plugs on every single cast. I know that bluefish are in the bays already but the action has been sporadic at best. I am used to , when they get going, walking away from them because my hands hurt. Then again, I am used to feeling like my age and not like a retiree.

I came across this reel on the Facebook today. It’s made by fortitude fishing and it supposedly retail price is $499. I have no idea if its sealed or what the specs are. They do have a website at http://www.fortitudefishing.com/index.html

I was just curious…as I am sure many of you are

update

a reply from co to one of our blog readers

The need for waterproof or completely sealed reels has been rendered obsolete by Fortitude due to the prolific use of titanium in our reels, which is impervious to saltwater corrosion.  There is no longer any risk of saltwater damage from corrosion to the internal workings of the reel’s mechanical systems which are further enhanced by the application of UHMW (ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene) and other technical engineering innovations.  The lack of corrosion allows for the efficient application of less limiting, yet highly water resistant seals, which in turn allow for much smoother reel performance.  Fortitude reels can not only be submerged in saltwater but if stored underwater for a year they can simply be picked up and used with no deterioration in performance.  Our virtually maintenance free titanium reels do not ever need to be rinsed with fresh water after use, hence our Lifetime Guarantee.

We are less than  a week away from new issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. In a way I am like you ,all pumped up , except in  addition to the excitement I am also filled with fear not knowing what is written. Giving up control of something you’ve done for years it’s not easy but sometimes its necessary. There will be more changes coming this year, I will fill you in on them after we get this issue done.. Tommy and Dave have a handle on things just fine.

We have another batch of original videos for you in this issue. Rod DiCostanzo from Lordship Lures will show you how to make a tail wrap on your lure. Lou Caruso is tackling the problem of cold hands and reel handle. He will show you how to make a rubberized handle for your VS reel. There are also two video reviews and another installment in the Montauk Time and Tide series.

Speaking of Montauk thing…I did not see it then but I can see it now more clearly. I think I understand why Rich took 5 years to make Montauk Rocks. I think I will finish it one day and it won’t look nothing like what it looks like now but it’s going to take few years of extra footage at least.

The new issue has another great article from late Frank Pintauro, follow up  by Dave Anderson on the surf caught 50’s from last year. There is a story from Bill Jacobs on fishing Giant plugs and John Skinner on Fishing for Cow Bass. There is stuff on color from Matt Handelsman and Indian River Surf by Ric Burnley. And of course your regular columnists that make the heart of every issue we put together. Can’t wait.

by the way, I came across this yesterday. In four years I been writing this blog I might put two jokes on the blog but I thought this was funny…and in a low of ways true to an extent…although I do wish I have this dude’s sense of humor

After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Sainsbury’s. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women – she loves to browse.

Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Sainsbury’s…

Dear Mrs. Harris,

Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behaviour and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Harris, are listed below and are “documented by our video
surveillance cameras”:

1. June 15: He took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people’s carts when they weren’t looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-
minute intervals.

3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women’s restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official
voice, ‘Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away’. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to reserve a bag of Maltesers.

6. August 14: Moved a ‘CAUTION – WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers they could come in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department – to which twenty children obliged.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began
crying and screamed, ‘Why can’t you people just leave me alone?’

Emergency Medics were called.

9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. October 3: Darted around the Store suspiciously while loudly
humming the ’ Mission Impossible’ theme.

11. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his ‘Madonna look’ by using different sizes of funnels.

12. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed
through, yelled ‘PICK ME! PICK ME!’

13. October 22: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed the fetal position and screamed ‘OH NO! IT’S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!’

14. Took a box of condoms to the checkout clerk and asked where the fitting room was.

And last, but not least:

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited
awhile, and then yelled very loudly, ‘Hey! There’s no toilet paper in here.’

One of the Staff passed out.

I rarely ever get impressed by stuff that I consider ” would be nice to have” items for surfcasting. Like a great tide watch or other gizmos like it. But I do have soft spot for anything with word “optics” in them. Like lenses, be that for dslr or video. If I could have every lens I own be made by Carl Zeiss I would be as happy as pig in mud. That co makes the highest quality optics that are used by those whose daily budgets are equal to my lifetime salary. Like Spielbergs of the world. Yeah, really fancy cameras.

I did not know that Zeiss made sunglasses lenses till about  week ago when I received a new pair of shades from Salt Life optics. I checked their website at http://www.saltlife.com/and yeah, they got some nice stuff, priced around $200. But again, all I could think was , really, Zeiss makes sunglass lenses?

Listen, there could be a hundred brands that use Zeiss lenses, the point is I did not know. So I took them to the beach this weekend and tried them on while at water’s edge. Holy shit! The polarization was awesome.

But you know how some shades you got, regardless of cost can give you distorted view and the whole world looks bluefish or yellowish? Like being in Ted Turner Colorized Classic movie? Not these puppies, what you see is what you get. Darker yes but no color distortion. And the clarity? Wow is all I can say.

They even have  little “z” for Zeiss embedded in the lens. Of course once you put them on, it disappears and it does not interfere with vision.

Ok, what else. RI-PEL coating. Meaning dirt don’t stick, water repels and it increases scratch resistance. In addition, again Zeiss originated , 5 layer coating to reduce glare, protect and all that other happy stuff…but I still can’t get pass Zeiss!

Maybe because he was a really cool German dude;-)

.

.

Watch this video to see the difference between a glasses with orange tint and Salt Life.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/JFjCJV748sI[/youtube]

Ok, so now that I looked at them for a week, I get to stash them in my truck, right?

Sure, who would know?….but I am not going to do that.

I will give one of you a chance to win a pair of Salt Life Venice shades,hard case and cloth valued at around $200, courtesy of Salt Life at http://www.saltlife.com/

Good Luck

The winner of KVD Split ring Braid Cutter combo is frankp55@aol.com

please email us at info@surfcastersjournal.com with your shipping address

We have some very exciting giveaways coming up so stay tuned for details, including a very sick pair of shades and one very ,very big deal if I can get it done.

I watched our columnist Roger Martin land few bass on clams yesterday on south shore. The night before I watched a fellow bang few nice size bass on chunks in the North Shore Harbor. I’ve also seen some teen size fish caught on plugs and I heard about even better things…like weakfish! Did I just say that out loud?

Oh brother…Northern NJ had big bluefish and weekfish feeding in the surf last few days. Yes, you heard me right, I did say weakfish.

As you can see I’ve “seen” quite a bit, I just wish I could participate. I guess until my next Dr appointment I am on injured reserve. I could go if you really, really need me but would probably be out for a season afterward. I did managed few painful cast with a  7 foot Legend and I did managed my first microbass of the season on a guides Secret Mucho Minnow. This was my go to plug last year in May off the marshes in the Sate Channel on Long Island. Funny how you open the bag and stare at 20 swimmers but you are looking for the ONE, the one that you know has a mojo written all over it. I know a lot of guys have been banging fish on Bombers, Mag Darters and seemingly everyone favorite these days, Daiwa SP Minnows.

The swimming plugs are back in the vogue in a BIG way last few years. SP Minnow, Savage, Guides Secret and many others but I think this new insanity started with something else, Mr. Patrick Sebile, the guy behind Sebille plugs.

Here is a little known fact I just got off another site. Patrick is a charter boat captain in this picture in 2003, before he got famous,  who put his French client on a world record tarpon of 286 pounds in  Africa !!!

The story was he got stuffed on a tip…you can’t make this shit up.

Anyway, the fish are here. New Jersey in particular has a reel nice bite going according to our Friends at Fisherman Headquarters. Give them a buzz or stop by their store. Or just do what we do and keep checking their fb page for more info,…that is what we do…lol

You got no more excuses. The wind it’s too cold, it’s too windy, the water is too cold, you have a shrinkage issue in cold surf..only those like myself with Doctor note and camera round our necks are allowed to fart around.

The rest of you, go fish.

I would say by the end of this week the bluefish will be in every inlet on Long Island.  I still say that bait has a big advantage over lures for bigger fish. That doesn’t really ever chance however in few weeks the plug and eel guys and especially jetty jocks will get their shot at massive fish. Right not clam guys are getting anything from microbass to keepers, bunker chunkers are getting bigger fish, generally seven to eight pounds and up and pluggers are getting all of the above.

I even had a  pleasure of watching this future sharpie land a nice fish all on his own

Some people over the winter have asked me about my opinion on the new Legend Infinity Surf rod. Granted , for every one that asked that, ten more asked about CTS or Century. The funny thing about Infinity is that I can’t really answer that question. There was a rumor that due to so much negative feedback Lami went back and made some changes after what I would call nothing short of disastrous casting demonstration  session at Montauk. So bad it was hilarious.

The sad part is (and so many will deny it to their graves) that Lami could not win. I spoke to guys leading up to that event and realized they already made up their minds from hearing rumors. Nothing this rod could do was going to change that. What they really wanted was GSB on steroids. What they got was high class performance rod. But no one cared. Once Paulie said it should be GSB on steroids people just repeated the same sentence. No one cared what the rod did. All I heard was the same exact comment from all the know-it-all, the tip is “too wimpy”.

This might as well be but I told no one I had one in my truck that Lamiglas folks sent to me. That week we had a 40 mph northwest gale at Shagwong. YoDude was there and many guys from my club. At sunset I stood at Shagwong point and hurled big pencil poppers into the wind…and was the only one to catch fish with Infinity. But that is irrelevant now that we don’t know if Lami made changes or not and no one seems to want to admit one way or another. So the point is moot. But that was one fine rod….

But two things surprised me more than the rod itself . The rod was fine in my opinion, for what it was, another different option for surfcasters. The first thing that had me floored was that a) prostaffers hated the product and b) some claimed this was the first time they have seen it. Now how do you come out with a rod AND THEN send it out for opinions is something I cant understand. Considering manufacturer claims the rod was designed with input from pro staffers. I never seen pro staffers run away from products like that.  Someone here is not telling the truth, not that any of us care.

The second thing is the reaction of public on the major websites. Oh my God, Lami got crushed so bad, and I mean it was like watching hyenas eat an elephant for day after day after day. The pro staffers from other rod companies happily fed the flames and public ate it stock, lock and barrel. It seems that keyboard fisherman know better how to design rod, guide layout, grip, than any manufacturer. I fact, manufacturer are just bumbling idiots who export their production to China where they pollute the rivers and cause the world to END SOONER. They seem to also be responsible for Tsunami in Japan and word hunger.

Are you kidding me?..lol… I have never seen an attack like this before, almost coordinated……….oh wait, I DID SEE IT. Now I remember. Some of you guys remember the PLUG WARS? BM vs. Habs vs. this guy and that guy. Yeah, kind of reminds me of that. And some of the people who had interest in Lamiglas falling on their face stroked the flames on purpose to benefit themselves. I understand, its business. That does not mean I have to like it.

Just my take of why you do not hear much about most popular surf rod company in history and about their flagship new product. Think about this. Most of us had or have Lami rod. I had more than dozen at one point . Every question we get on the blog or the internet is St Croix, CTS, Century, FSC .Yes,  am I excited to see Tsunami Elite makes an appearance this June. If I told you that you will get a $400 performance for under $200 you won’t believe me so just hang on and see for yourself. At least if finish product is as same as prototypes I’ve seen recently.

Why am I writing this on a Saturday night at midnight while my family is sleeping, my elbow is screaming and my back is creaking? I don’t know, I guess it bothers me that so many went after the company and Infinity line without never casting, without never seeing what this rod can do. A person within Lamiglas organization asked me if I thought that the newcomers like CTS and Century have legs or are they just a flash in the pan. This was few years ago when they just arrived on the scene. I told them it seemed like the fad at the time, just like plugs. I don’t feel that way anymore. I am not sure to what extent a surf fishing is important to them or to what extent a surf is a percentage of their sales. All I know is that from the first year I started surfcasting in early 90’s till few years ago ,when you want to take that “next step” up , when you got a Van Staal or ZeeBaaS and you were ready to make a major commitment to the sport, you got a Lamiglas rod.

I don’t remember last time someone asked for my opinion on a Lamiglas rod on any kind. Which is kind of disturbing because on the end of the day, Lami WAS surf fishing for so long..

The day Tommy gets a rod a it does not say Lamiglas on it is the day you can mark as “an event”.Why? Cause no one is a bigger fan than YoDude, of Lamiglas or Van Staal reels…. Oh snap, he just got a nine foot Fiberstar and a ZeeBaaS 22 for back bays and north shore last week.

Hide your wife and children..the END is near 🙂

House of pain…perfect way to describe how I am feeling

it just fits

[youtube width=”525″ height=”444″]http://youtu.be/1MeLQ-fubAA[/youtube]

I know some of you know everything. But some of us can use all the help we can get. Here is an article I wrote for The Fisherman Magazine many years ago. Its now a  part of a current eBook, ” Interviews with Experts” available on Amazon. But that is not important. What I am hoping is that at least helps one reader decipher the secrets of Western Sound or any back bay waters and increase your catch ratio

Interview with an expert: Mike Lang – April

This is a first in a series of monthly interviews with some of Long Island best surfcasters on how they get ready for the month ahead. What goes thru their minds in anticipation, what is their plan of action and of course where do they fish that particular month and why .My first victim is Mike Lang from Farragut Striper Club. Mike has won the NY Surf Fishing Contest an unprecedented 6 consecutive times.

In the past you have had great success during the month of April. Where do you concentrate your efforts and why?

As April approaches, the main areas that I concentrate on are all in the western Long Island sound in bodies of water such as Hempstead harbor, Manhasset and Little Neck Bay’s.  One reason why I concentrate on these areas is that there is a definite population of stripers that winter over here which take full advantage of the many deep water holes and shipping lanes that lie right outside these harbor and bay areas. I target these western bays for two main reasons, first because they each possess flats of mud and sand which are the very first parts of the bay to warm up on those sunny April days, which draw these holdovers from their depths in search of food.  And second, these flats, for the most part, are bordered by either mussel beds or glacial boulder fields, both of which provide a terrific menu for these early spring stripers.  This menu of bait includes mussels, steamer and razor clams, crabs, sea worms, grass shrimp, killie, spearing and best of all the early season schools of herring and bunker.

Before the annual migration of Hudson river stripers make their way into these bays, usually around the third week of April (depending on the water temps), the targets for me are the holdovers, which for many early weeks provide great action with a typical outing providing quality over quantity; many of these early bass are in the 10 to 30 lb. range.  Normally I can expect to get about 2-4 weeks of this fishery before a slight lull, then on the next moon there is a resurgence of new bass, most of which are Hudson River bass migrating into these very same bays.  Now there can normally be another month or more of steady and consistent action with daytime schoolies to the night time cows, and all within a simple 10 to 30 minute car ride, which for me is yet another reason I have targeted these waters for over 24 years.

When it comes to early season action, does the time of day influence ones success?

Yes for the most part. While searching for quantity over quality, you are best to fish the daytime tides. A couple of consecutive sunny days will warm up the various mud flats, which is important to get things going. When searching for quality over quantity, one is better to fish the night tides of the early spring. The larger bass use the cover of night to provide additional security, which in the western sound is even more important as these bays are relatively shallow.

Is there a particular pattern when it comes to the weather you prefer to do your fishing in during the month of April?

For daytime schoolie action, I like to fish the last few hours of incoming through the first couple of the outgoing. Occasionally I like to fish the exact opposite as the water gets to warm up more, to find that magic couple of hours where the bite can often yield 50-100 schoolie on a single tide. I think if I were to put together a weather/tide/moon situation that I would be very ready and eager to put in some serious time, I would prefer the nights around a new moon with the beginning of a gentle southwest wind at dead low tide.  I will totally stay away from most of my key areas when the wind has been mostly out of the north, blowing over 15 MPH for an extended period of time, especially and in particular the Northwest or “Northworst” winds. These winds whip across the sound right into these fairly shallow, muddy bays, and the water quickly goes from reasonably unstained to an downright coffee color within hours, which is some of the most unproductive water and wind conditions for these general areas.

As far as winds are concerned, my preferred wind would be a southwest; this wind tends to settle the shallow bay areas where I like to concentrate my efforts. This settled water is very placid and clean; late night tides of these conditions are essential for me to eliminate water, in that I mean these calm waters allow me to see and hear where the fish are feeding, as well as simply finding the schools of bait where I can maximize my odds to at landing more fish.

Tell me about your approach to lure selection. What influences you to pick a particular lure design and why?

The water temperature and time of season both play a part in my personal schedule of plug choice. As both the water and season start out early on, say late March, early April, with water temps in the low to mid 40s, the bass are very lethargic and I mostly use soft rubber baits such as paddle tail shad bodies and curly tail grubs, both used with lead heads that are sometimes literally dragged along the muddy bottom in order to provoke a hit. As the weeks progress, and the water temperatures warm through the mid to upper 40s, I can move on up to 4-6 inch swimming plugs. My primary “go to” plugs are Mambo Minnows and Redfins.  Very often, color and size as well as custom alterations are critical to success, which in itself are relative. Success early on, for some, could be a dozen or so bass on a tide, for others it might be 50-100 bass for the day.  I had days where side by side with a friend, we both fished the very same size and color Redfin; in fact both were chicken scratch bombers. One of us was out-fishing the other six to one, because of one critical difference: one of us had loaded his with 3 cc’s of oil. I hardly ever use teasers. As the weeks progress, the size of my plugs progress as well, from 4 and 5 inch bombers to 6-7 inch Redfins and Mambos and similar sized dark colored metal lipped swimmers. As with any plug fishing that I do, I use a very, very slow retrieve, frequently mixing it up with some sudden stops or subtle jerks during the retrieve. My plug choice and size is in direct correlation to the many different types of bait of early spring such as spearing, herring, and bunker. As the bait patterns change, I tend to concentrate on the larger size plugs in an effort to target larger bass. Once I catch the first good fish on a plug, a bass of 10-15 lbs. I will then switch totally over to fishing at night, and then 75 percent of the time I will fish bait, as this is the time when the bunker are visible and the first large of the year will be beached in the 20-40 lb. range. Over all of the years of targeting bass in these particular bays one thing is very apparent; big bass really want bait. On many occasions I have had my plug offering right in the middle of a midnight melee, while large bass corralled bunker all around me, only for my plug to go unmolested. Once switching over to fresh chunks I have had these very same nights that were thus far unproductive, turn into trophy nights scoring multiple large bass right away.

Any last words of advice?

I would say that early on, while plugging, keep retrieves very slow and steady. As the season progresses keep an eye out for bait and try to match the size. If you find bait, work the edges of the school methodically and throughout the water column from top water metal lipped swimmers to bottom dwelling lead head paddle tails and bucktails in the 1/4-3/4 oz. sizes.  Don’t be afraid of low tides, they can sometimes be beneficial in the fact that the low tide can enable you to walk amongst feeding fish. While chunking, find the bunker schools and you’ll find the bass. My best suggestion to everyone looking to cash in on this excellent fishery is to plan your hunt and hunt your plan. I also suggest everyone to keep a very detailed log book, whether or not you catch fish that particular night, the practice of keeping a detailed log will help you determine the best combination of conditions such as day/night/tide/wind/moon/bait etc. that will then put you into the best situation by which to catch the most fish. 

in the news department, a very special show coming up in May

I am a notorious late starter when it comes to spring fishing. Yes, I’ve had years when I traveled to New Jersey and years when I hit North Shore harbors hard in March and April. Crap , I remember years when we use to chunk down in Manhasset Bay in April, Dave Haase, Mike Lang and bunch of other guys. Some years were better than others but we caught our share of nice fish up to 40 pounds.

Unlike many so called experts I consider myself mostly a googan with passion for fishing. It does not bother me one bit to admit that I never really did well early in the spring on north shore on plugs. Part of that was because as soon as I would head that the bluefish would invade the south shore bays I would abandon stripers and run to the South Shore. Yeah, you heard me right, leaving bass for blues. The chances of me catching a decent bass were slim to none. I am not a big fan of small plugs and I am definitely NOT a fan of soggy marshes and mud.

But put me on a south shore inlet with a 7 foot St Croix Legend and a 3/4 ounce bucktail and I am heaven in late April, early May. Last few years I did not even bothered to fish on north shore but instead waited for Silver Fox to let me know when bluefish arrive. Because the dude lives and breathes surf.

This year, I was looking forward to a lot of thing. After suffering through the fall and basically being reduced to the camera duty, after weeks and weeks of physical therapy I final got a shot in my elbow. Nothing else was working…and the shot?

It was wooooondeful. For the first time in 6 months I was pain free. I bought my son waders and a new reel. I made plans to go away with friends and with my son in summer. I spend last few weeks driving my son from college to college to college. I was going to try to fish with my son as much as I could. If you ask me if I would trade catching a 60 pound bass for watching my son catch a 2 pound bluefish I would take watching my kid every time…

and then few weeks ago the tendinitis in my elbow was back, more painful than before. Even just the thought of making a cast scares me. I remember trying to make a cast in Florida with Alberto in January and that hurt like a mofo.

So now I am back in the physical therapy three times a week, working on a construction site sucks as you can imagine. And to add to my misery I pulled my back again and can barely walk. Looks like another year me holding the camera, you guys fishing. Hope you catch them up. I will try to spend as much time with my kid on the boat as I can… I don’t have a time to “wish” things on. I want to make few more memories before he is gone to school.

But speaking of north shore and my own shortcomings which they are many…isn’t is funny how many surfcasters abandon the place just as its getting good? And I know this has nothing to with results but comfort level. Who wants to fish in some strange place where you don’t know where to park, where you are not sure where to step instead of your familiar grounds? I mean, seriously, why would everyone rush to south shore when bluefish arrived while the big cows from Hudson are STILL up river and have not even started to come down? Think about this, early May to late may might be your best shot of the year to catch a truly gigantic striped bass in the Sound yet by then many of us have abandoned the bays and sound and are concentration on ocean and inlets. I am just giving you some food for thought…

I know that reports are getting better. I see daily reports from Grumpy’s in NJ on Facebook about the daily weigh-ins with clams doing most of the damage. And in NJ back bays the action has been going on for awhile now. Western Long Island Sound and Jamaica bay have a good action when the weather is cooperation with some fish in the twenties regularly being caught..on plugs. Rhode Island and Cape Cod Canal according to Edge and Red Top have freshly arrived schoolies and those in the know in CT know well that river bite for stripers has been good for a while. The fresh bunker is showing up in stores, Saltwaters Tackle in Islip has it. Looks like a good weekend to stretch the legs and at least visit some spots to see how they got affected  by Sandy if not fishing. I am on my way to work, heavily taped and medicated but you should be fishing. All your excuses have been revoked.

Of course you can just sit on a couch and wait for this dude to call you when the bite goes off…