We haven’t had a giveaway for awhile and I am glad to feature a special one today on the blog, courtesy of Wally’s Lures. You can check out the whole line of these lures at http://www.wallysluresandtackle.com/

Two winners, one will recive a 3 1/2 ounce Wally’s Lures Danny Swimmer and a second winner will recive a Wally’s Lures 1 1/8 ounce Stubby Needlefish.

Each lure features VMC hooks, Wolverine Split Rings and Krok Swivels…http://www.wallysluresandtackle.com/

Good luck

PS

Just a quick note about the SJ Magazine. The SJ 3Dissue APP had some technical difficulties in last 24 hours. We believe we identified the problem and are waiting for 3Dissue support to correct the issue.You can still read the magazine by going to www.surfcastersjournal.com

Its only the app that is acting up, not the magazine

ps..update

Looks like the issue with the app has been resolved

Zeno

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ4gzlWTEUY[/youtube]

Nice to be back to the land of milk and honey although I have to admit, walking out through customs at JFK last night and being greeted by constant honking of the cabs was maddening. Slightly easier to take than having to spend few weeks in places where deodorant is a foreign substance but still maddening. My props to crew at Lufthansa who always seem to exceed my expectations. They couldn’t pay me enough to sit on a plane for nine hours at the time. But its all good, nice to get back to “normal” things although my hands keep reaching for gear box on the floor of my truck. Better than straddling a donkey like old days I suppose.

What did I miss? Did my beloved stripers made a resurgence and now you guys are catching them on every cast? I sure hope so. Would love to be wrong on this one. Looking forward to making a cast after few weeks of inactivity but first I will need to shed these pounds that I put on in a hurry. Drinking beer for breakfast came easy, strangely enough. Too easy. Back to flavored water and treadmill.

If you never been to Europe, you really would not understand what life there is all about. The whole population sits in outdoor cafés all day and chugs down machiatto and liquors and engages in the art of people watching. But the cost, even for us Americans is kind of insane. When you consider that they on average make about one quarter of what we do, you have to scratch your head and ask, how do they survive?

And fishing?

Oh man, what have they done to once thriving fisheries. All I have seen was farm raised cookie cutter sized fish and stuff imported frozen and then sold as fresh and local. A few large shrimp scampi (or crawfish) will cost you almost a $100 a plate in restaurant and you’ll go home hungry. I watched my brother put traps and even snorkel with a spear gun and the biggest fish he came up with in three weeks was smaller then average bunker. Heck, about half the size of bunker. You look around those crystal clear waters of Adriatic and you see almost no life other then fish the size of a business card. And they get eaten every day. Nothing ever gets tossed back, ever.

I even got to sample some dog fish salad (which was by the way delicious) and brined anchovies which is a specialty of the region where I am from. The cured meats were plentiful, the fabled cheese from the island of Pag not so much but then again at $30 a pound, I can see why not. Of course, the olive oil (to me) is unlike any other olive oil I have ever tried (and I tried many). Thankfully the custom officers let us bring in few years worth of it without a question.

If you think that we are not as proactive when it comes to protecting natural resources, you would change your mind after an hour snorkeling some of the clearest waters you have even seen only to see it barren of any life. Its kind of sad but it has progressively gotten worse over the years. You have to wonder what did they looked like fifty years ago before overpopulation, over fishing and pollution.

Then again, I’d be curios to see what our local waters looked like before industrial revolution. Wish we could have a time machine to go back and take a look. Don’t you wish You Tube was around then?

Here is a new video I shot few weeks ago in early spring while learning how to operate my newest toy.

Cedar Beach, NY adjacent to Fire Island inlet NY. Home of one of the most glorious spots in the history of surf fishing, Sore Thumb. Unfortunately its been many years since the Thumb was on fire but those who know it well, keep it honest. Its features some of the fishiest water you can find anywhere when current is running

enjoy

[youtube]http://youtu.be/qZ4gzlWTEUY[/youtube]

August Large…By Bill Wetzel

When people ask me what the best month is to fish Montauk I just kind cringe because that is such a loaded question. I can tell you what my favorite month to fish is. It is indeed August. If you are willing to put in the time and figure out where the bait is, August can be your best shot to strike a few cows than any other month of the season. I have been fishing the Montauk suds for more than 30 years and guiding there about one half of those years. What I am about to tell is my theory based on those years. For me it is not theory, it is fact.

I want you to think of all the spearing and snappers you see at the local docks this time of year. Now picture that same bait in the surf. That is some yummy treats for large resident stripers that have been holding in the rips in Montauk since late June. Sometime in late July or early August you will begin to see spearing in the Montauk surf.  These spearing have recently migrated from the bays. More than likely the Peconics and Napeague, although the specific migration route remains unclear to me. The first moon of August is a very important one for the migration of snappers. Water temps are usually in the low seventies, and on this moon or very shortly thereafter you will begin to see snappers in the night suds. The big resident girls that have been holding outside in the rips will come into certain areas on the north or south side, usually on specific tides to feed on the newly arrived bait. This is very condition specific and a number of factors can throw a bite completely off in August. If you want to target these big girls your job is to first find the bait, and that aint easy! There was a time that I would walk the entire south side during the day casting snapper rigs to find where the bait is. These days I just do not have the time, and I have found that usually the bait will hold in a few areas year after year. Where are these areas? That I will leave to you for a homework assignment.

Once you have found the bait you need to know when to fish it and what to throw. The only way to know when to fish it is to fish the area all night long, and note at what tide stage the fish showed up, if they showed up at all. If they did not show then you might want to change another location that is holding bait for the next night. This fishing is not easy, sometimes requires miles of walking, and the chance of getting nothing is very good.  I like throwing live eels to these fish. The water temps are high and these big fish are very lazy. Put a live eel in the appropriate water and they are going to pounce on it.  Other options are plugs that are going to have a snapper profile. Darters are a great choice, and I have had plenty of large bass on them during August months. My largest plugged bass actually came during the month of August on a bomber long A.  I never weighed her and she may have been near or over fifty pounds, but I will never know because she was released.

Getting back to the theory. Towards the end of the month you may find a sudden increase in schoolie fish. These fish will hit your plug harder and usually be lighter in color than the schoolies you had been catching during previous nights. These fish are not resident schoolies, they’re migrators that have just arrived. I have found that the large resident cows will not mix with these fish and you are better off moving to another location if you happen upon this type of bite. The big resident fish will usually begin there migration during the first moon of September or the first major storm, whatever comes first. New fish will arrive however the August fish will be gone until next August. This is a very short version of targeting large in August, and hopefully serves the purpose for the SCJ blog. .  Perhaps down the road I will put my thoughts of August to a full article for the SCJ. Happy Hunting!!

Bill Wetzel is what we like to call “The Hardest Working Guide in the Surf”. A quintessential Montauk Regular Bill works hard at teaching his clients the secrets of Montauk coves and consistently puts them on the fish. No wonder most of his customers come back for more year after year. Bill also runs a Surf Rats ball, Subscribers only forum at http://www.surfratsball.com/ There he exchanges ideas with his subscribers and of course, logs each and every one of his trips for all to read. Check it out at http://www.surfratsball.com/

Yo-Zuri^® Mag Series^™ Family Updated for 2015!!!

Yo-Zuri’s  Magnetic Series has been totally redesigned and updated for 2015!!! The Mag Series of lures feature our Patented Magnet Weight Transfer System.  The Magnetic Weight Transfer System allows anglers to cast further and more accurately than ever before.  During a cast, the weight balls shift to the back of the lure,  As the anglers casts the lure forward, the weights shift forward producing a loud “Click”, thus ensuring the  cast has been performed properly.  This “shift & click” controls the lures flying position and stabilizes the air-flow around the lure thereby delivering the angler an exceptionally balanced and smooth cast, while providing maximum distance!!  Additionally, Yo-Zuri has developed some of  the hottest and newest color schemes and state of the art scaled holographic finishes found on the market today!!!

All Mag Series lures have durable polycarbonate bodies.   The distinctive round shape and high-arched back cause all of the baits in this series to dart and swim erratically. The Mag Series perfectly mimic’s frightened baitfish that prized game fish seek out and hunt. The natural patterns and colors, combined with the lifelike body shapes and attention to detail on the gill plates, create a strikingly realistic looking injured baitfish!!

All Mag Series lures have premium components: Stainless Steel Split Rings, Round Bend Super Extra Strong Round Bend Treble Hooks and realistic oversized holographic 3D eyes.  The Mag Series also includes  highly detailed etched scales with superior holographic finishes and ultra-realistic gill plates. Yo-Zuri’s lasting commitment to innovation, diversity and quality has enabled us to continually develop and market the most advanced fish-catching products available around the globe!!!  Available at National and Local retailers in the Fall of 2014.

PENN BATTLE II SPINNING
Improving A Best Seller
The popularity of the PENN® Battle® spinning reel continues to grow as anglers recognize the durability and fishability found in this finely crafted reel. Inspired by design innovations made possible through new technology, PENN introduces the improved Battle II.
Included in the improvements is line management. PENN added line capacity rings to let the angler know when the spool is properly filled. This ensures that the casts are not subject to excess line stripping from the spool, resulting in improved castability.

The Battle II has enhanced corrosion resistance due to the improvements of using five sealed bearings and one anti-reverse bearing.
The Battle II incorporates keyed carbon fiber washers in the HT-100™ drag system that utilizes both sides of the drag washers and increases maximum drag by 15 to 50 percent.
Many original Battle features remain in the Battle II, including the full metal body, sideplate and rotor; instant anti-reverse, heavy-duty aluminum bail wire and superline spool.
Eight Battle II spinning reels are offered in 1000 to 8000 sizes. New to the lineup is the 2500 size designed for inshore/light braid applications.
Nine Battle II spinning combos are also available for inshore, near shore, boat and surf applications. Each rod is paired and balanced with a Battle II reel and range from 6 feet, 6 inches to 10 feet long in actions from medium-light to heavy. Battle II combo rods include a

Full metal body, sideplate and rotor
HT-100™ carbon fiber drag washers
Five sealed stainless-steel bearings
Instant anti-reverse
Heavy-duty aluminum bail wire
Machined and anodized aluminum spool
Superline spool
Line capacity rings
COMBO:
Graphite composite blank
Aluminum oxide guides

graphite composite blank, aluminum oxide guides, graphite reel seat and either a cork (inshore) or EVA grip.
MSRP for the new Battle II reels range from $99.95 to $129.95; combos are priced from $129.95 to $159.95. All Battle II products will be available in September of 2014

The Nor’easter

By Bill Wetzel

The October nor’easter was on its way as the increased wind and rain began to batter my home. I knew the fishing was going to be good as “Mr. Spock’s” voice from the weather station called for winds to increase in excess of 50 knots with hard driving rain. Sometimes I wonder if the weather station robots have personalities when snotty weather comes in, or is it just my imagination that the weird voice gets jacked up a notch? As for me, when a weather system like this comes, my hands start to shake. Not the kind of shake that I think you would notice, but the kind that is just enough to confirm my addiction. Since I had no charter and did not want to wake my wife I didn’t crawl out of bed until 6:30am. I know what you are thinking. “6:30 is way too late. Practically the middle of the day”. You are correct, and that was my mistake. Read on. As the nor’easter rattled our windows I geared up to get the hell out of the house as fast as I could. At the same time I was in no particular hurry, figuring if there is going to be a bite it would be an all-day event. I even stopped at south Hampton beaches on my way to my office in Montauk. Mistake two! There I only found very dirty big ass water. Not worth the time. I arrived in Mother Land at about 9:30am. As I crawled my buggy into the north side I found no parking on the beach (due to tide heights) so I had to park down one of the paths. I tell ya, rain that feels like needles piercing the skin, 15’ waves driving piles and piles of white water, and 50 knot plus winds just does something to me. I have to admit I had the big fish shakes big time, and could barely tie my bucktail onto my leader. As I walked closer to the water I saw tails, and more tails, and more tails, and more tails!!! Sweet Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Immediately, I put my 11/2 oz. lime green buck with red rind into a nice low teen blue, then another, then another! I banged about 12 or so blues and about 5 bass until 10:30 or 11am when the action ended. All big blues, but why did not hit any big bass? By noon the north sides tide was up, and it was not fishable any longer. I headed to get a bite to eat and stopped by Johnny’s B&T. There I met up with Willie Young and Vito Orlando. Vito was happy as a pig in poop with a smile from ear to ear. “Ohhhh no—here it comes, I thought”. He let me know he banged a forty, a thirty, and a high twenty. His biggest bass since 1979!! All caught at first light by the way. What could I do but be happy for one of the best surf casters on the planet. I congratulated him, and then sat through Willie Young’s story of his fish at first light. Damn it! I felt great for the boys, but a knot developed in my stomach like an addict that needed his fix. My head was spinning to come up with a plan. It was to either hit Horton’s point or Sore Thumb for my next stop, as I thought Montauk was going to be toast for the rest of the day. I was leaning toward the thumb thinking that Horton’s probably would just be big blues. BUUUUT – After speaking with Willie he convinced me to stay in Montauk for the ebb. I said to Willie—“I think the water will be too high to fish before dark”, as after dark would just be a suicide mission. Willie shook his head “naaah it will ebb quickly”. So I went against my instinct and stayed to fish with Willie for the evening bight, which never happened. It sure was fun standing there and BSing with Willie while we got pelted by 50mph winds. NO joke—it really was a good time. There is something about just being in that kind of weather that makes me feel so darn small and so alive. It is a feeling every surf caster should feel as frequently as possible. Hmmmm, one more thing. If you are in Montauk and it is blowing NE, get your lazy ass out of bed (I am actually referring to my lazy ass), call in dead from work, and catch some bass!

Editor note

This video was not from same day as a story

[youtube]http://youtu.be/UwLkFnY8N_k[/youtube]

Lamiglas has a new Ron Arra model XSRA1363-2 Long Cast, 11’6”,2 pc., 70/30split coming out. We reached out to Josh Cooper, Designer and Product Manager at Lamiglas for some more information

Ron Arra line of rods has been extremely popular over the years. Give our readers some background

These rods are really what started Lamiglas (possibly the industry) into the true performance side of surf fishing. Todd Vivian (the rod designer here before me) worked very closely with multi time world champion caster Ron Arra to build a rod that would cast like a smaller version of a tournament rod but would also be pleasant to fish with. That’s the nice thing about Ron he is not just a tournament caster he is also a fisherman. That is what these rod all about today. While it is not necessarily our highest end rod series, it offers a different action to those that know how to load a rod properly to gain that extra distance.

How does Arra line of rods differentiates from other rods in Lamiglas lineup?

Really the actions are what make them unique, they are powerful in the cast but still have a deep flex while fighting fish. This is something that Todd and Ron worked hard to get just right. Also the blanks are built of a higher modulus graphite than say the GSB blanks so the diameter of the blank can be kept down which aids to making that deeper flex.

Fill us is on this new model XSRA1363-2 Long Cast, 11’6”

The new model was a concept from Ron himself. He asked for a rod that would utilize some more modern concepts in mandrel tapers, materials and ferrule design, to achieve longer casts, keep the blank durable, and still have it two piece. This is why we went with a 70/30 split and a mod/fast blank design with an extremely powerful butt section. Once Ron cast it he called me right away and said “it is exactly what I have been looking for”. It casts really well with little effort but when pushed hard (like Ron Arra hard) it will through amazing distances.

And for those of you who are wondering how often should you service your Van Staal reel, here is a little advice from Bert, an Authorized Van Staal Technician at White Water Outffiters  in Hampton Bays, NY

[youtube]http://youtu.be/x7vNBE8Jvlo[/youtube]

For your Montauk Point junkies, an Aerial View with Jack Yee, Vito Orlando and Bill Wetzel.

I finally had few hours yesterday to make a quick trip to Montauk, and although i literally stayed an hour before heading back, i did managed to get few shots. Hopefully more to come in the fall

Enjoy

 [youtube]http://youtu.be/Aom4MHqBS1M[/youtube]

Bottom Dwelling
By Dave Anderson

Here we are moving into July (already!) and it’s tourist season at the shore. The water is warm and ocean is very inviting. Today I was doing some yard work and found myself feeling like I just had to go for a swim! I headed to the beach closest to my house, maybe a 20 minute drive, but it’s not much more than a place to cool off. The water on this beach is deep right off the bank and the bottom is made up of mixed boulders, weeds, sandy patches and, everyone’s favorite, stank muck.
But, places that feature these kinds of varied bottom types are the kinds of places that have huge potential to hold baitfish and attract the kinds of fish that keep us out on the rocks at 1 a.m. rather than soaking up the AC on a July night. With the air temps hovering around 90 and my shirt looking like someone had just poured a five gallon bucket of water over my head, I grabbed a divers mask before I hopped in the car.
The 20 minute drive felt like 200 minutes, especially because I didn’t allow myself to crank the air, I wanted that full-on body shock when I dove into the waves! After a sufficient period of floating over the rocks and cooling down, I pulled the mask over my eyes and dove straight to the bottom. The summer water was gin clear but as I neared the bottom it became clouded with large particles that seemed to breathe in and out of the weeds as the waves passed. This is worth noting because if you fish during the day, you know your best chances for success are down near the bottom and that low-hanging silt will make it easier to fool a daytime bass with an artificial.
I leveled off and began swimming down the slope of the bottom. Something that always grabs me right away when I’m deep under the water is the sound; waves rushing by, a boat motor idling a hundred yards away rumbles like it’s right next to you, intermittent clicks and crunches erupt from all sides—it’s a peculiar place to be! But even with all of these sounds, it feels stuffy and quiet at the same time.
On my next dive, I hit the bottom 10-feet below and swam over the top of a mat of weeds and small boulders, roughly the size of toasters and microwaves. As I was kicking along I started to notice that I was spooking these 5- to 6-inch baitfish, they were a shimmering whitish color and darted up out of the weeds swimming forward in bursts of about five feet before burrowing back into the weeds. I don’t know what they were—kingfish maybe? But as I watched these little fish and their actions I started to see some real value in observing.
I made several more deep dives in different weedy spots and each of them held these baitfish in numbers and all of them used the same “flee and burrow” method when they saw, or perhaps, sensed that I was getting too close for comfort. All I can think of right now is a 5-inch rubber shad, sunk to the bottom and fished with deliberate, fast and long hops and after each “hop” allowing the shad to sit for a period of at least three seconds.
It also has me thinking about white bucktails fished with a short white pork trailer or even a 6-inch Slug-Go threaded onto the hook. The belief has long been that a bucktail imitates a squid, but when you think about the fact that bucktails should be fish very close to the bottom and consider the fact that most bucktailers employ a sharp swimming and jigging routine, then you’re probably having the same epiphany that I just had! Visual guidance from the very bait the bass are chasing, there’s no better teacher than Mother Nature and there’s no better way to hone your method than to have your face rubbed in the facts. I suppose I should go back there tonight and put it to the test.