Maybe you will think we are a bitter bunch because we haven’t seen a bunker or mackerel or herring blitz along the shore in decade. Certainly not the likes that our friends in NJ or Cape Cod Canal have experienced last few years. But trust me, it has nothing to do with that. Yes, our season is off to a miserable start . From what I can gather from my friends, this might be the worst start to a season in decades. Are the bass stocks on the decline ? Do you have to think about the question ? Yes, there are few that will tell you that there are plenty of stripers out there. They are just migrating in deeper water and staying off the beach. And you know what, it’s impossible to prove them wrong. For all we know, they might be right. I sincerely doubt it but I’d love to be wrong on this. But on the end of the day, it’s all speculation, he said she said, nice conversation piece but nothing more then that. None of us are experts or scientists.

But we are not stupid

We know that thousands of stripers floating dead in you tube videos in the south over the winter is not good for the stock. Neither are thousands of bass left in the nets to die because poachers have abandoned them. Neither is lock and load trophy winter fishing by charter and private boats down south.

So we screamed and yelled. We asked for action. How dare they kill that many big breeders? Don’t they know that most of these big fish are females constituting majority of the breeding stock? Have they have no heart or conscience to think what hurt are they putting on stripers population? So we contact THEIR governors, legislators, fish managers. We demand they put the stop to this shit…this barbaric depletion of the species that is more valuable in recreational dollars spent then will ever be as a food fare.

We demand you stop this slaughter immediately so we can…..

Kill the dam thing ourselves as soon as they hit the beaches of New Jersey feeding on bunker or Canal munching on mackerel ?

“Hey, it’s been a long winter and I am out of filets so I will take two big fish as I am allowed by law. F@#$^% you   and your mama too. How dare you look down on me for taking two 30 pound stripers off the beach. It’s not like I let them float dead like the net trawlers down south. Yes, I might have dropped few 20 pounders to die in the j rocks but only because I caught bigger ones. C’mon dude, give me a break, I am in the tournament this week. Besides, after I weigh  these slobs I might even take one home and give it to neighbors. The other slob? I’ll probably leave in the tackle store walk-in freezer. Maybe they can give it to somebody? After all, what am I going to do with all that fish?

Besides, I will catch more tomorrow if there is another blitz. Hopefully bigger. I want everyone to know who I am. So stop breaking my balls. These fish are only here for few weeks. Then they are gone till next year. It’s not like the fishing is good like this  the whole year dude…we got to get on this while its hot, before the fish are gone. Like how they do in the south over the winter.

Oh shit….did I just say that out loud ?”

“We met our enemy, and he is us ” Pogo

Manny new surfcasters are petrified of using a bucktail. Unlike most other lures there is nothing to “tell” if you are doing right or wrong. The fish are your ultimate judge, they clamp down on it, you got yourself a winning retrieve.

When I started fishing Montauk , using bucktail was one of the hardest things to get used to it. After all, aren’t they going to get snagged on rocks and kelp. Am I  going to lose a ton of bucktails during each tide?

Not according to our friend and Montauk surf guide Bill Wetzel http://www.longislandsurffishing.com/

Here is another short clip from our Winter Seminar Series

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

btw….those of you who are SJ Facebook fans, you can enter to win one Montauk t-shirt there…only for our Facebook fans

you guys done reading this cover to cover ? more quizes coming up 🙂

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I spent few days in Florida and every time I come back I say two things to myself. First, I want to spend part of my retirement here. I swear they are fish in every puddle of water here, salt or fresh. Two, why can we put such an emphasis on importance of healthy fishing stocks?

Yes, I understand that the economy of the state of Florida is very depended on health of the fisheries to being in tourism revenue. Probably more  than any of our northern states. But still…

I loved hearing fishing guides saying although snook fisheries have rebounded from last year epic die-off due to cold temperatures they want the fisheries shut down, period. No targeting, no catch and release, zero. Which is draconian considering the day before hearing this I was catching ( and seeing) snook all over the place.

I am not suggesting we do same to our stocks, not at all. I don’t think that is warranted other than in the case of weakfish. I just love the mindset, let’s do what is best for species first, and worry about end user latter. I kind a like the whole vibe I get in FL when it comes to fishing 

The gated communities and manicured hedges are little hard to get used to it. But the payoff is worth it. I swear all you need is a float and a handful of shrimp and it’s almost impossible to get skunked.

But vacationing is not “real world”. It’s almost like paradise, no worries, breakfast waiting whenever you are ready. No dishes or grocery shopping, no bills to stress over. Just fish, tan and eat….

Which bring me to fishing locally…most of us work our butts off during the day and then we take care of stuff at home. Only then, when most of the world has gone to sleep do we sneak out for few hours of fishing….before going to work in the morning. Very different then vacation, huh? 🙂

I would love to tell you that is early, I would love to tell you that water temperatures are low, I would love to tell you that winds are too high or weeds are too thick. Yes, there are pockets of life that most of us can only dream about catching our chips in. Like the insane bunker blitzes that happened in NJ last week. I am not there so I can’t tell you with certainly but it seems to me even those are not as robust as they were few years ago.

I can only tell you about places I fish. And those spots are bare. Even spots that I consider “automatic”, places were ”Bob the bass” lives, the same teen fish I seem to catch every trip, even those are bare. Bob has left the building…probably fell to a clam and got cooked last week.

I don’t know what June will bring with regards to stripers. It is the month many of us do not wanted to end as fishing kicks in the high gear. I just hope it doesn’t resemble May too much. I have never seen less stripers in the places I fish. I do have to preface this by saying that since they dredged Jones Inlet the fishing has steadily went to shits.

I guess the time will tell. The backside of this new moon in few days will be a big tell. Cross our fingers and hope for the best…in the mean time, I am staring at the big mount of striper on my wall…just to remember what they look like.

For those that made trough the whole post, we have a treat for you today

A chance to win  a Belt Carabiner from Ebbpoint Surf Fishing . The winner of a previous giveaway never claimed their prize so you got another shot at it. Take a look at their complete line at http://ebbpointsurffishing.com/

just sayin’…if you have few pennies left after Da Wife finished her shopping…:-)

Some news from our friends and supporters

Our friends at Fisherman’s Headquarters http://www.fishermansheadquarters.com/ in NJ have new $130 MAK angler Surf Bag in stock. Stop by the store if you are in the area

Our friends at LI Outdoorsman are having a special this weekend…

Starting today and ending at close of business on Monday when you buy any VAN STAAL reel in stock you’ll get mono backing and 150 yds of braid installed for FREE.
Lots of gear instock,rods,reels,lures,bags,etc.
FRESH Bunker,LIVE Eels,Clams,etc.
L.I.Outdoorsman
“For All Your Outdoor Needs”
434 Sunrise Hwy
Rockville Centre NY 11570
www.lioutdoorsman.com
516-678-5554

Our supporter Armand from RI Poppers has just sent a load of lures to Satwaters tackle in West Islip NY 

 www.​saltwaterstackle.​com/  If you are in the ares, stop by and say hi to Mike and crew. Give them our regards

And last but not least, Paulie’s Bait and Tackle Tournament in Montauk Point, NY is on tap for next weekend.

I hope all of you are having a great weekend with your families and remember those who gave their lives so we can live the American Dream.

God Bless our Troops

 Some of you know Richard Troxler from Noreast boards where he is a moderator. Some of you have read his posts or a story in the last year issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine.

Some of you were stunned by his ” Last Man Standing” masterpiece in the current issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal.

Some of you might even know that he possesses mad woodworking skills. Or that he is a top notch surfcaster.

He is a kind of surfcaster who likes to tinker with his stuff. Never satisfied with store bought bucktails he makes his own. We did this video about a year ago.

 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFxW9P6pD0s[/youtube]

All these things make Rich obviously a very interesting person to be around and fish with. But this is just a small part of who Richard Troxler is….

There is so much more to him

including this !!

🙂

 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GqlqOv_fKA[/youtube]

There is a  lot of talk about two piece rods today. In fact, I don’t remember ever hearing about them as much as I did in the  last year or two. Some even dare to compare them to one piece rods although they are predictably attacked fairly quickly by internet experts.

I personally won’t make any proclamations, one way or another. All I am going to tell you that after almost 20 years with fishing nothing but one piece rods from Lami I will be fishing with only two piece rods from St Croix this season. Lou has finished wrapping my Legend  blanks and I am kind of psyched about it…time will tell

One brand that is getting a lot of attention, besides St Croix,  is CTS. I had a pleasure of casting one in the parking lot at West End 2 on blustery April morning and all I could say way Holy !@$#% (although I took that out of the video footage).

Here is our Rod Guru Lou Caruso, sharing his thoughts on these rods.

You can contact Lou with any questions at http://louscustomrods.com/

And yes, Lou will build you a custom, St Croix, Lami or CTS rod. Dude builds great rods, regardless of who is manufacturing them.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND8enGbgFOk[/youtube]

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I hope you ladies and gents had a very productive weekend andthe  fishes cooperated.

It’s time to play…name that picture where you can win incredible prizes including a brand new Toyota Tundra courtesy of Tri-State…ok, we are kidding about a new truck but we are not kidding about giving you a chance to win this piece of fishing art, a fish catching machine, from our friend Larry Wentworth from Big Fish Bait Co

http://www.bigfishbaitco.com/customlures/index.php

Here is your chance to win this Big Fish Prey Swimmer.

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How?

By guessing on which page is our esteemed editor Roger Martin’s  favorite picture located in the current issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine

. One guess per person please and good luck.

Here is the magazine for your convenience

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Here is an interesting phenomenon …surfcasters can’t wait till spring to wet their lines. That much we all know for sure. In New York, once bass show up in Little Neck Bay and bite becomes more or less predictable, place gets crowded in the hurry. Many of those who toiled in obscurity before bass showed up choose to find other places to wet the line as the crowds become too close for comfort

Manhasset harbor gets an influx of guys not wanting be crowded at Little Neck, plus they get accompanied by locals who are getting back into it after hibernating. They pick at small, barely legalish fish and those who fish at night see some respectable fish. But big fish, 20 pounds and up ? Most of the time they only see it, they rarely never catch it. Because many of those very early spring cows want no part of plugs or teasers. What they crave is bait, either freshest kind or live. The pluggers go home in frustration and come back with bigger rods, bigger reels and bigger lures…and incur same results .

Anyway, this has been my observation over the years. I will never forget calling my buddy who lives in the area at midnight one night after landing numerous fish over 20 pounds…on April 15!

He came ,he plugged and next night for the first time in his life, after 30 years of only plugging he bought bunker. …..

But this is not bait over plugs, not at all. That is the subject that is about as interesting to talk about as it is to  watch the paint dry.

Here is what puzzles me Continue reading →