There are few things that I want to tell you about, for no other reason than to keep you informed. First, Happy Father’s Day to all of you.

Second, Got Strypers rubber baits are something that Anthony Weiner would love. Big, strong and keep their shape after multiple explosions…

Third, in few months there should be a new book by one of my heroes, William “Doc” Muller. I been working on it the whole weekend. It’s the first pure surf fishing book Doc has wrote in more than 20 years. Since I have read the manuscript I can tell you it’s worth the wait. In fact, it might be the most complete book on surf fishing in northeast I’ve ever read. Look for it at your tackle store hopefully in early fall.

Angelo Peluso has a new book coming in late summer/early fall tilled Saltwater Flies of the Southeast and Gulf Coast. This book will take over where the Flies of the Northeast left off, covering mid Atlantic to pacific. Another thing I am looking forward to.

You guys know John Skinner as the dude who invented the Fishers Log software to keep track of your success and failures. It’s an incredibly easy program to use and affordable too. You can take it for a test ride at www.fisherslog.com, free of charge. You also know John as the man who is one of the best big fish hunters on the planet. What you might not know that the man is a bucktail extraordinaire. If you read Doc’s book , The Ultimate Guide to Fishing with Bucktails, you have read that John was responsible for Doc’s obsession with these harry fish catchers. John also wrote a highly acclaimed book A Season on the Edge in which he gave you a lot of information if you could read it between the lines in the stories. Did it make you yearn for more? Are you curious what John does with his bucktails, in inlets, in Montauk, along south shore in the sound, off his yak, in his skiff? Well, you will have a chance to find out this holiday season.

John’s new book on bucktails will blow your mind just like it did mine when I read the manuscript. Not only has it thought me what he does to be so successful but it also made me realize that although I consider myself a decent bucktails, I basically suck at it. After reading the book, I am considering so many changes of how I utilize my bucktails that I don’t even know where to start.

Last but not least…there is a new lure coming from Newb Googanheim Custom Lures. These new lures are made from special wood from Brazilian forest. Because they grow in the rainforest the wood is nonporous. Meaning lures do not have to be sealed at all. They are impervious to water. They come without hooks because they have such a splendid paint job that once the fish sees these suckers they go into immediate shock and follow the lure right to your feet in a trance. All you need is a big net to scoop them up.

We recently asked for your suggestions on how we can improve the Surfcaster’s Journal magazine. Regardless of ideas we might have, the only way we can make this better if more of you decide to contribute by sending us ideas for article and writing the stories yourselves. We are big believers that surfcasters who write are much more interesting  then writers who surf fish. So if you have an idea or story you want us to follow up on or you want to write the story itself, please drop us a line. We are all ears…

One  thing that has been missing from the magazine has been coverage of our beach buggies. After all, every surfcaster either owns, is looking to own one, or dreams of getting a beach buggy. We are happy to announce that  this will be the thing of the past starting with our next issue.

New Jersey surfcasters and custom lure builder Russ “Big Rock” Paoline has graciously accepted our offer to write a beach buggy column for the Surfcaster’s Journal magazine. Many of you know Russ as very popular lure builder whose wooden creations are always in demand. He will share his thoughts on truck maintenance, beach driving, customization or anything else that relates to beach buggies.

Please join us in welcoming Big Rock to the Surfcaster’s Journal family of contributors who toil in obscurity to make your  day a little brighter and you fishing experience a little more satisfying.

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Ah, the Promised Land…if you never fished the Fabled shores of the island of Cuttyhunk, you are probably asking what is a big deal. After all, isn’t Montauk the Surfcasting Capital of the World? It sure is a lot easier to get to then Cuttyhunk….

They best I could describe the experience of fishing the rocks at Cuttyhunk would be to imagine being somewhere on the south side of Montauk…but alone. The place is often so darn quiet its unnerving. And every cove and point seems to be hiding secrets , there for you to uncover. And there is no attitude like some places, not many Alpha males with balls hanging to their knees trying to put you in your place. I hate being put in my place! I hated it since my mother would stick me in a high chair when I was a baby.

What is it that draws me back here? I’ve caught fish here but I also went on trips where I went fishless . The place is certainly not an easy place to fish. The bubble weed forest will wrap around your ankles as you wade out on the rocks. If it happens at the same time as the rushing wave hits the shore, you are in for a world of pain. The points are not as easily wadeable as they are in Montauk Point. Instead of smaller rocks and then a handful of decent size boulders you will find few, but huge rocks at Cutty. And instead of water being fairly shallow at the points, expect it to drop fast and furious. The wetsuit are a recent addition to Cuttyhunk shores. Just like Montauk , plenty of fish were caught in waders for at least a past century. Today’s surfcaster is a bit more aggressive, he pushes a little further out but this is one place were even those whose casts leave a little to be desired, can get into productive waters from the shore. Of course, it helps when fish are there 🙂

I love seeing Bonnie’s face in the morning after breakfast as she runs the Cuttyhunk Fishing Club like a field general.

I love sharing stories without fears that twenty guys will be at my spot the next tide. I love that there is no tackle stores and that internet sucks on the best of days. I love the quiet, the golf carts locals use the get around, the friendliness of people. The only thing that can be unnerving is trying to get off the island in the emergency. That is the price you pay for being in a secluded and out of the way place . I love climbimg on rocks that are as big as my house 🙂

I can’t wait to go there again. And I was there just three days ago in a nasty weekend storm…Lol

I hope it won’t be long. I did make a phone call last week to inquire about taking over the club for a weekend in September. What we thought was to get some of you to come with us and fish. We get to meet and fish with you, noting more ,nothing less. We can show you how to rig eels or tell you were we like to fish

 we grill some good food and hopefully catch some nice fish.

 Nothing in it for us, just a chance to meet some of our readers. But because there are only 8 rooms at the Fishing Club, we found out they are all booked already. Major downer…not sure how many of you would consider a trip during the week.

We are saddened to tell you that surf fishing community has lost one of its most admired members today, Mr. Al Pelini.

Al passed away today doing what he loved the most, fishing the rocks on Cuttyhunk island. In coming days many of you will learn more about this gentle but great man. I can only share my thoughts on Al  with you. Although I’ve meet Al only on few occasions, he left a lasting impression on me. In fact, there is no surfcaster today that I would put him on par with, that is how highly I thought of him. Maybe I am biased, but Al did it all, and did it his way. He was there for a great giant striper  Block Island bite in the 80’s, he was roaming Cape Cod sand during its glory days, he swam to every rock I was afraid to in Cuttyhunk and he caught unbelievable numbers of large fish .Trough it all he remained modest and sincere. No one ever had nothing but good to say about him. In my book, he was a special man,  one that is born only once in a generation.

There are others who are more known, who yearn to have their name in the lights. But ask any seasoned and well traveled surfcaster who do they admire the most, and I would bet that 9 out of 10 would say Mr. Pelini.

All of us at Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine would like to offer our sincerest condolences to family and friends of Mr. Pelini.

May you Rest in Peace, Al

You will be missed by many

Few weeks ago I wrote a little something about Guides Choice Old School swimmer and how productive of a lure has it been for me at times. It was Lou Caruso, our Rod Guru who piqued my interest in this lure by telling me how well he has caught with it last year.  I don’t know about you but I am a big believer in lure’s “mojo”. Once your lure gets some mojo, it becomes a totally different animal. You not only cast it when you should…but also when you shouldn’t, AND still expect it to catch fish

As always, when I want to learn about a new lure, I include it in my rotation. Now you might say what is the big deal, we all have rotations…. Well, I don’t know about you but I use a one row bag these days and my rotation is harder to crack then Philadelphia Philly’s starting 5. To get in one of the slots I will probably have to squeeze out a Super Strike plug, lures that represent at least 75% of the rotation. So yeah, it’s a big deal for a plug to be added to the bag. I am sure it’s same thing for many of you.

Few nights ago I was fortunate enough to fish with Surfcaster’s Journal Chef extraordinaire, Andrew Chase. We were sharing a rock  at Cuttyhunk Island and Andrew was having a challenging night, to say the least. Fish were just not responding to what he was throwing. I offered him my yellow Guides Choice Old School Swimmer and at first he declined. But after I had few more fish on it, he accepted my offer.

I am glad he did because few casts latter something very wonderful happened to Andrew.

He caught his personal best on it…the fish was released after a quick photo

So, in honor of Andrew’s personal best, we at Surfcaster’s Journal will give one of our readers a chance to win this Guides Choice Old School swimmer, courtesy of our friends and supporters from Guides Choice Tackle. Check out their website at http://guideschoicetackle.com/  for all the fish catching colors of the Old School Swimmers. The full story of adventures with chef Andrew coming up in the future edition of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine

Good luck and tight lines

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The winner of Superline Braid Shears from Berkley Fishing is Mathew Vaccaro

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

Matt guessed two of my three favorite pictures, cover and page 95

Now for the main course

We love Big fish….especially the ones that go back in the water after a quick photo

 it is our  pleasure to announce the winner of May STRIPERTHON 2011 Catch and Release Photo contest.

His name is Ron DiCostanzo and he is a plug-ho 🙂

….ok , he is more than that, he is a guy behind Lordship Lure Co.

In early May he made his maiden voyage to Promised Land, aka Cuttyhunk, MA. He was told that he was too early in the season, that the water was too cold, that he is wasting his time, that bait is still to the south….

He didn’t beat his personal best once….he did it twice in one night.

Including this beauty,,  congrats Ron

you’ll find out the whole story in future edition of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine

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I guess it depends. If you bought an camcorder with a mission to get the highest ranking video on youporn, then every inch in length might be huge. But we the surfcasters rarely talk inches, our rods move in a ½ a foot increments, sometimes even a foot.

I am often asked at seminars “how big of a rod should I buy  for XYZ place I fish”. And I always respond the same way….first I gave the guy (or gal) a boilerplate answer only to catch myself somewhere in midsentence, realizing I am feeding them crap.

The problem is that we have certain “rules” that have been established over the years or common practices that have been repeated so many time they have become facts…but are they?

For example, people will tell you that Montauk rod is an 11 feet. You can get away with 10 but 11 will give you more versatility. You will often hear that New Jersey beaches are best fished with a 9 or 10 foot stick,… 11 is often an overkill. People north of New York rarely carry an 11 foot stick….because then don’t need too.

But although general consensus is a  good starting point I think the better way to approach this trick question is by honestly asking yourself what are you going to be casting with your rod. If you are a bomber, mambo minnow and redfin dude, even if fish Montauk every day of your life, an 11 footer will do more harm than good. Plugs that light won’t go much further with an 11 than they will with 10 and even 9. What I am trying to say is that matching  rod to style of fishing is better suited then matching a rod to the place. After all, who cares where you are fishing if you are only going to use particular plugs?

 Having said that, you should fish whatever you want. The worst thing you can ever do it try to be something that you are not, by following what someone else is doing.

I think Lamiglas GSB blanks were a HUGE hit for Lami. We all bought a bunch, when I guided I owned 5 of them ,all 1321M. There are like mono, sloppy but very forgiving. You want to throw a 7/8 Bomber. Doable. You want to throw 3.5 ounce Surface Cruiser.? No Problem. You want to sling a 8 ounce rigged eels? Been there, done it and it works.

After owning dozen Lami rods I think I might be down to one. However I do own more than half a dozen St Croix Mojo and Legend rods. After our Surf Guru made my two St Croix Legends custom rods last week, I think Lami is not going to see the light of day.

Yes, there are some challenges of using a two piece rods. People say what about if the line wraps around the tip and during cast flies off into the water? You are up the creek with no paddle…

Hmm, it’s possible for that happen but I’ll take my chances after seeing at least five very expensive Lami Super Surf rods explode on a cast right above reel seat. At least if my rods separates it will be operator error. I’ll take my chances.

Casting St Croix Legends is like a dream. I’ve read somewhere where ¾ to 4 Legend had a sweet spot around 2 ounces. I disagree. I threw small stuff to 7 ounce rigged eels this week with it, caught some nice fish in a nasty current and I don’t think two ounce is a sweet spot at all. Not that I would encourage you to cast 7 ounce rigged eels with ¾ to 4…For that Lou built me 2-6 ounce Legend, much more better suited for the task.

Again, you should get a rod that suits your style. Lami GSB has been my go to stick for 10 years or more. It has done everything I asked and never gave me any headache. Now it’s time to consider lighter, stronger, more responsive rods with less weight, made out of newest materials. CTS, Century are just two of the companies that are being mentioned a lot these days.

Me, I am more than happy with my new Legend blanks. And I am thrilled with our Surf Guru’s Lou craftsmanship. And I love the St Croix warranty. It fits the way I fish, it makes my trips more pleasurable, it makes the whole experience more enjoyable. You should find a rod that does this for you, not blindly follow advice of net gurus who have invested significantly in their rods and now want to tell you that you should do the same.

It’s your life, live it, don’t follow it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS_ICP9ybz8&feature=player_embedded#at=81[/youtube]

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the winner of EbbPoint Carabineer is …. captainjack608@yahoo.com cpt jack

you have 5 days to send your shipping address to info@surfcastersjournal.com

Thanks again to Nick at Ebb point Surf Fishing (http://ebbpointsurffishing.com) for his generosity

 Some of you have asked us to make the giveaway a bit more “challenging”…I guess luck alone is not enough, some of you need to show you “skills”..lol

So here is the deal. I am going to pick three of my favorite pictures of this issue

 You have to pick not one but two pages where two of my favorite pictures in this issue are located. Get it, I pick three, you have to guess two? Am I going too fast for you?

Let me slooooow it down, I need to get my proofreader involved

Ok, get set , Go!

What will you win ?

How about these SuperLine Shears from Berkley Fishing Products ? http://berkley-fishing.com/
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oh..btw..its 6 am and I already deleted 10 “I am in” posts…and they call me slow ?….lol

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