Just a shout to all of you ,letting you know that we are still alive.

It’s been trying few weeks for most of you, I am sure. I got my power back on Thursday night but unfortunately during the nor’easter the FIOS went down so I am without TV, internet of phone service. And according to FIOS I will not be getting it any time soon. It sucks but it’s nothing in comparison what some of you have went trough.

Tommy is putting finishing touches on the new issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. As I have mentioned previously, we are switching over to another platform from issuu and please give us some slack if we screw things up here or there while we learn this thing. One of the neat things will be that we will be able to customize our page and insert videos right into the pages of the magazine so we no longer have to send you to YouTube to watch them. We have , how do I say this properly, well, there really is no better word then , shitload of ideas and plans for videos that will be embedded into the magazine in 2013 including something very, very special. But just like many of you, our lives have been turned upside down by Sandy.

I hope that all of you are doing well, I hope Verizon shows up in my neighborhood one of these days to fix the FIOS lines on the ground and I hope to hear from many of you soon. Right now, all I can do is hang in the Starbucks and type on laptop…the neighbors already kicked me out…haha

Also a quick note on Richard Siberry Film, Montauk Rocks

The 1 hour 20 minute movie, 5 years in the making is in our online store (just click on dvd image) and Amazon. It should be trickling into your local tackle stores in the next few weeks. About time we got something that we can call our own..I love fly fishing films but there is no reason there are 64 987 of those and none on surfcasting 🙂

More info on the film to come when we get back up to speed.

If you are a retailer and reading this and want some for your store, please contact me and I will give you info. Like I said, I am unable to use my email address list from my computer so I am doing this at Starbucks with my wife’s laptop.

But it’s not right that you guys suffer with us, you went through so much already so today we will give away this special, Giant 10 inch, 4 ounce Pencil Popper from our friends at Lemire’s Plugworks. This thing is sweeeet! Bag not included 🙂

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Day 9 and still no power and no LIPA truck in sight…

I hope most of our readers have got their juice back and are starting to put their lives back together. I’ve heard that my kids will go to school tomorrow. That is cool, some sense of normalcy. My son is already stressing about missing out on school work…who am I kidding. He has been stressing out since the day one. Must have got his smarts from his mother.

Access…there is still a lot of fishing left according to…well ,me. There are fish still up in Cape Cod Canal, still in Montauk rips. But if you are living on Long Island or New Jersey you will have a hard time getting to the water to cast you line. These areas have been particularly hard hit, in some places water has breached the barrier islands, in other case the strict curfew is in place to guard against looters. Yes, it will be hard but not impossible. With a  little research, you can still find a place to wet a line. For those of you interested in such things, I understand that Montauk 4×4 road has been reopened.

Let me get this out of the way. The winner of our last two giveaways, another thing Sandy precluded us from finishing on time.

First, winner of Super Strike Super Sick darter is greggmarwin@aol.com

Please email me your shipping address and I will pass on to Mr. Musso

Second ,winner of my new book HOOKED is daniel_blanchard9@hotmail.com

You too please email me your shipping address at info@surfcastersjournal.com

I sent the book to Saltwater Edge, LI Outdoorsman, River’s End, Saltwaters Tackle, Fisherman’s Line and Surfland via UPS yesterday. I assume, they should have it today. It is also in our online store and Amazon. We will do something special to help out those in need in few days but first I need to get my juice back…and get the furnace going. This burning shit in fireplace to get warm is getting old…although I have no lack of books to burn 🙂

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Tommy and I  were bouncing around ideas this morning of how to help …but there are so many to help!!!

We as surfcaster’s are of course sympathetic to other surfcasters than most other people. And in some ways, we would like to personally help them. But like I found out this morning in a conversation, that is not as easy as it seems. You see fundraisers for people who have lost it all. A surfcasters whose family needs everything…then you find out that four of your friends have also lost everything. All the barrier islands, people in NY and particularly in NJ, they been hit so damned hard. On the end of the day, you realize that you can help in other ways, sending your unneeded clothes to those who need, some water or food from your pantry. I know  the easiest thing to do is to send some funds and in my mind, for me personally, the Red Cross is the place.

A friend of mine got evacuated from Long Beach, NY and he is with his wife in a  shelter at the local college. I went to see him, if for no other reason than to offer support and company. I was shocked to find the place staffed with Red Cross volunteers…from Wisconsin, Louisiana, ambulance drivers from Iowa. Wow, I am in owe of those people! God Bless them and their families. We will come up with something in few days, I am still waiting for power come back on and can only get on the net sporadically.

We still have to draw a winner of Super Strike sick darter and a book giveaway, we’ll get to that too. Unfortunately my mind in not on fishing but where to get more gas as LIPA informed us that it will few more days before they get power back on line here.

You ever listened to the stories of how fishing was back in the day? Before this or that bridge was built? When a storm made an inlet in the place that does not exists? In some way, you will now be able to tell the new generation of surfcasters years from now what have you experienced as a lot of structure along the oceanfront has been altered. Some temporarily, some forever. It is silly to even think that our bankrupt government will be able to fund all the things that need to be done. So for awhile we will have to, just like your parents did, find ways to get to certain places to fish. Tin boats, kayaks and even wetsuits in places no one used them before.

I have also heard of a lot of dead fish in the back bays that were tossed around by a surge. This is unconfirmed, just a rumor. Which made me think about something. What does our beloved striped bass things about Sandy? Were their migration interrupted? Are they hungry and searching for food too? Someone should send Geraldo Rivera to ask them in person… 🙂

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I sincerely don’t know what to write..the scope of the destruction is beyond my comprehension. All I can tell you is that all SJ crew members came trought ok, some better than others but none with catastrophic loses that we see on TV. Right now, in damp, cold and in many cases flooded houses the fishing is the last thing on minds of many. Where to get a gas for a generator, when is the power coming back on, when can many of us return to work. Unfortunately, the bills do not stop coming in the mail for anyone.

Our sincerest condolences go to any of our readers that suffered a loss during this time and our thoughts and prayers are with all our readers, especially the ones that have suffered damages that are almost hard to imagine. I am hesitant to even mention fishing but we will get through this. We got trough 9/11, we got trough hurricane Irene, we got trough a lot of stuff…together.

Yes, fishing in grand scheme of things seems like an unimportant hobby right now, when we are struggling to rebuild our families, to help our neighbors, to rebuild our communities. But fishing is what keeps many of us sane in this crazy world. And I know that I am looking forward to walking the beach again and tossing my offering into the surf.

See you at the beach

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leader board as it looks  now going into tonight

1st 40 inches

2nd 37 inches

3 37 inches

4th 35 inches

5th 33 inches

there was also fellow on the way to the store with a 30 something inch picture after I was relieved by Tommy and left. Good luck tonight and be safe.

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It’s the morning of the first contest we ever attempted. To say that I am not nervous would be an understatement. The way I look at it is, if all goes well, regardless if its mag, blog contest, well, its suppose to go well. But if something goes wrong, then it’s all on me. And people wonder why I can be a little “sensitive”….ha

I hope to see some of you this afternoon at Saltwaters Tackle, I will be there from noon till closing. YoDude might make an appearance too. One note, actually three, regarding fish measuring. You can enter as many fish into the contest as you want as long as your new entry is bigger than your former entry and you can only qualify to win one prize. So we don’t have a dude that wins them  all..hey, strangest things have happened. Please don’t put a measuring tape over the fish. Put it alongside of it. If your measuring tape is on the top of the fish it will be disqualified. And last but not least, no half inches. If you catch a fish 39 and 1/2 inches it will be entered as 39. If an angler after you brings at 39 3/4 fish it will also be a 39 but since you weighted yours first you will place higher. It would be very difficult to do increments of inches so just accept that. That is it
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Now I will take a break, and hopefully tomorrow we will have something for you in the ways of entries. You can always contact us via email at info@surfcastersjournal.com

And now for the entertainment portion of today’s blog Crazy Alberto Knie Part II

[youtube]http://youtu.be/lN4hAFZ6MH8[/youtube]

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I bet you are drooling already. So was I when Steve Musso from Super Strike Lures emailed me a picture last night. He told me he made two of these to celebrate SJ ALL ISLAND STRIPED BASS CUP this upcoming weekend. One will be included as a part of a dozen lure package from Super Strike Lures for a 4th place finish in this weekend  tournament

The other one goes to the Chief…errr, me

What? Who said I can’t keep it?….Steve Musso called?

Oh darn it, it was suppose to go to one of YOU…..again!

So go at it boys and girls, one of you will become an owner of a very, very special lure from Steve Musso and Super Strike Lures.

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We are few days away from SJ ALL ISLAND STRIPED BASS CUP.

Just a  note in case some of you are not familiar, you can get rules by clicking here…you can sign up at Saltwaters Tackle in person or by clicking here

We made a slight change to second place prize, not because we wanted but because St Croix ran out of stock of 10 6 Legend rod so they are sending us a 10 foot  LSS100MF2 a kick ass rod valued at $420. One of you lucky cats will be very happy with that stick

Tommy also bought a trophy and the winner will have his(or hers) name engraved on it.

Those of you that are eligible for a free t-shirt because you signed up before 10/14, we will have the t-shirts for you starting at noon and throughout the weekend at Saltwaters Tackle. You can also at that time pick up an official measuring tape, C&R card or just come by and say hi. The deadline for registration is 11 AM, Saturday October 27th . Of course you can just stop by on friday afternoon or saturday morning, get your tape and your bunker heads and go…lol

Fishing will start at 6 pm on Friday October 26 and will end promptly at 9 AM Sunday, October 28. Minimum size for submission is 28 inches.

The way it looks like now, this is the times we will be there.

Friday I should be there from noon till 7 pm. Saturday either Tommy and I will be there between 9 AM and 5 PM. Keep this in mind when you bring in pictures for entry. On Sunday we should be there 7 to 11 and at 11 we will distribute prizes. Some of our sponsors might be there or are planning to be there. You will get a chance to meet RonD from ZeeBaaS Reels who is bring a spanking new Z27and Scott from Saltwater Pliers who is donating a pair of his very popular Hansom Tackle Pliers and Sheath. And of course the great crew at Saltwaters Tackle.

All I am going to ask it to just give us some slack if we screw something up, we will do our best not to. It is our first time doing this. We will try to update the leader board on the blog so check back to see who is in the lead.

I have a beautiful Commando 3 tube bag for a winner and a dozen plugs from Super Strike Lures plus one very, very special lure…details coming up. And of course a $150 Gift Certificate from Saltwaters Tackle will buy a lot of fresh bunker..lol

It’s time to engage in my favorite subject..self-promotion……NOT

I like self-promotion as much as I like eating tripe. And if someone asks what the tripe are, the best I can answer that question is to tell you to  Google it. I assure you that you will not be pleased with what you will read.

I do want to thank many of you for an encouragement to do this. I been sitting on these stories for few years now, always petrified if people would like the stuff that only happens to me. Thanks to your encouraging words, I finally made it a reality.

Anyway, I feel yucky all over already so let’s stop this love fest right now. Advance copies are on the way to the stores and they should have them in stock about in about two to three weeks. There is no plans for an eBook version right now, maybe next year. Sorry. We will eventually have them up in online store but right now, contact me at zhromin@verizon.net only if you need a personalized copy for a gift for someone for the holidays. I always try to get those to people that want them. Like I said, they should be in stores in few weeks.

Now enter a giveaway and be the first one on your block, or anywhere to have one!

Where was I?

Oh, yeah. I surprised my wife with a  visit and tray of sesame striped bass from Wok and Roll. Lets me say one thing here. I know my limitations…sometimes. My late grandfather told me almost 30 years ago, “If you don’t know how to drink, don’t drink”. So I don’t. Maybe a dozen beers or so a year. But food?….man, I never learn when is it enough. And sure enough, when I got home from MTK I ate way too much  stuff from Wok and Roll.

I set my alarm for 2 30 AM, figuring I wanted to get there at first light. At 1 30 I awoke in a  cold sweat and literally crawled on my hands and knees to the toilet. I must have ate so much that my stomach rebelled and I ended up sitting on a toilet for about a half an hour.

After I felt a little better, I chilled out on a PC and waited for my stomach to settle down. After 20 minutes of inactivity, I figured might as well leave now and get there a little early. It did not quite work that way

The drizzle outside and strong NE winds were more of an annoyance than anything but it made for some very difficult driving. Even with the glasses on I could barely see where I was going with all the fog, mist and wind driven drizzle. My plan to get there at dawn and then my new plan was to get their even earlier. But they both failed because by the time I got to Montauk I was exhausted and it was almost sunrise. Why? Because every few miles I had to run into bushes, along the road, again and again.

The wife asked me via text  why I did not have my coffee but I told her nothing is going in until it stops coming out !!!!

Finally, about 5 hours after waking up I pulled into Montauk 7/11 and bought a cup of coffee. I drove around the north side, did not care for conditions and drove to the south side. The rain was not coming down hard but it was wind driven, stinging you on your face when you opened your window.

I didn’t even bother checking the water from the top of the cliff, I drove straight down hopeful that maybe, just maybe there was a open parking spot. I knew the water was deliciously whipped in a  frenzy, all I had to do is open the truck window to hear its roar. If it’s going to be clean or muddy ,that will be something I will have to find out to myself. I could not do anything with my camera in these conditions, besides, I had my go pro in my bag. Little that I knew that I would end up on YouTube few hours later anyway.

I dressed up and joined Greg O and his buddy tossing small bucktails across the little hole. There was some grass and kelp floating in the water but the color was still good. And weed was an annoyance and not a problem. I decided to try that rock on the edge of the corner again. I much prefer fishing off the rock than standing on the reef. I am much more comfortable, no need to shift my feet every time a swell arrives.

I worked my way across the reef and got on the rock. Within few casts I started to bang fish on bucktails, just about every cast. My stomach thankfully calmed down. At one point I just took the camera out and tried to get some shots as fish were all over the bucktails if you casted in the right spot. At this point, my thumb was so shredded from unhooking the fish I started to use Boga on every single fish. Funny stuff, you can’t wait to get a bass thumb but then a day latter you don’t want any more damage than you have already done. Thankfully the bucktails and a single hook made the unhooking the fish easy, even the single bluefish I caught  in two days was released quickly.

The reef was all covered in white water and I recognized some fellows that were there yesterday and took a beating along with me. Since yesterday I had 35 fish I wanted to catch at least one more than that but it was not meant to be. I got stuck on 32 stripers and one bluefish, not too shabby for few hours of underhanded casting. All in all I managed ninety eight fish in one evening and two morning sessions. Little that I knew that fishing was going to fall off the cliff in next few days…until the faithful Friday when something ate Steve Campo’s thirty year old 3 ounce Gibbs mackerel bottle plug on a first cast in a raging northwest wind…story for another day.

John Morgan is from UK and he visits Montauk every fall with friends to surf fish. I did not realized that he was behind me using a waterproof camera and shooting video. If you are a curios just what I mean by fishing the whitewater, take a look at this. Yes, that is me “bailing them” as he called it. Although I suggested to him that  a visit to eye doctor might be in order,  considering I only caught one bluefish

lol

enjoy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5cc1AEA7lw&feature=share&list=UUlO_kKhK8zcfsO3kr4_2CeQ[/youtube]

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