Interesting news to go with a video our friend Tom Lynch just uploaded to YouTube,  sharks feeding right off the beach in New Jersey on Thursday…scarry stuff

From East Hampton Star

High Summer and the Sharks Come Near Shore

One knocks lifeguard off his surfboard

By Russell Drumm | August 15, 2012 – 9:10pm

It’s Shark Week on television. The question is, how did the sharks get the word? Late Tuesday afternoon, a lifeguard at Gurney’s Inn in Montauk was knocked from his surfboard close to shore by a shark estimated to have been between five and six feet long. Christian Westergard, the guard, said he thought it was a small white shark.
Mr. Westergard quickly paddled to shore, grabbed a rescue torpedo, and re-entered the water along with fellow guards, who had witnessed Mr. Westergard’s capsizing, to get the 30 or more swimmers out of the water. The Gurney’s guards immediately alerted their counterparts at Napeague State Park, and East Hampton Town lifeguards as well.
Susan Yunker, the nurse at Gurney’s, said: “It came under him, knocked on his legs, then overturned him. He was fairly close to shore. That’s what bothered me. The guards were fantastic. There were people in the water and they got them out.”
According to John McGeehan, East Hampton’s assisant head guard, the too-close encounter, which occurred at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, was the fifth near-shore sighting by guards this summer. Mr. McGeehan said the second scariest report came from a fisherman whose boat was within sight of Ditch Plain, Montauk. The man reportedly called his son on the beach to warn him that a large shark was circling his boat. The younger man passed the word to the lifeguards.
On Tuesday morning, John Morley, a surfcaster on his weekly visit to the East End from New Jersey, landed a slightly smaller shark, estimated to be between four and a half and five feet long, from the beach on Napeague a few miles west of Gurney’s.
A photo of that shark has been forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service shark laboratory in Narragansett, R.I., for identification.
“I had a bird’s-eye view of the situation,” Kate Albrecht, the head lifeguard at Gurney’s, said yesterday. She said that Michael Morris, the guard on the stand, saw Mr. Westergard get tossed from his board, “and saw the shark’s shadow. I saw him run up the beach. He got out quickly. The remarkable thing is he ran and got a torp, and ran back into the water yelling at people to get out.”
“We’ve now had probably four or five credible reports,” Mr. McGeehan said. “They’re in closer this year than in the past. There’s more squid inside, more bait.” The top guard recalled that early last summer, Bob Miller, a guard at Napeague State Park, witnessed what he thought was a large bull shark plow into the shorebreak in an effort to corner striped bass or other fishy prey.
Ms. Albrecht reported Mr. Westergard’s description of the frightening experience: “He was sitting on his board with his legs dangling. He felt it hitting his legs, then it came back and knocked him off the board.”
“Oh my goodness, he said the scariest part was going back into the water.”

[youtube]http://youtu.be/iar440qdupU[/youtube]

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I am issuing a public apology to all those nitwits that lost a rod, reel, bag or another piece of surf fishing equipment on the beach over the years. Yeah, I can see losing your camera in the wash, boga in the sand, dropping your pliers in between rocks. I can see snapping a rod, falling on it, have the reel disintegrate in your hand. But how in the world do you ever lose a surf bag on the beach? Or a jacket, or a ,gulp, a rod and reel? You must be a real nitwit to do this I always thought!!! Well, all you nitwits can rejoice now because you got another idiot that joined your ranks!

Me

Man, for years this bothered the crap out of me. When I see on the websites or The Fisherman announcing a lost bag. I even found one on a jetty once. I never got this, how in the world you lose your bag. I did leave a pair of Costa Del Mar shades on the top of my truck in Montauk once, never to be seen again.

But last night, last night I was so dumb, it was brilliant!

I took a ride down to the beach. But instead of walking from town to the inlet, I parked in town and took a bike out of the trunk. Yeah, I got smart in my old age…or so I thought. I drove to the beach with my 7 foot St Croix Legend and a VS 150. It took me about 20 cast to figure out no one was home. So fifteen minutes after arriving I was pedaling back to the truck. What can I tell you, I am not a believer on waiting for fish to show in certain spots. Either they are there or they are not. So there I am pedaling trough town in Kline shorts, Polo shirt and flip flops. I might not have caught anything but I sure looked good doing it…and flip-flops are killer on the rocks. Chicks dig them…

I leaned the rod on the side of the truck, packed everything in and left. Twenty minutes later, I am at Old Country Road in Westbury, one more light to my house. For whatever reason I look back on the truck,. the bike is laying there but the rod is nowhere within the eyesight! @#!#$@%%^$^&*&*()*&%$@#!!@#

I stop the car in the middle of the road and pop the trunk. Nope, I never put my Legend and VS in my truck !!! I made a U turn, like in the movies, rubber burning, people honking and got on the highway…but now I cant drive too fast and risk a speeding ticket along with lost rod and reel…but I have to go back, even though I know, leaving a VS on a main street ..it was not going to last long. But I can always NOT tell Da Wife about THAT. Speeding ticket, no dice on that one.

To make a long story short, my rod and reel were not on the pavement after they fell of the truck as I pulled out of the spot. If you remember they were leaning on the truck as I put the bike inside. The rod and reel were gently placed on the grass on the sidewalk, so that no one runs over it…and left it there. I got to tell you, small town folks $%^&(* rule !!!

So here I am ,a new member of a nitwit club. You want me or not, I am in. Hey, for once, I get to say, I am in. Sweet

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Two new videos from our resident genius, John Skinner. All techniques are detailed in his new book, Fishing the Bucktail. You can find it in your neighborhood tackle shop, Amazon and our online store

enjoy

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Tn7BBLWyTT8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://youtu.be/yW882mRgToo[/youtube]

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The winner of two spools of new Kanzen Braid by Seaguar is Richard Jacoby jaaacobyra@yahoo.com

Please email us your shipping address within 5 days…Congrats

Btw..what I wrote this weekend about the future of the Surfcaster’s Journal, I only meant the magazine itself. The blog, like I said , is something that is here to promote the magazine, not the other way around. And regardless what we do with the magazine, the blog will be here as it is…although there will be some changes ,the blog would not be a part of any decision we make about the magazine. Even if they are connected at the hip, I don’t see the blog becoming a subscribers only thing. I know some of you probably have thoughts that you don’t care to put into the box for all to see. I wanted to let you know that you can freely drop me a line at my home email at zhromin@verizon.net with any thoughts

Here is a new PENN Spinfisher V Upclose Look At Upgrades.

We will give you a chance to win one, size of your choice. Stay tuned for details in the upcoming issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine

Get your cameras ready

[youtube]http://youtu.be/6kBGseTxMhc[/youtube]

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Needlefish

Even though quite a few years have passed, I remember the scene like it was yesterday. A crisp fall day with an onshore breeze made for some fishy looking conditions on this stretch of beach at Jones Beach State Park. Alas, the fish obviously did not share my excitement about the nice looking white water rolling over the sandbars, as they were nowhere to be found. Suddenly there was a movement in the wave; a glimmer of hope for a surfcaster. A single, long and slender needlefish almost a foot long broke the surface. For what seemed like an eternity, it stood suspended above the rolling wave before gracefully disappearing in the foam. A few minutes later another one made a somersault followed by yet another. I frantically searched in my plug bag for a needlefish lure, knowing full well that I had packed none since this was a daytime excursion and I use needles mostly at dark. “Maybe, just maybe, there was one left from a previous night excursion,” I thought to myself. No such luck! And try as I might, I just could not raise a fish, that day. However, seeing needlefish jumping clear out of the water gave me an excuse to change my original plan of plugging the backside of the inlet. Instead I decided to return here in the dark and this time I would carry some needlefish lures.

A painful experience…

Making a trek to the West End Two pocket over the soft sand is a chore but doing it twice in one day? That is just pure torture! However, the vision of stripers chasing needlefish in the white water was too tempting to pass up so I plodded on through the mosquito infested path, at times running full speed while waiving my arm madly, trying to avoid bites from these little blood suckers. I finally reached the surf line totally soaked in sweat, not looking forward to doing the same dance on the way back, later.

Since I was out of breath, I decided to make a few casts right in front of the path instead of walking towards the pocket as I originally had planned. I attached my favorite needlefish, an old 7 inch Super Strike painted in mackerel pattern. This lure had been so productive for me over the years; I rarely, if ever left my truck without it. I made a long cast up tide and picked up line with my index finger contemplating whether I should just stay here until dawn instead of risking another trip back through the nightmarish, mosquito infested weeds. Lost in my thoughts, I was startled when a fish slammed the lure with authority. Continue reading →

Tommy and I had a dinner regarding the future of this magazine and blog few nights ago …but first we ate, and ate GOOD! I don’t know about you but I am not the fan of restaurants that feature foreign cuisine for American diners. What I mean I do not want to go into Mexican restaurant that has chicken nuggets or hamburgers on the menu. Instead give me the real stuff, what locals eat

If you ever get a craving for a  good Columbian cuisine, at Pollos El Paisa 989 Old Country Road in Westbury, few blocks from my house, check it out. The food is insane! And always packed, even on the weekends.

Tommy tried to finish his paella but barely got half way through it. I had a whole fried snapper on the bed of fried plantain…there went the diet for this night…and the flan to cap the night off was cherry on the top…and reasonably priced too.

What was the dinner for? We occasionally have these brainstorming sessions. Roger was in Rhode Island and unavailable so Tommy and I decided to just bounce some ideas around

As most of you know, I been writing this blog now for few years, just about every day. I did it when I was sick, when I was away fishing, when I was in Croatia for a month and even recently from Bahamas. You might not know that every shirt you order gets packed and mailed by me, every email you sent get answered, every sales call to advertisers, every invoice and every check made to writers goes through my hands. Never mind all the pictures, video and writing….. Yeah, in addition to a job and family.

My biggest fear when we started this was that this blog would be about me. We all have sense of pride about our accomplishments but some like to flaunt it more than others. I think that I have succeed somewhat making this blog (and mag) about the sport, not about me. We try to honor those who passed away, we try to celebrate those who do good. To the haters …well, my late grandfather always said “The more you touch a pile of shit, the more it smells”. Some people on the fishing forums should take this advice by a very wise man…I know many of you see only my post on the blog but there are other people who work their asses making SJ into what it is.

Unfortunately this invoicing, writing, looking for content, photography, video, never mind the hundred or so videos on YouTube does not leave a lot of time for fishing. Hell, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything to be honest. Has it been financially rewarding? I wish my wife would answer this for me because she is more diplomatic than I am when choosing words…let’s just say that I make a awful businessman. I never had a heart to try to strong-arm some people I consider friends into paying their past due advertising bills. Some of them are a year overdue…and my wife wants me to toss in a towel before my son starts looking at colleges next year. I can’t say I blame her. Whatever, to make a long story short, we are considering options. Not that many are there to chose from to be honest. Either toss in a towel and put up an issue or two every year when we gather some free content or consider making sj into a subscription magazine for like twenty bucks a year. Who knows, only the time will tell.. And don’t you dare take pity on us and send a donation because of this post. We are fine…but this magazine we created for you so I figured I keep you in the loop of what is going on. We don’t need donation or help, we need to figure out if we can make this something that won’t kill us both. Or have our wives kill us…lmao

And please do not in any way interpret this as anything more than a rant of a construction worker at 4 am on Saturday when he is hating the word for having to yet again hit the LIRR on the way to work..on a weekend…but then again, I am more fortunate than many that my shop has plenty of work. On the end of the day, the mag, the books, and all this other stuff that comes with being a semi-pro (and I say that loosely and sarcastically)…on the end of the day, all I ever wanted to be was a good dad to my kids. Regardless of what happens with anything else, no one can take that away…

It’s a nice weekend, take your kid fishing, catch some rays on the beach, enjoy it. I am looking forward to a Mets game with my son tonight…have a great weekend

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We have been testing the new braided line from Seaguar this spring. You probably know Seaguar by its market leading fluorocarbon leaders. Of course they make a lot more stuff, in fact you would be surprised just how many products they make. Check it out here http://www.seaguar.com/products/products.htm

New from Seaguar for 2012 in Kanzen Braid. Look for a review in the upcoming issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine.

But right now, we will give you a chance to win a 300 yard spool of 60 pound test AND a 500 yard spool of 40 pound test. Retail value over $130. Courtesy of fine folks from Seaguar

Good luck

Here is the shot of both lines

and just the 60 pound test

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I was driving and was listening to 660 WFAN yesterday…the host was taking about something Bill Parcel told a player about his future. It had a lot of similarities to what we do…

Some us get to a certain point, they find success and they are content with it. They hit the same holes day after day, or when they feel the tide or wind is right. It becomes a routine…..either going to your local beach or driving hundred miles to Montauk. The distance does not matter. The frequency does not matter. It’s still a routine.

Then you got those who go above and beyond what we consider “routine”. They drive three hundred miles because of a phone call. They take day off on a minute notice because they have a “feeling’ that this storm is going to bring the big girls to the beach. They fish crazy hours and still find ways to function somehow. In this group, some get eaten alive by the fishing bug, get divorced or lose a job. Yet ,they are others who are just as possessed that seem to function just fine. There is no rhyme or reason as to whose fate will be what at the end.

From upcoming September issue with Bill Wetzel

“When  I got my first truck ,I was living out there constantly . Fishing to a point where I some friends pulled me to the side. I wasn’t going out, I wasn’t doing anything, I was just freaking obsessed, too obsessed. My friends pulled me to the side and they were like “Bill, you know what are you doing?”  I said, well I’m fishing…”You never go out, you never do this, you never do that,” they said. Dude, I’m just fishing. That’s all I’m doing. When you get to that point you start to lose touch with your friends, your family. I mean I was fishing to the point where if I was sick I would still go fishing. You are afraid you are going to miss a tide, you are afraid you are going to miss a wind, and stuff like that. You are always afraid you are going to miss something.  You don’t want to miss that big fish bite.”

Regardless of which camp you belong to, as long as you are content, it doesn’t really mater. Only an imbecile would look down on a weekend angler because he is not “hard core”. Some of the happiest fisherman I met were the ones who did not care if they ever caught something. Subsequently, I got to know a lot of obsessed surfcasters who were absolutely crushed because their best friend got a 50 and all they got was bunch of forties. I guess God made us all kind

There is no denying that to be on the top of the food chain, you need to be in this camp. I have yet to met a surfcaster who just goes through his routine and catches fish at will. If they do, its usually because they were obsessed at one point and now they are taking a foot off the gas and living off their knowledge. And there is no doubt in my mind that to become a top surfcaster, or a very successful one (whatever that means) one needs to make a “commitment”. A commitment beyond fishing places you know, places you are comfortable, hours that fits your schedule.

I’ve done some very, very stupid things over the years. Many which I regret today. Most of them when my kids were small. I look back and cringe on just how selfish and obsessed if was with catching big fish while my wife begged me to lighten up. Thankfully she stuck by my side…but I owe her a debt of gratitude.

This is nothing more than a rant from a person who’s been smelling paint fumes all weekend. It’s all good, regardless if you have a routine or you are reading this on the rock two hundred yards from shore at 4 AM. On the end of the day, if you are happy with what you do, even if you get out once a season…..who are we (or anyone else) to tell you otherwise. Routine or committed, it’s all good as long as you having fun

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We promised you the list of winner on Sunday so here it is

The winner of TFO Gary Loomis Tactical Surf Rod, courtesy of TFO and Edge Angling is

Jack Holt jack.holt22@gmail.com

The winner of Rockhopper Surf Belt, Stringer and Belt Clip, courtesy of Rockhopper Fishing is

Vito Orlando Stripedbass50lbs@aol.com

The winner of set of lures, hat and decal from A.O.K Tackle , courtesy of A.O.K Tackle is

Brian Reynolds   Onthehill123@sbcglobal.net

The winner of Mega giveaway from Tsunami, courtesy of Tsunami is

surfdad15  surfdad15@aol.com

All the winners, please contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com and send us your shipping address. We will forward them to the appropriate sponsors. You have 5 days

Congrats to all, and of course, there is always more to come at SJ…

Hope you are having a great weekend. I wish I had a time to fish but had to work yesterday, then worked on a new book all day. Good news is, it went to the designer today, so at least I am done with that. Ok, let me get my paint brush back in my hand and continue this tedious work of painting all the doors..hopefully you are on the beach chilling

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This came in the email from Charles Witek ,chairman of the Costal Conservation Association Atlantic State Fisheries. By the time you are done reading, the steam will coming out of your ears. There has to be some way to reach out to our governor and voice our displesure.

Zeno

By Charles Witek

Right now, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is holding a four-day meeting in Philadelphia related to the upcoming benchmark stock assessment for striped bass. That benchmark assessment, which will probably be completed next spring, will be used by fisheries managers to determine how striped bass will be managed for the next span of years–perhaps until 2020 or so.

Representatives from every important striped bass state, and maybe from every state with a declared interest in striped bass are there—except for New York, which is unrepresented.

New York was supposed to send three people. Andy Kahnle, from the Hudson River unit, who sits on ASMFC’s Striped Bass Technical Committee, Carol [I don’t recall her last name] from DEC’s Marine Bureau, who addresses coastal striped bass management issues and Cathy Hattala, who deals with bass up on the Hudson (DEC Marine Bureau Hudson River Unit). ASMFC would have paid for all travel expenses.

Today, I got a phone call from Dick Brame, who is Coastal Conservation Association’s Atlantic States coordinator and thus attending the meeting as an observer. He told me that three Technical Committee members came up to him and asked why New York was not represented at the meeting, given the importance of striped bass to New York and the importance of New York’s Hudson River spawning grounds to striped bass. Cathy Hattala tried to participate in the meeting via “Webinar”, but apparently the connection was so bad and so time-delayed that she could not effectively take part. As a result, data related to New York’s striped bass fishery (and, I assume, related to things such as the Hudson River abundance index, although I don’t know that for sure) could not be considered at the meeting.

Apparently, the no-show was a result of the governor’s prohibition on travel; even though the travel would have been paid for by ASMFC, the DEC folks couldn’t go.

One would think that a meeting discussing the future management of a fish as important to New York’s anglers as striped bass, should have been important enough for Cuomo’s office to permit travel, particularly when the costs of such travel will be picked up by ASMFC—and particularly when New York’s Hudson River hosts the second-largest spawning population of striped bass on the coast. However, that was not the case. Instead, New York anglers and New York’s striped bass fishery were effectively unrepresented.

This is the sort of thing that the public never hears about, and probably should.

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