To some of you who haven’t fished for a long time, catching the fish within a yard from your boots might seem like a pipe dream. After all, you already “invested” 639 hours of your time reading online post about which rod can cast to Bermuda
“Work the lure to your feet”
It’s an old adage, that old time sharpies (not yours truly) been advocating for years. Most greenhorns dismiss this and proceed to cast as far as they can
But sometimes ,you really are doing yourself a disservice by doing this
Why ?
SJ columnist John “I can catch a fish in the roadside puddle” Skinner explains in this new video
[youtube]http://youtu.be/_K9fig1oUos[/youtube]
Every new John Skinner video is like Christmas Day for me…tons of great information delivered 10 minutes at a time. Thanks again John!
↓…I agree totally! Always glad to see a new video from John.
↓Thanks…
This is when I laugh when some one say I need more distance in my cast, More times then not there on ledge or be hide the first bar.
↓The guy that used to take me surf fishing would always hit me in the back of the head if I didn’t make a couple of short casts, inside the nearest sandbar, and work the plug right onto the wet sand. He convinced me, at the age of eleven, that only the bigger fish are strong enough to get back into deeper water when a wave pushes them onto their bellies on wet sand. The first “blitz” I ever saw we did not fish, but watched the bass push the bait into water so shallow that the bass’s backs were out of the water. I’ve even seen fluke grab AVA 017’s literally on wet sand and then drag them back into deeper water.
↓You can never fish too slow or too shallow for stripers, and John does a great job, as always, of demonstrating that fact.
Thanks John!!
I took 17 bass on 11/15/13 on a south shore beach , 15 of them were within 20 to 25 feet or less of the shore line , and yet I still tried to cast 100 yards or better each time . I might have had 30 fish if I just casted a little shorter in distance and not wasting so much time blasting out my shoulder . still a great day either way. but something to keep in mind for future fishing!!
↓Yet another great video from John.
↓Thanks John and Zeno. My best night was at a south shore beach with similar Tsunami soft lures, all within a 25 foot cast.
↓Always enjoy John’s videos.
Another great video! TY Mr. Skinner.
One question, how come John never gets mugged? You do that down here in NJ and you’d have two white buckets set up on either side of you in a heartbeat!
↓Distance has it’s moments for sure, catching fish just at the end of your cast. However, for me, the majority of fish are usually caught just yards off the beach as John mentioned.
↓No doubt he is an amazing surfcaster and an encyclopedia of knowledge; we are lucky John enjoys sharing with others. Thanks for another lesson 🙂
So true, can’t count the number of fish caught at my feet some within 6′.
↓Love old school thinkers. Kind of a lost art with many of the new generation of surfcasters once everyone decided to get a wetsuit. By starting with a wetsuit they don’t get a chance to learn that stripers are completely comfortable in the littoral zone. Many old timers started out with short boots and oil skins, then chest waders, then a wet suit when conditions dictated. Now many routinely swim through fish to get to other fish. They completely miss out on learning how to catch shallow bass.
↓I had a couple of days earlier this season in the midst of our pathetic mullet “walk” where I arrived on the beach in the dark and remembered one of JS’s instructional videos suggesting I throw along the beach before getting in the water. I did, got some fish and shook my head in disbelief. On a hunch I threw a 4″ storm shad literally on the sand as a wave was rushing in. As soon as the recedinwater engulfed my shad I was on in maybe 5-6″ of water with a keeper sized bass.
↓Moral is, John Skinner knows his stuff like most would envy.
NEVER overlook the lip/trough on a sand beach. Many times it can be the most productive part of the water.
↓As always a great video from John. Learned that lesson at West End II one morning when the fish were hitting less than 10 feet from the shore.
↓Thanks John and Surfcaster’s. Great video John. John – it looks like the tide was dropping. Any difference or preference on your part?
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