December 22, 1999:

Last night Carole and I decorated our fourth Christmas tree together, God how the years fly! I remember the courtship, the engagement, the wedding, and especially, the 10 days in Washington State for our honeymoon. There is nothing more appreciated in my world than my wife, she's a treasure that I will cherish all the days of my life...

Sorry, feeling a little mushy today, I guess I'm finally getting the Christmas spirit, cause for reflection and all that! Well, needless to say, that's now two nights of no fishing..it must be almost Christmas. I don't doubt that the fish would have cooperated last night. Dan called me, a bit disappointed when I told him I would be spending the evening indoors, but he braved the elements and went out anyway. He called me when he was done to let me know he had one stuck for a bit but it came unbuttoned. Another friend had a few shorts last night. It's not over, but many are feeling the holiday pressures, crossing their fingers that the fish will be there when the celebrating is over....relax, there will still be some around to see you into the new year! That is, if we don't continue this pattern of NE storms, if there's one thing that adds to the uncertainty this time of year, it's a good, surf roiling blow! That can shut it down for the year if it's a bad one, we've been lucky on the past two, they were pretty bad, but the water temp was just warm enough for the fish to decided to stick it out offshore a bit...and they have continued to sneak back to land after these blows...the next one and we might not be so lucky! I'm guessing finding a few fish won't be difficult in the next week...finding time to go might be more challenging! I hope to get out tonight, you just never know how it will go! I still think there's a decent shot at some better fish, teen sized fish have been seen in all but my last short trip with JohnM on Sunday. Ever the optimist, I look forward to a few more in the teen range before it's all over. I even have some plans with the fly rod should the water chill out to a point where they are sucking down spearing in the flat calm surf.

Surf Talk continues to grow faster than I had thought possible, you guys are great! Most of the guys I've shared the past year with on-line are there asking and answering questions. These guys are from all over the country, many of the best fishermen in their areas, they have a lot to offer...and I thank them for sharing it here on my site! I've only had one problem, that trouble maker MikeP, a.k.a. Ditch Jigger, he's had a couple problems with his posts not being immediately available for him...he and I are looking into it, but each time he tells me it's happening, I go over and there's his post! I think his browser's not refreshing or something, but I'm all over it! Mike is a one-man fish-a-pedia, he's fished most places from Long Island to Mass, and many nooks and crannies in between. What makes him unique is his ability to share in words his experiences and answer questions. He's also been a good friend since we met last year, thanks Mike for all your input! I've made so many friends in the past year, it would almost be impossible to name them all without forgetting some, so I won't. I will just thank each and everyone of them for putting up with me and look forward to the New Year when I can meet some more of them and catch some fish in places I've never been before!

Christmas is really close now, you can see it in the snow flurries this am, hope you guys are all done with your shopping! I've got a little more to do, but I won't sweat it until Christmas Eve, that's usually when I wrap it all up (pun intended!) Stay dry, stay warm, but do try to get out there, the fish are likely wondering what happened to all of us! :)

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

December 23, 1999:

Last night I got out to give the fish a little working over with Paul. Man, the cold wasn't bad until you stood so the wind came across your knuckles...then it was cold! Painful cold, not just cold cold....it actually hurt. We we're both thankful that it was only a breeze, any more and it wouldn't have been tolerable. The fishing was noticeably slower than last time we were out together....combined we had 37. I had one keeper, but we both had a few that were close. The funny thing was Paul had about 10 or his 20 on plugs, I had 16 of my 17 on the same teaser...the 17th hit a jig! I was throwing the same plugs as Paul in the same areas, yet all my fish came on the teaser....that was odd to say the least! We were fishing the same area that we have been, between Belmar and Bradley, but I'll again wager they could have been taken just about anywhere. I'm starting to wonder if the beaches down south a little might not be a nice change of pace, I like the fact that the truck is never more than 100 feet away down there, the heater certainly would have been welcomed tonight! So, it continues, no night bite, just don't tell the fish ;)

I gotta start bringing the fly rod with me, the fish last night would have been suckers for a snake fly on an intermediate line, no doubt. I was scoring last night when I first started with the bobber and a fly, matter of fact the biggest one I released last night at the fly below the bobber. I wish I had the bigger bobber with me but I only had the small one, the one that is in my vest stuff picture. I'll remember to put the bigger one in there next time...or maybe, better yet, I'll just strap on the old shootin' basket and catch them as JohnM's mom would say, with the "manly rod." Really, I'm bringing the fly rod next time no matter how cold it is! I always catch my first keeper of the year on a fly, I might as well start shooting for my last keeper of the year on the fly rod as well...it's only fitting! The best thing that can happen to the fishing right now is the continued NW winds...even though that's a cold wind, it keeps things in a slow, steady decline in the ocean, much more favorable than the sudden door slamming that yet another strong NE'ster could cause. I'd rather see the fish trickle into non-existence...it's less painful that way! :)

Many of you are off tomorrow, Christmas Eve...many are not. I'd like to wish all of you the merriest and most joyous Christmas, take the time and relax and enjoy your families and your friends this holiday season. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior, he was born and died on the cross so that you and I and all of our families and friends could start with a clean slate and have all our conscious sins forgiven should we just ask. What a great gift that is! We pray that the Lord blesses and keeps each one of you and their families all through this holiday and through the new millennium as well, you've all certainly blessed me with your friendship....Merry Christmas my friends!

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

**Photo pages are back up! Anyone with any problems or questions with their photo page, please let me know! If it doesn't look right, wrong description...whatever...I need to know and I'll fix it immediately! No, I can't make your fish look bigger or you look skinnier...anything else I can do :)

No fishing last night...I didn't find a date early on, and I got awfully comfortable on the couch around 9:30...and that was that. I'm sure the fish didn't mind a night of no one dragging them out of the nice warm water into the frigid air...no one yanking them shoreward by their faces just to say hello. I should be able to get out tonight without any problem, the wife has plans and the dates should be anxious to get out!

This is going to be a weird week, not only for me, but likely for all of you. A fair number of people are off, kids are home from school, Christmas is still fresh in our minds, and the new Millennium is just 4 days away....how's that for strange? Carole, being a teacher, is home all week. It's a mixed blessing, I love her and love to spend the mornings with her, sometimes it's just easier for me to get things done when she's at school! :) Actually, she's got something to do every minute of every day, I doubt there's anyone with more things on her list than Carole...she tells me she likes to be busy!

I'm glad you guys are enjoying Surf Talk, I'm making little adjustments to it along the way, but it appears to be running very well at the moment! How do you like the picture in the upper left on there? It's one of my all time favorites, I took it one cold morning in Ortley Beach. It's actually two brothers, Chris and Greg, casting into the new day dawning. It's actually but one of 5 awesome pictures I took that morning. That's very rare, in general, if you can get one really great picture from a whole roll of film, that's a lot...I had 4 or 5 that one morning! It was one of those sunrises that had to be recorded...the surf was just moving right, waves maybe 2 footers...gorgeous morning. Anyway, I used that picture as the "logo" for Surf Talk and was wondering if you guys thought it was appropriate? See, it's one thing for me to fall in love with the way things look or work, but I am just one guy, I rely on your input for the rest, and you guys have been very helpful since day one! Thank you.

And thank you for your continued input, your orders, and your visits to the two place Gofishin' and Amazon, that will help to support this site as it continues to grow! I am impressed that orders continue to trickle in, even though we are moving into the "off" season for our striped quarry...but how could I complain, maybe you guys are just stocking up early for next year, who know? I'm trying to figure out a few things to carry through the winter that will give you guys something to play with...I'll keep thinking about it, let me know if you can think of a few unique, good selling things that will entertain over the winter...all I can think of it fly tying supplies and equipment, and that only covers a small percentage of you guys. Don't worry, I'll figure out something!! :)

Charlie Fact:According to my records, I've caught 128 stripers since Charlie's last trip on December 4th, the day Charlie proclaimed them "gone".....a fair number of them were keepers...the fishing just continues on, even though the weather is becoming less and less pleasant, they keep on eatin'!

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

**Photo pages are back up! Anyone with any problems or questions with their photo page, please let me know! If it doesn't look right, wrong description...whatever...I need to know and I'll fix it immediately! No, I can't make your fish look bigger or you look skinnier...anything else I can do :)

I had the opportunity last night to fish with JohnB and DanO. It was pretty cold when we started off, a bit later than anticipated and strangely enough, not my fault! John hadn't been over my house in almost a year, so we had a couple cookies, played with Calvin, and talked about fishing while waiting for Dan. Dan finally got his butt over and we were off....late, but we were off anyway! We headed north, looking for some rocks to fish. We settled on a pile north of the Shark River Inlet, got dressed, put on the cleats, grabbed the jetty bag and my new big yellow reel and I was headed east. Within 3 casts, I had a bump...then I saw Dan hook up out of the corner of my eye...it wasn't the solid hookset you'd associate with a plug fisherman, it was more a suspicious pulling back on the rod followed by a pop of the rod. Whatever it was, it worked. It looked like a good fish, I offered my assistance...Dan accepted as the fish neared the jetty. By watching his rod tip, I told him must have two fish....which as it got closer, we realized there were two fish. I got down to the water, grabbed the leader, and swung the two fish up onto the jetty...one was nearly a keeper, the other a lil smaller than the first. I showed John and left Dan to removing the fish...I went back to casting. The next cast or two and I was in, it also felt like a decent fish, I repositioned myself to where I could get nearer the water. When I got the fish inside the rocks, it looked to be about 10#....but then I got it out of the water and into my hands...it was all head! It appeared to be an 8# short...the head and shoulders and belly all belonged to a 10-12# bass, but it stopped there, this one was shaped like a bluegill...I let it go, wished him well. What a fat chunk that thing was. Just like Dan's two fish, extremely fattened up for winter, God bless 'em, we're sending them south very healthy with full bellies to boot! That should help them do well over the winter and give them a head start for the spring I hope.

So, now John says one boiled on the plug right near the jetty, which isn't that surprising, the water was flat enough that they could get a real good look at your rig. I stayed nearer the front, relishing the rougher water there. I decided to try an old favorite plug, the first fish had taken the teaser, the "new" one, so changing the plug couldn't hurt. I put on the Tobimaru, which I'm told in Japanese means "fat and lazy", a fair description of this plugs action. On my second cast I was greeted by a dead stop...and an odd fight, looking back I think my line may have been in the rocks a bit. I figured I had 2 fish...or one decent one. I was using my new Lami and the Neptune reel...and the Lami is still very new to me...but this felt like a decent fish! As I got it closer, I realized that this was a decent fish, at least for December 28. As I used the waves to get it increasingly further inside the rocks, I was one step from lifting it when a bigger waves snuck into the little rock hole I was landing it in, pulled the fish sharply, and it came off the plug. That's it, I grabbed the little gaff off my back and poked the fish. It was a nice fish, 10-11#, so I decided that this possibly would be my last keeper kept of 1999....possibly. The little tiny hooks on the Tobimaru had held up, even when the fish pulled off as I tried to lift it, no hooks were bent....I love those little #2 Eagle Claw 4X hooks, they're tough.

John had just landed one, a fat little short...it was promptly admired and released. John now came out on the rock a bit further, to fish the rougher stuff a bit. He was just telling me that he bets this rock is tough to fish in any kind of rough water...I tell him yes it is, and it also can soak you on pretty calm nights if it catches you off guard. Wouldn't you know it, within 5 minutes, a big sneaky waves climbed up the front and climbed all over John...Dan and I thought his night over from the cold water....he just shrugged it off, I admire that. Some guys would run for car, some would moan and complain, very few would just shake it off, back up a few steps and keep fishing. Hell, it wouldn't send me home, but I'd be wringing out my jackets! Just as John and I were talking about casting distance, this is no lie, he tells me that it's rarely important, I tell him that it just happens to be in this exact location, so you can get over the rocks and get the plug out there....like this I exclaim as set the hook on my example distance cast! The fish was waiting right there, just like he and I had preplanned the whole thing, I turned the handle but twice and he clobbered the plug, right on queue! Another fine fat nearly keeper released. A few more minutes and the sporadic nature of the fishing would win out and we decided to pack it in. At the trucks, there's talk of another spot. One is on the way home, John and I decide to check it out, Dan's finished, he caught two nice fish on the same cast and that was it! Poor guy, looking back, I bet it would have been nicer to spread them out over a couple different casts, you take what you can get! We said so long to Dan and headed south. At the next spot, John and I found more willing participants, smaller on the whole than the other ones, but it was the kind of action I had been telling John about...with the right stuff in the right place, a hit every cast....at least for a few minutes! We caught some more here, nothing big, nothing really of note other than most took the teaser and all were under 24". We didn't stay too long here, the fish were moving around constantly, had it been a weekend, we could have chased them around and pinned 'em down, but we gave in, everybody had caught a couple of fish. Actually, they each had a couple, I managed to educate 9 of our south bound friends. We all lost a bunch as well, so it continues...no night bite and the fish are gone! ;-)

This is the first of the three times JohnB and have gotten together and actually saw the other person catch a fish, a revelation of sorts for each of us. We've known each other over a year now, we only just fished together for the first time maybe a month ago! It's funny, I know a lot of fishermen, some I've met, some I haven't, but I really don't feel like I know them until I see them land a fish. I know that sounds odd, but as a fisherman, bound to other fishermen by our love of all things striper, to me watching someone hook, fight, and land a striper...even a small one...is the culmination of meeting them. I've always said, you can tell a lot about a guy by the way he fishes. John's a gentleman, respectful of people and the fish we hunt, it's always a pleasure.

FredB sent me a nice picture yesterday, a 35 1/2#er, his last keeper this year! Dusky also sent me a picture, this one had stripes on it! Another friend of mine, Augie from the Round Valley Trout Association, he sent me his fist picture for my site yesterday as well. All these fine gentlemen and their fish can be seen on the photo pages.

And thank you for your continued input, your orders, and your at the two places that will help to support this site as it continues to grow! I am impressed that orders continue to trickle in, even though we are moving into the "off" season for our striped quarry...but how could I complain, maybe you guys are just stocking up early for next year, who know? I'm trying to figure out a few things to carry through the winter that will give you guys something to play with...I'll keep thinking about it, let me know if you can think of a few unique, good selling things that will entertain over the winter...all I can think of it fly tying supplies and equipment, and that only covers a small percentage of you guys. Don't worry, I'll figure out something!! :)

Charlie Fact: According to my records, I've caught 137 stripers since Charlie's last trip on December 4th, the day Charlie proclaimed them "gone".....a fair number of them were keepers...the fishing just continues on, even though the weather is becoming less and less pleasant, they keep on eatin'!

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

Man, if this season is ever going to end, somebody's gonna have to tell the stripers about it! They just won't quit. I'd put the night fishing right now up against almost any we've had this year, and as odd as it is, it just doesn't seem to be slowing down! Paul and I were to meet last night, he was there first...that's how it always seems to work, then I'll show up like a half hour later. So, I get there, same area we've been fishing, the wind is really blowing from the SSW and it's going right through me. I gear up and hit the rocks. I don't even see Paul till I'm well out there, the black horizon was good camo. He's got 5 already, 2 keepers, one detained for sustenance. My first cast is met with a thud and an energetic bass, quickly released. Second cast, ditto, released that one, too. I had a solid one on for but a minute, just enough to realize it wasn't like the rest! Jeepster decides to give it a shot just as we're leaving this spot. The wind is really cranking from the SSW and it's tearing up my hands, but I'm on the move, Paul's got 7, I'm at 4.

We ran into Phil and JasonC on our travels...we talk for a minute, split up and continue on the hunt. Next spot is a little slow to spit up a few bass. Paul gets a weenie one there, I miss one and that's it...actually, I wasn't keeping an eye on Jeepster, he wasn't easily visible from my perch. We nose around this general area, those guys bump into a bunch of small fish on one rock...I was playing with my plugs at the moment, changing some hooks around. I make my way out to where Paul just beckoned me, seems the little fella came in for a serious look, Paul's now at 12 while I was playing tackle doctor in my bag! Uh oh, not looking good, down 12 to 4 and we got enough time for a couple quick peaks...no one wants to lose here, not that there's anything at stake, it's just that except for "those" kinda nights, Paul and I have caught exactly the same number of fish more times than not...it's very eerie and spooky the way this happens! Of course, we factor out the fish he caught before I got there, which is only fair....even removing his 5 fish caught earlier, he's still at 7, me at 4...it's grim, no matter how you slice it! I start looking around a bit, leaving these two gentlemen to what their doing. I find a nice looking spot and score on the first cast...I'm thinking things might be turning around, it's a nice fish too, around legal size. Second cast is met with a good shot that I missed. Third cast is another fat short, released....4th cast I missed another good shot. I'm gigglin' inside, certain to grind my way towards Paul's dozen! Then I see, lights coming! It's them! I tell them the fish are here, we all start getting hits, except Paul and I each only land one more here, mine last one here was a plump keeper. It turns out that Jeepster's got the hot red here. He's right between Paul and I, we're casting as near him as we dare, but he's hooking up like a wild man! I think he had 4 to Paul and myself only scoring one...and I'm pretty sure 3 of the 4 were keepers! I'm not one to lose my cool, I know it's fishing, I know there are reasons for why fish pay attention to one guys lure and not another's....I quickly changed the hooks on my schoolbus to the "stock" pattern, 3 size 1 Mustads, just like out of the box. Still, no joy for me there, my plug gets ignored, Paul's as well....Jeepster's got some mojo working that I needed to know more about...I made a note to peek at his bomber later. I managed one more there on the teaser, we decide to boogey in hopes of finding more steady action or bigger fish...it's getting late. At the truck I peek at Jeepster's bomber, it's not stock! It's actually set up just the way I like, a 1/0 VMC 9626PS treble on the front, a smaller one rear, no middle hook...that's the difference, the one I was throwing had no bigger front hook and the middle hook was on it...I felt better knowing there was a difference in the plugs.

Last spot, Paul's in right away, a nice fish, looks to be 15#'s, very fat...when I lifted it later, I guessed 13 1/2...the digital scaled corrected us all with 12lb 12oz! Deceiving, the fish looked to be closer to 15, but the scale doesn't lie. I hook up right after Paul, then Paul's in again...then it mysteriously dies...we don't push the envelope, it's late, we're all tired, we split. Much as has become the custom, when we tallied them up for the evening, Paul's adjusted total was the same as mine, and I thought I had him! I had 10, I thought he was around 13 or 14...he had 15, I forgot to count the biggest of the evening! Drats!! :) That's now the third time in the 6 or 7 trips with Paul that we've caught the same number of fish during the time we were both fishing....uncanny I tell you. Jeepster had 7, but he started a little later than we did. Everyone did well, we all detained a keeper, we all released keepers...a very good night for just 1 day before January. If no one tells these fish they should start heading south soon, I'm guessing they'll be here for a couple more weeks...that's unheard of! I've never taken a cast for stripers in the month of January in my life....that's likely to end this year, these fish just refuse to leave. I figure they got all the memo's on the Y2K potential problems, they are just being smart, stocking up in case the peanuts turn out to not be Y2K compliant or something :)

I added another article, a short one called The Problem with Braids. It's a cleaned up version of a post in response to JamieK's question on the WMI Board...I thought it deserved to be an article as many new braid fishermen are having problems making the change...I'll never go back to mono! I put up a couple different conservation oriented pages, The Conservation Page and The JCAA Updates page, both deserve a look from all of you, it's our job and only our job to protect the stripers from the many greedy hands that all want to slaughter them and market them. An example of the crooked and greedy folks that want the bass thinned out: The owner of the Omega Protein Corp, the biggest bunker grinder in the world, sent a letter to a government bunker study, the letter informed them that if they want more bunker around, kill more stripers...for the stripers are far more responsible than the thousands of net boats dragging for bunker 24X7...how absurd does that sound!?! I won't get started at the moment, I'll save it for later, but each and everyone of you who loves to fish should join at least one of the groups that fights for our rights as non-commercial fishermen, it's only fair. Why let everyone else fund the fight, put your $20 or $30 per year into the fight, you'll be able to feel proud each time there's a victory for our side, it's the best fishing investment you'll ever make. Less commercial fishing means more bunker, more weakfish, more and bigger stripers....can you think of any other way your $20 could do so much to make your fishing more enjoyable? I can't, it's time for all of us to put in, join one of them, support them in another way if you can't put in the $$, they all need our help!

Charlie Fact: According to my records, I've caught 147 stripers since Charlie's last trip on December 4th...a fair number of them were keepers...the fishing just continues on, even though the weather is becoming less and less pleasant, they keep on eatin'!

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

**Update: The NE winds are blowing at 12kts and the waters up a degree and a half since yesterday, a balmy 46.4 right this minute! Will this ever end?!?! :}

There it is folks, that date is very much like when your odometer is sitting at 99,999 and you need to hit the store 2 miles away for coffee...it's inevitable, tomorrow is a new century, a new millennium, and the only millennium change that we'll ever see. I wish all of you the best as the calendar changes, much success and happiness in the year 2000. In all honesty, you know what tomorrow is for me? It's Saturday....the next day is Sunday, and so on. Other than needed a new calendar and learning to write "00" instead of "99" on all the checks we sign, it's really just another day. I doesn't feel to me like a time of new beginnings, renewal, it just feels like another day. Celebrating the end of the calendar year to me makes as much sense as celebrating the half way point...which is funny if you think about it. Did you ever consider that the halfway point in the year, the exact calendar date, is July 4th? I just did the math thinking about it here, it would actually be July 4th and 1/2, but that would fall on July 4th. How about that, we do celebrate the middle of the year! Wonder if there's any history involved in Independence Day being exactly in the middle of the year? Anyway, don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against New Year's partying, I just don't see the need for so much fuss and hype. If you are going out, drive careful, drive defensively...always watch out for the "other guy"...you know, the 17 year old who's been drinking since noon with his buddies, that's the guy you're looking for! Don't, for God's sake, drink and drive...there is no single more selfish and inconsiderate act that I can think of, for your thoughtlessness you are willing to risk the lives of others...it doesn't get any more selfish than that! I do hope you all have a great time wherever you end up and look forward to seeing you all back here again, in one piece on Sunday...maybe Monday if your dealing with a little New Year's "fog" :)

The fishing was a little slower last night...let me rephrase that...I was a little slower last night! I don't know how many hits I missed or fish I had come off, but I was certainly not my sharp self...you know, the one with "cat like reflexes"! Instead, after the first couple dozen casts, my back decided it didn't want me fishing anymore...this didn't stop me, but it sure slowed me down. I started out with DanO and I had a 31" keeper and a "just short" on my first 3 casts...lost another and missed another on the next 2 casts....then I went over 2 hours without a bump! Dan landed a nice, fat keeper at our first spot...it was a tough fish in a tough spot, I enjoyed Dan's excitement as the fish ran some line and did some "stuff" in the front of the rock. Some of these fish are built more like clam sucking cod than stripers, their bellies lately can be obscene! I helped Dan land his fish, he offered me back my rock. I unhooked his fish, told him to catch another one and just keep casting, and walked his fish to safety...he said something about me being "all right." As Dan's come to know, I take a lot of pleasure in the fact that I am capable of helping others enjoy the surf more and catch more fish...I do it as much more my selfish enjoyment of watching someone really get into all things stripers as I do for them! It's deeply satisfying when someone crosses that line from asking questions to actually listening to the answers to then answering those questions for the next person curious enough to ask. I guess that's how it works, how things are passed on...and I like being a part of that. At the next spot, it's lots of casts, no hits...but then Dan stuck a real good one...best we can tell anyway...the tail slap when he hooked the fish caught my attention 40 feet away with a pretty loud surf. Like many others, it was not meant to be, pulled the hooks. Oh well, welcome to the club! ;-) After that one, we split...Dan headed home, I was off to find Paul and Steve.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, I found them right where I suspected. We fished a bit, I landed but one more fish, a nice keeper, but only one out of the maybe 6 hits I had in that area...not real good stats for me! I did have the displeasure of meeting another couple guys that just don't get it when there's too many people on a tiny jetty. I'll bet there weren't a dozen fishermen in the entire Atlantic Ocean last night, is there any reason why two guys need to walk out on a tiny jetty that already has 3 guys on it...and then proceed to line up and place casts exactly where I'm try to place mine? No, and there's no excuse, not even a beginning surf fisherman should do this, it's just plain rude...not that it's my jetty, but I am technically "using" the portion that I am standing on and casting to...if you had gotten there sooner, you would have been "using" it and I would have given you all the room you had before I got there....do you think that maybe once this year I could run into one other person who thought this way?!?? I doubt it, I've been the only human being on many rocks this year, and invariably, if another guy wants to fish exactly where I am and cast exactly where I'm casting, he just walks out and does it...it's happened to me more times this year than last, even though I've run into less fishermen in general....that just tells me that fishermen, much like the rest of the population, are becoming more selfish, rude, and inconsiderate....and that makes me sad. There's not many rules in surf fishing, but there is one that I learned from the people that I was around in the beginning, it's the simplest rule: Don't let your arrival interfere in anyway with the fisherman that was more thoughtful/insightful/lucky/diligent than you and happen to get where you wanted to be before you. In any way, you shouldn't line up so now he can't cast at an angle if that's what he was doing before you got there....always watch someone before you mug them, it's the very least you can do. If they are casting to their right and fishing their plug towards them, down the jetty, up the jetty...whatever...you have no right to jump in and mess them up. It's not a legal issue, sure, you can stand and do whatever you want, it's a "fishing" issue...it's more than that, it's a social issue...consider it "The Golden Rule"...do unto others...remember that one? It's a primary rule in life...treat others exactly as you would have them treat you. If you disrespect others, guess what? Boy, that got off on a tangent...but it does need to be said...there's 128 miles of coastline in NJ...why on Earth does anyone feel the need to walk up uninvited and affect the 40 feet that I'm currently occupying?!? I apologize, this is just a subject that I have an impossible time getting over...but then I look at the way people treat each other out "there" and I understand that they are just carrying over to fishing the very same rude and inconsiderate attitudes. It shouldn't be that way, fishing is recreation....I am on a rock, I am recreating...making it so I can't fish the way I was before you got there is like me setting up my beach umbrella in your sunlight after you had already set up camp...it's rude. Sorry, nothing will make me answer you rudely quicker than when you tangle my line 3 times in a row on a jetty that I was just alone on and then you ask me how I'm doing? You're likely to get a rather colorful answer.... It's simple, use your heads, if your thinking it might be rude to do what your considering, odds are it's way past that.

Back to the fishing...we decide to make a move, Steve decides he'd rather be flat that fishing and heads for home...it's now just Paul and I, and we're both walking like old men, my back had been bothering me since cast number 1 and it was getting worse. I grab the fly rod for the next spot, just do have some relief for my back...but I bring the my new Neptune/Lami combo...just in case! ;) I put the rod down near Paul's gaff...there hasn't been a wave all night that came up the jetty and now the tide was going out. Sure enough, I'm throwing the 11wt and a wave sweeps right up and over and down the jetty...the first one all night! Yup, when the water cleared, both the gaff and the new rod were gone, washed off the jetty. Paul saw the gaff and snagged it with his plug, I was looking on the bottom for the bright yellow reel but was not having much success. We try to line up and figure the way the waves were coming, where it was, and where it should be. I'm about to replace the batteries in my flashlight when Paul says he's found it. It's on the bottom, the tip leaning against the rocks underwater, but with the gaff it was quickly recovered. I bet it was completely submerged for 15 minutes, waves pounding and all that...but when I cast it, it came back in as smooth as the first time I turned that handle...another testament to the big yellow reel! Thanks Paul, I think I owe you again :o Paul did note he was surprised how calm I was...I told him, what the point, I can stay calm or freak out...either way it won't change a thing about what's happening and I'd prefer to stay calm given the choice any time! :) We ended the night immediately after this. Paul ended up with 8, I had 3, and I think, if I'm not mistaken, Steve may have done us both in...I'm pretty sure he was over 10 fish..I'll have to ask! Dan got one, but he was only there a fraction of the time we were, and his one was a nice fat on detained for dietary purposed I understand. Again, the total for all our combined efforts was maybe 22 fish...but I'll bet 8 of them were over 28". This December is certainly forcing me to relearn all that I thought I knew...the water's been teetering in the upper 44 degree range, we've passed the winter solstice, there's no time in the past that I can think of this many fish with so many keepers mixed in has blessed our coast with these conditions. Hey, maybe they're taking a lesson from the Canadian geese who stopped migrating further south than NJ about 10 years ago...boy, that'd be nice! :)

I added another article, a short one called The Problem with Braids. It's a cleaned up version of a post in response to JamieK's question on the WMI Board...I thought it deserved to be an article as many new braid fishermen are having problems making the change...I'll never go back to mono! I put up a couple different conservation oriented pages, The Conservation Page and The JCAA Updates page, both deserve a look from all of you, it's our job and only our job to protect the stripers from the many greedy hands that all want to slaughter them and market them. An example of the crooked and greedy folks that want the bass thinned out: The owner of the Omega Protein Corp, the biggest bunker grinder in the world, sent a letter to a government bunker study, the letter informed them that if they want more bunker around, kill more stripers...for the stripers are far more responsible than the thousands of net boats dragging for bunker 24X7...how absurd does that sound!?! I won't get started at the moment, I'll save it for later, but each and everyone of you who loves to fish should join at least one of the groups that fights for our rights as non-commercial fishermen, it's only fair. Why let everyone else fund the fight, put your $20 or $30 per year into the fight, you'll be able to feel proud each time there's a victory for our side, it's the best fishing investment you'll ever make. Less commercial fishing means more bunker, more weakfish, more and bigger stripers....can you think of any other way your $20 could do so much to make your fishing more enjoyable? I can't, it's time for all of us to put in, join one of them, support them in another way if you can't put in the $$, they all need our help!

Charlie Fact: According to my records, I've caught 164 stripers since Charlie's last trip on December 4th...a fair number of them were keepers...the fishing just continues on, even though the weather is becoming less and less pleasant, they keep on eatin'!

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent