November 23, 1999:

**UPDATE: My apologies to anyone unable to get to this page this morning. I have been a member of Monmouth Internet for over 5 years now, this is the very first time I was unable to access the internet. Below please find the information that I found on Monmouth Internet's site explaining the reason for the outage, it seems it was Bell Atlantic who is to blame. Thanks for your patience. Here's their blurb:

Major Circuit Outage! Update --> 9:45am
Monmouth Internet is currently experiencing an outage with our two main backbone
circuits (UUNET, ELI Net). This situation is caused by a Main Switch Center outage
of Bell Atlantic's, in Newark NJ. This outage is affecting Emergency 911services (in
certain areas), high speed networks, numerous ISP's and Backbone providers, long
distance calling and local calling. We have been working hard with Bell, UUNET and
ELI to get services restored ASAP. We have confirmed this outage to be a *Top
Priority* issue with Bell Atlantic and they have informed us that service should be
restored between 11am to 12pm today. We apologize for any inconvenience this
may be causing and appreciate your patience in this matter.

So, if you are reading this, Bell Atlantic got things worked out up in Newark and all is well again in cyberspace!**

Again, no fishing last night. It was on my mind, I went out with the wife for a while, all the while I was admiring the dense fog, warm temperature, and general lack of wind. Last night was a good night for striper hunting! I hope all you guys who got out enjoyed the conditions, they certainly are unusual for this time of year. If the past weeks are any lesson to me, the great fishing this week will occur between this morning and Wednesday night. I only say this for we have another tournament this weekend, the last one, my club hosts this one tournament every year. It is a long one, more of a marathon that the others, it runs from Wednesday at 5pm through Sunday at noon. One thing I really like about this tournament is the fact that it gives guys a chance to fish that normally don't get to get out and fish a regular weekend tournament. The bad thing is it allows the handful of guys with absolutely no ties to the human race to fish around the clock, forsaking even turkey dinner and family in their hunt. At one point in my life, I came close to taking that route...I had lost my job, most of my friends, a girlfriend who I really cared about...if it wasn't for my family, I might have gone into that totally absorbed, self indulgent, "bass only" lifestyle. It might sound glamorous, fishing all the time, forsaking even the most important personal obligations, but it is not, it's an empty, unrewarding chase...I don't recommend it, many don't return. I've been to the dark side of fishing, it isn't fun when it's all you are. It's like a drug, when you're not fishing, you're not happy...and if you are fishing but not catching, you are failing, and you are not happy. It's a bad place, do whatever it takes to avoid that place.

So, the fish moved off the beach with that nasty south wind, they should be coming back with the positive influences of the NE wind we had yesterday. I haven't been out since Saturday, but I'll bet there's still miles of bait in the rivers, waiting for a chance to come out and get the bass wound up. Thanksgiving is historically the time, the big fish time, and I'll be out there for one looking for some big fish! Today's another beautiful foggy day, the kind that bass will bite in all day if they are around. I almost expect to hear good things from the guys that are out there. The fish will be back, we'll all get plenty of shots at them, it's just a matter of time.

I need to vent a little on something I saw on Saturday am, this time it was not the boardwalk fisherman causing me grief, but the netters...again. Charlie and I took a drive up from the Ortley area, looking for some kind of bird or bait action...we didn't find any. In Sea Girt, I did see the ominous buoys marking a local killers gill nets, there were two nets, each a few hundred yards long, both set parallel to the beach..starting at the jetty tips and extending seaward. I have to wonder, what else is migrating in the numbers that the stripers are? How can these people set these nets and look you in the eyes and tell you they don't catch stripers? I guess we all are as stupid as they think we are, as the nets are set in these near shore places each morning to kill anything swimming into them, and we don't stop them. It's our fault more than theirs, they are legally allowed to do this, at least I think they are, and we haven't made enough noise to stop them...we are to blame. Sure, they could use common sense and realize that the bulk of the fish moving south to encounter these nets will be stripers, but also they may take a few blues or weaks which they can sell, so they set the nets there. It bothers me right to my core, Charlie was irate as well, but neither of us did anything about it...I'm not sure of the laws, except for one. I looked last year, our NJ law states that it is illegal to catch, kill, or harm a striped bass with a net of any type. That's pretty clear. Then each one of these netters is breaking the law if they so much as cause a bass to come into contact with these nets. I've caught some of the few that have survived these nets, they have cuts and scars around their heads from where the nets held them. This, according to NJ law is illegal. Someone needs to find out how to get this law enforced...any lawyers out there in this field know how to do this, please let me know! I imagine it would take some sort of law suit, every thing takes a law suit these days. You would certainly expect that our game wardens would be after these netters, killing thousands of bass illegally, but instead they are busy hunting down the recreational fisherman who hasn't learned how to measure a fish and has one in the cooler that's 27 7/8" long. While it is illegal to have one that size in the cooler, it would be more advantageous and better protective of our resource to stop the netters that kill them by the thousands. If the game wardens are there to protect the resources, shouldn't they focus on the biggest killers not the easiest ones to catch? Just my thoughts on a very touchy subject...a sad subject indeed.

It's Tuesday, again I most likely won't get out tonight...I may, you never know, but the plan is to hold off until Wednesday at 5pm and just jump into this tournament with both wader legs...which reminds me, I have a hole in my right foot of my stocking foot waders that needs attention, I wore through the heel by wearing bigger, more comfortable boots and doing too much walking in the sand. It's a tough fix, the entire heel should be replaced. I will attempt it with neoprene from old waders and Aquaseal. That stuff is tough, put a coating of Aquaseal on a neoprene patch and the fix is usually permanent.

When I do get out, if I don't hear of anything spectacular elsewhere, it's back in the truck and head it south for me, back to my new found hunting grounds on LBI. What a place is LBI, it's got bays, suds, and moving water. The jetty fronts there have a current flow that is lacking in our local areas, and current flow makes the bass easier if they are around. I will start my hunting there, check out IBSP for the first time this year...maybe even make it all the way up to the Hook if all else fails. Either way, I will certainly keep them honest this weekend as I continue my quest for the LARGE! I hope all of you get out a little over this very long weekend and get them rods bent! I will update the page through the weekend, maybe miss a day, but that's it, I'll keep you posted as to how the hunting is progressing, maybe meet a few guys out there on the same quest.

Thanks again for your continued input and encouragement, it's nice to see some many people poking around here, keep the ideas coming!

November 24, 1999:

Man, what a day yesterday, I was without any type of internet access until almost 3pm! I did get my page uploaded early on, but what's the difference, no one could access it as Monmouth Internet and many other ISP's were down for the better part of yesterday. I apologize to anyone who tried to poke around here and couldn't yesterday, the official explanation is below. I do have to say, I have been with Monmouth Internet for over 5 years and this is the very first time that I could not surf the web in those 5 years, you can't get that kind of reliability anywhere else in the ISP world. Yesterday's failure, in my eyes, would have been acceptable to me even if it was their fault, but the fault was Bell Atlantic's yesterday...in my eyes, Monmouth Internet is still batting 1.000 after 5 years!

So, I did get out last night, just a short recon mission trying to help make a decision as to where to start tonight's tournament. We ended up going south to LBI, trying new places down that way. We had 4 fish right away...actually, I had one and Charlie had 3...one being about 13#. After that, nothing, not a hit, not a break...it was dead! Boy, I thought we were in, scoring right away, but it totally turned off, deadsville! So much for helping formulate a plan for this evening! The fish all ate jigs, Fin-S-Fish jigs and Smilin' Bills. I am beginning to tire of the long drive for a couple fish, I think I may just catch up on the fishing in some of the better areas locally this weekend, looking for some action a bit closer than the hour it takes to get down there...it certainly hasn't been working out down there, a lack of bait and just an occasional fish doesn't cut the mustard for such a drive. I haven't heard anything positive about anywhere since the south wind turned off the fish last week, that's pretty sad for this time of year, they should be spread out almost everywhere...instead, they don't appear to be anywhere in any kind of numbers. If they are going to pop up again, it should be this weekend, downside of the November moon, classic big fish time!

I just learned of some disturbing news yesterday, a good friend had hi plug bag stolen on IBSP. This bothers me a lot, as it means that some "fishermen" think that stealing from another fisherman is ok. This is sad, it's this type of lazy thief who will also be the ones to cry the loudest that no one will tell them exactly where to put their (stolen) lures to catch a fish...it's a real sad sign of today's society. Fishermen have always looked out for other fishermen, but as so many hammerheads get fishing, more and more undesirables will be out there, lock up your stuff, never turn your back, don't trust anyone. Boy, it's sad to have to say that, but honorable people are becoming outnumbered by the real trash of society, pretty much in all walks of life. Everyone's looking for the easy way...free plugs for example. I echo CharlieK's sentiments, I hope every hook in that plug bag eventually makes it's way into the thief's body in one way or another! Man, that kind of crap just really sets me off...

Funny, the same day there was a real positive story of another friend. Laurel had grabbed his gear to fish a local inlet, upon heading back to his truck, he couldn't find his keys. Being somewhat distraught, he was going back to his truck to call his wife to bail him out. Instead, he found his keys on the shift lever of his new truck, with a short note reminding him to be more careful with his keys, and a phone number. He had a lot of stuff in his truck that easily could have been removed, yet all was there...these are the kind of people that used to rule the Earth, now they seem to be pretty scarce. Funny, the best of people and the worst of people both making impressions on the same day. Too bad that scum like the thief that stole CharlieK's bag are allowed to walk as free as the good Samaritan that returned Geoff's key...strange place this world is. At least the dirtbag who stole the bag has a special kind of place waiting for him when he leaves this world...stealing someone's plug bag, that's just plain mean!

So Thanksgiving is upon us, soon it will be Christmas...where does the time go! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, a safe Thanksgiving, and has a chance to get out and give the bass a shot. They might not be thick, but they certainly are around. May your turkey and all your bass be LARGE!

**NOTE: I left up this next portion from yesterday, it's important to see what happened with the outage yesterday. For the rest of yesterday's post, check the archives.

November 23, 1999:

**UPDATE: My apologies to anyone unable to get to this page this morning. I have been a member of Monmouth Internet for over 5 years now, this is the very first time I was unable to access the internet. Below please find the information that I found on Monmouth Internet's site explaining the reason for the outage, it seems it was Bell Atlantic who is to blame. Thanks for your patience. Here's their blurb:

Major Circuit Outage! Update --> 9:45am
Monmouth Internet is currently experiencing an outage with our two main backbone
circuits (UUNET, ELI Net). This situation is caused by a Main Switch Center outage
of Bell Atlantic's, in Newark NJ. This outage is affecting Emergency 911services (in
certain areas), high speed networks, numerous ISP's and Backbone providers, long
distance calling and local calling. We have been working hard with Bell, UUNET and
ELI to get services restored ASAP. We have confirmed this outage to be a *Top
Priority* issue with Bell Atlantic and they have informed us that service should be
restored between 11am to 12pm today. We apologize for any inconvenience this
may be causing and appreciate your patience in this matter.

So, if you are reading this, Bell Atlantic got things worked out up in Newark and all is well again in cyberspace!**

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

November 26, 1999:

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was as pleasant as mine! I had a nice quiet dinner at the parent's house, my two brothers and their respective female friends, my wife and I, and my parents...nice and quiet. As usual, mom cooked a delicious dinner, I helped my brother Kyle with his computer and some concepts for a business he's working on, watched a little football with my dad, thanked my mother for the dinner, and crashed on the couch...for two hours! It was a necessary crash, I only had a few hours sleep Thanksgiving morning after taking a severe beating by the fish on Wednesday night. Charlie and I met Phil down LBI, Phil had been there a while and had one bump. We started off catching four shorts, 3 for Charlie, 1 for me, right off the bat...and that was it. I stuck a nice fish and lost it on a jig...then lost another good one on a rigged eel...and that was all! We fished almost 9 hours in that area, had a couple more hits, hooked none...it was a miserable night of casting practice! I have heard they are catching a load of shorts up at the Hook, doesn't really interest me other than it's something! I am looking for some decent sized fish for our tournament, but I am almost ready to get into some small fish for the continued action that it will require to interest me after such fishless trip as Wednesday. I think I may hit the surf this afternoon for a little bit, the hard south wind will certainly make that interesting, but I have been hearing of some fish in the surf, nothing big, but fish none the less. Tonight, jeez, I can't come up with anything, I may have to go north, ignoring the LBI area that has been spanking me so bad lately. I have a lot of confidence in that southern area, but as of late, I've been catching just a couple fish per trip...and it's a long drive for a couple fish when I don't doubt I can catch high double digits closer to home. I am still convinced that my monster this year is waiting for me south of Barnegat, I just have to force myself to continue taking that long drive..suffer through those fishless nights, and keep on throwing stuff down there! Oh, the pain of looking for them LARGE, if I just could settle for loads of small fish with a shot at an occasional keeper, I could drive less, get more reward per cast, but something inside me keeps forcing me south...it's the constant battle of the newness and intrigue of a new spot versus the comfort of places I've been haunting for years....decisions, decisions. No doubt, there are still some heavy fish yet to get landed up on the Hook, even the inside...some heavy ones still to hit the sand along the whole stretch, and hopefully, one real heavy girl for me on LBI. I think the thought of catching a bunch of shorts is starting to sound pretty good to me at the moment, I may just head the truck north for a change.

What is wrong this fall? This is what I am being asked over and over again. It is many things, none really "wrong" per se, but all factors of the current situation. First, you need bait, got that. Second, you need bass, got them, too. But you also need the conditions to be favorable to put the bass and bait together in a place where shore bound anglers can reach them with an effective lure...this we haven't been having much of this fall. The many fish that were taken last year among daily blitzes no doubt were due to the fact that everything came together there often. This fall, we have had too much bait, too much south winds at the wrong time, too rough ocean when we needed flat...SE winds when NW would have pulled it all together. It seems like the conditions are our enemy this year, not the fish or the bait. If the conditions can get it together for the next 4 weeks, we could have a December to remember! It's not too late, it could easily happen right now with big fish, they are still moving past NJ, still some hanging out inside, they are all targets. It will take the right conditions at the right time...like the forecasted NW winds starting tomorrow night, this could be a very good thing. If it does blow NW Saturday night....hard...look for some real good possible surf action on Sunday...and into the upcoming week. We need for everything to come together at the right time...this could be a good shot if the wind does as expected.

The fall for me continues even when the calendar is screaming winter...but only for a week or so after that, I love those calm, cold nights when the fish whack Mambo minnows and Crystal minnows on the mirror calm surf at night...it keeps you warm inside! I'll be out there, with the fly rod when the air temps tolerable, spinning rod with teasers on the cold nights...and the fish will be there, they always are, taking advantage of the big spearing remaining motionless on the surface...almost enjoying the cold air somehow.

Again, thanks to everyone for all their input here, keep the e-mails coming, the message board is in the immediate future, it will not be the one I wanted originally, but it will suffice in the interim. Hope you all enjoy your long weekend, eat them turkey sandwiches, hug your family, thank your Lord, and then get out there and get them rods bent!

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

November 29, 1999:

As it gets later and later into this season, as we start to see the wind down of another season, I am almost relieved by it. I guess I'm getting older, I used to dread the end of the season, fighting to the last fish, but this year, I think I just need to rest! By no means is it over yet, hell, I don't think we've seen the best fishing yet. I think there will be some super days and nights through December, big fish included. This past weekend the fishing was just terrible. Very little action on the beaches, some in the bays, some at the Hook...scattered reports of mostly small fish. The NW winds should get things back on track, but they will also send the air temps down a little, it will start to feel more like fall. Friday night, the air temp never got lower than 63 degrees, that's too hot for nearly December in the middle of the night. At least it rained to keep it cool.

Friday night we took the long drive to LBI, each lost a decent fish in the first 15 minutes, missed a couple other hits, then we got clobbered with the salad. Weeds so thick it made the fishing nearly impossible. We struggled, tried a couple other spots nearby...too much green stuff. We thought maybe the tide change would clear it up. Nope. Had a couple more hits at the tide change, got very frustrated with the weed, and decided to call it an early night. Bought home the skunk. So sad, I knew where there were smaller fish closer to home, but my quest for some shoulders yielded nothing but grass! John and Phil caught some shorts where my Plan B would have taken me, but I was shot.

Saturday night we decided to get a later start. We stayed closer to home, fished the Hook area. I caught a keeper in the first half hour, a whopping 29" 8# monster! Again, this was it, we didn't catch another fish! We tried the suds, but the waves were a bit much where we were at the low tide and we didn't have it in us to fish through the incoming. The sun was coming up, the birds were off the beach, and the fish weren't in the surf. I didn't bother looking along the whole route home, I just grabbed a coffee and drove home. I think I am getting older, no interest in looking for the crowds and the birds....but I understand they weren't thick during the day either.

Grand total for Wednesday night, Friday night, and Saturday night...1 short and 1 keeper for me. Two shorts for Charlie. Not real impressive! I figure if these NW winds can stick around for a few days things should get brewing. The surf is still almost 55 degrees, that's plenty warm for fish of all sizes to be around. Hopefully, the fish will get on the nuts again and the surf will catch fire. I am ready to stop taking the long drive to LBI, I'll settle for some local trips, 2 hours round trip takes a lot of fishing time.

I hope everyone else did better than we did, it was a tough weekend for us! I think the club did pretty well in the tournament, we had about 10 or so fish weighed in, everyone contributed a fish here or there...the biggest I saw weighed in at the Fisherman's Den was 11 1/2#, nothing bigger. There were a good number of the keepers taken on clams this weekend, not my favorite way of fishing for sure!

**Update: I am selling my Silicone Spearing for $4 each, they have been priced at $4.75 since I put up these pages. I understand that's a lot for a fly, these are a difficult tie and are one of the best flies/teasers that I've ever seen or used. The handful of guys I've given them to over the years have done nothing but rave about the way the fish eat them. With the bunker moving out, spearing will be the dominant bait soon, try a few of these flies at this price, I'm certain you will be back for more, they are deadly on the fly rod and as teasers. They last longer than most flies as the silicone protects all but the tail of the fly.

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

November 30, 1999:

**UPDATE: JohnM just sent me the tournament results from our clubs one tournament we host each year.

1. Shark River Surf Anglers: 85 points *Largest of Tourney Jim O'Donnell 11.14#
2. Berkeley: 83 points
3. Asbury Park: 36 points
4. Spring Lake Live Liners: 19 points
5. Stevens Surfsters: 8 points
*Team mullet and Monmouth Beach Cartoppers didn't score.
Boy, talk about a tough fishing weekend! Not one fish over 11.14 pounds! I thought it was odd when I had the big fish in the last tournament at 14# 4oz, but for an 11.14# fish to win with all these clubs fishing, that's a real eye opener. I guess our little club could be a force to be reckoned with next year, if we can get it together in the spring, who knows?!?

Last night I finally got to fish with the real "weekend warrior", JohnB. I met John last winter as I set him up with all the necessities to begin fly fishing in the salt...well, most of the stuff, anyway. John's a good egg, always been. Anyway, somehow, we decided that last night in the screaming NW winds and air temps below freezing would be a good time to go fishing...in a place where we intended to stand facing right into the wind. I'm still wondering at what point did this really sound like a good idea! Actually, I wasn't planning on going, but when I talked to John, it just seemed like we should get out while we both had the chance, regardless of the expectations. Granted, there could have been tons of fish fighting over our plugs and jigs...but there wasn't. We each had a couple bumps, nothing stuck, had real runny noses, and got some casting practice. I did get to peek at a spot John's been telling me about since the spring and I did find it quite interesting. Except the NW wind made it impossible to keep your line tight while using a properly small lure, I'm sure in different conditions this place can shine. There was plenty of bait, spearing...lots of them. We hit a couple spots quickly in the surf, it just doesn't seem like there's too many fish meandering around in the suds. This time of year, you can almost expect to come across fish spread out anywhere there's water on a beach, maybe it's still too rough. I like those flat calm nights, just the smallest of waves to move the water around the shallows...the fish will suck down spearing and sand eels at about any tide those nights, even in water you wouldn't think was deep enough to cover them. We just haven't seen any flat calm water for a couple weeks now, maybe longer. The flat calm is what lures me to the surf this time of year.

So John and I didn't catch anything, but we got to get out there together, shared some laughs and cold fingers. I'm sure we'll do it again before the season ends as John has the same mentality as I do about the end of the season...it ain't over till you stop fishing! The fish will pretty much be around till longer than I feel like freezing my butt off, so it ends on my last trip. I usually catch fish on the last trip of the year, it's better to end on a winning note than to give up after a few unsuccessful attempts, but you take what you can get. Thanks John, we'll do it again.

Man, it was cold, it was the first night this year that I had the "warm stuff" on. It wasn't cold when you were at all protected from the wind, but when staring at the wind, casting 5/8 oz lures into it's teeth, the wind kinda chilled you right out. Cold is fine, even very cold...but when you couple that with a 15-20kt wind, that's when you get that chill. You know, the chill that goes deeper than your skin, right past your bones to your very core. It's the kind that you can only get while fishing, when your fingers are wet, damp waders, standing in the dark...that's when you get that kinda cold! It will get much colder, and I will still be out there...praying for the wind to stay down and the water to get flat.

As I continue my quest for automated credit card purchasing on-line, I am learning quite a bit. It's certainly a lot like shopping for a car, everyone wants a 36-48 month lease, a per transaction charge, and a percentage of each sale! I was a little surprised by the 48 month commitment everyone wants for credit card processing, I thought they'd be dying for the business and making their money with the sales they process, it seems they also want a good chunk each month just for processing the cards. Oh well, the quest continues, I have a couple more to look at today and am very hopeful that I can get it all on-line this week. The message board has taken a back seat...it works, but I cannot get the registration portion set up correctly, I think it's a good idea for people to register to post, keeps the slumming down to a bare minimum!

Once again, I thank all of you for your interest, your input, and your orders! Keep the pictures coming and keep on sending me more ideas as to what you'd all like to see here, I got about a million things up my sleeves, but just can't seem to get it all together as quickly as I'd like, so let me know what's missing or what could be better! Thanks!

**Update: I am selling my Silicone Spearing for $4 each, they have been priced at $4.75 since I put up these pages. I understand that's a lot for a fly, these are a difficult tie and are one of the best flies/teasers that I've ever seen or used. The handful of guys I've given them to over the years have done nothing but rave about the way the fish eat them. With the bunker moving out, spearing will be the dominant bait soon, try a few of these flies at this price, I'm certain you will be back for more, they are deadly on the fly rod and as teasers. They last longer than most flies as the silicone protects all but the tail of the fly.

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent