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September
2000 Archives
September
Week 1 September Week
2 September Week 3 September Week 4
| Sept 8, 2000 | Sept 9, 2000 | Sept 10, 2000 | Sept 11, 2000 | Sept 12, 2000 | Sept 13, 2000 | Sept 14, 2000 | Sept 15, 2000 |
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Sept 8, 2000: It's almost hard to believe Friday is upon us once again...just where do the days go anymore?!?! I guess it's good that the weekdays are flying by at an uncontrollable pace, but the weekends are going by twice as fast...I'll need to start video taping them just to be sure they even really happened ;-) Good news on the fishing front, the troops are reporting in that the fish are starting to cooperate almost every trip for the fellas. This always makes me smile. One thing I think that is helping these folks score on every trip is they are heeding the advice of fishing the shallow foamy stuff. This time of year, I'd sooner have my plugs being tossed around in 2 feet of water than be firing long casts from the fronts of rock piles into the deeper water. With the spearing, mullet, and occassional sand eels present, the rolling white stuff is where the hungry fish will be. Also of note, don't be afraid to pick up the pace of your plugs, these fish aren't afraid to overtake a plug that's keeping up with the waves. In fact, I fish plugs from the sand far more aggressively than even Charlie....I do very little reeling and a lot of popping and snapping of the rod tip. The fish I've been catching solidly hooked...when the plug is moving quickly and erratically, the fish must commit and the hits are harder, the fish better hooked. Don't be shy, the hungry fish in the foam aren't shy, they would rather chase down a plug than grab something rolling uncontrollably in the foam. In the shallows, in the foam...that's the only place I work plugs this aggressively, on jetty fronts, in current, and in deeper water, the old "slower than slow" retrieve wins out...but from the sand, give that plug a yank every few turns of the handle! They won't let you down, they are shallow and hungry! Plug choice is pretty important in these situations....a 6" bomber that's a killer from the jetties will be chewing up the sand in the foamy shallow stuff. If the waters deeper the bombers a good choice, but in the shallows the 3 1/2", 4 1/2", and 6" MegaBait plugs are all better suited. Also, the 5" Mambo minnows, the 4" and 5" Crystal Minnows, Tobimarus, and Delta Swords are all very important. We're adding the 4" Delta Swords here, the first load of them just came yesterday...2 of each color never made it to the shelves, they are now in Charlie and my bags for "testing". Once they prove themselves as important, the page will go up. If they don't shine and find their niche, they'll end up on the auction. If it doesn't work better than average or solve some sort of fishing problem, we don't sell it here. The other thing that's important when fishing in the foamy shallows for striped bass, right there in the surf, is to time your casts. This is something that many folks don't consider. The best place to land your plug is on the back of an incoming foamer. Second best would be between the current foamer and the next one that hasn't crested yet. The last thing you want to do is land it so close in front of a foamer than you can't get the plug dug in before the foam overtakes it! This will cause your plug to roll helplessly shoreward and you'll be untangling a knot instead of unhooking a striper! When a foamer is going to overtake your plug, get it dug in a little extra, just to be sure it stays true as the wave passes it. Another note, try to cast at an angle. I'm sure this is something that is just not being done, I can tell by the willingness of everyone I run into to stand 20 feet away from me on the sand....if they'd consider the direction the waves are moving, they'd understand the my plug would be considerably further away from me than 20 feet. Casting at a slight angle towards the direction the waves are moving will have your rig in the most natural of scenarios....the wave will push you lure shoreward, you'll pull towards you and the net effect is that it will look like a baitfish caught in the wave, trying to angle into the beach where it will again feel safe. The stripers, the kill joys that they are ;-) will try to stop these suspected baitfish from ever reaching shore...and you will get the rod bent. There's so much to go over about fishing the productive foamers, it's probably going to be doled out here in bits and pieces. The good thing is you can eliminate or quickly work 90% of a beach, ignoring the deep stuff, ignoring the calm stuff...basically just a couple test casts into the deep stuff as you hunt down the next shallow foamy area. Bottom line, if you can get out, the fish are out there, the mullet reports have begun to filter in, much as expected with this cool weather....fish shallow, fish the foamy stuff, use the right plugs...you'll score, it's almost a gimme at this point! Well, maybe not a gimme, but it's pretty darn reliable...the right stuff in the shallow stuff, the bass can be suicidal! ;-) OK, just a
reminder, you can keep abreast of the ever changing StripersOnline
website by checking the
Sincerely, Tim Surgent |
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It's time for the Silver Bullets! Sept 11, 2000: No, not the ones from Coor's Brewing Company....the ones that zoom up and down the surf line for the next 3-5 weeks...the mullet run! The little racers are here, they are pretty well spread out from the reports I'm hearing...and there are packs of 5-6" ones I call "bomber sized". All in all, it seems like a real good start...the fish are (from what I hear and what I will try to see first hand next time I can!) chasing the silver bullets as they try and migrate south. Wait till the albies and bonito see the mullet...they love to chase them down and munch 'em. Matter of fact, in a pursuit style attack, I'll bet only the albies and bones can catch the silver bullets...I know stripers must ambush or disorganize mullet to eat 'em...but the albies are so lightning fast, I bet they can just chase the little fellers down! If you ever have a hard time catching the albies, snag or net yourself a handful of live mullet....put a 1/0 hook in their nose and lob them out where the albies are cruising...it won't take long ;-) Not only that, bass, blues, bonito, weaks, and fluke will all have their way with the live mullet. A very good bait this time of year...not dead and stuck to the bottom...although that can work as well, but live, swimming and frantic! The 5 and 6" bomber sized mullet might be about your absolute best bet right now if you can procure a half dozen or so and keep them alive...they are a wonderful bait, active and hardy. I've always found poppers, wooden swimmers, and flies to be very productive...but if you are fishing in the broad daylight instead of dusk/dawn, try a live one...something will eat it! Remember, if yer fishing for the albies and bones with a live mullet, make sure your leader is either light and clear or some kinda fluorocarbon...the albies see very well! Granted, they'll cut you some slack with a live bait, but they just might refuse it if the line comes into focus during their attack. Friday night, we fished with the Prefessa...a long time compadre online that I had previously not met. We got out after he did and upon finding him in the suds, I shouted to him (I had sneakers on and wasn't prepared yet)....as he answered, he hooked up...a nice striper! Yup, first one of the evening, right when we met up with him...how's that for right on queue? ;-) We fished a couple spots that night till all our bodies nearly crumpled over...it was a pleasure to finally meet up with him. I'm not 100% sure of the others numbers for the evening...I do know that I was low hook! Yup, it happens...I don't usually mention low hook unless it's me...so I'm mentioning it now! I ended up with 3 stripers, biggest one maybe 30"...and 3 weakfish. I'm certainly I was high hook on the weakfish! ;-) I believe Prefessa had 3 stripers as well, but he was still higher hook than me, for 2 of my 3 were caught prior to meeting up with him...they don't count for the fishing we did together...that's just the rules Paul and I usually play by, figgered they work well enough ;-) Charlie had his way with us, landing 6 unicorns and the pool winner of around 11#'s (not inches ;-) Same lures, same places....fished in close and erratic...MegaBaits were better this night than they have been recently, closely followed by the Mambo minnows and Delta Swords. And the teasers...they've been eating the teasers again...some nights 75% of the fish grab the teaser....some nights it's only 25%. That's why I fish a teaser whenever throwing plugs in the surf, it just adds to the whole thing! I'll take off the teaser if I need extra distance...but I'll put it right back on should I stop getting hits! I love teasers. So, Saturday night was my revenge on Dubs....I ended up with 7 stripers, including the pool winner of 12-13#'s...and another fat legal sized unicorns over 30". Dubs started off having a frustrating evening...actually, it started off ok for him, he had the first two hits...I left the first stop without a sniff! The second spot, we found a pack of 5" spots in a pocket...removed from the surf, but not as the tide rose! This was our first time in this area since the beach destruction project rolled through last year...and lemme say this, they did a 100% devastating job, the jetties are nothing more than piles of rocks in your rearview while you are standing far in front of them! So sad...heartbreaking for someone who grew up straining to make it out to these rocks...now it's 50 feet back just to get to the rocks :( Anyway, it was my night to have Dubs pay for taking advantage of me the previous night in front of company! ;-) It's okay to whup up on me when we're along Dubs, or with someone we fish with alot...but in front of a guy we're fishing with the first time!??! He's liable to get the wrong impression!??! ;-) So, I made him pay Saturday night. The fish were certainly in very specific parts of the beaches we fished, it seemed they were using the cuts along the beach as guides to where they would set up in the suds. Most fish for me took the red/white deceiver...a couple on the plugs. Later that night, after Charlie had some humble pie ;) he found his own pack of ravenous unicorns and promptly put three on the scoreboard! These fish weren't where they were supposed to be...a note I make about each and every bite I get...was the fish where I figured they should be or not? When you catch enough fish in a spot they shouldn't be, suddenly, that kinda spot is now added to your "spots they should be" list. When you get blanked in enough "spots they should be" over the years, you'll remove that one and put it in the "spots they shouldn't be" list. It's a constant flux, these two lists! ;-) Anyway, it all worked out in the end, I got spanked Friday night...and spanked him back on Saturday night....took a breather last night and we'll see who gets spanked tonight! ;-) Where's that Paul Naj guy anyway, isn't it his turn in the barrel? ;-) OK, just a
reminder, you can keep abreast of the ever changing StripersOnline
website by checking the
A phone call from Hab's Plugs this morning confirmed the arrival of the LARGE order of needlefish for around the end of the week! I've seen only two of his needlefish in my lifetime....but was so moved after throwing them that I agreed to carry them...there's nothing quite as pretty as Hab's work! Well, maybe a handful of hotties, but that's another story ;) There will be 4 or 5 colors of the 3 sizes...two colors were specially requested...one is the chartreuse green over chartreuse yellow also known as parrot...of which 1/4 of them are already sold! Also, my own personal preference in color which Hab's was kind enough to work out for me, black with a smoky gray belly! Mmmmmm....can't wait to get these things in the bag. I've thrown his 2oz needle recently, it flies and it stays up high enough to fish over the fronts of the local jetties. No, nothing ate it yet...but we're not into the big baits yet...they are arriving now, soon that 7" needlefish will look just like a bunker, herring, or mullet when stalked from below! ;-) Sincerely, Tim Surgent |
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Make a note: Don't leave fish to find fish! ;-) Sept 12, 2000: UPDATE 4:30pm: The
new UPDATE 2:30pm: A quick ride by the beach earlier revealed possibly the finest of conditions for the angler with sandy feet...the S to SE wind is crankin'....the foamers are foamy...and the clouds are thickening. To all you who've been himmin' and hawin' about going tonight, bite the bullet, grab yer gear and walk a mile of sand throwing stuff into the foamy white stuff. Unless I'm sadly mistaken, the unicorns will be there to greet you ;-) I'll be doing the same....somewhere...probably with Paul Naj (camouflage trip, my truck will be in my driveway ;-) If yer lookin' for us, just look for Paul's truck....it's pretty big ;-) Yea, as the heading would have you thinking, we split (abandoned, gave up, left 'em hangin') on the reliable fishing we've had for the past 2 weeks to throw stuff down south....you know, looking for greener grass ;-) Well, after hitting a couple spots on LBI, it was becoming apparent that, once again, we'd fallen for the greener grass/fence thing and landed exactly one rat bastage and one weakfish each. A sad score being that even on the average nights recently, we've been landing weaks and around a dozen bass between us. The only consolation (not much of one mind you) is that I was momentarily connected with the reason why we went down there - the immovable unicorn. Yup, for a good 5 seconds, I was locked in combat with one that just lay where it was hooked....shook it's head a bunch and came unbuttoned. Yea, it was traumatic, but not for long, I don't let that very common and natural occurrence bother me anymore but accept it as part of looking for the LARGE. It's a funny thing how a strong hookset with a stiff rod and a dangerously sharp 7/0 hook can still not get the hook buried past the barb in some of the bigger critters that we run into every year. Well, maybe funny is not quite the right word, how about perplexing? ;-) For years I've theorized why it's always the immovable ones that don't get hooked real well.. First, the big ones have some gaping maws...and strong jaws....and tough bony mouth parts. All these things will come against your getting a good solid hook up. The gaping maw can allow enough room for even a 7/0 to shoot right out...a treble hook would stand a better shot at catching flesh on the way out. The strong jaws...and this is what I think it the primary reason for so many LARGE coming quickly unbuttoned. When they take a jig, especially a bigger one, they inhale it and keep their mouth closed on it, expecting it to be alive and expecting it to try and escape. You, the angler, hopefully, feel the hit and react instantly, rearing back in response. If you are using mono, you'll need to do this repeatedly...but you might not even feel the hit till the jig has been dropped...but if you do get some skin on the hookset, you'll need to hook it again...maybe again. Each time you hook and reel, you're taking more of the stretch outta the mono and getting more reaction on the jig end to your hooking efforts. If all goes well, the hook will be buried and you'll be doing battle....that is, if you feel the hit before the fish drops it...not an easy task with mono, current, and a long cast. Enter the superbraids. Now you're using braid, get the same hit...you feel it immediately if you have the slack outta your line...you react, setting the hook...and you stick the fish...or at least, in my case, you think the fish is stuck! :-( A few seconds later, nada...nothing...fish is gone! What I think happens in these cases is the fish had his jaws clamed around the jig, your hooking efforts were hampered by a strong fish closing it's mouth and hanging on to the jig. The hook doesn't get buried, your hooking effort only let the fish know that what it had eaten was not real....the fish lets go while you are think you are in...and now you're out. This is just a guess, it's happened enough times that it's all I got! ;-) The hard bony mouth should be no problem for dangerously sharp hooks, braid, and a stiff rod...but sometimes, the sharp point will temporarily stick in the bone...a smaller fish it would penetrate the bone...the bigger ones it just (sadly) hangs in and the very tip of the hook can be bent...and that one gets away too! :( So, what I'm proposing to do is set up twice...even with braid, when fishing a big jig for big fish...I'll keep ya posted ;-) Locally, things are looking very good...I've been driving by the beach (totally unarmed mind you) in broad daylight, admiring the vast schools of adult bunker that are hanging off the beach...just about in range around dusk...with some critters chasing them around. These are the baits that turn 30 pounders into 40 pounders, the bread and butter of the LARGE. A strong east wind at just the right time and there could likely be very serious critters apprehended from land in a few choice locations. Matter of fact, I might go poke around one such location this evening...in the dark, hopefully after all the rat bastages go to bed. Mullet are moving, look for that action to be equally inviting in the next couple weeks...rainy days, hard south or south east wind...those are the things that will get the bass chasing the mullet in the middle of the day. They're already chasing them at dusk, I'm guessing at dawn as well....I'm looking for them chasing them at night! If we just get some sand eels to stick around, we will be indeed all set for one heck of a fall! Take care, see ya in the morning! ;-) OK, just a
reminder, you can keep abreast of the ever changing StripersOnline
website by checking the
A phone call from Hab's Plugs this morning confirmed the arrival of the LARGE order of needlefish for around the end of the week! I've seen only two of his needlefish in my lifetime....but was so moved after throwing them that I agreed to carry them...there's nothing quite as pretty as Hab's work! Well, maybe a handful of hotties, but that's another story ;) There will be 4 or 5 colors of the 3 sizes...two colors were specially requested...one is the chartreuse green over chartreuse yellow also known as parrot...of which 1/4 of them are already sold! Also, my own personal preference in color which Hab's was kind enough to work out for me, black with a smoky gray belly! Mmmmmm....can't wait to get these things in the bag. I've thrown his 2oz needle recently, it flies and it stays up high enough to fish over the fronts of the local jetties. No, nothing ate it yet...but we're not into the big baits yet...they are arriving now, soon that 7" needlefish will look just like a bunker, herring, or mullet when stalked from below! ;-) Sincerely, Tim Surgent |
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Sad Story...and screamin' winds Sept 15, 2000: Yea, I need to vent a little. I really don't like to vent, but this needs to be done. Yesterday I noticed a sad, sad thing. Charlie and my bridge rods were removed from my property. Yup, a pair of Loomis 108-30C rods and Abu 7700 reels. More specifically, my rod was a discontinued Loomis, a blue blank, same action as the 108-30C but labeled something else. It's easily recognized, I hack sawed 3" off the butt and the cap recently fell off. My rod had a Abu 7700SX reel on it. Charlie's outfit was a 108-30C with a Morrum 7700 on it that I bought him for his birthday last year. Both outfits are full of 80# Whiplash. My reel has my name engraved on the reel seat, I believe I put Charlie's name on his reel seat but an not sure. It just makes me sad to see that even in Wall Township, scum still thinks nothing of picking up things out of someone else's yard and walking off with them. I bet their parents are very proud of them. While I will mourn the loss of the rod for while, it more so makes me sad to be reminded that there are people walking around my neighborhood that would do this. It's not over yet. Charlie put the word out with all the local tackle shops, all the local party boats, two towns police departments, and lots of eyes out there. Just let these dirt bags try and sell or use either of these rods around here. Obviously, we don't know who did this pathetic and cowardly act, but there were some new faces around the delicatessen next store yesterday morning. Please don't take this as an ethnic slur, it's just facts as given to me from the deli owners....there were an abnormal amount of Mexican landscapers at the deli early yesterday morning. The night before, Charlie saw a Mexican walking to the rear of the deli and nearly behind my place...right where the rods would have been in plain view. So, based on these two odd occurrences, I have founded my suspicions and will be on the look out. If any of you guys happen to see anyone using a 9ft blue Loomis that's real weathered looking with or without the 7700SX on it, take a look at the butt end...if it's sawed off and somewhat ragged with no butt cap on it, make any notes about the car they are driving, their license plate, whatever you can...then call the local police...and let the local police know that a report was filed in Belmar for details. You can also call Charlie at 732-371-1057, he'll be right down...he's really pissed off about this. First off, the person will certainly look outta place, the only place those rods would blend in is on a bridge or possibly a party boat. Odds are, the person who stole them has no idea what those rods are for, what they are worth, or what kinda can of whoop-ass is gonna be opened up on them for stealing them. I'm going to check e-bay....and keep checking e-bay for anything Loomis or anything Abu 7700. If I have to buy every single rod and reel that sounds like mine or Charlie's, I'll do it...and if I find the thief, it's gonna be a long day for him. Enough said about
that, it makes me sad to think about what kinda scum people are
raising today. On a happier note, it's Friday! The screaming south
winds last night pretty much shut us out, we managed 1 25"
striper each throwing stuff in the suds. We had plenty of bites, but
the belly in the line from the wind was ferocious, even with braid it
was tough to get a hookset! One real positive note, yesterday
afternoon, there were miles of bunker just off the beach, sometimes
coming in range...and there were terrible things blowing up and raking
the bunker. Big bunker, little bunker, mullet and spearing...all
running for their lives...boy, now that sounds like the beginnings of
fall to me! I'm not sure of the Long Island trip planned for tonight,
the Loomis that was stolen was my rod for lures over 4oz...and the
coming rain and screaming winds will make the hellish drive from here
to Montauk even more unbearable! A 3 1/2hr trip could easily turn into
a 5 or 6 hour trip....and that just doesn't interest me at all. We'll
see, gotta keep one eye on the weather for now. Well, that's pretty
much it...except make sure you check out the
A phone call from Hab's Plugs this morning confirmed the arrival of the LARGE order of needlefish for around the end of the week! I've seen only two of his needlefish in my lifetime....but was so moved after throwing them that I agreed to carry them...there's nothing quite as pretty as Hab's work! Well, maybe a handful of hotties, but that's another story ;) There will be 4 or 5 colors of the 3 sizes...two colors were specially requested...one is the chartreuse green over chartreuse yellow also known as parrot...of which 1/4 of them are already sold! Also, my own personal preference in color which Hab's was kind enough to work out for me, black with a smoky gray belly! Mmmmmm....can't wait to get these things in the bag. I've thrown his 2oz needle recently, it flies and it stays up high enough to fish over the fronts of the local jetties. No, nothing ate it yet...but we're not into the big baits yet...they are arriving now, soon that 7" needlefish will look just like a bunker, herring, or mullet when stalked from below! ;-) Sincerely, Tim Surgent |
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