A good time had by all! (Preliminary Page...will grow as details come!)

What a wonderful event this was! The conditions were almost 100% reversed from the Spring Fling...in the spring, we had terrible conditions but the fish did their best...we had perfect conditions at the Fall Fling and the fish just disappeared! Go figure...

Well folks, the Fall Fling has come and gone...but the friendships and memories we will carry for a long, long time! It's always such a pleasure from my end to meet so many folks that this site has helped to bring together, it warms my heart to see how together we all spread the joys of this insane sport that we all live for! I am moved when I see these guys/gals laughing, fishing, and just plain sharing, it's more than I ever could have hoped for when this site was but an idea in my skull. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

What make a Fling a success?

This Fling, much like the Spring Fling, was a smashing success. Were there tons of LARGE caught? No. Did everyone hook a bunch of fish and have constant action? No. Was there full out blitzes all over the Fling area? No. But what we did accomplish was to put nearly 60 folks together, 60 surf fishermen together and we all shared that which makes us whole. We fished together, we talked to each other, we joked and laughed together. We make 10,000 casts together, walked the beaches and rocks and hunted for stripers together. We learned from each other, laughed at each other and took lots of notes. Lifelong friendships were forged. No one got hurt, no one got angry...it was, just like the Spring Fling, a complete success. Sure, catching lifetime achievement stripers would have been nice, but wholly unnecessary. For both Flings, the main goal was to meet each other and share this love of ours...at both Flings, this goal was accomplished....more so than I could have ever wished. Thanks for everyone's help, everyone's good will, and everyone's efforts!

What'd ya catch?

Yes, there were, eventually a few fish caught! The fishing was surprisingly difficult...it was, according to the locals there, the first night where the fish just didn't show up....but again, that's not really what it was all about. Matter of fact, I took about 5000 casts myself, threw everything I owned...including live eels and at last, 1/3 of a hickory shad that I anchored on the edge of a deep hole I knew should have had stripers in it....I never had a bite all night long! At dusk, we had a Hickory Shad blitz...I landed 7 of them stinky critters...but that's not what we were after....a few were detained for bait later should they be needed...and they were all used...Kadir and Alberto shared my visions of LARGE devouring these tasty chunks...but they all went unmolested...but again, that's not what we were there for. The camaraderie was outstanding, I fished with about 20 different people through the course of the Fling, I enjoyed each fishing with each of them, I'd do it again! Arby, who was on my team along with Dubs, Squidlips, and Arby's brother Mike from Florida....Arby broke off a real good fish. The fish swallowed a live eel...and it never stopped, never slowed down...and eventually, it went faster than Arby's drag would let it...and the two parted company! So close yet so far from fame and glory! ;-) Kurt who fished with the "Mega Team", led by locals FredB, PaulM, and JohnE and including Rooster, Arne, Ravenar, ErikT, ScottT, TimH, ChrisL, DougH, RichS, and SteveM.....well Kurt landed two nice stripers!  I'm not sure what they ate, but I'm guessing it was the 1 5/8oz Gibb's white darter that Kurt is suddenly smitten with! ;-) 

The only other unicorns that I am currently aware of were taken by Crazy Alberto and BrianZ....these guys were out the prior night...they had an edge...and Alberto's not really human anyway, he's part energizer bunny...so they had that goin' for them! ;-) Alberto, as I understand it, took a 32" and 38" striper on live eels just prior to dawn...and BrianZ, Alberto's side kick for the weekend, took a 37" striper! By that time, I was alredy home in bed...I was so tired from the pre-Fling arrangements that I was actually starting to feel feverish...I needed to head home about 2:30am...I probably shouldn't have even driven home, I just needed to get here....BAD!

Shown here, from left to right in the front: Kadir, JCX, Hans (w/ Alberto's fish), BrianZ (with his fish), and Errick.   Left to right in the back row: Derf and Mrs. Derf, DitchJigger, MarkH, and Arby. So, for the nearly 60 Flingers, there were about 5 or 6 stripers taken. The average size was indeed nice...but for all the lines/lures/baits that were thrown, it was not a good showing from the fishes! Alberto's gonna have to talk to them about their hospitality when he finally wakes up! The amount of bait and activity that we saw on the am prior to the Fling was so impressive I was predicting a super Fling showing for the unicorns...but 'twas not to be. But again, that's not what we went there for ;-)

This is just the preliminary Fall Fling page...there are a number of others with photos that will be sent along shortly. At that point, I'll redo the entire page to show all the pictures and tell more of the stories and they are told to me. I'm still recuperating from all the going's on in the past 2 weeks! So, if you have Fling photos and/or Fling stories that you'd like to be incorporated here, send 'em along to TimS and we'll put it all together for a final Fall Fling Page! And once again, my sincerest thanks to everyone who had anything whatsoever to do with the Fling!