We're back, hope the fish followed us!

October 16, 2000:

   Well we went, we saw, we caught some fish, we had a great time! Now we're payin' for it...aches, pains, backup work...but it was worth it, it's always nice to see new places, bother other people's fish, and spend some time with Ditch Jigger. The talk on Martha's Vineyard was that there weren't any stripers around, none, zero, zip...the bait guys during the day were catching one or two sizeable fish, just enough to keep ya outta the prizes with 36" fish...but otherwise, we were told "it's dead." No worries, I ended up with 89 stripers using jigs, bottles, darters, flies, and Hab's needlefish. Nothing monstrous, up to 38 or so inches, but plenty of bites most nights. The Canal was pretty good the two nights we fished it, Saturday night Charlie and I had over 100 fish, mostly from 28-36"....tough on the back, tough on the hands, but a whole lotta fun! Those fish couldn't get enough of the 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 ounce MegaBait jigs. We replaced the trebles with bucktailed Siwash hooks and the fish just waffled them over and over again...it was a blast. We had the opportunity to bend rods with Saltheart, always a pleasure. We didn't get to fish with the Eelman, he said he was coming up with Saltheart on Saturday night but backed out at the last minute...maybe next time Bill! We met Angler#1 for breakfast...and then ran into him as we were wrapping up on Sunday morning....a good egg, a real hard core, life long fisherman who really cares about the future of this wonderful sport. And of course, we got to spend some time with JPowers...the best dressed fisherman on the Cape! ;-) (Just kidding JP, I had to do it ;-) We saw Harrible a couple times, another one of the Ditch's regulars who we enjoy meeting. And we spent the entire week with Ditch Jigger...we've fished with him a number of times in the past, this was the first time we really got to spend this kinda time with him. He's pretty amazing, you'd never know he was in the hospital earlier this year, he never stops! It was he who showed us the way around the Vineyard, having been there for many, many trips prior, a better guide you couldn't find. Of course, we didn't know a soul on the island, but Mike seemed to run into familiar faces everywhere he went. The Derby was cool, uneventful for the most part while we were out there, Charlie managed a daily 2nd place bluefish...we're trying to file off the "blue" in front of the "fish" on the pin, but it looks like it'll always say "bluefish" on the pin. I had a really good shot at taking an overall fly rod striper prize but the one night we had the bigger fish in front of us, I wore myself out early and couldn't face the walk back to the truck to grab the fly gear.....15-20# fish swallowing peanuts 20 feet in front of me, all it would have taken is a 35" fish to lock up overall second for the Derby...the fish in front of me that we landed on conventional tackle were all 34-39"...easy Derby fly rod winners. I just figured, incorrectly I might add, that they'd be there the next night...they weren't, I blew it. Lesson relearned again, don't forsake what you're looking at for what you might find the next night. As it ended up, there was only one 22# fish weighed in from shore on the fly rod for the entire Derby...even a 34" fish would have gotten an overall second place! The next couple nights with the fly rod I could only manage fish up to 32"...they were fun, but they weren't over the 34" minimum for the Derby. Oh well, it was still a blast!

   I had a chance to try out one of the Bronco Neoprene Pullover style jackets...the first night we fished MV, the wind was screaming 25-30kts and gusty...drizzle and rain...and the air temp was about 36 degrees. I dunno what the wind chill was, I'm guessing single digits...but I was so extremely comfortable in that pullover all night long that I swore I'd tell the world. The wind was silenced by the neoprene hood...the velcro closure under the neck was very comfortable...the zippered sleeves even kept my arms somewhat dry while sticking my hands in the water to revive fish...I'm a believer...I'll never be cold or damp again, even in the windy, nasty stuff that the fish love so much.

    I've got about a billion emails to respond to, a billion orders to place to replenish all the goodies you guys bought in my absence and a bunch of orders to fill. I also want to put up the official report for the fishing trip that we just ended....there's just not enough hours in the day! I'll start with some reports on tomorrow's page...and I'm trying to get out this evening. I heard the local unicorns were planning some kinda welcome home party for Dubs and I this evening....I'll let you know how it plays out ;-)

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

Fall Fling time, it's almost here!

October 17, 2000:

    The Fall Fling is now eating up the few precious hours left prior to the event itself! We're looking at 50-60 people, but please, if you aren't registered yet, go register! The link above the date on the page will take you there, if you aren't registered, officially, you may/may not be able to get a T-Shirt at the Fling...registered folks get 'em first. Showing up with $10 to pick up a T-shirt isn't what the Fling is about, you need to register, online. The meeting place has just officially been announced, it'll be at the Oak Beach Inn (OBI). They have a giant free parking lot with BBQ stuff there...and the view of the Fling area from their is super. I'll post the directions here as well as on the Fling Pages. Here goes. From the Verrazano Bridge, take the Belt Parkway (no commercial tags, alternate directions to follow) until it turns into the Southern State Parkway...about 15 miles. Follow Southern State Parkway until you see the Robert Moses State Park exit (around 33 I think.) From there, look for the Ocean Parkway exit...take that about 1 mile to the Oak Beach Inn...it'll be on the left with a giant open parking lot. If you have commercial tags, you'll take the Verrazano Bridge to the BQE (Brooklyn/Queens Expressway) and follow that to 495E (Long Island Expressway.) Take the LIE to the Robert Moses State Park exit and then follow the directions above to the Oak Beach Inn. 

    Now some of you are probably wondering how to get to the Verrazano Bridge, aren't ya? ;-) The simplest way is to take the NJ Turnpike to the exit for 278...I believe it's 13. This will take you straight across from the armpit of NJ to the armpit of NY ;-) 278 will lead you straight to the Verrazano Bridge....from there, follow the directions above. **Now if you are coming from the extreme north, like CT or further, you can come down through NY instead of following these directions. Take 95 south to 295 south to 495 east (LIE).  

     The extremely long awaited, but well worth it 5 1/2" MegaBait Plugs have just arrived!?!?! Holy smokes, they are all I hoped they would be and much, much more! These plugs are the same shape/style as the ultra-deadly 4 1/2" MegaBaits that so many of us have been clobbering the fish on for over a year now, but they are an inch longer, a bit fatter, and weigh 1 1/4oz! Man, they are gonna cast like bullets. Not only that but they also come in the colors that the 6" and 7" MegaBaits come in, colors that I've long wished the 4 1/2" would come in...like midnight shad, schoolbus (yellow shad I call it here, it ain't a real schoolbus color) and an awesome red head/pearl color. Might as well give ya the whole list: Kuro Kin, Blue Back, Light Shad, Silver Shad, Midnight Shad, Bunker/Sardine, Yellow Shad, Blue Back/Orange Belly, and the most realistic Red Head that I've seen. I'll put up the drop down menu for these babies on the 4 1/2" MegaBait page for now....but keep in mind, the colors are the same as the 6" and 7" MegaBaits. Actually, the only differences in colors between the 4 1/2" and 5 1/2" would be the dark shad in 4 1/2" is midnight shad in 5 1/2" and the addition of the yellow shad in the 5 1/2". Oh, and did I mention they'll come with 4X VMC 9626PS hooks? Unbendable! I got a bunch but there's been such a delay in the manufacturer getting them built that I don't expect these to last that long either!

      The latest of the wonderful Hab's creations arrived whilst we were away...his awesome 5/8oz Lil' Scrapper! These little poppers have the same unbelievable paint, same finish, same big soft prism eyes as the 1 oz Perfect Poppers, except they are shorter and have but one single barbless treble on the back...dressed in bucktail of course! I don't have my camera today but will take the pictures tonight or tomorrow. These are the closest imitation for the smaller baits that I've seen, the wood/wire is 3" long and the bucktailed hooks adds a couple more...and they are still 5/8oz and are weighted to cast very well. Hab's knows his stuff! I really don't expect them to last long, the Perfect Poppers and the Needlefish left here at an astounding rate. Hab's tells me he's going to be shipping the 2oz Perfect Poppers soon...I can't wait to get my mitts on them! ;-)

   I had a chance to try out one of the Bronco Neoprene Pullover style jackets...the first night we fished MV, the wind was screaming 25-30kts and gusty...drizzle and rain...and the air temp was about 36 degrees. I dunno what the wind chill was, I'm guessing single digits...but I was so extremely comfortable in that pullover all night long that I swore I'd tell the world. The wind was silenced by the neoprene hood...the velcro closure under the neck was very comfortable...the zippered sleeves even kept my arms somewhat dry while sticking my hands in the water to revive fish...I'm a believer...I'll never be cold or damp again, even in the windy, nasty stuff that the fish love so much.

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

So much to do, so little time!

October 18, 2000:

    My apologies folks, the main page is gonna be a little light on info till after the Fling on Saturday....it's just getting absolutely crazy around here as the last minute Flingers get signed up and place orders...not that I'm complaining, it's just crazy hectic! I don't think there's anyone as excited about the Fling as Crazy Alberto! This guy loves to fish...no, he lives to fish ;-) He's been a monstrous help with the details....which is very kind of him, we'll be flinging practically in his back yard, waters he knows and loves! The latest reports from the Fling area are extremely positive, there are some LARGE up there...a good number of LARGE actually...and some real MONSTERS as well! We may even bring up some live eels...much as I don't like fishing them, they are magnets for these MONSTERS and as such should be considered. Our only local fishing trip was for a couple hours the other night....the weather wasn't bad...the fishing was terrible...pathetic even. I managed 2 micro bass of about a foot long each...Dubs got the small furry creature with stink glands ;-) Not that the 2 micro-stripers were anything to speak of, I wasn't even sure I had the first one till I could see it flopping around...that's pretty sad. I interrogated the little fellas to find out who left the gate to the nursery open that late at night...much like you'd expect from such youngsters, they blamed each other. I'm hopeful that I'll get out once more locally before the fling....nothing gets you separated from the local happenings faster than fishing OPF too many times in a row...the local unicorns will start to resent you...it's all downhill from there. So, much as I'd love to tell ya all about the recent fishing adventure to the northern lands, it will have to wait till I can catch up around here...there's just so much to do and absolutely not enough time to do it! Check out the page to keep abreast, there's a lot of new goodies here and more coming soon!  And always check out the Archives whenever you miss a day...I keep the archives updated daily, everything is there, 100%....read it when you feel like you mighta missed something, it'll help...you'll feel better ;)

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent