rwilliamsjr26

Fished all day Monday and Tuesday, AI/VA South Side. Hoping the Spring Equinox would kick off the Black Drum run. A little cool, but great weather. Only action was from Spiny Dog fish, but they were consistent throughout the day. Got all the gear shaken out for the year.

Nope, my oldest and favorite casting reel is my Penn 525 Mag and I'll use it until I can't get it repaired by Penn anymore. Landed a 51" Red Drum with it just two years ago and it still works like a dream.

Came across this online and had to get it. Tommy Farmer covers all of this in his videos, but it's kind of cool to see distance casting technique from the 80s.

I've been eyeing the Shimano TOR14HGA Torium Star Drag Conventional Reel for surf fishing. I have an old Shimano Calcutta (No level wind) that has worked very well for a lot of years and I thought I might look at their current offerings. Thoughts are appreciated.

With the winds being up this weekend, I'm pushing to the 21st. And I've called the bait shops to make sure I can get something. I'd go even if I had to fish just artificial baits. I just need to get a line in

While it's a pain to drive 3.5 hours from Arlington, VA for a day of fishing (I'll do it any day ), it does give me a chance to hit multiple bait and tackle shops for frozen bait on the way, even in January. I'll grab frozen Bunker, Salted Clams and eels if they have them. I always tip my clams with clam fishbites, so a bag of those as well. Frozen is the go-to bait when the winter rolls around and I need to get a line in for a day.

Tempting me to make a run to AI/VA this weekend. What do you thing?

Got this from the Carolina Cast Pro site: One More Cast Joe Moore 40075 North End Road Avon, N. Carolina NC 27915 Tel:252-995-6026 Fax: 252-995-3345 Email: jmonemorecast@aol.com

Fished AI/MD Saturday 12/10 with my brother. Fished frozen Bunker and eels all day. We had to walk over as the OSV was closed. Not a nibble, but a great day casting and hoping. I may give Sand Bridge a try in January in my desperation to get a line in. I had my best one day fishing this year with 5 big Blues, a big Red, a big Black, a bunch of Southern King Fish and a 5+ foot Shark. Now I need to beat that next year. Met a couple of folks from the site and that was really nice. And thanks again to the Man who pulled me out Saturday October 22. First time I've been stuck in almost a hundred runs, he turned an ugly into a fun story. Merry Christmas everyone.

I tried hooking the eel through the tail on a fish finder rig on Saturday on AI/MD (had to walk over due to the closure) and it worked great, not a single ball. Can't thank you enough.

Ok, now a comment on the original question. I fished the Outer Banks for a lot of years, from the 80s - the mid 2000s and caught a few nice Drum and lots of Blues and other small fish in the surf, it's a beautiful place with a lot of fishable beach. It's a long trip for me, so I switched to the DelMarVa beaches, mostly AI, MD and VA and I've caught more fish, huge Red Drum and the largest Bluefish of my life. I think it's a little harder to get the feel for fishing here, but worth it. Stripers are on my list, and they have been harder to get on the MD side for the last 10 years or so, but I'm hoping for a healthy come back over the next 10 years so I can catch a trophy sized one before I'm too old to make the trips. While I hear that Stripers winter in NC, my guess is that they move in and out of the Oregon inlet during that time so fishing the drive on just before the bridge would probably be the best bet, I may give that a try this winter.

I'm in Arlington, VA just outside DC. I make runs to AI(VA and MD) every other week April->November, leave at 3:30 A.M., fish from 7-till just after dark and drive back. Anglers Annapolis is on my way so I pick them up there. If I'm going to the VA side I'll stop at Sea Hawke on 13 in Pocomoke, they almost always have them. If you call Jimmy at Captain Steve's on Chincoteague, he'll try to get them from his source. If I'm hitting DE I'll go to Old Inlet. Thanks again for your advice, I think this will make fishing eels a lot less frustrating.

Sorry, no. I'm an accountant, software developer and Analytics professional and the only thing I write about is Surf Fishing. The other guy sounds much more interesting

By the way, I've become quite an expert at untangling them once they've balled up, it's kind of like knitting only in reverse. The slime helps a lot. Not sure this is a bragging rights skill, but every little bit counts when you're surf fishing.

Well, that's brilliant and I feel kind of stupid for not thinking of it. I guess the best techniques are kind of obvious when you take the time to consider the problem. I can't thank you enough.