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Any Interest in Starting a Maine Surf Casting Club?

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  • 2 weeks later...


Greetings gentleman, I'm brand new to the forum but not to striper fishing. I do the majority of my fishing right off the beach in Old Orchard but also fish Cape Elizabeth, Saco, Scarborough and Portland pretty frequently. I would be very interested in joining a Maine Surfcasting Club after my initial trial period here at Stripers Online. I belong to a couple other online forums in which I contribute to regularly and I plan on being one in this forum as well. Tight lines this season gents, can't wait for the striped ones to arrive here in north country. . . . .


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I'm interested as well. I'm moving from Manchester NH to Biddeford ME in June and I want to learn all about salt water fishing.  I'm really only familiar with fishing freshwater with bait or casting lures.  I'm toying with the idea of buying a boat, but since my wife will be in school or studying most of the time and I don't know anyone in Maine, I'll probably hold off.  Launching a boat at the ramp by myself doesn't sound like much fun.  In New Hampshire I did most of my fishing from a kayak or a square sterned canoe with an electric trolling motor.  I'll probably try to use them in the Saco river near my house, but I'm a little worried about tidal currents.



 



From reading these forums the past few weeks it seems as if I don't really even need a boat to catch fish on the Maine coast.  I should probably focus my attention on what kind of bair/tackle to use, where to get it, finding a budget rod/reel combo that'll fit my needs, ect.  This would be a lot easier and fun if I could hang out with some local people who know what they are doing and learn that way.  


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Won't be much longer now, they should start showing up soon.

With the nice weather we've been having I decided to scoot around in the boat today searching for bait fish. I didn't mark any schools, nor did I see anything flipping around on the surface.

 

 

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Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyingFisherman View Post


I'm interested as well. I'm moving from Manchester NH to Biddeford ME in June and I want to learn all about salt water fishing.  I'm really only familiar with fishing freshwater with bait or casting lures.  I'm toying with the idea of buying a boat, but since my wife will be in school or studying most of the time and I don't know anyone in Maine, I'll probably hold off.  Launching a boat at the ramp by myself doesn't sound like much fun.  In New Hampshire I did most of my fishing from a kayak or a square sterned canoe with an electric trolling motor.  I'll probably try to use them in the Saco river near my house, but I'm a little worried about tidal currents.



 



From reading these forums the past few weeks it seems as if I don't really even need a boat to catch fish on the Maine coast.  I should probably focus my attention on what kind of bair/tackle to use, where to get it, finding a budget rod/reel combo that'll fit my needs, ect.  This would be a lot easier and fun if I could hang out with some local people who know what they are doing and learn that way.  





Either way man you'll be able to get into fish in the OOB/Biddeford/Saco/Scarboough area, with or wihtout a boat. I surfcast 99% of the time off of Old Orchard Beach and we do pretty well floating worms. People have told me and I've seen with my own eyes some big fish being caught in the Saco. Seems like the majority of these reports, with the bigger fish anyway, are from guys in boats who can reach those deep pockets and holes. I''ve had some success catching schoolies below the damn and at a few other spots, but nothing of great size. Shoot me a message as the season gets closer, I can certainly show ya how we do things from the surf and give ya some pointers should you decide to get a boat and give the river a shot. My advice would be to learn one facet of the game first (bait, flies, plugs, etc. . . .) get good at it and THEN start branching out to other areas, but again, that's strictly opinion. 



 


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Quote:

Originally Posted by OOB Fisherman View Post


Shoot me a message as the season gets closer, I can certainly show ya how we do things from the surf and give ya some pointers should you decide to get a boat and give the river a shot. My advice would be to learn one facet of the game first (bait, flies, plugs, etc. . . .) get good at it and THEN start branching out to other areas, but again, that's strictly opinion. 



 





As my move date (June 1st) gets closer I'll be in touch for sure.  You say to focus on one aspect at a time, which aspect would you recommend I start with, bait fishing?  If thats the case, what kind of bait do you use in early summer?  I'm looking at rods/reels from some of the StripersOnline best budget gear threads, what sized rods and how much casting weight do you normally use from OOB?  Also, if you think there are fish in the deeper parts of the Saco, there is a spot on my Radisson canoe with your name on it.  It's a pretty wide boat so even with two guys its pretty stable. 


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There is a Portland Surfcasters group - or there used to be. contact Dana at The Tackle Shop in Portland.

 

I used to be a member of the Portland Surfcasters back in 1970 or 71. That year, I was 18, and caught the largest striper in the state of Maine. Received a beautiful wooden trophy for it.

The Sultan of Sluggo

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Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyingFisherman View Post


As my move date (June 1st) gets closer I'll be in touch for sure.  You say to focus on one aspect at a time, which aspect would you recommend I start with, bait fishing?  If thats the case, what kind of bait do you use in early summer?  I'm looking at rods/reels from some of the StripersOnline best budget gear threads, what sized rods and how much casting weight do you normally use from OOB?  Also, if you think there are fish in the deeper parts of the Saco, there is a spot on my Radisson canoe with your name on it.  It's a pretty wide boat so even with two guys its pretty stable. 





 



If cost is an issue (which it certainly is for me) then I'd say a surf rod in the 10 to 11 ft range & bait would be the way to go, but it's all a matter of personal preference. You can buy a decent surfcasting set up (rod & reel) in the $100 range if ya do some searching. Being new to the salt I wouldn't go overboard and spend a fortune until ya get a feel for what you're doing. Wally World has a lot of rod/reel combos but they're junk and will inevitably break down on you sooner than later. Check out Dick's Sporting Goods if ya have one in your area, they should have some decent combos that are fairly inexpensive. Cabela's Salt Striker series ($130 or so) is also another route ya may wanna look into, my buddy swears by them. I have an 11' Okuma (Avenger Series) that is the cheapest of all my set ups but hasn't failed me once in 4 years that my daughter uses now. You're gonna sink some money into line and terminal tackle as well, hooks, weights (3-4 oz is plenty...I prefer pyramid), swivels (barrel/snap), leader material etc. . . . . . .ur prob looking at another $75 or so, give or take!!! I use 65 lb braid with a 50 lb fluorocarbon leader off the beach, which some will argue is overkill, but I feel very confident that I'll never get snapped off or break my line fighting a big fish. You can get away with much less but it's all about having that peace of mind for me. I fish sand/blood worms floated under a 6/0 circle hook 95% of the time and do pretty well. Almost always use a 4 oz pyramid on a slider, will drop down to 3 oz if it's flat calm and will go upwards of 5-6 oz if the surf is really high. As far as plugs and fishing the river etc, well, that's a whole 'notha discussion for another day. There is an infinite combination of rods/reels/plugs/teasers etc to get into. . . . .pretty confusing if you're new to the game. I appreciate the offer for that spot in your canoe my friend, though I'm not a huge fan of 'em, LOL!!!!! Anytime ya wanna come fish the beach in Old Orchard though just give me a shout, I should be able to get ya on fish. June and September are prime, July/August can be hit or miss depending on the weather.


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