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Excited Surf Newb

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JALCF

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Hello All,

 

My name is Joe, I'm life long 36 years old MA res and have never caught a striped bass.

 

I love to fish and for the last couple of years I've been scouring the internet, researching the species, tackle and gear necessary for the surf.  I've soaked up so much information especially from this forum and enjoyably filtered out all the great sarcasm. I want to thank everyone who has contributed a piece of their knowledge so someone like me has a place to learn and pick up some advice. So I signed up and this is my first post.

 

I don't have too many friends, which is how I prefer it. However, the majority of my friends like to sit around and braid each others hair while I on the other hand still like to play in the dirt...or the sand in this instance. So I'm getting started on my own and I'm really excited. By the end of the month, I should be all geared up and ready put what I think I've learned to use.

 

My general focus is going to be fishing from the CC beaches at first light and afternoon. I probably might start scouting once I get the plow off my truck; a great day of the year which I refer to as "Get This F'ing Thing Off The Front Of My Car Day". I want to ask a couple of questions though and get some advice about wading. I know that these waters aren't what the used to be and the population of water dogs and teeth missiles have made things considerably more dangerous. Besides the awesome advice of "not swimming with the seals" I see so often, is there anything like about the terrain I should look out for? Any areas to definitely stay away from if I'd like to keep the lower half of my body or bad rips that will send me to England? I don't want to go to England.

 

Thanks again!

Joe

 

 

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Joe welcome to SOL Like Bill posted above and also look out for those who are willing to share and you should be good to go . No man is an island . The learning curve can be long or short . It all depends upon how to want to fit into the situation you now find yourself in .

Never having caught a striper will build up your patience to fish more in the early hours at first especially at day break , when the activity will be the greatest for the most part. Observe at first what other may be doing , but remember the better are your chances as long as you have something in or on the water to catch them . Good luck

Life member M.B.B.A #509

Life member Izaak Walton Fishing Association

Life member Cape Cod Canal

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Joe, 

 

Iv only been in the surf for 4 or so years now and i'm always learning....always. Spend some times reading and watching videos on how to read the water, understanding when and were fish stage will really help you out. John Skinner has some great books that you might want to check out, he also along with others have some great videos on youtube. 

 

Before you end up chest deep in the surf at night, spend time in the daylight understanding the waters and really understanding the places you plan to fish. There are a couple spots at night that I won't fish alone without my brother, I'm old enough (34) to understand how fast a good night alone can turn into a bad situation. 

 

I don't know what to tell you about the sharks, Im fishing the North Shore and don't ever think about them. I understand the Cape if full of them now and will continue to get worse. I have a lot of close surfing friends who don't bother with those waters anymore, and these are guys who typically never worried about sharks. It's one thing to be ankle deep and another to be swimming to rocks or taking casts chest deep. Follow your gut feeling, If something doesn't feel right then don't push it. 

 

Keep with it and once you get the bug, there is no turning back. I have read countless stories how this addiction has ruined relationships and marriages. I had a decent amount of hobbies and friends before I got into surf fishing and most of those hobbies and friends fell by the wayside. Its brutal, its all I think about. 

 

Good luck, 

 

John. 

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4 mins ago, Brothers said:

Joe, 

 

Iv only been in the surf for 4 or so years now and i'm always learning....always. Spend some times reading and watching videos on how to read the water, understanding when and were fish stage will really help you out. John Skinner has some great books that you might want to check out, he also along with others have some great videos on youtube. 

 

Before you end up chest deep in the surf at night, spend time in the daylight understanding the waters and really understanding the places you plan to fish. There are a couple spots at night that I won't fish alone without my brother, I'm old enough (34) to understand how fast a good night alone can turn into a bad situation. 

 

I don't know what to tell you about the sharks, Im fishing the North Shore and don't ever think about them. I understand the Cape if full of them now and will continue to get worse. I have a lot of close surfing friends who don't bother with those waters anymore, and these are guys who typically never worried about sharks. It's one thing to be ankle deep and another to be swimming to rocks or taking casts chest deep. Follow your gut feeling, If something doesn't feel right then don't push it. 

 

Keep with it and once you get the bug, there is no turning back. I have read countless stories how this addiction has ruined relationships and marriages. I had a decent amount of hobbies and friends before I got into surf fishing and most of those hobbies and friends fell by the wayside. Its brutal, its all I think about. 

 

Good luck, 

 

John. 

No sarcasm this time. This is a very good post. 

 

It sounds like you don't have a lot of others to fish with, but you have to be extremely careful if you're out alone. Especially in waders. Brothers said it perfectly, "if it doesn't feel right, don't push it." I'm older than both of you, and have gotten much more conservative with my limits (when I'm actually fishing these days). 

 

As far as sharks, they scare the **** out of me. Not gonna lie. I used to never think about them when wading around at night, but now it's all I think about. I honestly don't like to stand in the water beyond my waist at night any more. I will walk out and hop up on a rock, but not standing in the water. Don't give a **** what anyone I'm fishing with thinks about it or says. I know the chances of anything actually happening are incredibly slim, but...

 

And relationships. Yeah, fishing is not good for relationships. I have really had to take a big step back the last couple of years. Became way too much of an obsession. If I was single, no kids, I wouldn't really care, but I'm not. Just make sure you keep your priorities straight. 

 

Good luck. Have a great season and be safe!

F TOMBO

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My .2c

 

Fishing in general is something to do when there's nothing to do.

I'm dealing with boredom. It's a form of exercise and can for sure

has a lot to do with science. You're interacting with the outdoors

and learning how to be environmentally savvy. A good steward of

the sea. I find this SPORT to be the most fun when I'm catching

big fish at extreme distance on light line.

 

LIGHT LINE

EXTREME DISTANCE

BIG FISH

Overalls With Suspenders

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Do lots of scouting by day to get the lay of the land and to observe other fishermen. 

If you find successful fishermen, spy on them and shamelessly copy what they do.

 

Practice wading by day, in easier terrain at first if you've never waded before. 

Getting used to strong current and slippery footing is essential if you're not experienced.

 

Ocean front surf casting, especially in bigger surf, can be very daunting if not frustrating, not to mention dangerous for newbs.

If I was bringing up a young guy (I'm on my 4th boy), I'd stick to jettys, bays, rivers, even the dreaded canal if the Cape is your focus.

Or some of the tamer ledges and rock piles to the north.

Skip the treacherous wading and the sharks for when you get your Sealegs.

 

I rarely wear waders anymore for stripers and usually keep my feet almost dry.

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10 hours ago, JALCF said:

I love to fish and for the last couple of years I've been scouring the internet, researching the species, tackle and gear necessary for the surf.  I've soaked up so much information especially from this forum and enjoyably filtered out all the great sarcasm. I want to thank everyone who has contributed a piece of their knowledge so someone like me has a place to learn and pick up some advice. So I signed up and this is my first post.

Welcome to SOL Joe.

 

I had a similar story. I grew up and lived in Western MA for a long time so I didn't get very many opportunities to fish the salt. However, I did fish at Quabbin a ton while growing up so I knew how to fish.

 

Once I started living & working in greater Boston I spent a year or so reading all I could about striper fishing because I always wanted to do it. I read about rods, reels, lures, locations, tides, moons, etc.

 

It's great information to get you started.

 

However, you won't truly learn about striper fishing, or other saltwater species, until you put in your time. The more time the better.

 

A lot of what I read was true, however, I learned a ton more by fishing spots over & over & over again. I didn't take long before my original rod, reel and lure selection changed dramatically as I learned how certain areas fished and what lures worked the best. I also observed other fishermen, either at the beaches or the canal, as much as possible. I also asked a lot of questions of those willing to share their experiences.

 

Saltwater fishing is a life long learning experience. I try to fish new locations every year. I also try to learn a new fishing lure or technique each season as well to further broaden my knowledge and back of tricks.

 

Keep a log of your fishing. Every year is different. Mother nature can dramatically change every season. There are consistencies every year but there are also great differences every year. Logging your outings will help you acquire a knowledge base of how weather can impact your fishing.

 

Good luck out there!

 

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10 mins ago, HanoverStriper said:

Just curious. Why do people recommend starting with bait fishing? 

Because if you start with bait, you can then appreciate later how much BETTER it is to fish with lures.

 

(sorry, you set me up!)

 

Seriously... welcome to SOL, Joe. Maybe they recommend bait because you ARE more likely to catch a fish with it. Every day is different, but I have found in general that bait is more productive than lures, lures are more productive than flies, and fly fishing is the BEST. If you want to catch half as many fish and have twice the fun... try fly fishing.

 

Just my humble opinion, because I am lucky to be able to fish 2-3 times per week. If I had to drive 4 hours on weekends only, I might be fishing with bait too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. 

 

 

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