what is it about being in the surf?

[basshunter]

I fished this morning, no fish. I saw bait and birds about 1/2 mile out. If I was in a boat we probably could of hooked up with some fish, maybe not. Maybe they were just herring or sandeels with no bass under them.
But I really like walking the sand, or fishing the rocks and inlets at night.
Walking out on the sandbar at low tide and hoping for a few bass or bluefish, you can't do that from a boat. Still, you would probably catch more fish on a boat, so why do I like the surf so much?:huh:
Sunrises and sunsets, for one.
This time of year you have a lot of open space. Not many guys are fishing, except today there seemed to be more people.
Why do we do what we do?

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[hookset]

Not many guys are fishing, except today there seemed to be more people.
Why do we do what we do?



I agree. If the beach becomes too crowded you can always go on a boat. Or a yak. The yak is good because you can reach places that aren't accessible by a lot of folks. Still, there is something about the pounding waves, or the silent sunrise that builds to a crescendo if there are fish around (not many lately) and the birds and bait go nutz!
There is the challenge of walking out on the bar, not getting wet in the trough, and keeping your position when the surf is big and knocking you around.
Catching fish is the ultimate goal, but there is so much more to it, it's hard to define in my head why I keep going out there. I just do.:fishing:

[DarkSkies]

Solitude and peace and quiet. :cool:
I like the solitude most of all, which is why I fish at night a lot. There's something about being out there in the darkness, just you, nature, and the water, sand, rocks, whatever.

We're all entitled to fish where we want, no one owns the beach. I truly hate crowds, unless that's the only option. Give me a place where I can have a lot of elbow room to myself, and that's where I'll be. :heart:

[rockhopper]

When you are in the surf its just you against the fish. You have to use everything you got to trick him. And even when you're hooked up, you could always lose it in a wave or in the wash. It makes you know that you have to be on top of your game to land a big fish in the surf. Thats what does it for me.

[Monty]

I like the solitude, yet the camaraderie with the other surfcasters. The challenge of fooling a bass with an artificial. The sheer beauty and ferocity of the surf. The way the senses are on edge at 2:00 am when I am alone either ocean side or bay side. My mind is solely on finding and fooling fish, there is nothing else. It resets the mind, relieves stress. Its fun, challenging, exciting and I love the rush when fooling a bass or fighting a Blue Fish.

[Monty]

Give me a place where I can have a lot of elbow room to myself, and that's where I'll be. :heart:
Guess with those waders you had on in November elbow room wasn't a problem.....................

Just kidding....mine were not allowed in the house or for that matter the garage for a few week period.
I 'm with you on the crowd thing, I hate them and completely avoid them.

[cowherder]

The challenge of fooling a bass with an artificial. The sheer beauty and ferocity of the surf. The way the senses are on edge at 2:00 am when I am alone either ocean side or bay side.

Beautifully said Monty! I like the challenge whether I am catching or not. There are no guarantees out there.:plastered:

[bluesdude71]

Getting away from it all, the wife, kids, pressures of everyday life - I leave all that behind when I go out to fish.

[surfwalker]

All great posts. I guess we all have different reasons. My reason has always been the same, a form of an addiction. A sense of personal satisfaction that is maybe never totally achieved. A perfection that is strived for, but just out of grasp on some walks. An enjoyment that never gets boring, but is always looked forward to. I fish solo 99% of the time, but I am never lonely. The anticipation of the strike is great, but if no strike is had, the time was not wasted to me.

It’s something I’ve always enjoyed. Even when I wandered away from actually surfcasting, from time to time, the thought was always on my mind.

The time away from surfcasting is depressing, the time surfcasting is always too short.

[plugginpete]

Like eating shrimp and lobster every day, maybe? We think we would like that because it's great stuff.
If it was just common, and similarly every time we went fishing we caught multiples of big fish, we would eventually get bored. I know I would. I kind of like the idea that I don't know what to expect from one trip to the next.

[Monty]

Like eating shrimp and lobster every day, maybe? We think we would like that because it's great stuff.
If it was just common, and similarly every time we went fishing we caught multiples of big fish, we would eventually get bored. I know I would. I kind of like the idea that I don't know what to expect from one trip to the next.
Great post, its the challange that is fun. I'll fish for eight hours, catch nothing and have had a great time, or fool one 22 inch bass and feel like I succeded, beating the skunk. After a few skunks, that next bass feels REAL good.

[rip316]

I have to say what I love the most about the surf is that I have a chance to spend time with my friends and sometimes family fishing. It's that little step back from life where nothing else matters. Catching a fish is just a bonus.

[clamchucker]

I like the convenience. The boat is a chore for me now that I am older. I don't mind tagging along on a friend's boat. However, the maintenance that is required, seems to be never-ending. I try to help where I can when we are out for the day. Some guys get on, fish, and then walk away, leaving the tasks to the Captain. I do try my best to help with the cleaning and stowing things away, and it can be a bit much for me.
So I like the surf. You can go fishing for an hour, or twice a day, with little effort. I fish weekdays a lot, so I don't run into as many crowds. If I do find a crowded beach I tend to go somewhere else. The sense of achievement at the end of the day for me comes from getting out there, getting my exercise, meeting a few old friends, and maybe catching a fish or two.

[ledhead36]

The beauty alone is worth it. We have some of the most beautiful beaches on the Northeast coast. Yes for a few years we had problems with garbage, needles, etc. But where else can you go in the tri-state area and have about 100 miles of beachfront in one state alone? That is why many people from Pa, NY, Ct, and even Canada come to our beaches to visit.


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[hookset]

Great post, its the challange that is fun. I'll fish for eight hours, catch nothing and have had a great time, or fool one 22 inch bass and feel like I succeded, beating the skunk.

What he said. It is a feeling you get. It's not the fish, or the glory, or ego, although that is part of it. To me, the challenge - fooling the fish to hit, like monty said, and being out there on your own terms, that's the biggest part of it. The solitude and quiet is also a major attraction for me, so dawn and dusk are great times for my psyche. The pics below remind me of how good the solitude actually is.

[cowherder]

The solitude and quiet is also a major attraction for me, so dawn and dusk are great times for my psyche.

Cool pic, hookset.

[cardoc765]

For me it's the calm of the sound of waves rolling, sun rising or setting. Knowing that the hunt is a bit more intense and strategic from the surf as opposed to a boat. I love being in a boat as well, don't get me wrong. But a lot of times, I love to just watch the water and look to see if I see anything happen in the water. It takes me away from life for the moment I am there and makes everything ok for a bit.

[plugginpete]

What he said. It is a feeling you get. It's not the fish, or the glory, or ego, although that is part of it. To me, the challenge - fooling the fish to hit, like monty said, and being out there on your own terms, that's the biggest part of it. The solitude and quiet is also a major attraction for me, so dawn and dusk are great times for my psyche. The pics below remind me of how good the solitude actually is.


Being out there in the thick of it. this video kind of reminded me too, except the music is so gay.:upck: Turn the sound off if you look at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uByGDtimBSY&feature=related

[DarkSkies]

Beautiful water in that video, Pete, got wood just looking at it. :drool: IMO Rhody has some of the nicest coastline in the East.

[JustEd]

From as far back as I can remember, I have been chasing Bass. In the beginning it was for cash. We would Fish Narrie from a boat, usually at night unless it was early spring. I always looked forward to the fall as we would put our attention to the outer Cape Beaches back when Fall runs actually happened. That was back when a surf caster could actually make a decent living standing on the sand.
I had my "Boat Phase" up until 8 or 9 years ago. Truth is, and I hope this does not come accross as Arrogant, Boats bore the pi$$ out of me. They are too easy to catch fish from. At one time I had 3. The first 2 to go, were the bigger, high maintenance, expensive to run Fishing machines. I kept the smaller one for a while and it sat through 2 seasons before I gotrid of it.
The memories of the surf from my younger days haunted me, consumed me, and beckoned me back.
There are many reasons surf casting holds our attention. For me?
Some of the points hold true as stated above. My stomping grounds are rockie and dangerous even on a good day. The best days to be on these points are the days when everyone else is running away from the shoreline. I love the crash of heavy weather pushed curling body crushers on the rocks that sends spray 30 feet over your head. Casting a personally made or made by a freinds custom plug into the rips and wash created by the violent surf. Understanding and expecting the hammering slam of a Large Bass can happen at any time keeps the addrenaline pumping like nothing else.Even getting skunked doesnt matter because you have never felt so alive as when you are so close to this edge.
Then there are the days when the surf isnt so big, and the water might be a little warm, or the wind not so right, and you need to figure things out, read the water hard, pick the right plug, or sling a few Eels. These fish are special because you had to use all your accumulated knowledge, extreme patience, and perservierance to get tight with one.
Boaters, for the most part, at least the "average" boater neither knows or needs to know most of the things a surf caster must. Water too warm close in? Head out go deeper, look for rocks on bottom in the fish finder and drop a chunk. Wind wrong, power up and head to where it doesnt matter.
I have been Skishing for a few years now, and this method has opened up tactics that allow me to use some of my boating knowledge to enhance my surf casting prowess. The biggest thing I love about Skishing is being one on one in the Bass's house. The tactical ability to fish water boats cant get into, and I couldnt reach from shore in the past.
Surfcasting is not a seasonal or weekend endeavor for me, its a life style that consumes my life daily.
The ones that get it are my salty brothers, those that dont, are just people that like to spend some time fishing.

[rockhopper]

The memories of the surf from my younger days haunted me, consumed me, and beckoned me back.
There are many reasons surf casting holds our attention. For me?
Some of the points hold true as stated above. My stomping grounds are rockie and dangerous even on a good day. The best days to be on these points are the days when everyone else is running away from the shoreline. I love the crash of heavy weather pushed curling body crushers on the rocks that sends spray 30 feet over your head. Casting a personally made or made by a freinds custom plug into the rips and wash created by the violent surf. Understanding and expecting the hammering slam of a Large Bass can happen at any time keeps the addrenaline pumping like nothing else.Even getting skunked doesnt matter because you have never felt so alive as when you are so close to this edge.
...The ones that get it are my salty brothers, those that dont, are just people that like to spend some time fishing.


Awesome way of looking at things guy! I totally agree!:clapping: :fishing:

[rockhopper]

Hey guys this video nails it COLD! AWESOME!!!! :drool:


http://vimeo.com/42129694

[Monty]

Hey guys this video nails it COLD! AWESOME!!!! :drool:

Cool video, can't be more hardcore than that.

[7deadlyplugs]

Now that's what I'm talkin about! I hear you rockhopper and monty that is an awesome video and you can't get more hardcore than that. Thanks for sharing.

[cowherder]

That video is great. Pure adrenaline.

[Monty]

Now that's what I'm talkin about! I hear you rockhopper and monty that is an awesome video and you can't get more hardcore than that. Thanks for sharing. after watching that I have this urge to get out on a sand bar in the Jersey surf and take a wave over my head. Gotta love the enthusiasm Bill has in that video.

[buckethead]

Mee too Monty. It really gets you pumped watching that. I think it's safe to say those guys are hardcore to the max.

[DarkSkies]

The Brotherhood of Surf fishing......


Something I wrote today.......



Thought....
You can join the Elks, the Knights, the Masons, for $$... or a check.
You can buy into many organizations with a check.


You can join the an interner fishing forum for free....




Surf Fishing Brotherhood? :kooky:
You can't buy into it with $$....
You can't fake a diploma...
You can't join by reading....


The only school..is the school of hard knocks......:kicknuts:


And the only payment is...
Paying your dues with perseverance...
Putting time on the water....
Sweat, blood, and the stench of stale sweat and wet funky waders..:scared:


Sleeping in your vehicle to maybe stretch the bite to two different tides....


And Keeping Your Mouth Shut...
1. On nights when someone shows you a special spot of theirs,,,,you do not come back the next night with "just 2" of your buddies....or a Go Pro camera and post it all over the Internet, if it is a small spot that can't handle the traffic.....


2. On nights when only you and maybe a few other dedicated surf nuts are fishing, and you happen to find 20 or 30 bass each, all teens or bigger.,,,,,you have self control to keep it to yourself....and you go back and exploit that pattern, until it is over....then you might talk about it.....






Are you willing to get skunked night after night in the same place, until you learn the tide and feeding patterns for that area?


Once you learn your area, are you willing to travel to areas that you have not fished before, taking your knowledge, and bringing it to the next level?


Are you are willing to exist on crappy Quik Chek and Wa Wa food and coffee while you are out there on nights no normal folks want to fish?


Are you willing to get your morning shave and hobo showering done in a gas station, Quik chek, or Wawa bathroom, so you can get to work on time after having fished all night?


Above all, when a guy who seems to have more experience than you, offers you a tidbit or 2 of advice,.... will you sop it up like it was your last meal.. WITH APPRECIATION....even if the words seem a little harsh...and then try to build on that knowledge, so that when you are lucky enough to get some knowledge again, maybe you can provide some fishing intel to return the favor?




















Once you understand the meanings of some of the questions above..by having been in those situations...


You could qualify for that brotherhood......but you cannot buy into it, you have to earn your way into it.....:thumbsup:...and as mentioned, the raw ingredients are time on the water, and learning one trip at a time.....

[Monty]

Sweat, blood, and the stench of stale sweat and wet funky waders..:scared:


That was a typical trip for me earlier this year :HappyWave:...

Dark I fished the same area 4 out of the 5 days this past vacation (today was the last day), caught a handful of short stripers, but really learned a lot about the area. About a mile plus was the walk. Structure along the way was repeated. I "only" was able to fish 2 1/2 hours in the dark each outing, can't wait to stretch it out to 5 1/2 hours of "in the dark" fishing the area. Can take my time and fish each piece of structure harder.

Time on the water is irreplaceable.

[DarkSkies]

I posted this earlier somewhere else....thought I would post it here.......


"How I have forgotten how beautiful it is out front at night with you, the surf and nobody around. It is such an inner peace."








XXXfreshwater, your words here really got to me.
This is one of the things that drives me out there.
Obviously, I'm looking for a trophy bass every time, but we all know that ain't gonna happen as much as we would like....


The point here, is that on these forums, for most guys it's all about the numbers and weight - small bluefish, schoolie bass, these "insignificant" catches....get discounted at times....because they're not a slob, or a cow, or caught with your Lami'VS surf combo and weren't impressive enough to dump half your spool with the first run....


I think....at times...we ALL lose sight of "What brings us out there...." as you so eloquently put it......
That inner peace.....
I, for one....couldn't live without it....
Fishing feeds my soul.....there is nothing else that can compare, in my world, to a quiet night out there....when no one is out because there are no internet reports.....and the solitude.....and a few fish if you're lucky.....is priceless........:fishing:

[DarkSkies]

after watching that I have this urge to get out on a sand bar in the Jersey surf and take a wave over my head. Gotta love the enthusiasm Bill has in that video.


That was a typical trip for me earlier this year :HappyWave:...

Dark I fished the same area 4 out of the 5 days this past vacation (today was the last day), caught a handful of short stripers, but really learned a lot about the area. About a mile plus was the walk. Structure along the way was repeated. I "only" was able to fish 2 1/2 hours in the dark each outing, can't wait to stretch it out to 5 1/2 hours of "in the dark" fishing the area. Can take my time and fish each piece of structure harder.

Time on the water is irreplaceable.


Fast forward 2 years......
Monty is a new man....braving different environments and situations.......on his Nomadic Quest to tell us all to Eff ourselves and leave him alone....:ROFLMAO
Looking back....on where you were then....and where you are now......any comments there, banana-head? :kooky: ;) :HappyWave:

[Monty]

Fast forward 2 years......
Monty is a new man....braving different environments and situations.......on his Nomadic Quest to tell us all to Eff ourselves and leave him alone....:ROFLMAO
Looking back....on where you were then....and where you are now......any comments there, banana-head? :kooky: ;) :HappyWave:
:ROFLMAO

Hell yeah, I'm a banana head for not heading to LI sooner.
So far I find lots of solitude and a lot nicer water to fish. Lots of fun. Just wait until I get some real white water out there.....I will be over come with (WWJ) White Water Jubilation.
And with all the driving I am doing I think my driving skills are at an all time peak (only side swiped one tree while driving down a trail). And 1 ticket for illegal right turn.......Otherwise all the driving has been fine, except for lots of NY drivers driving to slow in the left lane. Also the tolls are ridiculous. And parking near the water is impossible without a permit. And some permits are crazy expensive. Otherwise its GREAT. Would be nicer if people kept their headlights off while riding the beach. People I have bumped into out on LI have been very nice (sometimes too nice). But mostly very, very good people.

I'm really liking LI :bigeyes:

[DarkSkies]

People I have bumped into out on LI have been very nice (sometimes too nice). But mostly very, very good people.



Yep, I would love to hear you share some of those stories someday....:scared: :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

I posted this earlier....lots of stuff going on in my life and it has been a very long time since I've been out there...too long......

Getting out there the other night....I had these thoughts...and thought I would share them here.....

simply going out there...breathing the salt air in.....fishing the night tides....scouting for bait....the anticipation of the fish....rather than actual numbers to brag about....was the chief draw pulling one out there? I fished in perfect conditions the other night...was the only fool giving it a shot...where I was.....scouting and casting, walking.....the quiet solitude of the trip....was invigorating......Though I didn't catch any fish.....it was the connection with nature and the outdoors....casting a line, getting back into the swing of things...walking the flats....finding a few winter spearing....getting excited when I found some more....finding some clear water to fish in....trying to formulate a plan of when to fish next....based on what I saw that night....feeling the tidal flow as the cold clean water ran through my weathered hands once more....

At one time....(back in the dinosaur days):rolleyes:......the trip itself used to be the draw.......not the internet chatter that "you should get out there now because it's ON!!!!" :viking:http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/smilies/don%27t%20know%20why.gif


Sometimes it's not just the catching that we need.....but the trip itself.....:learn:

[buckethead]

simply going out there...breathing the salt air in.....fishing the night tides....scouting for bait....the anticipation of the fish....I fished in perfect conditions the other night...was the only fool giving it a shot...where I was.....scouting and casting, walking.....the quiet solitude of the trip....was invigorating......Though I didn't catch any fish.....it was the connection with nature and the outdoors....casting a line, getting back into the swing of things...walking the flats....finding a few winter spearing....getting excited when I found some more....finding some clear water to fish in....trying to formulate a plan of when to fish next....based on what I saw that night....feeling the tidal flow as the cold clean water ran through my weathered hands once more....

Sometimes it's not just the catching that we need.....but the trip itself.....:learn:

You have a certain way of writing it down that makes it very colorful. Agree with you 100%, Getting out there keeps me going at my age. Any fish are just a bonus.

[cowherder]

Was just going over the threads and read this one. LOL I would say any fish are definitely a bonus especially lately because they are here one day and gone the next.