Finchaser's rods and the fish they catch.... [Archive]

DarkSkies

10-13-2011, 05:57 PM

Fished 71 hours, ate 3 day old sandwiches, slept an hour or so on the hood of my truck, released a short and kissed a swan oh! wait thats Dark not me
Too funny ya old grouch! :clapping::clapping: :laugh: :moon:

Fished last night, the whole night again, managed some "small" fish 16 and 25#. ;) :lookhappy:

When I left the house, Pebbles told me I was crazy, how the heck could I fish in all that rain? :huh: As I was driving on the Parkway, getting pelted with sheets of rain, I almost turned back...what person in their right mind would want to go out in that?

Those of you who know me, know that hope springs eternal when I'm out there, I just don't know when to give up...I'm famous for looking at 25 mph winds and saying..."Yeah that wind is gonna lay down, I just KNOW it!!!" :ROFLMAO

Also, my log said it was a good time to be out there. Last year around Oct 6 I started catching fish in the 20's and this trip was long overdue.

Despite all the obstacles, the fish were there....
I could hear them in the dark but I couldn't see them. not much lights where I was and there was no moon visible at all. Every once in awhile, above the sound of the whitecaps, you would hear a fish break as it got harassed.

It was difficult because the fish were scattered. Being that there was bait around (bunker or big mullet), I started with a rubber shad. The water was dirty and murky, but there was none of the debris usually associated with the noreast pattern. Shad, and the vibrating tails, are a good presentation in dirtier water because the vibrations help the fish find them...

Within 5 minutes I got whacked, so I was pumped. Many trips for me this year have resulted in hours of casting, for maybe one fish or 2 interspersed in those hours of casting. This was positive. Yet, another half hour of casting the rubber and nothing....

Switched to many other presentations that would swim down from the surface in that dirty water, as none of the surface presentations got attention. Was really hoping for some action on some of Surfstix's or Speedy's plugs, but it was not to be.

Finally I chose a darter because of the erratic action and the vibrations, theorizing that the extra vibration in the muddy water would allow the fish to key in on it. Within 5 minutes I got banged, missed the fish.

Slowed down the presentation, and about 1/2 hour after got a nice fish, 40" and about 25#. Fat healthy ocean fish, light colored and clean. :drool: About an hour later I landed a 35" bass, about 16#, also fat and light colored.
When I landed the first fish it was hooked in the eye and I blinded it getting the hook out. Felt real bad about that. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

The 2nd fish was also hooked in the head and the gill plate. This made me realize that the fish could not see the bait where I was and were using their lateral lines to find it. The darter was the best choice because of the vibration, but they even had trouble finding that in the rough water.

Just to be clear...
I can't say it was fantastic action...with the dirty water, it was a fish or hit about every half hour...I missed quite a few in that murkiness. As the tide dropped the action diminished. I fished it through the slack, and then part of the flood, in hopes it would turn around again. No such luck.

I can't say it was epic....:rolleyes:
But it was a chance to get some quality fish. I've been putting in lots of time with not much to show for it but small fish. At least these were of a nicer class, and migratory clean ocean fish. All fish released.

I CAN say that I had a blast! :headbang:
With all the inconsistency in NJ surf fishing lately, many guys have given up. Talked to the Old Farts the other day OFFC and they have been hitting it hard with not much to talk about...if surf veterans like that aren't doing well, that's a true indication of the state of our fishery, poor to dismal. I would be remiss in my duties here if I didn't try to raise awareness of this every chance I get.....

But catching drag pulling bass in the rain, when ya can't even see 10 feet in front of ya...(BTW the finchaser rod performed flawlessly, thanks Fin!) fishing by instinct,, and nailing bass on artificials when they're keyed in on bait....that satisfied a primal urge in me so deep I felt like a caveman who discovered fire!!!

DarkSkies

10-13-2011, 06:30 PM

Fished last night, the whole night again, managed some "small" fish 16 and 25#. ;) :lookhappy:
When I left the house, Pebbles told me I was crazy, how the heck could I fish in all that rain? :huh: As I was driving on the Parkway, getting pelted with sheets of rain, I almost turned back...what person in their right mind would want to go out in that?

Those of you who know me, know that hope springs eternal when I'm out there, I just don't know when to give up...I'm famous for looking at 25 mph winds and saying..."Yeah that wind is gonna lay down, I just KNOW it!!!" :ROFLMAO

Slowed down the presentation, and about 1/2 hour after got a nice fish, 40" and about 25#. Fat healthy ocean fish, light colored and clean. :drool: About an hour later I landed a 35" bass, about 16#, also fat and light colored.
When I landed the first fish it was hooked in the eye and I blinded it getting the hook out. Felt real bad about that. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

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25#

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16#

jonthepain

10-13-2011, 09:30 PM

well done, partner.

re: hook in eye. that's why I always clip my trebles. well one reason. the other is cuz I got hooked once, and had to carry shaking fish and lure and rod and everything else while attached to said fish about a mile up the beach where i had dropped my pliers...

i hate trebles.

cowherder

10-13-2011, 09:32 PM

Hey darkskies looks like you really knocked it out of the park! 25lbs great catch!!! And even better on the release, way to go!!!!

DarkSkies

10-14-2011, 02:32 AM

Thanks guys.
Fin released a nice healthy keeper tonight, 33", around 12-13#.

DarkSkies

10-27-2011, 03:10 PM

Finally downloaded the pics from the other night...
fish to 17#..
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A little revival before swimming.....
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DarkSkies

10-29-2011, 04:18 PM

It sounds like finchaser is a tough old salt...You guys are hardcore!:clapping:

Yeah he's tough as shoe leather, and as grouchy as a bear that just woke up from hibernation....he started fishing on the party boats when such luxuries as heated rails were not available....

it ain't no joke....ya don't want to step in front of him when he's had a bad day.....:scared: :kooky::)
He does have a heart of gold, and is willing to help almost anyone who asks for advice, though....:thumbsup:

Some pics of the bass the other night, and the bluefish the night after that....

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(Note I'm touching the bluefish's gills because I killed it for food.)

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DarkSkies

11-02-2011, 01:16 PM

Fished with Fin last night, we released 2 keepers. One about 10, the other about 13#.
Hooking myself as an added bonus..........

Fished OC with the OGB last night.
It was tough to find a places where the surf was fishable, big swells everywhere. If not for the tide being as high as it was we would have had no water.

Despite the handicaps, we managed a very slow pick of fish, 2 bass, 1 about 10. The other about 13#. All on plugs, as the water was rough. A few other hits and misses.

I kind of ruined the flow for Fin when I put a hook in and out of my palm. :bucktooth: The fish lay on the beach and I didn't leader it as usual but grabbed it closer to the hook. Thank God Fin had dykes with him.. :thumbsup:The hook went clean through and we were able to crush the barb, cut it, and back it out.

More than embarassing because it's the first time I ever put a hook in my flesh, clean through. :beatin:

I know better...and that's the most embarassing part of all...http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon11.png
I know he won't let me live the stupidity down, so I might as well come clean and fess up....;)

From now on I'll be crushing all my barbs, and will strongly be preaching that to you folks out there......

We missed out on valuable fishin time by dealing with that hookin palm. I know he would have had some bigger fish, but the opportunity had passed.......

Much gratitude to the Old Grouchy Basstard for being there....
I might have been in a little trouble without his quick thinking.....:clapping::clapping:

DarkSkies

11-14-2011, 01:38 AM

Some of the fish Fin and I have been C&Ring. I think there are a few different dates mixed in this set, as I didn't get a chance till now to download my last pics of released keepers......and there are some smaller fish mixed in as well. :fishing:

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DarkSkies

01-02-2012, 03:27 PM

His rods have stood the test of time and the "DarkSkies" abuse test. Anyone who knows me knows I'm using my gear a lot, as I don't have a lot of premium stuff to interchange..so it gets used almost constantly during the season...

And I fall down on rocks, slip into water, have waves break over my head, drop things, smash things (accidentally) into bulkheads, etc, etc....

So for me to use something it must be sturdy and low maintenance.

Thought I would post up some of these rod and fish pics as a testament to the craftsmanship in a Finchaser rod.

Personally, I don't like it when someone hypes up a product, just because they're a paid spokesperson...and they therefore have a vested interest in the success of that product...some guys will in fact promote one product, while they know another one that is better, but they're not getting paid to promote the better one, so it's a mis-guided testimonial IMO....

That's why I'm so sensitive to these kinds of things, and don't like to accept free products from guys, even at the shows, if I'm writing an article or info piece about them, it just doesn't feel right. Maybe that's just me, or the way I was brought up....:don't know why:

DarkSkies

01-02-2012, 03:40 PM

I already own 2 of his rods, and have been fishing them hard. :viking:

Pebbles owns one. It's just right, and balanced, so that casting it repeatedly doesn't hurt her shoulder too much....:thumbsup:

I've been fishing them for about a year now, and what a difference they make in my ability to cast and stay out there all night (so you see, my addiction to fishing is partly his fault...:laugh:)

I'll post up some more here in this thread when I get a chance...
The reason I'm posting it now, is that he's the "Go-to" guy for rod repair for several of the area's Top Tackle shops...

many may not know this as they tend not to promote the guy who does the repairs for them...that's the way business is done, I understand that...

But his attention to detail, and compulsive craftsmanship, when building is remarkable, and something that many may not be aware of...

And the tackle shops that bring the rods to him for repairs,,,they have now put a hold on bringing him rods, because they feel they don't want to burden him as he recovers from his surgery.

He's still doing rehabilitation, and doesn't have unlimiited time....
but he still has time to build a few rods this winter...and could probably benefit from having that fishing-related work to keep him busy...as he won't be fishing for several more months of the rehabilitation....

I and Pebbles own Finchaser custom rods, Rip's daughter owns one...Cardoc owns one,,,,and I believe a few others here may have talked to him about one, or own one already....

FYI - Now is the time...before it gets busy in the spring and he becomes his usual grouchy self again.....:ROFLMAO

Any questions at all, he would probably be glad to answer...
So PM or e-mail him today, before he gets busy....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon3.png

finchaser

01-02-2012, 05:01 PM

you never cease to amaze me.thanks for letting me in on this.

bababooey

01-02-2012, 07:08 PM

^ That crazy dark is a master of promotion. Dark you should get a job in marketing, you really should. Now if you could find a way to market smelly waders that attracted the fish in your direction when you were wading for them, you would be rich.:ROFLMAO :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

01-04-2012, 11:55 PM

Nice going Steve...it doesn't get any better than this....;) :HappyWave:

Mon night, 1/2 to 1/3...

15 bass to 18#....:drool:
Action was great, dropped about 10 as they were very light hits. A bump that felt like a hickory shad could be either an 18" or an 18# bass....you had to stick them quick and hard to find out what was at the end of the rainbow.....:cool:

4 of them were keepers up to 18#, released...

DarkSkies

01-12-2012, 08:21 PM

Mon night was outstanding, 19 bass to 15#,[/COLOR] biggest on Surfstix's Custom A-40 (Sorry Surf, I tend to call ALL metal lipped swimmers "Dannies", less syllables to say, and we all know how I need to cut down on the syllables and paragraphs I spew out there...:ROFLMAO )

I'll post the pics when I get a chance with an abbreviated report. I'm losing energy to post these long-winded reports when I need to spend my time on work, Pebbles, and going after these fish at night.
Those of you who got my phone reports consider yourselves lucky (or cursed...:laugh:)
Congrats again Extreme, and all the others who pushed it to get fish.....:clapping:

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Look how ugly that mag darter looks, it's been hit by so many fish it has almost no color left...anyone here wanna tell me how one color or scale pattern is gonna slay them over another color?
Put another way...is it the color that catches the fish...or the guy working the plug that catches the fish....

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Here you can see one with a bulging belly.
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For the log:
Winds start -finish: 0-10, Sw to W
Temps: 38-32

The level of activity was exceptional. The moon being obscured by clouds probably had a lot to do with that.
What worked - mag darter fished old skool style was most effective and landed the most fish. Fish were scattered and you really had to work for them. After realizing how scattered they were, I "teased" them into hitting the plug, and my hookups increased. Caught fish on both sides of the tide.

Also caught a few on black bomber and yellow and orange swimmer.

Surfstix A-40 Plug accounted for the biggest fish, around 15#. Landed one at 15#, then lost that plug when another fish in that class wrapped me around structure and I couldn't turn her.

19 fish total
4 of the fish were keepers, to 15#... all released.

DarkSkies

01-13-2012, 03:12 PM

Sorry it took so long, people. The pics are being copied from previous threads and many of them coming from the Winter Fishing Thread.

I'm using 2 of his rods,

They are both the Lami GSB blank 1081 L

1. the 7'3" rod that he custom engineered for me after I broke the tip. That rod is a perfect rod for rivers, bulkheads, places of strong current like tidal outflows, and for fishing rockpiles and inlets.

Pros: You can increase your numbers because it really allows you to haul a fish in and get it quickly back in the water. It has the stiffness of a pool cue, yet is light and limber enough to cast for hours. You can easily lift fish up to 20# with this rod and/or control them aggressively so they don't hang ya in the rocks. :thumbsup:

Cons: The lightest of plugs, like the Daiwa SM and the rebels/redfins/small bombers don't go quite as far as ya want because while the rod can handle 3/4 to 3oz, the sweet spot on that rod is probably 2oz...that's ok because most of the casts from the rocks are 50 feet or less....

2. The 8'6" Finchaser surf rod. Lami blank with Alconite guides, this thing casts like a dream and is castable for hours on end with little effort. :drool:

Pros: Castability, lightness, strength (when he sells ya a rod he bends it in half seemingly beyond the breaking point)..these rods are limber and strong! :bonk:

Cons: When the fish are out over the bar, an 8'6" rod won't generally reach them...but other than that, this blank and Finchaser build will toss just about any plug or metal out there up to 3oz.

** For anyone who has an interest, he now has one rod for sale, a 7'3" Lami similar in height to the one I'm now using. It was a shorter blank to begin with so you won't be able to lift bass on the rocks with it...
It's an ideal early/late season plugging rod....
I think the range is 3/4 to 3 oz for this rod, not sure.

For $160

Contact him if interested or if you have any questions.

DarkSkies

01-18-2012, 11:32 PM

Fished last night, 2nd shift...

A friend had called earlier before I went to sleep. . He's pretty hardcore and is out regularly in adverse conditions. He claimed lots of activity but no fish hooked or landed. I told him I might go out there and give it a shot if I could get up early enough....

Woke at 2am with the wind crashing 30mph against the house....:kooky:
It was 55 degrees out... I thought to myself...if I can just get dressed in 5 minutes, I can be at the water's edge by 3 am......:fishing:

Got down there, the wind was still howliing.
When I saw the water, I began to see the problem my friend had hooking up,...during the night a mid-period swell had developed, this one being an intermittent one with sets of 2 and 5 waves, 5-6 secs in duration, waves 5-6' high, with a calm period in between...
The wind was relentless, the spray from the waves a little dangerous....but the fish were there. They were completely absent from the first stop...had to leave and try another place...

Within 5 minutes I was into fish. It was a slow steady pick hampered by the swell. The only thing in my favor was the ebb tide....

Had to work for each fish with a missed hit or fish landed every 5-10 minutes. Fished a total of 2 hours till my hands got wet and I couldn't take it anymore...

The bait we talked about last time is no longer there. Instead herring were on the menu, so the swimmer you see in the pics accounted for the action. Extremely slow retrieve. The misses were frustrating as I missed at least twice more than I landed...I usually do better than that on the hookset, but with the swell I began to see the problem my friend had out there.... if you did get action, the swell literally pulled the plug away from these light-hitting fish. When the water is this cold, you only get one chance per retrieve. The fish will generally not come back to hit the plug again once you miss the hookset.

Nonetheless, it was solid action from fish up to 26"...and just as I couldn't take the cold anymore, lost a teen size fish on structure....14745

After that, I was spent, and decided to call it a night.
The bite I'm looking for usually dies off around first light anyway when the smaller schoolies take over....

In all, a good night. :fishing:

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Striped bass to the teens on January 18, doesn't get any better than that. :drool:

For the log:
Temps start-finish - 55 to 48
Winds - steady 20 W with higher gusts
Water temps - about 45, these fish are really getting sluggish
Fish - 4 landed to 26", missed about 10, and lost a teen fish on structure
Swell - mid-period intermittent swell, dangerous on the flood, fishable for part of the ebb

Rod: I had the Finchaser 7'3" stiffer rod, good for plugging in the intense wind, lifting fish, and getting them back quickly in the water. I started with some heavier rough water bottle plugs but got no activity on them. Had to change it up with the swimmer pictured.

** Note: in the last few times out, a different plug has been the top producer each time because of varying conditions. Although guys tout the Daiwa SP minnow as their "best producing plug of all time", I haven't caught a fish on that plug for over a week because the conditions where I was weren't conducive to that presentation. :learn:

That's one of the most exciting things to me about the night plug bite....it will not be revealed to you until you crack the code for that night....and the challenge of that, is part of the thrill of the chase....

DarkSkies

01-21-2012, 10:59 PM

Last night was one for the record books.
Fished 6 hours, managed 22 bass. (Vpass Quick! how many bass/hour does that work out to? :HappyWave:)
5 of them keepers to 30".
4 released, kept 1 for the table.

What was significant was the level of activity and the Aggressiveness! :headbang: I read some other reports where people didn't mention this. They said the bass hit sluggishly...I guess we were fishing in different areas then. ;)

I know these bass, I know this bite...and the hits have been extremely sluggish as of late. All that changed last night. As Finchaser has said so many times, the bass before a major storm put on the feed bag and instinctively know it's time to feed aggressively.

I had some family issues and got a late start. Didn't get out there till 2 hours into the ebb. Wondered what levels of activity I missed. Didn't matter, within 5 minutes I was into fish. These fish hit like that plug was the last meal they would ever have.

I was grinning more than a guy who had been given an exclusive contract to massage the Dallas Cowgirl Cheerleaders at an all inclusive resort...:pig:

Although aggressive, I would describe the first 2 hours as a steady pick..you still had to work for the fish...but it was comforting to know that every few minutes you would get one... that 2 hours was the hottest action of the night. I managed 12 bass during that time and 7 bass during the next 2 hours.

There were some periods of inactivity...I decided to experiment away from the usual "slow crawl" retrieve and stepped up the speed about 50% faster to moderate retrieve. That seemed to be the ticket to where I was and brought steady action for 4 hours. A good Surfcaster learns to recognize any patterns that are different that night, and exploit them to get the maximum amount of fish, or instead target the bigger fish using realtime analysis and info.

The action was what got me hot..really hyped up and poised like a tiger ready to strike with each hit...there was one point where I was cackling louder than a Redneck who just sold a truckload of moonshine...if you heard some lunatic laughing insanely out there in the dead of night you were in the right place....:laugh:

Took a few pics but not as many as usual as opening and closing the PFD each time to get to the camera is becoming a PITA, and at times dangerous.

Also lost time during which I could have increased the numbers...lost 10 minutes when I decided to keep a fish and figure out where to put it...

and another half hour....When I saw how aggressive the fish were I shifted grears trying for some bigger fish..15 mins on a bottle plug, 15 mins on Killie's Saigon Slammer, a Gary2 replica.... no action at all on those plugs.

So realistically, I lost at least 40 minutes of prime fishing time...and in my head I know some of ya's will be mad or jealous of this statement, but based on that level of activity, I could have had well over 30 fish, C&R if I continued with the swimmers I was using and released all fish.

The Finchaser rod was a big assist in this, helping me to get the fish in ASAP, lifting them, dehooking with the Stainless T-handle de-hooker Fin got for me (thanks again Fin), and back quickly in the water in healthy shape...

The initial bite was so good I only moved once in 4 hours, not even stopping to take a leak (that's a feat in itself as you get older....:o)

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The bite slowed at the end of the ebb.

I took a 2 hour break, eating and making some incoherent phone calls...the ones who got them. hey I tried, but it seems the window I wanted ya's to get down and fish closed at 4am instead of 7am like I predicted....:don't know why:

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Caught fish on both tides, though top of the ebb was definitely more productive. After 4 hours I had 19 fish...it took 2 hours to get the other 3 fish as I fished, mid-tide on the flood. until at 4am it became too rough as the building SE swell, snow, and E/NE winds made if unfishable and I went home.

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The thing is..the night up until that time was perfect conditions.... I saw another report where the guy complained about the N wind...where I was, open area, the winds were 0-2mph until 3:30 AM,,,THIS WAS A TRUE GIFT! ...How many other times do we have in Jan where we can fish in 33 degree weather with winds under 5mph? :drool:

True, the fish are smaller, the 15-30# fish may be gone for good., but a 22 fish night, with 5 keepers thrown in....near the end of January????..I'll take that action any night of the week!

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For the log....
Temps start-finish -- 33-28
Wind - light w/NW o-2mph
Water temps - 45deg
Bass: 22 to 30" and about 11#
Plugs, the ones you see pictured worked, bottle plug and metal lips got no action....and the Daiwa SM got me 2 fish on the flood tide, but had to stop fishing them because the water got rough and a bigger swimmer was needed..

As mentioned, the Daiwa is a good plug and one of my favorites. However, there are times when other plugs get the job dne better. A good surfcaster needs to learn to recognize these subtle differences.

DarkSkies

01-26-2012, 03:45 PM

Got out there later than I planned, but was able to fish the last 4 hours of the ebb...and the first 2 of the flood.

The swell fom the previous storm was still a problem. There was a 5 wave set, duration 2-3 secs, mid-period swell, where it was unfishable. You had to wait for that to pass, and cast like mad till it came back again.

Managed 9 bass to 34", 15+ lbs. The 15 wasn't weighed, quick pic, measurement, and back she went. Let me describe this fish for you...she was 21 1/2" in circumference, round and fat like a tuna. Bulging belly, looked bursting at the seams with whatever she was feeding on. :bigeyes: (Could have been as heavy as 17#, but we'll say she was 15.....)

Kept one of the smaller keepers. 29 1/2", around 11#, freakishly fat as well. The other fish varied in body shape and style...as I've mentioned before, I feel these are Chesapeake and Hudson fish mixed together, based on the different body styles, tail and head shapes.

Bigger fish hit rubber.
I think Vpass gave me what I was using...Thanks Bro!!
Smaller fish hit small swimmers with rattles, but not the Daiwa SM, as it was too rough to work that.

As mentioned, it took 6 hours to catch 9 fish. Had to work for every fish I landed.

I'm used to moving around to find fish, as the heaviest feeding locations change from night to night...
This night was especially challenging as I hit 3 locations with no action at all. It was only when I was getting ready to leave location #4 when I got the 15....a half hour of casting after I caught her produced no action, so I was forced to leave for locations 5 and 6, where I caught the rest of the fish in a slow pick...

It was nowhere near the level of activity before the storm. Although the water seemed a bit warmer, the fish were very sluggish. The only slightly aggressive hits came on the rubber. and I missed quite a few of those hits.

Down the Hatch!

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Big head

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Fat belly...In the following 2 pics I attempted to show how fat her belly was. The pics really don't do it justice, as her belly was freaking bulging....:eek:

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Belly bulge....

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For the New Guys...
A good surfcaster has to know when to move, and when to mix it up to produce results. The places that worked for me on prior visiits were not producing. The plugs that were catching got no action at all. Thinking about the sandeels that were around, caused me to consider rubber....and within 10 casts I had that first fish....but after that I had to fish hard for every fish or strike. There was no pattern to speak of....just countless blind casting....and that's what you have to do when the fish are scattered like that.

For the log....
9 Fish to 34" and 15#
Released the biggest, kept 1 at 29 1/2" for the table.
Wind - 0-2mph W/NW
Temp - 45-40
Moon - new, 2nd night

** Note, on 1-25 (Tue night into Wed morning). I got these bass using the Finchaser 7'3" rod.

These fish are becoming very sluggish as the water temps trend a bit below 45, but lots of fun and fight when hooked, especially the teen fish....

finchaser

01-26-2012, 08:08 PM

remember that's a kayak rod that you use on the jetty to man handle fish

jonthepain

01-26-2012, 10:47 PM

still waiting for a photo of the rods...

plugcrazy

01-27-2012, 08:29 AM

Yeah dark, all these fish pics and no finchaser rod pics? I would like to see pics of the rods as well. thank you

DarkSkies

01-27-2012, 09:30 PM

Rod pics for ya's...

this is the Finchaser 7'3" River and Jetty rod...even though Fin claims it's only a kayak rod it lifts fish to 15# with no problem...:headbang:

As I explained to some of ya's, I have a strategy mapped out every time I fish. I think about it before... where I'll land it, where I'll guide her, de-hook, and slide back into the water. If the fish is a schoolie... I lift, de-hook and it's back in the water in less than a minute unless I take a pic...If the fish is close to 15 or bigger I try to swing it in to my landing spot and grab the leader to control the fish....I use 80-100lb Suffix Mono leader for a reason....and by the fish I've been posting, I don't think too many of them are leader shy at night....

I'm not saying you or anyone else should lift 15-20# fish with these rods, but mine is pretty strong....:drool: and should last a long time unless I make a Googan mistake...;)

These pics are taken the last time I got some fish, as it was snowing and the bite died...
I have some other pics which showcase the rod better....I'll try to dig them up and post when I get a chance....

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If this setup could speak, would it lament the snow, and the fact that it won't be in use for awhile??.....http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/images/icons/icon9.png

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Finchaser Rods...
Made to be fished hard....:fishing:
In all kinds of conditions
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storminsteve

01-28-2012, 04:39 PM

The snow on the gear is awesome, truly hardcore! It looks like the finchaser rod gets the job done! Great pics btw.:thumbsup: Love those big fat open mouths. You can tell some of them are big by the thick lips. Hope to kiss some lips like that soon:drool:

DarkSkies

02-13-2012, 04:36 PM

It's mostly over now, at least for the bigger fish that some of us have seen and landed....some small schoolies left, and you have to work for them, not worth the effort for 90% of the guys out there....

I regret I couldn't be completely honest....a few guys I know are still fishing, hitting it hard, and with the warmer weather and specific internet reports a lot of guys came out of the woodwork...as has been said, it looked like a May afternoon during the Spring bunker blitzes on Fri....and while 95% of those guys who came there because of the internet reports didn't catch anything....a few of us were putting in the time and catching steadily.....and I was asked to put off posting for a while until the weather got colder...:HappyWave:

Total for the past week...48 bass, it was a lot of fun, had a blast....:drool: :wheeeee: :cool: :fishing:

**************
2-4 Sat PM
Fished in the dark. The yakkers had done well that day. Didn't want to be part of the resulting internet fishing crowd so I procrastinated getting down there. Fishing was still good, fished for an hour...managed 6 bass to 26" on rubber.
Then the NE pattern kicked in with the tide change, making the swells constant and up to 5' high, unfishable...

For the log:
6 bass to 26", rubber
Wind NW, light seas, built to NE and heavy seas, the NE killed the bite
Temps, Air - 50-42
Water, 44

DarkSkies

02-13-2012, 04:43 PM

2-5 Sun AM

I slept in the car for a chance to fish the sunrise...fished 5:30-7am.. for 1 1/2 hours...most of the water was unfishable with the big swells and higher tides...still gave it a shot..made 3 stops...at first place I had a few "lookie-Lou's" just watching me as I blind casted looking to find a stray fish or 2... I know the second I hooked up they would have been out of their trucks and rushing the beach.
No success at all in that rough water. :skunk:

***************
2-5 Sun PM

Came back for the PM bite...
A better trip, some good action. The big swells were still there so I had to use a different strategy than I usually do. Fish were there but it took 15 minutes to find them at first stop. Once I did, managed 6 fish in the first half hour, that was sweet. And yes, I was howling at the moon! :viking:
Action slowed down after that, fished for a total of 3 hours, managed 16 bass on rubber.
14843

For the log and the new guys:
16 bass to 27", rubber
Wind W, strong, steady 15+
Temps, Air 38-38
Temps, Water- 44-45, the NE did the trick of bumping up the water temp and fish were on the feed.

I gave it a shot with plugs, a few bumps, but the rubber was the key to provoking them.
They're primarily feeding on sandeels now, with small herring, squid, and tinker macks part of their diet as well.

DarkSkies

02-13-2012, 06:06 PM

2-6 Mon PM
" Dark, I can't catch fish on a full moon, the moon is too bright!"
Lots of guys out giving it a shot for the PM bite....unfortunately 95% of them didn't have any action as the fish weren't feeding at that time. A few friends and I came out later on...

Again, at the first stop I made it took about 15 minutes to find the fish...once I did they were pretty aggressive, it was just a matter of presenting correctly. Rubber again outfished plugs, although I got my biggest fish of the night on a plug.

A friend came out to join me. He had been somewhere else where no fish were caught. You have to remember that these fish are not everywhere, there are little pockets of them and you have to hunt for them...the locations, and feeding times, change from night to night, so that's what makes it so exciting to me...anyone coming out to fish for "just an hour" would not be able to see these things, and they usually give up..

My friend, with my instruction, fished rubber. It was tough for us as the wind was still SE...not really that great, and we had to fish into the wind, a little uncomfortable...once he got into the groove he started catching...I told him I wouldn't fish until he landed at least one, so the pressure was on...I can be a little intense at times. I knew he wanted me off his case, but the only way for him to do that was to get a fish....

14847

And he did, I think he managed about 4 or 5 total, and dropped quite a few more. He also lost one keeper sized fish because he wasn't ready for it...after that his adrenalin level pumped up and he definitely became more animated!

The best action was for an hour when he got there...after that it slowly diminished...he managed 4 or 5 to 27"...just for frame of reference, some people are dismissing this as a "schoolie bite"...for the most part, the bigger fish have left, that's true, but his 27" fish was about 9#. fat as a carp....

I'll take those "schoolie" fish any day of the week!

I managed 11 fish to 29 1/2". If I concentrated solely on my fishing I would easily have had over 20 fish, but I wanted to make sure he got into the groove first. He's a good friend, has invited me on his boat many times, and we just never seem to be able to fish together. He was ecstatic when we left, and I could tell he really needed these fish to put a little enthusiasm back into his life. :thumbsup: I was glad to help him out in that regard. Although I usually prefer to fish alone, we both had a blast fishin together..

(One that I kept....this was one of the skinnier ones for its size....)
14849

14846

14845

Fat belly........

14844

Striped bass aka Saltwater Carp....:)

14848

For the log and the new guys:
11 bass to 29 1/2", rubber and swimmers
Released one keeper, 28 1/2", kept the 29 1/2"
Wind - SE at first, not that great, 10mph, eventually shifting to W, which made it more comfortable.
Swell - there is stilll a big swell out there, the SE did not help it either...and you really had to pay attention to the swell to consistently present the right way to get the fish...

Temp- Air - 52-47
Temp - Water - 44, fish will feed aggressively at this temp and above as long as there is food around.,

DarkSkies

02-13-2012, 06:39 PM

2-10 Fri, fish active again....

2-10 Fri
Big feed before the troops move out...
Got to the beach near dark..there were 5-6 guys on every rockpile...
Set up away from them as the tide was coming in and the swell was big...I knew a lot of guys, if they stayed where they were, would end up getting wet.
Went to some higher ground, started getting a slow pick of bass within 15 minutes. Switched back and forth between rubber and bombers.
Fished 2 hours of the flood, then went to take a break and grab pizza for the slack. Came back 1/2 hour later and continued to catch fish in various places.

14854

It was a night where, if you love surfcasting, you didn't want to leave, because even on the slow periods, the worst action gave you a fish or missed hit every half hour. The best action gave you a fish very 15-25 casts if you paid attention to the tide and current.

14853

There were 2 good feeding cycles during this trip. Most guys who only fished an hour would not have been aware of that. Most guys did give up after an hour, and 95% of them did not get any numbers of fish, despite the tackle shop internet reports hyping this bite.

14852

For the log and the new guys:
12 bass to 27 1/2", rubber and swimmers
Fish were not on top - mid level, slightly sluggish unless you hit them with rubber, you really had to work for each fish...for example, the first place I went to I got 5 within 2 hours...that was half the number of fish caught in a 2 hour period for that location...a lot of guys just couldn't seem to dial in to all the things you had to do to get a fish.
Dropped 2 nice fish additionally...still mad at myself for that...one was at least mid teens....

Wind - S at first, not that great, 10mph, eventually shifting to SW, which made it more comfortable.
Swell - there is still a big swell out there, the SE did not help it either...and you really had to pay attention to the swell to consistently present the right way to get the fish...

Temp- Air - 45-38
Temp - Water - 45f - it seems the water where I was had gone up a degree or 2 with the most recent NE pattern on Tue

DarkSkies

02-27-2012, 04:32 PM

It's 10:30 Saturday night. I have just spoken to DS. Dark, you are one of a kind and a great friend. Knowing that you are out there in a howling 40 mph wind makes me hope that King Neptune sends the one stray 50 on the east coast your way tonight. :HappyWave:

As I said Mick, it was pretty intense out there, but not exactly 40..;)..I would say the sustained gusts were only around 30-35mph....:kooky: :HappyWave:

2-25-12 good level of activity...

high winds, cold conditions....the fish don't know that we're suffering out there, they only know food and water temps...

The previous NE had churned up the water, it was still dirty.
The daily 40 (gusts up to 50 mph)since then had cut the swell down, but it was still there, still a bit dangerous...and the wind chill was a problem, down in the low teens with the wind chill taken into account.

But I was out there, up at bat.....

It took a long time to find fish...fished a total of 8 separate locations.,...fished the whole ebb tide....
It took 2 hours before I found any fish at all...and then only 2 on a yellow bomber profile plug....

Hat to keep schlepping around....was getting tired...but a little later at another location I found feeding fish....they were stacked up here, small and larger, and the activity level was high...a fish or missed hit averaging every 10 casts....:drool:

Some fish were extremely small, and some were fat...I landed one 27" bass that was about 9#, and some real skinny ones as well.

Missed an embarassing number of them in that murky water...:beatin:
The majority of the times they barely hit the plugs...taps light enough that you think you are getting hit by hickory shad, but they are all bass.
When that happens, set the hook to cross it's eyes.

As I said the level of activity was pretty high, and helped me get my focus off how cold I was...:eek: In fact, I had to stop a few times to warm up my fingers with the hand warmer in one of my inner jacket pockets.

14909

For the log and the new guys:

What worked: Bomber profile plugs, nothing on rubber.

Wind - W/NW, NW at first, not that great, W, steady 15-20mph, gusts to 35. Easy to get cold in winds like that.

Swell - there was a 2' swell out there, duration every 10 secs,.
Temp- Air - 38-35
Temp - Water - 45f - these ocean temps have risen 3 degrees in the last 10 days, a severe change for ocean temps and much more favorable to bass activity.

Managed 15 bass to 30", 2 which were keepers, released all.
(One of the 30" fish I was gonna keep, haven't eaten winter bass in awhile.)

However, his tail had a bite mark that looked like it was made by a 15lb bluefish...I figured if he lived that long with such a handicap, he deserved his freedom.....long live the Underdog! :clapping::clapping:

**********

**All on the Finchaser 7'3" stiffer rod....

finchaser

02-27-2012, 06:38 PM

:don't know why:Maybe the fish with the bite mark couldn't take it any more and developed suicidal tendencies and wanted to get out of the nice comfortable water into the cold night air causing it to go into shock and die on return to the water.Putting it out of its misery. I guess that's better than a ride in the stinky car.:scared::HappyWave:

DarkSkies

02-29-2012, 12:07 AM

^ Man you are one Grouchy SOB.....:scared: :kiss:

Tell ya what...
I'll stop fishin for em tomorrow...

And you and I will go and crusade for the cause of keeping the bass from freezing...
We'll start with the old timers you know, tell them they can't fish for any bass after Nov 30...
And then we'll make speeches at all the fishing clubs you belong to...
We'll tell them they aren't allowed to fish past Nov 30 as well, and will not be allowed to wet a line till the water temps are back to 55 degrees....

How long do you think it will be....
before you and I get run out of town..with pitchforks and torches? :rolleyes:
:lynchmob: :fishing: :HappyWave:

** As for fishing artificials, you better get your gear ready...3rd week of March, I'm camping outside your house, until ya come out with me to fish the BBay at night....

finchaser

02-29-2012, 08:44 AM

Never mentioned you, got a guilty conscience. Was looking at it from what i heard once at a meeting which PEW attended that fish have feelings. Better the fish should die like that than in a black bag in the smelly car. have a nice day

wish4fish

02-29-2012, 10:21 PM

dude who cares abuot pew or peta they are a bunch of a-holes! why wud u even talk about them they suck!

finchaser

02-29-2012, 10:52 PM

dude who cares abuot pew or peta they are a bunch of a-holes! why wud u even talk about them they suck!

You have allot to learn PEW is the fisherman's worst enemy plus we are joking, but then again why do I owe you an explanation

DarkSkies

03-01-2012, 07:52 PM

...plus we are joking,

Wish4fish, the thing between me and Fin, is that I do my thing... and 99% of the time he criticizes whatever I do, and he barks at me....it's all good and if there was a day he didn't yell at me for something I would be worried that he's off his game...:laugh:

In fact, that's how we gauge his health..by the number of times/day he yells at the people around him....when he isn't ranting, we truly do worry....:)

And realize that his last name ends in a vowel....he knows people, has friends in high places, low places....don't poke him too much :kicknuts: or you might have Vito and Pasquale end up at your house looking to take you for a ride to be fitted with the latest in cement shoes....:eek: just saying.....:HappyWave:

wish4fish

03-02-2012, 02:58 PM

ok ok i wont bother him no more didnt kno hes related to the gottis lol. finchaser u talked about ppl like peta and pew as far as i kno they are all skanks and homos working there and they mess up r fishing i dont kno more than that only what i read cuz you or dark posted it. so chill out dude and pls dont get mad

finchaser

03-02-2012, 04:33 PM

I'm not even close to mad:laugh:

DarkSkies

03-02-2012, 05:09 PM

^^

(He's lyin...he's had mad cow disease for 50 years now......):ROFLMAO :HappyWave:

finchaser

03-02-2012, 08:20 PM

:2flip::beatin::moon::2flip:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^:HappyWave:

hookset

03-13-2012, 08:34 AM

^^

(He's lyin...he's had mad cow disease for 50 years now......):ROFLMAO :HappyWave:

:2flip::beatin::moon::2flip:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^:HappyWave:

You guys fight like an old married couple. Get a room!:laugh: :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

03-17-2012, 11:23 PM

3-17-12 A few fish....

The night tides were late this week. Overslept on Fri night, got up late....down to the water and found it was pretty gnarly out there. Constant swell, hard to find fishable water. Water was also clouded up by the recent noreast pattern.

There was also a tremendous fog blanketing the area,,,,making the ride down treacherous and with visibility only 100' at times, and negotiating the beaches a challenge.

Bass were on the bottom. Rubber was the only thing that worked.
There were no real concentrations of fish...almost all the fish and action were scattered over a large geographic area....
14951

7 bass to 34 1/2", around 16#....all released.

Note: For these fish lately I'm using the Finchaser 8'6" Lami, as I have needed to get some distance at times. The fish have been scattered and for me, I'm only getting these fish by fan casting and hitting them on the head, wherever they are.....

finchaser

03-18-2012, 05:08 PM

:idea:want to buy some longer rods?
Got a super 9' conv Lamiglas 3/4 to 3 ounce good for throwing 1 ounce plugs to heavy metal or God forbid the other stuff.:whoo:

DarkSkies

03-18-2012, 09:06 PM

Sorry Fin I won't be throwing any bunker or clams from the beach this year, as much as ya want to see me do it.....:rolleyes:

But anyone else who's interested....

Fin's culling his 30 some custom rods that he's built over the years, some at fire sale prices....I think Extreme Visions might be buying one of em soon....

And the Conventional he's selliing,....I think might be good for those who fish conventionals from land and want to throw bucktails, eels, or bunker chunks from the beach or the rips....
PM him for more info....
Rumor has it that buying one of his rods...(and bring him some chocolate cupcakes) gets you a casting and jigging session, old school style....can't beat that deal....:cool:

DarkSkies

04-30-2012, 03:29 PM

100 Fish Marathon 4-24-12 (Monday into Tues)

100 Fish Marathon...31 blues (landed and released with dehooker) to 12#

65 blues (quick release, defined as being on at least 30 secs, or released in the wash or at my feet as I leadered it in and kind of allowed the quick release. Early on, I realized that if I were to last all night and get good numbers, I would have to release these bluefish as quickly as possible, so often giving them a bit of slack was enough to have them fall off right in the wash as you brought them in)

Action, missed hits, activity of at least that many more...

7 bass landed to 17#, all released
103 fish total

**The action was so good that at the end of the trip my reeling hand cramped up on me into a claw. :scared:
I had to take the fingers of my other hand and pry them back to normal. Good times. :cool:

All on rubber, bucktails and pork, and swimmers like bomber plug profile.
(Interestingly enough, I threw the bottle plug no hits on that), although I got savage hits and landed and lost some nice fish on metal lip swimmer.

** Lost the biggest bluefish of the night on surfstix' metal lip swimmer. it was down deep and fought like a bass.I brought it up from the bottom. At the last seccond I saw it had inhaled the Surfstix plug....and it bit through the 100# leader...Sorry Surfstix....:( .It did not go down in vain, caught 2 bass on that plug before it was sacrificed.

Action from over 100 fish total, I had a fish on or lost one on every 2nd or 3rd cast for a total of 5 1/2 hours solid feeding activity.

All because there were bunker, herring (4-6") and small spearing where I was.

These bluefish were so aggressive they were hitting the plug 3 and 4 times in competition...
But you had to stick them HARD to get a hookset, as plugs are not natural to them and they were bumping the plug and then letting go....

I have had better bass action.....but.... the bluefish action was insane, best bluefish night artificial action in years for me. :drool:

DarkSkies

04-30-2012, 04:23 PM

4-25-12 Tue PM/Wed
Continued Activity levels

Got out later in the tide. Met with a friend. He already had 8 big bluefish landed by the time I met with him. The herring were still around, and we continued to hammer fish on plugs in the 2 1/2 hours I fished with him.

Him - total 22 big blues to 12#, one 28" bass.

Me - 20 blues landed, and 3 bass to 10#.
Had action from at least that many more.
Action was fast and lasted to about 1/2 hour before first light.

15161

DarkSkies

04-30-2012, 04:27 PM

4-26-12 Wed PM/Thu
Ebb Tide
Met up with Finchaser. It was the Old Grouchy Basstard's first surf trip of the year.:headbang: The tides were late, and I almost didn't make it out there as work and fishing were taking a toll. So I showed up late, true to my nickname AL.

We ran into some VS sharpies, had all the gear anyone could desire, but not a clue on how to fish.....
Thread on that here:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8389-Hewey-Dewey-and-Stewie-the-tale-of-3-Surf-Sharpies

Finchaser had 3 bluefish before anyone else even got a tap. Showing the young pups how it's done.
The area got crowded, and we left for a quieter place.
We both hooked up with a few bass to 33" and dropped a few.
Although we did catch fish, it seemed the level of activity was off, and we called it a night.
It also seemed that the herring had disappeared, and we marked very little bait throughout the night.

Total - Fin spanked me in bluefish hooked, and also had bass in the low teens. :thumbsup:
I managed 2 bass to 13#, released.

15162

Overall, the fishing wasn't that great compared to previous nights, but the company was....hands down one of the best and funniest nights of the entire week as Fin made running commentary about Huey, Dewey, and Stewie.....and almost convinced them to leave for another place until one of them caught a bass....the things the Old Grouchy Basstard says are priceless.....good times...:fishing: :HappyWave:

4-27-12 Thu PM/Fri
Ebb tide
I was shot from all the fishing, work , family responsibilities, Walking around like a zombie.
Still, I knew I had to be out that night giving it a shot. I missed the agreed on time with Finchaser, and didn't make it out till 3:30am.

The wind was terrible, N/NW 20+ mph all night, and cold, around 40 degrees.
(Funny how everything is relative..I fished in 22 degree weather in the Winter, and was comfortable,. yet I was cold in this 40 degree weather because of the constant wind)
Absolutely no action at any locations that previously produced.
Ended up in the ocean near an inlet for sunrise, still no action.
First skunk all week, hey that's fishin'. :skunk:

finchaser

05-01-2012, 09:43 AM

spot burner I recognize the sand in post 24 :HappyWave:

DarkSkies

05-03-2012, 01:52 PM

^ If there was some color to that sand I could see your point...;)
Otherwise.....:moon:
I think it's time for another trip to the Netherlands....:HappyWave:

VSdreams

05-03-2012, 04:08 PM

Great reports and pics keep em coming!

DarkSkies

03-14-2013, 12:07 PM

I felt compelled to post a little more in this thread.......

Some who see me promote the rods he builds may not trust my motives or think they have their own take of the motivation.

We are friends, it's natural I would want to promote something done by a friend.....this is done in the fishing world many times over, often without folks knowing the relationship between the "poster", and the "postee". I'm mentioning this so that is transparent and disclosed.
Those that know me know that I hesitate to promote anything I don't have personal experience with. One of the reasons you will see some of my disclaimers when I review or mention something....

A story developed yesterday, that I thought would be a good example.

1. It's no secret that Fin rebuilds rods for some of his area's busiest shops.....
2. He has done the Winter bulk rebuilding of the boat rods for many charter Capts..
3. With a few exceptions, he knows the parameters and technical issues better than anyone else who I have met or heard of.
4. If you have a question about an obscure rod, and the value of rebuilding it....Fin would know.
5. Over 40 years of doing it.....all the time not cutting corners, because his reputation for Quality is more important than anything else.....
6. A well-known maker of rods recently had him build a specific rod for the surf crowd. They then copied his rod as a template and used that to mass- produce one of their popular models. (with his permission, nothing extra going in his pocket)

** And, all the fish posted in this thread were caught on one of his rods.....:fishing:

I got a lesson on Quality and cutting corners when we spoke yesterday....I thought if we could keep it anonymous and general it wouldn't seem like we were specifically criticizing another rod bulder. If you recognize any of this, please do not name anyone by name...that's not the intent...the intent is to show exactly why I felt the need to write this, and it not seeming like I was shilling for him.

For those who don't know him........Fin was asked to build a rod for a good friend.
Someone insisted that only 5 guides were needed. Fin explained that for that rod type and length you would use 7 guides. Attention to quality doesn't cost that much....He explained that using 5 guides instead of 7, you would at most make $1000-1500 more in profit building 100 rods....

The Old Grouchy Basstard wouldn't compromise......He refused to make a rod with 5 guides, that in his opionion, needed 7.....Some harsh words were traded back and forth....He ended up insulting a long-time friend of his, telling him to go eff himself, get someone else to do the work.....:argue:

The point to his story....without it sounding like a shill story....If he's so adamant about Quality Contol, and building things right, that he would get into a knock down argument with a friend, over building something that he felt would fail quicker.....wouldn't you want a guy to put that same type of fanaticism, and level of old school craftsmanship, into a custom rod you bought?

storminsteve

03-14-2013, 01:01 PM

The point to his story....without it sounding like a shill story....If he's so adamant about Quality Contol, and building things right, that he would get into a knock down argument with a friend, over building something that he felt would fail quicker.....wouldn't you want a guy to put that same type of fanaticism, and level of old school craftsmanship, into a custom rod you bought?

Well said dark. The way you guys fight on here so much it's surprising to hear you say those nice things. Must be an Italian thing, are you both Italian?:laugh: :HappyWave:

finchaser

03-14-2013, 01:50 PM

God forbid he was Italian, but thanks for the kind words

surfstix1963

03-15-2013, 04:51 AM

What rods???? I think I saw one.

DarkSkies

03-15-2013, 10:03 AM

^ You're gonna bust my balls too?....:moon:
What I like about this site is all the love :rolleyes: I get from you mooks.....:2flip: :laugh: :HappyWave:

Right now the Drag island thing is a big issue.

Pebbles and I spent a lot of time grabbing the petition signatures to a printable format so they could sent them to Gov Christie....and trying to rally the troops as a participation of only 338 signatures, when tens of thousands of us surf fish, is dismal.....
Here's the petition if any of you haven't signed yet....
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8824-Losing-Access-Save-Drag-Island-Access

Yesterday we finally got the RFA to come onboard and lend support :thumbsup:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?8881-Drag-Island-What-s-All-the-Fuss-over-One-Lousy-Island

With work and all the things I'm trying to get done before I start fishing again there isn't a lot of spare time left.....

So I posted the fish they caught...yes there is probably only one of his rods in there...:rolleyes:....I was using 2 of them at one point until my Googan tendencies took over and I effed up......:bucktooth:
I took some great sunrise pics of those rods, not while I was using them, but as I was leaving the beach in the morning....looking at them I decided they were too specific with the background, so I would have to crop the pics, re-save them again....and then post up here.....

**If you're good at that and have the time, I'll be glad to send them to you...and you can re-post them here....pal.....:kiss: :moon:
Always a pleasure to hear some honest commentary from the Cranky Old Basstid..... :HappyWave::thumbsup: