The Dark Side of surf fishing

[DarkSkies]

This came from another site,by the eelman Bill Nolan.

Great read about what can happen when it becomes tooo much of an obsession, like anything else.

Written by Bill Nolan





Surf Fishing and the dark side of the sport

Everything can have a dark side, not many people talk about it but our sport is certainly not immune from danger. Not everyone will head down this path but, a lot will, for those on this road, its time to stop at the red light and read on, and don’t say I didn’t tell you so!


How about the social problems? I can rattle of more than a few names of friends I know whose marriages ended in divorce and fathers who missed many of there children’s younger years due to an obsession with being at the waters edge above all else.

I have missed important family functions due to a tide I just had to fish. I have missed weddings, funerals, cookouts birthdays, the list goes on and on. I regret all of it and I can never get any of it back.

1. The world runs by day not by night and that’s when most of the other activities need our attention. Our brains never really re-charge and most of the time we surfcasters walk around in that fog of tiredness all day. My doctor told me the body does many useful things during sleep to help us maintain an even balance, when sleep is lost we lose that balance. I also was told by my wife that without the sleep I was just miserable to be around all day. It’s certainly not fair to be grumpy all day to your loved ones for something we bring upon our selves.

2. What are the other problems associated with pushing the sleep envelope? The first thing that comes to mind is Safety, Making bad choices can be costly when we are not thinking straight, one might venture a little further when wading or take risks we would not normally take because of lack of sleep. Another words, you don’t think straight. One other problem is the fact that it’s easy to fall asleep at the wheel and injure yourself or someone else on that long drive home at 3am after pounding the suds all night.

3. Another friend of mine was killed in an automobile accident two years ago. You guest it, falling asleep at the wheel. There is no fish in the world worth that price, get your sleep. It’s far better to fish a few hours alert than to fish in a daze and risk death from nodding off at the wheel.



4. How about eating habits? I can say without a doubt that my eating habits over the course of my surfcasting tenure have had a direct result on some of the problems I now have High Cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes etc the price for this now is a needle I have to inject twice a day for the rest of my life. I hate to admit it but I have brought much of this upon myself with the choices I have made.






*But what about tide? You ask? I have learned to have places where I can do well at every tide stage, there is always a place for me to go with a reasonable chance at catching fish, I have freed myself of the need to chase tides like I use to. I have also found that my fishing has actually improved; it has forced me to think more about tide and its relationship to stripers.

*So now if its low tide at dark I fish that sand bar that gets me closer to that structure I could not normally reach at high water, if its high tide I fish that hole near the beach or that structure that gets covered which produces at high water, you get the picture. I am much more rested and actually enjoying the sport more.

* When it gets compulsive as it once did for me, it is no longer a sport; it’s an addiction like anything else and a host of problems result from it. I also make it a point now to eat a healthy dinner before venturing out for a nights fishing, it has made a difference and my numbers are improving I also feel better! If I do have the urge to eat, I pack along fruit or an energy bar now instead of the stop at the grease pit. I also bought a boat and it was worth the every penny I paid if it helps my health.

If you think all of this is hogwash, think again, I have several friends who are in the same boat so to speak. Two of them had by-pass surgery at young ages, one had a heart attack at age 42, several are divorced and left all alone, all of them are rabid surfcasters and all have paid a hefty price. We all had horrible eating and sleeping schedules and we were all victims of putting the fish above anything else. Nothing is good in excess. If you learn at a young age to take the sport in moderation you’ll fair much better in the long run. Many of my friends have made the same changes I have and we are all happier people for it.

Remember fishing is foremost an activity that is supposed to be pleasurable not an all out compulsion, make the right choices and do the right things and above all else learn to put the sport of surfcasting in its proper prospective.Dont make the same mistakes I did, learn to enjoy all things in life, you will thank me in the long run!

Bill Nolan

I thought it would be a good time to re-post this quote and article by Bill Nolan. Read the whole thing on the first page of this thread, Thanks again for posting this dogfish. It is something I was thinking about last night.

[DarkSkies]

This has special meaning because Fin and I were talking about it the other day.

There is a guy we are friends with who is down on his luck and has lost his job.
Instead of finding a new job, he has been compulsive about his fishing.
OGB mentioned he has been going to bed at 7pm so he can get up to fish the night tides and put himself in a position to catch the few bass that are around now.

As Fin was talking about our mutual friend., I was thinking about my life and that of some of my friends.
Some of the pics you have seen in the reports were of nice early spring fish. The guys who caught them did not luck into those fish. They fished a whole tide or more to get them. Or figured out what the pattern was, often involving late night tides.





Even when you figure a pattern, in the past it was easier to catch numbers.
I don't know about everyone else, but today it has become more difficult for me to find bigger fish from land. That's why you see all the threads here on conservation and the state of the striped bass biomass.

That also probably has a lot to do with the booming interest in kayaking, so you can put yourself in the center of a body of bass and make it easier on yourself.

Things have gotten so difficult for me to find bass (from land), that I rarely bother fishing the daytime any more.

[DarkSkies]

This has special meaning because Fin and I were talking about it the other day.

There is a guy we are friends with who is down on his luck and has lost his job.
OGB mentioned he has been going to bed at 7pm so he can get up to fish the night tides and put himself in a position to catch the few bass that are around now.

As Fin was talking about our mutual friend., I was thinking about my life and that of some of my friends.
.... often involving late night tides.

I realized that there are some nights I have been in bed at 7pm just so I can get up at 1am and fish certain late night tides until first light.
A friend and I were talking the other day. He has 2 jobs and says he is doing the same thing.

Fishing is fun, but if you have addictive tendencies, it can **** you in, worse than a crack pipe........

I say this because I know.....

[J Barbosa]

When you live an hour drive from your favorite fishing haunts not falling asleep at the wheel becomes a serious concern.

The worst is when you plan to fish 9-1am after a long day of work and then around 1am you finally start catching fish. You fish all night until 6am...and you have to be at work by 8am. You get to work and your coworkers ask if you were out drinking last night and you LOL.

[dogfish]

You get to work and your coworkers ask if you were out drinking last night and you LOL.

Semi-related joke-

Don sneaks in after a night out on the water.
On his way in he rubs lipstick on his collar, and drinks a quick beer so it appears he has been drinking.
He gets into the bedroom and his wife turns on the light.
"Where were you, honey?" his wife asks.
Don says: "Oh honey I was out drinking with the boys.
She walks up to him and sees fish scales on his hands - "Don't lie to me you have been fishing again!"'''''''''

[basshunter]

^^ Haha! Funny stuff dogfish! Here is a cool video maybe you guys will like it.

[porgy75]

Hilarious lol!!!