skishing?

[voyager35]

I think we have alot of fearless fishermen on this site. How about letting us in on some of your experiences?

[DarkSkies]

I remember in a previous post somewhere that you are one of the fearless guys who go out to the rocks, Dark. Once being about how the water up to your neck on the way out. Do you wear a wetsuit or are you just wanting the punishment of the cold ocean water?

Ledhead, I don't even come close to what these guys are doing. I couldn't hold a candle to their skishing skills.

Guys like Paul Melnyk, who although not the inventor of skishing, but one of the most vocal promoters, have brought the sport of skishing and the safety concerns to the level it's at today.
www.surfcasting.com

Guys like Frank Blasko who just want to get out there and get away from the crowds, and accept the risks they take.

Guys like Gunny & Jake from www.Stripercoastsurfcasters.us and

www.skishingnewengland.com, and many more who have been doing it on their own for years, long before the internet and the seminars...


These guys all got into it for different reasons. One of the things I want to stress is the safety aspect.

I met a guy at Montauk who told me a great skishing story. I believe I posted it here, I'll have to look for it. Unfortunately, it almost turned out as a news item because the guy was swept out to sea at night by the strong current.

It's still a great story, and makes me fully aware of the need to be prepared and do a lot of research before you get into something like this.

[DarkSkies]

Here's an older video where Paul is interviewed...

[DarkSkies]

JakeF of Stripercoast surfcasters wrote this article about "Skishing and Safety."

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...kishing+safety





He also started a site called www.skishingnewengland.com





Skishing = An extreme form of surfcasting, wherein the participant fishes with rod & reel while swimming. The word is a combination of "Ski"+"Fishing", as a large fish can provide a nice tow through the water. Originated in Montauk, NY, this sport is gaining popularity among hardcore surfcasters whose primary target is striped bass.


Check it out when you get a chance.

[Doublerunner]

It's gotta be a blast, when will you start wearing the "seal suit" this year, Frank?

He won't need that. I'll just strap him onto my back. I've got plenty of buoyancy for the 2 of us

[DarkSkies]

He won't need that. I'll just strap him onto my back. I've got plenty of buoyancy for the 2 of us

Roflmao, DR! I think the thing that saves a lot of guys from being sharkbait when skishing is that they're too big for sharks to think of as a food source.
Frankie might not be so lucky, we'll have to make sure he's current on the life insurance policy before he heads out into the water this year.

[Jackbass]

I remember in a previous post somewhere that you are one of the fearless guys who go out to the rocks, Dark. Once being about how the water up to your neck on the way out. Do you wear a wetsuit or are you just wanting the punishment of the cold ocean water?

If you have a dry top that is truly dry you can do it in waders and the dry top.

That being said Make damn sure your dry top is Dry. I bought a paddling top the thing is not overly comfortable at first but you get used to it and it is 100% dry. I was submerged this fall in it and I was dry underneath. Filling a set of waders can be as deadly as wearing concrete shoes out there. I would never skish in it but i look like a manatee on glue so sharks would prolly eat me any how.

[Jackbass]

Roflmao, DR! I think the thing that saves a lot of guys from being sharkbait when skishing is that they're too big for sharks to think of as a food source.
Frankie might not be so lucky, we'll have to make sure he's current on the life insurance policy before he heads out into the water this year.

Frankie i would live line him with with a 12/0 8x circle hook and a Senator.

[DarkSkies]

Frankie i would live line him with with a 12/0 8x circle hook and a Senator.

Excellent tackle choice, Jackbass.

Tell me more...
Do you think it might make more sense to poke a few holes in him with an ice pick for a good scent trail, or would you just let the line out and let the natural action bring the big great whites in?

[Jackbass]

Lol, Sorry Frankie! I would just slide a chum soaked rag into his wading belt.

[cowherder]

You guys are sick!!!

[Jackbass]

Frankie will never come fish Cape Cod with me now.

[Frankiesurf]

How did I hijack this thread without even posting?

The love is just emanating from my computer.

Yea Mark FAT chance I will come up there to be sacrificed. (notice I mentioned fat in that statement)

John, if you strapped me to your back I would be instantly submerged and probably not last five minutes. What you are really good for is walking behind when there is a serious head wind. I like to call it drafting.

Rich, a great white would think I was driftwood so I think I would be safe from consumption.

[bababooey]

You would never catch me out bobbing like a wounded seal. Actually I would probably look more like a walrus, so according to dark's logic I could be safe. Good luck with that, news at 11.

[JakeF]

Thanks for the plug and links to my site you put in this thread Rich


If you're wondering about why someone would choose skishing over surfcasting from shore, read this:
Why Skishing?

Keep in mind that there are 2 breeds of crazies who don the suit. Those who do it as a safer way to fish the rocks, and those who skish. Swimming to a rock and climbing up onto it to fish, while plenty hardcore, is not really skishing...

If you're fishing the rocks in heavy surf, the wetsuit is a much safer option than waders for several reasons. Here are just a few reasons to choose a wetsuit over waders, even if you don't plan on going for a swim...

1. You do not have to worry about getting dunked or swept off your rock.
2. A wetsuit provides plenty of bouyancy so that, in the event you do find yourself swept off your rock by that bigger than usual wave, you do not have to expend any energy staying afloat and can focus on getting back to your perch.
3. A wetsuit, especially a thick 5 or 7mm suit, provides some really nice full body padding that you do not have with a pair of breathable waders. Padding that is very welcome if/when you find yourself loosing your footing and bouncing off the rocks.
4. If you fish in the above mentioned conditions on a regular basis, you'll get real tired, real quick of patching holes and tears in your expensive breathable waders....

[JakeF]

I think we have alot of fearless fishermen on this site. How about letting us in on some of your experiences?

Sure thing

Twas a Dark & Stormy Night

Skishing - THE Cow of 2009

[lostatsea]

The How and Why to Be a Cool Wetsuiter-Dude!



Why does a skilled surf rat choose to desert the ease and comfort of a sandy beach to embrace the shear terror and pounding of those far rocks, donning a rubber girdle and inhaling seawater? For those of us who are obsessed with surfcasting, it is only a natural progression to flee to these rocks to achieve the piece and quiet that is prevalent within this frothing whitewater. For the wetsuiter, the fearsome prospect of pain; waiting for that seven foot wall of water to break over your head and the sensation of being blown away like a dead leaf is an adrenaline rush, pure and simple. There are however, redeeming characteristic to this lunacy. You will catch fish out there, Many big fish.

In truth, the larger variety of the species Morone Saxatilus is predominant to the crashing surf zone. Bubbles. Oxygen is like a stimulant to the cow bass, and the deeper waters of the danger zone is prone to inciting them to strike. That is not to say that a slob can not be taken while standing in a foot of water. In fact, a few overtly lucky casters have scored while casting from the sand, but the far surf has a call of its own for the demented souls who roam within the wash. A strangely deranged form of peace may be found there.

I found myself within this fraternity of crackpots while standing with the Dukes of Amateurism on the beaches of Montauk. This inauguration began during a fall rife with massive aggravation and aggression. During the aforementioned season, I had the misfortune to stand next to numerous jerks that were convinced bucktail were the proper implements for performing bodily piercings. On one occasion under the Montauk Lighthouse, I was forced to listen to a "jamope" sing the “Four Seasons” ditty “Oh What a Night” as a fanfare for each rat bass he caught, (there were many rat bass for him that night). After an hour of caterwauling I began to sing “Oh, please shut uh-uh-up!” as my own personal revision of those bad disco lyrics. A few days later I witnessed an altercation between two belligerent casters who were convinced that their fishing rods were jousting lances. This was enough to convince me to remove myself from these teaming masses of fools. It was my destiny to go into the deep.

For the fledgling rock hopper, the natural inclination is to venture out to these perches in waders. This usually is performed like a Ballerina on tipity-toes. Often the neophyte will venture a step too far and experience the sensation of chilled water filling his boots. It is important to include a tight belt or two to your garb. You should be prepared to hold your breath for a few minutes while in transit, it is assured that you will be set asunder by that rogue wave. It is not uncommon to find many loose plugs floating out there in that wash, however,those Plugs will be your plugs. Mother nature has the uncanny ability to rip your tackle bag open, spilling your gear. Everything on your person must be either tethered or you will risk having them lost. As you see, there are very few reasons to fish those far rocks in waders, unless of course you have masochistic tenancies,in which case, a wetsuit is called for.

OK, so now you want a wetsuit, right? There are many reasons for donning the neoprene. I personally like the freedom of being away from those “teaming hoards” of day trippers while swimming to the outer rocks of the South side of Montauk’s Striper Coast. I also hate the idea of getting maimed or mortified as I bounce among those rocks in an expensive set of breathable Orvis waders. It is a lot easier to swim in a wetsuit than in waders for the simple fact that a wetsuit floats. You are not going to be turned turtle in a wetsuit (although you may still have to hold your breath)and you will need grow a set of brass ones to get up the courage to fish a far rock in the dark...

Fat guys have the advantage when rock hopping. A bovine stature improves the anchorage as the corpulent caster clings onto these rocks like some obstinate sea anemone. The diminutive wetsuiter, on the other hand, can make some progress with cleated boots, but these fellows often find that they just don't have the mass to counter the force of inertia. Often these fellows will be found floating face down in the wash on the whitewater days of cows and glory. Portly surf pounders have the tendency to float better. Maintaining a layer of cushioning blubber, they can easily absorb the inevitable trauma of being launched into a boulder by the wave which creeps up on their collective butts while lookin' at that buoyant little punk. Of course there is that whole physical thing to traversing those rocks. You gotta be in good shape to fish outer shoals. Chubby Chasers are better suited to making haste, slowly (an oxymoron, no?).

This brings us into the realm of the Extreme Surfcaster, to whom the wetsuit is an indispensable tool. The flotation qualities of a 6mm Farmer John is what makes it all so doable. Another reason for the neoprene is to allow an added margin of cushion for those inevitable blows. Don’t forget that a foam suit can also act as a shock absorber If you do a prat fall into the rocks.

The wetsuit was developed in the early sixties by a guy named Loyd Bridges for his TV series called “Sea Hunt” (Jock Cousteau also had something to do with it). Seriously, the Allied forces during WWII created a rubber outfit as a means for military frogmen to infiltrate enemy territory underwater with a reasonable sense of comfort. These early suits were generally made from latex rubber and were very different than the units available today.

The wetsuit works on the principle of conservation of heat. The suit in itself does not make the wearer warm, instead, a thin layer of seawater is heated to body temperature by the transfer of warmth between the skin and this film. For extra warmth on those cold nights, it is acceptable to pee within this sheath. Also understand that no matter how well your wetsuit fits, you will not stay permanently warm if the surrounding water is frigid. Eventually, you will loose this thermal barrier and get the big chill (just like being married, no?).

I am often asked to give recommendations for wetsuits that are best for surfcasting.”
OK, to begin with, you must decide what it is that you intend to do in your wetsuit. Most often, a surfcaster dons a wetsuit so he can look cool on the beach. A wetsuit is a chick magnet and many a poser will never venture further than the high tide line. Then again, some fellows seek the wetsuit for the comfort and warmth supplied by use, to make them feel like they are, once again close to Mom.
The largest market in the wetsuit business is by far the scuba diver and this is to whom the manufacturers seek to please. Another niche is the surfer dude, who has a different set of parameters. Fishermen have adopted the wetsuit as an indispensable tool for the extreme environment of the surf. Alas, we are the bastard children in this market and little concern is made for fishing stuff (like a place to put your cigarettes). There are three main types of wetsuit that we will be looking to as far as being practical for fishing. These are the surfer dude suit, the one piece “Sea Hunt” suit and the two piece, or cold water (are you crazy?) suit. Special care must be taken to purchase the right size and style of wetsuit. I would strongly recommend that you go to a good local dive or surf shop to purchase your wetsuit. Here, you will be able to try on different styles and sizes, or if need be, have a suit custom made to your difficult configuration... Some fellows feel compelled to buy via catalog or Internet. This is only realistic if you know exactly what you want in consideration of its size/cut/manufacturer. I have on occasion taken this route, although I find the expense of returning the wrong size several times makes up for the added cost tendered by the local dive/surf shop. Be aware that you get what you pay for, and remember, chicks dig stripes...

OK. you think you want a surfers suit. Pros: They are relatively less expensive priced between $100 and $200. They are light, generally made up of 1-2-3 mm of neoprene. They look really cool. They are readily available at surf shops which are more common than dive shops. A surf suit is best when it is a full, one piece affair, with a zipper in the front. Why zip in the front you ask? Simple, unless you are female, it is hard to pee from the back. OK, it is also easier to put on if the closure is in the front.

The suits made for diving are a more practical choice for the fisherman. These tend to be thicker and often come with hard rubber pads on the knees. This is a good thing. They will float better, and will allow you bash your shins with abandon! They are warmer and will allow you to fish longer through those fall nights while your best girl waits patiently for your return. You no doubt, will find that you are less comfortable while jogging down the beach in the attempt to catch that blitz in the distance. Bring lots of fresh water to drink. You do not want to dehydrate before you get home and you also need fuel for that special “heating element”.

In the later part of the season, you may need to wear a hood, gloves and booties so you can look like a gangsta for Halloween. Gloves and booties are easy. You buy your regular glove/shoe size. A hood is a different story. A hood must fit snugly, but not so tight as to restrict the flow of blood within your carotid arteries! You could pass out, or worse, have a stroke, if you have a big fat head and a teeny-weeny hood. You will find that you can tie Korkers right on a sneaker foot booties so you can claw your way onto that rock during a Nor-Easter. Some of the more affluent among us use cleated guide boots to look really cool.

Now you are a big-time, sharpie, wetsuiter. All the googs will gawk as you stroll by in your nifty digs. You will never get a hook in your ear again. The girls will all swoon as they see you leaving large ruts in the sand while you drag your bum leg (you know, the leg that was jammed in the rocks the night before?).

http://www.surfcasting.com/2009/10/h...suiter_14.html

[CharlieTuna]

The How and Why to Be a Cool Wetsuiter-Dude!




Now you are a big-time, sharpie, wetsuiter. All the googs will gawk as you stroll by in your nifty digs. You will never get a hook in your ear again. The girls will all swoon as they see you leaving large ruts in the sand while you drag your bum leg (you know, the leg that was jammed in the rocks the night before?).

I don't know about the swooning part, but hey whatever it takes to impress the girls, right? Informative article, thanks for sharing.

[cowherder]

The WSJ did an article on him in Jul, pretty interesting.


July 26 2010


Swimming With the Fishes: Anglers Tangle Over 'Skishing'
Extreme Method Puts Fishermen Deep in Water; Casting Aside Critics

MONTAUK, N.Y.—Fishing hasn't changed much over the years. Then along came Paul Melnyk.
During a surfcasting tournament here in the mid-1990s, Mr. Melnyk landed a striped bass large enough to be in contention. Then word got around that he was swimming offshore in a wetsuit with a fishing rod when he caught it.

Paul Melnyk believes that the best way to catch a bass off of Montauk, Long Island, is to jump in after it. He invented a form of fishing in which the fish pulls him through the water, as if he were skiing. Thus was born, Skishing. Christopher Rhoads reports.

The tournament committee responded by banning fish caught while swimming. Later—after an incident involving an irate Mr. Melnyk in pirate garb, Captain Morgan rum and floating his baited line hundreds of yards from shore with a kite—it banned Mr. Melnyk.
"They called it a crooked playing field," says Mr. Melnyk, a 55-year-old who works in construction. "I don't care about that—I care about winning."
Instead of complying with the rules, Mr. Melnyk went rogue. He committed himself to his fishing method, attracting others with a penchant for the extreme. Today, they're challenging what it means to fish.
A recent YouTube video shows a man swimming in Florida with a mask, snorkel and flyrod, catching a tarpon. ZeeBaaS, a fishing-gear company in Stratford, Conn., recently added a section to its product line and website devoted to the activity. Cable channels, like National Geographic, have featured it. Enthusiasts sharing tales on websites hail from the U.K., Turkey and South Africa.
"There used to be a whole bunch of people against this concept," says Mr. Melnyk, whose right shoulder is covered with a tattoo of a skeleton, holding up a massive skeleton of a fish. "But there's a new generation of fishermen out there."

Paul Melnyk


Practitioners interviewed agree he coined the sport's name: "skishing." It's a mix of skiing and fishing. The idea is to hook a fish big enough to tow the angler through the water. Stripers can reach more than 50 pounds; the record caught with rod-and-reel weighed 78-1/2 pounds.
Without the benefit of a boat or land, the fight is considered to be, by the fisherman anyway, on more equal terms. Skishers swim sometimes hundreds of yards from shore to water well over their head, with their flippers and the buoyancy of their wetsuits keeping them afloat.
Some have come to skishing by persevering to become a protégé of Mr. Melnyk, who prefers skishing alone.
Frank Blasko, a 39-year-old in the motion-picture lighting business in Bayport, Long Island, pestered Mr. Melnyk for several years with phone calls and emails, even offering him $300 if he would show him the ropes.
Mr. Melnyk finally relented. "I needed a new carburetor on my chopper," he says.
Mr. Blasko, who's making a documentary on the sport called "The Skisherman," describes the attraction this way: "I just like to get out in the middle of the night, catch a monster and have it splash its tail in my face."
Acceptance of skishing—and of Mr. Melnyk—has its limits.
"I hope you get eaten by a shark," wrote one commenter on Mr. Melnyk's website, calling him a cheater. Mr. Melnyk says he receives hate mail, admonishing him for promoting such a dangerous activity.
Among other risks: boats and strong currents whipping skishers out to sea. Skishing is typically done at night, when bass are thought to do most of their feeding.
Since skishers can catch fish just beyond the reach of traditional surfcasters in waders, the skishers are sometimes blamed for scaring fish away or catching what might otherwise belong to the purists closer to shore.
Mr. Blasko, Mr. Melnyk's protégé, says he's been hooked twice by surfcasters, probably intentionally. Cursing is common.


Christopher Rhoads/The Wall Street Journal As
he prepares to head out to sea, Paul Melnyk
shows off the eels he uses as bait to catch
striped bass. Before suiting up, he usually
drives along the beach in his pickup truck in
the pre-dawn hours, looking for good spots to fish.

Gary Stephens, a 54-year-old landscaper nicknamed "The Toad" for his ability to jump over car hoods, is a traditional surfcaster and is considered Mr. Melnyk's main rival for bragging rights among locals. "Wetsuiters have a clear advantage," says Mr. Stephens. "If they think that's fun, that's fine. I stick with the fishing."
Once, when Mr. Melnyk was skishing far from shore, a fishing-boat captain, startled to see a person in the water with a fishing rod, came up alongside him and derided him as a "menace to navigation," Mr. Melnyk recalls.
"That's when I started carrying a knife," he says.
The annual surfcasting tournaments, held from spring to late fall here on the eastern end of Long Island—a place some locals call a drinking town with a fishing problem—forbid skishing. The rules read like they were written for Mr. Melnyk.
"Feet must be on mother earth or rock when you hook up," reads Rule No. 4. "No free-floating, drifting or swimming while actually fishing. No boats, prams, kayaks, balloons or kites."
Fred Kalkstein, a member of the executive committee for the locals-only tournament, says skishing "will never be allowed."
It gives the practitioner too much of an advantage, he says. "It's not surfcasting," says Mr. Kalkstein, an East Hampton stockbroker nicknamed "Eelman" for using only eels as bait when striper fishing. "They're using their body as a boat."
But some views have softened.
About ten years ago, a separate wetsuit division was created. Old-timers protested, but today about 15 of the customary 50 participants don wetsuits, allowing them to swim to rocks from which to cast. Mr. Melnyk was eventually invited back, though he's mostly declined.
Maneuvering his pickup along a beach here one night in the pre-dawn cold, Mr. Melnyk spotted waves crashing about 200 yards from shore.
He crammed his thick frame into a wetsuit, strapped on a ziploc bag of live eels and, with a fishing rod under his arm, clomped past startled fishermen on shore in his yellow flippers and swam out to sea.
Within minutes, as dawn broke, he bobbed in the swells in about 15 feet of frigid water. Birds dove at the baitfish around him. After some casts, he reeled in a small bass. He put a short rope from his waist through its gills, so he could continue to fish.
Finally, he made his way through the heavy surf back to the beach, just in time to see one of the surfcasters from shore trudge by with a 25-pounder.
"Hey!" Mr. Melnyk shouted. "That should've been mine!"
Write to Christopher Rhoads at christopher.rhoads@wsj.com

[gjb1969]

no way i am a little nuts but that is a h to the no