What do you want to learn this year?

[Pebbles]

I want to learn how to cast better. I have tendonitis in my right shoulder and have difficulty casting. I hope to learn some techniques which will be easier on me yet give me greater distance. I wonder if I miss the stripers because of my limited casting skills. My rod sometimes I think is too heavy for me. I will have to do more investigative work on this to find out.

I also would like to improve upon reading the water. I think I rely on Dark too much for this. He is the one who scouts. I have learned how to recognize bait being around.

What are some things you want to improve upon?

[jonthepain]

i'd like to learn how to keep the wife from driving me crazy and vice versa

[bababooey]

^^ imho it's a delicate balancing act. When she drives you crazy give her the credit card to go shopping. When you drive her crazy get outside the house with a hobby that takes you away from her. like fishing or something else.
The man who says he has that all worked out, every day, could write a best-seller that would sell more than all the fishing books out there combined. I'm successful at not driving my wife crazy about 15% of the time.

[Frankiesurf]

15% is good!

I want to learn how to land a 50.

Reading beach and currents can ALWAYS be improved upon.

What kind of rod are you using Pebbles that you think it's too heavy?

[finchaser]

A way to keep the bass from being overfished so future generations can enjoy them at the present rate they will be gone in a short period of time. I've seen it happen before and this is much worse.

[Pebbles]

15% is good!

I want to learn how to land a 50.

Reading beach and currents can ALWAYS be improved upon.

What kind of rod are you using Pebbles that you think it's too heavy?

We have to ask my expert:

Dark, What kind of rod is that? I know you give me the shorter one. Also what type is that new blue one you have that I really like. Maybe I should use that one more often.

[DarkSkies]

You were using an ugly stik 9' at first, You talked about tendonitis, so I put you into the Tica Dolphin 8' a lighter one. Then I got the Tsunami airwave 9', (the blue one). That's the one you've been using while I mess with the heavier sticks. I don't know of anything lighter than the Tsunami unless we ask Finchaser if he has time to make you a custom.

But the OGB is very busy now. his fan club is growing and he may not have the time.
Oh, the price of fame, the double edged sword.

Maybe if you ask him real nicely he might find time to put a rod together for you, Pebbles.

He's one of the best and most meticulous rod-builders out there. In 1/2 hour of talking to him and seeing the rods he built, I learned more about the right way to build one than I could have learned in 5 years on my own.

The OGB Fan club, we could start one here, ya know.

[Shaky]

Pebbles

I have shoulder issues as well. Use a rod that favors casting, because unless you're blitz fishing you'll spend most of your time casting. If you fish mostly 3/4 ounce bucktails like i do a rod like the gsb1081L that is rated a 1/2 to 2 will handle them with less effort than say the 1201L which is rated at 2 to 4 I only use these examples because i own the rods. Let the rod do the work. If the weight won't load the rod you'll have to generate more speed to get it out there. Find a length you're comfortable with and a weight rating that favors the stuff you're casting. Too short is no good either when it comes to casting so experiment a bit before you settle on something

A shorter rod will give you more leverage fighting fish. You can argue all you want but you can't change the laws of physics. Archimedes said “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Trouble with fishing is you're on the wrong end of the lever. if you're physically not very strong, you're battling both the weight of the longer stick and the unfavorable leverages. That applies to casting as well as fish fighting.

Tendonitis. I'm not a doctor but I've been lifting weights and doing physical jobs since my late teens. Shoulder tendonitis sucks. The shoulder joint is very complex in that it moves in so many ways. Because of that it's more unstable than say the knees.

You may not be able to get rid of all of the pain but you should be able to relieve it by exercising. I have a full thickness tear of the supraspinatus, (one of the rotator cuff muscles) and have had it for years. The muscle has retracted and certain things like rolling a car window up and down or even putting on a zip up jacket can be painful (i prefer pullovers because of it )

The exercises help so I can do some things relatively pain free. Any kind of repetitive stress like casting or even reeling will eventually cause some inflammation.

Here's the catch. You can't go to the store and buy them and open up a bottle of them and feel your pain go away. You have to actually do them and keep doing them. Most people don't. If they're fat and they exercise they usually stop when they've reached their desired weight and revert back after they quit. If they hurt and the pain stops after rehabbing, they stop and eventually go back to hurting.

If you want to try i can make a few suggestions, but it's better to be evaluated by a doctor and a PT for any specific weaknesses or imbalances. If you're the type who won't exercise i won't waste any more time typing with two fingers Sorry but year after year the same folks gripe about the same problems, my back hurts, my neck hurts, my shoulder hurts, I'm fat and you suggest some simple things and they're back the following year crying the blues again. Only once has someone ever told me they tried what i suggested and it worked or helped, when they stuck with it.

cheers

steve

[jonthepain]

Let the rod do the work.

That's great advice.

I damaged a nerve in my arm that I'm not about to have surgery on, and if I take Shaky's advice I can usually go most of the day, but when I start trying to muscle the plug out there the arm goes south in a hurry.

[Pebbles]

Shaky, Thanks so much all the advice. I went to the doctor about a month ago and have had two shots on one shoulder and one in another. He set me up with a couple of exercises.

The problem is last time the same thing happened I also went to therapy. That did help but like you said after a while the problem just comes back.

I did not go out fishing very often last year because of it. The weight and length of the rod did me in. Sometimes I would go and I had Rich do all the casting and I would reel them in with his help. That was not very fair to him so I figured it was best if I stayed home and rested my arm.

At home I have 2 lb weights. I put my arms to the side or straight out in front and lift them to shoulder height. I do four sets of 10. If you have any other exercise suggestions I certainly would appreciate it. I will also faithfully do them.

I hope to purchase a custom rod sometime early this season so that I can go back out and enjoy my .

Thanks again for all the advice. - Pebbles

[Shaky]

Those exercises will work the shoulder (deltoid) and the supraspinatus one of the rotator cuff muscles. There are four think SITS Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and Sub Scapularis.As the name implies they rotate the arm internally and externally and assist in stabilizing the shoulder.

In my case from years of lifting and blue collar work my deltoids were reasonably strong but my rotator cuff muscles were weak. They fatigue quicker than the delts and i would lose stability in the shoulder. The head of the humerus starts beating up on the acromion. When you start losing fluid in the bursa sac those tendons start getting inflamed.

Most people are probably weak in the rotators and have poor posture to boot from sitting at a desk all day. A good PT can evaluate your weaknesses.

You can look some of these up. They can be done with thera bands or dumbbells

External rotation. Standing with the band lying lateral rotation with the DB. Targets infraspinatus and teres minor

Internal rotation. Need the bands or a cable setup for this one. Subscapularis

I do upright external rotations (supported) or you can do them on a bench seated. Teres minor

Scapular pushups. These target the serratus anterior, those scalloped muscles you see along side the ribcage in bodybuilders. If you've ever seen a young kid or person at the beach with their shoulder blades sticking out like chicken wings (winged scapula) it's because of weak serratus, which helps keep the scapula moving flat up and down the ribcage.

Here's a good website that shows the muscles and how they move everything exrx.net This page is the muscle and exercise directory. It shows how those muscles rotate, lift, abduct, adduct etc. http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Also look up muscles of the rotator cuff and scapula stabilization. More for the knowledge than for trying to self diagnose. The more you know the better it is when you talk to doctors. You're paying good money to see them, go in armed with intelligent questions. Don't leave till you're satisfied.

It's work, but if you don't do it it won't get any better or any easier. Dark knows a lot of what I've been through. Plus i had both hips resurfaced this summer, and both knees scoped in Dec. For the last six year it seems like i'm in a constant state of rebuilding. So get busy

Look it over and if you have any questions I'll try to help. Be a good idea to do a general strength and conditioning workout as well. Those muscles don't amount to much when it comes to your over all body mass. Like my SIL does some curls and kickbacks with a light dumbbell to tighten up her arms. I said you're working on muscles that make up about 1% of your body weight. How about doing some squats for your legs. No, they're covered, nobody sees therm

I'm typed out

steve

[Pebbles]

Shaky, I don't think I could possibly thank you enough for all of the wonderful information. You don't even know me, yet you put up a post that will help make my life easier.

I will check out the site you mentioned and will start my exercises tomorrow. You never know maybe I will even lose some inches. I have always been afraid do to too much for fear of hurting myself more. After your detailed explanation I can see you have to work and endure some pain in order for it to get better.

Thanks for taking the time to help.

[Shaky]

Don't thank me yet, you're the one who has to do all the work.

Remember the saying use it or lose it. You're going to have to keep up with it. Your muscles will only do what you ask of them. You need to coax/challenge them to do more. If you stop they'll eventually revert back.

Ever see those cancer commercials the one where the doctor tells the woman I don't see an expiration date stamped on your head. Well there ain't nothing that says that after you get out of school and join the workforce and start a family that you have to pack on the pounds and inches.

As far as being afraid take it slow, but try and be a little better than your previous workout or rehab session. One more rep, a little more weight, an extra set. Most of this stuff is relatively safe. Remember crawl, walk run, not the other way around. You're more likely to get injured playing soccer, baseball, skiing, or skating. I always say that if you play everything safe you'll never have lived.

Look, I'm a cancer survivor, I've had my belly slit twice and I'm held together with staples, mesh and scrap iron. Some people think I'm tough, but i don't think so. You ever watch those runners with the artificial limbs, sure their tough, but they've also hit rock bottom. There is no playing it safe when you've hit bottom. Play it safe you sit in a chair all your life. Get yourself outfitted with some limbs and put in the time and succeed. It's hard work but the decision is a bit easier than say a person with a very bad back who still has mobility. The doc says don't do this or don't do that, you could cripple yourself. So most do nothing for fear of injury. When you're already busted up it makes the decision easier, there's no place to go but up.

cheers

steve

[DarkSkies]

It's work, but if you don't do it it won't get any better or any easier. Dark knows a lot of what I've been through. Plus i had both hips resurfaced this summer, and both knees scoped in Dec. For the last six year it seems like i'm in a constant state of rebuilding. So get busy

Steve, always a pleasure to read one of your posts. You have the tendency to go above and beyond when helping someone.

For those who don't know Shaky yet, he's one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. An accomplished sharpie at Montauk (although he'll deny it ), and a guy who goes out of his way to help people that need it the most.

He's has a life that's been pretty tough compared to what some other people have dealt to them. I didn't want to mention it, but since he did, cancer, and some other serious setbacks. Others might have given up and just sat at the bar complaining about the hand they were dealt.

But not Shaky, the guy has a "never say die" mentality. And rather than focus on that, he focuses on entertaining and helping others. Completely unselfish, a little sarcastic at times, but a heart of gold.

He's working on a book of his stories. I don't want to pressure the guy, I'm sure it'll be finished someday. I hope to be one of the first to be in line to buy it when it comes out.

In the meantime, the paragraphs he writes are like paragraphs in a book you don't want to put down. I always enjoy reading a post by Shaky.

Thanks for sharing, Steve.

[buckethead]

I'd like to do better at tying my knots. I have trouble with them coming apart on me. Takes me several tries before they hold.

[Shaky]

Steve, always a pleasure to read one of your posts. You have the tendency to go above and beyond when helping someone.
One time. Don't come back next year with the same question after sitting on yer butt the whole year doing nothing and expecting miracles. I can get a little condescending.


For those who don't know Shaky yet, he's one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. An accomplished sharpie at Montauk (although he'll deny it ), and a guy who goes out of his way to help people that need it the most.

Not so sharp, just like to fish a little, don't let others tell me what i should and shouldn't like, how i should fish when i should fish and what i should fish with

He's has a life that's been pretty tough compared to what some other people have dealt to them. I didn't want to mention it, but since he did, cancer, and some other serious setbacks. Others might have given up and just sat at the bar complaining about the hand they were dealt.
Hate saying it because it's sounds so cliche, but others have had it far worse. You have two choices the way i see it. Deal with it or don't.

But not Shaky, the guy has a "never say die" mentality. And rather than focus on that, he focuses on entertaining and helping others. Completely unselfish, a little sarcastic at times, Only a little maybe not so much online but a heart of gold.

He's working on a book of his stories. I don't want to pressure the guy, I'm sure it'll be finished someday. I hope to be one of the first to be in line to buy it when it comes out.

In the meantime, the paragraphs he writes are like paragraphs in a book you don't want to put down. I always enjoy reading a post by Shaky.

Thanks for sharing, Steve.

cheers

steve

[surfstix1963]

I'd like to do better at tying my knots. I have trouble with them coming apart on me. Takes me several tries before they hold.

Practice makes perfect I've been using the uni,clinch and palomar easy to tie and can handle just about every surf situation needed.Just make sure to lubricate the knot draw them up slowly and don't use your teeth use your hands be careful w the braid it will cut you wide open.

[buckethead]

Practice makes perfect I've been using the uni,clinch and palomar easy to tie and can handle just about every surf situation needed.Just make sure to lubricate the knot draw them up slowly and don't use your teeth use your hands be careful w the braid it will cut you wide open.

I use the uni knot most often because I have trouble with the others. There are so many different kinds. I guess practice makes perfect.