** ^^(Rip, call or PM me and I'll walk ya through how to post a pic. I think ya may have done something at the last second before you posted that caused the pic to not be recognized)


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I'm glad ya nominated Finchaser, Rip. I wanted to do it a while ago but was concerned people might think there was a bias there. After all, if I were to nominate a grouchy old basstard who insults me every chance he gets, is about as critical as my Dad was, and likes to rant and rave at me when he's upset about a current fisheries management issue, people might say that was illogical behavior.

So, I'm glad you put his name out there, because he certainly deserves the honor. There are quite a few threads here detailing his fishing career, from the

"Long Branch...back in time" thread
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/.....back-in-time

Where we learn, among other things, that...
- Finchaser was fishing at the age of 5, when his Dad brought him out on the codfish boats and told him to "man up" or he wouldn't take him fishing again..
- He was also part of the history at the Long Branch Fishing pier before it burned down,
learning from the old timers there and fishing with them every weekend he could bum a ride there. Even in the coldest winters they would fish for whiting, ling, and whatever else was available, with old timers like Joe Melillo, and many others who have since died or moved to different areas.

- He became one of the "infamous" Stevens Surfsters, the fishing club representing Stevens B&T in Long Branch, one of the lost traditions in the ever-growing commercialization of the shore towns. As part of the Surfsters, they dominated the fishing tourneys during that time, and usually crushed the competition.

- How did they do this? Secret spots?
Nope...it was sheer determination, and the dedication to fish 2 and 3 days/nights at a time that put them in the forefront of their peers. That type of fishing won them many trophies. It resulted in a surf-caught 50lb bass for Finchaser but also in the dissolution of several relationships and marriages.

- Yep, these guys were "hard-core" before the phrase "hard-core surf fisherman" was even defined.

They lived and breathed to fish, and all knew and respected each other, despite personality differences. In fact, the practical jokes they used to play on each other were legendary. Some of them are detailed in the above-
referenced Long Branch thread.