Surfcasting 201 - The Surfcasters' Bible....Artificial Only thread....

[DarkSkies]

Steve, you already have a great natural instinct.
Honestly, it didn't use to be that hard.

I remember a few years ago, maybe 6, 7. The peanuts were thick in the back of the bay and you could go to Sandy Hook at night, throw a storm shad, and catch some nice bass into the teens, casting from most of the beaches there.

Because the fish were so thick and the food so abundant, it didn't matter much what part of the tide you fished. As long as you threw those shads in the dark you were assured of getting a few bass.

Now that things are different, it seems to me, in certain areas, there is a feed during a particular time. Finchaser is finding the feed related to beginning and end of day. I'm finding it related to the tide.

The food moves in and out with the tides, and when I can focus on some of that, I can find fish. Last night I went to some sure-fire places and the fish just weren't there....tide and lack of forage where I was probably had a lot to do with that....as they say.....hey that's fishing....

Great thread so far people, keep up the good work.

[finchaser]

I'm also playing the cooler temperatures at different stages of the tide that turns them on sometimes as much as 10 degrees

[DarkSkies]

Fin makes a great point here. I'm finding the fish to be sluggish at certain tide stages. If you want to increase your chances of bass success during the hot summer doldrums, being a little obsessive about finding cooler water will help you. It's so important I will avoid places I feel the water is too hot for good artificial action.

And remember, this is in reference to fishing artificials.....it's my experience that when fishing bait this can be important, but is less critical.

[DarkSkies]

The Value of the One...as Opposed to Many.....
There are times when you hear reports here about multiple fish....
Those are great times, and the adrenalin you feel if you're lucky to be in on a double digit (or, more rare, triple digit) bite is off the charts....
That adrenalin can be addictive.
I should know, because that adrenalin, and looking for that to happen, has me hooked...


It doesn't always happen that way, though...
Even for the best of the best, on an average night if you get a few fish, it's a good night....





What if you fish all night, and can't find any fish at all?
Sometimes that's just the way it is.
As we say, hey that's fishing....



Hovever, if you do get a fish, even one or 2....the feeling to me, is sometimes more triumphant, than catching fish after fish.....
Some put it in simple terms....
"Hey you found a lucky fish...."

Yup, I agree....

But sometimes it's much more, psychologically...


That one or 2 fish....that you hunted for and found despite conditions not being optimal....sometimes makes it all worthwhile....

[DarkSkies]

I was talking about this with a sitemember and friend the other night. He mostly fishes the LI Sound.
He's a very good fisherman in his own regard, and seems to catch fish when not many others are able to....

He's recently gotten addicted to sight fishing the bays, coves, and shallow rockpiles of the Sound.
He explained to me that on a normal trip, they may raise a few bass.
The hookup and release may only be one fish, for the whole day.
What they try to do is find feeding bass in the shallows, sneak up on them,, and then target the largest bass to try and catch......
Sounds do-able, but in reality it ain't that easy.....


And that, therefore, was the challenge, as he explained to me....

"Rich, I know how to catch bass...I've caught thousands in my lifetime.
At some point I asked myself....OK now what's next, what is my next challenge? And this is it for me.
Even though I know how to catch bass on flys, the yak, and from the surf, the chasing after and hunting down of the fish, really gets me going.
I get more satisfaction out of going out, hunting bass all morning, and maybe landing just one.
The feeling of teasing that one fish, to hit your artificial presentation, when it is normally feeding on crabs and live forage, is addictive! I would rather do that, than catch 10 bass in a blitz...."














So, in a sense, he explained to me his new-found perspective, of hunting for fish...
Not the easy ones, but the difficult ones...

And the satisfaction, and the adrenalin rush he gets, from targeting and catching these bass.....

I couldn't agree more....
Monty mentioned something about perspective, and I wanted to tie that comment into this conversation I had with my friend from LI.

Good stuff guys....

[paco33]

ISo, in a sense, he explained to me his new-found perspective, of hunting for fish...
Not the easy ones, but the difficult ones...

And the satisfaction, and the adrenalin rush he gets, from targeting and catching these bass.....

I couldn't agree more....
Monty mentioned something about perspective, and I wanted to tie that comment into this conversation I had with my friend from LI.

Good stuff guys....

I agree too. Finding one bass or even a blue when there are no fish around is a good feeling.

[Monty]

I agree too. Finding one bass or even a blue when there are no fish around is a good feeling.

I'm with you on this too. I have many outings where I'll catch one Striper (not stripper SS), and sure feels good catching that one.
Seeing Dark (or others on this site) on some of the outings land one bass, I give credit for resiliency and skill to find and fool that fish with an artificial. Takes more skill in catching one bass than 5 or 10 at times (at my skill level catching that one bass is pretty good for me (blind squirrel finding a nut) at times).
The degree of difficulty can be pretty high based on the location, weather, tide, bait present and lack of sleep.
Never mind the fact that most of the bass are dead.