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

[DarkSkies]

Nothing like it nailing fish on artis. Its the highest high. . Definitely an adrenalin rush.

I wanted to respond to what Jigfreak said.
I would call this an addiction for some of us....at least it is for me...


The other night I had somewhat of a decent bite......and as I usually do, I was thinking about fishing, and what it means to me....

Fishing gradually slowed after about an hour, and I knew it was over and time to get out of there and on the road to work.

For me, that's the saddest part of any fishing trip, realizing the bite is lessening and it's time to wrap things up..

***********
The Candle in the Night.....
So in my head, I was thinking of the experience, as that of a candle lit in the night....
That candle could mean a lot of things, to a lot of people.....

The chance to get away and recharge your batteries...
To escape the hassles of everyday life, if but for just a while....

The chance to get out there, and in solitude reflect on your life, and where it's going
(some have said I'm too analytical, and think too much...maybe that's true...)

The chance for just a brief space in time....to connect with nature and all it's greatness....at a cost that is minimal...for the benefits derived......

I've said many times over that Fishing is Tonic for the Soul....



I was thinking of the bite, as a Candle, that can go out any time.....
It flickers in the night....so tenuous....so uncertain....
When the Bite is on,,,,you have to focus everything you have, on that moment....
Every fiber of your experience must be ready, sharp, poised to take advantage of the good action that you have been fortunate enough to find....
And enjoy the action you do, savoring every last moment like the juices from a freshly grilled steak that you just cooked on the grill.....

And savor it you must, because you don't know....
At any single moment that action could, and will, shut down....
There are no guarantees when you find them feeding deep in the night...
The bite could evaporate before your very eyes...

So you fish it hard...focused, and in the Zone.....
Enjoying every last bit of that activity.....

Realizing that like a Candle, the bite will flicker in the Night....subject to the whims of uncertainty in much the same way a candle is subject to being extinguished in the wind....
Until the Flame of the Candle, goes out.....

[storminsteve]

What would happen if the candle that lights your brain gets blown out?

[surfstix1963]

Oh hell that's been blown out for years I've been trying to re-light it for the last ten or so years keeps going out must be the wind blowing through my ears.

[DarkSkies]

What would happen if the candle that lights your brain gets blown out?

Oh hell that's been blown out for years I've been trying to re-light it for the last ten or so years keeps going out must be the wind blowing through my ears.

Steve....


Surfstix.....I'm glad someone else can share this feeling too....

[surfstix1963]

I'm just willing to admit it.

[surferman]

Oh hell that's been blown out for years I've been trying to re-light it for the last ten or so years keeps going out must be the wind blowing through my ears.

Steve....


Surfstix.....I'm glad someone else can share this feeling too....

I'm just willing to admit it.

You guys are really out there, lol!
Great thread btw.

[DarkSkies]

Thanks for the kind words, all.....

( Surfstix has told me privately that if you notice any of that wind blowing through his ears. please point it out so we can turn the fan off...... )





Some advice I gave today..... Fishing Low Vs High Tide.....
Low tide can be productive, but lately for me it has been about high tide.


When low tide can be productive for artificials.....


1. If you are fishing areas where some of the water is deep, and fish and bait are scattered...the low tide will tend to concentrate them in seams, cuts,or areas we talked about, where they can hide till the tide starts to move again.


2. The presentation and options...sometimes when the tide is high I do better with presentation on the bottom...bucktails,and rubber if the water is 5' deeper or more.....
This all depends on the season and time of year, but it's critical to know if the fish are "looking up" or "looking down".


3. As the tide drops out, I find I do better with plugs, that work the top half of the water column, as at that point the fish may be looking up.


4. One thing that is critical for presentation for me is the strength of the current.....and the pull, of that current.


5. For example, the outgoing tide, if you fish certain areas, will produce a rip on some places, and therefore a "pull" on your plug.


6. For that reason, I like the ebb tide for a lot of the plugging I do as I feel it allows me to control the speed of the retrieve.
I can therefore slow down the retrieve better on a rip in an ebb tide.


7. When the flood tide comes in, I still like to plug, because that's one of my favorite ways of nailing fish....but....
The tide coming in forces me to retrieve just a bit faster to keep in contact with my plug....so if the fish are sluggish I may miss some of the action that a slower retrieve would allow me to find.....




























*****
Note, the above is specific to fishing the surf at night, and the currents and rips I find at various places where I'm concentrating both on hard and soft structure.


Inlets are different.
Rips around points of land are different.

The approach for fishing those would also be different, for me.....


And, as always, the area you fish, has it's own times that the fish may turn on and feed...
I have found areas as close as 1/2 of a mile apart will have different feeding times for night surf fishing....

It's your job, as a surfcaster who wants to succeed, to discover those feeding patterns for that specific area, and deal with them in a way that will maximize your fishing time........

Hope this helps....
.