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

[jigfreak]

Nothing like it nailing fish on artis. Its the highest high. Making them hit something that is not what they are eating. Since rubber became popular it has become a lot easier. I think its a hard sell to get them to hit plastic plugs. They will but what in the fish kingdom is hard when a bass hits it except for lobsters and crabs. Definitely an adrenalin rush.

[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....
.

[Monty]

Great post Dark
Here are three pics. First one is a rip that has been very productive for me (except this year ...I have lost a few fish and missed a bunch of hits there this year, pretty sure this getting old thing has caused my cat like reflexes to deteriorate to unprecedented levels resulting in missed hits and ridicules amounts of lost fish (story for another thread....or not)).
Under some conditions at night, lower tide, I can wade out and cast into it (fun). Rubber Hogys have done well for me there as well as needles and teasers. False dawn, cloudy days and even some sunny ones have been productive with pencils, assorted poppers, metals and teasers.. to a lesser level metal lip plugs. The rip is productive from in close (caught fish 10 feet from the beach), to as far as I could cast (100 yards+). Areas like this can be very productive
I like fishing this area more at the lower 1/2 of the tide. Not because its more productive, but its more fun for me to be able to wade out onto a bar that is there. Out going has been a bit more productive.
I enjoy fishing low tide more than high, throwing artificials I tend to find a lot more structure (points, cuts, pools, rips, sand bars).
The second is one of many doubles caught there.
The third pic is of white water....

[storminsteve]

Nice rip monty. As for the last pic I can see why they call you white water monty.
I like fishing rips because the fish will come in closer looking for bait. Cool tips guys thanks.

[cowherder]

Always a wealth of information here, I feel like I still have so much to learn every time I read stuff like this. Thank you.

[plugcrazy]

Great info about low vs high tide presentation dark.Nice pics and explanation of a rip monty. I also look at the bait that is around. don't usually use a bucktail with a teaser from the surf, but lately I have been using one. They are on small bait unless the bunker are around. A small ava with teaser is a good thing to use right now too.

[DarkSkies]

The Ocean in a lot of NJ areas is in the low 50's. Bass are usually active and aggressive at that temp, but last night I found them to be very sluggish, just bumping the plug. Lots of things that didn't fit a pattern last night. Several fish hooked in the head, quite a few missed fish, and once you missed the hookset they would not come back for it.

My best assessment of this behavior is that with a temp drop of around 8 degrees in 1 week, that has been a shock to their system. You might not notice that if on a boat and come across actively feeding fish, but for the surf bite absent large quantities of bait, these bass are a challenge to catch right now, at least for me......

Remember if you are out fishing at night it's a lot different than the day bite. You may only have one or 2 shots at a fish. If you blow it you might just be telling your friends about "the one that got away" instead of having actual proof.

I know this because........

I was that guy last night......

[DarkSkies]

Great info about low vs high tide presentation dark.Nice pics and explanation of a rip monty. I also look at the bait that is around. .

Thanks Plugcrazy. I thought I would add to this with some thoughts I had today.



Presentation and where the fish are....

1. At different times of the season, day, or moon phase, fish will be sitting in different levels of the water column.
2. Your job as a fisherman is to figure out where that is.
3. If you don't present to them where there are sitting you will never know that they are there.
4. In general, (my experience) colder weather, or a cold front, tends to put fish down, where they will sit closer to the bottom.
5. In my experience, this will hold, in general, unless they are feeding actively on bait, at which point they may rise to the surface.
6. There are so many variations for this, that the best thing I can say, is you need to understand the water you are fishing in front of you, and think about moon stage, time of day, current flow (during strong current flow fish at times tend to stay on the bottom or sides where current is less strong), water clarity, water temperature, day vs night time fishing, and some other ones I probably forgot to mention.
7. If you can figure this out, for the place and time you are fishing, it will allow you to work your casts more efficiently.
8. You will only be working on the part of the water column where the fish are most highly concentrated.
9. If you really try to keep disciplined about this, you will see that it will result in more hookups, and more fish.

[jigfreak]

3. If you don't present to them where there are sitting you will never know that they are there.

My #1 rule when I'm out and about. Fish are still on the bottom where I'm fishing. One hour before sunrise they rise to feed and then they disappear again. Gotta work that water column.

[robmedina]

I have read through both Surfcasting 101 and Surfcasting 102. Great information guys- thank you! This year has been actually my first year of really giving Surf fishing a go. I of course have wet a line many a time over the years but it was never with a pre-conceived knowledge of what's there or what are they feeding on etc. It was more- Hey kids want to go to the beach for the day???? Me fish they play kind of thing. So that being said- I have committed more time and energy in learning about the surf. I am starting to learn how to read the beach. Watch tide charts, wind direction, water temp etc. I have primarily been fishing clams and/or bunker. I landed a 20" Striper last night on the out going. I know - a 'biggen' lol! well anyway- it dawned on me that if I do catch a big striper- will that be what I came for??? and the answer was no. I think fishing with bait is great. But I am a little on the high strung side. I have always fished lures for other species of fish and really enjoy figuring out the what the when and the how. Now that I am going for Surf- it is a whole new arena. You can't just site down on a Saturday afternoon and watch 20 shows on surf fishing like you can on large mouth bass or walleye. So my question is- can anyone recommend a book or DVD series that I can go buy to learn more about fishing plugs, lures etc. I know John Skinner sells a book called fishing the bucktail and I am really leaning towards starting there. I think if I learn with a bucktail to fish different applications I could then understand perhaps a little better what I need to do. Anyway- Thanks again for all your wisdom. Sorry that this is one big paragraph- the format wouldn't let start a new paragraph- just runs together.

[surfstix1963]

Bucktails and tins (hopkins&kastmaster) are great for searching the water column and will work at any speed from slow bouncing the bottom to ripping them if the need arises.Always use the lightest bucktail that will get to the bottom pay attention to the speed of the current and switch up or down in weight accordingly white with red pork rind will generally always work day or night.Bass are generally anywhere from the bottom to around 6 ft. off the bottom in deeper water.Structure,structure & structure.Learn to read the beach it changes constantly when you catch a fish look at the water why was that fish there bait,hole,cut,rip,drain etc. if you can't recognize structure you won't be very good at this game.Always look for the funny water.

[hookset]

welcome rob. What surftsix said is great I agree. You also need to spend time on the water. As you said you can read tons of stuff on the internet but putting it into practical use is the thing. Spend time out there and put it all in a log. Learning to read structure beach or bayside is all important.casting where fish are not sitting will get you nothing. hope this helps and let us know of your progress.

[robmedina]

Thanks for the welcome hookset! My Wife just ordered m two books for Fathers day. Fishing the bucktail by John Skinner and Fishing with Bucktails by Doc Miller. While I am wetting a line with bait tonight, I will be throwing a bucktail with my other rod to get my journey started.

[Monty]

Thanks for the welcome hookset! My Wife just ordered m two books for Fathers day. Fishing the bucktail by John Skinner and Fishing with Bucktails by Doc Miller. While I am wetting a line with bait tonight, I will be throwing a bucktail with my other rod to get my journey started.

Welcome aboard. There are a few books discussed on this thread:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...highlight=BOOK

I like Zeno's books, he is funny, intense and has a bunch of information and examples in his books.

Depending on where you are fishing a bomber or even the SP Minnow may also be a good artificial to throw tonight.