Fishing the old ways, techniques

[finchaser]

Fishing is returning to how it use to be less fish and real winters you newbies are spoiled, when the dogwoods bloom bass will be there can't go by dates. Temps that cause dogwoods to bloom are also the temps needed to warm the water. Been using this since it was given to me over 40 years ago I never go by dates I follow nature.

Mother Nature doesn't lie or depend on dates or cell phones, a few resident fish are always caught before but the major migrating fish are within days of the things listed below.

Tulips ? arrival of winter flounder
Dogwood ? arrival of striped bass
Lilac ? weakfish are in town
Forsythia ? bluefish and fluke are on the move

September?s full harvest moon has a tremendous effect on both weakfish and striped bass which take it as a sign to start their annual southern migration. During this lunar period juvenile species of both predator and prey are driven outward along the shoreline.

[rip316]

I saved this information and I will keep my eyes open to these kind of patterns.

[clamchucker]

Finchaser is on the mark. You will always have stragglers and early fish, be they resident or migrating. But the builk of the action happens every year with the above blooms.

The title of this thread reminds me of some things we used to do way back when I was younger.
We used to fish from the sedge banks for striped bass in the bays before we could afford boats. One of the tricks we used was to take hammers and bring them out to the sedges at low tide. We would smash mussels in several spots there, and then go home. Then, at high tide, we would come back, go to those spots, and catch bass after bass. They were attracted to the broken mussels. The guys in the boats would watch us, and wonder what we were using. "Secret bait" was what we would usually shout out to them. They would be there scratching their heads.

Fishing the old ways - who else has some stories?

[cowherder]

Very good advice guys, thanks for sharing!

[jigfreak]

How about drifting a worm on a float rig toward a bridge for weakies. Old school, anyone remember that?

[speedy]

yes it was the way the weakies loved the sand worms

[finchaser]

How about drifting a worm on a float rig toward a bridge for weakies. Old school, anyone remember that?

Yep even used battery lighted bobbers at night

[DarkSkies]

Whenever I can't fish how I want because of weather or conditions, I use the trip home to scout around and plan the next trip.

On my way home in the pre-dawn hours today, I scouted some old hangouts that I haven't been to in awhile...

Not many guys out at that hour....
But I did run across one old salt....

We compared notes for a bit...
I was showing him some pics on my camera, he was showing me some on his phone...

It turns out that in addition to the other fish he caught, this guy has 5 fish 20# and bigger this Spring so far...since March 1.....with the biggest weighing 33#.


Think about that people, that's 5 quality fish, in the last 35 nights.....plus several other small ones.
Some might doubt claims like this, I might too....
but I saw the pics.... and can verify that they were some quality fish.....

[DarkSkies]

This is a guy you will never see on the internet...
You'll never see his weigh-ins in a tackle shop, or on a youtube video....
and I honestly believe he would never have shown me his pics, had I not shown him the pics of the bass we were catching all winter, first....

He's happy fishing alone., spends a lot of time doing it when he's not working.,...
And he told me that every time he's tried to be nice to someone just starting out, showing them some of the tricks and subtle thing he does to get bigger fish.....he regrets it....as these benevolent gestures have come back to haunt him when people don't keep their mouths shut....


He said:
"I don't have problems with people fishing near me, and catching big fish when I'm catching, because they put in their time and deserve it...but that's what you have to do, you have to put in your time"

"Catching big fish from the shore is not easy. You really have to work at it"



I agree with both of those statements, and for that reason I won't go into any detail about how or where he fishes, or the extent of preparation that goes into each of his trips.....

Just wanted to let folks, who sometimes think the internet is the extent of fishing, that the internet, and the people sometimes thumping their chests on it....is only one segment of the fishing folk out there...

And there are quite a few more out there....just like this gentleman I ran into by accident.....

So don't discount the old guy you see fishing by himself out there....and seemingly unfriendly.....if you know the right way to talk to people,,,,ya just might learn something valuable....

[hookedonbass]

That guy you met sounds like some fisherman, dark. You are right, it is the quiet ones who may catch the most, but they don't talk about it to everyone. Thats how they keep their spots secret. Thanks for sharing all these tips, fellas.

[porgy75]

X2!

[baitstealer]

Looked over this thread again over the weekend. Thanks for the depth of knowledge shared here.

[madcaster]

These are made of ¼ x 1”and smaller steel bar stock scraps Ihad laying around. The tape is from a auto parts store. It holds up pretty well. Just gives it a flash in the water. I’ve caught some big blues on them; I pull them out when the blues are in blitzing mode or in thick in the spring. It doesn’t take much to lure them in. I ever caught a 24”red drum on one in OBX last year.



Attachment 13933


My buddy was throwing a bunch of junk away and there was a old set of spoon and forks. I took all the spoons and made some nice “spoons “out of them. I add some lead for weight.My biggest blue was caught on one of these. 15lbs I lady took a pic of me holding it, but she never posted it were she told me to look for it.

Attachment 13934

[DarkSkies]

I'm happy to report that Ron Muccie, whose health has been an issue in the past, looked better than ever.....I think he said he was on regular dialysis now and will be 78 this Spring.........his color was great....much different than when I saw him last year.....he was in good spirits...said "I'm back, and I intend to be around for a long time!".......

Some footage of him at the 2010 Asbury Show......


















Meeting with Ron and Crew yesterday at Berkeley reminded me of them out-fishing most of the fishermen on the beach back in 2009, simple tin squid and teaser combo....2009 sandeel bite........



Ellen out-fishing many of the other fishermen.....tin squid and teaser......simple but deadly combo.......

[captnemo]

I ran into Ron last year. think it was the Asbury Park fishing show.the man is a wealth of knowledge and info. Glad to hear he's still doing okay.

[clamchucker]

Thank you for posting photos of Ron and Ellen. I saw them regularly at the park every season. For a while it seemed he was absent. Health issues tend to get to us old timers. Although I didn't get out much last year, I saw him again in the fall. He did look a lot better.