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

[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.

[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.

[bassmansjc]

Monty Do you fish the Mass. Islands?

[Monty]

Monty Do you fish the Mass. Islands?

Jersey until this year.
Just started getting my feet wet on LI this year.
Buckethead great point about fishing non productive water, something I need to really work on. Concentrating on the "funny water" like Stix mentions.
Recent trip covered a mile of water early am. Not much structure no action, hit an area with white water, very small area, just like that there was some action concentrated in it.
Would be best to sprint towards "funny water" and spend more time there fishing it.

[surfstix1963]

Yeah I have a feeling I know where you were I was there last night I don't know what the hell happened there but no structure one giant sandbar and you only get to work the plug about 10 ft. before your dragging it over the bar and with no drop off at the beach its a waste of time for me maybe better at the flood but the ebb may as well fish the bay side deeper water and more current.Btw the fish were there but between the bar blocking them from getting to the beach and the boats blowing through them it just scattered them and put them down.I'll be taking that place off my list for now time to head east a little more.The few spots that did have "funny water" the bait ******* had 6 rods set up this is when I'd love to see a school of blues come through and take a few rods away one guy 6 effin rods.

[Monty]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I fished the last few hours of out going and some of the incoming there. Maybe the exact opposite would be lot better. Was amazed at how far I could walk out on that bar. Seemed an enormous amount of sand there now, and there was a lot there before. Was my first time back there in months. Took a while just figuring out what happened. Got to one area that I had caught a few short bass earlier this year and made a cast, plug landed on land . I can't see *hit out there.