Tribute to OLD FARTS, The GROUCHY BASSTARDS, and the CRABBY OLD BASSTARDS out there..

[DarkSkies]

Thur I ran into some old friends, the Old Farts Fishing Club...you've heard me talk about them on here as the OFFC....

I created that name for them, just like I did for the Grouchy OLD BASSTARD Finchaser....and that other grouch, Surfstix, well he gave himself that name, CRANKY OLD BASSTARD....'

the names all fit, despite any protests ya might have....


The point of this thread is to honor these old geezers, who have helped many along the way, and continue to set the standard of professionalism, etiquette, and old-fashioned respect, that many of today's younger anglers seem to lack....




As for fishing ability, these guys have it in spades.....

I'll put Finchaser, and the 4 current members of the OLD FARTS FISHIN CLUB against any 5 anglers out there, half their ages, and these old weathered geezers will dominate the competition and out-fish all comers....

And the coolest thing about it....is they will do it with class and honor, while honoring the time-worn standards of surfcasting, which is how things used to be....and handed down to them by the generations who came before....

[DarkSkies]

So the old FARTS, these grizzly old geezers, no longer fish the crazy hours of the night that I fish, and we don't get many chances to fish together anymore....


On Thur, they came down to Island Beach, and I got to tag along in their beach buggy......
Man I was in heaven!!!!!!


Not having to walk 2 miles from one good body of fish to another....
Not having to get blisters on my feet from scouting....
Not having to carry a plug bag with me every step of the way, conveniently walking to the truck when I wanted to change something....
The convenience of the beach buggy was something that till now, I rejected....


I remember years ago being in Montauk, and Willie Young, another OLD FART invited me to ride along with them, to the next spot, and I sheepishly declined....what a stupid decision not to take him up on that generous offer...


So when THESE OLD FARTS made the offer, I graciously accepted....the day was one of the best surfcasting days I've had in a while, though we only found a few fish....the experience was priceless, and long overdue...I really do miss fishin with you guys...

[DarkSkies]

The OFFC is compulsively dedicated to scouting...we found the first fish by noticing some working birds that seemed to be moving closer...the METAL Master takes the first cast, and is instantly hooked up!

The rest of the day was tough, as we worked over different structure, and made many stops...but these guys read structure and bird behavior for subtle nuances, and it pays off for them...

This is the group that out-fished one of the younger internet heroes out there...

the next day he reported that in an internet report.

I suggested it was because they paid attention to the structure at his home beach he fished....he replied back "There is no structure on the beach I fish at"...what an ignorant statement...there is always some type of structure, or cut, if you take the time to go at low tide and look.....

And that's what the old farts do, go over every inch of beachfront, looking for the best cuts...if they get shut out of a place they want to fish because it's too crowded, they just move on to the next hole or cut....and fish and fish, long after most of the other young folk have left the beach...this is a salute to them and other old-timers, who just won't give up....

[surfstix1963]

Any decent surfrat will look for structure it is the single most important thing to me some beaches have more than others thats why they hold more bait and more fish it saves you alot of useless time and sore body parts to just learn to recognize structure most is easy to see some is not you really have to train yourself to visulize it because the structure changes frequently do to winds storms etc. every single beach has some kind of structure learn to look at waves they will teach you alot and watch the water flow back into the ocean from the beach and how it reacts when it re-enters does it just flow in or does it create a washing machine effect my wife thinks I'm nuts but I always say look for the crazy water and you will find structure because it causes the water to do different things.I think it is Storm lures they say you have to think like a fish and in respect if you do understand the fish it will help you understand the structure they use to eat and how they use it.Then you can start putting the rest of the puzzle together winds,tides,moons and which beach holds fish at certain times. Sincerely Cranky Old Bassturd.

[storminsteve]

every single beach has some kind of structure learn to look at waves they will teach you alot and watch the water flow back into the ocean from the beach and how it reacts when it re-enters does it just flow in or does it create a washing machine effect my wife thinks I'm nuts but I always say look for the crazy water and you will find structure because it causes the water to do different things.. Sincerely Cranky Old Bassturd.

Amen, well said surfstix!

[surfstix1963]

Crazy like me lol Thanks Steve.

[clamchucker]

And that's what the old farts do, go over every inch of beachfront, looking for the best cuts...if they get shut out of a place they want to fish because it's too crowded, they just move on to the next hole or cut....and fish and fish, long after most of the other young folk have left the beach...this is a salute to them and other old-timers, who just won't give up....

Yes they do, because that is the way we have been taught. When I learned to fish, we didn't go home until we caught fish.

[finchaser]

Yes they do, because that is the way we have been taught. When I learned to fish, we didn't go home until we caught fish.

so true^^^
Now they sit at home and wait for a cell phone call that hopefully pertains to bunker and a blitz

[cowherder]

so true^^^
Now they sit at home and wait for a cell phone call that hopefully pertains to bunker and a blitz

Right on! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to fish back in the 1950's when there were no cell-phones around. Must have been really peaceful.

[bababooey]

^ Ya, but there were more fish back then too.

[cowherder]

I bet they didn't mug each other back then, though.

[DarkSkies]

^^ Cowherder, not only did they NOT mug each other, if you went to a jetty and someone else was there first....you promptly moved up or down and found another jetty to fish from....

There was a guy, let's call him J*, who fished a particular jetty. If you even tried to fish it, he would say: "Hey what the HELL are you doing here, this is MY jetty and I fish it every night!"

J was a big dude...anyone who doubted his words got thrown in the water...seems guys learned real quick that way, not to bother J when he was fishin....and they didn't go to the police or the internet to whine about it either...they just accepted that's how things were.....aah the good ole days.....

[DarkSkies]

Just a quick note about the OGB...what he's forgotten about fishing the salt, most guys would kill to know.....he is a frustrating Grouch at times....the name Gloom and Doom fits him well.....as he is one of the most pessimistic people I know....if ya want to hear about the worst in fishing, talk to OGB and by the time you're done you want to put your head in the oven....

Conversely, Fin is also one of the most generous, candid, (no diplomacy here), passionate, conservation-minded and honest fishermen and sportsmen out there.

I don't know if I've given him enough credit in some of the threads I put forth here, although Lord knows I try.....

So today we're giving him a whole bunch of credit, for all he does...and all his ranting and raving.....95% based on facts....

[Monty]

J was a big dude...anyone who doubted his words got thrown in the water...seems guys learned real quick that way,

I think it would be great if a few hundred guys who show "improper fishing manors" got thrown off jettys or thrown in the drink from the beach or sand bars. or at the very least their gear thrown in. Thats one thing I am sick of reading about, how guys show no respect for others.

[DarkSkies]

Any of ya's here ever have to make up cheers for your favorite sports teams?

Just got word that the OGB did a good thing today..and took a new guy under his wing and gave him some pointers.....maybe someone can come up a cheer describing the old grouch....maybe I'll send the plug to the best one....ya's got till tomorrow...

Something like..

Give me an "F", give me an "I", etc, etc....put your thinking caps on...let's see some creativity...thanks people.

[hookset]

F inds the fish
I ntense dude!
N ever happy
C urt responses
H ardcore fishing guy
A ngry and grouchy
S mart as a fox!
E xtra caustic
R acks up the fish

What's that spell? Finchaser, Finchaser!
How's that, dark?

[DarkSkies]

^Hookset, funny stuff!
(He might not think so when he sees it,..but so what! )




Send me your address, and I'll send ya a plug...let me know if ya want a metal lip or something else....thanks for the laughs...

[storminsteve]

Classically funny hook!

[finchaser]

F inds the fish
I ntense dude!
N ever happy
C urt responses
H ardcore fishing guy
A ngry and grouchy
S mart as a fox!
E xtra caustic
R acks up the fish

What's that spell? Finchaser, Finchaser!
How's that, dark?

Very creative

[storminsteve]

I wonder, do you really have all those qualities or is that just the hype that is put out there. Can any one person be that grouchy as dark makes you out to be?