Sharpie Secrets - Real secrets? Or plain common sense?

I mull over this several times a year and I was really thinking about this for the past few weeks. If you have had the chance to fish with people you rate as really good to damn good, what little things did you see them do that when you saw it you slapped yourself in the forehead because it was so simple? Was it truly a secret or advanced method? Or just an hinestly good common sense practice?

I've fished with a fair amount of people and a few that I would regard as damn good, especially if having spent some real time fishing with them.

A couple things I've noticed:

#A The lure or bait spends significant amount of time in the water - BS'ing is kept to a minimum and that even occurs only when the presentation is happening in the water...

#B Organized - things are ready to go which allows for more of # A (see above)

That's just two for starters, and they are common sense things.... Got some more?

Well failed in [[A]] i just don,t care //

50/50 in [[B} i,m not quite organzied [sp] But I,m always ready to gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :drool:

The ability to read water, senses are fine tuned... can see, smell, and understand what will work, and what won't... without running through the plug bag first. Can tell what fish are there, bait,etc., what to throw, right off. If nothing, moves on quick. Often can tell where to go next, from reading the first stop.
A. and B. yep.

Head in the game all the time. No plug in the water and mind lost in space.

luck.

Keeping it simple, you don't need 1000 plugs in your bag.
Also, if what you're using is not producing, change lures. I consider my Dad a sharpie and he's told me of dozens of times he would be nailing fish, guys next to him would be pluggin harder and faster and getting nothing. Thye never changed their lure. Common sense and oberservation

I don't consider myself a "sharpie" I do consider myself a good surf fisherman and I catch a lot of fish. There are no secrets that I can share but there are a couple of things that I do that have helped me.

I know the water I fish. I have studied the places I go and I know exactly what tide and wind I need to be successful at any given spot so I don't go to a low tide SW wind spot when the tide is on the way up and the wind is NE.

I sharpen all my hooks all the time.

I do little things like after I tie an Improved Clinch knot, I always throw an overhand knot on just in case...

I always strip back about 10 yards of line everytime I fish. There are always nicks.

I fish plugs, eels, rigged and live, sloooooowly. I read someone said that they do a 10 count for every revolution of the reel handle. I do also. Try it sometime. You will not believe how slow it really is.

Lastly and most important if you fish rocky places, always pick where you will land a fish before you start fishing. More good fish are lost because guys don't have a place to land a fish. All IMO

All of the above, plus they fish alot. I've seen even average skilled fishermen who fish quite frequently that can outproduce so called sharpies who fish a little. In my case, I caught a lot of fish in my earlier days, especially real big fish, but had only a fraction of the wisdom I posess now. The problem now is the available time to fish is minimal. You become sharp by being there alot, which develops your ability to anticipate things the average guy cannot. It is more commonly referred to as having the "edge."

Back Beach has that right about being on the water more. You do have an edge over the average fisherman or fisherwoman who can't get out there as much.

One other thing that helps me is totally concentrating on whats happening out there, wind, tide, movement on the water, anything differnet from the norm. Most people just don;t pay attention.

One other thing you need to do is think about how the fish is seeing your presentation under water, not just the way you are looking at it. this will increase your odds tremediously.

As I say alot, shut up and fish!!!!!!

I'm not a sharpie.....yet, but I think that another advantage would be in location. The locations that they choose are more productive than what a lesser expert might choose.

Some people just have "it" I have no idea what it is but they have it.

Other people who are succesfull know there locales intimatly, Just as Piemma said. They also know winds and tide and even how the wind affects tide in the spot they are fishing, which wind and tide combo produce white water on the structure ther fishing..etc... Some people have that ability to just look at a beach they have never seen before and know exactly where to fish.

Good fisherman never rely on fishing reports from magizines or the paper, they know this info is enflamed and usually a week or more old. Good fisherman create there own success! Sharpies keep logs and watch patterns develop over the years and can almost pinpoint when fish should be at point A or B . They know for instance that such and such a hole has fish usually on the new moon in june etc..or between certain dates.


They dont fish with junk! all there equipment is top notch and always ready for a trophy, they change line aften, check knots, sharpen hooks etc.. Sharpies know when to walk away form school bass, they dont stay in a dead place to long, they move, they have considered every possible thing that can go wrong and try to be ready for any situation, As john said they dont make fishing a social hour, they talk but they are always fishng and aware of whats going on. Save the social hour for a club meeting. They find fish if there not here they hop on a boat and hit an island or they drive to the cape or rhody or wherever else......They take the good with the bad.They dont blame lack of this or lack of that or the moon or the wind or anything else for not getting fish, they just accept that its "fishing" and not catching.

A sharpie catches fish consitantly, the occsionall big fish does not a sharpie make but catching on a regular basis means he or she is doing something right.

Common sense? yes but, you have to give a good angler his due, surf fishing is hard, long hours, tons of time on the water and a way of life...There are sharpies and it takes years to become that.

Surf fishing to me was never casual, Its different from any other fishing there is, its not a lazy day on a bass boat tossing shiners to largemouth in the lillypads.I have no problem with the weekend warrior but that guy will never become a sharpie or have the success they look for, its a special kind of fishing and it should be because its a special kind of fish :wiggle:

know where the fish are, what they are feeding on, time/tide, good tackle and lures/bait (fresh).

With those things in mind, you should be able to catch some fish.

#1 reason for loosing fish (in my opinion) is dull hooks.

Great post, Bill. Fishing is not what we do, it's part of who we are.

If you fish every night, eventually you'll catch fish.

Great post, Bill. Fishing is not what we do, it's part of who we are.

Exactly, I dont fish because I want to, its part of who I am and always has been. I can never explain that to people.When my child was born I could have fished maybe once a week or so, but I would rather walk away than fish half a$$. Its all or nothing, its deep in the blood and never leaves, Surcasting for striped bass is without a doubt for me the greatest thing in the world next to family and, even that takes a back seat at times.

I was talking to Capt. Jim White the other day and we compared notes on what we have missed for time on the water. I have missed, weddings, funerals, family functions etc... Just to fish a tide. I have to have the ability to fish whenever I want during the season, If I am forced to stay home I am pacing the floor misrable...I hate it, its like heroin!

I am sure there is a price to pay someday but when the bill is due, I hope its worth it!!

I hate the daylight in summer! I cant wait for it to get dark! to me the summer is nightime, I cant go near a beach without a rod, what me? sit on a beach and get a tan? no way! Water=bass and thats it! I hate to see the millions of people on our beaches during the day disturbing our sacred striper water!! It belongs to the bass! Close all beaches to tourists :nailem:

Anyway, you get the point!

Amen. I almost missed my daughters graduation from UCLA because the bass were in solid at Carpenters and I didn't want to fly to CA and miss the blitz.

:laughs: Amen. I almost missed my daughters graduation from UCLA because the bass were in solid at Carpenters and I didn't want to fly to CA and miss the blitz.
They understand :shocked:

My family knows now and I dont even get an invite, when an invitaion comes in the mail,inside it never includes me and maybe they will call and say "do you think bill will come? or is the wind sou-west"

I have always said , the worst thing I did was catch a striped bass, the rest is history!!

I want to also add, that since most of this fishing takes place at night I see no reason why people dont go out everynight even for just a couple hours? from like 9 to 11. Most times we dont go to bed till then anyway? and it beats the heck out of watching the boob tube! Sure people work, and so did I but I still went fishing, catch up on sleep in the winter, the season goes by so fast I mean look its already half over!!

You have to spend time on the water to have success and to learn. Dont worry you can make it all up to your wife in the offseason :wiggle: Send occasional flowers, cut the lawn and take out the trash, this goes along way in the point department :laughs: If you really want points! do the dishes and clean the kitchen!! wow that huge! And fold the clothes that makes them melt uinless your like me and mix the coloreds with the whites and turn her favorite white blouse into a tie dyed mess! :shocked:

You know the way I get around the "wife problem" is spending quality time with her during her waking hours. As Bill said, we fish the "dark hours" anyway. She goes to bed and I go to the beach. Just have to learn how to live on 4 hours of sleep a night. I call it getting into "fishing shape". :wiggle:

Just have to learn how to live on 4 hours of sleep a night. I call it getting into "fishing shape".


Have twins....they will teach you that you don't need any sleep. Good luck telling your wife that your going fishing, and she has to get up with the kids if they wake up, after either one of you haven't slept more than 45 min. at a time for the last 4 months.
So I guess I will half ass it for this year..because I would rather do that than not fish at all......or be divorced.

Have twins....they will teach you that you don't need any sleep. Good luck telling your wife that your going fishing, and she has to get up with the kids if they wake up, after either one of you haven't slept more than 45 min. at a time for the last 4 months.
So I guess I will half ass it for this year..because I would rather do that than not fish at all......or be divorced.
well thats why I waited for those years to go by, now my daughter is 8 and those days are behind us, now We have to wake her up! she is in bed by 9 and wakes sometimes at 10!! Thank you god! :thanks:

Seriously, I would not risk divorce ( unless the fish was a 60 :wiggle: ) I did not miss much when I was off the game but I would still rather be out of it than go once a week and hear my friends are killing them when I cant go, I hate those morning after phone calls, so what I did was just not talk to anyone, read anything .I paid my dues changing diapers and taking care of my child all day, I am glad I did and it made us close but now dad can fish again!!

But hey this thread is getting off topic!

I fished a lot when my kids were little but it was always in the middle of the night. I'd hide my fishing pants and shirt in the den closet. I'd get up at 2 sneak out so I didn't wake my wife and be back by dawn. I am a striper addict and admit it. :humpty:

Paul, on a realted note. There were just enough good parts in that 704 you loaned me to fix my broken one :buds: :hihi:

-spence

:wave: Great post guys! I try and make it out even just for a few hours a night if thats all I can manage, I hate watching tv.

I will hunt you down like the dog that you are........ :devil2:

Uncanny things make me wonder, like when a good fisherman says to me, "Why don't you try pausing your retrieve?" I stop it, and half a second after that, I get a bite. Or, "This cast you'll catch a fish," and I hook up. Or, "We're getting into some party boys tonite, I know it," and two fish just about 40" come in, back to back. Perhaps it's luck, but it seems to be more than that. Good fishermen just...know things, it seems.

Also, I find that the ability to teach another person how to fish, including all the finer points, seems to only come with lots of experience and knowledge. You can tell when someone's BS-ing you, trying to sound like they know a bunch about fishing when they really don't. The good fishermen have a broad knowledge of all things fishing, and a great passion for that knowledge, along with the passion for the actual fishing. A passion, which, it seems, can be greater than that of personal or familial relationships sometimes. I don't think it's worth that sacrifice if to be the best fisherman, you need to put fishing before people. I'll settle for being a mediocre fisherman; that's fine with me.

you guys that can go out every night are lucky, I am lucky enough to go out a couple of times a week because I live about a 30 minute ride away to good spots, but I am looking to buy a house soon and you bet your @ss I will be looking for one closer to the ocean! like a 10 minute walk! good luck to me right? that way my fishing time will be maximized instead of wasting an hour driving..

Rock;
I know Piemma lives 1+hrs from the ocean, and a lot of other people on this thread live 30+min.... I live 2min from some spots and 45min from others, it's all about picking my prefered tides/times and going to the spots... sometimes its west sometimes its right under my nose...I'm still on the learning curve of this game, put me in a boat I can ALMOST always find fish, in the surf my gut instinct still needs some tuning

you guys that can go out every night are lucky, I am lucky enough to go out a couple of times a week because I live about a 30 minute ride away to good spots, but I am looking to buy a house soon and you bet your @ss I will be looking for one closer to the ocean! like a 10 minute walk! good luck to me right? that way my fishing time will be maximized instead of wasting an hour driving..
It's all according to how much you love Stripers. Back in the mid-90s my fishing partner and I were doing 600 miles every weekend to fish the Back beaches. Yep, 150 miles one way to P-Town. R/T Friday and Sat night.

I looked for property in Narragansett or anywhere in South County. I am just not rich enough. Cheaper for me to drive the 1 hour plus each way.

:hidin:

yeah guys, I hear what you're saying, I guess I really meant that you guys that go out every night and don't get crap from your wives are lucky, not lucky, but good. If I went out every night, my wife-to-be would kill me and we are not even married yet! that's why it would be cool to live closer so I could still get 2-3 hours of fishing in and be home around 11. Now after I get home from work, eat dinner with her, help clean up, and drive to the spot, it's 8:30-9:00 before I can blink an eye!!

I know I know.. I have a lot to learn.. :(

Just get out there more, plain and simple...
Some nights though you just dont feel like going, and last night it felt good to sit on my @ss and wathc Rescue Me (Best non-Simposons show on TV!)

Personally, I think there is only so much common sense that can be applied to fishing. If it was that easy, we'd all be sharpies. How many times have you gone out to fish your favorite spot, under conditions that you perceived to be "perfect", using these methods that fall into the "common sense" catagory only to walk out 3 hours later proudly displaying the skunk you landed. Some people really seem to have the gift, understanding some other (possibly simple) circumstance(s) that we all overlook. Face it you will never conquer fishing... no one will. It wouldn't be any fun if you did.... :usd:

How many times have you gone out to fish your favorite spot, under conditions that you perceived to be "perfect", using these methods that fall into the "common sense" catagory only to walk out 3 hours later proudly displaying the skunk you landed.
Isn't that what fishing is :tooth:

-spence

I don't know Obi Wan

Sorry, I've simply set my expectations to ensure success :o :bo:

-spence

The few things I have learned from reading and watching "sharpies" is to slow the presentation down!!! If you think you are going slow enough you are going to fast (with certain lures).

Bigger isnt necessary always better sometimes when the fish have lock jaw shrink the size of the lures or bait and it usually unlocks the jaws.

reading the water...if you understand where the fish would be (I am still trying to master this one) you have abetter chance of catching more fish. Also understand what areas the fish like to be in....will there be a fish in this type of water and why will they be here.

Dont overlook the importance of wind.

Concentrate on what you are doing...when I go with my buddies to fish, who dont get out very often, we yak to much catching up on things and dont catch as much if we shut up and concentrate on fishing.

Pay attention to what you are doing when you are catching fish as it could be the one thing that gets the fish to bite.

Go on more scouting trips during the day with the kids (if any), this way you will spend time with them and scout sweet areas to fish....and you may just teach the kids how to read the water as well.

Get out as often as you can.

Now if I can put all of thes together I would be able to catch more fish.

The folks I work with just dont understand why I fish...they think you just drop a line in the water and bust open a few beers. Fishing is like baseball...baseball looks like a simple game but when you understand the strategy needed it is a very complex.

The folks I work with just dont understand why I fish...they think you just drop a line in the water and bust open a few beers. Fishing is like baseball...baseball looks like a simple game but when you understand the strategy needed it is a very complex.

Especially with Striper fishing, its a religion!

Some people just have "it" I have no idea what it is but they have it.

I agree. I don't know what that "it" is either. I do a lot of surfcasting with the same group of 5 or 6 guys. Virtually every trip, the same guy(s) will outfish the other guys. Same water, same time, same lures/bait. But every time the same guy (or guys) will always out fish the others.

I consider a couple of them to be "sharpies" or "near-sharpies." I'm probably in the middle of the pack somewhere. But the guys who catch the most fish seem to have the following traits.

- they concentrate on what they're doing
- they know how to use their gear and tackle (i.e., present a needle fish differently than a mambo or a danny)
- they keep their lines in the water a high percent of the time
- they cast far (if needed) and pick their water well (tide moving across a sand bar)
- they are willing to pound the sand and move up and down the beach as needed
- they don't waste time and have an idea of what they're going to do when they hit the beach (and tackle is organized).

But most of all...they have "IT"

As a side note, I've done a lot of boat fishing with these guys, and even trolling two rods identically, the side of the boat they are standing on always seems to get the most take downs. It must be something genetic. :shocked:

The folks I work with just dont understand why I fish
I think it's the night thing more than anything else. A lot of people are addicted to fishing of various sorts...but to go out at night in sometimes dangerous conditions isn't the most natural thing to do...

-spence

sharpie= one who has left[for the most part] family/friend's/work and most other normal activities behind to fish.

sharpie= one who uses and generally sticks to tried and true method's not screwing around trying to put a new twist on something...ain't broke don't fix it type of thing.

sharpie= one who has taken the time to study his home ground's, bar's/hole's/tide's/bait.

sharpie- one who remember's what worked in one place and doesn't work the same in another and is prepared to switch bait's and method's.

sharpie= one that has put their time in which here again means they fish 65 percent more than the adv. joe who looks at them thinking boy is he good.duh!

there is in some an underlaying nack, but for the most part, sharpies have ALOT of time in fishing. this is where the knowledge comes from.PLUS! I think you;ll find some of that was handed down from older fisherman that have passed info. along. And one must not also forget that the sharpie's of the pass had many more fish[large] to pick from as there weren't that many fisherman chasing them as there are today......making them look real good to new comer's of today.

stick to basic color's on plug's/bait.

don't forget eelskin's on..lead or swimmer's or needle's.

sandeel's...eel's...

fish on the flat sand [shallow water]in between hole's at low tide on a beach at nite,don't pass up skinny water.

try reeling eel's in like a mother instead of the slow as she goes method..once in awhile that's what it take's to turn on sleeping fish.

don't be afraid to fish daylite hour's by sharp drop off's.

fish place's where the comm. clammer's just left after the tide has come in.

fish in and around docks where comm. fishing boats unload.

put dropper's in front of your eel/plug's.

use tin at nite with tube's[white] when the surf is high and blowin stink.

I gotta go walk the dog.....learn from the past to fish for tommorrow.

Fish where the Comm. Clammers just left... For years I fished where I just dug worms. Look at me did I ever miss a meal? When the Missus and I were first married some 31+ years ago, fishing and clamming put many a meal on the table. You learn not to screw around with silly arsed theories and get down to business when dinner is at stake. Today, the kids are grown up and gone and I fish to relax. The Surf is a good place still to catch my sanity.

Basicall y fishing is common sense, find the bait and you find the fish.i have two friends that are considered to be at top of their game by most who know them, one a boat fisherman the other an old school surfcaster.there one common statement is that they have no secrets, other than fishing 7 days week thruohout the season.between them they have about 80 years on the water, day in day out.fishing is as complicated as you want to make it. two weeks ago my son and i had just finished fishing and were shooting the breeze with the surfcaster freind, this Jamaican fellow and his son asks us how fishing was, we mention we caught some blues he is looking at our gear and tells us how he had caught some fish up a another spot using the old handline casting method.it is all about what you put into it and what you want to get out of it plain and simple

Night fishing this year near nonexistant for me this year. Definitely has affected large count from the surf. Reasons are 1. Full days of carpentry in this humidity take a toll. (Not to mention the other bs of running the business) 2. The eyesight just isn't what it used to be, even compared to just last year!!! Especially the night vision. (Kinda makes my sceen name a misnomer, huh?) So it's days, dawns, and dusks for me in the near term. Guess that means I won't see my name climbing up the sharpie list :laugha:

sharpie= one who has left[for the most part] family/friend's/work and most other normal activities behind to fish.

sharpie= one who uses and generally sticks to tried and true method's not screwing around trying to put a new twist on something...ain't broke don't fix it type of thing.

.

I am howling at the first one but its true! I love "Normal Activities" Isnt bass fishing 7 nights a week normal? I thought it was? :rotfl:

The second one is more true than people think!

"Normal Activities" I love it!!!!! :jump:

Capesam: Great post!!! Now it's 2 AM and I'm headed for the Overlook for all you sharpies.

yep! been there-done it [7 nite's a week] missed my boy growing up for the most part.this I regret, all for a fish. One thing that hasn't been brought up is the fact that most of your charter boat's,guide's,passed/present hero's of the surf were/are comm. fisherman,,,atleast all the one's I know of.

comm.=sharpie

Money is/was a great incentive to becoming proficient in the art of Striped Bass fishing. Back in the day.......

I gave up my comm.lic just did not renew..Now there is no way of getting it back, I shoiuld have never let that slide.......

Id love to hear some sharpies weigh in on this thread :cputin:

I think Capesams & Flap touch upon a significant point when they mention the connection between commercial rod-and-reel and fishing proficiency.

We do not see the media focusing on stories of big nights of commercial rod and reel fishing. It’s not very fashionable given today’s climate of conservation and the economical value of recreational fishing to focus on how many fish one took.

Ask around and you will find that many of people whose names are now the stuff of legend at one time held a commercial license and sold fish, be it from a boat or shore.

Many loved to fish to be sure, and the money earned from fishing either supplemented their regular incomes or paid for their recreation. The rise of a middle class with time and money to spend on recreation was slow to arrive to many of the places where the best fishing was – selling fish afforded many people a chance to do something they loved without going into household money.

Still, some say a lot of sharpies lost interest once they could no longer sell the fish. It makes one wonder if they would have come to the sport at all if it were not for the financial opportunity and if the sport attracts as many driven, aggressive, hungry people as it did in the past.

Bullseye Joe, your right on the money there. :uhuh:

joe do you think frank would be who he is today if he didnt sell fish and i dont mean that in a negative way i respect frank?

.... :chatter

Sharpie? It's not self proclaimed. It's not made by parading your fish around whether it be word of mouth, pictures, tackle shop, internet, or whatever. If it wasn't for the money or tournaments back in the day, we wouldn't even know that 99% of the old school sharpies ever existed. Learning from everything is the key. Whether that means learning what to use when and how or learning to keep your mouth shut, you can never stop learning and teaching yourself. Make mistakes, but do not repeat them. Are any of us sharpies? If you have to even ask yourself, you're not.

"Show me the slips"
Tony C.
kinda says it all

Frank is always gonna be Frank.
Love him, hate him, respect him, or an odd mix of all three.
Read his books, he gives tons of info.
Read between the lines, too, as "longhair" :hidin: Flap says.
He's also fairly honest, he even tells you who, (and why) caught most of the fish for $ in his day.

I know some people who had to catch fish, bass, fluke, blues or even dig clams,, to get gas money to cover the weekend expenses on the beach, back in the fifties and sixties. These were the people that Frank were out on the sand with.
They travelled in homemade jury rigged fishmobiles. The current generation comes down in state of the art stuff, and barely even fish, it's a whole different scene out there now, and the need for $ isn't there.

I've learned a few things from some of hot shots out there, some where showed to me others I observed. Dam if I'll go post them on the net, I don't see them sayin them why should I? Isn't spots enough?


KRISP.......that dude on the puter is the best..LMFAO

I really don't know Frank that well - I met him in person once about 15yrs ago. He sells me books and I occasionally email him about getting product, but the conversation seldom goes further than business. I know him less than Tattoo but more than the Super Strike guy.
Its not good practice for me to speculate on people with whom I have a business relationship.

I've known one of chathams finest top bass catcher's for years. Alway's in the boat pullin wire...we'd play taking turns passing by each other in different holes...he'd alway's have one on. one day while on land when I was passing his house, I thought, stop and say hi........while talking fishin I brought up the subject of color on the jigs......he said make them any color you want as long as their white //// white??? yes he said...I'm color blind....30 odd years and I never knew.......just goes to show, it's all in knowing how to make your offering work right.....does color matter??

Color is BS.i really believe that most of the time.Presentation is way more important.That being said i have a few thousand plugs.I heard the same lines yrs ago all colors are good as long as they are black or white.I thro a yellow in there an dare anyone to outfish me.White is by far my favorie but when I paint my own its the hardest color to paint just not alot of artwork in it.

Absolutely!!! Black, White and Yellow. You find that if you throw these three colors you will outfish everyone except the live eels guys.

sharpies they dont reasearch the graphite mix in there rod they dont study the types of metal there reel is made out of.they just fish put in there time and use common sense. you can have all the best gear in the world but if you dont have that common sense,time put in on the water and skill your not going to have much consitant sucess. there is no such thing as a expert in fishing dont be afriad to try new things.you dont need the best gear but just quality rod,reel and tackle

there is no such thing as a expert in fishing dont be afriad to try new things.you dont need the best gear but just quality rod,reel and tackle


Exept for me :D :D :D :D :angel: :angel:

Ok boys no relax just kidin! :devil2:

JohnR, you bring up a good point. Alot of these things are common sense, but you have to be fairly driven to put all of them into practice each time out. Most decent to good fishermen know alot of these things. But thinking of them before you go out, instead of after you lose a 30#er, that's the key.

I think alot on the way home or the next day and am always thinking of things I should have tried or what I could have changed to do better. But I don't necessarily think well when I'm out on the water. I'm more likely to stick to my gameplan.

I've learned lessons about sharp hooks, knicks in line, taking care of your equipment, etc. etc. Something Bill said is very good advice, "always be ready for the trophy" ... think about it, you likely won't ever get a shot at a 50. Or maybe you'll get one shot. It could come any time, any place...and tlapinski said, "don't repeat mistakes"... very simple... but a good point...alot of good points in this thread.

Obviously you have to know some water before any of these things come into play. If you aren't on fish, it will never matter if you have sharp hooks and new line... or a brand new shimano stella and custom made lami. To be good, you have to spend time out there and learn some areas.

I'm not sure if this was mentioned, but flexibility and adaptability are HUGE. Taking advantage of what's available. I fall into the trap sometimes of forcing what I think will work, instead of finding what's going to work. In a way, I'm very versatile. I fish artificials well, I fish live herring well, I'm decent with an eel, I'm OK with a flyrod. I can catch fish alot of different ways, but you have to find them first. For example, I find fish well in the summer, but I'm not the best at spring and fall. I don't necessarily know where to find fish at those times unless they are blowing things up on the surface. I kept pounding some of my good summer spots thru the fall. I'd catch a pod of fish in those areas on occasion, but they'd moved on by next trip out. So I'm not a big fall run guy...

The biggest problem I run into though, is complacency. Fishing and the ocean are in my blood as much as anyone's. I should say water, cause I dig a mountain stream or shield lake or the Florida backcountry. Its the one thing I can do to forget about everything else. But my reward is being out there. I love to catch, don't get me wrong. I get frustrated some days just like anyone. Its not fun everytime out.

Early in the season, I'm all over preparation... hooks are sharp, line is new... re-tie leaders each trip, get a game plan together with wind contigencies. Noting stuff for my log, trying new things, different spots at different tides.

My season is summer... when fish move into their summer haunts, I do well. And after a few good weeks, I just get happy and content. Life happens a bit, I get a bit tired too. I get more driven just to get out there and I get my share of fish and that's all I need or want. I lose my "edge"...

I got my second biggest fish 2 weeks ago. I took a vacation day, went out by myself. I found some nice fish off one of my points. I got several decent fish from 31-34" and a couple just under keeper size. Then I nailed a 28#er... I was all happy. I released the fish and basically, I quit fishing. I went out and trolled for bluefish for awhile just b/c its something I want to learn and to veg out and enjoy the nice day. Then I went in. The next day, I'm thinkin' why the heck did I quit bass fishing.

I don't think I'll ever become a "sharpie" cause I'm just not driven enough by the results.

I'm passing no judgement... I'm impressed by the people that become that good cause I know what it takes to get there.

My professional life is the same way... many of us wonder why a multi-millionaire would want to start a new company when they could retire today... they are just driven a bit different. I don't think its just money. They need that action. I'm content to make a good living, but still have time for other things. Not to be stressed all the time.

Same in fishing or any hobby. Are you happy to be good and just have fun, or do you want to be great. Do you want it for yourself? Do you want to make a name? Whatever the motivation.

I do want to get better in everything I do. But there is always a balancing point. When does the effort/time needed outweigh the gain in satisfaction. Certainly over time, I will learn my water well enough that results will get better and better. But it could come alot sooner if you really wanted to lay it out there.

Sorry John, I lost track of where the thread was going... I love this philosophic discussion. I like thinking about all the levels of what makes a good fisherman. I also wonder if I am any good... just out of curiousity. Its good to get ideas from others on how they would try to improve.

PASSION!! fuels sucess. for some reason i just have to be out there beacause if you dont try you will never get anything.luck also comes in on catching big fish the chance of a 50lber or bigger hitting your plug or bait out of all the other schoolies and 10lb-40lb fish is pure luck.i have also do all types of fishing chunking,eeling,plugs,live-lining and fly fishing i just like having fun from schoolies and blues on the fly rod to moby linesiders and blues slamming a reverse atom in the canal on conventional gear

How about "you gotta be out there EVERYNIGHT because the first night you take off, that's the night the blitz of 40s happens"

How about "you gotta be out there EVERYNIGHT because the first night you take off, that's the night the blitz of 40s happens"

its not possible to be out there every night because like frank daignault said in his book striper surf- "i now recognize that you cant be everywhere and anticipate everything that you have to draw the line. otherwise you end up with surf rods that fish you and no other life".

try to get out there every chance you get :chased: i am 17 years old and with little to no worrys in life i can fish allmost all week at night :devil2:. i have had tons of wicked cool experinces in striper fishing and this is why i love fishing so much

otherwise you end up with surf rods that fish you and no other life".

Just the way it should be :kewl:

Theres "other" life :confused:

Vic, give me a break. Who's on the other end of the phone calling me at 3 AM from "the Point"?

:hidin: Its not me, Im in bed I gotta be at work for 8am :hee: Thats past my bedtime :faga: