this past week i have taken 2 trips out- one trip yielded a beauty of a big fish in the low 30's.. the fight was disapointing, but reguardless it was a big one..

2nd trip yielded oodles of schoolies.

i enjoyed the 2nd trip more. non-stop action, my thumb is raw.. there were birds diving... it was a blast.


what do you guys prefer??? one big one or lots of small???

i guess this is the quantity over quality debate :D

I would settle for non-stop action any day over 1 nice fish, unless it's 50+ :bl:

hmm. the more i think about it, a 40 would be a nice single fish :D

I agree Eben, 40+ is sweet.

I was just pondering the same thing in my head, and I came to the conclusion that if you fish for large you don't catch sometimes at all
if you just go out and fish a spot that produces who knows what you will catch. so to answer you question I don't know I Hate getting skunked but I do both so I like it 50/50 if that makes any sense

One large for sure.

I was just pondering the same thing in my head, and I came to the conclusion that if you fish for large you don't catch sometimes at all
if you just go out and fish a spot that produces who knows what you will catch. so to answer you question I don't know I Hate getting skunked but I do both so I like it 50/50 if that makes any sense
i targeted large all season using big wood. because of that i got skunked alot, and probably missed a bunch of fish in the low teens... now i kind of regret it. i did have some great large nights, but they were not often.

One large for sure.
Let the record stand, F18 is out for one big one :devil2: :hihi:

-spence

Definately the large especially when your talking 30 or larger and I'm with you on the battle their putting up. I've gotten in into some nice fish in the last two to three weeks where fish 10 to 15+ pounds smaller were giving a better battle fooling me into thinking they were getting larger as it got closer to sunrise.

Let the record stand, F18 is out for one big one :devil2: :hihi:

-spence
:scream: :eyes:

I like the fight of mid to high twenty pound fish ( in the local area I fish) something about them....they are the fighters....
biggger fish are fun too....just different

I like the fight of mid to high twenty pound fish ( in the local area I fish) something about them....they are the fighters....
biggger fish are fun too....just different
right on the money Slingah... fighters is what ya want.
maybe it's an age thing, I can't get charged up over a bunch of twenty inch fish, versus a couple twenty pound fish... not bad to have a bunch of hungry little ones on a warm summers night, but if it's a chilly fall night, I just can't get horsed over schoolie fishing... get into a few decent ones, I'm there, but little guys.... nah, house is warm... like i said, maybe it's my age.

I like the fight of mid to high twenty pound fish ( in the local area I fish) something about them....they are the fighters....
biggger fish are fun too....just different

Ya mon - the local sleak runners - long, thin and fast as hell.

I like the fight of mid to high twenty pound fish...
I'm with you on this one. Of course, I'm speaking from a boat perspective. Nothin' like bein' with the guys at the buoy on a nice summer night with the water moving and the rip boiling. Run up just past the structure, put the eels down, and WHAMO! Multiple hookups of 25 lbers. Run back up and do it again, then again, then...

:beat:

Of course, there's something to be said for moving around the corner to grab a coupla cows on the yo-yos.

:hf1:

, house is warm... like i said, maybe it's my age.
Yup I know what you mean. I just let the dog out and I said to myself there is no way I would stand outside tonite and freeze my you know what's off to catch any size fish and I thought I would never say that.

Big wood for big fish is over stated and over rated! I caught plenty of nice size fish on some pretty small plugs.....I would rather toss a middle of the road size plug and hook up all day long than wear myself out ch#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g a heavy clunky plug hoping for that one giant to happen along! ;)

Nothing like a slob slaming an eel, setting up on it and getting the adrenaline rush from the run and then again when you see it rite before you slide it up on the rocks. But then again any fish 20 lbs or better is always good! :beat:

I'll take one in the 40's over four in the 20's.

Had the plenty...now I need the good! :cool:

I like em all I have had many epic battles wit good fish an some that like u said came in like a log.I think i would take a good night of 20-30 lbers that fight like mad.over one good fish.I'm ok with that.To be obssesed with a fifty is a ego thing.its one fish.when its gone its gone.Honestly give me 10- 25 lbers anytime.I cannot choose which fish bites on my line.

NeBBer good to see u feelin better an gettin out some.

one good fish is all i need

I'd rather catch 2 or 3 40#+ fish in one season than 20 and 30s every night for the whole season. You can't beat the adrenaline rush of taking a large fish in the surf. theres nothing better then setting up on a cow, fighting the fish and knowing there are no room for mistakes, and turning your light on to a slob bass on its side 15 feet away from you! You cant beat the feeling you get when you grab that fish under the gill plate and drag it to shore. All the time you put in has finally paid off and that one fish is more rewarding than 1000 20# bass. The big fish are what count at the end of the season and what keeps me out all night losing sleep and spending all my money on eels and gas!

If youre not hunting large then there are other fish that can make the season. When I used to fly fish a lot there were different goals I had set, as sight fishing is a blast and very rewarding. When I plug fished all the time, you couldnt beat a good mullet blitz with large fish slurping a popper on top. I will go back to this eventually... just gotta have a 50#er on the wall first :drool:

I just like fishing.Large or small it don't matter,cuz I just like fishing.

You guys talk like you catch 40 pounders every time you go out?
I wish I had the confidence, but no the less just get out and catch fish

I'd lke to catch one big one one day and a bunch of small ones the next day! :)

You guys talk like you catch 40 pounders every time you go out?
I wish I had the confidence, but no the less just get out and catch fish

Bob, your right no one catches 40lbers everytime out, thats fantasy land. I am happy with any bas I land they are all unique in there own way !! you may see 1 or 2 40s all season !! I dont cry when I catch teens and 20s, that is a good night also.............

Every cast I make is intended for a fish over 60#'s. Once I break that mark, 70#'s+ will be my goal. Anything less is just getting in the way for now.

Anything less is just getting in the way for now.
Out there in the surf is where it's at, that's where the line gets drawn in the sand between those who talk fishing and those who live it
Diametrically opposed?
:huh:

Had a friend tell me awhile ago that fishing is not something we do, it is a part of who we are. If you can understand the total commitment some of us make to this "sport" then you will understand why we strive to excel at what we do. I plan everything that I do in my life around fishing in the surf. So it does matter if they are big or small. As Toby pointed out, I fish like every cast will bring a 60.

You guys talk like you catch 40 pounders every time you go out?
I wish I had the confidence, but no the less just get out and catch fish

from the surf no one gets 40s everytime they go out. A fish that really weighs 40#s is VERY RARE from the surf. I'll be the first to admit, i get skunked a lot... many many nights at times. BUT i stick it out at areas where i know will eventually pay off. We pass up spots where we know we could pick off 20 pound fish consistantly. We sometimes fish 2-3 hours straight on one particular rock jsut looking for that one fish, because we konw they move through there when they are around. There is certain mindset to get in and a way of thinking to be had when targeting big fish.

I usaully leave when its all small in search of larger.. I'm not interrested in running up a high fish count catching small fish. I usaully find what I'm looking for but, there has been times when small has turned to large and I missed it . Sometimes this method does bite me on the butt ..

Dammm . :scream: after re-reading post I'd be very happy with 20# and 30# fish everynight.. Those are nice fish .. where u guys fishing ? When i say little guys I mean the ones you can reel in skipping across the surface.. I get on the Trophy fish every 2 - 5 years .. Yup,, lost it this year too . :eek5:

what do you guys prefer??? one big one or lots of small???



Honestly ,I don't care.For me ,the trill of a hunt is a lot more satisfying than the actual fight.Seeing a fish engulf a metal lip and trash it's tail once it realizes its pine and not mahogany :bl: .......priceless

In prior years I fished water that would guarantee mid teen to low twenty lb fish every night, rarely would I not land somthing in that range. This year I decided to fish "big fish " water more cosistantly. I will agree 40 lb + fish don't come on a consitant basis from the surf, but being willing to hunt more in big fish water paid off this year with three 40 lb + that are logged, and I believe I actually have a forth but need to go over the pics and my log. The number of 25 to 39 lb fish from the surf increased dramatically also. I would say that for the season as a whole I was consitant in the big fish catagory from the surf. Mid july and into the end of august were good boat times for me with a 47 and a 41 lb bass and at least 15 over 30 lbs. Hooking up is only 1/3 the battle, the gear is the other 1/3 and the experience is the last and deciding 1/3 in being consitant. I only lost 3 big fish out of the 40 or better I hooked up.

I'll take 25 pounders any nite. I think the fish from 20-30# fight the hardest.

For some it sounds like the only thing that matters is catching and only large at that.

I'm just glad that I'm ABLE to fish.Ask someone in a chair or missing an arm what matters.

Sixty-shmixty,I'm just glad to be out there.If the cow of a lifetime comes along then fan-freakin-tastical,if it doesn't then it doesn't.Of course I'd love to catch a giant but its not the primary concern.

Enjoy what you have.There may come a time when you can't.

Fish are fish. It's really cool to catch something on the larger side, but I'm happy with anything and everything. Maybe it's because I've pretty much just started to fish...because every time I get a hit -- whether or not I can set the hook, whether or not I can land the fish -- it's just SO exciting to me. And we're just talking fish, but if I have a good day out on the water with a fishing buddy, it doesn't matter if we catch anything. I guess I'm easy to please.

I remember my first legal surf bass as well or better than any of the fish I've caught , 22lbs and it was awsome. I remember the first pick up and run i ever got even though I didn't land the fish, never fresh water fished again after that!

I'll take 25 pounders any nite. I think the fish from 20-30# fight the hardest.


An in NJ there are days when we'll take a bluefish.

1 large... schoolies are as useless as bluefish :angel: until they grow up

on a more swerious note... before I get flamed to death. :af:

I don't like to slay schoolies because I feel that more of them are dying then surviving. I know someone will bring this back to haunt me when I post holdover pics this winter. But, this is my thinking and holdver fish are just to kill the urge. :D

. I guess I'm easy to please.

I gotta get me one of her :hihi:

First I would like to catch one over 30 lbs :eek5:

than I will give you an opinion on the diffence.

I know I'm going to regret saying this, being irish and all, but Size Does Matter.

I'd rather have one large than a bunch of small.....I still have fun fishing no matter what I catch but I would rather catch that one large one instead of a bunch of small ones.

as long as the fish can take drag the more the better. i'v had fish in the mid to upper 20's not take any line then the next night have mid teen fish fight like hell.

i love bass period,i love to catch them, any bass.

I'd Rather be in a group of fifteen to thirty pound fish going after surface gear than caring about hunting a 40 with lead or bait. If you fish with this idea your big fish will come. It has, numerous times for me. The adreneline rush for me has to be with seeing the fish attack the lure, be it a 10 pounder or a 40, Casting for hours on end in the hopes of a forty is not part of my adrenelenne rush.

As for schoolies, rarely do I even fish the esturies where they spend there time.