Fall is coming and it will be time to fish until you can't see staright or stand up from lack of sleep. With all the big fish this year, there is a dman good chance of a fish of a lifetime.

If you have procrastined this year saying I don't need to re-tie my leader, or the hooks are sharp enough....there is still time. Another month and things should be in full swing, it's starting in some areas already.

What's a few things you have done this year to improve or hone your skill level? Sharper Hooks, Stronger Gear, Fishing Eels and Plugs...Inquiring minds want to know.....

The right plug for the right conditions, rather than the same three plugs for all conditions has been the wining factor this year.

This year I added a couple longer and stronger rods in anticipation for the fall. The majority of my fall plug/lure rotation is in the 2-4oz range. I will be adding some work horse reels to back up some I dont think will survive the end of the season.
I will also be trying some live bait surfcasting in some of the harder access/hot spot areas that probably have never seen that type of fishing. I hope to import some live pogies to RI.
:eek:

This year I began fishing live eels and have improved my catch dramatically. I also have changed from fishing early morning to fishing late night - early morning. I usually get to the beach at 2am and leave around 6.
I am excited about the fall, my daughter was born last year in August so I was too tired to fish at all last fall, even though I was up all night anyway.
My goal is a 40lb fish off the RI beaches.

For me, august slowed down quite a bit and I have spent more time off the beaten track exploring fresh territory that is difficult to get to for the average guy. This means a lot of walking. I have found a couple pockets that look to be pretty sweet that are on my must fish list this fall.

As for equipment I replaced my a few reels and added to my plug assortment.

I do plan to fish eels a bit more this year.

I am in the process of tying leaders for the fall. Some for plugs and some for eels some pre tied with droppas. I find this to save me a lot of time when the season gets hot. I use a nifty leader wallet when I fish and everything stays organized. As for line, I change it a few times during the summer but once the fall comes it is a weekely event. (shop does it for me..just bring in the spools) Line is cheap...I want it new all the time.

I spent some time fixing the boat/motors as well. I hope to chase more fish on those perfect nights with the boat but I have to say the bulk of my fishing is from the surf. What I need is more time.

I am actually thinking of taking a month or two off witn no pay just to fish this season....Its the wife I have to convince...

I'm sad to say that the last few years, while I have improved somewhat, I have been nearly stagnant. I'm just not getting enought QT in the suds... but I do have a refocused effort for this fall run!!! Why couldn't I have been laid off SEPTEMBER 1st :smash:

I upped the RDX charge in my fish grenades a few ounces. That'll teach those pesky fish to avoid me. :smash:

I've scouted spots more, and it paided off got a couple large in June.I reached my goal of breaking 40# but of course now 50 is in sight. I have spent tons more dough on tackle this year with a couple new rods and reels.I try to respool every week, it's cheap.
Been fishing at least every other day for months but taking it easy for a week or so to get ready for the run.
I need to make up a ton of leaders and buy even more plugs.

FALL RUN

:happy: :happy: :happy:

My favorite. I've been tying up some leaders, switching out old hooks, and acquiring more tackle (The three Bombers for the price of two at The Goose has treated me well). I have a couple new places to try, but it will mainly be more of the usual haunts.

From an improvement standpoint, I'm gonna fish later in the night, and fish more with eels.

expanded my fishing area to include newport and jamestown as well as my normal rhody spots, quit fishing the ditch. fished more plugs-last year I was primarily an eel man-this year I'm a plugger-and have done surprisingly well. more plastic swimmers wood swimmers and needles, less poppers and plastics. BTW-the price for newport fishing parking passes may go up in september from $10 for all, to $30 for residents and $60 for non residents:mad: might as well have had to buy a saltwater fishing license.

I'll tell ya'... I learned a valuable lesson last night... If you are going to head out with dull hooks, don't bother going! :smash:

A couple of us headed out of Pleasure Beach in the yaks last night to pull a TnW around. I tied on my trusty Bubble Gum rig that has taken over 100 fish in the last couple months.

We paddled for a while, while the tide turned, and I finally hooked up. (Of course Nils had a good dozen by then. LOL!) In any event, it was a schoolie that shook the hook right at the side of the yak. Then, a good hour went by before I got my next strike. And, what a strike it was. This fish hit me like a freight train! Turned me right around and started takin' line like it thought I had a 500 yd spool on there. By far, the biggest fish I have ever had on the end of my line! Well, it was a tuggin' as hard as it could, for a few seconds, then... limp. Yup, it spit the hook. :bc:

Now, a smart fisherman would have figured out that the hook was dull when the schoolie spit it the first time. And, a not-so-smart fisherman would have figured it out after the monsta' spit it. But, not me! After I got done wiping the tears from my eyes, I put another worm on and cast it back out. DUH! A few minutes later... SLAM! At least this "fight" went on for about 3 minutes. Then, you guessed it. :mad:

So, I finally decided to tie on a new rig :think: and went and caught eelgrass the rest of the night.

Lesson learned! Sharp hooks... Don't leave home without them! :wall:

go to Hooters earlier :D :D

well, still busy sniffin' epoxy. lots of wands into some good hands for fall.

let's see, got the truck ready and warning the gas stations to stock up. called my plug builders and tell them i need a cord of plugs delivered for fall. ordered 20 cases of red bull. looking for a dsl connection on the beach and that mobile dunkin donuts shop.

in all seriousness, everyone should check and change there line and do so several times. i'm lucky to last a week per reel and then change it. leaders are pre-tied and constantly checked. me, a dull hook? yeah, right. as some have said, your next cast can be that queen. will you and your tackle be prepared? of everything that has been said, the most important thing in catching that queen is time on the water.

i fished plugs alot more this year, i dont get my hands dirty with bait and normally outfish bait guys now. i use vmcs too and hook alot more fish. i also have alot more confidence in my wood now and ive figured out how a plug should look and act to make more fish strike. ive also found out colors like yellow and gold work very well when naturals dont.

one mistake i did make this year was using my schoolie rod too much. it has cost me at least 2 fish around 25+pounds, just wasnt able to turn them fast enough to get them away from the danger zone. i wont make that mistake again for the fall run cause my schoolie rod just broke.

Originally posted by MtnBrz1
I'll tell ya'... I learned a valuable lesson last night... If you are going to head out with dull hooks, don't bother going! :smash:

A couple of us headed out of Pleasure Beach in the yaks last night to pull a TnW around. I tied on my trusty Bubble Gum rig that has taken over 100 fish in the last couple months.

We paddled for a while, while the tide turned, and I finally hooked up. (Of course Nils had a good dozen by then. LOL!) In any event, it was a schoolie that shook the hook right at the side of the yak. Then, a good hour went by before I got my next strike. And, what a strike it was. This fish hit me like a freight train! Turned me right around and started takin' line like it thought I had a 500 yd spool on there. By far, the biggest fish I have ever had on the end of my line! Well, it was a tuggin' as hard as it could, for a few seconds, then... limp. Yup, it spit the hook. :bc:

Now, a smart fisherman would have figured out that the hook was dull when the schoolie spit it the first time. And, a not-so-smart fisherman would have figured it out after the monsta' spit it. But, not me! After I got done wiping the tears from my eyes, I put another worm on and cast it back out. DUH! A few minutes later... SLAM! At least this "fight" went on for about 3 minutes. Then, you guessed it. :mad:

So, I finally decided to tie on a new rig :think: and went and caught eelgrass the rest of the night.

Lesson learned! Sharp hooks... Don't leave home without them! :wall: Sounds like you fellers had a good night!

Taking over where I left off on my post above, I headed back to Pleasure Beach Fri night. This time I had the "new" TnW with the barb in tact. I ran the hook over a sharpening stone and tied on a new 50# leader before I left. If I got hit by the same monsta' that shook me the night before, I wasn't going to loose it again!

Well, I only had 5 hrs and a dozen worms to try and entice a line-sider to take. I headed right back to the spot we were got a few takers from the night before. There wasn't much going on when I got there but when the tide turned I started getting some nibbles. After letting a few worms go, to what I thought were schoolies, I took the rod out of the holder and held it so I could get a better feel. On the next pass I felt, tap tap tap, and gave the rod a yank. Boy was I surprised when I pulled up a monster porgie!

So... I'm thinking to myself... BAIT! :D I could smell it around but didn't see it, until the rip moved a bit. Then, as the sun was setting I saw a lot of bait around and started to hear some nice slaps. I gave up on the TnW for a bit and tried for some surface action. Nothin' doin'. Well, time was tickin' and I still had a few worms left. So, I went back to the tube. A couple drifts past a certain rock and BANG! The freight train was leavin' the station!

After I used both hands to get the rod out of the holder, I gave a good yak and really set the hook well! Then, I gave it another yank, just in case! ;)

Now, I have managed a fair number of schoolies, and 2 just-barely keepers this year, but now I know what it's all about. This fish was big!

How big, I'm not sure... See, this is where the "Improving Your Skills" title comes in... I don't know how or why but, after about a 10 min fight, the 50# leader I had just tied before I headed out, and had never been used, snapped between the blade and the tube. The knots were fine. I thought maybe it got rubbed off on a rock but the end of the mono, under the blade, wasn't rough. It looked like a clean cut.?.?.?

What did I do wrong??? I can't help but think I lost the 2 biggest fish I had ever had the opportunity to catch, 2 nights in a row, due to my stupidity! :confused:

Comments / suggestions???

Thanks for listening!

Tight Lines,
Rob

I have hopes of having a Yellow Tattoo proven Darter
then I will catch a fish:D
added another 250 to the live with #20 fire
4 bags loaded up for the run plus the surf bag.
same stuff just another Year.