Feeling nostalgic this afternoon. Sometimes the angle of the sun, the clouds, the wind, the whole thing reminds me of times passed.
I had a lot of surf partners over 50 years but 2 of the best were Gil Guillitone from Narragansett and Bryan Oakley from Newport.


Just wish we could go back. Such great times in the middle of the night.
Throwing Timber calls from the Point at 2 AM to say the bite is on.
Spencer has a bird nest of biblical proportions at the Palisades again in the middle of the night and Nebe goes for a swim after a 25# for me in the same place and almost gets washed away,

I could write a book. Not even mentioning the Cape beaches with BackBeach, Tony C, George Calzone, Lanny Grazinni, Jerry Place, NJ Charlie, NY Ed, Stevie Mills.

Fishing Carpenters in 2003 with Tony Palliotti and Tommy McGuire and we catch 100, 15 to 20# bass and let all of them go.

Just nothing like that happens anymore. It truly was the best of times and I thank God I got to do it with some of the best Stripermen on earth.



:hs::hs:

This is fake news. I have never fished a day in my life :jester:
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This is fake news. I have never fished a day in my life :jester:
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...and in 1st Place Jeff Spencer..

&&&&&&&&&&&&boat fisherman don,t count ><><>>>>>>:eyes::eyes:

&&&&&&&&&&&&boat fisherman don,t count ><><>>>>>>:eyes::eyes:

Not sayin' that Mike but the surf back in the day was different. You and I surely had some epic times running together in the Sea Hunts.

Welcome to the new normal.
Where you can surfcast all season and count how many legal size fish you caught on two hands.

Where "big fish" are measured in inches.

Where the younger crowd are completely happy and content with catching numbers of bass but not quality sized bass.

Where a surf caught bass over 30 pounds is now considered the "fish of 10,000 casts".

I am now understanding why Steve Campo gave up on striper fishing many years back.

; )

i honestly feel sorry for you guys who are stuck in the past.i have fished all my life,and really don't care what happened in the past,i live for today not yesterday.and yes i have had the good fortune to fish with the best of the best in both boat and beach.never really cared how big a fish was.from the 60's till today i have caught more than my share of big fish,and i am still happy catching fish all night no matter what the size.after ten years of working in a tackle shop i got sick of all the stories of big fish caught from guys that could catch a schoolie in present time.

I miss the fishing of 10 years ago. Every fall on block island with my same crew of guys we fish our asses off and still catch fish and are happy about it. But it’s been 9-10 yeas since we had a trip where we were talking pounds every night. Now it’s a half dozen fish that are talked about in pounds if we are lucky. This year It was 2 talked about in pounds a 42-45 and a 22-25lber. I hope in 10 years we have another group of big fish around to relive the good days that I experienced. Unfortunately most of my crew won’t be making the trip any more at that age.
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I miss the old days .in everything , fishing , health , family , sex , respect , &&&&&&&the list goes on :gu:

I have good memories of the past and some not so good ones, I try to enjoy every day and make the most out of what life offers. Being on the right side of the lawn and being relatively healthy in retirement is a plus and I finally have time to tune up my golf game; which at this point is far more rewarding than fishing.
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fu ck golf .on the right side of the lawn ><><>:walk:

fu ck golf .on the right side of the lawn ><><>:walk:

Mike, you should try it. Play HarborLight. Nice, easy 9 hole, 3 minutes from your house. It is very rewarding once you understand it's not strength or power but it's all about timing and setup. Really very much like casting correctly.

the closest I ever got was when they were opening the buttonhole course ………...we setup stick bullrake setups & waders & we went there & warwick country club .when I tell you we actually got 1000,s of golf balls to donate to them .
when Sheila passed . instead of selling her clubs or giving them to someone I brought them down there & gave them away ……………………. that was enough /////////////Oh I did golf in two tournaments ……………. fu ckin divit .felt like my hands got broadsided by a baseballbat :fury:

Mike, you should try it. Play HarborLight. Nice, easy 9 hole, 3 minutes from your house. It is very rewarding once you understand it's not strength or power but it's all about timing and setup. Really very much like casting correctly.
OMG Clammer and golf, I think all young ears will need to be out of ear shot before he tees off. Beat the rain and cold this morning and beat my record time, 18 holes in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Scored well in spite of the wind with 77, the double bogey on the last blew my 75.

I see Clammer as more of a putt putt guy.
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I hate where the fishery is going, and that the dolts in charge can't seems to stop stepping own their own d!cks when it comes to forming a rebuilding plan. I've moved on (for the most part).....

I'm hoping that smallmouths will fill the void, but I'm not that optimistic--there aint no such thing as a 40" smallie.


its depressing.......

I hate where the fishery is going, and that the dolts in charge can't seems to stop stepping own their own d!cks when it comes to forming a rebuilding plan. I've moved on (for the most part).....

I'm hoping that smallmouths will fill the void, but I'm not that optimistic--there aint no such thing as a 40" smallie.


its depressing.......

They do help fill the void . Some big bronze-backs out there on 2# test . plus its fun hunting for them .

If smallies grew to those dimensions, it would be insane, picture a thirty lb bronze back tail walking across a fog laden early morning cove.
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Yeah Paulie, the fishery isn't what it was. Putting in those hours is a young man's and an old man's past time. Hard to be a vampire with kids etc... Adapt, and keep having fun.

We sure had some fun though back then....
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Yeah Paulie, the fishery isn't what it was. Putting in those hours is a young man's and an old man's past time. Hard to be a vampire with kids etc... Adapt, and keep having fun.

We sure had some fun though back then....
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Memories that will last this old man the rest of his life.

Memories that will last this old man the rest of his life.

I’d take a swim for you any day old friend. Today. Tomorrow. Anytime.
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And Spence... take note I did not drop his fish while doing the flooded wader doggie paddle :hihi:
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And Spence... take note I did not drop his fish while doing the flooded wader doggie paddle :hihi:
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#^&#^&#^&#^& off :rotf2:
It was a glorified schoolie, Spence has changed the story to a I dropped his 50 in the wash.... :smash::smash::smash::smash:

God, what I’d give to go back to the fishery we had 10 years ago, and even then you could tell the fishery was starting to decline. Looking back, Tyler (cheferson) and I were so spoiled. We only fished two spots, high percentage big fish spots, and if we didn’t get a 20+ # fish on any given night, that night was considered a failure. We hit it hard 3-4 times a weeks, him even more, and we were always on fish. Never had to leave one East facing coastline for an entire season except for special occasions like the Sept New Moon... we had a spot that always produced quality and quantity no matter when in the month the new moon lined up. And we still said the fishing was getting worse ( it was, but it’s all relative).

Back to our home base, we’d have nights where we’d go through 2 dozen eels no problem. Always resident fish around. It was nice to revisit one of those spots 4 seasons ago after years of blanking there and having one of the most epic 4 night stretches in my life, all while fishing “Tyler’s Rock.”

Like RIRock said, though, regardless of the state of the fisheries, fishing like that is for the young (or bum knee, degenerate in my case). I’ll never forget Tyler was fishing the same NE’ster when a certain member on here flipped his boat during it and put in a ridiculous insurance claim.... Tyler was fishing a rock that was completely exposed, taking waves to the chest, and landed a mid 40# fish while Rolex’s and multiple VS’ were floating by in front of us (I kid, I kid... sort of).

So many good fish and this was after the epic fishing of the late 90’s, early 2000’s. What I’d give to go back to those nights, those spots that are forever ingrained in my soul, with the knowledge I have now...
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God, what I’d give to go back to the fishery we had 10 years ago, and even then you could tell the fishery was starting to decline. Looking back, Tyler (cheferson) and I were so spoiled. We only fished two spots, high percentage big fish spots, and if we didn’t get a 20+ # fish on any given night, that night was considered a failure. We hit it hard 3-4 times a weeks, him even more, and we were always on fish. Never had to leave one East facing coastline for an entire season except for special occasions like the Sept New Moon... we had a spot that always produced quality and quantity no matter when in the month the new moon lined up. And we still said the fishing was getting worse ( it was, but it’s all relative).

Back to our home base, we’d have nights where we’d go through 2 dozen eels no problem. Always resident fish around. It was nice to revisit one of those spots 4 seasons ago after years of blanking there and having one of the most epic 4 night stretches in my life, all while fishing “Tyler’s Rock.”

Like RIRock said, though, regardless of the state of the fisheries, fishing like that is for the young (or bum knee, degenerate in my case). I’ll never forget Tyler was fishing the same NE’ster when a certain member on here flipped his boat during it and put in a ridiculous insurance claim.... Tyler was fishing a rock that was completely exposed, taking waves to the chest, and landed a mid 40# fish while Rolex’s and multiple VS’ were floating by in front of us (I kid, I kid... sort of).

So many good fish and this was after the epic fishing of the late 90’s, early 2000’s. What I’d give to go back to those nights, those spots that are forever ingrained in my soul, with the knowledge I have now...
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And computers and cologne.

I kinda like the new me and the adventures with the kid. I never cared about catching anything anyway. I just like to fish.

#^&#^&#^&#^& off :rotf2:
It was a glorified schoolie, Spence has changed the story to a I dropped his 50 in the wash.... :smash::smash::smash::smash:
It was a 20 and at least I was able to eat it drop boy.

It was a 20 and at least I was able to eat it drop boy.

:rotfl:
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And computers and cologne.

I kinda like the new me and the adventures with the kid. I never cared about catching anything anyway. I just like to fish.

If I had a kid then I’d be happy catching scup. Good stuff.

I’m sorry if I’m mistaken, but I have a hard time believing you didn’t care about catching large. If I recall correctly, you make an annual pilgrimage to the tip. I’m guessing you banked on big fish there, but if I’m wrong then I apologize. I realize it boils down to more than just to the catching but I’d be surprised if you were there for just schoolies
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.....I see Clammer as more of a puff puff guy.... :smokin:
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Mike would be the dirty version of "Judge Smails" (Teddy Knight) from Caddyshack... :rotf3:

Mike would be the dirty version of "Judge Smails" (Teddy Knight) from Caddyshack... :rotf3:

Lol!
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there aint no such thing as a 40" smallie.



red drums are pretty close. maybe if we can keep the waters warming fast enough, there is time for them to get up here in numbers :err:

If I had a kid then I’d be happy catching scup. Good stuff.

I’m sorry if I’m mistaken, but I have a hard time believing you didn’t care about catching large. If I recall correctly, you make an annual pilgrimage to the tip. I’m guessing you banked on big fish there, but if I’m wrong then I apologize. I realize it boils down to more than just to the catching but I’d be surprised if you were there for just schoolies
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It's cool. No, I have never cared about catching fish. I just like fishing.

Now don't get me wrong, I try very hard to catch fish, and I like catching big fish, but I'm just as happy catching tog or small LMB or schoolies.

I will admit that the big one I caught on the Bucket made me speechless. That says a lot for me.

I remember meeting Ricky Mikey and #^&#^&#^&#^&y at the tip....
Most honest fishermen should not have to make any excuses if they are accused of targeting large fish. Whoever claims they are just as thrilled catching a schoolie is being less than honest.
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It's cool. No, I have never cared about catching fish. I just like fishing.

Now don't get me wrong, I try very hard to catch fish, and I like catching big fish, but I'm just as happy catching tog or small LMB or schoolies.

I will admit that the big one I caught on the Bucket made me speechless. That says a lot for me.

Good stuff
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I really miss the old days ...but fishing isn,t even close to the top of the list ………..so ENJOY what you have >>>>>>>>>>>>>:love:

I remember meeting Ricky Mikey and #^&#^&#^&#^&y at the tip....
Most honest fishermen should not have to make any excuses if they are accused of targeting large fish. Whoever claims they are just as thrilled catching a schoolie is being less than honest.
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Maybe it's because when I first moved to the Cape in the mid 90's all I fished for was schoolies.

I just like fishing. Whatever I catch I am thankful for...makes getting skunked not a problem.

red drums are pretty close. maybe if we can keep the waters warming fast enough, there is time for them to get up here in numbers :err:

Zimmy, the last thing we need at the Canal are Red Drum. You'll have every jamoke in creation there

so Chris,i fished well over 130 nights this season,and most of those nights were fish under 28 inchs,and yes i was thrilled each and every night i caught fish,and there weren't many nights where i didnt catch fish. i can say in all honesty that i enjoyed this season as much as 3 years ago when i fished the canal 4 to 5 times aweek,rarely catching anything under 25 lbs with most fish over 30,and i have the slips.i just happen to leave my ego home when i fish and ski

A picture is worth a thousand words........circa 2005

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=65838

The fish will gather again for the Andrea Gail....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVlDSzbrH5M

I think most of us older guys have to consider themselves lucky to have experienced some of the best striper fishing ever and while we all might wish the stocks were at those levels again soon, I'm sorry future generations might not get so lucky.

I also consider myself lucky to have been able to share some of that with my one son who loves fishing and we also shared some epic smallmouth fishing in ME, with one 3-4 lber coming over the side all morning long. The fun of the morning being relived in front of a roaring camp fire at night will get me through any down time we have in this fishery.

M&D's.

M&D's.

I can still taste Greg’s marinated bear meat from one of the cookouts we had there and his deer meat chili is sooo good to. I need to give him a call and tell him I’m hungry, this is one of the few years he and I haven’t fished together.
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Zimmy, the last thing we need at the Canal are Red Drum. You'll have every jamoke in creation there

True. Would be a really hard place to land one though.
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Agree with GotStripers on this one, and also was able to share with my now 34 yr old son. He caught his first on a brand new small rod/reel combo from Bennie's at Dunn's Corner when he was about 14 years old. Didn't reel, just walked backwards till the 27.5 inch fish came on to the beach in Weekapaug. Dropped the rod/reel in the sand, ran down and practically tackled the fish... "Can we keep it?" No, a short... Has loved fishing for stripers ever since.

GotStripers...
"I think most of us older guys have to consider themselves lucky to have experienced some of the best striper fishing ever and while we all might wish the stocks were at those levels again soon, I'm sorry future generations might not get so lucky.

I also consider myself lucky to have been able to share some of that with my one son who loves fishing and we also shared some epic smallmouth fishing in ME, with one 3-4 lber coming over the side all morning long. The fun of the morning being relived in front of a roaring camp fire at night will get me through any down time we have in this fishery."

I remember meeting Ricky Mikey and #^&#^&#^&#^&y at the tip....
Most honest fishermen should not have to make any excuses if they are accused of targeting large fish. Whoever claims they are just as thrilled catching a schoolie is being less than honest.
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Those were the days. I bumped into a lot of the old guard out there back in the day: Dangles, Habs, Bassmaster, Ice man 6, BigFish, SlipKnot, Flaptail, Tatoo Bob, Scarecrow, Redlight, BackBeach Jake, Chris L, and of course the regulars: LI Fish VT, Tuna, Jim Manning, my family.

Now you might not even see another fisherman on the beach in the middle of June. Sad

Back beach is suspect at best is he even a real person? Or just a myth, like Kaiser Sossseeey
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