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:

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.

Especially with Striper fishing, its a religion!

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:

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:

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