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

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"

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

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: