[QUOTE=Goose;560974]Not to sound repetitive but judging by the majority it seems like Luck is the key. The reason why I asked in this thread is because of certain non-fishing related books that I've read one being the 'Power of Positive Thinking'(powerful Faith book) the other 'Think Big'(by Schwartz Ph.D.)

I have to ask, "Don't all of you leave the dock, or go to your spot, knowing in your heart and soul that this fishing experience is going to be
absolutely awesome?" I do. My wife, who knows me better than anyone, can not understand how day after day I can spend hours on the water, yet not sleep at night full of excitement, and constantly believe the next trip will be better than the last. If you answered "No" maybe you might want to skip that day of fishing.

I`ve lost many Striped Bass in the 40 to 90lb range. :smash:

I agree for the most part DZ. The key thing with guys taking multiple 50's at once is obviously the availability of such fish, regardless of the other factors. In order to get numbers of 50's you need a combination of skill, luck, and available fish. The fact that those big catches don't happen with regularity from the surf is proof that you need the availability. In reality, anyone, and I mean anyone, can catch one 50 and it proves nothing. Guys I know that have taken multiple 50's over a long time span are more than just lucky though.

Good question, Nebe!

I am referring to the last two and 1/2 seasons that i spent in the NE surf, from when I first began until last year when i did get to within a foot or so of the biggest striper i've ever hooked and did see her from head to dorsal/from dorsal to 4th stripe ~head on view/from swish of tail to head and gone to snap my shock leader and be gone, She was massive. i was using big eeeels, right tide and time, and would put her at 60#+.

Same spot previous year, '06, and in the middle of a new moon bite landing 20's to 30's with schoolies, came a lunge in and back under take and hunker down while chunking a pogie head. She did not move, and I did not know how to move her then, or to wait her out, and she shook her shoulders a little bit then opened her big maw and spit my noobily "set" hook having stolen her morsel.

Same spot same year, '06, chunking again big head chunks about a month later. only fiftty or so yards away on the covered side of a huge boulder, new moon the second biggest take and hunker i've ever had in those NSore waters. She took it, shook it, I set up, she hunkered down beneath said boulder, then she began to rub away at the leader....................I kept pressure, that is until my worn leader gave way and i got back the last foot before my spool line started.

The other spot was MBLHD HBR, fall '06, do you remember me asking about using culls for bait or not? Just so happens i caught one chunking macks one nite at the harbour. so i chunked up the tail for chum, thru out the claws for more chum, and saved the head for something hopefully "good" on yer typical chunking set-up. I took a chance, I mean i HAD read "On the Run" ;).

Within two-three minutes the biggest and most powerful KAWHAM/take i have yet to experience inhaled that head and swam about three feet and hunkered down to an immovable position. the place where i was is loaded with boulders, but it wouldn't have mattered as i hooked the head with supreme googanity and she coughed my offering up once she was aware of the hook. I had rigged the hook in a way that it never would have stuck in her maw.

The only reason I guesstimate the above sizes to be that big, and these are all guesses since I landed neither of them, is i compare them to the monstah i did see this year, and to the several over 30's that i did land this year. the 43''er that i C&R in Sept was dwarfed by the ??60?? that got away that night in the same honey cove about a month earlier. Seriously, they looked like rats compared to the size of this cow. i've also landed bull reds and trophy tarpon in FL and those tugs on body and drag, you never forget!

I have no reason to exagerrate, Nebe, as this place produces BIG fish, often. While our minds in the surf can play incredible tricks, this BIG BEETCH is indelibly etched into my cereberal cortex and will be until i land her twin or her Momma this coming season. And I do know where, when, what, and why she's gonna be there. I just have to remember to let her swim a bit instead of trying to horse her in like some 25#'er. That was my biggest goog with her, i brought her in waaaay, way too green, like me during that fight :fishin:.

Anyways, yer prolly right and i could be way off, but that's what they felt like then and i tend to remember the ones I didn't land moreso than the ones that i bested, because the "ones that got away" have taught me the most :fishslap: :fishslap:.

Why I have not landed a 50.
 

• I'm not that good
• I've only been fishing for 5 years
• The 40's I've caught have all had empty stomachs
• Last year was the first year I seriously fished eels. Prior to that I only used them once or twice a year.
• I only fish the surf.
• I don't get to fish as often as I would like to.

There are many more reasons but that's all for now.

Accept for the 1st one, Dude you ain't never lied:claps:

When the moment of glory arrives, I would do myself the justice of having the fish weighed on a certified scale. I’ve heard of many guys C and R so called "50's" and I think most, if not all of them are completely full of %$%$%$%$. Many are just looking to seal the deal by using the “formula” or hand scales to cement their rock star status. Show me the slips.:rtfm:

Oh yeah, catch them first and weigh them later is also a good creed to live by. :banano:

A. big lures will take 50s
B. the right gear to put the brakes on the fat girl.
C. Fish at night and know what the heck your doing.
D.Keep a log and fish hard.
E. luck has nothing to do with it. You are a surfcaster and its all skill.

i think alot of people may disagree on that one......

:hihi:

I have caught and it was luck.

That being said:
Right place right time.
Right bait right presentation
Confidence Confidence Confidence
Right skill level and skill set; not getting "bass" fever and resorting to poor technique(s) rushing the process or taking shortcuts
Being obessesive about your gear being in perfect shape.
Having a place to land it
Knowing what moon phases, places, and tides have produced in the past etc

all these help in the pursuit of the "50"

shy away from boats

closed out of areas that had produced their share of 50s

didn't fish enough in the 80s

gave up using eels

when bunker used to be within snagging distance, I did not know then what I know now

shhhhh......I have seen Luds out on a boat before.....


BassDawg,
first off, fishing with a cull as bait is totally illegal.
Second, while there have been 50 and even 60# class fish taken in or just outside MBLHD harbor, we haven't had that class around for a while.
Me, I am not convinced that I've ever been around a school with 50 or 60s in the mix, certainly not from shore. This is of course excluding any fish caught in the EEZ ie. Stellwagen, where I have had some bruisers brought to the boat an released.

This year, my goal is to locate fish, catch fish, and hopefully keeping pushing personal bests.

Me too.26 is the best I can do so far.

Had 40+ fish on but just couldn't make it happen.But you are right,the time will come.

:smash: :spin:

There just are not many available.

Thanks for your viewpoints nightfighter, i just share what i saw and felt from my limited view. I think that the most impressive "LOSS" for me was the big gurl from the MBLHD area. Because she HIT so Heavy and so Hard and moved with such deliberate strength to her hunkering down spot. She was definitely in no hurry and am not quite sure she even knew that she was hooked/not hooked :kewl: :kewl:.

I havent got a fifty because it hasnt been my turn....and may never be...and I could care less. Not that I wouldnt be happy to be so lucky or I dont get pissed when Ive dropped large..... but it is just a number. I manage to get enough big bass to keep me fairly content.

It just does not get any better than this :wave:.

I am really looking forward to doing the seminar at the SW Edge show a week from Saturday...it is all relative to this topic. The talk and chatter here gets me pumped up for this next year and my next oppurtunity to cross paths with a substantial bass.

God I love this fishery!!!!

Why haven't I landed a 50?
 

Because I don't think that it's fish that I'm after.

Bass Dawg - I have no reason to doubt you personally, except that I doubt everyone. I know some very good fisherman. My Dad was one of the best, fished 4 + nights a week for years and has a few 50s , 40s etc . Which were weighed, blessed and photographed.
For you to say "and to the several over 30's that i did land this year. " I can't buy it, unless you are talking inches. Please post some pics to prove me wrong, The best fisherman I know, i know many, would never say they lost 50s and 60s, those are fish of a lifetime and very hard to come by.
I've posted this on here before and I'll say it again. For the average angler -
A 12-18lb bass is 25lbs, a 25-32lb bass is over 40, etc. I've seen it a 100 times.
I've spent 1000s of nights at some of the best spots and I've seen a handful of 30s over the last 8 years. SOme of the absolute BEST fsiherman on this site, caught "several" 30s this year. The very, very, very good ones, MAY have caught 2 30s this year. Sorry man, I can't buy you caught several 30s.

opportunity and or the $Cash$ available to go usually! which isn't to often' but i remain Hopeful as thats all gonna be changing one day
so i have learned to be patient ..................very patient :jester:

i am a Member of S-B to help keep the Dream "ALIVE " :cheers:

Jimmy, I agree with some of what you say, especially about guys not knowing what a fish weighs. Years ago I bet a guy $50 at the Charlestown breachway (what a zoo!!) that his "40lb" was 22 or 23#. We took it to Capt. Don's when he was in the old building and it weighed 21. The guy issues a string of profanities you would not believe told Don his scale was off and left without paying up on the bet. As my old and departed friend Lanny use to say "show me the slips".

This is not directed at anyone other than myself.
There's a sad truth to face when you realize that you're not as good, nor do you fish enough spots, when compared to most of the people who have gotten fifties.
I have not gotten a 50 because I have not fished as much as I needed to once I knew what I was doing, and because my methods and repertoire of spots are inferior when compared to most of the people who have caught a fifty.

Buy a boga or similar lipper/weighing tool. Test it for accuracy before using it. That way, even if you want to release your fish you can get a fairly accurate measurment. :kewl:

And why havent I caught a 50: Not enough years of surfcasting (3) and just not good enough yet.

RIJ,
Amen!
I always try and round down when estimating, but am usually within a handful of pounds on fish actually weighed, because without our honor out there we don't DESERVE a 50... hooking and landing a fish of that size wouldn't be lucky, or skillful, it would be a privilege! .

As far as losing 2 50's and a 60... I've dropped a handful of 'big' fish. But how big? Who knows... I remember thinking I was north of 40 at Q one night, and it was a foul hooked bluefish, and a second time at a UDL with PIemma when I snagged 14 lbs of angry blue behind the dorsal... my curse echoed back to gansett from there! :smash:

BackBeach
"I’ve heard of many guys C and R so called "50's" and I think most, if not all of them are completely full of %$%$%$%$. Many are just looking to seal the deal by using the “formula” or hand scales to cement their rock star status. Show me the slips."

I agree; I think the exception is people who have already caught/seen a 50 before, weighed it, and released it (i.e. DZ). Otherwise you're just in RHM status...
show me the slips is right!

Goose, in answering your original question....I don't know why I haven't. I honestly don't think there's a specific nor a cumulative reason why. I don't really believe in luck, but I do believe in God, and if and when He chooses to bless me with a fish of that size, I will be grateful. If I never get blessed with a fish that big, I'll consider myself blessed in many other ways fishing related. I'm sure you know personally, that I'm perfectly content with my time on the water, whether I'm catching or just fishing. Do I dream of catching a 50? :rotflmao:...OF COURSE I DO, who doesn't? Can "Positive thinking" help me reach some goals in my life? ABSOLUTELY! Can "Positive thinking" put a 50 on the end of my line? :hs: If I wish hard enough, will the fish be there? :hs:

How many people on this board have only been fishing 1/2 dozen years or so and already have BIG fish under their belts? Should I be discouraged, jealous, MAD? Are they fishing harder than I have? Are they using a secret lure? Is there a method to this madness?

You can target large and you cannot target large. If you know what you're doing, you know what I mean by that. Putting yourself in the right condition(s), (time/place/tide/bait/etc/etc) will definately increase your odds of catching bigger fish, but that 50#er not only HAS to be there, but also has to choose your offering, once that happens, your skill along with your gear...will help with the rest. That being said, I personally do not always target large. Based on your post, that alone could be the reason why I have not caught my 50. Your opinion - like mine, means nothing. That guy chunking mooshy mackerel on the beach casting 40 feet out in 4 feet of water eating his lunch under the high Sun landing a 50lb. fish tells me more than both our opinions combined.

We all have our favorite spots. There are many reasons why we favor them, whether we've caught our biggest there or because we've caught a lot of fish there or maybe it's a spot that the skunk rarely visits, again...there are a LOT of reasons why we favor spots. However, no matter how much you like that spot, you still can't wish a 50 to be there. If you feel confident that this spot should be a BIG fish spot, fish it hard, fish it often, fish it confidently. Don't let someone tell you that you'll never catch a BIG fish there. Is catching a 50# fish something one wants for himself OR is it the status that one inherits once he has it? Not a question that gets answered honestly I think -

Riddle me this Batman, I went fishing with a friend on his boat. HE researched the spot, put in HIS time, and shared HIS spot with me :love:. One night while we were fishing, the action heated up. My friend landed BIG fish, ALL of his fish dwarfed my fish. I mean he caught fish from 25#s to the HIGH 40# mark, while I caught nothing larger than 30 inches. Let's weigh in the varialbles. He was using eels - I was using eels. He was spot casting to a certain hole - I was casting in the SAME exact hole. Almost like jetty currents, he would cast, get his fish out of the hole and then I would cast and get my fish out of the hole. We were both consistently "hooking up". Technique was almost out of the question as the fish were hitting a specific part of the water column so as the eel sank it got blasted. I believe we were both using braid. How was this possible? How could 2 completely different class fish be in the same hole, and beyond that...why would the larger ones inhale his eel while the smaller ones dined on mine? He joked about picking the larger eels, which I also used ??? Was he reaping the rewards of doing the homework, did the fish Gods know who really deserved the bigger fish versus who was tagging along?? Karma?? It is what it is...and like my friend Clammer says....."Enjoy what you have".

.

The harder you fish , the "luckier" you get....

...and so back to my original premise, there is luck involved. Same spot same bait same line same everything.
I don't care what anyone says. i've done this longer than most of the members of this board have been on this planet. There is luck involved in hooking a 50. The skill in being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment and fighting the fish so you win. The luck is having that one 50 take your plug or eel or bunker or whatever. You cannot determine what size large fish is going to take. You can scale up so you are not targeting schoolies but you can't have a positive effect on a fish at 48 taking and a fish at 50 not taking.

last sept when we pulled this one in, I could have swore it was going to be my first 30. 42+ inches and such a great fight!!!. Turned out to be only 25ish. BUT, no way did i think it was 40 according to this logic. When it was posted on here that night I said exactly what the scale read.

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...8&d=1190586579


why havent i caught a 50??? :huh:
don't know...
but i know i love to fish.

I didndt say everyone uses that logic, but many do. Drag that fish out of a beachway and the guys around you will be saying some guy got a forty.
Its not that people intentionally lie, its just that many have not seen 30, 40, 50 lb fish, so they really have no clue.

I agree with you completely on your fish size post, RI Jimmy. In the pantheon of those on this board I'm a slightly below average fisherman who has fished the surf (less frequently than I'd like) for about a dozen years. I have one fish 45 inches, 36#, next biggest probably only about 26-28#. Thats with a lot of hours in over a long time, far from a sharpie but knowing at least reasonably what I'm doing. 35# + fish do not grow on trees, even for the best of fishermen, except for some very special and very infrequent runs of fish that most will look back on as a "lifetime experience."

In my humble opinion, those catching fish regularly above 35#, like more than a couple a season, are the best of the best of the best striper fishermen on the coast. (Congrats to the many of you on this site that are at that level.) Once you make that club, getting a 40 vs a 50 vs the world record is pretty much luck of the draw.

A guy I fish with regularly with has been fishing MA and RI regularly for 30+ years. He catches fish when no one, and I mean no one, is catching. One of those guys who has fishing in his blood, could haul fish out of a bathtub. Best fish ever is 44#.

There's obviously a lot of different types of skill required (finding, catching, and landing) - however Paul's post evidences the fact that a lot of luck is involved as well. If you all knew how often & how hard Paul fished over those 40 years in all the "big-fish" spots without getting a 50 you'd see how much luck is needed. The 50 just never swam by & took his offering ;).

ain't that the truth.

These days, at least here on Cape Cod, we have had no real big bait for bigger fish to be enticed to stay here. The herring were plundered by the live line hordes and until last season we only saw peanut bunker each year. So no big bait no big fish to speak of. Yeah occasionally someone will take a fifty but mostly trolling bunker spoons or big tubes but not like the days past. Nothing to hold the big girls here these past ten years or so.

When I was a mate on a charter boat out of Barnstable in 74 we had a blitz on 4th of July where all the boats on Billingsgate went to drifting and casting reverse Atoms because of the vast schools of squid. We had a trip where we took 26 bass, five of which bested fifty pounds. I was gaffing fish and spooling reels left and right for the sports. No squid like back then anymore and no blitzes of big giant bass either. A 30-35 pounder will chase sand eels but bigger than that you need big bait like herring, squid and large bunker.

Maybe with the big bunker returning (hopefully it will continue to increase in numbers of large bunker each year) we may see the chances of hooking up with bigger fish increase as well.

They see the results in Rhode Island, maybe we will see that too here on Cape Cod and your chances will increase as well at a shot at a fifty.

This is a very interesting thread... seems like those that have taken 50s don't consider it luck - and those that have not taken a 50 would like to get lucky.

#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& has taken many great fish CONSISTANTLY from shore and boat. I consider him one of the very best out there but I'm a little disappointed to find out he's just lucky. In my opinion he'd only be lucky if a 60 hit his empty pogy snagger while trying to catch bait.

Maybe we all have a different definition of luck?

Could we be mistaking luck to meaning:
Good fortune
Fate
Destiny
Accident
Chance
a fluke
good break

DZ

Don't be surprised if you don't see many macks this year either.

Heres a part of Gloucester Im not proud of.

http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/t...182977&start=1

I take luck to mean "being in the right place at the right time". After that, it's up to the person fishing to be able to make the fish bite, set the hook, and then fight it to get it in. Not much luck involved in those things. Being prepared is probably the most important thing to bringing in a huge fish. If I was targeting 50#ers, I would make sure I had the right gear (including checking knots nad checking line frequently), the right bait or lure, and the right mindset to handle a fish like that. I wouldn't fish for a big fish without having a plan as to how to get it to the shore or into the boat, either. I think with the rush to get our lines into the water when the fish are biting, many of us fail to prepare or plan correctly to handle the "big one" if she crosses our path. And above all else, the more time you put in, the better your chance of being in the right place at the right time.

Dennis:
You are missing my point. I didn't say Bill was lucky...you did. I find your post to be condescending.

So perhaps I will put it in simpler terms:

2 guys are fishing side by side with the same everything. No difference with gear, eel, technique and they are 3 feet apart.

2 bass swim by. One is 50# the other is 35#. One guy hook the 50 the other guy hook the 35.

So you tell me. For the guy who hooked the 50 is that Good fortune, Fate, Destiny, Accident, Chance, a fluke, good break or LUCK????

You can call it whatever you want. I call it a good fortune, fate, destiny, chance.....LUCKY BREAK!!!!