Generous? Show me the slips :poke:

How about tonight? :call:

U have to be lucky enough, like me to have the big fish intercept the big baits.Like they did here in NJ.This has been going on for 5 yrs now but this yr was off the charts.
Not lots of skill the fish where there to be caught.I coached this 16 yr old kid through the fight an pulled a 40 on the beach for him one mornin.
I had a yr that most good guys don't do in a lifetime..

Careful what you ask of him. I posed this question to him one night and he lifted up his skirt! :eek5:

Cause he loves the attention when u guys torture him..:scream: There's no shortage of big fish around as far as I can tell. just gotta know where to look I guess,,:eyes:

Great point Dave! Your right there are plenty of guys cacthing multiple 30lb fish...to me that size is no longer a benchmark of anything...certainly not a big deal anymore..a 40lb fish, yes but 30lb fish are now the new 20lb fish there are loads of them around....I have no idea why he would think no one is catching them? And I also know you have had your share:hihi: I post pictures to start controversy:rotf3: Good or bad at least people talk!! Its to bad, you should post your pics dave,, what the heck is wrong around here?? Let people post there pic!!

If that were true youd stop posting lame pics of 30s Steve birddogs for you :jump:
From reading these boards, the majority of members are not sticking multiple 30s per season. Good for you if you are :poke: Some threads arent about what your doing, its helping each other become better fishermen. "Good or bad at least people talk!!" If you so intently need people to talk about you, call some reports in to the papers, then call a therapist :sick:

I would post pics but I can't.
30's aren't exactly 20's...
I think what #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& calls controversy some might call conversation.
I enjoy it.

Krispy, lighten up, Read some of my posts from the past, I try and tell people what I do...its not to hard to figure out...Find rocks ....toss eels....All I am saying is that from what I hear and see there are many 30lb fish weighed in at the local tackle shops and it just becomes routine.....Like in the past many 18-20lb fish where weighed in, you become numb to it and its not a big deal to see one anymore....after awhile you thearize that there must be a lot of them around...

As for the last part there , it was a joke but, you are right! I need a threapist bad! and I am a SMF! :hihi:

I have not fished hard in a couple of seasons due to my daughter and the house. What I believe is going on, is that we as a society tend to be a lazy society, and becase of that many are fishing the easiest places to access, fishing the first thing out of their bag rather than taking the time to get eels, pogies, etc.. The better fish I have caught have all come from places where there was a good walk involved to get to the spot, the spot all had rocky structure, none of the fish came on anything smaller than a 2+ oz danny, a 5oz jig and rubber combo, eels, pogie chunks, and live bait. Because of this I am sure many are limiting themselves to a certain size fish based on the structure they are fishing and the kind of fishing they are doing. I hope to fish a bit this October, but that depends on many things, but the nights I fish will be places, and methods where I have traditionally caught good fish, using methods that have worked for me. Since becoming a member here I have fished with some who I consider hardcore, and some of the best fishermen in the Northeast, either directly learning from them, or indirectly by fishing with others who have learned from them. I am a better fisherman today because of it.

Thanks to those people, I am sure you know who you are.

I agree, everyone wants to fall out of there car and bang a large , doesnt work that way. Also you are right, I feel bad for the people who scoff at either eels , or bait (as long as its fresh) there is no better way to a cow then live bait or fresh chunked bait.Those guys the other night on cutty who banged all the 40lb fish, did so on eels....for every 40 cought on a plug, there will be several caught on some form of live or fresh bait

No doubt. Use the freakin eels for chrissakes, its like a free pass at times. Some of the other things mentioned earlier have held up too, and always will.My ten largest fish this year have come from two spots. My five largest have all come from the same spot, roughly on the same part of the tide, all on eels, but in four different months(may-aug). I was discussing this with someone yesterday and we agreed that you need to stick with one or two spots that will produce large, take the occasional skunking like a man, and you will get your rewards. If you feel like you need to catch fish every time you fish to maintain your manhood:musc:, then targeting the biggest fish(from shore) is probably not for you if you can't handle the failures associated with it. At times, I'm a tremendous slouch in terms of catching fish, but it usually pays off at the end of the season. Still working on my "Krispy" quota though.

I know a lot of people that fish hard and dont get 30lbers. Im one of them. All nighters, rough surf, scouting areas, etc. My biggest drawback is the time I have to committ.
Looking at this thread, and I hope nonne takes this as insult, but it seems the people that regualrly catch large fish, have some sort of "network" that keeps its pulse on the where the best areas to focus on are. In this thread slone, there are so many personal references among the people that are catching. I dont thinks thats a bad thing, but I do think that adds to people's success.
I think saying fish a rocky area at night w/ eels and you'll go large is not accurate. I've been doing that for years, in places I know big fish have been caught in the past. Maybe I just suck, but I try very hard.

It's not just fishing HARD. It's fishing often. I fish good water as hard as the next guy. HOWEVER, I only get out 2-3 times a week. My cances of catching large are only 30-40% that of guys that can and do go out 5-7 nights a week. I know this, it's just a fact. You want large? dedicate yourself to it or have luck on you side (Or both).

I agree 100%

Ok... Case in point... here's a 30(ish) (I had no scale) fish I caught last night 45"... prob 28-32 pounds.... After this post went up.. I made it my goal to take a 30 last night... :laugha:

RIJimmy, you are so right. Alot, I believe the majority, of people fish very hard, doing alot of the right things w/o the consistent success of large fish (or avg fish, depending which heros you want to believe). What are some of the most important factors fishermen should be focusing on when searching bigger fish?

Thanks for adding absolutely nothing to this thread :uhuh:

The "network" you speak of doesn't exist for me... and I'm not trying cto say that I'm anywhere near a sharpie... here's the problem with that theory. Once in a while I do get some privy info, and I'm not stupid... I go. But I think the best advice is not to chase reports... and we all do it, but so Joe Babeets has been taking good fish 2 nights in a row at "phantom beach"... you go running over there on the 3rd night you have 2 strikes against you already... now maybe they'll be there again and you'll, as Billy says, Hone 'em. But I'd say if you get 20 reports like that you might find good fish twice. You're much better off to map out 6 locations that fish well on different tides/winds etc... and hit them religiously for the season. If you do your homework you're gonna catch big fish... I promise, for someone who can't stay on them night after night... it does get a little harder... but knowing when NOT to go is just as important as knowing when to go.

:btu:

I dont have teh answer, but can tell you what I dont have or dont do
This assumes fsihing productive water with eels at night

1. Spend 4-5 nights/week fishing a handful of spots, in all tides/conditions
2. Establish relationships with like minded fisherman (see 1 above) who can share success and lessons learned. get a "pulse" on fish movements
3. Learn from your mistakes and success

Those are my thoughts.

NOt sure I understand that statement but I know you have a history making little sense so I'll just take it as that?? :gf:

Nice fish dave...Keep bangin em'and hangin em' Now is the time

Canalman, lets run with that fish for a minute and get to what i think Krispy means.
So you got a good fish last night, can you answer why? What was you reason for fishing where you did? Was it an ideal combination of tide/weather or just a good spot? Have you gotten fish there b4?

If his point is to say that I'm rubbing it in people's face.. it wasn't meant to be that way it was meant more a joke than anything else.

I fished that spot because of the SE wind. I have been taking good fish there on the NW but on the other side (sorry if this is a little vague). On a SW or SE the side i fished last night is best. I didn't hit the spot at the optimum tide either... I tested a theory first (which failed :laughs: ) so I probably cost myself some fish but that's how I learn.

As for why... I can't answer why I don;t know. even when you think you have a perfected formula for a spot it doesn't always work.

I have taken many fish there in the past.. the conditions were not "ideal" but they were good and in the fall good is usually good enough or great

thx

did I answer your questions well enough?

Krispy,
My answer to your question is simple. Time- or lack there of. The major factor that limits the number of quality fish I catch a year is the number of hours I can put in in the surf. If, like some others-the minority I add, I had no job and could spend countless hours in the surf and on the boat, I am sure I would have many 30s and a few 40s a year. So, for me and the small crew I fish with- the time spent in the surf directly reflects the number of quality fish I could boast about.
Maybe one of these days my gimp knee will really give out and I can spend the rest of my days on a disability fishing to my hearts content. Then- look out fatties, here I come!

I work a full time job, but I live very close to the water... I go 3-5 nights a week... if I'm into fish I'm just a miserable bastid at work the next day :rotf2:

I wish I lived close....45 mins for me which isn't too bad. The wife hates me this time of year anyway, but for me the treestand calls more than the surf most nights

so that's pretty much all the time :huh: