Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - How Many MONSTAHS Did It TAKE,,,,,,,,,,

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- - How Many MONSTAHS Did It TAKE,,,,,,,,,, (http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?t=53794)

Quote:

Originally Posted by NIB (Post 647964)

Every fish is different.You cannot expect the playing field to be the same every time no matter if you fish the same area's all the time or not.Often times bigger fish don't do what the smaller ones do when hooked up.It's what you do when you are hooked up that counts.Some are able to put together the right moves in short time,some it takes longer.
It's the beauty of the sport.If you ask me.

No doubt. I neglected to add that opening the bail is a last resort for me as opposed to a first action. I usually do it after a fish has locked me up in the rocks and I begin to feel the line sawing.

Don't forget I got spooled in the canal this year by being too nice. Not sure it was a huge fish or not, but the next time I hooked a good fish in the same place/same tide I snubbed it and got my best fish of the season. Problem with the canal a lot of times is you have 100 plus yards of line out when you actually hook up and it doesn't take a monster fish to spool you, just a modest fish in big current or foul hooked will beat you til you cry...

Jim Powers, The best jigger of the ditch I know,has a interesting technique as a work in progress.He has landed smaller fish with it.Of course it is to be used as a last ditch effort.he opens the bail up and lets the current take the line.The philosophy is that the current pulls the line behind the fish and either she thinks she's free and swims back up current or she pulls against the pressure of the line behind her and starts to head up current. He has had it work.This is with 300 yds of braid at your expense and some big balls.My balls are not that big( I have been told they are an good size:laughs:) as I have encountered the ditch beast and have not been successful.I have landed good fish on the jig in the current yet the beast has eluded me.I did not let em run I thought I had the gear to stop the beast.And I did.I pulled the hook.
A 9/0 gami siwash embedded in a 5 oz jig.After a good five minutes of standoff.That felt much longer.
I had to make a decision as I was out of time.Another one I have thought about long and hard.I still have not come up with the alternate game plan for that fish. I would probably will do the same thing again and hope I have it hooked better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Back Beach (Post 647947)

Very true.

As for this thread, I can't tell anyone how many monsters it takes as I have no idea.

The central theme here has become "gear related failures". I think that's why we lose the best ones. You're either undergunned or don't monitor the condition of your gear closely enough. Once you've hooked a fish, most of the chance/luck has been removed from the equation and it comes down to the condition and ability of your gear.

There's a few tricks involved too. A couple guys I grew up fishing the outer cape with started fishing the Elizabeth chain several years ago by boat. They were losing a lot of fish in the rocks at first as we used to just snub them down when fishing over sand. One of them finally decided to just open his bail once a good fish entangled him in the rocks and he would just stand there with his bail open until the fish came free. The landing numbers of real large fish really improved after that.

I wouldn't advocate this in the canal for the most part, but I can tell you two of the largest surf fish I've taken in the last few years came from RI and were pulled out of literal boneyards via the open bail technique. Once the fish frees itself, it tends to give in and come to shore more readlily.

All well and good, on the "open bail technique";
however, when one only has three wraps left on the line,,,,,,,,
one can't quite open the bail to let her spool you, right??

as for yer insinuation that this has become a gear failure thread
have you read all the technical and philosophical advice that has
been shared throughout?? likewise, since i've only been at this for
three seasons, i remember EVERY BIGGURL i've LOST and my count is:

Trophies 5, BassDawg 0.

i know that it is a verrry subjective answer, and different for ALL,
just trying to quantify where i am in the grander scheme of things
and how my part fits into the whole piece a pie, caaa peesh?

this is also an attempt to examine some of the intangibles that go into
our surfcasting pursuits, more specifically related to wrastlin' sum trophy-sized Mommas
from amongst the rocks. most responses have been helpful and entertaining, to say the LEAST!!

BESIDES, with all this stinkin' schnow on the ground

whatelse didjya wanna talk about,
the price of oil in Saudi Arabia????
:bl: :bl: :bl:

Quote:

Originally Posted by NIB (Post 647964)

Every fish is different.You cannot expect the playing field to be the same every time no matter if you fish the same area's all the time or not.Often times bigger fish don't do what the smaller ones do when hooked up.It's what you do when you are hooked up that counts.Some are able to put together the right moves in short time, some it takes longer.It's the beauty of the sport.If you ask me.

EXACTLY!!!

that's what i'm talking about, Tony!!!
of THE 5, each one reacted differently, AND
each one had their own way to PLAY the same rocks.

two where in different udl's, but three where basicaly
hooked same tide/same place with only slight variations
in depth of water and where they hit. the one from last year
was the first one to take me STRAIGHT into the boulders to
seek/win her freedom,,,,,,,,,,,,sschmahht beeotch, she waz, and YES!!

NIB, it is the inherent and REAL beauty of what we do!!
i absolutely love and crave this battle of wits and strengths and
gears and rocks and tackles and conditons that pits man against
nature, surf, and beast!!! sometimes we win, sometimes the feesh!
better to have had the battle and lost, than to have stayed in bed
and never had the shot in the first place, imho.
:kewl: :kewl: :kewl:

Sometimes you may think the line is getting chafed on rocks ,when the reality is your leader is dragging across the sandpaper-like maw. Once again, be patient.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassDawg (Post 648190)

as for yer insinuation that this has become a gear failure thread
have you read all the technical and philosophical advice that has
been shared throughout??

Yes, that's why I implied that most of the big fish we lose can be attributed to either being undergunned or victims of gear failure. There is much philosophy, but it comes back to gear issues.

There's a good chapter in "The Trophy Striper" by Daignault that addresses the losing of a big fish. I think its called "Why we lose the best ones." Worth a read.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luds (Post 646936)

you can bend the trebles.

bass dawg,
careful with the gami octopus hooks. those will snap.

I don't know about the Gami octopus, but a fish can bend any treble. 3x, 4x, 6x---don't matter.

Pulled hooks--even 9/0 jig hooks, are part of the game when you use a stiff rod, heavy braid and a tight drag. This year, I wound up using my All Star 1208 more, and found that I cut down pulled hooks measurably over the 1209. The 1208 has enough bend to the tip section, but it has a very strong mid-to-butt section and a lot of lifting power. There are still some places in the Canal where you have to horse the fish and the choice is pressure it to the limit of your gear and risk pulling the hook, or have it get around some nasty junk and risk the line abrading to the breaking point.

Pulled hooks, though, will happen on any rod. I dropped the biggest fish--well, what felt like the biggest fish anyway ;)--that I hooked up with in the Canal using a 132 1M which is a relatively soft, parabolic rod. No slack, constant pressure on the fish, and the hooks just tore loose. Sometimes it's the angle between you and the fish :huh:

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve (Post 647790)

Mr. Sandman, your response brings back memories! I wish we had VMC trebles back then on the Island. Sea dangles, over alot of years fishing with live eels I too like the Gami 5/0 and 6/0 octupus. I've only had one snap mid shank and will throw the m away ( hooks) after a good night. I also use Gami 7/0 's on the rigged sluggos and had one get completly straightened ot on Cutty one night. Other than that, these hooks are dependable I think. Also, this season I really got back into live eeling and tried octapus hooks by Owner and was really impressed. They are alot like the Gami's but I think a little stronger and more expensive though. A little smaller too. In the Owner I had to use 6/0 and 7/0. I don't use really big eels like some.

I used to use the 6/0 gami octupus religously for eeling, untill I picked up a pack of owners. The hook point on the gami's have a tendancy to bend or even break off if you make contact with the bottom, whereas the owner's seem to have MCUH stronger points. They also seem to be a little bit thicker than gami's for their size, which is a plus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Back Beach (Post 648246)

Thanks BB,

waz thinking of picking up that book for XMAS,
yet there is the other two that i had at the top of me
winter reading List. Zeno's latest and DJ's book from last year.

i also would like to get my hands on anything by Tim Coleman.
sum vintage stuff right there, i've read Striper Surf twice from cover to cover
and reread it every year for its pearls of surfwisdom. LOVED Skinner's book
from last year,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ALL are excellent reads and were verrrrry helpful
in taking me to the next level with eeeeeeeels and riggies.

mostly, i just gottsta keep on fishing hard and good things will come~~
with patience and heavy gear and good feesh MOJO!!
:bl: :bl: :bl: :bl: