One thing is for sure,
Surf fishing in a LOT cheaper !!!

for me this point is moot.

what we have here is two distinctly different
disciplines of the same sport/recreation. i'll call them
surfcasting and boatcasting, for the sake of this discussion

but ask yerself this one,
if boat fishing is NOT easier..............

then why do the commercials and charter guys
do their FISHING from a boat? likewise, why can't they take
any Tom, #^&#^&#^&#^&, and John Q Googan on a SHORE guided trip?
why can't the commerches get the same poundage for
the same amount of time invested from the shore/rocks?

because the answer to BOTH questions is:

BOATCASTING IS ONEHELLUVALOT EASIER than Surfcasting.

no doubt there are shoreguides, and commercial shore fishermen; but, all things considered it is MUCH easier to take all levels of anglers on a boat, and pound for pound between two fishermen of equal skill levels in their respective disciplines the BOAT guy is gonna SMOKE the shore guy, night in and night out. if the opposite were true, then wouldn't there be more shore comm's than boat comm's???

as far as the maintenance issue is concerned, boo-friggin'-hoo!!!
if i hear another boatguy cryin' about having to wash his fibreglass
after tonging feesh ALL night ~for a month~ i think i'll puke!
quite simply, you chose to go over to the dark side, so now you have to deal
with the money pit that IS fishing from the safety and comfort of yer poopdeck.
speaking of which, you have a built-in head; whereas, there have been whole threads
posted about the "difficulties" of The Duece from the shore :laugha: :laugha: :laugha:

and to the boaters who hail the dangers of this and that rip, this and such inlets, and deep water structures here and there,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
i think that most surfcasters would give their eye teeth to have such delicacies to deal with at the push of a throttle. maybe those guys should leave places like The Race, Moriches, Shinecock, Fichers Island, and the Sluiceway to us surfcasters who relish the opportunity to surfcast there. oh yeah, and there are NO inherent DANGERS to rock hopping the Striper Coast, right? and i love having to donne Korkers, waders, a drytop, a pfd, a fully loaded surfbelt, lug bait, etc..........ever notice how most money shots from boats have the guys wearing just shirts and shorts :bl: :bl: :bl:??

why does the Striper Cup give a 1.2% poundage allowance to surfcasters? because it's easier? i think NOT!!

also, isn't it ironic how sum of the newly converted boatcasters like to say that what they are doing is, "surfcasting from the other side", or things like "i still have to know structure and tides and moons and......"
can't let go of the glory of surf fishing. seems a crude attempt to justify their newfound luxury :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

laslty, there IS NO COMPARISON when it comes to the physics of Fishing:

Leverage;;; my back vs 17' to 26' of fibreglass
Castability;; my shoulder/180 degrees vs a soft toss to the edge of the Blitz or letting it drift into the strike zone/360 degrees
Electronics;; my neck lamp and memory vs GPS, Lowrance, sonar
Access;;;;;; yer sheetin' me, RIGHT? vs the wide open seas
From A to B; my legs vs twin mercs and 30 - 50 nautsph
Comfort;;;;; precarious perches vs fibre firma
Bait;;;;;;;;;; fresh/frozen vs LIVE in yer LIVE WELL
The Fight;;;; pulling her away from reefs, outta boulders, and from inbetween lobstah pots vs firin' up the engines, or letting her run to OBX if you feel like it, you can always chase with a boat.

there's nothing wrong with boatcasting, it's just NOT anywhere close to the same animal that surfcasting is,,,,,,,,,,,,,and, imho not only is boatcasting easier, but landing LAHHHHGE from the surf is far more rewarding and gratifying than doing the same from a boat.

LOL. Good point. Especially during these times.
Do they make a "Toyota Hybrid" engine for boats yet?

Hybrid Engine for a boat....its called a paddle! :)

dishrag says what
 

A lot of dopey points made above and it is not too surprising.My fishing is about 50/50 between shore and boat so I think I have some insight regarding the matter. If anyone thinks the footing is better on a boat then they have been fishing for schoolies. A ripping current and big surf are factors to deal with whether you are on boat or shore. Kelp and boulders in addition to current are just some of the obstacles that will interfere with landing a trophy size fish a well.Fish don't head for the OBX they go to the floor. As far as OTW absurd handicap,my shore numbers are cerainly better than boat numbers over the last few years and I am not talking about keepers. I'm talking about fish 35# and up. Plenty of shore anglers fish commercially so that uninformed comment we can chalk up to stupidity as well.The reason MOST comm guys fish from a boat is to catch MORE fish and also because they can afford one.It is fine to have an opinion on the matter but unfortunately the more senseless drivel that comes from your keyboard, the more you unveil yourself as a person who is spouting opinions based on imagination.

Please post the cartoon pictures of the structure you fish again so anyone who thinks you know even a small bit about fishing will be enlightened.Perhaps if you listened as much as you write you could pass yourself off as credible.Also , I want people to understand that I am not biased in any way regarding this debate. No matter what,it's fishing and fishing is fun.Especially when you catch a lot of big ones.

Wow.
Never saw the BD post... obviously not much time spent in a boat, thats for damn sure.

Chris; right on.`

Lets play dissect the dumb "points"

Boat don't fight the fish for you.

Boat don't cast for you, and you can't just fly over from school to school and cast haphazardly.

Which doesn't catch you fish.

Twin mercs and 30-50 knots? You even have a remote clue how much that would cost?

Wow, when the weather goes to crap, you walk back to your truck. Doesn't work that way on a boat.

So go find pogies close to shore? Apparently there's plenty of people who do it.

Let me know when you chase a fish THROUGH Sow & Pigs and how it goes please. :laughs:

This thread is approaching amazingly lame proportions. Let it die.

And Sea Dangles hit it on the head:

just some points of information and to clarify..............

i have spent many hours on charters (private and group),
i've logged numerous trips tonging grouper on buddies boats, and
landing snook in the back country of SW FL on friends flats boats,
i've landed trophy tarpon off of Useppa Island, FL from "the fighting chair",
and have caught many sm, lm, and fresh water striped bass from bass and john boats in OK...................

with the 110# Tarpon, the boat set the hook and helped to position
me properly for the fight; which, incidently was a double header with
my brother and me ~~what a BLAST, that was!!! prolly very different
with big stripers and since i've yet to hook one from a boat, i'll grant you that point.

with regards to likwids dismantling of my physics lesson.........

dooood, lighten it up a bit ~the majority of that was tongue in cheek.
however, i will counter with the point that this thread was about the ease of FISHING and not about catching. and if you think that it's not easier to fire up the engines and motor from "reachable" blitz to "reachable' blitz, then perhaps yer not motoring right, since anyone with half a noggin knows you don't just motor on top of a blitz, but you should work the edges of them, eh? and how many times from the shore has The BLITZ been out of reach for you? hence, the mere fact that you CAN get to the blitz means that boating is not only easier, it's more effective in this regard, wouldn't you say?

when the weather goes to crap, i stay out in it. it is some of my favorite fishing, to a degree. to clarify, i was referrring to "good" conditions in a comparison of the two disciplines. since when is rockhopping (in equally good conditions) not harder than positioning yerself right where your GPS, sonar, and fish finder tells you to set-up ~*while standing there in yer deck shoes/flip-flops and shorts?* :wave: :wave:

most of my spots are, on average, a 3/4 mile hike (one way) to get to the casting area. then it's time to work the shore for a mile or two, to MAYBE find the BITE, then it's back to the nissan.........and that's just one spot, bro! incidently, i very rarely fish beaches ~only once or twice a season~ depending on who i'm with.

and to answer your slap about menhaden; i have found pogies close to shore and snag them all the time,
but how far do you reckon they are away from the ultimate spot i'll be fishing on any given night? do you actually believe that a bait bucket is better than a live well? and that was my point, in its entirity!

with boats, you have the decided advantage of keeping yer pogies ALIVE, for HOURS at a time, and more power to ya!! LIVE wells are great! i'm working on rigging my fishmoblie with one as we speak, *it's the recirculation of the saltwater that keeps giving me fits :tooth: :tooth:*

when i said they would run to OBX that was a complete exagerration for emphasis, m'man. i realize that the big gurls sound ~been there, done that, and lost plenty to my googanity from the rocks.............haven't lost any big fish from a boat though. do ya suppose that's because it's easier to position yerself on a boat's deck
rather than chasing her over goat-like promentories?

luv yer take on this discussion, likwid, and i always value yer opinion.
just do not agree with ya on this one.........for MANY reasons. any thoughts on my earlier questions about why boat comm's FAR outnumber shore comm's, and the same goes for shore guides being MUCH less in number than boat guides?? an interesting debate, nonetheless, and someday we'll have to tip sum brews over the subject.........after sticking sum Large "somewhere" along The Striper Coast :bl: :bl: :bl:

excuse me, SD?

i won't even dignify yer credibility comments with a response,

other than to say..............

in yer world, one is not allowed to have an opinion, unless they've
CAUGHT as many big fish as you have, right? tuff crowd, :bl: :bl: :bl:

i don't have to have equaled your tongage to be able to offer my thoughts thru what limited amount of experience i've had. i do ahve a brain, am capable of offering an opinion, and as for credibility~~~

just exactly WHO made you the judge of who's in and who's out?
with this being my third year in the surf, i WILL break 40, perhaps 50!!

how long did it take you to crack those marks,
FROM THE SURF, mind you, since we ALL know

:bl: :bl: :bl: Boat fish DON'T COUNT!!!:bl: :bl: :bl:

oh and by the way, this thread is not about whether or not fishing is FUN, that is a point on which we all would agree. it is a coherent discussion about which of the two disciplines is EASIER, right?

carry on, Sea Dangles, carry on!

Having an opinion is one thing.
talking out of your ass is another.

Is boat fishing more productive?
Yes.
Is it easier?
Nope.

I disagree to a point. Fishing from a boat can be a hell of a lot easier than shore fishing. Hire a charter and rip wire.... easy. Sure buy a boat go out and try to catch fish on your own.. yes thats hard. But the easiest consistant access to bass will always be from a boat.

now kayaking is different :hihi:

Oh well , it was a surprisingly good discussion for a while. I for one learned a lot about the boat fishermans side of the story.

Beyond the topic. It was nice to see the thread go over 90 responses with people addressing the topic. Strong opinions , even outlandish ones , are welcome. Its too bad some people cannot make a point without getting personal. So , its time to lock it up.

A fighting chair for a110 tarpon? WOW what a he man! The biggest problem I can see is a dumbass offerring thoughts on something it is only too obvious you have zero experience doing.I would recommend offerring an opinion about something you know about.I'm honestly not trying to judge anyone who enjoys the sport,but to denigrate a category of fishing you have limited experience in is the act of a fool.Ask any person with experiece how EASY it is to put the boat on the numbers when wind, tide and current are involved. As for boat shoes and shorts;I have seen plenty of shorebound anglers in that attire,there are days I will wear the same on the boat, but it's usually boots and bibs.BTW my boat has no livewell but I get by...and EVERY year I catch large from shore in big numbers instead of talking about it,I do it.
My question for you bassdouche is How can you have a coherent discussion about which of the two disciplines is easier when you consistently demonstrate a lack of even a basic understanding about boat fishing?Tight Lines, and sharpen your crayons.