Flap -
I'll be among the first to bust chops with BFDC, but all things considered, catching is a helluva lot better than not catching - and boats are just a tool toward that end at times.
On the other hand, there is a sense - for me, anyway - that a shore fought bass is superior game to one taken from a boat - but again, that's my own personal opinion.
There's a feeling of accomplishment and self-reliance in landing a cow from the rocks that just doesn't happen
for me in a boat - I'm feel I'm relying on my skills and senses rather than electronics.
But all that being said, there are skills a good boatmen develops that go beyond just relying on a fish-finder, too -
At 56, however, I have to admit that at some point in the future I'll have to consider switching - I can only drag this old carcass around the rocks for so long - but as long as I'm still able to rely on the original parts - like hips, knees and shoulders, I'll stick to rock-hopping.
But considering the way the season's gone so far, if anyone asks me to go for a cruise....
....hey, I can get my boat outfits together in
real short order.
I guess the most interesting sub-text to this whole thread -and I'm not trying to hijack it here - is the real fall-off of shore-based catches for guys on the board over a pretty wide range in our area.
I dunno, DZ and I have had some conversations over the last year about it - and we both have the feeling that the shore-based caster is sort of the canary in the coal-mine. Locally, the near-shore fishery has been down while the boatmen are doing notably better on the reefs - and it just has me concerned about the state of both the forage and the bass
We'll see, I suppose....