Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post

redlite · 07-09-2010, 06:02 PM

I have learned it all on my own thru trial and error, wasted a lot of money on the wrong gear that I thought I could cut corners using instead of the right thing and helped a lot of others get into it. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for everyone and I'm no pro, but its all I do and I think I got pretty well figured out..
Wetsuit-Not a Job Lot special.-
proper fitting. one piece rear zip. preferrably one made out a wind blocking material. Swimmin with a dry top on to block the wind is like tryin to swim in a trash bag. Current and water are a drag. did I mention proper fit??? regardless of where you are gonna fish, don't go less than a 5mm. any less you loose your buoancy factor. depends on water temp where you plan to fish if you need a 7mm. wear nothing under it. Grundel rash will lessen the more you get used to it. Just pee in the damn thing. Pull throat out and flush water thru it before you come out of water.

A polar plus knit hat. Will keeo you warm even wet and squeezes out and dries almost instantly We loose 85% of our body heat thru our heads. Even on a hot nite, with any wind, it cuts thru the wetsuit and radiantly freezes you like a human popsicle.

Socks-neoprene socks. preferably 3mm or thicker.

BOOTS, not sandals or sneakers- studded, lite that give good ankle support. Love the Korker boots with the interchangable soles. They all suck and will fall apart, so spend the money and get a good pair with an even better warranty. Wearing korkers sucks.

As little stuff as you can hanging on you the better. pliers, stringer rope, small caribeeners are your best friend. A belt that isn't a fast tec buckle. it does happen that while swimming you bump the buckle and it comes undone. good bye gear. I use an old hot pink camping sleeping bag strap. can still dump it quickly if needed.

knife.- get the deep-sea squeeze made out of titanium. about $85 beans, worth every penny. never, ever rusts and locks into sheath and is very easy to get in and out with one hand.

My most favorite must have option is an Aquaskinz d-ring to put your rod in so you have both hands free.

Eels -in a bucket- not mesh bag. most of time you are not in the water and if in mesh bag, wind drys them out dead quick. plus then you have eel slime all over your wetsuit leg which makes your car seat reek. mayoniase jar with an old duffel bag strap. i do carry a small aquskinz mesh bag for puttin my dead eels in as the nite goes on. That's about all they are good for- a cemetary.

water proof bag to put pretied leaders inside dime bags and then into and to keep my rinny tinny dry. i RARELY even carry plugs. if so, small aquaskinz rag of a bag on belt. will often jam a few riggies in it instead.

water bottle bag that goes on belt that I "liberated" from a boy scout camping trip. holds a gatorade bottle and put my rubber cores and a bug wipe in the bottom of.

Spare tiny waterproof princeton tech light either in water proof bag or plug bag incase get blasted off rock and loose headlight.

headlight- $10 rayovac-buy a couple at a time- i try to keep my head from going under water.

TWO eel rags- one tied in a knot on my belt as a spare for when Back Beach looses his...........usually retired t-shirts riooed up. Make sure you squeeze all the water out of it before you try to use it to grab an eel.

I am usually within about 2 pounds on weight of fish, so no need for boga, just something else to get line wrapped around.

When swimming, you don't really swim. You just float along, usually a side stroke with one arm. Don't bother kicking, just wastin energy and attracting sharks. I usually push myself along with my rod like a push pole. helps to keep me from getting pushed back in from waves.
I rarely am swimming, usually just real deep wading. A lot of times if you swim out, you swim thru the fish and they are behind you. cast at shore as well if way out and water is more than 3 feet deep between you and shore. You'd be surprised. Most of the time wet suit is just so that you can wade out a little deeper past the safe capabilities of waders to get out past the mung weed line.

You if don't got a Van STall, you a fool and ain't cool. Absolute necessity.

When coming back into shore and there is surf, keep knees bent and out in front of you so you can push off rocks and not get flipped faces first into the rocks in the wash/ shore line.
Relax and don't panic. Be supa safe and smart. Watch how waves are breakin before you go out to a rock, figure how you are gonna get up on and off rock at different parts of tide. Make sure that if you do get washed off, you ain't gonna get mashed into a rock behind you. alot of times if there is surf washin over a rock, you are better off swimmin wide and comin on from front as a lot of times it creates a backeddy behind the rock and you will get caught in it and kill yourself with exhaustion tryin to swim the last 3 feet to the rock.
Put your fish on the stringer if you are gonna keep them. One fish sucks cause it just swims laps around the rock all night and you end up gettin tangled and jump ropin all nite. after a couple, they chill out and stay in one place. Remember that once a wave goes by, you gotta be prepared for the wave grabbin the fish on the stringer and pullin you off the rock.
EVERY TIME before you get in the water make a check of your gear to make sure everything is secured.
NEVER< EVER jump off a rock into the water. ALWAYS sit on yo arse and slide in. Easy way to break a leg and an even better way to end up under water losing your hat and headlight.
I rarely use flippers. Depends on current and how far I'm swimmin.

I am scared SHATLESS of sharks, so I usually spray my partner down with pogy oil before we swim. I don't gotta be a fast swimmer, just faster than them.
It is a very expensive start up cost- VS $900; wetsuit$350; knife $85; Boots $100+; wetsuit socks $30; pliers $20; rope $10; caribeeners $5 x 4= $20; headlight $10 X 4= $40; spare water proof light $40; mayonaise jar $10; other assorted gear $30-$60; flippers $85;

Its a big investment financially then take into the factor that just cause you are in a wetsuit doesn't mean at all that you are gonna catch more or any bigger fish than if you were in waders. It is more of a safer way to fish. You still gotta spend a lot of time, for me years, to figure out places, where, when to fish, how to fish, etc.....Its a whole new world to learn.
Take that all in to consideration before you make the plunge.
From me, that's it in a nut shell.

07-09-2010, 06:02 PM	#4
redlite Registered User Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Kingston, Ma Posts: 2,294	I have learned it all on my own thru trial and error, wasted a lot of money on the wrong gear that I thought I could cut corners using instead of the right thing and helped a lot of others get into it. What works for me doesn't necessarily work for everyone and I'm no pro, but its all I do and I think I got pretty well figured out.. Wetsuit-Not a Job Lot special.- proper fitting. one piece rear zip. preferrably one made out a wind blocking material. Swimmin with a dry top on to block the wind is like tryin to swim in a trash bag. Current and water are a drag. did I mention proper fit??? regardless of where you are gonna fish, don't go less than a 5mm. any less you loose your buoancy factor. depends on water temp where you plan to fish if you need a 7mm. wear nothing under it. Grundel rash will lessen the more you get used to it. Just pee in the damn thing. Pull throat out and flush water thru it before you come out of water. A polar plus knit hat. Will keeo you warm even wet and squeezes out and dries almost instantly We loose 85% of our body heat thru our heads. Even on a hot nite, with any wind, it cuts thru the wetsuit and radiantly freezes you like a human popsicle. Socks-neoprene socks. preferably 3mm or thicker. BOOTS, not sandals or sneakers- studded, lite that give good ankle support. Love the Korker boots with the interchangable soles. They all suck and will fall apart, so spend the money and get a good pair with an even better warranty. Wearing korkers sucks. As little stuff as you can hanging on you the better. pliers, stringer rope, small caribeeners are your best friend. A belt that isn't a fast tec buckle. it does happen that while swimming you bump the buckle and it comes undone. good bye gear. I use an old hot pink camping sleeping bag strap. can still dump it quickly if needed. knife.- get the deep-sea squeeze made out of titanium. about $85 beans, worth every penny. never, ever rusts and locks into sheath and is very easy to get in and out with one hand. My most favorite must have option is an Aquaskinz d-ring to put your rod in so you have both hands free. Eels -in a bucket- not mesh bag. most of time you are not in the water and if in mesh bag, wind drys them out dead quick. plus then you have eel slime all over your wetsuit leg which makes your car seat reek. mayoniase jar with an old duffel bag strap. i do carry a small aquskinz mesh bag for puttin my dead eels in as the nite goes on. That's about all they are good for- a cemetary. water proof bag to put pretied leaders inside dime bags and then into and to keep my rinny tinny dry. i RARELY even carry plugs. if so, small aquaskinz rag of a bag on belt. will often jam a few riggies in it instead. water bottle bag that goes on belt that I "liberated" from a boy scout camping trip. holds a gatorade bottle and put my rubber cores and a bug wipe in the bottom of. Spare tiny waterproof princeton tech light either in water proof bag or plug bag incase get blasted off rock and loose headlight. headlight- $10 rayovac-buy a couple at a time- i try to keep my head from going under water. TWO eel rags- one tied in a knot on my belt as a spare for when Back Beach looses his...........usually retired t-shirts riooed up. Make sure you squeeze all the water out of it before you try to use it to grab an eel. I am usually within about 2 pounds on weight of fish, so no need for boga, just something else to get line wrapped around. When swimming, you don't really swim. You just float along, usually a side stroke with one arm. Don't bother kicking, just wastin energy and attracting sharks. I usually push myself along with my rod like a push pole. helps to keep me from getting pushed back in from waves. I rarely am swimming, usually just real deep wading. A lot of times if you swim out, you swim thru the fish and they are behind you. cast at shore as well if way out and water is more than 3 feet deep between you and shore. You'd be surprised. Most of the time wet suit is just so that you can wade out a little deeper past the safe capabilities of waders to get out past the mung weed line. You if don't got a Van STall, you a fool and ain't cool. Absolute necessity. When coming back into shore and there is surf, keep knees bent and out in front of you so you can push off rocks and not get flipped faces first into the rocks in the wash/ shore line. Relax and don't panic. Be supa safe and smart. Watch how waves are breakin before you go out to a rock, figure how you are gonna get up on and off rock at different parts of tide. Make sure that if you do get washed off, you ain't gonna get mashed into a rock behind you. alot of times if there is surf washin over a rock, you are better off swimmin wide and comin on from front as a lot of times it creates a backeddy behind the rock and you will get caught in it and kill yourself with exhaustion tryin to swim the last 3 feet to the rock. Put your fish on the stringer if you are gonna keep them. One fish sucks cause it just swims laps around the rock all night and you end up gettin tangled and jump ropin all nite. after a couple, they chill out and stay in one place. Remember that once a wave goes by, you gotta be prepared for the wave grabbin the fish on the stringer and pullin you off the rock. EVERY TIME before you get in the water make a check of your gear to make sure everything is secured. NEVER< EVER jump off a rock into the water. ALWAYS sit on yo arse and slide in. Easy way to break a leg and an even better way to end up under water losing your hat and headlight. I rarely use flippers. Depends on current and how far I'm swimmin. I am scared SHATLESS of sharks, so I usually spray my partner down with pogy oil before we swim. I don't gotta be a fast swimmer, just faster than them. It is a very expensive start up cost- VS $900; wetsuit$350; knife $85; Boots $100+; wetsuit socks $30; pliers $20; rope $10; caribeeners $5 x 4= $20; headlight $10 X 4= $40; spare water proof light $40; mayonaise jar $10; other assorted gear $30-$60; flippers $85; Its a big investment financially then take into the factor that just cause you are in a wetsuit doesn't mean at all that you are gonna catch more or any bigger fish than if you were in waders. It is more of a safer way to fish. You still gotta spend a lot of time, for me years, to figure out places, where, when to fish, how to fish, etc.....Its a whole new world to learn. Take that all in to consideration before you make the plunge. From me, that's it in a nut shell.