Loads of information in a short amount of time. For those of you new to the sport this class will save you years of time and frustration and the money you spend will pay off in more successful/productive outings. For those of us more seasoned it serves as a refresher course that touches upon things we take for granted (reading the water/beach) or have just plain forgot about (I have to start throwing heads again) or just been too lazy to do (how good is your journal/fishing log book?).
The only thing I would have liked to hear in further detail is why he does what he does when fishing, the method behind the madness if you will. Something along the lines of "I slowed my retrieve and the bumps became hook ups, which leads me to believe the speed of the water/current and my slower retrieve combined for a more natural appearance of the plug I was using" (Perhaps some of this is in the book we got in class).
For instance fishing bunker heads, he touched upon how to get the freshest bait possible but he didn't explain why he thinks the heads work so well. I did speak up and added my perspective so that any of the less seasoned fisherpeople would understand fishing heads a little better. I personally feel it is the only chunk of bait I want to use when using fish for bait. The reasons are as follows:
Heads are slower fishing (less action) but more likely to entice a striper of size. A small fish won't be able to swallow it.
What happens when a bluefish attacks a pogie or mackerel? They eat the body and the head falls to the bottom unless a bass picks it up before it gets there.
If a bluefish picks the head up they usually spit it right back out, once again if a bass is nearby they may notice the commotion and pick up the scrap the bluefish spit out; it's just a more natural occurrence for a bass to find a head sitting on the bottom or tumbling across the bottom compared to a chunk of meat which almost anything eats.
If a lobster or crab is feasting on the head it will take longer for the bait to become unfishable or consumed and this allows the releasing of more oils/scent to drift through the water. If a striper follows it's nose it will see two potential meals; the live crab or lobster and the head.
He covers allot of what I consider the basics only because I have been addicted to striper fishing for so long (35+ years) and put the time and effort in that most do not (tons of books and watching the water and everything in the water/scouting). I still found the class valuable because it reinforced much of what I do now; so I know I'm on the right track and have renewed confidence.
Thanks for sharing DJ
Another point I have yet seen addressed when it comes to catch and release, which to me also means the overall well being of fish that escape capture or break off. Stainless steel hooks. Don't get me wrong I do eat several fish each year and to be totally honest if I couldn't eat them I wouldn't fish for them, I feel no need to harass a fish I can't eat. Why do people who profess to care so much about the striped bass use stainless steel hooks at all? I also wonder why people fish gear that is not matched to the potential size of the fish being pursued especially when using a stainless steel hook. I can understand that both fly tying and eel rigging require effort/time to produce a bait, but when the people fishing the stainless hooks are doing it with line that isn't up to the challenge of a 50# or larger fish I can only shake my head and wonder what are they thinking.