Time to sign off S-B.com

[hq2]

It is with considerable sadness that I begin writing this post. I have been on this board for more than 20 years, occasionally commenting about fishing when the situation warranted it. I have put in nearly 500 posts over that time, not a lot by the standards of many people here, but about one every other week or so during the striper season. My posts have almost always been about striped bass fishing and not about personal matters, as I do not know most of the people on the board, and have alway viewed SB.com as a forum to discuss striper fishing topics.

I was never, during my time as a striper fisherman, at the level of many of the people on this board. Many folks here, during the peak era about 20 years ago, were out at 1 and 2 in the morning at inlets catching 30 and 40 lbers routinely, getting 3 hours of sleep, fishing during the weekdays 3 and 4 nights at a time. These are the people for whom this board was originally created, a community of hard-core fishermen. For those of you who fished together, you will probably never forget the camaraderie of pulling in a 35 lber at 2 in the morning with your fishing buddies. Others, with boats were out miles offshore, catching large fish too, and spending big $$$ on boats and gas.

During my peak time as a striper fisherman, between 1999 and 2004, I was almost entirely a weekend daytime guy, and fished mostly from shore with occasional charters mixed in. I did put my time in back then, with numerous twelve hour days, hopping from inlet to inlet. But I almost never fished at night, when you catch the big girls (yeah, that's when you should be fishing for them on land too, at 1 AM, right? I mean you don’t forget trying to get it in late at night; you’ve fought her for a half hour, and now you’ve finally got your hands on a 36 incher, and now you can
….well, whatever!) I tried nighttime (striper) fishing a couple of times, but found it both borring and mosquitoey so I gave it up.

A large percentage of my fishing enjoyment has just been being OTW at a beautiful daytime location, not just catching fish. In my later striper years, after I switched to kayak fishing around 2010, I did a little better than from shore, but stuck to daytime fishing, as I enjoyed my kayak rides in beautiful locations like Nahant or Rockport as much as my fishing. So I never caught the big girls the nighttime guys on this board did my all time personal best was 29 lbs, caught on a charter at Falmouth in 2002, when I caught so many fish I thought my arms were going to fall off. Hey, you have to earn 30 and 40 lbers!

I was 39 when I started striper fishing in 1998, during the beginning of the restoration. I started fishing in part because I was looking for something to do outdoors after hurting my leg skiing in 1996, which never completely recovered (torn ACL). I am now 65, and like many people on this board, am starting to have health issues; I can no longer plug away for hours like I did 20 years ago. I have to bring a folding chair to fish from now to help my back. These days, I rarely target stripers exclusively, except for maybe September when there isn't that much else going; it just isn't worth the effort any longer.

It's been nearly a decade since I caught a keeper; nothing but numerous tease 25 inchers in my kayak since then. I have been skunked in recent years at Westport in June, at Plum Island in September, at the canal on Memorial day repeatedly, and at Straitsmouth in August with live bait. I typically only fish for them when I can fish for other species, typically catching a scup and tossing it overboard while I fish for something else, which I did this weekend near the canal, not getting a single hit. I only target them exclusively now in September when the chances are best and there is less other stuff hitting.

The decline of the striped bass fishery has become obvious in recent years. It first became evident to me around 2015 or 2016, when I stopped getting keepers from my kayak at good locations. Other people noticed it even earlier. The reasons for the decline are well known. There are the usual suspects of overfishing and pollution in the spawning areas, which occurred last time as well. And, there is the same issue of the regulations always being changed too late to prevent further decline, leaving them chasing the fishing in a downward spiral of fewer fish and constantly tightening regulations, with the changes always being too late to prevent further decline. We have all seen the regulations spiral from two above 28, to one above 28, then to one between 28 and 36, and now to one between 28 and 31. The days when you could legally go out and take home two 20 or 30 lb fish are long gone; we are now left with nothing but a small slot like looking through a keyhole where once you saw a wide vista. Soon, we will be at moratorium levels of fishing and regulations, when they were one above 36. When people are catching mostly large fish these days and few small ones, we're just about where things were in the late 1970s right before the moratorium.

I remember fishing then in 1990 off Cuttyhunk the whole summer for bluefish in my Dad's Grady White, catching maybe two stripers the whole summer. We didn’t even bother to fish for stripers back then. Off Cuttyhunk then it was...."Gzzzhhh! Gzzzzh! Clickety-click! Gzzzzh! "Oh hey, there it is, it’s pretty big; what Oh, a striped bass! Not 36; throw it back. Maybe we'll catch one again next year!"" Which is what it will probably be like again in a few years.

But I strongly suspect that there is a new culprit this time around, namely global warming. It has already been shown that increasing temperatures have affected both striper migration and spawning patterns. As more southern fish such as king mackerel and black sea bass move north to compete against SB, we may never see the fishery recover to what it was 20 years ago; the change may indeed be lasting. Even if we implement appropriate conservation measures, the water may have warmed enough to change things permanently. And as I paddle my kayak, I stare at the folks roaring by me with their twin 225s, spewing out greenhouse gases, wondering if any of them actually care about the fate of the planet.

And as the S-B fishery has declined, so too has S-B.com. It’s easy to blame Facebook, but the situation is more complicated. People have gotten old, and many have died or stopped fishing.The number of new members has declined too; up until 2018 or so, you had half a dozen new members saying hello a year. In the last five years, only a few have done it, none in the past two years. When you examine the join dates of most of the posters, you see that they date from about 20 years ago, about the same time I signed on; there aren't very many from the last 10 years or so.

It’s now early June, and there are few actual posts about fishing here any more; mostly lottery totals, weekend plans which are rarely about striper fishing any more, and personal messages about unrelated topics, often medical issues as the members have aged. 15 or 20 years ago, there would have been lots of pictures and fishing discussions; not any more. I recently posted a thread about hook wounding mortality. 15 years ago, there would have been a half dozen or more responses; now, not a single one.

In fact, a major reason I finally decided to throw in the towel on SB.com is that it appears that no one here appears to care about the actual fishery any longer. I have tried for several years to stimulate discussions about S-B fishing, with only moderate success; there are too few interested fishermen and not enough fish to get quality discussion going any more. The site is down to what surfcaster.com was in late 2011, when the only posts were about Plum Island, and it was clear that the site was dying. It managed to float in cyber space for several years afterward with no postson it, like one of those ghost trawlers from the 2011 tsunami, before finally being taken down a few years ago.

And at this point there isn’t that much more to be said about S-B fishing anyway. Most of us have got our methods and spots about determined; it’s been years since most of us looked at anything new. For the record, I will state my methods, starting with the obvious; live lining works best. South of the cape, I like to free line scup; north, it’s mackerel or pollock under a big bobber. A red tube and worm behind my kayak is a close second. Never had much luck with soft plastics or sluggos. Used to catch fish on chunks a while ago when the fish were more plentiful. Deadly #^&#^&#^&#^& is my blitz casting favorite. Also had some luck in recent years with blue Yo-Zuris. And that’s about it.

So in the end, I have concluded that it’s time for me to sign off, as I don't have a lot more to contribute at this point; given the direction of the fishery, I think I'm better off trying to help people NOT to catch striped bass, rather than the other way around. In that regard, I am asking all of the guys here to consider cutting back your SB fishing, for the good of the fishery. I only do about 2 or 3 SB trips a year now; I know a lot of you still go out a fair amount amount, but you need to determine how many fish you actually kill by throwing back hook wounded fish. I think you might find it's more than you might think; hey, take another look at the study thread I posted, right?

As I look back on my striper fishing days of the last 25 years, I believe that every minute was worthwhile. All of us here have our own special personal memories of SB fishing. Mine would include; diving into the rocks in Boston harbor to get my first keeper, the Falmouth trip, getting both a keeper and a 10 lb bluefish in my kayak simultaneously in Boston Harbor, pulling a 20 lber in from shore with my buddy at Saquish, losing a large keeper in my hands at Woods Hole after we lost our net overboard and it sank, handle tilted up, like the titanic. There were numerous other happy moments, even getting skunked at gorgeous locations such as Rockport or Nahant. I only wish now I had had time to do more, especially in my first 10 years of marriage when I agreed to fish only one day a month to raise kids (which was actually worth it! THOSE years (the cute years!) will never be topped).

As you read this, I’m sure that all of you are thinking of your own special SB fishing memories too; I’ll bet all of you feel the same way. You wouldn’t trade any of it for anything, would you? The thrill of hooking a big fish! The camaderie of helping your buddies pull one in, like when I helped my friend pull in a 48 incher off New Hampshire in 1998! I sure wouldn’t! So as many of us approach, or are in, old age, most of us will have to make peace with the fact that we will never again in our lifetimes experience good striper fishing. The restoration last time took close to 20 years, and may take longer this time, if it ever does. All of us should look back on our striper fishing years and give thanks that we had the privilege to have huge, catchable and delicious fish to catch on our doorsteps. Being a striper fisherman was indeed a privilege, one which hopefully our children and grandchildren will get to experience some day too.

So OK guys, that’s about it; it’s time for me to sign off. In closing, I give special thanks to John Redmond for keeping the site up all these years; it was a privilege to participate on it. I thank all of you for your (mostly) worthwhile and informative posts: I looked forward to reading them each week. I hoped you found my posts to be worth your time too; as I stated earlier, I did my best to discuss only SB fishing, not personal matters. I hope all of you can look back at your own memories of SB fishing with happiness, as many of you are old or are approaching old age; all of us will have many photos and happy memories of SB fishing to help us through our declining years. Maybe I'll get to meet you guys again in another world, where we'll all always be young, the girls you want to hook up are all 38 inches or better (the fish too!) and the good fishing never ends. Tight lines forever!


Howard R. Quin (hq2)

P.S. John Redmond is right; with Senile Joe or Crazy Donny, America loses either way. Senile Joe ALREADY blew it letting the Ukrainians shoot missiles into Russia! There looks to be a certainty of a Cuban Missile crisis style confrontation with Russia in the next couple of years, and NEITHER ONE OF THEM is up to handling it. And as I told John in 2016, (has it really been 8 years since then? Wow!) Putin is a snake! So John, we may indeed be approaching some type of apocalyptic sceario! ANYTHING could happen with that guy! Be forewarned, guys!

[piemma]

Well, that certainly sums up a life of Striper fishing.

I think the main issue is you came here to learn to catch fish or teach others.

The site is about a lot more than that. It's the friends that have been made and the memories that will never fade.

I'm here till they pry this gun from my cold, dead hands.

[ivanputski]

I check in here as a work-day escape... (and will continue as long as im employed!)

[JFigliuolo]

People come and go... good luck in the rest of your life wherever that takes you. I'll still be stopping by daily until john turns off the lights

[wdmso]

Happy travels

[JohnR]

People grow, people change, other things happen, and people die. I don't fish more than once or twice a year these days and the fishery is not healthy.


Good luck in your travels.

[Raider Ronnie]

The state of the striped bass fishery and its decline isn’t nearly as sad as the decline of the futures outlook that’s been handed to our kids !

[Slipknot]

Makes me sad 🙁
But on the other hand, we have many great memories. I suppose our priorities change as we age and some of us get other interests as well. That is life.
I hope the SB fishery recovers sooner than later, lots of factors play a part in that. It used to be said that Menhaden was the most important fish in the sea, I wonder where that stands today.
I’ve appreciated your posts hq2 when I have seen them and read them. Thank you
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by hq2

It is with considerable sadness that I begin writing this post. I have been on this board for more than 20 years, occasionally commenting about fishing when the situation warranted it. I have put in nearly 500 posts over that time, not a lot by the standards of many people here, but about one every other week or so during the striper season. My posts have almost always been about striped bass fishing and not about personal matters, as I do not know most of the people on the board, and have alway viewed SB.com as a forum to discuss striper fishing topics.

I was never, during my time as a striper fisherman, at the level of many of the people on this board. Many folks here, during the peak era about 20 years ago, were out at 1 and 2 in the morning at inlets catching 30 and 40 lbers routinely, getting 3 hours of sleep, fishing during the weekdays 3 and 4 nights at a time. These are the people for whom this board was originally created, a community of hard-core fishermen. For those of you who fished together, you will probably never forget the camaraderie of pulling in a 35 lber at 2 in the morning with your fishing buddies. Others, with boats were out miles offshore, catching large fish too, and spending big $$$ on boats and gas.

During my peak time as a striper fisherman, between 1999 and 2004, I was almost entirely a weekend daytime guy, and fished mostly from shore with occasional charters mixed in. I did put my time in back then, with numerous twelve hour days, hopping from inlet to inlet. But I almost never fished at night, when you catch the big girls (yeah, that's when you should be fishing for them on land too, at 1 AM, right? I mean you don’t forget trying to get it in late at night; you’ve fought her for a half hour, and now you’ve finally got your hands on a 36 incher, and now you can
….well, whatever!) I tried nighttime (striper) fishing a couple of times, but found it both borring and mosquitoey so I gave it up.

A large percentage of my fishing enjoyment has just been being OTW at a beautiful daytime location, not just catching fish. In my later striper years, after I switched to kayak fishing around 2010, I did a little better than from shore, but stuck to daytime fishing, as I enjoyed my kayak rides in beautiful locations like Nahant or Rockport as much as my fishing. So I never caught the big girls the nighttime guys on this board did my all time personal best was 29 lbs, caught on a charter at Falmouth in 2002, when I caught so many fish I thought my arms were going to fall off. Hey, you have to earn 30 and 40 lbers!

I was 39 when I started striper fishing in 1998, during the beginning of the restoration. I started fishing in part because I was looking for something to do outdoors after hurting my leg skiing in 1996, which never completely recovered (torn ACL). I am now 65, and like many people on this board, am starting to have health issues; I can no longer plug away for hours like I did 20 years ago. I have to bring a folding chair to fish from now to help my back. These days, I rarely target stripers exclusively, except for maybe September when there isn't that much else going; it just isn't worth the effort any longer.

It's been nearly a decade since I caught a keeper; nothing but numerous tease 25 inchers in my kayak since then. I have been skunked in recent years at Westport in June, at Plum Island in September, at the canal on Memorial day repeatedly, and at Straitsmouth in August with live bait. I typically only fish for them when I can fish for other species, typically catching a scup and tossing it overboard while I fish for something else, which I did this weekend near the canal, not getting a single hit. I only target them exclusively now in September when the chances are best and there is less other stuff hitting.

The decline of the striped bass fishery has become obvious in recent years. It first became evident to me around 2015 or 2016, when I stopped getting keepers from my kayak at good locations. Other people noticed it even earlier. The reasons for the decline are well known. There are the usual suspects of overfishing and pollution in the spawning areas, which occurred last time as well. And, there is the same issue of the regulations always being changed too late to prevent further decline, leaving them chasing the fishing in a downward spiral of fewer fish and constantly tightening regulations, with the changes always being too late to prevent further decline. We have all seen the regulations spiral from two above 28, to one above 28, then to one between 28 and 36, and now to one between 28 and 31. The days when you could legally go out and take home two 20 or 30 lb fish are long gone; we are now left with nothing but a small slot like looking through a keyhole where once you saw a wide vista. Soon, we will be at moratorium levels of fishing and regulations, when they were one above 36. When people are catching mostly large fish these days and few small ones, we're just about where things were in the late 1970s right before the moratorium.

I remember fishing then in 1990 off Cuttyhunk the whole summer for bluefish in my Dad's Grady White, catching maybe two stripers the whole summer. We didn’t even bother to fish for stripers back then. Off Cuttyhunk then it was...."Gzzzhhh! Gzzzzh! Clickety-click! Gzzzzh! "Oh hey, there it is, it’s pretty big; what Oh, a striped bass! Not 36; throw it back. Maybe we'll catch one again next year!"" Which is what it will probably be like again in a few years.

But I strongly suspect that there is a new culprit this time around, namely global warming. It has already been shown that increasing temperatures have affected both striper migration and spawning patterns. As more southern fish such as king mackerel and black sea bass move north to compete against SB, we may never see the fishery recover to what it was 20 years ago; the change may indeed be lasting. Even if we implement appropriate conservation measures, the water may have warmed enough to change things permanently. And as I paddle my kayak, I stare at the folks roaring by me with their twin 225s, spewing out greenhouse gases, wondering if any of them actually care about the fate of the planet.

And as the S-B fishery has declined, so too has S-B.com. It’s easy to blame Facebook, but the situation is more complicated. People have gotten old, and many have died or stopped fishing.The number of new members has declined too; up until 2018 or so, you had half a dozen new members saying hello a year. In the last five years, only a few have done it, none in the past two years. When you examine the join dates of most of the posters, you see that they date from about 20 years ago, about the same time I signed on; there aren't very many from the last 10 years or so.

It’s now early June, and there are few actual posts about fishing here any more; mostly lottery totals, weekend plans which are rarely about striper fishing any more, and personal messages about unrelated topics, often medical issues as the members have aged. 15 or 20 years ago, there would have been lots of pictures and fishing discussions; not any more. I recently posted a thread about hook wounding mortality. 15 years ago, there would have been a half dozen or more responses; now, not a single one.

In fact, a major reason I finally decided to throw in the towel on SB.com is that it appears that no one here appears to care about the actual fishery any longer. I have tried for several years to stimulate discussions about S-B fishing, with only moderate success; there are too few interested fishermen and not enough fish to get quality discussion going any more. The site is down to what surfcaster.com was in late 2011, when the only posts were about Plum Island, and it was clear that the site was dying. It managed to float in cyber space for several years afterward with no postson it, like one of those ghost trawlers from the 2011 tsunami, before finally being taken down a few years ago.

And at this point there isn’t that much more to be said about S-B fishing anyway. Most of us have got our methods and spots about determined; it’s been years since most of us looked at anything new. For the record, I will state my methods, starting with the obvious; live lining works best. South of the cape, I like to free line scup; north, it’s mackerel or pollock under a big bobber. A red tube and worm behind my kayak is a close second. Never had much luck with soft plastics or sluggos. Used to catch fish on chunks a while ago when the fish were more plentiful. Deadly #^&#^&#^&#^& is my blitz casting favorite. Also had some luck in recent years with blue Yo-Zuris. And that’s about it.

So in the end, I have concluded that it’s time for me to sign off, as I don't have a lot more to contribute at this point; given the direction of the fishery, I think I'm better off trying to help people NOT to catch striped bass, rather than the other way around. In that regard, I am asking all of the guys here to consider cutting back your SB fishing, for the good of the fishery. I only do about 2 or 3 SB trips a year now; I know a lot of you still go out a fair amount amount, but you need to determine how many fish you actually kill by throwing back hook wounded fish. I think you might find it's more than you might think; hey, take another look at the study thread I posted, right?

As I look back on my striper fishing days of the last 25 years, I believe that every minute was worthwhile. All of us here have our own special personal memories of SB fishing. Mine would include; diving into the rocks in Boston harbor to get my first keeper, the Falmouth trip, getting both a keeper and a 10 lb bluefish in my kayak simultaneously in Boston Harbor, pulling a 20 lber in from shore with my buddy at Saquish, losing a large keeper in my hands at Woods Hole after we lost our net overboard and it sank, handle tilted up, like the titanic. There were numerous other happy moments, even getting skunked at gorgeous locations such as Rockport or Nahant. I only wish now I had had time to do more, especially in my first 10 years of marriage when I agreed to fish only one day a month to raise kids (which was actually worth it! THOSE years (the cute years!) will never be topped).

As you read this, I’m sure that all of you are thinking of your own special SB fishing memories too; I’ll bet all of you feel the same way. You wouldn’t trade any of it for anything, would you? The thrill of hooking a big fish! The camaderie of helping your buddies pull one in, like when I helped my friend pull in a 48 incher off New Hampshire in 1998! I sure wouldn’t! So as many of us approach, or are in, old age, most of us will have to make peace with the fact that we will never again in our lifetimes experience good striper fishing. The restoration last time took close to 20 years, and may take longer this time, if it ever does. All of us should look back on our striper fishing years and give thanks that we had the privilege to have huge, catchable and delicious fish to catch on our doorsteps. Being a striper fisherman was indeed a privilege, one which hopefully our children and grandchildren will get to experience some day too.

So OK guys, that’s about it; it’s time for me to sign off. In closing, I give special thanks to John Redmond for keeping the site up all these years; it was a privilege to participate on it. I thank all of you for your (mostly) worthwhile and informative posts: I looked forward to reading them each week. I hoped you found my posts to be worth your time too; as I stated earlier, I did my best to discuss only SB fishing, not personal matters. I hope all of you can look back at your own memories of SB fishing with happiness, as many of you are old or are approaching old age; all of us will have many photos and happy memories of SB fishing to help us through our declining years. Maybe I'll get to meet you guys again in another world, where we'll all always be young, the girls you want to hook up are all 38 inches or better (the fish too!) and the good fishing never ends. Tight lines forever!


Howard R. Quin (hq2)

P.S. John Redmond is right; with Senile Joe or Crazy Donny, America loses either way. Senile Joe ALREADY blew it letting the Ukrainians shoot missiles into Russia! There looks to be a certainty of a Cuban Missile crisis style confrontation with Russia in the next couple of years, and NEITHER ONE OF THEM is up to handling it. And as I told John in 2016, (has it really been 8 years since then? Wow!) Putin is a snake! So John, we may indeed be approaching some type of apocalyptic sceario! ANYTHING could happen with that guy! Be forewarned, guys!

So sad to see you go - yes the world sucks today, things are not the way we saw them through younger eyes-but these will be the good old days for our children- and grand children- I'm 67, been fishing for striped bass since 1972 - Ive seen a few things- highs and lows- I don't post as much, none of us do, we've beaten the dead horse to hamburger- but we still have each other- if nothing else, we can piss and moan about things to a sympathetic ear or two - as far as fishing- I'll keep going until one of 2 things happen- I croak- or I get one with a tattoo that says LAST ONE.

god bless and safe travels whatever you do.

Roc

[afterhours]

Sad to see you go as I've read a lot of your threads over the years. I think most are affected by the state of the fishery and old age.

Still fishing, but not as hard as when I was younger. Very little surf for me now mostly the dark side (boat). Seeing the decline of our beloved SB up close. Now I go out geared for bottom fish as well as SB and fish for both. Methinks I'll be fishing till I'm ashes or worm food.

As bad as the fishery is I still see young guys coming up all the time indicated by plug sales, it does make me smile knowing we're not the last ones. These new guys seem to gravitate to FB and IG.

[Clammer]

Wow ........... sad but reality/true .

the other day I thought of Dave or Just.Plug_It from NJ one of the nicest
gentle men I have ever met SB.Com made that possible .......... I called him . we talked . cried / about the past,present & the future ><>< Its life .Peace ><>

[Hookedagain]

It is sad that its come to this. I don't hang around with any of the guys on this site, although I have fish with some, purchased items from some and sold to others. I have attended (along with my Son Jake) TFCTFN and plugfest. I have met some of the nicest, most knowledgable guys that ever held a rod. The fishing is not great, nor is the weather most of the time, but I check in here daily to see whats going on. Weather its Wayne looking for Ponies, or John weeding out Bots, or even Clammer spewing his wisdom. For me its a community of good guys that don't want to let go of the friendship that were made over fishing. I am friends with some of you on Facebook but rarely post there, I haven't seen a S-B post on the Facebook page in years. Thats a good thing, it keeps guys coming back here to chat. I hate to see guys leave but also understand the changing times take us in a different direction sometimes. Good luck in your next obsession.

[bloocrab]

[Katie]

Been around since I was 12, and now I'm just mainly a lurker. Think I maybe post once a year now - holding on to the memory of what used to be. And now that my father is retired, maybe get out and fish again. It's nice to hangout though, see how everyone is

Best of luck where ever you may go.

[Got Stripers]

Threads like this make me feel old, hard to believe so much time has passed since joining this group so long ago. Back then we were an active group, fishing get togethers, cookouts, getting members out on whatever boat i happened to be fishing out of, even in winter we were doing something. Times change and as many have noted, interests, health and age change our focus. I fished competitively for years in fresh water before switching to stripers and i fished as often as life and my job would allow. I still love the sound of the drag screaming, the smell and sights of sunrise on the water, but i just don't have that fire in my belly to loose sleep and drive long distances to chase that next big one. Haven’t fished with anyone on this sight in a couple years, except for my good friend Greg (GB outdoors), those trips were always good for laughs and good company. I fish more fresh water now, but still hope to get down to Westport soon to hopefully get a couple more limits of sea bass, spring run up inside for me was dismal. Maybe a striper outing mixed in at some point, would love to see a return of the massive bunker school that camped locally a couple years back, lots of big girls and screaming drags made that a fun and surprising summer.

[piemma]

#^&#^&#^&#^& you guys, I'm still doing it and I will crawl into the Snake Hole, alone and at 0, dark 30 in November.

[Mike P]

Given where life has brought me, I'll probably never even see another striped bass, let alone catch one--not that I want to catch one. After thousands of them, I resolved almost 15 years ago to leave them in peace. But I think I owe it to those guys who helped build the site, and who died way before their time, to put a name into the search bar and relive their old post. It's how I keep their memory alive. Saltheart, Habs, Flap, eelskimmer, Uncle Crafty, Sammy, Tones, and others--too many others. RIP old friends. Someday I'll join you on the other side.

[piemma]

You guys are killing me. Just go do it!!!

[piemma]

You guys are killing me. Just go do it!!!

[piemma]

Originally Posted by piemma

#^&#^&#^&#^& you guys, I'm still doing it and I will crawl into the Snake Hole, alone and at 0, dark 30 in November.

DZ and Mr. Huddy will be there with me. The fire is still there for me and a few other crazies. Hell, it may be my last run at the Block in November

I will be 77 with more stupidity heaped on my body than is acceptable.

I will tell you there is no better way to be alive than in the surf.

[fishbones]

Originally Posted by piemma

DZ and Mr. Huddy will be there with me. The fire is still there for me and a few other crazies. Hell, it may be my last run at the Block in November

I will be 77 with more stupidity heaped on my body than is acceptable.

I will tell you there is no better way to be alive than in the surf.

I love this post! I’m getting older and still love spending the night climbing over rocks chasing bass.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by piemma

You guys are killing me. Just go do it!!!

Sure, you know of a reel that will hold 4500 miles of line?

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Mike P

Given where life has brought me, I'll probably never even see another striped bass, let alone catch one--not that I want to catch one. After thousands of them, I resolved almost 15 years ago to leave them in peace. But I think I owe it to those guys who helped build the site, and who died way before their time, to put a name into the search bar and relive their old post. It's how I keep their memory alive. Saltheart, Habs, Flap, eelskimmer, Uncle Crafty, Sammy, Tones, and others--too many others. RIP old friends. Someday I'll join you on the other side.

Sorry Mike, I forgot you live overseas.