I am sick to death over this boat fish don't count crap! I fish from boats, surf, jetties, rocks, marsh edges, salt creeks and the surf. You know what? Each one is difficult, some more than others but to me a fish taken from a boat is just as valued as a fish from the surf. Surf fishermen are die hards to be sure. As John Cole said in his great tome "Striper", "surf fisherman learn to expect nothing when they go out to fish". I know I do. (especially these two past seasons) but anyone who owns a boat knows what being a die hard is as well. Waves, wind, fog are more the norm than not. I once had the opportunity to spend some time at the Chatham Light CG Station. I asked the chief Petty officer there how many days a year is it calm, on average, out in front of the station. Without hesitation he told me,"nine".
If you have ever been in close to the rocks at Cobbly Beach on Pasque when the southwest was whistling and the ocean swell was with it you know what bad is. But you go in there because those are the very best conditions to lay a plug in there as the bass get all cranked up. The best bassmen go in there with no hesitation even at the risk of losing a skeg or takeing a blade off the prop. Same goes for off Monomoy in a Southeast or Northeast blow. You catch a big one on your boat be proud, it shows you learned something. Same goes for the surf.
Getting beat to death in the surf or beat to death on a heaving rolling deck it's all the same. Frank Woolner once told me that it's ok to know how to surfcast well or troll well but the truly great Striper man is the one who masters them all.
Boat fish vs. Shore fish
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