Drifting along in a coccoon of fog yesterday morning along the Elizabeth Islands in my skiff I noted to my friend Dave LaPorte ( who is the only one who has the balls to be in such a small boat in a complete fog with me as I sniff my way through a roaring Woods Hole pasage by "sniffing" my way to Nonamesset Island) That I don't know if I am becoming a better boat fisherman or a lousier surfcaster. For the last four years the beach, which has had it moments, has generally sucked. The only respite is taking to my skiff and chasing bass on the flats of Barnstable, Monomoy or sliding along Naushon, Pasque and the other E islands. My first love is surfcasting but how much self abuse of one occasional almost fair nights can you take after weeks of nothing and mung and so on. Now I hear the grand poobah of the surf on that NJ site claiming he would have rather had a sister in a whorehouse than a friend in a boat and I did it with my feet in the sand etc. and many of you espouse the smae sentiment. I console myself by noting I do not troll although I have wire rigs they haven't left the house in ten years maybe more. All the boat fishing I do is casting plugs, rubber and what have you. I think this boat versus shore attitude is just plain stupid. If you want to resign yourself to a future where the beach gets more and more dismal in prospect what with the exploding seal population, mung and bird closures help yourself. The bas are still here they just are smart enough to know when they are beaten so they move off to where the bait, which has a tinge of intelligence too, is. I guess it comes down to pride and denial. Too proud to accept the fact that the beach is changing and not for the better and denial of that fact that beach fishing will and is being relegated to fond memories. I know in my heart it's the seals and the people in charge know it too but they have a different outlook than the interest surfcasters have and a different goal. I will still pound the sand cuase in my heart I cannot and will not let that go but I accept the fact that to catch bass consistently I must take to the water in my skiff and sooner or later a bigger boat. Frank Woolner told me in a conversation at the counetr at Paul Kukonens shop when I was a teenager that to be a truly great Striper fisherman one must master all the techniques from shore or boat. You can still have a preference but the goal is hooking up and catching not wishing for bass.
(BTW we slid along the islands not being able to see more than a hundred feet and sometimes less than twenty and caught bass and some bluefish all day long totally alone most times till the fog burned off around noon. Nothing huge 15 to 17 pounds to dinks and Bernzy 's Howdys and white Creek Chub 2100 series tricked out poppers ruled the day. There are alot of bass along them islands if you got the stones to push off in a dense fog with nothing but experience to guide you)
Beach vs. Boat
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