I am sick of it too!

[afterhours]

i'd take consistent 20- 30's over one 50 any season.

[ThrowingTimber]

Toby is going "all in" Gotta friggin love that!!

[schoolie monster]

I just want to catch fish consistently with some nice ones mixed in... if I have good action, add in some keepers, maybe a 20#er, I've had a great day.

I definitely get a rush when I have a big fish on. My biggest fish is 33# and I want to best that for now... heck I'd just like to get back into the 30# club, but it doesn't drive me at all. It might drive me to get up a bit earlier, but I don't really focus on "I need a big fish today".

The best way to explain it is you always hope for that big fish... I think the allure of saltwater fishing is you never know what might grab your lure or bait any given moment... but some people seem very driven to catch big fish or nothing.

For the most part, I just want to be out on the water catching some fish and that's what drives me. Just getting time out there.

[Striperhound]

Well said TLAPINSKI!

How did 50 become so damn important???, The jealousy and rumors of other surf men is not worth the catch to me. I don't want to be an internet hero, or a self proclaimed expert.

sorry if I didnt answer the question Bill, but I would take consistency vs size.

[reelecstasy]

I am with Tlap on this one, 50# a holy grail ? not in my book....Say over 70# that is more like it.

[Saltheart]

I really want 1 fish every time I go. I hate to go and get nothing. Above that one fish each trip , its all gravy. Of course we all want a big one.

I hope that if I get a 50 I am man enough to put it back alive without needing to parade it around town to prove to people i got it. i will know and that's enough.

One big fish doesn't make a fisherman . i know a guy who caught one fish in his life (at the time) . he went on a charter and caught a single fish. It happened to top 60 pounds. it was his only fish ever and he won the Mass governors award that year for the biggest fish in the state. The plack is hanging on the wall. Does the fact that a big fish happened to swollow his hook make him a great fisherman??? I don't think so.

Anyway , i would summarize my view by saying that the guy who consistently catches fish is a good fisherman and should be proud of his ability. the guy who catches a fifty is a lucky man and he should thank god for his lucky catch ten times more often than he brags about it. I also think that if you are truly a great fisherman , other people will say so. If the only person saying it is you , you have a long way to go. i also think that people can only stand to hear about someones fishing ability just so much. If that quota is used up by the guys own bragging all the time , there's no room for others to give him praise. If you really want to be considered 'one of the best" , keep your mouth shut and let other people sing your praises.

[eelman]

wow, I never would have thought the 50 was hated so much

[Nebe]

I wnat to know what made 5o lbs the golded standard? was it the shaefermeyer tournament and those nifty 50 pins???

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Eben

I wnat to know what made 5o lbs the golded standard? was it the shaefermeyer tournament and those nifty 50 pins???

No, it's because 50#+ fish are rare. Just go back and read Piemma's post.

There are lots of guys like him around, guys with plenty of 40s and tons of 30s. 50 has been the gold standard as long as I've been around, and long before.

It's why people take the trouble to point out that great fishermen like Frank Woolner and Bunny DiPetro never caught a 50.

It doesn't mean that Piemma, Woolner or anyone else in the 50-less club is any lesser of a fishermen. It doesn't bother Piemma, I don't know if it bothered Woolner, but I know Bunny was always looking for that 50 until he died. One of the great stories was when he caught a real good fish in the Canal, weighed it in, and was seen stomping around the parking lot and cursing when the scale stopped at 49-1/2.

[bassmaster]

i caught 4 fish on a habs popper last night
i went home after an hour
i like bonito
i like U
i like the cape
I like beer
I like women

[Clammer]

no 50 # for me & I honestly don,t care /if I did I would fish for large /I rarely do // even when I was full time commercial --I made most of my money of fish under 10# / I was forced to go large /because there were no more smalls // like Flap plenty of large but no 50,s on the scale // back then /before they actually saw & relized a decline in Stripers / the going price for large was 10 ,15 cents & schoolies were .35 //I think the most for schoolies ended for me arounf $1.25 ,I can,t remember the final large price before the moraterium [sp] now the price if great only if fishing is tight / before ,if you caught it & the fish was 16" it went to market -12 months a year ...
so I go strictly for fun // I,ll fish nights with eels // more because of the daytime ya-hoos & the bass sulking & the @#$%^&8 blues feeding ..

Plus in all reality ,with the gear I use,, the tender care I give it ,the perfect knots I tie /that someone untie ,s I,d never even seen that 50#

anyway ya put it /Clammer not leaving this earth with a 50# UNLESS on a real good day ya all will let me at up 25 2# er,s