Cows: redux

[rizzo]

Havnt been around much lately but have a couple thoughts about this. To get 30# and 40# fish you have to play the game probability.

-Putting in the time is important, but it has to be in the right place as well. Finding the right water will increase your odds as well as what you use for lures/bait.
-Yes, people do catch big fish on plugs, but big fish will come much more frequent on bait.
-Large bass spend 99% of their time on the bottom- forget about dannys, bombers and surface lures.
-Theres always someone to argue, "in the past we caught large fish on a particular lure" This is true but I guarantee that the guy who is not posting on this board that fished back in the day caught 100 times the amount of big fish on eels or other bait. Eels ruled back then from the surf, same as they do now.
-Forget teasers- yea I know, guys do catch large on them, but your probability is pretty low. If a 60 pounder is eating sea robins and flounder, why would it chase after a 2" piece of bucktail?
-Large fish do come in close to shore in numbers, but the probability is very low... if they come in large numbers we all would be catching them all the time.
-Most fisherman exagerate them amount of large fish they catch.
-Most fisherman exagerate the number of true trophy fish that break them off.
-There are very small windows of oppurtunity, but numbers of large fish move through during these windows. When you find a window at any time of the season its better to fish that window for as long as its open rather than fish every weekend no matter what the conditions are.
-The best fisherman hunt alone. Another good fisherman fishing near you can cut down your odds.
-Try to limit yourself to to amount of water you cover in a year, and think logically about.
-Trophy hunting is a misearble experience as far as catching goes because 99% of the time you're not going to catch a 40#er. Most go many, many years before they get a 40. The smart ones/sharpies learn how to make this happen more frequent.
-Once you have things working toward your advantage, there is no reason to change. There are many ways to get the job done, whether its with a lamiglass, allstar, vanstall or mitchell 300. Pluses and minuses to each.

[Pete_G]

Yeah, I've had a few beers so you're going to get an even longer then normal post tonight...

Last year was one of my best seasons in the surf, and it was probably no coincidence that it occured in a year I moved closer to the water. I used to have to drive 45 minutes to get to good striper water. I moved both to get closer to work and have a shorter commute and of course, to fish.

I have fished Newport for a while now and have found more then a few spots that have a fairly brief window of productivity. Being nearby allows me to fish that productive hour or two and then go to bed or shift to another spot as it approaches its window of productivity.

I think efficiency is very important on the water. Fishing non-stop or just simply all the time is pointless if you're not fishing when the fish are there. Sounds obvious but I think we are all guilty of it too often. I also think we spread ourselves too thin and maybe we should work harder at mastering fewer places rather then just learning a little bit about a lot of places so that we can learn those producitvity windows. I spent a lot of time in the past covering the RI coast trying new spots hoping to intercept some good action. I never really learned anything important other then how to get to all the spots until I slowed down and fished fewer spots more often.

Stats which were revealing for me this past year for 30#+ fish I caught from shore:

*3 out of 5 30#+ fish were on surface swimmers. Dannys and AJ's. Good sized plugs. The 2 others were on needles. I'm sure this is mostly because those are the plug I like to fish. I didn't fish eels much last year, not sure why though.

*3 out of 5 came from the same place, same tide, and they were probably sitting on the same rock, in different months. This might be the most important stat, I'm not sure. Same 20x20 area, 3 fish over 30, different months. We'll see if there's a repeat this year.

*3 of the fish came on nights I only fished for about 2 hours and then went to bed.


Eben mentioned Goosefish. Goosefish is one of my favorite people to talk about stripers with because when you hear him talk about fishing and spots you can tell he's a real student of striper fishing. He knows the cuts, depths, and rocks intimately at his spots. I've never asked, but I bet he knows particular rocks that he catches quality bass off of.

Going further back as a kid I was a freshwater bass fisherman since I grew up on a bass pond and I fished almost ebvery day there wasn't ice on the pond. Largemouth are very spot sensitive. 3 of my biggest largemouths all came from the same spot in one pond, at one time of the year. When I fished that pond I ALWAYS watched the depthfinder as I drove around in a small boat. It's been almost 15 years since I fished that pond but I can still picture EVERY square foot of the bottom of that pond in my mind and recall where and when for all my big fish.

There is much more to spots then just the spot. Time, and much more importantly efficient time, on the water is all important. The gear you use and lures you throw take a back seat to knowing where the fish are and when. Sometimes specifically where the fish are.

[Back Beach]

Good points Rizzo and Pete. Two things that stand out are fishing the spots you know well, and stay near the bottom/strike zone as long as possible. A cape legend once told me "fish the f!#!$%!@N bottom for large." This doesn't mean drowning bait, it simply means fish near the bottom regardless of what you are throwing whether it be plugs or bait. Some large will come on top, but I'll take my chances near the bottom,bottom, bottom 99 out of 100 times.

[Nebe]

Pete, Goosefish is more of a student of angling as opposed to striper fishing- right now he is focosing in on smallmouth- he just took a 4.5 sight fishing......
He only fishes 4 or 5 spots tops and knows the structure like the back of his hand. I have taken him to a few of my spots and i can always sense his aprehention if he doesnt know how deep the water is, or where the dropoffs or boulders are.. infact, last season i found myself pointing out places i wanted to take him into in advance so he could go over his charts ahead of time. Hes a damn good teacher though... he has taught me lots and lots of things i never would have dreamed of alone.

[Krispy]

I figured I'd bump this up for fall, it is worth reviewing.

I already met my goals for the season, and much of what members posted on this thread was the reason.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Krispy

I figured I'd bump this up for fall, it is worth reviewing.

I already met my goals for the season, and much of what members posted on this thread was the reason.

Does this mean you are quitting for the year? I haven't met my Krispy quota yet, so I am going to keep fishing.

Krispy, what's your breakdown % as far as bait caught versus artificial caught?

[Krispy]

Originally Posted by Back Beach

Does this mean you are quitting for the year? I haven't met my Krispy quota yet, so I am going to keep fishing.

Krispy, what's your breakdown % as far as bait caught versus artificial caught?

Not quittin, just upping the goal. Looking for a 40 before the season ends
over 30#s this year 6 on eels, 1 on a Jr Atom (imho the best big fish metal lip swimmer)
Add 2 more unconfirmed over 30's on eels if ya feelin' generous

[Canalman]

There are plenty of 30 pound fish out there... bigger ones too. Krispy.. why do you think no one is catching them?? I think it's just seems that way because the only one who still posts pics is #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& . We take pics for articles and memories and once in a while for the board..We learned that the HARD way.