can i justify this

[piemma]

Originally Posted by jim sylvester

to the wife

" I'm going out and getting a boat because all the bunker is up in the bay, shore access difficult where they are...and that is where the big bass are.

home earlier because i don't have to spend six hours a night praying that there is a couple of quality fish on the rocky shoreline that have not noticed that all the bait is way up in the bay."

what do you think my shot is?

before you even type, that was my first thought as well

not a shot in hell

go ahead, amuse me with your thoughts

WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I BOUGHT A BOAT!!!!

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by piemma

WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK I BOUGHT A BOAT!!!!

Cause you got O=L=D

Jim.
shop around, get something cheap enough and it wont be a big deal.
but don't underestimate the associated costs; new tackle, gas, maintenance, etc.. or she will get pissed later!

If you are looking local and want an opinion, let me know.


I Love boat fishing for some species, fluke, blackfish, tuna, shark, but I love, love, love the rocks at night... any 20 from my rock is more rewarding than a 30 from the boat to me... plus, working on the water 20-50hr/week for the last 11 years, it was a nice break. maybe after this summer I'll miss it an crave more boat time... we'll see...

[piemma]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Cause you got O=L=D

Jim.
shop around, get something cheap enough and it wont be a big deal.
but don't underestimate the associated costs; new tackle, gas, maintenance, etc.. or she will get pissed later!

If you are looking local and want an opinion, let me know.


I Love boat fishing for some species, fluke, blackfish, tuna, shark, but I love, love, love the rocks at night... any 20 from my rock is more rewarding than a 30 from the boat to me... plus, working on the water 20-50hr/week for the last 11 years, it was a nice break. maybe after this summer I'll miss it an crave more boat time... we'll see...

There is a grain of truth in what you stated. I am 59 but more importantly I have spent 40 seasons in the surf. 40 years of jumping rocks getting, smacked by waves and sand in my teeth. More nights than not for nothing. After you have put in 40 years at "The Ramp" I wager you will feel the same way.

Don't let anyone kid you, it's easier to catch fish in a boat but NOT less rewarding. The last 6 days I caught more 20 to 30# fish than I did in the last 5 years combined. I enjoyed every fight, every run and evey landing. I killed 2 of those fish because it's not important to kill fish. What is important to me is figuring out this new way to fish (for me anyway) and being successful at it.

Surf fishing is a young mans sport. If I didn't boat fish I'd probably hang it up...

[RIROCKHOUND]

You're right of course,
It's not unrewarding in the boat, just more rewarding for me in the surf, for me.
It's also cheaper, more convenient and easier to fish every night in the surf than boat w/ my schedule..

Hey at 58 you were still rock hopping right there with me, so you know the old is just a crack besides.. somebody will have to teach you how to catch fluke once this bass run slows down

I'm definetly not anti-boat. Hell I have my ticket, I love being on the water... everything in life is to each his/hers own...

[piemma]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

You're right of course,
It's not unrewarding in the boat, just more rewarding for me in the surf, for me.
It's also cheaper, more convenient and easier to fish every night in the surf than boat w/ my schedule..

Hey at 58 you were still rock hopping right there with me, so you know the old is just a crack besides.. somebody will have to teach you how to catch fluke once this bass run slows down

I'm definetly not anti-boat. Hell I have my ticket, I love being on the water... everything in life is to each his/hers own...

I know you were just giving me a hard time.

I hear so much of "it's easier to catch big fish in a boat" "boat fish don't count".
Billy is right, I was in the school of thought once myself. I now have a new respect for anyone who can consistently catch fish in a boat.
As for easier, after the run up the Bay this morning with 25knots in my face and a 2 to3 ft chop, I'd argue that point.

[DZ]

Any "dyed in the wool" surfcaster would never get a boat.
If "catching" is more important than the satisfaction you get surfcasting then get a boat because you were probably never meant to be a true surfcaster. Give it some thought and make your decision. Here's hoping you stay a member of the very small dedicated group of casters who enjoy the most gratifying pastime of prowling around the shoreline.

Good luck.

DZ

[piemma]

Originally Posted by DZ

Any "dyed in the wool" surfcaster would never get a boat.


DZ

Dennis, that is an assinine statement! You are being judgemental without knowing all the facts and it suprises me that you would say such a thing in writing.
Perhaps you consider yourself to be an elitist who "crawls the rock" I'd bet you dinner that I've crawled as many rocks as you, fished as many beaches as you and taken as many waves as you. No excuses here. I decided to get a boat to prolong my ability to pursue what I love best.....fishing!
Don't get sick my friend. You may find yourself in a boat.

[DZ]

Easy Paul - all in fun.

DZ

[jim sylvester]

my dedication is catching fish , on shore or boat

[eelman]

Originally Posted by DZ

Any "dyed in the wool" surfcaster would never get a boat.
If "catching" is more important than the satisfaction you get surfcasting then get a boat because you were probably never meant to be a true surfcaster. Give it some thought and make your decision. Here's hoping you stay a member of the very small dedicated group of casters who enjoy the most gratifying pastime of prowling around the shoreline.

Good luck.

DZ

Heard a bunch of things in my lifetime, but this BS takes the cake...write a dear abby column...Start a round circle and smoke the peacepipe of the dedicated bleeding heart mono a mono...me against the boat group...This whole thread was about something else...

I am happy with my boat, I am proud of the years I spent in the surf and certainly achevied every single goal I had...I am no less a fisherman because I own a boat I am however someone who now has a heck of alot more fish and an apreciation for a new way of fishing...

[eelman]

Originally Posted by piemma

There is a grain of truth in what you stated. I am 59 but more importantly I have spent 40 seasons in the surf. 40 years of jumping rocks getting, smacked by waves and sand in my teeth. More nights than not for nothing. After you have put in 40 years at "The Ramp" I wager you will feel the same way.

Don't let anyone kid you, it's easier to catch fish in a boat but NOT less rewarding. The last 6 days I caught more 20 to 30# fish than I did in the last 5 years combined. I enjoyed every fight, every run and evey landing. I killed 2 of those fish because it's not important to kill fish. What is important to me is figuring out this new way to fish (for me anyway) and being successful at it.

Surf fishing is a young mans sport. If I didn't boat fish I'd probably hang it up...

I agree, rewarding? you bet it is, I have done both...no need to go down that road, at anyrate, a boat is pure enjoyment , it gets me places and shows me things the darkness of the night in the surf never did...but a fish is a fish and I feel rewarded both ways, sometimes the boat is more dificult and dangerous...but overall? I would never be without a boat again ever...I would quit first...If it makes you happy buy one....dont let these guys make boat fishing something bad cause it isnt...I was that way also but not anymore..If you get a boat you will love it ! and trust me eveyone who says they hate it will be asking to go out on it!


By the way...Mr. Canalman is on a "boat" this very minute slamming fish....The smile on his face this morning was not one a surf guy having to be dragged kicking and screaming..I bet his heart stopped at the site of those cows slamming those bunker......

[jim sylvester]

had a boat.....sold it when i built our home

[Raven]

to buy a boat....

because thats my only avenue ...with a permanently sprained ankle
its difficult to go stomping all over hell and back on shore
carrying so much gear....

but see, thats not the clincher... i know .... wah wah wah

it's when you've done that.... you make it all the way out there
and then you have complete ankle failure happen on your way back!
where you can't
bare any weight at all on your right foot.

what ya gonna do then... hop on sand all the way back?
crawl... ? i think not.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by piemma

Don't let anyone kid you, it's easier to catch fish in a boat but NOT less rewarding.

And the truth shall set you free.
Boats are a blast, you can catch multi species, and have unlimited freedom. I got rid of my boat primarily because of time restraints. The last year I owned the 17' key largo, I stared out my living room window at it too much. Eventually I couldn't justify owning it and not be in the thing 3-5 times per week.

[shadow]

jim it should only come down to one thing money,if you have it then spend it,I love the surf yet would buy a boat if I could there is nothing wrong with boating one day and hitting the surf 2 or three nights a week.If you can have the option to do both then way not?May is a good time to be in a boat in the bay lets hope june is a good time for the surf.

[BassDawg]

WOW! Lots to be said on either side of this equation...............

However, DZ is right about his opinion.

So, also, is Bill.

What's important is that the fishing part remains. Boat or surf, to each his/her own..................yet, the two could not be further apart.

I'm 47 years young and have been fishing since I was about 6 yrs old.
This will be my second full season on the rocks, and I absolutely love the thrill of the hunt, the risk factor involved, the adreneline rush that comes with landing 20-30# fish from the surf (with eager anticipation and high aspirations to land that 50 from the rocks), and reading the water under the stars in the pitch of the night. I LOVE being out there, finding the bite, and feeling the tug of some BIG GURL (those would be the 4 that I lost last year due to poor positioning and inexperience) as she is trying to dislodge me from me rocks whilst I endeavor to wrest her from her seas.

DZ is right, and I'm sure that earlier on in your career Bill you thought "BOATS, Schmoats! This sheet is tha baaaallzzzzz!!!" Why is that? It's because they are two completely different types of fishing. The common denominator is fishing, but surfcasting is far more difficult. Hence the agreed upon idea that it is a "younger man's game". It is undoubtedly more taxing physically, it is more perilous from the rocks and sea perspective alone, and the reason it is tougher to catch large from the shore rather than a boat is the surfcaster does not have the Lowrance at his disposal or the added leverage of a boat, heavier gear, and a motor or two. In my view, the most pronounced contrast is that you've introduced the boat into the dynamic and given yourself a huge edge against our beloved prey. Surfcasters and boaters are both fishermen granted, but they are two entirely variant breeds. It doesn't make you any less of a fisherman, just a different kind of angler.

Mr Nolan, you are right as well. From your perspective it is definitely easier to cover more water in less time with the advantage of twin Mercs speeding one around The Bay and harbors. Looking from the sea to the shore, as opposed to the shore to the sea affords one a myriad of viewpoints and the accessability factor increases more rapidly and quite exponentially. You also have a much broader view. From the rocks I am limited to how far I can rockhop & cast/swim & cast. From a boat you can survey an entire area and prolly see the bait before it sees you? From a boat you can not only see for miles, and miles, and miles; but you can GET there and get there quickly! Less harm to the body, less stress from the rocks, and better opportunity for some 50's, 60's, 70's, eh mates? Not wrong or right, just different.

And this is where the more rewarding part comes in. Because the two styles of fishing are so diverse, and surfcasting is much harder for many reasons, that is why a 30#er from the surf is a "great achievement" as you said Bill, and more the norm from a boat. It is more commonplace than rare, expected rather than "achieved" everytime you fuel that fiberglass up isn't it?. Could this be why OTW, in its Striper Cup, adds a weight differential to its surf division? Is it fair to say that a "great achievement" from a boat would be a 40#er and up?

Please don't misunderstand me, both types of fishing are equally rewarding in their own rights, but both are extremely different and that's what separates those that fish from a boat and those of us that (at least for now) subscribe to the philosophies like:

"I wouldn't be caught dead in a boat!"
"Boat fish don't count"
"Fish Hard, Live Long"
"Chunking is for cheaters"...................Oh wait, that's an entirely different thread .

[eelman]

Not sure basstracker...I found it pretty easy to get 30lb fish from shore also And it was always expected..thats the attitude you need to score in either a boat or in the surf...Your post is good but I fished the surf for 23 years or so...so I have seen and done just about everything in the surf....I think my perspective is as god as anyones....I can say that a boat doesnt always mean a big fish...its still a hunt and has its own set of nuances...So basically I have been there done that in the surf..