Why haven't you landed a #50 yet ??

[BigFish]

Factor in how many 50's are caught in our region each season (10-15 that we know of on average) and how many people are fishing? Odds of being that lucky are slim......from shore anyway! Unless you are #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& aka Billy Boat last spring?!?!?! Man was he red hot or what for that 2 week span?

[Rockfish9]

there are many things that factor in the capture of a "50"

Big fish, realy big fish tend to gather in certain locations along the coast, those locations historicly give up the largest fish, fishing those "spots" raises the odds..

You need to have a large enough survivor ratio of a year class to support enough "50's" to give you a shot....

you need to fish for large fish... big fish require alot of calories and are lazy, truth is, most anglers dont use large enough bait to put themselves in posistion to tempt a large fish, most, not all, are more concerned about getting "skunked" than truely hunting down a trophy, yes every once in awlie some boob fishing a tiny slice of herring latches on to and lands a monster.... thats fishing, but using outsized baits increase your odds...

And of coarse there's the age old addage of "putting in your time" again, it's all about the odds.....

you must always be ready, that one time you dont re-tie your leader or sharpen that dull hook could be your one shot in life..

lastly, it does require alot of luck, sometimes, it's just not meant to be, I know alot of damn good fisherman that have never, and will never get a "50", it's not because they did anything wrong, it just wasnt in the stars....

[PaulS]

Firstly, I don't think there are any 50s where I fish the majority of the time. That said, with a limited amount of 50s available, I think you have to be lucky to have a 50 in front of you. The skill necessary to catch that 50 includes the ability to catch that fish, having the proper equipment and having your equipment in well mantained conditon, and throwing the proper bait/plug.

[BassDawg]

Lots of good stuff here, gents. And though i've only got a couple of seasons under my belt, i'd like to chime in ~based upon what i've read, heard from seminars, talked to area sharpies about, and what the surf and the species have taught me in such a short time.

I believe that Trophy Hunting consists of three inextricable parts:

Part I:The Physical and Technical/Scientific Aspect of Landing Lahhhhge

Acquiring the skills sets and putting in the time to; learn the right conditions, the COW locations, the proper bait/lure, the habits and strategies of Large, and the ability to put in the time to get to that level of Trophy Hunter is the hardest part of this pursuit and requires the most work. This is the most critical aspect of Big Gurl success and requires the most knowledge and technique, since we all know that they don't get BIG without knowing some things about being hooked and getting themselves unhooked. I have lost 3 definite 50's and at least one 60, from the NShore surf, do to my own googanity. But each time i learned something i'll never repeat and I now know where and when to be where to put myself into the position for consistently LAHHHGE stripers.

Part II: The Mental and Psychological Aspect of Trophy Hunting

Once you've accomplished Part I, it's all about the mind set. Ask any of the area's sharpies or read their works and, to an angler, the response will be "Yes, I was targeting this 50, 60, 70#'er!" The drive to stay focused and driven to hunt Cows, FIRST AND FOREMOST, separates those of us who are out to catch anything from the anglers who land 50's and up often. This mental part of The GAME has everything to do with how you approach your time/window, spot/producer, plug/bait, striper/COW efforts in the surf.

In the infamous words of a Striper Coast legend "Are you content to just "catch" and will stay for 2 hours of schoolies to perhaps thirties or even forties '....until my arms could crank no more and it was a BLAST!!'? Or, do you want a 50lber plus bad enuff that you are willing to walk away from QUANTITY to land QUALITY?" Those aren't my words, but I subscribe to Crazy Al's Trophy Hunting Philosophy when it comes to putting yourself into the position to land lahhhge consistently, and not just once ~which could be counted as LUCK or happenstance!

Part III: The Sixth Sense or Artistic Aspect of the Big Gurl Dynamic

Ahhhh, yes.........................and the mystery ensues. This is my favorite part of the whole and just as important, imho, as the other two is the innate ability to find fish. It is probably my strongest suit and what drives me to the surf with a "perceived" advantage. Please don't misunderstand my point, i don't mean to sound arrogant or self-satisfied, but one thing that i've always been able to do is to ~find the fish, hence the moniker. And i know that i'm not alone! How many of us out there have that buddy that always hooks up? I've met several guys from the other site who share the same blessing.

Bill Nolan recently stated, "I'd rather be lucky than good, everytime I'm on the water."

Now, we all know that he has the skills (Part I), we all know that he targets BIG Stripers (Part II), and we've heard more than one person say that Billy Bunker/#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& has fishing in his blood (Part III). With some surfcasters it is luck, with still another set of them it is part of who they are and what they bring to the water within them combined with "preparation meeting opportunity".

Additionally, there is that sixth sense, or "feel", aspect to our pursuits that is intangible, yet very real for those who are "tapped in". In Pro Sports, they refer to being "in the zone". Why are TFB and RTM so freagin' GOOD? Hard work and preparation, YES! Unbelievably blessed, intangible abilities, that are perfectly suited to the supernatural performance of their position and the ability to draw on those intangibles and employ them at will, ABSOLUTELY!

The hardest part of this sport we love is to incorporate all three aspects into one, and to do so night in and night out. I think that it has far less to do with excuses, cannot be strictly managed by science, and no matter how often i hook a COW i still have to apply the right amounts of all three to take my level of experience to the next level of Sharpie, a consistent Trophy Hunter/Catcher.

Will multiple 50's be landed each year with our species in the midst of a resurgence? YES!!
More importantly, this year WILL be my year.......................will it be YOURS ???

[piemma]

Originally Posted by BassDawg

Lots of good stuff here, gents. And though i've only got a couple of seasons under my belt, i'd like to chime in ~based upon what i've read, heard from seminars, talked to area sharpies about, and what the surf and the species have taught me in such a short time.

I believe that Trophy Hunting consists of three inextricable parts:

Part I:The Physical and Technical/Scientific Aspect of Landing Lahhhhge

Acquiring the skills sets and putting in the time to; learn the right conditions, the COW locations, the proper bait/lure, the habits and strategies of Large, and the ability to put in the time to get to that level of Trophy Hunter is the hardest part of this pursuit and requires the most work. This is the most critical aspect of Big Gurl success and requires the most knowledge and technique, since we all know that they don't get BIG without knowing some things about being hooked and getting themselves unhooked. I have lost 3 definite 50's and at least one 60, from the NShore surf, do to my own googanity. But each time i learned something i'll never repeat and I now know where and when to be where to put myself into the position for consistently LAHHHGE stripers.

Part II: The Mental and Psychological Aspect of Trophy Hunting

Once you've accomplished Part I, it's all about the mind set. Ask any of the area's sharpies or read their works and, to an angler, the response will be "Yes, I was targeting this 50, 60, 70#'er!" The drive to stay focused and driven to hunt Cows, FIRST AND FOREMOST, separates those of us who are out to catch anything from the anglers who land 50's and up often. This mental part of The GAME has everything to do with how you approach your time/window, spot/producer, plug/bait, striper/COW efforts in the surf.

In the infamous words of a Striper Coast legend "Are you content to just "catch" and will stay for 2 hours of schoolies to perhaps thirties or even forties '....until my arms could crank no more and it was a BLAST!!'? Or, do you want a 50lber plus bad enuff that you are willing to walk away from QUANTITY to land QUALITY?" Those aren't my words, but I subscribe to Crazy Al's Trophy Hunting Philosophy when it comes to putting yourself into the position to land lahhhge consistently, and not just once ~which could be counted as LUCK or happenstance!

Part III: The Sixth Sense or Artistic Aspect of the Big Gurl Dynamic

Ahhhh, yes.........................and the mystery ensues. This is my favorite part of the whole and just as important, imho, as the other two is the innate ability to find fish. It is probably my strongest suit and what drives me to the surf with a "perceived" advantage. Please don't misunderstand my point, i don't mean to sound arrogant or self-satisfied, but one thing that i've always been able to do is to ~find the fish, hence the moniker. And i know that i'm not alone! How many of us out there have that buddy that always hooks up? I've met several guys from the other site who share the same blessing.

Bill Nolan recently stated, "I'd rather be lucky than good, everytime I'm on the water."

Now, we all know that he has the skills (Part I), we all know that he targets BIG Stripers (Part II), and we've heard more than one person say that Billy Bunker/#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& has fishing in his blood (Part III). With some surfcasters it is luck, with still another set of them it is part of who they are and what they bring to the water within them combined with "preparation meeting opportunity".

Additionally, there is that sixth sense, or "feel", aspect to our pursuits that is intangible, yet very real for those who are "tapped in". In Pro Sports, they refer to being "in the zone". Why are TFB and RTM so freagin' GOOD? Hard work and preparation, YES! Unbelievably blessed, intangible abilities, that are perfectly suited to the supernatural performance of their position and the ability to draw on those intangibles and employ them at will, ABSOLUTELY!

The hardest part of this sport we love is to incorporate all three aspects into one, and to do so night in and night out. I think that it has far less to do with excuses, cannot be strictly managed by science, and no matter how often i hook a COW i still have to apply the right amounts of all three to take my level of experience to the next level of Sharpie, a consistent Trophy Hunter/Catcher.

Will multiple 50's be landed each year with our species in the midst of a resurgence? YES!!
More importantly, this year WILL be my year.......................will it be YOURS ???

GREAT POST!!!!!!

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by BassDawg

I have lost 3 definite 50's and at least one 60, from the NShore surf, do to my own googanity.

while i do not question you, i do question how you are saying they were definate 50's and a 60.. how can you be sure if you never had them on the rocks?

I have had fish on that i thougth were in the high 40's that ended up to be 15 lb blue fish. I had a 50 lb bass on the line once that ended up to be a bath mat

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by Nebe

while i do not question you, i do question how you are saying they were definate 50's and a 60.. how can you be sure if you never had them on the rocks?

I have had fish on that i thougth were in the high 40's that ended up to be 15 lb blue fish. I had a 50 lb bass on the line once that ended up to be a bath mat

Good question, Nebe!

I am referring to the last two and 1/2 seasons that i spent in the NE surf, from when I first began until last year when i did get to within a foot or so of the biggest striper i've ever hooked and did see her from head to dorsal/from dorsal to 4th stripe ~head on view/from swish of tail to head and gone to snap my shock leader and be gone, She was massive. i was using big eeeels, right tide and time, and would put her at 60#+.

Same spot previous year, '06, and in the middle of a new moon bite landing 20's to 30's with schoolies, came a lunge in and back under take and hunker down while chunking a pogie head. She did not move, and I did not know how to move her then, or to wait her out, and she shook her shoulders a little bit then opened her big maw and spit my noobily "set" hook having stolen her morsel.

Same spot same year, '06, chunking again big head chunks about a month later. only fiftty or so yards away on the covered side of a huge boulder, new moon the second biggest take and hunker i've ever had in those NSore waters. She took it, shook it, I set up, she hunkered down beneath said boulder, then she began to rub away at the leader....................I kept pressure, that is until my worn leader gave way and i got back the last foot before my spool line started.

The other spot was MBLHD HBR, fall '06, do you remember me asking about using culls for bait or not? Just so happens i caught one chunking macks one nite at the harbour. so i chunked up the tail for chum, thru out the claws for more chum, and saved the head for something hopefully "good" on yer typical chunking set-up. I took a chance, I mean i HAD read "On the Run" .

Within two-three minutes the biggest and most powerful KAWHAM/take i have yet to experience inhaled that head and swam about three feet and hunkered down to an immovable position. the place where i was is loaded with boulders, but it wouldn't have mattered as i hooked the head with supreme googanity and she coughed my offering up once she was aware of the hook. I had rigged the hook in a way that it never would have stuck in her maw.

The only reason I guesstimate the above sizes to be that big, and these are all guesses since I landed neither of them, is i compare them to the monstah i did see this year, and to the several over 30's that i did land this year. the 43''er that i C&R in Sept was dwarfed by the ??60?? that got away that night in the same honey cove about a month earlier. Seriously, they looked like rats compared to the size of this cow. i've also landed bull reds and trophy tarpon in FL and those tugs on body and drag, you never forget!

I have no reason to exagerrate, Nebe, as this place produces BIG fish, often. While our minds in the surf can play incredible tricks, this BIG BEETCH is indelibly etched into my cereberal cortex and will be until i land her twin or her Momma this coming season. And I do know where, when, what, and why she's gonna be there. I just have to remember to let her swim a bit instead of trying to horse her in like some 25#'er. That was my biggest goog with her, i brought her in waaaay, way too green, like me during that fight .

Anyways, yer prolly right and i could be way off, but that's what they felt like then and i tend to remember the ones I didn't land moreso than the ones that i bested, because the "ones that got away" have taught me the most .