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

[Skitterpop]

I`ve lost many Striped Bass in the 40 to 90lb range.

[bart]

Originally Posted by Skitterpop

I`ve lost many Striped Bass in the 40 to 90lb range.

[keeperreaper]

I have caught and it was luck.

That being said:
Right place right time.
Right bait right presentation
Confidence Confidence Confidence
Right skill level and skill set; not getting "bass" fever and resorting to poor technique(s) rushing the process or taking shortcuts
Being obessesive about your gear being in perfect shape.
Having a place to land it
Knowing what moon phases, places, and tides have produced in the past etc

all these help in the pursuit of the "50"

[cow tamer]

shy away from boats

closed out of areas that had produced their share of 50s

didn't fish enough in the 80s

gave up using eels

when bunker used to be within snagging distance, I did not know then what I know now

[nightfighter]

shhhhh......I have seen Luds out on a boat before.....


BassDawg,
first off, fishing with a cull as bait is totally illegal.
Second, while there have been 50 and even 60# class fish taken in or just outside MBLHD harbor, we haven't had that class around for a while.
Me, I am not convinced that I've ever been around a school with 50 or 60s in the mix, certainly not from shore. This is of course excluding any fish caught in the EEZ ie. Stellwagen, where I have had some bruisers brought to the boat an released.

This year, my goal is to locate fish, catch fish, and hopefully keeping pushing personal bests.

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

shhhhh......I have seen Luds out on a boat before.....


BassDawg,
first off, fishing with a cull as bait is totally illegal.
that was before I knew any better, and i would NEVER do that now, besides it was thrown in my lap that night.
Second, while there have been 50 and even 60# class fish taken in or just outside MBLHD harbor, we haven't had that class around for a while.
We, meaning YOU and all the people you fish with? This fish damn near took the rod out of my hands and she knew right where to hide and was all over that cull head, bro. Just because you haven't seen them, does that mean that one or two cannot be there? It wasn't exactly the inner harbour as i have never/nor would i fish there ~i was being general with location and it was an outside facing set of reefs and ledges in that general area.
Me, I am not convinced that I've ever been around a school with 50 or 60s in the mix, certainly not from shore. This is of course excluding any fish caught in the EEZ ie. Stellwagen, where I have had some bruisers brought to the boat an released.
Yup, and that is the one that sort of freaked me out tha most, because the rest of the stripers I had caught were runners, sounders, and then they were done. This one was completely different and tucked behind a rock that creates a trough between an outer island type promentory and itself and has a bowl that feeds a sweet dump of water with each set right into the trough that is totally hidden
This year, my goal is to locate fish, catch fish, and hopefully keeping pushing personal bests.
You and me BOTH, my brother!!

Thanks for your viewpoints nightfighter, i just share what i saw and felt from my limited view. I think that the most impressive "LOSS" for me was the big gurl from the MBLHD area. Because she HIT so Heavy and so Hard and moved with such deliberate strength to her hunkering down spot. She was definitely in no hurry and am not quite sure she even knew that she was hooked/not hooked .

[Slingah]

I havent got a fifty because it hasnt been my turn....and may never be...and I could care less. Not that I wouldnt be happy to be so lucky or I dont get pissed when Ive dropped large..... but it is just a number. I manage to get enough big bass to keep me fairly content.

[Skitterpop]

Originally Posted by bart

It just does not get any better than this .

[DJ Muller]

I am really looking forward to doing the seminar at the SW Edge show a week from Saturday...it is all relative to this topic. The talk and chatter here gets me pumped up for this next year and my next oppurtunity to cross paths with a substantial bass.

God I love this fishery!!!!

[Backbeach Jake]

Because I don't think that it's fish that I'm after.

[Skitterpop]

http://www.virtualrealityfishing.com/what-is.html





All fishermen are liars. Some are just better at it than others

[spence]

The luck vs skill argument is pretty silly.

Certainly one can catch a large fish with little skill simply because they're lucky. And certainly a skilled fisherman can go home empty because they didn't have enough luck even though they did everything "right".

But the more times you apply your skills, you dramatically increase the number of opportunities to get lucky, as well as have a better chance to leverage that luck into results. So skill or luck can be good, but skill times luck is even better. Regardless it still takes luck.

-spence

[bloocrab]

Goose, in answering your original question....I don't know why I haven't. I honestly don't think there's a specific nor a cumulative reason why. I don't really believe in luck, but I do believe in God, and if and when He chooses to bless me with a fish of that size, I will be grateful. If I never get blessed with a fish that big, I'll consider myself blessed in many other ways fishing related. I'm sure you know personally, that I'm perfectly content with my time on the water, whether I'm catching or just fishing. Do I dream of catching a 50? ...OF COURSE I DO, who doesn't? Can "Positive thinking" help me reach some goals in my life? ABSOLUTELY! Can "Positive thinking" put a 50 on the end of my line? If I wish hard enough, will the fish be there?

How many people on this board have only been fishing 1/2 dozen years or so and already have BIG fish under their belts? Should I be discouraged, jealous, MAD? Are they fishing harder than I have? Are they using a secret lure? Is there a method to this madness?

You can target large and you cannot target large. If you know what you're doing, you know what I mean by that. Putting yourself in the right condition(s), (time/place/tide/bait/etc/etc) will definately increase your odds of catching bigger fish, but that 50#er not only HAS to be there, but also has to choose your offering, once that happens, your skill along with your gear...will help with the rest. That being said, I personally do not always target large. Based on your post, that alone could be the reason why I have not caught my 50. Your opinion - like mine, means nothing. That guy chunking mooshy mackerel on the beach casting 40 feet out in 4 feet of water eating his lunch under the high Sun landing a 50lb. fish tells me more than both our opinions combined.

We all have our favorite spots. There are many reasons why we favor them, whether we've caught our biggest there or because we've caught a lot of fish there or maybe it's a spot that the skunk rarely visits, again...there are a LOT of reasons why we favor spots. However, no matter how much you like that spot, you still can't wish a 50 to be there. If you feel confident that this spot should be a BIG fish spot, fish it hard, fish it often, fish it confidently. Don't let someone tell you that you'll never catch a BIG fish there. Is catching a 50# fish something one wants for himself OR is it the status that one inherits once he has it? Not a question that gets answered honestly I think -

Riddle me this Batman, I went fishing with a friend on his boat. HE researched the spot, put in HIS time, and shared HIS spot with me . One night while we were fishing, the action heated up. My friend landed BIG fish, ALL of his fish dwarfed my fish. I mean he caught fish from 25#s to the HIGH 40# mark, while I caught nothing larger than 30 inches. Let's weigh in the varialbles. He was using eels - I was using eels. He was spot casting to a certain hole - I was casting in the SAME exact hole. Almost like jetty currents, he would cast, get his fish out of the hole and then I would cast and get my fish out of the hole. We were both consistently "hooking up". Technique was almost out of the question as the fish were hitting a specific part of the water column so as the eel sank it got blasted. I believe we were both using braid. How was this possible? How could 2 completely different class fish be in the same hole, and beyond that...why would the larger ones inhale his eel while the smaller ones dined on mine? He joked about picking the larger eels, which I also used ??? Was he reaping the rewards of doing the homework, did the fish Gods know who really deserved the bigger fish versus who was tagging along?? Karma?? It is what it is...and like my friend Clammer says....."Enjoy what you have".

.

[Sea Dangles]

The harder you fish , the "luckier" you get....

[keeperreaper]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

The harder you fish , the "luckier" you get....

ain't that the truth.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by bloocrab

Goose, in answering your original question....I don't know why I haven't. I honestly don't think there's a specific nor a cumulative reason why. I don't really believe in luck, but I do believe in God, and if and when He chooses to bless me with a fish of that size, I will be grateful. If I never get blessed with a fish that big, I'll consider myself blessed in many other ways fishing related. I'm sure you know personally, that I'm perfectly content with my time on the water, whether I'm catching or just fishing. Do I dream of catching a 50? ...OF COURSE I DO, who doesn't? Can "Positive thinking" help me reach some goals in my life? ABSOLUTELY! Can "Positive thinking" put a 50 on the end of my line? If I wish hard enough, will the fish be there?

How many people on this board have only been fishing 1/2 dozen years or so and already have BIG fish under their belts? Should I be discouraged, jealous, MAD? Are they fishing harder than I have? Are they using a secret lure? Is there a method to this madness?

You can target large and you cannot target large. If you know what you're doing, you know what I mean by that. Putting yourself in the right condition(s), (time/place/tide/bait/etc/etc) will definately increase your odds of catching bigger fish, but that 50#er not only HAS to be there, but also has to choose your offering, once that happens, your skill along with your gear...will help with the rest. That being said, I personally do not always target large. Based on your post, that alone could be the reason why I have not caught my 50. Your opinion - like mine, means nothing. That guy chunking mooshy mackerel on the beach casting 40 feet out in 4 feet of water eating his lunch under the high Sun landing a 50lb. fish tells me more than both our opinions combined.

We all have our favorite spots. There are many reasons why we favor them, whether we've caught our biggest there or because we've caught a lot of fish there or maybe it's a spot that the skunk rarely visits, again...there are a LOT of reasons why we favor spots. However, no matter how much you like that spot, you still can't wish a 50 to be there. If you feel confident that this spot should be a BIG fish spot, fish it hard, fish it often, fish it confidently. Don't let someone tell you that you'll never catch a BIG fish there. Is catching a 50# fish something one wants for himself OR is it the status that one inherits once he has it? Not a question that gets answered honestly I think -

Riddle me this Batman, I went fishing with a friend on his boat. HE researched the spot, put in HIS time, and shared HIS spot with me . One night while we were fishing, the action heated up. My friend landed BIG fish, ALL of his fish dwarfed my fish. I mean he caught fish from 25#s to the HIGH 40# mark, while I caught nothing larger than 30 inches. Let's weigh in the varialbles. He was using eels - I was using eels. He was spot casting to a certain hole - I was casting in the SAME exact hole. Almost like jetty currents, he would cast, get his fish out of the hole and then I would cast and get my fish out of the hole. We were both consistently "hooking up". Technique was almost out of the question as the fish were hitting a specific part of the water column so as the eel sank it got blasted. I believe we were both using braid. How was this possible? How could 2 completely different class fish be in the same hole, and beyond that...why would the larger ones inhale his eel while the smaller ones dined on mine? He joked about picking the larger eels, which I also used ??? Was he reaping the rewards of doing the homework, did the fish Gods know who really deserved the bigger fish versus who was tagging along?? Karma?? It is what it is...and like my friend Clammer says....."Enjoy what you have".

.

...and so back to my original premise, there is luck involved. Same spot same bait same line same everything.
I don't care what anyone says. i've done this longer than most of the members of this board have been on this planet. There is luck involved in hooking a 50. The skill in being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment and fighting the fish so you win. The luck is having that one 50 take your plug or eel or bunker or whatever. You cannot determine what size large fish is going to take. You can scale up so you are not targeting schoolies but you can't have a positive effect on a fish at 48 taking and a fish at 50 not taking.