On The Water Article

[steve]

That article was very accurate. However, it failed to mention that BI was great EVERY fall from 80 to 87. Yes , that's right, big fish nightly for 7 years from mid October to early December. I fished with a group of guys out there during that period every fall. The fishing was superletive! No day time blitzes, but the action was something else after dark. At times, big bass where all around the Island. We figured the average size fish caught one year was 33 pounds! I think the fishing was so good then because of the massive schools of large sand eels that invaded BI every fall. The sand eel s then were about the size of the standard needlefih plug we fish with today. I could go on and on about this special time in surf striper history and may write a story some day, but for now, I can only thank God thant I was fortunate enough to have experienced such great fishing!

[Crafty Angler]

Hey, Stevie - between your account and DZ's Snowstorm Blitz from that same period that would make a pair of incredible first hand accounts of legendary surf fishing for striped bass on the Island

Historic accounts like that are once-in-a-lifetime experiences - at some point ya gotta put that in ink, that is surf-casting history.

I know it's getting to be tough for any of us to admit that we're all becoming museum pieces

God knows I feel like one this morning

I swear, I had no #$%**# idea I was gonna live this long...

Screw it - if I had it to do all over again, I'd do it all over again

[steve]

CA, I plan to some day in a two part story or a chapter in a book? It does deserve alot of print though, somewhere, in something, or whatever because it was a wonderful time to be bass fishing from the surf. It was so usual because it lasted for weeks and years even, unlike most other notable blitzes. The only other long term bass blitze in my time was the 1977-78 , two seasons (july,august,two weeks of sept.) on the outer Cape. That was also unbelievable with alot of monsters landed from the surf. It was thought that those big bass were the ones we had on BI from 78 to 87. Talk to Frank Daignault about it. It was really special like BI.

[Sea Dangles]

Outstanding article, I always wondered what DZ was doing out there every November. Old habits are hard to break.

[NIB]

I wonder how Dennis feels about it.He has all this info in book form and someone has trumped him with a article.

[Sea Dangles]

Dennis has been trying to put together a book deal for years. He had to assume that at some point one of the other fortunate anglers to be there would share their account of the carnage. I've had some great nights and some good weeks, I even witnessed the almighty NIB pull in a 40, but nothing like what I read about in this story. I got a great impression of the determination these fellows had, to be out there night after night, all around the porkchop fishing different tides. I saw what can happen out there 5 or 6 years ago when Dave caught a monster while fishing with Tattoobob.

[tattoobob]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

I saw what can happen out there 5 or 6 years ago when Dave caught a monster while fishing with Tattoobob.

Yup right place right tide, that was a night I will never forget

[Crafty Angler]

Originally Posted by NIB

I wonder how Dennis feels about it.He has all this info in book form and someone has trumped him with a article.

I don't think it should bother him very much - from my perspective it's almost a case of the more the merrier - I haven't had a chance to read the article yet but I'll probably p/up a copy of OTW today.

When you get guys of the surf-casting caliber of DZ, Steve and others recounting that sort of stuff from their own first hand experience, it gives even old pharts like me the strength to go on with dreams of glory.

Of course, in my case, a large sack of rosary beads in my plug bag would be a big help too

[DZ]

I have not read the article and am not really bothered that someone wrote about the topic. My friend Al Pallini also wrote a great article about that period on Block for OTW a few years back. A short magazine article simply can’t do justice to what transpired on Block back in those days - if you want to read the real story you’ll just have to wait for the book ….and it will knock your socks off.
Maybe if there is enough interest I can resurrect the Snowstorm Blitz presentation I gave a few years back. I know the SWE is looking for presentations for their “Surf Fishing Nights” this winter. Maybe we can work something out.

DZ