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

[Goose]

The truth is most people have at least a mild case of a disease called 'excusitis'. The more common types are age, money, luck, health ect.

Personally I have no excuse. I go a lot, I use the right tackle, I fish with some of the best, I fish where I believe my odds are good and 95% bait...big fresh bait too.

Luck is not all that its cracked up to be, when you read books on success, positive thinking, and motivation.. luck is heads or tails not consistency. The law of cause and effect proves luck to be just that, people don't have success at any level through luck they're confused with fluke. What if I said I have bad luck, I guess that would explain why my line broke, its stupid to think that way.

If you caught your share of big bass that went over #40 that makes you a hell of a fisherman but that still doesn't explain why all the years under your belt hasn't produced a #50. By no means am I saying #50 makes you an elite fisherman, I don't believe that to be true, I'm just trying to catch a bigger fish like most of you's.

[RIJIMMY]

Im wondering why I havent broke 30 yet. I have no excuse. I fish nights, eels, all the right spots. I average 2 trips a week, the more time on the water, the more opportunities there are. I plan all my trips, and don't waste time bs'ing. My time will come.

[BigFish]

I have not had one on my line yet!

As stated by RIJimmy......my time will also come....and that right soon!

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

Im wondering why I havent broke 30 yet. I have no excuse. I fish nights, eels, all the right spots. I average 2 trips a week, the more time on the water, the more opportunities there are. I plan all my trips, and don't waste time bs'ing. My time will come.

Me too.26 is the best I can do so far.

Had 40+ fish on but just couldn't make it happen.But you are right,the time will come.

[Gunpowder]

because everyone in the 60's took five home every night and I had yet to be born!!! still going after them every night though. they seem to really be having a great rebound and if more and more people are becoming educated about catch and release and only keeping a trophy here and there, I think the 50# club will have many more names on it shortly. I have caught a trophy just shy of 50#'s but I know if I were to catch a 50# right now, I would be more than happy to release her. I have one fish on my wall, I don't need two. no need to be greedy. my hope is that someone will have the same type of memorable experience as I had catching my trophy.... but if everyone takes several of these big girls home, that will not be the case. good luck to all this year.

mike

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Gunpowder

because everyone in the 60's took five home every night and I had yet to be born!!! still going after them every night though. they seem to really be having a great rebound and if more and more people are becoming educated about catch and release and only keeping a trophy here and there, I think the 50# club will have many more names on it shortly. I have caught a trophy just shy of 50#'s but I know if I were to catch a 50# right now, I would be more than happy to release her. I have one fish on my wall, I don't need two. no need to be greedy. my hope is that someone will have the same type of memorable experience as I had catching my trophy.... but if everyone takes several of these big girls home, that will not be the case. good luck to all this year.

mike

40 years in the surf. Never caught a 50. Lots of 40s. Never a 50.

My late friend Lanny Gazinni, one of the best commercial rod and reel guys ever. Fish the Back all season for 30 years. Never got a 50.

What the hell is the difference? Getting a 50 is luck more than skill.
No one can honestly tell me that they went out one night with the expressed purpose of catching a 50 and did so.

[Striper1]

Originally Posted by piemma

40 years in the surf. Never caught a 50. Lots of 40s. Never a 50.

My late friend Lanny Gazinni, one of the best commercial rod and reel guys ever. Fish the Back all season for 30 years. Never got a 50.

What the hell is the difference? Getting a 50 is luck more than skill.
No one can honestly tell me that they went out one night with the expressed purpose of catching a 50 and did so.

Piemma is right on.. If you do all the right things you still might not get a 50 so there has to be more luck involved than most will admit.

when I go out each time I'm looking for the 50
I'm also just as happy with a day on the water.

BTW I need to fish more nights

[BigFish]

Charlie Cinto never got a 60!




Thats one of Charlie's jokes......he says he got 40's, 50's and a 73 pounder.....but no 60's!

[JohnR]

Luck presents you with a 50 in front of you.

Skill is what changes that fish from being the one that "Got Away" to the one going to the Taxidermist.

Knowledge puts you in the more likely place a 50 will be.

Dogged determination gets you out frequently enough to provide the OPPORTUNITY to have more LUCK.

I believe i Have the skill to land a 50, I believe I have the knowledge to increase my likelihood of a 50 (but not disciplined enough to use knowledge wisely enough), I know I don't get the opportunities enough to be out there for luck to be a factor.

[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?

[Joe]

One time, I won a raffle, and the choice was a new rod and reel or a charter on the Early Bird out to the North Rip of Block Island. I took the rod - another guy took the trip and got a 53.....

[Gunpowder]

Originally Posted by piemma

40 years in the surf. Never caught a 50. Lots of 40s. Never a 50.

My late friend Lanny Gazinni, one of the best commercial rod and reel guys ever. Fish the Back all season for 30 years. Never got a 50.

What the hell is the difference? Getting a 50 is luck more than skill.
No one can honestly tell me that they went out one night with the expressed purpose of catching a 50 and did so.

very good point. i absolutely agree that a 50# is a "lucky" catch. yes you have to have done you hw, but no matter what, your still getting very lucky.

[Goose]

Originally Posted by piemma

Getting a 50 is luck more than skill.
No one can honestly tell me that they went out one night with the expressed purpose of catching a 50 and did so.

I respectfully disagree. Most people are content either just getting a bite or just getting decent/quality fish but a lot of them are not willing nor do they have the determination to target big fish consistently. When they realize they just spent X amount on gas & time the 'excusitis' automatically kicks in and they tell themselves ' I should have went to x place at least I would have got a #20 or #30'. I know for a fact that some guys catch a lot more fish then others#50's included but the fish and the fisherman go under the radar. Bigfish...yeah 15 or 20 are recorded but a lot more are caught and them guys are doing something different. I've always believed some people just learn from their mistakes and move on while others don't, not just with fishing but with everything. People are habitual, they pound the same spots over and over while others think outside the box and eventually find what they're looking for.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Goose

I respectfully disagree. Most people are content either just getting a bite or just getting decent/quality fish but a lot of them are not willing nor do they have the determination to target big fish consistently. When they realize they just spent X amount on gas & time the 'excusitis' automatically kicks in and they tell themselves ' I should have went to x place at least I would have got a #20 or #30'. I know for a fact that some guys catch a lot more fish then others#50's included but the fish and the fisherman go under the radar. Bigfish...yeah 15 or 20 are recorded but a lot more are caught and them guys are doing something different. I've always believed some people just learn from their mistakes and move on while others don't, not just with fishing but with everything. People are habitual, they pound the same spots over and over while others think outside the box and eventually find what they're looking for.

I think some of what you say is true. In all the time I spent in the surf I never caught a 50 and never was in the company (except for Bill last year in the boats) of someone who landed a 50.
Did I fish the right places? You bet. I fished the Back when it was Striper heaven. I fished the Block in the 80s when big fish were there. I fish Napatree in the 70s and 80s when big fish were there. I never saw a 50 taken. Right places. Right tides. Right conditions. No 50.
I had nights on the Back when we had 10 or 12 high 40s between 3 of us. I fished the Block in the 80s when we had a lot of 40s up to 49. No 50s
It all comes down to luck hooking the fish. Now, it takes skill to land the fish and fight the good fight. But no one can tell me that they caught a 50 because they didn't want to hook the 48 swimming next to it. That's my only point. You don't know which fish will take the bait.

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by piemma

No one can honestly tell me that they went out one night with the expressed purpose of catching a 50 and did so.

spence did. he didnt tell you about it?

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by Nebe

spence did. he didnt tell you about it?

That was Block Island Jeff, not spence...

I haven't caught one because I don't want to make PIemma or JoeP jealous...

Seriously; I think luck is having that particular fish decide to hit your offering. Skill is finding them, landing them, and having the gear/technique to do so. Luck is just opportunity combined with preparation... but last year several members of the site were consistently into 40+lb fish. was it bad luck that not one fish over 50 out of that school decided not to bite? I would wager there was one out there....

As for me; if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all...

[ThrowingTimber]

It's not for lack of trying I'll tell you that, for me personally.

[Flaptail]

Luck, fate and pushing yourself to fish as hard and often as you can all play a part. It's a fornula really.

I detest golf but there is a saying in golf that I totally belive in it goes like this," your only as good as the people you play with" which translates into fishing as seek out the best fishermen, the ones who consistently produce. Choose your method, live bait, plugging, trolling whatever. Seek advice form the ones who highline more often than not and listen to them. If eventually invited to share time on the water with them keep your mouth shut and eyes and ears open. Most importantly don't betray thier trust in you.

Luck. I don't care what they say, no matter how good you are, having the biggest fish in the school take your plug or bait has a bit of luck to it. I had a guy with me by request of his father in 1978 on Nauset Beach. He had never caught a bass befiore in his life. He was a really skilled trout & Salmon angler but as far as saltwater surfcasting and Stripers he had never ever been there done that.

We headed out on to the the and track and just south of Pochet I saw fish in the curl illuminated by the seeting sun behind backs. I stopped the truck, puuled one of my rods out of the front rack and handed it to him while I snapped on a Pink 7 inch Super Windcheater Rebel for him to use as the lure.

On his very first cast he hooked and landed a 53 pound bass. I managed a 38 pound fish. Luck, pure and simple.

My biggest bass weighed in at 49 pounds and 9 oz. I caught the fish the night before at 7 in the evening on a sand eel rig off of a Dennis bay side beach. It was noon the next day when I weighed it at Old Harbor fish in Chatham with several others I was selling. It might have gone fifty but it is what it is when it is weighed.

Some very well known legendary bass anglers never broke fifty though they fished almost daily in season. Fate.

Keep positive thoughts, don't ever go by someone else's report of fishing the day or night before and spend as much time in locations at known times of the year where historically big fish are taken, then grasshoppers, you may find what you seek.

Then again, enjoy every fish you catch, they are all gifts and who knows how long you will have the chance to do so?

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by piemma

40 years in the surf. Never caught a 50. Lots of 40s. Never a 50.

My late friend Lanny Gazinni, one of the best commercial rod and reel guys ever. Fish the Back all season for 30 years. Never got a 50.

What the hell is the difference? Getting a 50 is luck more than skill.
No one can honestly tell me that they went out one night with the expressed purpose of catching a 50 and did so.

There's obviously a lot of different types of skill required (finding, catching, and landing) - however Paul's post evidences the fact that a lot of luck is involved as well. If you all knew how often & how hard Paul fished over those 40 years in all the "big-fish" spots without getting a 50 you'd see how much luck is needed. The 50 just never swam by & took his offering .

[Nebe]

its only a number. If i catch one great. If i dont, I wont feel like my misison in life has failed.
I do fish with the right gear to handle such a beast though and I do feel like I wouldnt screw it up if i hooked into one..

[zimmy]

I may have lost one... so my excuse is probably that I didn't know how to stop it in time to prevent it from getting where it shouldn'ta gone. So lack of skill or experience I guess with handling that kinda fight. I know of guys who have gotten em or real close and said they didn't have much in em. So who knows, maybe I lost a feisty forty under tough conditions. Maybe some night I'll take a 50 under mellow conditions and just reel her in without much ado. Time on the water, luck, skill its all part of it

[eelman]

I dont think you label a guy a great fisherman just because he has a 50 or two under his belt..

Luck however only goes so far, The skill is in placing yourself in the right situations and conditions that give you the opertunity and a better than average chance of your next hookup being the holy grail..

All the luck in the world will not get you a fifty pound fish if you consistantly fish the wrong places or the wrong tides the wrong time..Learning the structure those fish like and learning the bait patterns and food supply in the area puts you in the right places..It doesnt always mean the obvious.....

There are guys who catch a fifty doing the craziest of things...But for the most part the guys who do catch those fish are the ones who are students of striped bass in every single aspect...Its the guys who dont overlook the little things, its the guys who use whatever method gives them a chance and not being thick headed about sticking to one thing...

After all that, the most important thing is putting in your time and hoping for the best...Once you have located a big fish spot, then the size is luck, the difference betwen a 40 and 50 in those situations is luck....but its one of those things....sooner or later it happens and all the hard work pays off.

[Saltheart]

There is some combination of things that make the likelyhood of catching big fish go up.

If you fish a snoopy rod at a convenient spot with picnic tables and a refreshment stand and a grassy place for the girlfriend to sun herself , etc , your chance at a 50 is probably a billion to one.

If you are geared out and fish every Friday and listen and put things together , your odss are maybe 10,000 to one.

if you fish every night , have a good network of other fisherman who share info , are equiped to handle Moby #^&#^&#^&#^& , your odds might be 1000 to one.

Now one guy is a million times more likely to get one that another but its still a 1000 to 1 he'll get one. That is luck but its luck after the odds have ben graetly reduced by know how and time on the water. Now a guy who is on the water every day , does actually catch a 1000 fish a year if he wants so maybe he does get a fifty now and then.


the flip side is that i know 3 brothers who went on a chrater. One brother was learning disabled and he had never caught a striper before. That day , They caught 3 fish over 50 , one of which was caught by the guy who never caught one before and it was a high 60's fish and won the governers award in mass that year ofr the biggest fish. Now that is really lucky!!!

[Nebe]

paul you dont know which fish takes the bait, but you can adapt your techniques to target the bigger fish in the school. You'll catch less, but you will cull out the smaller ones. Im happy with the mediums to larger ones, not the biggest.

[Flaptail]

Also, if your a dope like me and shun bait in any form now to pursue my goals with plugs only, your handicapping yourself. I know it but I accept it as I beleive the personal reward or feeling of accomplishment will be greater when and if it happens on a plug rather than bait.

Now, if only the fish would come back to the beach like they did in the 70' and 90's.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

Also, if your a dope like me and shun bait in any form now to pursue my goals with plugs only, your handicapping yourself. I know it but I accept it as I beleive the personal reward or feeling of accomplishment will be greater when and if it happens on a plug rather than bait.

Now, if only the fish would come back to the beach like they did in the 70' and 90's.

Boy, isn't that the truth. In some ways the early and mid-90s were even better than the 70s. maybe not for size but for quantity of big fish. We had some night at the Second Rip with George Calzone Chucky, Stevie Mills and some of the NY crew where I witnessed hundreds of 25 to 35# fish caught during one tide.

[eelman]

Forget all the over anaylizing...Just fish hard, fish right, and let the chips fall where they may....Like paul said it should be first and foremost fun, thats why we do it , because we love to fish plain and simple...You can never force it to happen.....it will happen when it happens if it happens..First however is the enjoyment of fishing..

We all have opinions and are strong advocates for our ways and aproaches to fishing...I enjoy the back and forth...But in the end...I guess everyone seeks something different from the sport...Fishing is what you make it..Big small whatever....fishing is fun. To each his own..

Dont dwell on getting a fifty...wont get you anywhere....just concentrate on constantly honing your skills and opening new doors...eventually it will pay off

Listen to each guys advice an use it to your advantage, putting it all together to what works for you....make your own observations...Never be afraid to take chances or try something you may otherwise not....Strive for consistancy first....concentrate on large later

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

Forget all the over anaylizing...Just fish hard, fish right, and let the chips fall where they may....Like paul said it should be first and foremost fun, thats why we do it , because we love to fish plain and simple...You can never force it to happen.....it will happen when it happens if it happens..First however is the enjoyment of fishing..

We all have opinions and are strong advocates for our ways and aproaches to fishing...I enjoy the back and forth...But in the end...I guess everyone seeks something different from the sport...Fishing is what you make it..Big small whatever....fishing is fun. To each his own..

Dont dwell on getting a fifty...wont get you anywhere....just concentrate on constantly honing your skills and opening new doors...eventually it will pay off

Listen to each guys advice an use it to your advantage, putting it all together to what works for you....make your own observations...Never be afraid to take chances or try something you may otherwise not....Strive for consistancy first....concentrate on large later

Wise words, Bill! Thanks as always. The first part is true, too. I LOVE to fish and have always been appreciative of what winds up at the end of my line. For me the thrill is more in the chase and the hunt, than in the landing of our vaunted prey. Although that is verrrry sweeeet, as you well know! I was directing my post more towards the thread's opening question.

Be that as it may, I do have a question for you. Until you landed your first, of many, 50's weren't you also deeply driven? Your reputation precedes you as one of the hardest rock hoppers of your day. I absolutely agree, that when it is your time, it will be your time. But I also believe, that that FATE/TIME can be influenced by the amount of focus, determination, skills, and opportunity you avail for yourself. The Big Gurls ARE there, and somebody's gonna land them, right?

Not trying to stretch yer stitiches, Bill, it's just that once you've reached the mountain top it's much easier to see the valley below and look across to the other peaks, while helping others in their climb ~as you do/have done to be sure. I do stop to enjoy the climb, I bring my daughter and nephew's to the suds, and love to fish and share the craziness that is this recreation that keeps me sane with fellow anglers; but at this point, individually speaking, i'm still clawing, digging, rigging, and scratching it out on my way to that goal.

And unless i stay focused on the prize, the consistent C&R of multiple BIG-arsed Surftastic FATTIES, and make the sacrifices necessary to reach that lofty pinnacle, then i don't see how else to attain that prize in due time or land the New IGFA World Record Striper, which are just a couple of peaks i've set my sights on................

i know i need more time and better skills, but ya cain't get one without the other and hopefully all three will fall into place, and the climb will reach its summit, soon enuff and with God's speed and wisdom.

Thanks as always for your words and your advice. You sound good, although i doan think riding green, seal-looking llamas was part of your rehab process. Take it easy, bro .

[t.orlando]

There just are not many available.

[Mr. Krinkle]

Because I seem to drop them all the time.