MAY   

...well I am sure right about now you are all going nuts with this brutal winter we have had.  Wow.  The only thing I can do that brings back the striper season, is to find some little niche of sunlight , out of the fierce winter wind....bundle up....close my eyes....and let the warm sun on my face allow me to drift back to some times during last season.......those times that  make waiting for THIS season,even more exciting....and so............

THE TAIL TALE

.........surfcasting is a sport that assures you that...." most of the time".....can be remarkably far from..." always"!   If your goal  is to wrestle a big fall run cow.... most of the time, a gleaming chunk of fresh mackerel will get my vote.    Many baits are more renowned, eels etc.  but in the pre migration gluttony  of a late Sept day,   any surfcaster knows the power of scent to a hungry cow..........and chunking sends out scent!   
     I had actually gone to the brant rock fish market and bought the few fresh mackerel they had.   Looking at them in the bait bucket actually triggered a Pavlov's dog reaction. this salivation was not due to a yearn to taste them.........but a yearn to fish them.....in pieces!.    I could have chosen any means to catch a striper on this morning....But I chose chunking.   Sunrise   and a surf rod just go hand in hand.   I had my coffee and felt the exhilaration of a kid coming downstairs on Christmas morn. Going fishing ,can be as much fun .......as fishing!  During the trudge to the beach, I seemed to lay down footprints at a quicker rate than  I usually did. excitement will do that to you.   Surfcasting in the fall, with recently caught mackerel as bait...is exciting!!
     I love all the phases of fishing the surf for Striped Bass that can out man your tackle.   The inaudible way I say good morning to the sun as it rises.....the rock I choose to pound in my stake....the way I position my chair ...the re-sharpening of a hook that may have  been used....the size and presentation of the chunk.....things have to be just right. its all part of it....I wouldn't want it any other way.
     After drooling from the ecstasy of the sunrise, I could see the oil slick left by the fresh mackerel  I had hurled out there. I picked up the rod, this scene looked way to good to rely on my reflexes any more than I had to.   I would  hold it.
      Diving gulls and terns, far beyond casting distance......were a good sign in terms of feeding conditions.   They could not......and would not....resist my mackerel "I can resist anything except temptation"........I love that quote, and today. the stripers would have to deal with the reality of my bait  being overwhelming to them. Chunking in the fall......wow..hold on!
     Striped Bass will gorge themselves before the migration, just before the water gets to cold.   They do not eat when they are migrating and need the protein to make the run to their winter home.   They are vulnerable......to shallow water.... varied unusual feeding times and conditions.etc.  If you want a big one...fall is the time to apply your hope.....to  action.
     As quickly as a varied breeze, a school of bait and marauding fish boiled up to my left.....very close to shore!!!  My first thought was ,.I don't have the other rod.....I don't have the right plugs.....I assumed chunking would do it......I turned away and began to convince myself that they were actually the typical 20 inch fish that dance near the shore......When I saw one roll in the foam, I knew they weren't..........It was a 3footer.  These were big cows. loading up before they take on one of natures greatest wonders.......migration!
     The Chesapeake bay and Hudson river, are the kindergartens for 99% of all striped bass in the north east.  Just think about that!!  If I asked every surfcaster I know to give me one word to describe these striper birthplaces  and initial rearing areas..........the word would be........POLLUTED.  We wonder why these fish are threatened....we wonder why there are good and bad years for stripers......we wonder why even varied keeper limits still back us into a hole of less fish with less size.   Don't wonder!!!....just imagine being one of 600,000 eggs laid by a old breeding female.....in which only 600 will ever turn to fry. the rest will suffocate in the filth of these  water systems.  For the next 2 years the fry remain in their birth place and attempt to survive in toxic conditions until they finally can consume with predatory practices..........and go to sea.    a timeless message triggers in their being in the spring of their young existence.   The 2 yr. olds, magnetically glide down to the mouth of their birth places and head up, with the adults before them............on a trek that includes a return trip to the exact spot, until they die.    Be amazed by it.............don't attempt to understand it.......you cant!   If you do want to attempt something, become aware and involved in the future or lack of, the Chesapeake bay and the Hudson River...it effects the future of a fish with broad shoulders and a broad tail.   One that chuckles at the fury of high surf and glides purposefully through its turbulence ..One that makes bone chilling runs when hooked  and running with 30 to 50 pounds behind its sprint!   One that forces the surfcaster to be absorbed in sunrises and sunsets.   One that re acquaints us with the ebony of a new moon nite.  It is a trophy fish with an American history and one that to this day draws anglers and boats up and down the east coast, day in and day out.  It is a great fish. its Americas fish.  We must not only hope for it........we must help it.   Please consider catch and release, so that this great fighter can fight at least one more time.
     When you have 3 foot stripers rolling in the surf, right in front of you and eating like there is no tomorrow, chunking takes a back seat! I reeled my prime mackerel in and tried to remember if I had any lures at all in this chunking set up.   The last thing on earth that would work in a school feeding, is a big chunk and 2 oz sinker plopping in the middle of their dinner.   You would have more luck heaving a hooked rock in the commotion.   Why does this happen????  All I had was a crappy old atom popper I had found last year.   It closely resembled the hooked rock I just spoke of.......I wasn't going to ruin things with that big........ker plunk!   Thinking takes time, and their feeding wasn't waiting.  I considered running to the house, but I knew dam well they would be gone by the time I got back. I cant leave big stripers on a premigration food fest.  I took more time....I began thinking again!   Before you go on......ask yourself, what would you have done.?  Use the chunk and hope when it lands it doesn't spook them and assume they will eat a glob when ingesting baitfish??? or...run to the house and get plug rod and bag??.or use the ridiculously inappropriate 3 oz atom plug?....or throw your chunk back out and watch the show as it goes by and hope for a cow bite later on?
     With a local old-timer watching me, I took the 11 foot chunk chucking rod.......took the weight off.....tossed the chunk....and cut ...ONLY the tail off of one of the mackerel....no meat, just the tail!.   The big # 7 gamigatsu looked so obvious, but I went with it.   If I  could cast it 50 feet.... it was a lot.......the rod was big and the piece of tail wasn't virtually weightless.  Im not sure when things caused me to beam a morning smile.......whether it was my 4th or 5th cast, but ,that tail was clobbered.   The bait did not fit my outfit.....but the racing, well hooked striper.........did.   I played the nice fish all the way and she  confirmed her exhaustion by not going nuts in the shallow water when I got her that close.  I felt so inventive.   The neighbor thought it was ingenious.   Upon releasing it, he asked it he could keep it since I decided not to.   I went through my catch and release spiel and he nodded as the 35 inch line sider power tailed its way to freedom.

The tail..........catch

 
     The frenzy was still going on further down the beach now and I asked  Nick if he wanted to come with me while I try another tail.   Absolutely Mike.   Same scene, same pod of fish.   Just like before, a couple of casts tricked another focused striper.   Im sure the tail sure looked like a bait fish in the midst of a school  of small bait fish.  
    Nick was amazed, as I duplicated success and the big backed bruiser rolled in the surf when she felt the sting.   I handed the rod to nick.......and told him..Now you are  part of "The Tail Tale", this is a story in the making.   Nick could not gather the composure to purely enjoy this whopper.   He reeled when he should not have, and pulled much to hard, much to often.  But I was not about to steal his thunder. he was ecstatic.  Ecstatic was a deficient descriptor when he went down and picked up the 34 " striper.  
     "Its a beauty mike!!!"........Yes it is nick..good for you.........nice fight!!!!..  Its gonna kill me to put this fish back mike. its the biggest one I ever landed from shore.  I looked ol Nick in the eye........Then don't Nick.....Take the fish for dinner and pictures and memories.   I know you will release one in the future if we condone your harvest and this epic catch for you.   I promise mike....I will.   I know Nick wont fish from the shore much, if at all....he is all of 65 and really not as motivated as I am.   I do think he will tell people of this time..........and how I released a bigger one...and how  I used imagination to get them to bite, when all seemed so unlikely.  
      Surfcasting and striped bass will do that to you.   When you look down at these huge fish and still feel the numbness in your right forearm from the fight, be sure to HOPE for them......because the  threat of you catching them........is only one worry  in the Gauntlet of their migratory lives.   Three cheers for AMERICAS fighting fish..........Three cheers for THE STRIPER........Striper Mike



 

Striped Bass tastes best with a simple sauce.

2 pounds striped bass filet
3 tablespoons oil
Juice of 1 lemon (fresh)
4-6 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons basil, finely chopped
Dash of cayenne pepper

Marinate the fish in the oil and lemon juice for at least 30 minutes before grilling. Grill for 10-15 minutes, turning once. The length of time depends upon the thickness of the fillet.
Heat the butter in a saucepan and stew the garlic for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not let it brown. Ad the basil and a dash of cayenne pepper. Remove the pan from the heat.
Either pour the garlic butter over the top of the fish just before serving, or serve it in a sauceboat on the side. (Serves 4)

Hi Barry

.thanks for the good words..it makes me happy to know that some others enjoy the stuff I do.....Your mention of the rocks and demise of big cows down there......would bring me to do the following. I would ask them upon seeing it, if they had a 100% mind set to keep it......if so......I would point out how old that breeding female is. and say nice catch. If however. he was considering releasing it. I would point out the frailty of a big cow in that position..and hope that he use a more proper landing to assure the fishes revival. Most of all.... always lead by example......sometimes people learn best when simply observing. I bet I have urged more people to release big cows. by them watching me do it. than I have by my explanation why.

Good luck...Striper Mike

......humarock beach boys

                        

PLEASE NOTE THE AGE OF THE BIG ONES, THEY ARE THE PROVEN BREEDERS, LET THEM GO.

 Brand New Buddies.....are Great Catches....Meet James (Nu Nu) and his drawing of................STRIPER MIKE!!  He is 9 yrs old and has the potential to be a rugged young man.  He also has a batting stance like Nomar!!!.Since I am a Yankee fan, I will try to put alittle..A-ROD in his stance. Some letters I receive are priceless. This art work is one of them.

.......728

Please Let Them Go

........how it used to be commercially for the Great Striper bass?....and you wonder why we have restrictions etc??.....check this excerpt out from a book about the history of the linesider.  They used to set seine nets in the mouth of rivers...and here are some of the results. "We was 36 hours nonstop on that one haul. said Billy..whistling as he recalled the Catch. Alot of them dam fish were 80 lbs or better, had to be, it took a man on both ends to heave em up onto the truck.  And they were all filled with roe; the roe was just running out of all them fish.  I got sick from the smell of it.  Them fish must be going up into all those rivers.  Dis place is the home of the bass!!!!  We landed 2000 boxes in 3 days.  It was great.  Then some dam rebels got the gov to stop haul seine rigs from this area, Wrecked the dam fishery here".............And that happened everyday, every place, that huge stripers could be found.  We are an odd creatures....we humans.  Now , hope for ONE keeper .can be the focus for a surfcasters season. 

Do you  know how to release a BIG COW?

 ..........take her back down to the surf line. It's best to maintain a firm grip on her lower lip. a big fish will require two hands on the lip. DO NOT GRAB THE GILLif possable.....if you must....only the outer rim of the gill plate,not the gill itself!!  If you must, hold her in your arms rather than gill plate her. As a wave rushes up, ideally you will find yourself in no more than ankle to knee deep wash. Waste no time in sticking her head under, and start moving her face from side to side forcefully swishing plenty of water through her mouth and gills. It helps if you can try to "right" her into swimming position (back up, belly down), but it's hardly necessary. They usually respond well to forcefully swishing their heads around, and they will quickly "kick out" of your grip and swim away sort of slow and confused, but none the worse for wear! Bottom line, never take one eye off the incoming water during any revival attempt, and if you ever even think you suddenly find yourself out a little too deep, let go of the fish and get out of there ASAP. She'll do what she has to without you risking your life over it........in my case however...with a sandy beach as my arena....I wait until I am sure..she will survive the release.  If you are going to be a sportsman and release that great fish........do it the right way! your fulfillment with be more genuine, if you are sure she is still swimming.

Very nice cow..........very nice release

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From The Window

 A brilliant azure sky beckons, not to be denied.

The vacant territory commands company...dictating attention.

and water...lacquered slate smooth, disavows wind chill....concealing hoarfrost.

It is convincing magic.               
 

Susan. preparing for a winter walk 2004