MARCH

---Wherever they are found, surf fisherman stand out from the great mass of everyday pleasure anglers.  Like the cowboys of the Old West, they are a breed of men apart!

     Hello Angling Lore Readers......There isn't much for a Fishing Update ...but I do have some results from the Angling Lore favorite sagas that were voted on by you readers...Are you ready??.........the sample was a good one..........35 days....and the votes were in three figures....i.e......over 100!  The great thing that came from this was a compliment for me....It seems that many were voted on for various reasons.  None the less.....PALATABLE PLIERS was 15% of the vote.... CASTING HOPE TOWARD THE HORIZON.....had 12%...PHILIP...almost 12%....THE REMATCH.......10%.......BLACK ICE.....10%..... PROXIMITY OF BREATH...10%...A COUPLE OF FISH....7%.....and the following also received votes..SUBMISSION...DIVERSITY AND THE KING...SURGERY....BLUEFISH ON TV and finally FISH DON'T FLY AND BIRDS DON'T SWIM.  Thank you very much for all your time you took to write to me...You are the motivation for my continuing this anthology of Striper Mikes Sagas.......Thanks again........But the last edition was not evidence of Angling Lore's conclusion.  And these dreary winter days only tap my memories anew. .......and so......

The Canyons

     Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon??……….If so imagine filling it with water and then, instead of its confined area ……..make it the entire length of the east coast.!!! That’s a lot of depth and a lot of nooks and crannies and places for great things to live ….sometimes for their whole life and never to be seen. This spot is a real place on earth…it is called the continental shelf. This place of almost limitless depth can be reached by boat from as close as 40 miles to sometimes over 100 and well beyond. It is where the depth of water , in my childlike mind is bottomless. I am asked.……how deep is it out there………..I usually say ....."Oh around a million feet deep"!! The canyons are a place of mystery and although tools like depth finders etc, reveal its true parameters…….I choose to think of the canyons as a place with no end. Add to this incredible depth , the flow of the warm gulf stream that runs its edge and you will have a fishing area that supports everything from monsters to minnows. I know that….I have been there many times…..I have seen the minnows………and I have seen the monsters!! Swordfish….and big eye tuna ..and basking sharks.... and leaping Makos…and huge rays and turtles and tropical denizens like marlin and Wahoo and mahi. It is a natural …undiscovered…under tapped , fishery, that is a place for all those who choose go, to feel privileged to be there. This is truly the last wilderness on earth and every time I go,.... and everything I see, .....only makes me wonder,... what I didn’t see!!.

     On this day..for this adventure, we discussed our destination on the run out to the tuna grounds. Would it be Hudson canyon …or Vetches Canyon…or any of the other canyons within the great canyon……..the Atlantic Basin!! I like to troll when I am out there…if that approach happens to be appealing to the tuna and other spectacular game fish that swim this abyss. Trolling also covers more ground…and increases my chances of seeing some of the fleeting images that reside out there…..and only out there! When the water temps started to warm up…so did our sightings. First the bonito…..then the yellow and blue fins.  Our quarry played in the temperate waters of the gulf stream…and we began to play with our trolling rigs….Squid Rigs….cedar plugs…zukars….green machines, etc. Knots checked…crimps checked…hooks honed….and the rigs were sent to sea in a professional, non-tangled manner. Fives outfits began churning up the ocean from the first wake to the furthest one. A lovely pattern…… Very qualified anglers and obvious presence of game fish, raised our heart rate and widen our eyes in hopes of observing the strike. A tuna strike on the surface ranks at the top for angling thrills. We could all attest to that…..we had all seen it before…and so we unified our hope to help us see it... again.

     It was not long before we saw the benefits of following an old chum line or slick that we found meandering its way through this deep blue sea. Its clearly was the same route that a 54 " Wahoo chose as it smashed the green machine and took off at blinding speed. It suffered the gaff soon after and the water warmth was evident because this magnificent southern game fish was right here in our northern waters. There is actually a "Break" in the temperature ranges when you finally reach the Gulf Stream….I mean it can go from low60’s to low 70’s in a matter of a half mile. The difference between getting fish and not getting them is solely dependent on the water temp.. It rules the lives of those pelagic that choose to drive the avenue called the Gulf Stream.

     One of the other indicators of that dramatic temperature change is not only shown on the thermometer……..but also in the atmosphere that covers these radically different break zones……or temp changes. The result of such close proximity between the temp of the water and the northern air above it can cause a wide range of atmospheric conditions. On this glorious adventure……the condition was fog…..from the waters surface to about 20 feet above it. A thick blanket of cottony fluff that blocked the sun and added to the chaos on board as we strained to follow the path of the towed baits. I had caught a super  blue fin the day before, DAY BEFORE!!!

so I volunteered to climb the tuna tower to see if that height would provide me with a better vantage point to assure an instant response to a knock down on one of the rigs. I climbed the ladder….not to the top of the tower, but instead into a new world…..one of total clarity and beaming sunlight. Where the fog layer ended…..was simply the foundation for a brilliant sun filled day that played out above natures carpet of fog..

     What a vantage point….one that would allow me a clear view of 90 million miles to our great sun and no ability to see the trolled lures in back of the boat and could only detect the voices from the anglers on the deck below. Felt like I was skiing in thick powder as the moving Bertram cut through the fog. The glowing sun painted me with warmth and I began to fall into a lull as the vessels diesel heartbeat became tranquil and soothing.

     Tranquility and fury are only a heartbeat away when you big game fish in the canyons. So when I heard a whale breach in the fog below and then heard Pete declare that the screen was filled with bait, the moment had tuna written all over it. "Spin the boat around….lets pass through it again" was the phrase I picked up from the deck. They are squid….I can see them all around the boat. Finish the turn and lets run through them again. The Capt. was ahead of the crews wants……….the boat was already turning!.

     Ok you guys , we are at the number where we first spotted the bait……….be prepared for action. He wasted his breath with that command……..the crew hovered near every rig……..more than poised! To avoid more chaos and to allow my buddies their turn on the rod, I stayed where I was and planned to go down and watch the fight if we hooked up. Again we all heard the whale expel his air and gather some more. "That whale is still around…I cant see it but I can hear it. Can you see it Mike.? No Capt.……….just fog below and sun above. Some time passed but the tension only built . When you have fished as long as I have….you can sense things. I sensed a canyon moment and a canyon memory. This talent comes through evolution. If you just Go Fishing…..you will never have that sense. If you respectfully wrap yourself in this natural world where fish live…….and do not consider its life forces to be compared to one another, and should be looked at as each force contributing to the next, it will be at that point that the ability to "Sense" things will come to you…………it has come to Striper Mike….as some readers can validate by having fished with me. If I say…something is going to happen……those words are NOT taken lightly. I knew something was going to happen!!!

     The chatter faded into silence as the anglers stared at the rigs in hopes of a strike. "Mike is there any indication that the fog is lifting?.."….Not from here Capt. I still cant even see you guys from where I am sitting. And your only 15 ft under me. The poor vision hampers mobility for a lot of sea life so that the raucous gulls and shear waters were quiet…….the diesel hum prevailed. I you have ever been to Yellowstone National Park, then I am sure you visited Ol Faithful, our countries most renowned geyser. It erupts every whatever number of minutes apart and people gather to see this natural event all day long. The event builds as you watch it. It will bubble and gurgle and gurgle some more. It suddenly begin to push huge volumes of water up until the force of the push is such that a steamy projection of water shoots high in the air. I remember that noise well. The heavy bubbling before the burst. On this day..up in my tuna tower…90 miles out in the canyons……….I heard it again!!. I could not see my sounds due to the commotion occurring on the oceans surface and hence covered by the days thick fog. Was Old faithful going to erupt way out here?????……..and from where…the ocean is literally 1000 feet deep!!

     "Are the squid still thick on the fish finder"…I yelled down below. There are literally millions of them mike……..Its tuna time, I whispered to myself……..cause tuna love squid the way we enjoy turkey on thanksgiving. My internal prediction was interrupted by a disturbing/scary, increase in the eruption noises I detected seconds before …….and it was then……..that…….from the bottomless depths of the canyons…….through the 15 foot layer of fog……..and into FULL view from my vantage point…….launched a behemoth SPERM WHALE. As it broke through the fog, its mighty /moby dick jaws were agape with streams of pink and day glow squid running out of the sides of its mouth . The eye….the teeth……..the square head……..the breath and noise and size and and and…I can fill these pages with descriptors. It was the greatest single sighting of my life!! When he reached the peak of his eruption, he fell to his side like all breaching whales and returned to the fogged surface with a thundering splash. "What was that mike"………….Capt, I will tell you on the way back in…..the 8 hour ride MIGHT be enough time for me to give this sighting its true justice. When I did retell the sighting ,he told me that they are obviously meat eaters….their teeth made that quite clear, and that they will swim down to the canyons untold depths and swim full speed UP THROUGH the squid schools with their mouth wide open. Just sucking in every squid they can during this Ol Faithful imitation..... He never did it again that day…or ever in my life……but the imagery of the squid running from between those massive teeth and classical Moby Dick Jaw wide open, is and will be in the for front of my angling memories. The hair on the back of my neck , standing on end as I type this, should verify how eternal that moment will be. Only I saw it….maybe no one will ever see that whale again……….....the bottomless forever ness of the canyons can hide him if he so chooses…….!

     Play on the edge…….The edge of the continental shelf…….Go to the canyons…With eyes at full width…….See moments that become forever............ Risk Wilderness for Wonder............Striper Mike

This month or so has been my best time for emails....the numbers continue to grow...sometimes to where it takes me some time to reply.....I love it.  The following will be answers to questions and a plea from another catch and release advocate/striped bass junkie...and an example of how people wrote in their votes last month.

Hi Mike.....(this is typed just as it came to me...hmmmmmm seems like some other blooming writers are taking on a personal style of their own..its cool)

      I want to cast my (pardon the expression)

      for

my favorite Striper mike tale.  First I must tell you that you did not make this an easy task.  I'd prefer to be allowed to make a list and not have to pick a singular one.  I mean how can you expect me to choose?

      The fearsome image of a huge lunging shark grabbing the

      pliers

out of your hand, had my hair standing on end.  I would have had more hairs standing if I had any more.

      The story , Philip, has all the makings of a classic

      feel good movie.

I have only admiration for both Philip and yourself.

      Then you had to stun me with a tug of war between a striper,

      a

seagull and yourself.  That was a pip!!!!!

      I could go on and on like this about everyone of your gems

      but

I'll simply say that there is much wisdom in the saying that "Nothing compares to the first time"   And for me, the first time was your supremely understated account of A COUPLE OF FISH.

      Reading the details of your preparation for the tide

      really put

me right there with you.  The tension kept building like a great concerto taking us to an exquisite heroic image of a lone surfcaster handling two noble fish and the joy of it being my introduction to you website, makes this, hands down, my favorite.  So there you have it, my friend.  A COUPLE OF FISH gets my vote...that is unless my Chad falls off.  Good tiding to you and yours for the holidays......Dave G

Dave.....thank you so much for your time to express all that....Sincerely Mike

Okay...listen up...here is a real good striper fisherman talking from his heart...listen!

Peter...Woo(nickname) and his 40"

Hi Mike..its been a while since we have been in contact.  My season has been pretty good to date with close to 700 stripers, but I had little luck with cows.  I had a few fish in the 40" range and my biggest was 42".  All my fish were on lures except for maybe 4 taken on bait.  All were taken from the shore except for two fish from a boat.  I fished Cape Cod, RI, Montauk, and the Jersey Shore.  Action on the Jersey Shore has been very disappointing this year, but I haven't given up yet.  I feel the fishery is threatened as exemplified by the lack of big cow breeders.  Too many anglers especially in jersey, where they can keep 2 or even 3 fish with a special permit, are more interested in meat than preserving fish.  So many of the fishing report I read about, are guys bragging about filling their box with limits of keepers....GIVE ME A BREAK.  In my mind keeping more than one per day is ridiculous.  I love eating stripers, but only kept 3 or 4 fish all year and 3 of them were for my sons wedding.  I guess if I want to get more and bigger fish I will have to buy a boat and have some real fun....dragging 85 lures on a umbrella rig tied to some wire line.  They give a great fight like that!!!.  Sorry to be so cynical.  I guess boat fisherman enjoy their way of doing things.  I will get off my soapbox.  Hope you had a good season.  I enjoyed your mermaid story.  Hope to see her myself next year!  I could use some help.  Attached is a picture of a 40" that was released.  Check the fishing reports on my site to see how I am doing the rest of the year.

Warm regards and please continue to Practice Catch and Release, Peter (woo)...Please visit my site.....www.homestead.com/woofish/home.html.......

Hi Woo...you are a wonderful advocate for this aged sport....I am proud to know you.   Yes the regs do threaten our great fish, as does human greed...it troubles me.  I am going to print this next edition if you don't mind.  It will advertise your site and your wisdom.  WE can make a difference if we lead by example...When I slide a 40" fish back into her ocean to swim again....people remember that and inquire about the sense of peace I gain from that act.  I give disposable cameras to people who release big striper cows.  I hope you can come to my beach house next year and fish the sands with me.  Stay in touch and may your holidays..bring ..GOOD TIDINGS..your a good man..Striper Mike

LISTEN TO THE VETERAN SURFCASTERS..RELEASE THE BIG ONES....SAVE A PHOTO INSTEAD, THANKS

 When people have good experiences from my tips or hints or advice..it is absolutely wonderful!!

Dear Striper Mike,

     Just wanted to say hello and pick your brain once again for some fishing advice.  We corresponded in Sept and you were kind enough to answer my various fishing questions.  I took your advice and made the trip from Somerville down to the lovely shores of scituate in early October.  I stopped at Belsans to buy some eels and to say hello to your friend Pete.  Pete wasn't there, but I had a wonderful conversation with his dad who drew me a detailed map showing me how to get to Fourth Cliff.  I should also tell you that he had nothing but high praise for you-something like" Striper Mike is a great guy...and not a bad fisherman either.!!"  So I made my way through the base and out to lot above one of the prettiest fishing spots I had ever seen. Fourth Cliff

 I could hear the rumbling thunder and see the flashes of lightning off in the distance, but I was simply to excited not to give it a try anyway. It was about a half hour before sunset so I casted a new Gibbs swimmer out among the rocks maybe a dozen times or so before the skies opened up and the lightning got to close for comfort.  No Luck that night but you suggested a great spot and I plan to try in the spring.

     So. Striper Mike, I wonder if you can again give me guidance.  I recently read Striper Surf..Daignaults book, and decided to try surfcasting with conventional gear.  I bought myself a Penn squidder and practiced casting one afternoon to see if  I could get the hang of it.  To my surprise, I only had one backlash out of 50 or so casts.  As I got  more confident, I would cast it harder and got to where I was casting it at least as far as my spinning tackle.  My question is, what do you recommend for a rod to go with my squidder?..Where can I find such a rod.  Frank D. says a 9 and a half footer with the stiffness of a pool cue for casting heavy plugs and bait.  Are his recommendations ridiculous and antiquated?..Am I wasting my time fishing with this stuff.?  Be honest, I have thick skin.  Thanks as always Striper Mike...Have a good winter....Regards. Paul Shaw.

Hello Again Paul....I am very glad you took my advice and found your way to Fourth Cliff...its is quite majestic.....to bad no fish.....but as I say to people"It's not THE fish I like....its Fishing"...so I am sure it was still adventurous.......Now the squidder.....The Penn squidder is one of the most classic surf casting pieces of equipment....ever!!!!  It was there during all the years with the great old timer in these rough sport.  The reel is rugged and sensitive.  My advice to you is to enjoy the ERA'S of the sport as well as the modern times.  I fish .. on occasions , with a Penn spin fisher from the early fifties..and love every moment of it.  The small number of backlashes tells me that you are a good surfcaster,  So my advice??????  Use it!!!  If you want state of the art conventional reels...try the ambassador 7000...I can cast to England , at time, with that machine.  The rod....my advice is to have a custom built for about 200-250-$  believe me it is worth it and it will fit your squidder to a tee....Try Rod Builders Workshop in Kingston Mass on route 3a..  Ask for Smitty and say Striper Mike sent you.   But Paul...remember its not WHAT you fish with that counts in this sport.....it is HOW IT MAKES YOU FEEL when you use it , that counts....Capture the moments, and sometimes the fish!..good luck...Striper Mike     

 Why hello there Mr. Striper Mike.  This is a good winter dish.  I had it with haddock but you could use striped bass, I suppose.  

STRIPED BASSEROLE

1lb striped bass fillets...1 lb scallops...1 can shrimp...1 can cream of shrimp soup...50 Ritz crackers, crushed...1/2 cup butter or margarine.

Cut the striper into bite sized pieces.  Place in a 10 inch casserole dis.  Wash shrimp and scallops and spread over the striper pieces.  Add undiluted soup. Stir, combining soup and fish.  In skillet melt butter.  Add crushed crackers.  Mix well.  Spread crackers over fish mixture and pat gently.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, uncovered.

warm and woozy for the winter.  Happy Holidays Mike.....Meg

 Meg.............I love the Title. Your a riot!!!!

                        

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

Hi all you guys.......this segment of Angling Lore is going to be  and usually is, very sparse this time of year...The only thing my readers told me that they caught ................was a good winter cold or the flu.....HURRY SPRING...........I want this.........and yes.......she was released with a smile on her face

DO YOU THINK THIS WATER TEMP WAS ONLY 61 DEGREES? .....YES, SHE WAS RELEASED.

Stay in touch with your water temps..Striper Mike

Ok ...listen up....A common point of failure with novice plug casters or artificals in general is setting the hook to soon.  Remember , in the initial second of the strike the lure is in a BIG MOUTHFUL OF WATER...and with a quick wrist and a overly responsive graphite.......you might be missing to many fish, by simply pulling it out of their mouth.!!!!!  So , what do you do..??..well the feel will come with time....experience is the key to everything...but until you evolve your finesse, try to wait just a  second more when that striper engulfs your atom popper.....and go easy on the hook set..those snappy graphite do the work without a lot of oomph.

  Please practice catch and release..Striper Mike

PLUGGIN"

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Walking,

 but not alone,

... I have the waves, the sun, the constant breeze, the birds and the animated beach.

...Everything, including me, is alive and brilliant.....presenting itself in full glory----

Loud...Raw...and oh so Captivating in its ever-changing presence.............

5/17/00.......Susan