Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Outstanding!

That is a classic New England style of fishing picture. Nicely done Paul!

Tica rod?

That Van Stall will set you back a few pennies!

Naj, do you catch fish like that on a regular basis? WOW!

Rob, that used to be the bulk of my fishing when I lived in NJ, I don't do too much of it anymore. Now it's 2 or 3 trips a year. Typical fish in the 5 to 15 pound range with fish in the 20's considered a good fish. We would get a shot at the occasional big fish in the 30 and 40 pound class. Anything over 50 pounds is considered a trophy. My biggest from the surf was 34 pounds and from a boat 42 pounds. The picture below is the 42.

Dan, a manual pickup is just that. You use your index finger to manually catch the line and pull it towards you as you start to crank the reel. This puts the line on a ball bearing roller where it is then just like any reel with a bail. When you fish saltwater bails are notoriously subject to failure because of the elements. They either get tight from salt intrusion and don't shut properly or, as I have experienced, can snap shut due to the force of casting a 2 to 3 ounce plug and possibly snap off your lure. This happens because there's times you need an 80 to 100 yard cast just to be in the fishable zone. Other times the fish are right at your feet.

For you guys that have never done it, surf fishing is an amazing sport. You really become one with the elements and there are so many factors that can affect your success but when you figure them out you have the chance at scoring with some really big fish. In New England this is taken to the extreme. To get to the rock I was standing on in the picture above, as an example, I had to walk about a quarter of a mile down a beach that has very little open sand and is mostly large pebble, baseball to softball sized rocks that move around underfoot and bowling ball sized rocks near the point. Once you get to the point you then need to climb onto a few bigger rocks and then wade in the water stepping over and around medium to large rocks covered with thick slippery seaweed. You then get to an elevated boulder in knee to chest deep water where you need to climb up on between waves so that you have a nice perch to fish from. They are rarely flat and comfortable. We wear cleats on our boots called Korkers to help from slipping on the rocks. Then you're casting past the boulder field to get to the fish which, if and when hooked, you need to get past all the obstacles.

We are typically fishing dusk to dawn and that alone is physically demanding. Throw on top of that the occasional bruises you get from getting knocked around on rocks and falls that happen from time to time. Sunday night I got blasted in the gut by a breaking wave while wading that sent me on my but and I bruised my tailbone. It sounds nuts to a lot of people but there is little in fishing that is more satisfying than that moment you see in the picture above. It’s always great to get away fishing and spend time with friends but the reason I make the long trips up there is the increased odds of getting a bite from a bass that’s 30 pounds and bigger. I’m toying with the idea of one more trip in October but that may be tough. Although writing about it has gotten me juiced again.


VS250 with Manual Pickup-


42#-