who here has been surfing this week?

Managed 2 sessions yesterday with 9 hours of work between. Been surfing a lot the past couple weeks but working a ton too. Should have some swell for the holiday weekend, just need to decide which of my secret spots to hunker down at.

 

I know it's cruel. Baking hot outside, and water temps in the upper 40's making a dip in the ocean feel like a December penguin plunge.

 

Water here hit 82.7 Wednesday. Before this year I never saw 82. Every year the max creeps up by a fraction of a degree.

I always look forward to storm season... then can't wait for it to be over.

 

Delaware has been getting the goods this week, water temps (75ish) air temps (tropical) swell from the south, sandbar groomed to perfection from the south winds and waves lately. Surfed pretty much every day, but the standouts were:

Tuesday...small but just perfect shape and nobody really on it midday:


Friday...rainy glassy, more power, and kind of mellow for a holiday weekend:

 

Ahhh! That top wave is always my favorite type. I always enjoy your photos Mitchell.

 

What a fun day, I really can't remember the last time I had such a fun sesh on the 4th. Went out just past dead low for about 2 and a half hours. No wind, clean, light crowd, perfect size, chest to head. Some great rides today. One standout was a solid peak, nice size, got hung up but kept paddling my ass off, felt it go just slightly, popped up right on the foam ball, way up on my board, dropped in with a cheater 5 right into the clean section with lots of size and go go go, leaning back with 5 piggies hanging tough, right in the pocket.
My last one was fun as hell too, waiterd for a big one, and it came... sick drop, hard bottom turn, and all open wall in front of me.
Happy 4th everyone, don't forget it's not all BBQ's and beer, it's also giving a big middle finger to the Brits!( and I have a lot of English friends, but today they hate me and my rants, ha ha)!!

 

that 4th swell was amazing. Waist hi long lines. Went to 3rd W on Folly to surf with several of the folly gals early. It was pretty much a longboard, but a fat fish would've worked. After that hour, biked it back (been using a kayak carrier to transport LB, car broke down over the wknd...always happens on holiday wknds) to the house to grab a cooler, umbrella, chair, etc. Convinced a buddy with his fam to come out to 3rd W, so trekked it back and had several other surf fams hang wit us. The break was just past all the obstacles in the water, so there wasn't too many close calls gratefully. It kept waist hi thru lo tide, a rarity, and pretty much surfed, drank miller lites till salute to shore, which is a flyover around 2pm. Didn't grill out, didn't make peach cobbler which was my goal this wknd, but the surf was incredible and has been still going. Surfed most of the wknd on the LB. Elsa coming by midweek for us here

 

That's good stuff! Cept for the car thing

 

We've had water in the 80s a few times over the years here in New Jersey.

 

Been surfing every day since last Thursday. Saturday the 3rd was the standout day around here. Managed to get some all weekend with minimal tourist intrusion. I'm exhausted.

 

Hey PJ, glad you're back my man! Since medical advise is an important part of this here surfing forume, I want to recommend that you have a professional (doctor) look at your shoulders if you can. My wife made me a PT consultation appointment after my hurt shoulders were keeping me (and her) up at night. Turns out that I had a weak muscle in my rotator cuff that was causing me to overcompensate. After 2, 1 hour sessions I was almost pain free, standing up straighter, and feeling stronger. By the time I was done with the therapy, which was 6 sessions, I felt like a new person. I have a bunch of stretches and exercises to do if it starts hurting again. Fought with the pain for 10 years and fixed it in a few weeks.

 

Nice to see you back PJ, glad to hear you are healing up and getting wet again. HH might be onto something...if my shoulders get bad again I might take his advice. If I surf more than 2 days in a row I usually need to give them a break.
I think I posted before about blue fish, my buddy bleeds them right away, slices it super thin for sashimi and it's pretty damn good. He's a chef and likes to use "junk" fish, makes killer meals out of what most people throw away or release.
At one time lobster was considered junk.

 

Sea Robin is delicious. You just need to catch them big enough to get a decent fillet out of 'em.

Buddy gave me some cocktail blue fillets on Saturday. Smoked them on the grill with some apple wood and made a killer pate for the 4th. But yea... bluefish is what I grew up on and today it's still my favorite eating fish.

 

Take your reel apart and lube it up but also understand that all modern fishing gear is made to break. None of it is anything like the quality of say 10 years ago. If its more than 5 years old I bet its just corroded gears that seized up from the pressure and you should just send it back to Shimano or wherever and hope they replace it and meanwhile buy a replacement that way you have 2.

Any fish that eats a lot of bunker is going to have a funky taste. That's why Bluefish and Stripers taste better when they're small, before they get big enough to start eating bunker.

Surfed for 3 hours Friday morning and same Sunday.

 

A friend of mine around the corner picked up a Van Staal a few years back. I believe they are the only reel company making reasonably rugged gear at all anymore. But even their components are made in China. Just better machining, and better quality control at the assembly line.

 

Bergals are another trash fish that is deliscious. Scale them, gut them and cook them whole.

 

Got out today, small, nothing special for the most part but once in a while a fun one came through, enough to keep me interested for longer than I expected. Maybe out for a little over three hours, my face is the color I can only call angry red. But wearing a wetsuit the rest of me is pretty pale (except for my hands).
Jeez, I look goofy. Time to trunk it a few sessions.
Went to pick up a pizza.. I put on long black socks pulled all the way up with sandals (jesus cruisers) and a Hawaiian shirt buttoned down to show off the white chest. Rockin that touron style, yes sir!