surfers who fish.

Yup... We've not had a good viz day since they started really moving... still waiting for the water to clear up after the last round of swells. Before that we had an amazing run of good viz days, with tons of blackfish just there for the taking. But no keeper-sized bass. Now they're here, but the water's been sh!t brown. Took all my dive gear down to the beach yesterday (again) hoping the west wind would have made it at least doable... but nope. less than 2' viz. I was feeling really stupid not to have brought my hook and line gear.

 

Excellent Peajay !

 

Damn right!

 

Good fish, PJ.

I dove my favorite rocks the other day... about 6' viz, which is OK, but I wouldn't call it "good." Not a fisherman on the beach, and all the parking lots were relatively empty. I'm like, hmm... that's not a good sign. Geared up and dove for an hour and didn't see a single bass, nor a single keeper sized tog. Saw two shorts, but no keepers. So weird. The whole coast of Monmouth County was exploding with fish just days prior. You never know until you go...

Looks like things are setting up for a decent run of good viz over the upcoming long weekend. We'll see....

 

Water temp finally took a hit , felt like low 50s this am LB . Peajay old is a relative term , stay in shape and count your blessings , surf forever . I wager I have 20 on ya . Happy Thanksgiving !

 

That is a friggin cow PJ!! Great story to go with the pic.

LB, you have me wanting to try spearfishing so bad. It is a big deal in my town, I always see people out at Black Point, Hazard Rock, Cronins, and the lighthouse. Often times they are coming up with PJ size bass, bigguns. I dove back in the day and snorkeled quite a bit but it has been decades, literally, and my comfort zone underwater is gone.

 

I spearfished as a kid around Cape May County a handful of times, but never really got into it until about 6 years ago when I was given a gun by my brother-in-law. He got a shoulder injury and can no longer load that size gun... so he bought a shorter one and gave the longer one to me. I've been pretty into since then, and have grown in my comfort level and technical ability tremendously over the past 5 years. I'm going to be 58 years old in the spring, so I see it as a lifetime sport, pretty much like surfing - I'll do it... until I can't. Like surfing, I'm a self-taught spearfisher. I never took surfing class... and never took a freediving class. I learned myself, over time... and have made some mistakes, too. "School of hard knocks" I guess you could say. You know my ruptured eardrum story... So if you do decide to get into it, definitely take a class!

Surfing and spearfishing have a lot of things in common... some obvious, some not so obvious. From a bigger perspective, spearfishing gives you the same sense of connectedness to the natural world as surfing. It lets you get away from the world for a few hours and just live in the moment, only caring abut what's right in front of you. Gives you the chance to focus your thoughts and awareness... and your physical body... on something so intensely that everything else disappears. As surfers, we can all relate to that. We see surfing as FUN... and exiting... and challenging... and spiritual... all at the same time. It's a source of physical and emotional release, and at the same time a source of peace and an opportunity for introspection.

I always tell people, surfing and spearfishing are not like golf. You can't say, "I think I'll go surfing/diving at 7am on Sunday, 19 December." You can't just put surfing on your calendar like a tee time. You have to be able to go when it's good, and find something else to do when it's not. Ultimately the ocean decides.

 

you could put a cigarette butt on a 6/0 circle hook and catch a keeper bass in the surf this past week

 

A. Don't tighten the drag, use good line and play it or lose it.

B. I've been spearfishing my whole life for sport, just freediving, no tanks. Just slings, no guns. Gives the fishies a chance and makes it a real challenge. Take a deep breath, hide behind some rocks along a jetty and wait for a nice one to swim by and zap! Usually they glance off at at an angle but once in a while a nice snapper, grouper or snook can be banged. Triggerfish are tasty. Snook are illegal to spear and taste best undersized and out of season.

C. I went freediving one summer night with a five pronged tip and a light in the inlet and banged a bunch of little Spanish lobsters over the rocks (no size or season limitations back then). Great over pasta! Got the holy crapoli scared out of me by the big shadows swimming past just outside of the beam, had to control my heartbeat to not become a target. Never again. I know a good fish market if I'm that desperate. Life is goode!

 

I just had oral surgery yesterday, so my doctor says no diving for a couple of weeks. Bummer. I'll probably wrap it up until spring at this point.

Hook and lined it this morning at first light... skunked. I'll give it another go at dusk.

 

Got great action last night, right around sunset. Birds were moving in and out so prospects looked good when I got down to the beach. Threw a pencil popper for about 10-15 minutes with no results, so I switched to a big, fat hopkins with a red and white bucktail on a single hook. Which was easier to cast with the north-northwest wind. On about my 4th cast I got a short... 22". Released it. then I moved a bit further south and hooked up again... 20". Released it. Moved a little further south and casted out over the outer bar.. nothing. But the last 15 or 20 yards... BAM! A big, fat 30-incher. Made a few more casts at the same spot and again... SLAM! another 27" fish just feet from the waterline. So... that was it for me. I don't fish catch-and-release for "sport"... although I have no problem with folks who do.

Bottom line... fast and furious action in suds. Took home a 30" keeper, and another 27" fish with my bonus tag. Limited out in 45 minutes. Gave the smaller fish to a buddy who got skunked earlier in the afternoon.

 

i think the same thing