December 2024 SUDS

December 4, 2024

December 2024

"The purpose of this organization shall be to promote, protect and preserve the surfcasting tradition, in its many forms, along our coasts...
CSA Bylaws, Article II. Purposes

Fish? Forget about it. It’s too cold.
[intransitive] go fishing to spend time fishing for pleasure, Let's go fishing this weekend.

Brrrr...

Contents:

President’s Letter
Holiday Party
CSA Merchandise
Club Contests - Final
Fish Picture
Metal Lips
Fishing with My Son
Fishing with My Father
A Laugh

A Letter from our President

Greetings Surfcasters,

This season’s last hurrah was a Thanksgiving holiday trip to the Jersey Shore. And after a Saturday sunrise with temps in the upper 20s, Sunday morning a low of 22 degrees, I gladly pass the baton to those of you willing to fish for a striper-a-month through December, January and February. There is something about casting a 3oz. tin into the surf, icy spray in your face, cold sunsets and colder sunrises that makes you reflect on the wonders of nature. I mentioned to a fellow angler while walking back to the motel about an hour after sunset, “How is it that these fish survive their environment?” He never turned his head as we walked, looking straight ahead, instantly answered, “Fish are cold blooded.” Yup. But that doesn’t explain much except that maybe he received a passing grade in sixth grade biology. I learned the science too. Just seems to me an incredible fact of nature regardless of what blood they have.

So now we flip through our monthly outdoor magazine subscriptions, read another version of the same article written a couple years ago, 10 years ago, generations ago. There are just so many ways to fill a monthly periodical until you run out of topics necessitating a retelling with some slightly new twist. And who among us at this stage of the game really wants to start tying a new knots?

Enjoy the holidays. Travel to a couple fishing/outdoor shows including our own Demo Day on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at the Clinton Town Hall.

Tight lines everyone,

Mike S

I just heard from Billy D. and he said, there is still a little time left, if you are interested in going to the party you can send him an email at pbadad300@aol.com NOW!

2024 CSA Holiday Party

With the fall season starting many members should be able to find some nice fish. What better way to celebrate your 2024 season by having a picture of your fall catch or any earlier nice catch than having it displayed in the CSA club picture collage at the Holiday Party. We will be having this year’s Holiday Party at the Clinton Town hall on Wednesday evening December 4. Festivities will begin at 6pm. This year's event will be catered by Leonis Italian Foods. Member's cost we be $10.00 per adult and children under 12 years old free. You may pay at the October or November meeting or via mail to Jim Savage 19 Broadview Drive, Wallingford, Ct 06492. Please make check payable to CSA. This year we may have the option to bring alcoholic beverages. Awaiting confirmation from Clinton town officials.

As always, we will be having a killer raffle this year. Our raffle representative Nate Kahle will be organizing a selection to outfit your upcoming fishing needs. One of the items for this year will be a custom built Billy D rod and Penn Spinfisher V1 reel. The rod is 7'11" 1/2oz-1 3/4oz, fast action Mudhole blank. This combo will be great for Albies, School to slot Bass, small -mid Blues, Blackfish & Fluke from shore. It features a Fuji Rapid choke layout with Fugi guides and a full specie elongated butt cork handle for casting leverage. The Penn Spinfisher V1 is a water resistant design capable handling saltwater splashing. The reel is loaded with Suffix 832 20lb green braid. The rod combo will be displayed at the October meeting. Raffle tickets will go on sale for $5.00 each at the October and November meetings, All tickets with name and phone number will be retained until the Holiday party and tickets purchased at the party will be added to the sealed container then raffled off at the event. You do not have to be present to win.

Members have worked hard through some difficult times fishing this season. Each year our High Hooks and Striper A Month awards are given out. Those of you who have had the good fortune of being the top gun in a category will be recognized with a plaque and our signature awards T-Shirt. For the most part, our membership has persevered this fishing season and what better way to end the season by supporting your fellow members and have a good time with all.

See the Holiday Party thread on the S-B CSA club forum for a head count and any questions pertaining to the party may be asked posted or you may contact myself. Hope you all have a great fall. Be safe and tight lines. Billy D

NEW CSA MERCHANDISE - Nice gift idea...

Available at the October meeting CSA will be selling a 22oz. Hot/Cold laser engraved CSA logo stainless steel tumbler with a see through sealed slide spout. Available in Black & Maroon. Introduction price $20.00.

Club Contests - FINAL

Striper a Month 2024

Each year CSA runs a year long contest to see who can catch a striped bass in the 12 month period between December of the previous year and November of the current year. The following members have managed to catch at least one bass a month from December 2023 through November 2024.

Steve Hasselbacher
Jim Munson
Liam Rosati
Bill Tesbir

High Hooks and Top 10 - FINAL

High Hook Rules are as follows:

1. Fish must be caught from shore or surf, with both feet planted on Terra Firma.

2. The High Hook club tournament generally runs from the first Sunday following Thanksgiving for a period of one year.

3. Overall length, measured from the tip of the lip, to the end of the tail, is used to determine the winner. Weight is optional and not used to determine a winner.

4. Entries must be reported by the first membership meeting following the catch.

5. Entries can be sent to Mike Mullen at mike@highhooklures.com or the current Club President via email or submitted in writing at a club meeting.

Fish Picture

47” bass caught November 19 by Mike M

Metal Lips by Steve Hasselbacher

After last Novembers meeting a few of us stuck around and chatted about metal lip design and adjustments. When I started building I didn’t really have many people to bounce ideas off of. I wasn’t very active on SOL (StripersOnline), I wasn’t particularly fond of the platform itself, but there was a treasure trove of information left behind from other builders, that gave me a great place to start. But listening to Billy D. give feedback to another member made me realize how valuable that real time conversation about building can be. The amount of knowledge shared in that 30 minutes or so would have really cut back on the amount of firewood I made when I began. But it also got me thinking about how versatile metal lips really are. If you were to take a tapered dowel, throw some lead anywhere between the midsection and the front, and put a lip on it, you would probably have something striped bass will eat. The question is where. Not each plug is meant for each spot. I think back on all the plugs I made, or bought, that I scrapped or got rid of, and if I did so prematurely. With some minor adjustments, or a change of venue, many metal lips can behave drastically different. Once finished, shape and weight can’t be changed without a lot of work. Lead can be added or removed but some simple adjustments to the line tie or lip can be all it takes to change a plugs status from shelved to MVP. The first and simplest adjustment is the line tie. After talking to a number of good fishermen about this over the years I’ve come to realize this may not be as common a practice as I thought. I generally lean towards big plugs when fishing metal lips. There’s plenty of readily available plastics out there that fit the bill for small forage. (Though I am very fond of some smaller Danny’s). But finding a large profile off the shelf can be tough. And big wood can have incredible drawing power.

A lot of times when fishing at night I’m attempting to present something to a specific ambush point or feeding lanes, arrows trying to place my offering right in front of a fish, but during the daytime, a big seductive metal lip can pull a big fish from its home. The problem with them is that the bigger the plug, the more real estate they take up in the bag, often 1 per tube. So being able to get several presentations out of one lure can be a huge advantage. This is where I like Big Pikies. The parrot one in the first picture is one I made, it weighs just over 5 oz, and I can effectively fish it from the surface down to say 6-8 feet. Many other builders make great plugs like this, most notably GRS. I think it’s a crying shame to know how many of these things get put on display stands and not put to their true potential. By bending the line tie, or tow point, down, and casting up current or across in slower water, I can get a very effective face down, tail up thrashing swim from them right on the surface. If I crank the line tie upwards, and cast further down current, or in faster water, the same plug will dig in and hold with a very realistic slow wiggle, that gets the flag moving just how I want. The Beachmaster cowboy is another great plug that can be fished on top or down deep this way. Originally designed to dig in, it can be deadly when swam on the surface.

I’m a current junkie. When I was younger I spent a lot of time fly fishing for trout with big streamers. It’s very similar to the way I bass fish a lot of times. I love current seams and eddy’s and will try and hit the same piece of water in as many ways as possible, before moving on. Because of this and where I live, I fish a lot of rivers. Most of the big rivers in CT have these same features. Small outcroppings and submerged points can put off some great rest stops for fish looking for a break in current or a good place to ambush passing food. The photos above are from the Cape cod canal, which is essentially a really strong river that changes direction. The blue arrows are the current direction. Since our rivers flow one way, the strongest currents are when the tide and natural flow coincide as it drops. And the closer to low tide the more pronounced these points are. Water that moves over the point at high has no choice but to shoot off towards the main current when exposed. A northerly wind helps too. Add a little west or east to it and wind can push water out of coves to the point where bait has no choice, but to empty out into the main river where bass are holding. The purple arrow is the current seam I want to present to. As the water picks up speed it leaves a void on the backside. And I think of big bass as generally lazy animals. That void is a place where calories and energy can be saved, while calories passing by, in the way of struggling baitfish, can be gained. Before dragging a plug underwater into potential fish, I like to start on the surface. The biggest fish often take the first position in places like this. And I don’t want to risk spooking it off by walking right onto the point at first and casting beyond it. Lowering your line tie can often create instability in the swim. This can make for a good surface action on plugs like Dannys and Pikies. But also makes them want to roll out once they’ve been met with stronger current as they swing downstream. The green angle is where I would position and cast. The water shooting off the point can allow enough pull towards the main current to get a Danny swimming right along the seam without having to reel too fast. Once the plug hits my 12 o’clock or begins it’s down current swing it becomes too unstable and rolls out, or dives down. Beachmaster 3oz Danny and Mike’s Commander are great plugs for this type of water. They hold where a lot of other surface swimmers would roll out. My next move would be to move closer to the point and try swinging a plug deeper into the rip. Starting with short casts and working my way further back into the rip until I’m ready to move on. By tuning the line tie up on many plugs it will create more stability while tightening up the swim, often making the action more subdued. Casting into, or down current will get the lip to bite into the water and dive under. If I can throw a plug, crank down, and let it swing without having to touch the reel handle, I am a happy man. That is water I like. With a lot of Pikies or Donnys you can get both results from just your casting angles without ever touching the line tie.

Many lips available to builders come in high mid or low slot versions. However, not all. What I would do to get Pikie #3 lips in a mid slot. This is what’s on the large BM Dannys. Which is the holy grail of Danny’s as far as I’m concerned. That’s what the redheaded plug on the left is. The one on the right is one I made. By using what’s available and just bending the line tie down I get the same tow point. If I fish the one on the right with the line tie straight it digs and rolls out through the entire retrieve. But with that slight downward bend it swims right on top. It’s become one of those magical plugs for me. I have caught countless fish on it and fear the day I lose it. Even though I have half dozen backups. The angle you hold your rod at also makes a difference. The higher I hold my rod tip, the closer to the surface it wants to go. The closer to the water I hold it the deeper it will dig. Especially when in close quarters. Towards the end of my retrieve I often drop my rod tip to keep basically all plugs in working order right to my feet, not just metal lips.

Bending the lip. I was always told to adjust the tie not the lip. That was a bold faced lie. The picture above is 2 plugs using the same pikie lip. I bend the lip for 2 reasons. The one on the right is bent up using a pair of sheet metal clamps right along the joint. Honestly, you can do this with any pair of pliers if you have a good eye. That’s a troller that I want to dive down. With the higher angle it cuts into water more. The flatter it is the more water it pushes. This summer I watched a friend throw another builders “Surface Swimmer” and it immediately dug in and swam down several feet. Decent action, but not what it claimed to do. So he took his pliers and completely flattened the lip. It swam right on top how he wanted it to. The other reason I bend lips up on some subsurface plugs is to prevent them from flattening out. Most available Pikie 3s aren’t as strong as I’d like. And water pressure alone will flatten them out from the swim. I get tired of bending them back. When I just start with a lip bent up, it has less water deflection and tends to stay put. If you bend a lip and don’t like it, good news! They bend back! I don’t know how many times you have to bend it to snap it but I have yet to do it. The absolute worst case scenario it’s not all that difficult to replace lips and rewire. For this purpose when building my own, I assemble at the end, as opposed to epoxy and top coating with the lip in. I place index cards in the lip slot when epoxying, then just use a small amount to glue in place at the end. That way I don’t have to rip a lures face apart to replace hardware.

A lot of this stuff applies to many plugs. And at the end of the day, it just may be that the plug needs a different piece of water to perform. Maybe it can’t handle the current, or it needs current to really shine. But it’s much simpler to adjust a metal lip than a darter. Whether you’re building your own, or buying from others, a little tinkering can make the difference between a dud and a reliable favorite.

Fishing with My Son by Nick Hutchinson

The holidays are a time to be grateful. This year, I'm grateful for many things, family and health among them, but I’m also thankful that I found surfcasting. As a new member to the club, I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting you all. I appreciate the opportunity to join, and am looking forward to putting faces to your names.

Being fairly new to the sport, I have diligently consumed boatloads of literature, from timeless instructional books by Daignault and Doc Muller, to novels such as “On the Run” and “Surfcaster’s Quest,” all amid a constant perusal of the seemingly endless library of online instructional tutorials. As a father of two boys (four and two years old) my tireless pursuit to become a proficient angler has not been motivated by the desire to catch fish alone. The primary drive for me is to ignite the same fire within my boys, and to teach them to be proficient anglers as well.

To me, as infinite as they seem to be, learning the ideal "conditions" and “patterns” necessary to achieve surfcasting success is undoubtedly the fun part. When I began surfcasting, not unlike many new anglers, I just wanted to know where to start. At the time, I had little appreciation of what this investment truly entailed. As I ventured onward, I've grown to understand and appreciate the variable influences between time of year, tide, wind, the moon, solunar stages, bait presence, etc., and how these factors change hour-by-hour, day-to-day and location to location. I became increasingly more entrenched and enthusiastic in my fishing endeavors as I learned. So much so that my fascination inevitably "hooked" my four-year-old.

While fishing with a youngster of this age is not commonly advised, my little guy at least has the foundational skills to catch a fish. Patience, coordination and an intrinsic desire to hook one has equipped him with the intangibles needed to tag along. This summer while on vacation, at an undisclosed location in RI, my man hooked and landed his first fluke. Now, although finding fluke from shore during the summer months is far from a fluke, the excitement he exuded was priceless. It was quite the fight and he did it all, from start to finish, independently. Before this fish, he caught countless trout and pumpkin seeds at fishing derbies and lakes. This was different. I’m not sure if it’s the ocean itself, its vastness, power and beauty, or just the excitement of reeling in a fighting fish from a habitat so vast and powerful. But catching fish from the shore just hits differently.

I’m thankful to have the opportunity to fish and to share this passion with my friends and family. I look forward, God willing, to the many fish, and skunks, which lie ahead. We should all be grateful and enjoy the moments of the upcoming season. Or as some say, the 26 fishing seasons we have here in CT. Each trip allows us a new opportunity to learn, explore, reflect and enjoy this natural privilege we call surfcasting

Fishy Reads by Mike Mullen

This was a book that I just couldn’t resist opening and I just finished it last night. It’s an old book published in 2005 and it is truly a timeless story about passing on a love of and passion for the sport of fishing. It includes nearly 30 stories about teaching and learning how to fish and a lot more. One thing that stood out in the end was how both the younger and the older fisherman in the stories were affected by the experience of fishing together.

It talks sometimes about how to take your time and not be pushy with a kid and just kind of show them how things are done, so as not to turn kids off to the sport. It tells about how dads can often just demonstrate the basics and then let the kids move along at their own pace while they watch their dad show how it’s done. The one thing I could really relate to, was the notion of getting out there often or at least on some kind of regular basis. Catching is important too, it’s how the kids are hooked. Going to a good spot, using the right gear, practicing casting in the right way. Waiting for the tug, then setting the hook and hauling it in, usually with a big smile.

On our recent trip to the Jersey Shore I saw a father and son, maybe 6 or 8 years old in Betty & Nick’s Diner with their waders on, and I saw another father and son out in the cold surf in Island Beach State Park. The dad was doing the casting and the son was doing the retrieving. It looked like both pairs were having a pretty good time and I doubt it will be their last.

From To Hell with Fishing

Please remember to support our sponsors.

Editor’s note: SUDS is generally better when more members contribute. Do your part and write something up. And remember, adding pictures can make a difference.
Mike M.

Our next meeting

will be our

Holiday Party

December 4th

6:00 PM at the

Clinton Town Hall

<;)))))))< >(((((((;>

Happy Holidays!

November SUDS Newsletter 2024

November 6, 2024

"The purpose of this organization shall be to promote, protect and preserve the surfcasting tradition, in its many forms, along our coasts...
CSA Bylaws, Article II. Purposes

Fish! While you still can
[intransitive] go fishing to spend time fishing for pleasure, Let's go fishing this weekend.

Brrrr...

Contents:

President’s Letter
Cuttyhunk Library
Meeting Notes
Holiday Party
CSA Merchandise
Club Contests
From Billy D.
Fish Picture
Sharks
Still Time
Fishy Reads
A Laugh
November Skies

A Letter from our President

President’s Letter

This Thanksgiving I will NOT be sitting down at a family gathering eating turkey. Nope. Been there, done that. I have nothing against a Norman Rockwell style gathering. But with family dispersed, relatives having passed, I prefer to fish instead of eat turkey. Besides, be honest, how many of your past Thanksgivings been a perfect Norman Rockwell scene. God bless my former mother-in-law. May she rest in peace. Her brother Uncle Ken too.

This Thanksgiving holiday, consider a two-three day trip to the Jersey Shore to fish Island Beach State Park. Several club members have made it an annual tradition. This year we have six members committed to stay at Island Beach Motor Lodge http://islandbeachmotorlodgenj.com. There are still three beds available at the $40/night or $50/night rate depending if you check in Friday November 29 or earlier in the week. There are rooms available though only two rooms with two-double beds, already reserved, that are on the parking lot ground level facing the sunny south. We need three more members to avoid deep fried turkey oil splatter burns and head south to the Toms River, NJ area.

Over the years fishing has been spotty to very good. Last year’s trip saw daytime catches in the slot and well above the slot. Easy beach fishing though you do want to wear a quality splash or surf top, at the very least a heavy wind breaker – it seems the wind never lets up.

Besides very inexpensive, clean accommodations there are several places to eat ranging from the family, wear-your-waders to breakfast at Betty & Nick’s Luncheonette https://www.betty-n-nicks.com/, Bum Rogers Crab House (fun Friday/Saturday live music) http://bumrogerstavern.com/ or the upscale Chef Mike’s ABG right above the Island Beach Motor Lodge https://chefmikesabg.com/.

Do something different this Thanks Giving holiday. Arrive Friday early afternoon and fish through Sunday. Keep in mind that NJ requires you register to fish saltwater. It’s free but required. https://dep.nj.gov/njfw/fishing/marine/saltwater-registry/

Tight lines everyone,

Mike S.

Cuttyhunk

Here’s a shot of the Fall 2024 Cuttyhunk Crew.

The fishing was great and the company even better.

_______________________

The Friends of Cuttyhunk Library were instrumental in building a new library in 2020. Continued fund raising efforts included “Buy a Brick.” There was a 100 brick limit. By the end of 2023 available bricks were almost gone. Thanks to the approval of our e-board, CSA purchased a brick for the paltry $100 donation. This past Cuttyhunk fall trip provided me the opportunity to find our brick. It’s there! See if you can find it the next time you visit Cuttyhunk.

CSA Membership Meeting

The November CSA Membership Meeting will be tomorrow night, November 6th at 7:00 PM at the Old Town Hall in Madison. We will be meeting at this location through March.

This months meeting will features 4 parts:

Swap Night where members should bring fishing related items they no longer use and would like to be rid of. This will be a swap or sale event if you items do not have a price tag on them, they are assumed to be free.

Holiday Party Tickets will be on sale for $10 each.

This meeting marks the end of the CSA Member Made Lure Tournament. All those who entered the contest should bring the entry fee (a new lure) to the meeting to be awarded to the winner. The contest runs until noon on Wednesday.

CSA member Doug Wells, owner of The Surfcaster online outlet will tell us about his new tackle shop located in Seymour CT.

Don’t miss this meeting!

2024 CSA Holiday Party

NEW CSA MERCHANDISE - Nice gift idea...

Club Contests

Striper a Month 2024

Steve Hasselbacher
Jim Munson
Liam Rosati
Bill Tesbir

High Hooks and Top 10

High Hook Rules are as follows:

1. Fish must be caught from shore or surf, with both feet planted on Terra Firma.

2. The High Hook club tournament generally runs from the first Sunday following Thanksgiving for a period of one year.

3. Overall length, measured from the tip of the lip, to the end of the tail, is used to determine the winner. Weight is optional and not used to determine a winner.

4. Entries must be reported by the first membership meeting following the catch.

5. Entries can be sent to Mike Mullen at mike@highhooklures.com or the current Club President via email or submitted in writing at a club meeting.

Note: The CSA contests will run until midnight of November 24, so that we can get plaques and t-shirts ready for the Christmas Party.

From Billy D.

I chuckled reading the email Get Out! It made me think of a funny or surprising experience I recently had…

I was out testing a new single belly treble slim donny design. I usually bring a surf rod, but that day I got in the car and took a freshwater rod. I left physical therapy dressed in basically PJ's and went to Branford Cove for my testing. After a few casts and adjustments, surprisingly, I hooked a striper.

It wasn’t a " Whopper" it was about 24" and chunky. But it was some battle on this light rod and reel with this frisky fish. I'm standing on a flat granite rock with slippers. LOL! Carefully, I managed to get to the leader hoping the light leader would hold up. Luckily, I tied a good one on.

Using my adjustment pliers, I removed the treble and quickly released the fish. Unfortunately, the opportunity didn't allow for a picture. I had no means to safely and quickly photograph it.

So, I'm driving back home thinking you never know when a fish will bite. Never in all my years of testing did this ever happen. Mind you, it was just a sealed pine body. Unpainted and no eyes. I guess color matters when it matters!!

I thought I’d just share this comical moment.

Fish Picture

Liam’s 47” bass

Totally Anecdotal Findings on Southern New Englands Brown Sharks
By Steve Hasselbacher

If you have fished for striped bass in Long Island Sound during August in the last 4-5 years, you’ve likely had a run in with a shark. Whether you saw one, hooked one, had a bass get cut clean in half, or just mysteriously had half your spool vanish in 30 seconds, you’ve probably been close to one. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t bother fishing for bass in August anymore. Then, just when I think they’re gone sometime in September, and “it’s safe to go back in the water, ”Bam" I’ll have a fish sawed in half or get my plug taken. It’s amazing how quick it happens. Usually right after I set the hook. 2-3 seconds of thrashing, then dead weight. My question is why, all of a sudden, all of them. Is the population here as big as it seems in my head? Or is it just a decent number learned ones that are plaguing striped bass fishermen. I’m no biologist, but I’ve been playing with these fish in several states down to Florida for a number of years, and this is what I’ve observed.

Brown Sharks aren’t by any means new to the area. 15+ years ago the entire concept of catching sharks from shore was completely foreign to me, I thought you needed to go 20+ miles offshore and setup a chum slick. That is until On The Water published an article in their magazine about surf fishing for sharks. And when I read that the author was fishing in CT about 30 minutes from my home, I was blown away. Shortly thereafter brown sharks were declared overfished and put under federal protection, which is still true today. Just to be clear, it is illegal to target sandbar sharks. And in CT an HMS permit is required to shark fish, which needs to be tied to a vessel, ultimately making surf sharking illegal. Many states have varied versions of wording regarding these laws – all muddled with grey area. MA effectively allows this fishery, as far as state laws are concerned, the fish must be returned to the water without avoidable injury. Most other states to the south have more retainable shark species, and you can’t pick which species takes the bait. I personally like MA stance on the fishery. There is good reason and evidence to allow for this. There were 2 studies done that I know of on brown shark release mortality. One, which was done on longline fishing boats further south, showed a 3% release mortality, out of 168 of browns. Compared to much higher rates for other species like blacktips, which went as high as 62% out of almost 300 specimens, and 89% out of 55 spinner sharks. That is an incredible survival rate for fish that were left on longlines then hauled on board and dropped over the side. The 2nd study was done in MA with satellite tags that measure their tail beats per minute and movements. 67 Browns were caught and tagged from shore. All 67 were deemed recovered after 48 hours. The majority much sooner. These are incredibly resilient animals. Some species like sand Tigers and hammerheads don’t always fare as well, and are found washed up onshore the next day by a terrified beachgoer. This is where shark fishing gets a lot of bad press. Incidents like this are what often lead to gear restrictions and town ordinance that try to ban the activity. I bet if Discovery Channel had a striped bass week every year we’d be the bad guys too.

Delaware and Chesapeake Bay are large breeding grounds for them. They give birth to live pups in the spring time in these estuaries. I’ve heard a lot of people claim that they are doing the same here. But if that were the case, where are the pups? Down south, the daytime squid and clam chunkin' beach people catch tons of them. I’ve heard of 2 in our state. If we have that many sharks coming here to breed 3 months later than they do just a few hours south, then why aren’t the scup/high low rig folks catching them. I could be wrong, and If anyone is coming across 2 ft. sharks, I would love to know about it. Many of these fish are well old enough to have given birth here several times by now.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think these things have calendars and follow a rigorous routine. It seems they have arrived in our waters on the same weekend at the end of July for the last 5yrs. What’s odd to me about that, is that just a few miles east they show up in the vineyard sound in the beginning of June. They also have a lot of smaller sharks. Not quite pups, but 4 ft. small. Ours are big. Very big as far as sandbars go. I’ve only seen 2 around 45 inches, and would say the average is about 6 ft. with a good number pushing 7’+. Big enough to make me not want to handle fish in the water during the summer. Some of these fish are probably around 30 yrs old, if not more, with the majority of them easily being teenagers. They can live to be about 40. And they don’t reach maturity until 12-14. So why now, are these huge sharks coming here? Many of them were probably born around the time they were put into federal protection. And have just been existing elsewhere for a decade before coming to CT and the surrounding area. Is it a sign of a healthier sound? Depleted food source elsewhere?

Browns make up the vast majority of long Island sound sharks. But we do have some sand tigers, which seem to frequent just a bit further west. Anglers catch them from time to time but usually 4-6 ft ones. And great whites have and always will pass through. Todays satellite tagging programs show us this every year. Fortunately, I don’t think we really have the food source to keep them around long. This past summer, a decent number of hammerheads made their way inshore in Rhode Island and into the sound, which isn’t that unusual, other than the higher numbers. A friend of mine had one take a bonito off his stringer on his kayak around Newport. A little more concerning is a confirmed 8ft. bull shark caught on the north shore of Long Island. It seems they are also becoming more frequent along the south shore. So I don’t see why they wouldn’t go into the warm water estuary behind it. But let’s not think about that too much. I had a brown act aggressive towards me last September, and ended up shoving my rod butt into it. But only after releasing a fish in turbulent water. I’d imagine if one was going to take a swing at a fishermen it would’ve happened by now. I just don’t like the idea of handling fish in the water anymore. I won’t fish waist deep in summer.

Some of the places where I have the most encounters with them are not exactly loaded with striped bass either. But more so full of dogfish skates and crabs. I think this is the majority of their diet. Same thing in vineyard sound in summer. Or South Jersey. They sure seem to like hooked bass, but it’s hard to imagine they’re actively hunting free swimming bass. That’s a lot of calories burned in order to replace them. And a lot of places we fish for bass in summer aren’t exactly where browns should want to be. Dogfish and skates over sand and gravel at night is a much more efficient way to live than holding in current seams. UNLESS they know hooked fish mean easy meals. There’s a coastwide depradation study that’s ongoing, but one finding so far seems to be that they associate the sounds of fishing with easy food. For years we’ve known that the snap of a spearguns bands ring the dinner bell further south. Talking with other anglers who have lots of problems with them, they tend to agree or have had the same findings. Headlamps. The more a light is used, the more shark encounters. The more rattles in a plug, the more shark encounters. They like pencils and spooks a lot too. I went to cuttyhunk in early September this year, and the first day there was unfishable due to them. We saw schools of bass finning and circling on the surface like pods of bunker. On my first cast on the island with a pencil and within seconds a dorsal pops up behind it following lazily. Later that night I went back to the same spot and started picking fish. Then hooking sharks. Then hooking fish and getting sharked. It seemed like the sharks had them pinned in close just waiting for one to get hooked.

I’ve heard an awful lot of chatter about culling them, and needing to open up a season for harvest, mainly from charter boat fishermen, due to the number of bass being taken off their lines. It’s insane to me to suggest that we need to start killing natural predators, because we aren’t killing them at the same rate as bass. With everyone so concerned about the future of the fishery, and pointing fingers as to who’s to blame, one way to reduce our impact on c&r mortality might be to stop essentially hand feeding breeding stock to sharks. If it’s happening multiple times per trip, 5 days a week, with X amount of boats, then maybe it’s time to just change our targets, or move accordingly during these periods of high depredation. Even if you land the fish in one piece, what’s happening to it after the release underwater where we cant see. From what I’ve gathered its more prevalent in the sounds, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Long Island, as well as SW ledge and Block at times. But seems most of Rhode Island into Massachusetts towards the western side of Buzzard Bay doesn’t really have this problem. Though I have seen and swam with them on the eastern side from Woods Hole up to the Canal. Nor does it happen north of the Cape, though seals start becoming more of a problem up that way.

So how do we go about dealing with this newfound obstacle? To me, opening up a fishery and culling sounds like a PR nightmare, when the residents of wealthy shoreline communities find carcasses in their backyards. Fear usually trumps reason when it comes to these things for most beach goers. It happens every year up and down the coast when an attack happens or a dead shark washes up. Fishermen are to blame. Gear restrictions and access are at threat. And I’m basically using shark sized tackle when I bass fish. Ordinances like these are a problem for all anglers. I flip flop constantly on this and was very hesitant to even write this. Is it better to educate and promote safe fishing and handling? Or to just sweep it under the rug and gate keep. Allowing for a recreational fishery runs these same risks. Not everyone has the same sense of ethics and care for these animals, as the type of anglers who would join a club that promotes and preserves the sport. I picture lots of white rods and J hooks and finless sharks if it were to become legal and highly publicized. But it’s an elephant in the room at this point. They’re here, and I don’t see them going away anytime soon.

There’s still time… by George Baldwin

A large amount of peanut bunker are now moving west from Rhode Island estuaries. There are fish on them, and there’s good opportunity for daytime fishing, too, if you’re willing to cover some distance and search for fish.

These baitfish are moving east to west on their migration, and not sitting in one place. Good places to intercept them are on the east sides of jetties, points and bars, especially the pockets where those obstructions meet the beach. The bass know that, too.

When bait is that thick, fish the sides of the school, where there are fewer baitfish to compete with for attention from the bass. Let your fly (you can substitute 3” plastic shads, tins, etc.) sink low and strip it erratically, letting it sink after each few strips.

Using a liberal amount of flash, or some yellow or chartreuse also helps your fly stand out and contrast from the billion real bunker in front of you, avoiding what I call “Lottery Syndrome”.

When bass go through the schools of baitfish the bait will part like the Red Sea around the bass. That’s also a great place to drop a fly. Again, let it sink, and strip erratically like a wounded baitfish.

Get those fish in quick and don’t have them out of the water longer than you can hold your breath. Better yet, keep them in the water. The population size is concerning, and juvenile recruitment in the Chesapeake has been low for the 6th consecutive year. Let’s take good care of those remaining so we can enjoy fishing for them in the future. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is examining options to reduce fishing mortality on the stripers, I’ll probably have another letter-writing campaign going soon. If you’re not satisfied with your striper fishing this year then I’ll inform you on how you can help improve things for the future.

Get out there while the fish are still passing through. The fall migration may be over within a few weeks

Fishy Reads by Mike Mullen

CSA member Julio Silva has a new book out, Plugging the Water Column for Fishing Fanatics. As the title says, it's all about fishing with lures of many kinds and sizes, all up and down the water column. The book describes a lot of lures, wooden, plastic, tins and jigs. It gives a good description of each and discusses how they can be fished in various types of locations and structures along the shore. It also introduces a few notable lure makers from up and down the striper coastline and yes, I am mentioned.

For me, it's the kind of book I will enjoy reading over time throughout the winter or during the season to remind myself of different ways to use a variety of lures. I recommend it to any fisherman who wants to learn more about how to use a lot of different lures in a variety of situations to catch fish.

This book is available on Amazon.

___________________________

Another good read comes from this month’s On the Water magazine. The article is in the On The Fly section and it’s called Chasing the Thump! by Peter Barrett. The article shows a selection of really cool flies that can be used for striped bass on sandy beaches, in this case, the Jersey Shore right in Island Beach State Park, where we are headed for Thanksgiving. And it also shows how the flies can be used in freshwater for large mouth bass. It is certainly worth a look.

From To Hell with Fishing

November Skies by Mike Simko

The winter constellations are now here. Taurus begins to rise shortly after sunset, where you will also find Jupiter, and right behind it is Orion and Gemini. We all know what Orion looks like with the three in-a-row belt stars. So once you see Orion high in the night sky look to its right to find a large V, actually it will be situated more as a large > with the lower, bottom tip of the > being an appreciably brighter star than the rest of the > formation.

Finding Taurus will let you enjoy this month’s Taurids November 11 to 12. But wait, there’s more: The Leonids peak on the brightly moonlit night of November 16 to 17. There’s also a beautiful conjunction on November 11, where you will find Saturn and the roughly 10-day-old Moon so close together, they almost appear to touch in the sky. They are so close that observers farther south, say Ft. Myers, Florida, will see the moon occult Saturn, slowly disappearing behind the Moon around 9:31, reappearing about 9:59. Very cool watching with just 7X or 8X filed binoculars.

Also, the last and brightest Supermoon of 2024 will be on the night of November 15 rising at about 4:30 PM. Watch the tides for the next day or so. They will be truly spring tides!

Dark skies and tight lines.

Fall 2024 CSA Member Made Lure Tournament

October 7, 2024

The tournament runs from 10/2/24 – 11/6/24 (it started the day of the October meeting and will end on the day of the November meeting). We will take submissions right up to 12PM noon on 11/6/24.
This tournament requires the angler to use a lure made by a CSA member (current or former). You do not need to have made the lure yourselves, this allows for non-builders to compete.
Participation Requirements: Open to all active CSA members whose dues are paid.
General Tournament Rules:
1)   Fish must be caught with both feet planted on terra firma
2)   Overall length measured from tip of the nose to tip of the tail and rounded to the nearest ½”
3)   Entries are based on the honor system (Though we would love some photos for SUDS, please!)
The largest striped bass (total measured length) caught on a CSA made lure wins. In the event of a tie, the first entry submitted will be the winner.
Please make all submissions via email to mike@highhooklures.com or by posting on the CSA message board.
Entry Fee:
One lure of your choice. The winner of the tournament with take the whole lot home! The lure does not have to be made by a CSA member, but that would be a nice touch. These should be new or in like-new condition. Please be present at the November meeting or otherwise arrange to get your entry fee to the winner.
General Clarification Questions:
1)   Does a rigged sluggo count: No
2)   If you poured your own soft plastic style lure, does that count: No
3)   Does the plug/lure builder have to be an active CSA member: No
4)   Does an eel (attached) on a member poured lead jig head count? No
5)   Do plug kits assembled by members count? Yes
6)   Does a member made bucktail count? No
If there are any questions please reach out to our president Mike Simko or post up on the message board.

October 2024 SUDS

October 2, 2024

October 2024

"The purpose of this organization shall be to promote, protect and preserve the surfcasting tradition, in its many forms, along our coasts...
CSA Bylaws, Article II. Purposes

Fish!
[intransitive] go fishing to spend time fishing for pleasure, Let's go fishing this weekend.

On the tug, set the hook and pull that baby in!

Good Luck

Contents:

President’s Letter
Meeting Notes
Holiday Party
CSA Merchandise
Club Contests
Fish Pictures
Sharks
Product Review
Fall Run
Fishy Laughs
October Skies

A Letter from our President

Greetings Surfcasters

I will be the first one to admit that my membership, oh since about 1999, has been more social oriented than fishing. Sure, like many of you I grew up on saltwater, learning to fish with a stiff fiberglass 8’ pool cue-rod, either a Penn Greenie or a Garcia/Mitchel 306 spun with 20# Ande or Stren. Threw just a few offerings – a Hopkins No-Eql, Atom Popper, occasionally a Creek Chub. Throwing a balsa wood Rebel or Rapala was tough to get any distance. That was in the late mid-late 1960s. I enjoyed myself daytime fishing. I avoided nighttime fishing honestly and seriously believing in UFOs, and abductions, having read the book The Interrupted Journey (Fuller, John, 1966). Look Magazine (an absolute staple growing up in the Simko household) printed excerpts about Betty and Barney Hill in 1961 being abducted by a UFO and, after hypnosis sessions, realizing the several hours “lost time” traveling New Hampshire one winter late night was due to an alien abduction. I was a UFO buff before 1966 devouring any comic or graphic literature I could get my hands on. So, by age 10-11 I was NOT fishing into the night.

So, I join a group of dedicated surfcasters who, for the most part, fish nighttime hours. Nope. Not me. Still. I can star gaze without fear. But fishing. No. Fishing distracts me for observing the direction the alien spacecraft is approaching me. If I’m already looking at the stars and see my abduction fate approaching me then I will not be surprised.

My fishing and CSA participation to this day weighs much more to the social versus the angling perspective. But I enjoy our club outings and the occasional Penfield Reef trip with my son Michael. So forgive me if I may not seem as in-tune with the ongoing bite or tackle intricacies. I’m just having fun. I think back similarly to my mid 1970s college years. I raced competitively American Power Boat Association, stock outboard division, mostly B Stock and 25 SS Hydro. I didn’t mind not winning. I did like a podium finish, and did well enough to be competitive in the 1976 – 1978 stock outboard nationals in Dayton, Ohio, Hinton, West Virginia. Having fun was primary. Rarely won but enjoyed going around a 1.5 mile oval at 80mph while kneeling down in boat with a minimum 365 lbs. weight restriction (hey, I weighed a svelte 138-140, see attached).

So let me take care of CSA business. I think the business side is going O.K. And let me have fun one the few occasions we rub elbows wading the serf.

Tight lines everyone,

Mike S.

CSA Membership Meeting

I understand that Dave Anderson from the Fisherman will be the guest speaker for the October meeting.

The meeting will take place at the Madison Surf Club this Wednesday night starting at 7:00 PM. Be there or be square.

2024 CSA Holiday Party

With the fall season starting many members should be able to find some nice fish. What better way to celebrate your 2024 season by having a picture of your fall catch or any earlier nice catch than having it displayed in the CSA club picture collage at the Holiday Party. We will be having this year’s Holiday Party at the Clinton Town hall on Wednesday evening December 4. Festivities will begin at 6pm. This year's event will be catered by Leonis Italian Foods. Member's cost we be $10.00 per adult and children under 12 years old free. You may pay at the October or November meeting or via mail to Jim Savage 19 Broadview Drive, Wallingford, Ct 06492. Please make check payable to CSA. This year we may have the option to bring alcoholic beverages. Awaiting confirmation from Clinton town officials.

Shortly, there will be a Holiday Party thread on the S-B CSA club forum for a head count and any questions pertaining to the party may be asked posted or you may contact myself. Hope you all have a great fall. Be safe and tight lines. Billy D

NEW CSA MERCHANDISE

Club Contests

Striper a Month 2024

Steve Hasselbacher
Jim Munson
Liam Rosati
Bill Tesbir

High Hooks and Top 10

High Hook Rules are as follows:

1. Fish must be caught from shore or surf, with both feet planted on Terra Firma.

2. The High Hook club tournament generally runs from the first Sunday following Thanksgiving for a period of one year.

3. Overall length, measured from the tip of the lip, to the end of the tail, is used to determine the winner. Weight is optional and not used to determine a winner.

4. Entries must be reported by the first membership meeting following the catch.

5. Entries can be sent to Mike Mullen at mike@highhooklures.com or the current Club President via email or submitted in writing at a club meeting.

Fish Pictures

Nice bass caught by Joe Esposito

46” bass caught by Mike Mullen

Be Aware - Sharks are in our local waters

A 42” bass with a big chunk missing caught by Bob Zumwalt

This a reminder: It has been mentioned on the message board and in conversations with fishermen, that sharks have been encountered in our local waters. Everyone should be aware of our surroundings and not make risky trips swimming out to rocks, day or night.

Just be careful and stay close to shore.

Product Review: BKK Titan Diver + hooks
BY Kevin Schwatlow

I have been using more and more soft plastic offerings as the years have gone by. I have almost always carried the 9 and 12 sluggos in my bag in the classic 2 hook rigged method. This approach is still very effective and accounts for many fish over the course of a season. Over many years of fishing, I realized that there were some spots that I fished where the fish were holding in deeper water and I needed to figure out a way to get my offering down to them. I built wooden lures to help accomplish this task in a few of those spots with some success. At the same time, I started to see many advancements in the soft plastic products available for use. I was seeing some new products on the market in large sizes that seemed like they would work well in some of the spots that I fished, I just needed to figure out a way to offer them properly and at deeper depths.

For some of these soft plastics, like the GT eel and original 13” hogy, I figured out a weighted hook setup that worked very well for me. The thinner profile of those baits allowed for my improvised hook setup to work effectively. When I tried to transition that to some of the more robust offerings, my hook option didn’t provide enough of a gap to allow for a proper hookset. I needed to find a hook with a larger gap. I looked towards what are known as “swim-bait hooks” to solve this problem. I eventually settled on the BKK Titan Diver + hooks. These hooks are readily available at shops that carry surfcasting related products. After using them for about 2 months, I came up with some positives and negatives.

Positive:

Wide gap hook allows for solid hooksets on some of the larger profile soft plastic products on the market today.
Multiple size options available.
Hooks seem to hold up well and don’t rust easily. I rarely rinse my gear and mine don’t seem to be rusting.
Comes with 2 lead weight options that allow you to switch as needed.
Price is comparable to other similar hooks on the market, maybe slightly higher.
Hook is very sharp and provides a good solid hookset.

Negative:

The corkscrew attachment for the nose of the soft plastic is garbage. Immediately replace it with a better product like ones made by Owner. The corkscrew that comes with the hooks does not “close” over the hook eye and will often get pulled off the hook eye.
Comes with a shiny small spinner blade attached to it….i immediately removed this and threw it away. I see no use for it.
The weight is held in place by 2 small pieces of rubber. This allows for adjustment of the weight position. I really wish they would just solder the lead in place on the hook. I have lost a weight when the rubber stoppers move on me. I may crazy glue my weight in place going forward.

Note opening on spring.

Overall this is a good product and I continue to use it. As with everything surfcasting, we are never happy with a product right out of the package; we make small little changes to products or find ways to improve it. Aside from the poor design of the corkscrew feature, this product requires minimal modifications.

The Fall Run by Mike Mullen

So far, for me at least, the fall run has been slow. I’ve been out at least 5 days a week and I caught just 2 fish all month. I dropped a couple, but that was it. I mean, I was getting my share of fresh air and exercise, but hey, I was hoping for a few more good fish. I did much better in August when the fishing was surprisingly good, even early on when it was hot. October is the month we all look forward to for big fish and I guess if the bait shows up we’ll have a crack at them. Let’s hope for the best.

Steve Hasselbacher told me the fishing was pretty good out on Cuttyhunk a few weeks ago, mainly on big needles. I’m ready. Actually, Mary and I are really looking forward to this fall’s Cuttyunk trip. It will be a chance to get away from home for a bit and just get out and walk around the island fishing in all our favorite places. I’m in charge of packing our gear and food, so I got out an old checklist I came up with years ago so I’m less likely to forget too many things. Here it is and I hope it gets some of you remembering to bring what you might need out there too. Good luck to all the CSA Cuttyhunkers!

From To Hell with Fishing

October Skies by Mike Simko

I write these monthly Skies articles partly because I find myself constantly looking up into the night sky while surfcasting. I never stopped to think about where others gaze while retrieving their offering. Horizon? Vessels in the distance? Maybe an obvious answer is the water right in front of them. No me. During the deepest darkest nights I am mostly gazing close to a 90 degree angle straight up.

Which brings me to my point. There are so many Earth orbiting space objects (by definition called “satellites”) that there are daily blogs and e-sources letting you know what may appear overhead at any given location, date and time. However, officially, per The United States Space Force https://www.spaceforce.mil/, there are an estimated 36,500 objects larger than 10 cm with more than 1 million objects between 1-10 cm in low Earth orbit (that between) between about 120 and 400 miles above the Earth. And depending where in the night sky any one of these objects orbits in relation to our Sun and Earth’s shadow you may be able to see one of these wanderers. Consider that to orbit the Earth at 120 miles or 400 miles altitude the satellite is traveling around 17,500 miles per hour. Larger pieces, such as the International Space Station orbiting at around 250 miles has to travel faster, around 17,900 mph to maintain orbit. Orbit faster than 17,500 mph and you break free from Earth’s gravity; slower and you begin to scrub off speed hence altitude eventually returning to earth as a glowing ember.

Next time you have especially dark skies stop and concentrate on just one area of deep space. Stay with that area. Focus. You will eventually see tiny specs traveling west to east. If they are in low earth orbit then they will traverse your view pretty quickly. If above low-Earth orbit then slower since the object is always traveling about 17,500 MPH but traveling farther. Sometimes you may see an object that barely moves! They are tough and usually not in published almanacs. Geosynchronous Earth orbit satellites orbit at 22,236 miles high. Though traveling through space at the same 17,500 mph they are orbitally locked in place. You want to spy on your neighbor? Buy yourself a satellite with digital resolution that can read a car license plate from 22,236 miles away. You just have to stare, stay in place for a real long time to get resolution. Oh, the USSF won’t help you. Even Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos don’t have that much money… or clearance.

My Cuttyhunk travelers – this weekend get to a deep dark spot. Look up and focus on one area. You will eventually see some tiny specs taking several if not a dozen minutes to travel horizon to horizon; some specs just a couple minutes - satelites close (relatively speaking), some many miles farther away.

Dark skies and tight lines.

Please remember to support our sponsors.

Editor’s note: SUDS is generally better when more members contribute. Do your part and write something up. And remember, adding pictures can make a difference.
Mike M.

Our next meeting

will be on

October 2nd

7:00 PM at the

Madison Surf Club

<;)))))))< >(((((((;>

Don’t go nuts

Go Fishing!

September 2024 SUDS

September 10, 2024

A Letter from our President

Greetings Surfcasters

September’s letter was written a couple of days ago, at least the main outline was down on paper, just needing an uninterrupted lazy Labor Day morning at my office desk to put some meat on the bones. However, as of yesterday, Sunday afternoon, my topic changed.

By early afternoon, and for the next full hour and one-half your club’s executive board met Jenn and Brian Carrol, resident Park Rangers and Directors of Deer Lake Outdoor Center, Paper Mill Road, Killingworth. https://deerlakeoutdoors.org/. Deer Lake is a year round facility utilized by many outdoor enthusiasts organizations. It is a four file straight-shot north off of I-95 Exit 61, Madison. As you may already know our next CSA Demo Day confirmed for Saturday, January 18, 2025, shall be in the cavernous Deer Lake dining hall. Rod vendors will have no problems exhibiting any rod size. I have a 20+ year old 13’ shad-darted noodle rod. I need a replacement. A 13’ rod won’t even come close to tapping the bright atrium sky windows. There is space to move to the extent our CSA Demo Day chairperson George Baldwin and the rest of the e-board will be discussing to what extent expanding or, maybe for our first, dry-run year, remain fairly static at around 40 exhibitors. Bill and Deb Goeben have already volunteered to provide enough firewood allowing the dining hall’s enormous 10’ stone fireplace to crackle strong and bright for the few hours we will be demonstrating in mid-January.

Something else the Clinton Town Hall does not have, and that’s a large pond that even five-time national surf casting champion, Ron Arra (a past club guest speaker) could not cast across. Pond – Expo Hall – forty yards this way please. Demo a kayak? Maybe that too. Of course some of the lure (no pun intended) of demoing casting equipment is having open water. But that might not be out of the question. For a fact, not one of our 14 previous demo days has ever been canceled due to inclement weather. And when this was mentioned yesterday one club member immediately chimed in that it’s been more the exception that ponds have been frozen over in mid-January.

The kitchen and lavatory facilities are lightyears ahead of Clinton Town Hall. And so too an audio/visual seminar presentation room that can fit 30 people and acoustically allow us to hear the speaker.

So save the date, January 18, 2025. And if a lazy weekend afternoon gets you itching to reconnoiter this fine outdoor facility set your GPD to 101 Paper Mill Road, Killingworth, CT 06419. It is open to the public year round. And introduce yourself to Jenn and Brian Carroll as a CSA member should you see them.

Tight lines everyone,

Mike S.

CSA Membership Meeting

Our membership meeting is coming up on September 4th. There, Bill Sisson will be speaking about fishing Watch Hill and Napatree Point. Bill was the founding editor of Anglers Journal magazine. He grew up in Westerly, RI and has lived and fished there most of his life pursuing striped bass. His most recent work has been “Seasons of the Striper” published in 2022.

Also, those going to Cuttyhunk in October should bring the remainder of their payments to the meeting.

If you need to renew your Fishing License

Go to https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Fishing/General-Information/Fisheries-Licenses-and-Permits to renew.

Connecticut Coastal Access Guide - https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Coastal-Resources/Coastal-Access and and click “Here."

Club Contests

Striper a Month 2024

Steve Hasselbacher

Jim Munson

Liam Rosati

Bill Tesbir

High Hooks and Top 10

High Hook Rules are as follows:

1. Fish must be caught from shore or surf, with both feet planted on Terra Firma.

2. The High Hook club tournament generally runs from the first Sunday following Thanksgiving for a period of one year.

3. Overall length, measured from the tip of the lip, to the end of the tail, is used to determine the winner. Weight is optional and not used to determine a winner.

4. Entries must be reported by the first membership meeting following the catch.

5. Entries can be sent to Mike Mullen at mike@highhooklures.com or the current Club President via email or submitted in writing at a club meeting.

Fish Picture

Jamie McNamara with his first bass caught from shore!

Be Aware - Sharks are in our local waters

This a reminder: It has been mentioned on the message board and in conversations with fishermen, that sharks have been recently seen and caught in our local waters. Therefore, we should all be aware of our surroundings and not make risky trips swimming out to rocks, day or night.

Just be careful and stay close to shore.

Demo Day 2025 by George Baldwin

Demo Day 2025 will be on Saturday, January 18th. We are checking out a possible new venue to see if it will handle our needs, and the Board of Directors will give a final decision soon. We are looking at Deer Lake in Killingworth. They’ve got a beautiful function hall, a room for speakers and a pond to try out rods, etc. We’re examining floor plans and parking space so we can make a final decision between that venue and our old standby, the Clinton Town Hall.

If we go with Deer Lake they’ve got 40 8’ tables available for us. We’re planning on members splitting them, 2 members per table, if we go with that venue. If you will be wanting some table space, let me know so I can reserve you a half table. Vendors confirmed and pending are listed below.

Thank you,

George

baldwingr@yahoo.com

Vendors presently confirmed:

24-7 Lures Big D Plugs Feinwood Fishing Fish On 8 Custom Plugs

Frost Point Lures GooGoo Man Gremlin Lures Guppy Lures

High Hook Lures Billy D Lures JLH Personal Best Lures

RB Lures Tank Surfcasting Uncle Fish Bucktails Zinger Baits

Gaggs Lures Gravity Tackle JoeBaggs Tackle Fatty Lures

Advanced Fishing/Century Rods Tsunami Van Staal ZeeBaas

Z-Belt Dark Star Surfcasting The Surfcaster

Considering depending on Schedule: After Hours Alan’s Custom Lures

Outcast Lures

OUTER CAPE TRIP by Billy D

While spending a week on the outer Cape in Eastham, I planned, this year, to do some fishing during astronomical sunrise. Getting up around 4:30 am and taking a short ride to the shore. First stop was the Coast Guard beach part of the National Seashore. This one, along with the others is a very crowded beach during the day. BTW, it’s our favorite daytime beach. Easy to access and plenty of room. By night and wee morning hours, it’s deserted until sunrise. The bottom is sandy and the slope of the beach indicated it should be deep. Looking for breaks in the surf waves I could see a deeper area. High tides for the week were occurring in these early hours for the week, which gave me an incentive to go fish them. You see while wading in waist deep water to cast to deeper may be the right way to fish it, but yours truly didn't need any encounters with the numerous seals, or the newest internet's popular tourist attraction, Great White Sharks. Casting the limited lures I brought with me , I settled on needles, minnow plugs and pencil poppers. Once the sun started to put a little light into the sky I opted to throw the pencil popper. No signs of top water life, but I continued pumping away. Giving way to the seals cruising by and scouring the water looking for life, took most of the time. Finally I had a couple small swirls which as most know, puts you in fish hard mode. It was short lived, but exciting.

I ended my session and went to scout Nauset Beach Light which is 10 minutes away, for upcoming mornings. Upon arrival, some locals saw me in my waders and told me I was a few minutes late. A great White had been cruising the wash in search of breakfast. They were obliged to give me some info on last weeks big blitz of bass on mackerel. So, that's where I headed the next 3 mornings. Never seeing the bottom topography, I used my limited knowledge of wave make up, to find deeper water. No luck for the first 2 mornings, but this spot has twice as many seals hanging around. It peaked my curiosity why.

I decided to go to beach during the day with my wife which would be LOW tide. Low and behold as far as your eyes can see it was a bar going out 50+ yards. Now, that gave me the reason that I needed to scout further. So I decided to give my bionic knees a work out and start hiking north. I walk the bar for about 1/2mile until the water finally filled up to the beach proper. My decision would be to wake up earlier to accommodate the extra time needed to walk to this spot and rest in between. While walking with my headlamp checking the sand I found peanut bunker spread above the high water mark. In my head, this got me thinking something was going on. The peanuts stretched for about a few hundred yards. When I got to my destination I decided to clip on a 2 oz. needle. Oh, BTW the wind switched that night to NE blowing 15-25 with large cresting waves and a big sweep. As I clipped on my needle, I wished I had my lead filled 3+oz. SS loaded needle to hold in the sweep and cast over the 3rd breaker. With fruitless attempts to keep lure contact, I saw fish jumping out of the wash. It wasn’t light enough to determine what they were, but once I it lit up a bit I saw that they were Hickory Shad chasing Peanut bunker. I put on my 2 oz. wooden pencil popper and was able to keep marginable contact. Sunrise just peaked and I finally got my tug. It was a presentable fish gauging on the tug but short lived. It took a couple hard pulls then bam!! The dreaded dropped fish. Not a great hook purchase, which is common when penciling. Feverously, I continued to cast and pencil pop until the sun came up higher and the seals took over. My thoughts were, this must of the spot that blitz happened that day.

Well, we had another great Cape Cod week relaxing and now I can add that I experienced fishing the once fabled outer beaches of Cape Cod. I will be back next year. With a couple more plugs, a little experience and the anticipated desire to cast the outer beaches of the Cape.

Tight lines and long casts,

Billy D

The Fall Run IS ON!

There are big fish in our waters. Just this morning (9/3/24), as I was casting out from a local beach, I caught nothing, but while fishing I happend to see a big spash on the water maybe a 1/2 mile to a mile off shore. Then I saw another and then, every once in a while I would see a large fish, which I assume was a bass, jumping right up out of the water and making a big splash as it hit the water again. In maybe a half hour or so, I saw 6 or more fish leave the water and make big splashes, all in the same general area, but not just in one spot, they were spread out. I’ll repeat, these fish were way off shore. A big charter boat was passing by and probably spotted the action because it turned around and made a couple of passes in the area before moving on. Anyway, what I saw were a bunch of big fish in the sound, which I hope will sometime soon take a swim by the shore here looking for some chow. Actually, I guess I’d like to see the bunker show up close to shore. That would bring them in. Keep you eyes open and be ready!

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Take care of your gear

As we begin the fall run we should take a look at our gear and make sure it’s up to snuff. One thing I always do going into fall is replace my line. I use Suffix 50 lb. green, it’s tough and casts well, and I understand we all have our favorites. Whatever you like, it is important to have fresh line on your rig when going after big fish in the fall. A tip I learned years ago is, after you put new line on your reel, take it out as soon as you can and and get it wet. I usually come home from the shop and put on a good casting lure and walk down the end of my street, (I live in an estuary) as long as it’s not dead low, and make a few casts and try to get as much of the line as possible into the water and soak it a little. Then I bring back to the house and let it sit and set up overnight or at least for a few hours before fishing. Doing this will help avoid getting wind knots. Try it!

Also, don’t forget to douse your reel in fresh water when you get home from fishing and you might want to put a few drops of oil on your reel shaft every once in a while. And don’t make so much noise when you get in the house and damn it, don’t track sand all over the carpet or leave your wet waders laying around. You’re good for nothing…

Geepers, be careful.

Mike M.

Fishy Reads by Mike Mullen

Legends of the Salt by Charley Soars is a great compilation of stories about some of New England’s best ever striper fishermen. Read about fishing with Bob Pond, Danny Pichney, Curt Gowdy, Charlie Cinto, Tim Coleman and his good friend Pat Abate along with many others who fished all over from Cape Cod to Martha’s Vineyard, Cuttyhunk, the waters of Rhode Island and just about everywhere in Southern New England. These guys weren’t just catching 50 pounders, they caught 60s and we hear a lot about Charlie Cinto’s 73 pound record fish. I recommend this as a great bedtime read to give yiou good dreams all winter long.

From To Hell with Fishing

September Skies by Mike Simko

Perhaps one of these September evenings we will get the overcast and rain clouds to dissipate so we can view our starry heavens.

September is a month that invites us to view the constellation Sagittarius as we do each very late summer into fall. This September is a bit different that past Septembers in that the bright waxing (meaning getting brighter) gibbous moon will hang right in the middle of the Teapot, an asterism located in the middle of Sagittarius the Archer. On September 11 and 12 the moon will point you to the Teapot. The moon will not help you see the Teapot since moonlight will blot out the stars. However, by several days afterward you will be able to now easily locate the Teapot recalling where the moon was located just days before. And as noted is previous year’s September Suds, locating the Teapot is actually locating the view into the direct center of our Milky Way Galaxie.

Dark skies everyone, and tight lines