Annual Spring Weakfish Outing

Our annual weakfish outing at the West Haven sandbar has changed!!!

New date is Tuesday, May 28 at the Charles Island sand bar (Milford). Plan on meeting 6:30 – 7:00 at either the Silver Sands State Park parking lot. DEEP is coordinating with us to allow club attendees park in the Silver Sands employee’s lot closest to the pavilion. We should have confirmation of this great parking opportunity well before Tuesday the 28th. 

Charles Island fishes best on the drop. Low tide on Tuesday the 28th is 9:54PM. See you all then.

A May Charles Island Weakfish

March Meeting

Our next meeting is Wednesday night March 6th, 7 PM at the Madison Old Town Hall

April Schoolie Trip

A great time to get together with other members and shake some of the dust from your equipment (and maybe your casting arm). Saturday, April 27th - taking advantage of the dropping tide. Milford Smith’s Point Audubon

June Cuttyhunk Trip

More details to follow soon, but if you’re interested in joining our crew to the famed Cuttyhunk surfcasting grounds, this is your chance!

Thursday, June 6 through Sunday the 9th

CT Surfcasters Annual Demo Day

Monthly Meeting August 2017 - It's in the bag!

What should be in your bag to increase your chances of success this fall? Find out all the secret weapons used by some of the club's best sharpies Mike Mullen, Kevin Schwatlow and Pat Vogt. This month's meeting will be held at the Surf Club on August 2 at 7 pm. Don't miss the opportunity to get the inside track on the plugs best suited for the fall run!

What's in your bag?

June 2017 Monthly Meeting

Ron Arra is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the June meeting. Ron is a 5-time United States Distance Surfcasting Champion, professional surfcasting and fly casting instructor, best selling author, and world renowned angler. Arra is also the author of two best-selling books, "The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting", and "Power Surfcasting”— published by Globe Pequot Press. Ron’s instructional video entitled "Surf Fishing & Distance Casting” was also critically acclaimed.

Come on down to the Surf Club in Madison at 7pm on June 7th to improve your casting distance with one of the best in the sport! 

Monthly Meeting May 2017

Peter Jenkins from the Saltwater Edge will be doing a presentation on fly fishing for stripers in the surf. Ron Poehailos, owner of 3-TAND reels, will also be at the meeting. He will be showing the club his highly regarded fly fishing reels. In 2014 3-tand earned BEST FLY FISHING REEL with its light tackle fly reel, the TF-70 at the ICAST/IFTD show. Ron also owns Zeebaas reels and Hansom Tackle. This month's meeting will be held on Wednesday May 3 at 7pm at the Surf Club in Madison, CT.

MONTHLY MEETING: APRIL 2017

Guest Speaker: Al Gag

Al “Gag” Gagliarducci is a well respected surfcaster throughout the East Coast. Al has a long history in the fishing industry and has been building and designing custom lures since 1978.  This month's meeting will be held on Wednesday April 5 at 7pm at the Surf Club in Madison, CT.

MONTHLY MEETING: MARCH 2017

Janet Messineo will be our guest speaker on Wednesday March 1st, 7PM at the Old Memorial Town Hall (8 School Street in Madison, CT).  Janet will present a visual guide of the Vinyard, discuss the sport of surfcasting and also some of the women figures within the sport.

-Janet Messineo

“Janet Messineo has lived on Martha’s Vineyard since 1966, and has been fishing the shoreline of the island for more than 35 years. She has written for and been featured in books, magazines, and appeared on television shows. They include Reading the Water, On the Run, New England Stripers,The Big One, An Amazing Story of the Vineyards Derby, Offshore, On The Water, Vineyard Style, Martha’s Vineyard and Edible Vineyard Magazines. She has been featured in articles in the New York Times, the Boston Globe and a DVD called Feeding the Water. Janet has been a professional taxidermist since graduating from the Pennsylvania Institute of Taxidermy in 1987. She has been the owner of Island Taxidermy and Wildlife Art Studio since that time. She specializes in saltwater fish. Her work has been shown in many art galleries on the Vineyard such as Louisa Gould’s Gallery in Vineyard Haven and The Schrimshaw Gallery in Edgartown. Visit her Gallery on this site to see some of her work. You can purchase some of these beautiful pieces today. Janet would also like to share her years of surfcasting experience from the shores of Martha’s Vineyard with you.”

— http://www.vineyardsurfcaster.com/

As always our meetings are free and open to the public.

MONTHLY MEETING: FEBRUARY 2017

Wednesday February 1st at 7PM at the Old Memorial Town Hall in Madison, CT
The Connecticut Surfcasters Association are hosting guest speaker Alfred Anuszewski of the well known Campo's Crew.   Campo's crew fished during the Block Island heyday in the early 1980's, these influences have shaped most of what our surf gear is built on today, the premise of "it better be able to take abuse" from bags to reels, through wired plugs and modifications of gear.  It was the beginning of a revolution which continues today as surfcasters up and down the coast are constantly pushing the limits and making modifications to their gear.

Article link by Alfred Anuszewski on fishing the Heddon Lure Company's hellcats. 

Article link by Alfred Anuszewski on fishing the Wadd Style needlefish

Excerpt from Dennis Zambrotta's Surfcasting Around the Block, chapter 3

“Red Fins continued to take some huge bass for the crew and then on
Thanksgiving night Alfred landed what is perhaps the largest striped
bass ever taken on a Red Fin, 61 ¼ pounds. It was the largest of 23 bass from 37 to 61 pounds that Alfred Anuszewski and Marty McMillan tallied that night. The next night they had 21 more cow bass topped off with a 51 released by Alfred. It is fair to assume that based on the phenomenal fishing the crew had on two successive Thanksgiving days that they all had much to be thankful for.”

This meeting is free and open to the public, see you there.

MONTHLY MEETING: JANUARY 2017

7PM WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2017

THE CLUB WILL BE HOSTING ROB TAYLOR OF NEWPORT SPORT FISHING CHARTERS OF NEWPORT, RI AS OUR EVENING'S SPEAKER.  THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE OLD MEMORIAL TOWN HALL.

ROB IS WELL VERSED IN THE SURF AS WELL AS FROM THE BOAT.  ROB HAS A KNACK FOR SUCCESS WITH LARGE FISH AND HE'S GOING TO SHARE HIS APPROACH IN THE SURF WHILE TARGETING THESE FISH AND WHY HE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.  ROB WILL ALSO COVER WHY HE HAS SO MUCH CONFIDENCE IN THE RIGGED EEL, WHAT PLUGS HE THROWS, AND HIS THOUGHTS ON SURFCASTING TODAY. 

LATER THIS MONTH, THE CT SURFCASTERS WILL BE HOSTING THE 6TH ANNUAL CSA DEMO DAY ON SATURDAY JANUARY 28TH, 2017 AT THE CLINTON CT TOWN HALL.  

DEMO DAY IS AN EVENT TAILORED TO THE SURFCASTER.  THE CLUB'S GOAL AT DEMO DAY IS TO SHARE SOME OF WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT SURF FISHING THROUGH CLUB MEMBER DEMONSTRATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, AND SEMINARS. PLEASE FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION, SCHEDULES, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR DEMO DAY.  CLICK HERE

MONTHLY MEETING: DECEMBER 2016

THE MONTHLY MEETING FOR DECEMBER IS FOR MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS ONLY.  THIS IS THE HIGH HOOK AWARDS AND FAMILY BANQUET NIGHT.  PLEASE RSVP TO MIKE MULLEN, CLUB PRESIDENT.

MEETING TO BE HELD AT THE SURF CLUB IN MADISON DECEMBER 7TH, 2016.   6:30PM  

THE EVENT WILL BE CATERED BY NEW HAVEN PIZZA TRUCK.

MONTHLY MEETING: NOVEMBER 2016

7PM WEDNESDAY NOV. 2 GUEST SPEAKER SAM SMITH

AS THE SEASON BEGINS TO WRAP UP OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR SO, SOME OF US MIGRATE INSIDE TO TURN PLUGS, BUILD RODS, AND SOME OF US KEEP ON FISHING.

ONE OF THE CONNECTICUT SURFCASTER MEMBERS, SAM SMITH, IS NO STRANGER TO THE "KEEP FISHING" MOTTO AS HE HAS BEEN A PERENNIAL WINNER OF THE BASS A MONTH CLUB CONTEST THAT THE HOLDS EACH YEAR.  THE GOAL IS TO CATCH AT LEAST ONE STRIPED BASS IN EVERY MONTH OF EACH YEAR. SOUNDS EASY, RIGHT? GO AHEAD AND TRY IT, THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF DEDICATION SAM PUTS INTO HIS OWN FISHING.

SAM WILL BE PRESENTING ON HOW TO EXTEND YOUR SEASON, EITHER ADDING TIME AT THE END OF THE YEAR OR STARTING EARLIER IN THE SPRING (OR BOTH).  HE WILL DISCUSS HIS GEAR, TACKLE, TECHNIQUES, AND GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF STRIPED BASS BEHAVIOR DURING THE LATE FALL TO EARLY SPRING MONTHS.

AS ALWAYS, WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE, THE MEETINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

MONTHLY MEETING: SEPTEMBER 2016

THE CONNECTICUT SURFCASTERS MONTHLY MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER IS AT THE TOWN OF MADISON SURF CLUB.

WEDNESDAY SEPT. 7th @ 7:00PM

OUR GUEST SPEAKER FOR THE MEETING IS DAVID PICKERING WHO WILL PRESENT ON THE FALL RUN AND HOW TO PREPARE AND FISH THE VARIETY OF CONDITIONS WE FACE IN THE EVER CHANGING FALL WEATHER. 

"David is a year round striper fisherman and fishes extensively along RI's oceanfront, in Narragansett Bay and at Cape Cod.  Most of his catches come from shore although he fishes on occasion from a boat and from a kayak.  As far as size, he has landed many trophy stripers upwards of 50 lbs. He generally fishes with rigs and plugs which he makes himself.  That is a theme in many of his writings.  He has written over 300 feature magazine articles on striper fishing and has written parts of several books.  His is a frequent contributor to the Fisherman Magazine and On the Water Magazine. His award winning photos have appeared on magazine and catalog covers as well as in the many stories he writes." excerpt from David's public Google profile.

David also maintains frequent posts on his blog on fishing Rhode Island waters.

MONTHLY MEETING: AUGUST 2016

THE MONTHLY MEETING FOR AUGUST WILL BE A FISHING OUTING, PLEASE CHECK THE CSA MESSAGE BOARD OR CHECK THE CLUB PRESIDENT'S EMAILS FOR DETAILS.

MONTHLY MEETING: JUNE 2016

FOLLOWING ON THE HEELS OF THE SUCCESSFUL MAY MEETING TOPIC OF WHAT'S IN YOUR BAG?  THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING ANOTHER IMPORTANT TOPIC: FISHING WITH BAIT. FROM EELS, LIVE OR DEAD TO CHUNKS TO DO WHAT WE ALL LIKE TO DO, CATCH FISH.  THIS DISCUSSION WILL COVER THE FINER POINTS OF FISHING WITH BAIT.

THE TALK WILL COVER WHAT GEAR IS USED from CoNVENTIONAL TO SPIN RODS TO THE BAIT USED; THE CUTS, TERMINAL TACKLE, RIGS, AND LIKELY WHERE THE BAIT IS EITHER PURCHASED OR CAUGHT AND TRANSPORTED TO AND DURING AN OUTING.  We WILL HEAR FROM KEVIN SCHWATLOW ON EELS, BILL AND MARGE SCRIVENER ON BAIT AND WAIT AND MR WILL SIROTNAK ON ACTIVE CHUNKING. 

TO GO ALONG WITH JUNE'S THEME OF FISHING WITH BAIT, THE RAFFLE PRIZE WILL BE A RIGGED EEL KIT AND AN ENGEL BAIT COOLER RETAILING ARUOND $250. 

THE MEETING WILL BE AT 7 PM JUNE 1 AT THE SURF CLUB.

ALSO OUR 2016 SLATE OF CLUB OFFICERS IS:
MIKE MULLEN, PRESIDENT
CHARLIE GARGANO, VICE PRESIDENT
ROBERT COHN, SECRETARY
JIM SAVAGE, TREASURER

MONTHLY MEETING: MAY 2016

THE MONTHLY MEETING FOR MAY WILL FEATURE A PANEL DISCUSSION FROM OUR CLUB MEMBER ABOUT WHAT IS IN THEIR BAG FOR SPRING TIME PLUGS.

WE WILL HEAR FROM PAT ABATE, PETE K, KEVIN SCHWATLOW, MIKE MULLEN, BILL DELIZIO, AND MATT LEJEUNE.  THE DISCUSSION WILL INCLUDE THE SITUATIONS, CONDITIONS, AND REASONING AS TO WHY THESE SURFCASTERS CARRY WHAT THEY CARRY.

ALSO, MAY IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS IS WHEN WE HOLD OUR CLUB OFFICER ELECTIONS.

THE MEETING IS AT 7PM AT THE MADISON SURF CLUB, AND FOR A RAFFLE ITEM WE HAVE A 3 TUBE FLATLANDER SURF BAG.  SEE YOU THERE!

MONTHLY MEETING: APRIL 2016

WEDNESDAY APRIL 6th 2016 7:00PM

THE SURF CLUB: 87 SURF CLUB ROAD, MADISON CT

APRIL IS THE CONNECTICUT SURFCASTERS MS DONATION MONTH.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.

EACH MEMBER SHOULD BRING A PLUG (NEW IN PACKAGE) WHICH GOES INTO A POT FOR A RAFFLE TO RAISE MONIES FOR THE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH, TREATMENT, AND AWARENESS.

GUEST SPEAKER: STEPHEN GALLANT

STEVE OWNS PLUM ISLAND SURFCASTING GUIDE SERVICE AND YOU MAY KNOW OF HIS NAME BASED ON A COUPLE RECENT VIDEOS TITLED "ON MY OWN TWO FEET" AND "HARD DAYS NIGHT", TWO SURFCASTING SHORT FILMS.

Steve will be giving a presentation based around fishing the open sandy beaches of the North Shore of MA, including the Plum Island, as well as surrounding Cape Ann and backwater estuaries. Steve will cover lure selection, techniques, tides, moons, eeling and advice on structure and what to look for in the surf.

AS ALWAYS OUR MEETINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. SEE YOU THERE, AND REMEMBER TO BRING A PLUG FOR THE RAFFLE

MONTHLY MEETING: MARCH 2016

THE MONTHLY MEETING FOR WEDNESDAY MARCH 2ND, 2016 WILL BE HELD IN THE OLD MEMORIAL TOWN HALL, MEETING HOUSE LANE IN MADISON, CONNECTICUT AT 7PM.    

OUR GUEST SPEAKER FOR THE EVENING IS ONE OF OUR OWN MEMBERS PETE LAJOIE.  PETE IS A YOUNG AND WELL VERSED SURFCASTER AND ALL AROUND SALT WATER SPORTSMAN.  PETE WILL BE DOING A QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION ON FISHING BLOCK ISLAND AND WHY HE SELECTS BAIT VS. PLUGS ON A GIVEN NIGHT.  AS WELL AS WHEN WE CAN GET ON HIS BOAT FOR TUNA FISHING, AND HOW TO CATCH BASS WITH OUT EYES CLOSED.
 

THE MEETING IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.