President’s Letter
March 2024
Greetings Surfcasters,
Our second outing of the 2024 season is at Saturday, April 27 at The Audubon Coastal Center at Milford’s Smith Point. Already 20+ lb. fish have been landed.
Did I say Smith Point is our second outing? I did. That’s because as a club, our members should make our best effort to attend the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan public meeting Wednesday, April 17 at 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Blvd, Mystic, CT. I consider attending the April 17 pubic meeting our first outing. The New England Fishery Management Council will be soliciting comments regarding the range of alternatives to consider Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Fisher Management Plan. Register to participate at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3372208096915656544.
Immediate past club president and current executive board member George Baldwin will speak about this issue briefly this Wednesday night at our general membership meeting. E-board member Steve Hasselbacher will also speak briefly. Be sure to ask questions. We have had guest speakers present on this topic. We as a club are informed about the issue. We should continue to educate ourselves and educate others who appreciate a health striper fishery.
My experience is that in-person attendance goes a long way in supporting what our club believes is a significant issue. Wear your CSA shirt or hat with pride. Be sure to greet the meeting organizers afterwards so they know CSA members consider Atlantic Herring viability a significant issue for striper health.
Looking forward to seeing other CSA members Wednesday April 17 in Mystic.
Tight lines everyone, V. Mike Simko
Boot Camp at April CSA Meeting
Wednesday April 3rd at 7pm at the Surf Club
No, there won't be any pushups or drill instructors. CSA is presenting another member led presentation, this time it's about surf casting footwear. There wouldn't be much to say if we only fished the sand beaches of Cape Cod or Nantucket. The rest of the New England coast is a slippery, weed covered bunch of rocks. What we wear on our feet is going to determine where we can safely fish. Also, it's a good time to evaluate our choices in boots as we ponder if out current ones will take us through the upcoming season.
We would like as many and hopefully all members bring one or more of your wading boots and or boot foot waders and tell us; What you like or don't like about them? Comfort level? What kind of traction they have, any spikes? What do they cost? How the customer service of the company has been? And anything else you'd like to add.
There isn't anywhere else that you can get better information than from fellow CSA members. So please bring surf shoes to the Aptil meeting and share your thoughts on them. When it comes to knowledge about striped bass, theres something you can learn, no matter how long you've been at it.
Upcoming Events
At our most recent E-Bored Meeting we talked for a few minutes, time being precious, about some of the events and outings we could support in the months ahead.
APRIL - Our upcoming April membership meeting taking place this Wednesday night at the Madison Surf Club starting at 7:00 PM.
As stated earlier, you are all encouraged to attend the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan public meeting Wednesday, April 17 at 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Blvd, Mystic, CT. The New England Fishery Management Council will be soliciting comments regarding the range of alternatives to consider Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Fisher Management Plan. Register to participate at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3372208096915656544.
Later in April, on the 27th, we plan Meet at the Audubon Bird Center parking lot sometime in the afternoon to catch the dropping tide at the mouth of the Housatonic River before sunset. Times will be discussed at the meeting and I’m sure we’ll be sending out more messages to let you know more about it.
MAY - At our May 1st membership meeting we’re having “Bring you’re favorite rod and reel.” Prior to the meeting, Tom Fucini, a rep from Tsunami Fishing Tackle will give a demonstration of their Forged Surf Rods on the beach. Come early. - We will also be holding elections for officers and board members. If anyone is interested in running for office or just to have an opportinity to be on the board, speak up and come and join in. There’s no beer and pizza at the meetings anymore, but we manage, and our leadership likes to run a tight ship and get us sailing home in less than an hour most nights. In Branford there’s always the Eel Pot or the ice cream shop near by for after meeting treats.
Plans are also in the works for a night at the Mystic Seaport Planetarium to view the stars and constelations that are visable during the striper fishing season. Find out more at the meeting.
On Friday, May18th we plan to have our Annual West Haven Weakfish Outing at the West Haven Town Beach.
JUNE - I’m not sure what we’ll be doing for a meeting in June because June 6, 7 & 8 CSA will be on Cuttyhunk for our Spring trip. We will be staying at Pete’s Place and we will have more details at the meeting. So far, we have only 3 members signed up and we hope many more will be coming along.
As the season progresses, we will be having many of our usual outings to more local beaches in Connecticut and Rhode Island. If you have any ideas of places you’d like to try fishing or just want to get out of the house, come along or speak up if you want to run a trip yourself.
Club Contests
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 March 2024.
Mike Benzinger
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.
So far we have had Just one High Hook entry.
Glenn Silver entered a 34.25” striper caught on a fly. Nice going!
Angling for Unicorns
George R. Baldwin
Something about weakfish has a strong pull on many a surfcaster. Perhaps it’s the fact that they’re not as abundant and frequently caught as striped bass, like finding a rare coin in your garden. Unlike striped bass, which often seem to be everywhere, they are found in relatively small patches of shoreline. They show up for several weeks at most, and then disappear beyond the reach of a surf rod. And many of those who do know when, where and how to find them are tight-lipped as a politician in a campaign funding investigation. And so these fish, sometimes referred to as “unicorns” in recent years, remain a mystery and a perpetual bucket list fish to many. (MUCH MUCH more information from George available to members in good standing through the monthly email)