After last week’s unbelievable action the size of the fish being caught now has dropped back more to what is expected. If last week was your first experience with fall surf fishing, you’d be wise to leave the activity on a high note since your next outing will likely never be able to measure up, literally. Since this weekend, I’ve seen and heard of more ‘Belt Buckle’ size bass in the mix. ‘Belt Buckle’ bass are the size fish you’d expect to see on some one with a striped bass belt buckle, to borrow a term from Donald. In other words, the 14-18 inchers. There are still plenty of 28-34 inch fish, however, and I’ve managed to still scratch out a couple of keepers in each of my sessions over the past week.
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With all the fish concentrated over the same three miles of beach day after day the crowds were maddening. If you look closely, it almost looks like the two guys in the center of the picture were roughing each other up.
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I like to complain sometimes, you know, to express the part of me that likes drama. And there has been plenty to complain about. The formula this year has created the worst crowd situation imaginable: easily predictable fishing, the fish concentrated over the same beach day after day, abnormally warm weather, and no rain most of the time. I have never had my line crossed and my spot stolen as many times as this year. I have never been encroached upon as many times as this year.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like it is ‘common’ sense to know that you can’t hook the fish that’s on some other guy’s line, or that it’s bad etiquette to steal some ones spot, or that you can find your own fish elsewhere rather than sidling up to someone who is hooked up. It seems the knowledge of those basic social behaviors is now the ‘uncommon’ sense since the proper moves seem to be practiced by an increasingly smaller number of people.
In addition to outright aggression and testosterone expression, the level of innocent incompetence this year has also been at an all-time high. The following example is why a knowledge of reading the water is not only relevant to catching fish, but also to your life:
If Todd, as we came to know him, was not surrounded by a fine crew of experienced surf persons, or if something like this had happened at night, the outcome would have surely not been the same. Todd got into this predicament because he didn’t understand the bottom contour, demonstrated by the way he walked off the edge of the sand bar into the rip current. It was something to watch him getting out sucked out to sea in the rip only to have Steve save his life by actually catching him with his Skippy Tin Squid. If not for Steve’s sharp mind and hook, Todd would not have made it, and that is serious now. Meanwhile, as I was on the beach on the phone with 9-11 and taking pictures, I also had to guard Steve’s truck from a guy who no doubt had an intention to steal Steve’s gear. I’ve never seen anything like it this year.
Here is a well written narrative of the rescue event by Chief500 of Stripersonline:
