D
espite the unknown knowledge, you do not need to freeze your butt
off to catch cod, haddock, cusk and wolfish. For you winter leather
necks, yeah, I know that you can be a manly man standing tall in
the midst of fishing with temperatures at 10 degrees and the winds
blowing at 20 knots... and your thumb just cracked off... as you
scurry acroos the boat looking for it... ahhhhh what a manly man!
Now
on the other hand, what is wrong with fishing in May, where all
you need is a sweater, no gloves, one pair of pants, not three.
The weather is fantaastic and you're wearing sunscreen. Oh, you're
actually enjoy yourself! God forbid if you do that... hey, I won't
tell anybody! I'll make up some sea bearing story for you.
I
love May, the magic month of fishing with great fishing on the Viking
2 day trips and deep water adventures are the best for you with
strong arms. Going for tile fish, Shimano or your choice of International
or any 2 speed reel no bigger than 30 wide. For line...Spider wire,
Gorilla line and Silver thread are best. As for Fire line it doesn't
impress...too stiff and doesn't hold up well. I don't care how many
sales they have on it, keep it. Octopus hooks to keep your catch
from depths of 300 feet and better.
If
you so desire to be a dinosaur, you can use mono in deep water.We're
not talking 100 feet here or even 200 feet...we're talking 300-400
and the abyss on the deep water trips. And it's just wrong, let's
not get into the obvious routine. Try drag on your line 60 pound
gorilla line is maybe 15 pound diameter. While all I need is 16
ounces of weight you'll be using electrical tape putting 3 lbs.
of weight together not a pretty site so very sad.Don't
do it period. A rod holder is definitely a plus with a two speed.
OK, you may get cat calls...be called a wuss, but after fishing
deep water for 6 hours you'll be hauling fish with a smile on your
face while the guy next to you will be wippering and whining with
cramped arms. 
Johnny
come lately fishing is supposed to be fun also using your head doesn't
hurt either. It hurts me... you know, just the other day I was thinking
and my head burst into flames! Don't think too much, you'll explode.
What a mess ou got to mop it up and the kids are crying. Anyway,
some guys use a stand up harness, which is a little extreme, but
hey if it makes it easier for you which it eill and it works for
you... use it... be proud... come out of the closet! OK, enough
of you... sit down... or you may start thinking again and we'll
have to get the fire extinguisher! Some of these are for the deep
water trip only. For the regular cod trips you don't need all this
stand up gear and rod holders or two-speed reels. That would be
overkill and very embarrassing. Brig some extra line, trust me,
you don't want to go to using mono straight... you will produce
fish, but you'll pay for it at the chiropracter's office.
Electric
Reels. They work... don't like 'em... really don't like 'em. You're
not fishing. They make great whipped cream blenders. We in the Northeast
really shy away from them. But there are situations, like a bad
arm or handicap, then use them by all means and enjoy the sport.
As for the rest of you bean heads... you're not fishing, you're
pushing a freaking bottom. No way should you even look at the pool
money... we'll give it to your battery, OK? Go sit down now, you
may start thinking again. I'll get the marshmellows! Call the priest
for last rights Johnny, we got ourselves a rocket scientist over
here. He has the same look as my boxer puppy, doesn't he? The twisting
of the head and that glazed look of Scooby Doo.
Squid
is the bait of choice and salted down clams. You want tough fresh
bait that stays on your hook for the travel down into the darkness
of the abyss. Now fishing with bait 500 feet down and waiting for
a bite can be very depressing. You could sit there a really long
time, unless there is a school of manic depressed tile fish that
run out of anti-depressants and decide to commit suicide on your
hook. So take a minute and load your hooks right, also give it an
extra second for the fish to take the bait and reel real fast to
set that hook good. Remember, even with spider wire there is a bow
in a 1000 feet of line. That's right, it's 500 feet down on an angle,
so it can be at least 1000 feet of line. Then a nice steady reel,
no horsing please otherwise you'll just come up with lips. Then
you may start thinking again... stop that now! You've got that look
in your eyes! He's going to explode, go down to the bomb shelter!
That
guy over there is reading that magazine again. He'll be shopping
tomorrow anyway. A shopping list, yes, you have to spend money...
stop whining. If your car breaks down then we'll talk bucks. Everytime
I think I'm cutting corners with gear, my car breaks down. A $1000
doesn't matter, what it is a $1000 but hey I saved $50 by getting
that cheaper reel which just fell apart in my hands after using
it twice. Spend the money. Trust me, your kids are spending it anyway.
Maybe they'll start thinking. Here's the list. You're special, good
looking, kind-hearted and well liked... you deserve it. Now get
off the drugs and lose a 100 pounds and buy the equipment. Denial
works for me! Practice... it helps. Just don't think... especially
in a crowded mall.
