Surf Rats - Jones Beach
Friday, September 28, 1997
Surfcasters are a community of beach lovers. Real Long Islanders... they love the elements. I personally love surfcasting for it's solitude in early spring...when the beaches are not open yet...
...the tourists are still at bay...and the fish are undisturbed and left to their natural routines. I've been hitting Jones Beach, for the last week, when a good body of fish were working their way through from Tobay to Field 2.
Field 6 was the hot number for 4 days of intense fishing. I personally was in a blitz on Wednesday from 5 - 7 PM. The shore was loadedwith bait fish from spearing to blue runners. The cold snap we had a few days before had gotten the fish, that were laying in 80 feet of water all summer, to wake up and move their little butts on a feed.
Blue and white poppers were the menu at the blitz party...it was incredible. 14 of us were in surf heaven. The right place at the right time, do to a Causeway Bait Store tip. The birds were screaming and diving right in our faces...and the bass were everywhere...no blues in this party.
10 lbs., 20 lbs., 40 lbs...that's right...I was in the water up to my waist getting slammed by schools of cows coming by hitting my legs. That will freak you out alittle. As I was reeling my popper, I had to open my drag up because they were inhaling my plug 2 feet from me and screaming out back to the deep. My heart was pounding so loud from adrenaline that I thought it would burst! After landing and releasing 3 keepers, I hooked one for my son Michael...8 years old...and laughed as he almost killed himself on reeling what I thought was a schoolie, for 10 minutes. His face was classic...when the line stopped at the lip of the water, I walked over and gasped...there to my amazement was a nice 28 pounder.
The striper was shot, tired out and played...just like my son! I picked the fish up and carried him over to my son, who made me keep the fish so that he could show his mother. Yours truly had to lug that puppy 2 miles to the car. It was a classic day.
All 14 fishermen that were there released all but two fish out of a hundred keepers. I wish you could hear all of them in the parking lot, in the dark, laughing and wired. It left me with a shit-eating grin that lasted for days. I have a new renewal in surfcasting...and will be doing surf reports right through October...from Montauk to Manhattan.
P.S. Someone created this sand sculpture on the surf nearby...thought it was pretty cool.