WOW! Lots to be said on either side of this equation...............
However, DZ is right about his opinion.
So, also, is Bill.
What's important is that the fishing part remains. Boat or surf, to each his/her own..................yet, the two could not be further apart.
I'm 47 years young and have been fishing since I was about 6 yrs old.
This will be my second full season on the rocks, and I absolutely love the thrill of the hunt, the risk factor involved, the adreneline rush that comes with landing 20-30# fish from the surf (with eager anticipation and high aspirations to land that 50 from the rocks), and reading the water under the stars in the pitch of the night. I LOVE being out there, finding the bite, and feeling the tug of some BIG GURL (those would be the 4 that I lost last year due to poor positioning and inexperience) as she is trying to dislodge me from me rocks whilst I endeavor to wrest her from her seas.
DZ is right, and I'm sure that earlier on in your career Bill you thought "BOATS, Schmoats! This sheet is tha baaaallzzzzz!!!" Why is that? It's because they are two completely different types of fishing. The common denominator is fishing, but surfcasting is far more difficult. Hence the agreed upon idea that it is a "younger man's game". It is undoubtedly more taxing physically, it is more perilous from the rocks and sea perspective alone, and the reason it is tougher to catch large from the shore rather than a boat is the surfcaster does not have the Lowrance at his disposal or the added leverage of a boat, heavier gear, and a motor or two. In my view, the most pronounced contrast is that you've introduced the boat into the dynamic and given yourself a huge edge against our beloved prey. Surfcasters and boaters are both fishermen granted, but they are two entirely variant breeds. It doesn't make you any less of a fisherman, just a different kind of angler.
Mr Nolan, you are right as well. From your perspective it is definitely easier to cover more water in less time with the advantage of twin Mercs speeding one around The Bay and harbors. Looking from the sea to the shore, as opposed to the shore to the sea affords one a myriad of viewpoints and the accessability factor increases more rapidly and quite exponentially. You also have a much broader view. From the rocks I am limited to how far I can rockhop & cast/swim & cast. From a boat you can survey an entire area and prolly see the bait before it sees you? From a boat you can not only see for miles, and miles, and miles; but you can GET there and get there quickly! Less harm to the body, less stress from the rocks, and better opportunity for some 50's, 60's, 70's, eh mates? Not wrong or right, just different.
And this is where the more rewarding part comes in. Because the two styles of fishing are so diverse, and surfcasting is much harder for many reasons, that is why a 30#er from the surf is a "great achievement" as you said Bill, and more the norm from a boat. It is more commonplace than rare, expected rather than "achieved" everytime you fuel that fiberglass up isn't it?. Could this be why OTW, in its Striper Cup, adds a weight differential to its surf division? Is it fair to say that a "great achievement" from a boat would be a 40#er and up?
Please don't misunderstand me, both types of fishing are equally rewarding in their own rights, but both are extremely different and that's what separates those that fish from a boat and those of us that (at least for now) subscribe to the philosophies like:
"I wouldn't be caught dead in a boat!"
"Boat fish don't count"
"Fish Hard, Live Long"
"Chunking is for cheaters"...................Oh wait, that's an entirely different thread
.
And it was always expected..thats the attitude you need to score in either a boat or in the surf...Your post is good but I fished the surf for 23 years or so...so I have seen and done just about everything in the surf....I think my perspective is as god as anyones....I can say that a boat doesnt always mean a big fish...its still a hunt and has its own set of nuances...So basically I have been there done that in the surf..
Game AWN! I have to balance the boat thing hitting the surf in under an hour. And Oh Jim get the boat, if it means you'll enjoy it, make yoursef happy, I did the math this week and running to the canal each morning and fishing home waters at night from my truck I would have saved money AND KNOCKED THE SNOT OUT OF FISH had I had a small bay boat I could trailer... Guess who's taking strippers off his winter budget?
Hybrid Mode
