50lb Skills

[stripermaineiac]

I fish mostly the surf. My last big one was 54lb 3 oz. She about kicked my butt. I had a custom outfit with a Sustain using 50lb braid. I hooked this fish in a bad rockpile-The Fenway-around the corner from Misquamacit Beach in Rhody. I had a tight drag and she swam away like i was using 10lb test like the drag wasn't even there.The big ones are a different creature.As I got her turned after the 3rd run she put her side against a big rock and wouldn't move. i held and she held too. I tried a trick an oldtimer told me about after 5min of neither giving in. I opened the bail and held my rod up as high as I could and put my head lamp pointing towards the tip of my rod so as to be able to see the line move when the fish moved off the rock.I counted to 10 as the line started to go through the tip. I closed the bail and the fight was back on but now the fish was 20 to 30 feet away from the rock going towards water that had a few less rocks in it.Once her nose was turned towards me i worked her through the rocks and landed her.I was shaking from head to toe.
The point is that you need to be as flexible as a big fish forces you to be. There is no one way to do it nor is there no best way but the one that gets a nice fish out of the water.Good gear,sharp hooks,patience and loads of luck all help.Map where your fishing to know where you have a chance to land a nice fish and what ever you do don't rush it.Keep your line tight as much as posssible. bow to the fish-keep your rod tip high so you can-when you need to and the closer the fish gets to shore lighten your drag . That way when the fish is in the wash it can be alowed to move with the wave in the wash so that you don't part off there-done it myself-and grab the fish not your line as quick as you can. Go for the gill plate or the lip not the slimy tail or back .Whatever you do don't stradle the fish and sit on it. The spiny fin barbs hurt and the family jewels can't be replaced LOL. Beyond that luck helps.There's not a one of us that's landed a big one that hasn't lost many that size or bigger due to on mistake or another. Ron

[fishgolf]

I caught my first striper at 13 yrs old in those rocks.
Was so excited, I knelt down to get the fish and broke off the end of by big brother's rod... (good news for me, bad news for him). That was 1967... he still has the rod
df

[Slingah]

No 50 here, but I'll have to agree with Nebe that the #1 factor is TIME. Like almost everything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Catching big striped bass takes up lots and lots of time.

[Rockfish9]

Fish hard, fish often, fish big, as in big bait, and as much as I like catching fish on plugs, a live eel or bunker is your best ticket to a real slob.., do not buy into old myths, myths like flat water does not hold large bass, full moon scares fish from the shallows. are a bunch of huey..fish quality, not quanity.. large bass, 40lbs and up, tend not to hang with the smaller, more energetic "teenagers" will make large bass seek better feeding places... research traditional hot spots for "50's".. this means not just an area.. but an actual "spot".. fish of that size tend to reappear in those areas.....year in and year out....

this point in time is a good chance at a fish weighing half a hundred, there are fair number of them available to those that put in their time..

[Sea Flat]

What Nebe said X3.

IMO it is very rare that you will ever hear of a weekend warrior catching a fish of great size. Occasionally a bait dunker may get lucky with a bunker head, but most of the guys that catch big fish fish all the time. I am not one of those guys and therefore have yet to break 40lbs. Fish at night and fish a lot. Good luck this season

[robc22]

Originally Posted by Sea Flat

What Nebe said X3.

IMO it is very rare that you will ever hear of a weekend warrior catching a fish of great size. Occasionally a bait dunker may get lucky with a bunker head, but most of the guys that catch big fish fish all the time. I am not one of those guys and therefore have yet to break 40lbs. Fish at night and fish a lot. Good luck this season

This is a very good way to catch a fifty plus........

[JohnnySaxatilis]

Originally Posted by Rockfish9

Fish hard, fish often, fish big, as in big bait, and as much as I like catching fish on plugs, a live eel or bunker is your best ticket to a real slob.., do not buy into old myths, myths like flat water does not hold large bass, full moon scares fish from the shallows. are a bunch of huey..fish quality, not quanity.. large bass, 40lbs and up, tend not to hang with the smaller, more energetic "teenagers" will make large bass seek better feeding places... research traditional hot spots for "50's".. this means not just an area.. but an actual "spot".. fish of that size tend to reappear in those areas.....year in and year out....

this point in time is a good chance at a fish weighing half a hundred, there are fair number of them available to those that put in their time..

Joe has a 50 for each digit on both hands I believe. I always try to memorize what he says when on the FAR OFF endless search for mystical 50 skills . Good thread.

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by JohnnySaxatilis

Joe has a 50 for each digit on both hands I believe. I always try to memorize what he says when on the FAR OFF endless search for mystical 50 skills . Good thread.

Plus all my toes on one foot...

the absolute best advise I can give is to fish as often and as hard as you can.. be prepared to loose some sleep.. fish don't read books and have fins and a tail.. they just might show up anywhere... i don't know of anyone who has caught one from their living room ...

there was a nice article about this in last Junes On the Water magazine...Cow hunter, Crazy Al, Jason Coby and myself all gave our .02 on what it takes to find the fish of a lifetime..