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Author Topic: "You Can't Catch Saltwater Fish on Bass Tackle, Little Boy"  (Read 8617 times)

Otter

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When I was 10 years old (22 years ago), I went to a place called "Shantytown" near Ocean City Maryland.  It's primarily a shopping venue right along the waterway that connects some back bays with the Atlantic Ocean.  After our family beach trip, we went there to let my sisters and my Mom shop.  I had fishing gear with me and paid a few bucks to fish the local pier that really just ran alongside (not really out into) the water.  I knew that snapper bluefish and some nice weakfish were running from previous evenings spent with my brother (Fat boy).  The night before, we seemed to be the only ones that could catch the snapper bluefish that people were using for bait.  We had 1/8 ounce jig heads tipped with squid and we tore 'em up on the ultra-lites.  The old timers were paying us a buck a piece to use the snappers as bait.  I made $7 that night and that was alot back then for a 10 year old; many, many videogames.  Anyway, I through a grub a while and I noticed that there were needlefish that were getting attacked on the surface so I switched lures to a 6" Rapala floater, the closest thing I had that resembled a needlefish.  I was tossing it with a medium action rod and 8 lb test monofilament.  This was far below the local standard of massive surf rods and heavy baitcasting setups used to cast conventional bait rigs that weighed more than the fish they were catching.  Minimum 30 lb test mono.  I started to cast this lure when one of the local curmudgeons decided to educate me about saltwater fishing.  While he was giving me his dissertation on how these "bass lures" didn't work in saltwater, my Rapala innocently fluttered in the current alongside the dock as I listened.  He was about mid-way through his spiel when a chopper bluefish lived up to it's name and chopped my Rapala in half!  I was amazed and astonished and I looked for the closest thing to my demolished lure and found it in a similar Rebel floater.  At this point, I had an excuse to ignore the Shantytown gentleman, there were fish to be caught!  I cast out the rebel and on the first cast a large, 6 lb weakfish attacked it as if it were a needlefish, getting two treble hooks full of Rebel.  I landed the fish and another guy on the pier helped me net it.  A few casts later, I landed a 4 lb weakfish.  I was absolutely thrilled!  It was about 10:00 PM now, a late night for a 10 year old and the shoppers were finished.  As I looked down the pier, I could see that all the old farts, yocals and curmudgeons had switched to anything that resembled what I was fishing with.  I left with two fine sea trout and a noticeable spring to my step.  ;D

I told this story so many times to my brother that I think he called it "fishing story number 17" or something like that, but I remeber it as if it were yesterday.

sbfpa_Mike

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Re: "You Can't Catch Saltwater Fish on Bass Tackle, Little Boy"
« Reply #1 on: Mar 22, 2004, 09:03 PM »
Otter,

     This is one of my "Credo's" in life;  Don't ever tell me I can't do something.

perch pounder

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Re: "You Can't Catch Saltwater Fish on Bass Tackle, Little Boy"
« Reply #2 on: Mar 23, 2004, 05:08 PM »
  >:( Telling me I can't will only make me try harder ;D
here  fishy , fishy , fishy.......

Otter

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Re: "You Can't Catch Saltwater Fish on Bass Tackle, Little Boy"
« Reply #3 on: Mar 24, 2004, 03:52 PM »
Yep, I've always been a bit of hard head myself.


reelcharacter

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Re: "You Can't Catch Saltwater Fish on Bass Tackle, Little Boy"
« Reply #4 on: Mar 24, 2004, 11:26 PM »
Great story with a great message. Fish don't read all the things the fishermen do, so they do not realize they are not supposed to bite on freshwater bass lures. Through the eyes of a 10 year old, who also had not read all the books the fisher"men" had . . .

-Reelcharacter
Email me to swap information on fishing holes or to go fish'in sometime in the Syracuse Central NY area (Onondaga and Madison county water holes in particular).

Hollywood

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Re: "You Can't Catch Saltwater Fish on Bass Tackle, Little Boy"
« Reply #5 on: Mar 25, 2004, 07:23 AM »
My Dad & I got much the same reaction when we showed up at Assateague beach in VA. to surf fish with our 6 ft. fresh water rigs with 6 lb test. All the locals & experts using 12-14' surf rods with rope for line. We dug up some sand fleas & proceeded to catch about 30 croakers (they're delicious!) just out of sight of the "experts". The croakers were feeding right where the waves broke-they were all casting way past the fish(though if the fish were where they were casting - we could'nt have reached them) The looks on their faces when they saw us walking back out with all those fish.....Priceless! I know from experiance that I am my own worst enemy when I think I have all the answers for a certain species or body of water-a closed mind catches few fish! Theres enough to learn that I'll never "Know-it-all",I've learned the most from the times I was the one looking incredulously at the guy with all the fish - you know, the "clueless" guy.........

reubenpa

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Re: "You Can't Catch Saltwater Fish on Bass Tackle, Little Boy"
« Reply #6 on: Mar 27, 2004, 08:15 PM »
I hate being the one sitting there waiting, and the guy next to you is ripping fish out one rigth after the other.  It is mostly the older guys, I am still young, so I try to be there buddy and hope they teach me a few things.  As RGfixit said, it is good to have an old man to teach you how to fish.  I need one so I don't look like a fool
Just wanna be fishing, not just wishin

 



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