Conference wahoo::fishing

		The surf fishing on the North Shore has been
	a little light this season. My favorite spot for surf fishing 
	Blues is Eastern Point lighthouse in Gloucester. Drive toward
	the Bass Rocks area and take the private road through Eastern
	Point to the Coast Guard light house. You can legally drive on
	the road if your going fishing at the light house. The jetty is
	about a half mile long and in great shape. The late
	afterwork fishing on a tide change can be very good. Forget this
	place on weekends.

		The blues usually hit on a tide change, and when their
	hitting the whole jetty cleans house. Try bait or lures, and
	keep your eyes peeled for other peoples rod's bending. 

		Another almost sure bet is night blue fishing, the
	Yankee Fleet in Gloucester and the Atlantic Fleet in Rye, NH.
	are very good. My personal preference is the Atlantic fleet,
	the boat leaves at 6:00 at returns at 10:00 the price is $17.00.
	Call them at 603-964-5220 to check out how the fishing is and
	make reservations. During late august it not uncommon
	for the boat to catch 200 - 300+ jumbo blues per night.
	Its a good way to get the anxiety of catching that first bluefish 
	of the season out of your system. Personally, I am a catch & release
	person and use barbless hooks on these boating trips to prevent
	unneccesary slaughter. My personal record was @ 20 until my hand fell 
	off.

							=Paul=

If you're relatively mobile, I suggest you read the fishing report in
Friday's Globe.  Friends tell me the info is accurate and timely.  The
locations might not be too specific, but they'll send you in the direction
where you're most likely to catch fish.

Steve

	Fishing Report:
		Location: Race's Point Provincetown, Mass
		          A two mile walk from the parking
			  area to the lighthouse.
		Time:	  Friday and Saturday 8/7 - 8/8
		Game:     Bluefish
		Results:  Goodtime, minimal fish

	One of the real surfishing mecca's is Race's Point down in 
	Provincetown. If you have a four wheeler pick up a permit and
	drive your vehicle right to the water's edge. I have a two 
	wheeler and don't mind walking the two miles down to the light
	house; eventhough, any place from the parking lot to the light
	house can ignite with Blues at anytime.

	The water temperature was ideal @68-70 degrees and calm. My rig
	is 12 foot rod with 12 pound test line for maximum castability.
	I rigged up with a Hopkins and packed a few beers for the walk.
	About a half mile down I noticed a some boiling action moving 
	toward shore. I stepped in the water and muscled a megacast out 
	to the boil, and immediately hit onto a good sized blue. After 
	a few minutes of great battling I realized my gaff and pliers were
	well up on shore. After about 20 minutes I worked the blue into
	shallow water and dragged him up on shore. Then I peeled off some 
	line and ran up to shore for my pliers. My brother wasn't much help
	since he had another blue on right beside me! I hooked and tried to
	get off another cast before the blues disappeared, but I was too late.

	What usually happens with catching a fish on the first cast is you
	get skunked for the rest of the trip, and thats what happened to
	me. I fished a solid 4 hours on friday and 5 hours on saturday
	and came away with only one fish. But the weather was great.

							=Paul=

    Can anyone tell me what I need to do to get a permit to drive my
    4-wheeler on the beach to get close to the action?
    

    Check out GENRAL::4WD for more info, there's a topic or 2 that covers
    this.  
           
    I got a permit for the Parker River Refuge on Plum Island this year.
           
    I can't recall the whole list, but some of the things that you'll
    probably need are:  tire guage, compressor, jack plate, jack, tow
    rope, shovel, adequate tires.... that's all I can think ofat the
    moment... 
           
    Don Mac

    
    Hello fellow Fishermen,
    
    I am also a newcomer to the sport "Surf Fishing"  I just purchased
    a Penn 650ss and a 10' pole.  Due to various comments in this note.
    
    I will be spending two weeks in Long Beach Island, NJ near the
    lighthouse in june 14-29.  Are there any of you Nj anglers that
    can help me in selecting bait whether it be lures or fresh bait.
    
    Is it correct to use 17# line?  I also read that it is best to fish
    2 hours before high tide and 2 hours after low tide.  I work at
    the DCO office in Landover Md. and am looking for some local fishermen
    to tag along with to learn some more...are u out there???
    
    Is the Beach Bagel still out there?? Do you have any info on Nj
    fishing tips?
    

Unfortunately, Rich (Beach Bagel) passed away in your absence.  Your note
reminded me of him for the first time in a while.

17# is a good start, the 650SS is a great reel.  I suggest you try your local
tackle shops for baits.

You don't say what you're after, but any floating/diving plug such as a Rebel
or a Rapala will work well.  So will Atom poppers and Hopkins spoons.  These
will all catch both stripers and bluefish.  I'm not sure about natural baits
down there, but here we use herring, mackeral and eels, mostly.  Either live
or frozen chunks.


Tim

    	If you're fishing for blues or stripers, the rig you have is fine.
    The recommendations given earlier are fine too (i.e. cut bait, top 
    water/diving plugs, hopkins, bucktails, spoons, hoochy-trolls, etc.) 
    The local bait shops can most likely help you out with what's biting,
    where, and on what.

    	The big surf game fish (as far as edible fish) down there though 
    are the fluke and weakfish. If you're fishing for either of these, 
    there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that you have way to 
    much rod/reel. The good news is that you can pick up a decent outfit
    for around $30.

    	I spent most of my time in N.J. down in the Sandy Hook/Atlantic
    Highlands area fishing for fluke. If you're going after them you'll 
    want to get something more along the lines of a medium fresh water 
    outfit. A spinning outfit is ideal but a baitcaster would work fine too
    so long as you can get the hang of casting it. I'd go for the spinning
    outfit if you're just starting out. 

    	For bait, you can use a live killie (type of small bait fish) and/or 
    a strip of squid on a fluke hook. A true turn bass hook (2/0) will do in a 
    pinch if you don't have fluke hooks. I prefer the live killie given a 
    choice between killie or squid strip. Most bait shops down there carry
    killies. They keep fairly well in a bucket if you change the water once 
    in while. 
    
    	To rig for fluke, use about a 1/2 oz. to a 1 oz. weight and 6-8 lb. 
    test line. I prefer the flat, round weights but egg sinkers are fine. The 
    lighter the weight the better, but you want it to reach the bottom. Run 
    the line through the weight eye and tie it to a swivel (gives you a sliding 
    weight.) Tie a 2' (+ or - a few inches) leader line onto the swivel 
    with a single fluke hook tied at the end.

    	I used to use both the killie and a squid strip, unless the crabs
    were really thick in which case you leave off the squid strip. Hook the
    killie through the lips and put the squid strip on like you would a
    pork trailer. You cast this out, let it sink and set about 30 seconds to 
    a minute, then slowly drag it along the bottom, stopping/starting after 
    every 5 or so cranks for a few seconds. Some days they like a faster
    retrieve than others. You just have to figure this part out yourself.

    	A fluke does not "usually" bite like most other fish. They inhale 
    the bait and tend to swim right along with it; what you're trying to
    feel is a little added weight on the line. The closest thing I can
    think of to explain what it feels like is it's the same feeling as when 
    you have a crab or a few small weeds on the line. This is why you need 
    smaller, more sensitive tackle to fish for fluke. You can catch them on 
    your rig but you will tend to miss a lot of pickups. 

    	When you do feel a little extra weight, reel in all the slack line
    with your rod tip down and slowly raise your tip up to set the hook. DO
    NOT DO A HARD HOOK SET. Fluke have VERY soft jaws. If you do a hard
    hook set you will literally rip their lips off. I learned this the hard
    way ;-) It is EXTREMELY important to have razor sharp hooks since you
    can't really drive the hook in.

    	Weakfish can be caught using the same technique but from what I
    remember, sand or blood worms work a little better for them. The ideal
    way to fish for either of these fish is drift fishing channels, ridges,
    drop-offs, etc., from a boat, but I have taken a fair amount of them
    from the surf.

    	Hope this helps.......Good luck.

    	RAYJ
    	
    BTW - The Beach Bagel was who taught me most of what I know about fluke
    fishing. I miss him too but life goes on I suppose.