Hi from NY

gadabout · December 11, 2011, 10:21:10 PM

Thanks again for the warm welcomes.

Bryan - yes we can have great "rock" fishing here, which we of course call striped bass. We can also have poor striped bass fishing, and that was the name of the game this year. I only got a total of 5 for the whole year and I fish pretty often. Here's a typical striper, caught at Montauk Point in October.

broadway · December 12, 2011, 01:31:35 AM

Healthy-looking fish (nice color).... she looks between 26"-28". Was that your teaser up the line that was hit? ... I do best on that little sucker when I use 'em

Thanks for sharing,
Dom

Dominick · December 12, 2011, 01:38:35 AM

Quote from: broadway on December 12, 2011, 01:31:35 AM
Healthy-looking fish (nice color).... she looks between 26"-28". Was that your teaser up the line that was hit? ... I do best on that little sucker when I use 'em
Thanks for sharing,
Dom

Hey Dom: Do you catch sick looking fish? You sound impressed at the health of this fish.

Dominick

gadabout · December 12, 2011, 02:52:03 AM

Dom - It was around 30" if I remember right. What looks like a teaser is just a piece of rope that I had through the fish's mouth. It was caught on a metal-lipped swimmer. I make my own.

broadway · December 12, 2011, 03:09:12 AM

Hey Dominick,
Lots of times (esp. summer) the stripers come up with red lesions (bacterial infection could be caused by low oxygen levels also) all over, or sea lice, or are a little more olive than the one in the photo which looks like a fall bass (more silvery than olive). In the fall they can get a red mouth area from breaking clams, rooting around in the sand and smashing eels in the sand. In the spring/ summertime the bunker are the bait of choice so no need for rooting. The eels aren't very readily available in the spring/ summer (at least in Brooklyn) so no smashing. The clams are around however we don't have many storms till late summer/ fall. The storms bang the clams around so they break on rocks, each other, etc. ....Sorry for the long winded explanation, but that's why I said healthy looking.
Dom

Alto Mare · December 12, 2011, 03:40:07 AM

Rob, is that a custom spinfisher that you're using?
Sal

gadabout · December 12, 2011, 03:43:38 AM

Sal,

The reel or the rod? The rod I built myself. The reel is a Van Staal 300.

Alto Mare · December 12, 2011, 03:49:29 AM

Very nice setup Rob. I'm more impressed on that custom rod. Can you show some more pix of it when you get a chance? Sal

gadabout · December 12, 2011, 04:12:32 AM

I think this is the only other pic I have of it Sal. Tough to get a picture of an 11 1/2' 1-piece rod.

redsetta · December 12, 2011, 05:26:33 AM

I like the design of those Van Staals - a great example of 'form follows function'.
Thor did a tutorial on one a while back that looked really good (http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=2776.0).
Never seen one in NZ, but will be interested to have a crack at one eventually.
Cheers Rob, Justin

Alto Mare · December 12, 2011, 05:31:33 AM

Wow, I'm impressed. I've only done one rod a while back, it was a Broco Unlimited Serie. That thing was a beast, I completely stripped it and refinished it. I think I sold it for $300, never took a picture. I also built me a jig made out of oak with a motor from a rotisserie. After my experience of how much work and patience was needed, I quickly gave up. How did you manage to wrap that 11 1/2' one piece rod? It must have not been easy. Great job! Thanks for sharing. Sal

gadabout · December 12, 2011, 03:06:01 PM

Sal - I've built quite a few one-piece surf rods using just a Thompson thread holder clamped to the sock drawer on my bedroom dresser. You don't really need a lot of special tools to build a rod. That's how I built the rod in the photo. I eventually got a power wrapper / rod turner but I probably built about 40 rods before I got one.

Regarding the Van Staal reels, they are great for certain applications where the reel gets completely submerged, but a hassle to own otherwise. Fishing in places like Montauk Point, it's nice to be able to use your surf rod as a walking stick due to the difficult wading conditions, so the reel is gonna get dunked all the time. Also, some guys out there will put on wetsuits and swim out to rocks. Thats where reels like the Van Staal and the ZeeBass are a big plus. But the Van Staal, particulary the older ones like mine, were designed to discourage self-maintenance. Sending them to the factory for maintenance every year or two is expensive. There's a lot to be said for a good ole Penn 704 or a Mitchell 302, which are the reels that I use most of the time when conditions don't warrant the Van Staal.

redsetta · December 12, 2011, 07:42:44 PM

Cheers for the insight Rob - much appreciated.