Suburban Fisherman

by Tim “The Fishman” Coulson

Tackle

8-9 ft rod rated for line up to 20 pound test, Steel leader (24 inch minimum) if bluefish are the predominate fish

Some bait used other than artificial lures are clams, bunker, Sandworms all of which can be rigged as shown in the illustration below.

Basic Saltwater Lures and Applications

For Striped Bass and Bluefish there are multiples of lures and approaches to take. In general there are three types of lures…

There are surface lures which float on the surface and the fisherman needs to “work” such as popping it along the surface to imitate a wounded baitfish. These types of lures are deadly when there is a feeding frenzy on the beach (lure on the right yellow and red popper in the photo). The action is awesome to watch as the predators come up on the lure and smack it.

The second type of lure would be a bit under the surface say 3-6 feet, these are swimmers that you cast and retrieve at a steady pace(the middle yellow/black swimmer in the photo). The lure does all the work as it swims back and forth, the fisherman only needs to retrieve and wait for the strike. The speed of the retrieve can be changed and sometimes makes all the difference. In colder water the slower the better sometimes…however sometimes if you pause while reeling in..this will also trigger the strike.

The other type of lure is “metal” (the left a Diamond jig and a crocodile) which will allow you to get lower in the water column….metals work very good for bluefish combined with a steel leader so that you don’t lose your expensive lures to the toothy blues. The metal lures will also allow you to cast out far and reach a school of fish on the beach. The fisherman just needs to cast out and let the lure sink to the bottom…before starting the retrieve…the again the speed of the retrieve can be changed and could be your secret.

The best approach it to get out there and get a line wet.

Enjoy! You may just get hooked for life.

by Tim “The Fishman” Coulson

It’s that time of year when you need to be prepared for whatever mother nature has ready to throw at you. Recently, I was going out to fish the bay and figured I would invite a friend along that normally doesn’t get out to fish much. I told him that the bass have been “on the chew” and I could put him on some nice fish. He was very excited to tangle with some big striped bass, so I told him to meet at the marina at 6am.

The next morning at 6am sharp Chris pulls in and gets out of the car with cooler in hand loaded with sandwiches, a few cold drinks and some snacks. In the other hand he has a few rods and a tackle box. He was ready to go…that is if we were going in the summer. I asked if he had rain gear and some warmer clothes only to be laughed at and called a girlie man that couldn’t handle the cold.

I’m not one to tell people what to do but I am one that continues to fish even though the weather gets a bit snotty. The weather had been calling for passing showers and temperatures in the mid 50’s. This is usually some of the best bass weather you could hope for. If it’s foggy with a little drizzle the bass will usually cooperate. I figured I better be ready for the worst so I grabbed “The Guest” pair of rain gear and stashed it under the center console. We headed out to the bay and we weren’t past the Highlands Bridge before Chris looked a little blue with a T-shirt and a windbreaker. I also packed an extra sweatshirt so he put that on and started feeling much better. We fished for about an hour without much luck and then the rain started.

I reached into the console and pulled out my raingear while my friend sat and wondered what he was going to do. I then refreshed his memory about the girlie man comment and gave him the guest rain gear.

Ha! “The Guest” rain gear… is a Tyvex environmental suit with the feet. This is what they wear to do toxic cleanups, and had been given to me by another friend, who promised they were new. The person who wears this is guaranteed to look like the Michelin man going down the river at 50 mph. It looked as though the rain was here to stay so we headed back in. Though Chris was looking like a giant wet marshmallow, he was at least warm and dry inside. I did get a good laugh the whole way in and I think the next time my friend will be better prepared. I did tell him that I have a pair of guest waders if he wants to go to the surf…

I don’t think he’s interested. When the weather turns for the worse and there are high winds with driving rain I don’t try to fight Mother Nature, instead I change locations to somewhere a little more comfortable and safe. As a dedicated fisherman you need to be able to fish whenever the fish are biting. I remember one year when the wind was howling out of the north at 25 mph and my brother and I decided to drive around and check out some of our usual spots to see if they were fishable from land. We stopped at one of the dead-end streets along the Shrewsbury River and watched the tide ripping out against the wind as we sipped our hot coffee. I told brother “hey, we’re here I am gonna give it a shot”.

I put on my raingear and attempted to launch a bomber lure into the river. I think it went about 20 ft in front of me and BAM! I turned around and yelled for brother to get the gaff and landed a nice 22-pound bass. My brother thought it was a fluke and went back into the warmth of the car only to be interrupted again by a 19-pound bass on the next cast.

At this point brother figured he better give it a try but it was over - hey, at least he enjoyed his coffee.

by Tim “The Fishman” Coulson

Having grown up in Red Bank and Tinton Falls NJ, the Navasink and Shrewsbury Rivers have been my second home. My father would take my brother and me fishing when I was five and I have never stopped. In fact, I fish with my brother just about every other day. Throughout the year, and from season to season, these rivers provide an unlimited array of different fishing opportunities. I have a few friends that tease me about never leaving the rivers, but at the end of the day when we compare catches, I usually walk away with a smile (and the biggest catch!).

On the rare occasion that I do venture out around the tip of the hook, my friends will say “Hey, do you have a note from your mother?” implying of coarse, that I need a permission slip from my mother to come out to the ocean. The facts are that if you fish at the right times and are using the right bait you’ll catch fish. Of course, we are talking about fishing and not catching so there are plenty of things that can go wrong to hamper your pursuit for fresh seafood.

There are different seasons for local fish just as there are for locally grown produce. You wouldn’t expect the sweet corn to be very sweet in December, just like you wouldn’t expect the bluefish to be biting in January. In the spring, some of the first signs of life in the rivers are the arrival of menhaden or moss bunker. This usually occurs in April, depending of course on the harshness of the winter.  Other baitfishes, such as herring, also start to enter the rivers as well at this time. Not far behind the baitfish are the Striped Bass, which have migrated following the bait up the coast from the south. This is a good time to use live bait for bass for a shot at a trophy fish from 10-30 pounds or maybe bigger.

One day this past spring, while fishing with live bunker and drifting in the river, I landed one bass after another until the bait was gone. It was around 6 that morning when we finished catching nine fresh bunkers for bait. I set a drift and waited while the bunker swam in the current. The bait didn’t even have a chance to get to the bottom before WHAM! Then seconds later WHAM again! “Fish on!” my brother yells and we are both fighting two nice fish. We landed the fish, both in the 20 pound range, on the first drift. A few minutes later, after a quick celebration, we settled down and set another drift up the river. A friend was passing in his boat and came over to see how we were doing, and of coarse do the usual tease about “the Brothers” not going to the ocean. At this point I am just a bundle of nerves inside and showing my best poker face because I can feel my bait being attacked again. I tell him that I can’t talk at the moment because I am about to be busy. It was about that time when I set the hook on what turned out to be another bass in the 25-pound range. I think my friend was in shock because he just stood there as we pulled in two more nice striped bass. He finally decided to try his luck, but by that time the bite was off.

This is the story of being in the right place at the right time with the right bait and the proper moon alignment, etc., etc. (Oh yea and I had my lucky rock too!).   All kidding aside, there are some nice fish to be found in the rivers and you too can find them if you take the time to “know your fishing hole”.

After 35 years of camping, I have given up on roughing it and prefer to keep things civilized on my camping trips. There are a lot of products on the market today that have helped me achieve that goal. If you, too, are reluctant to sacrifice the good life while camping, you might want to give some of these a try.

First, are collapsible buckets, which can be purchased at most camping our outdoor stores. Collapsed, they take up little to no space, so you can bring more than one without sacrificing precious storage space.

But, once expanded, you have a strong bucket to hold up to 3 gallons of water, and substantial handles to carry it safely. Most brands can withstand cold or hot water. I use them for everything, washing and rinsing camping kits, holding my catch of the day and lots more.

I have discovered a great way to eat well even while camping: my stainless steel super cooler. This cooler is the real deal ” it can keep ice frozen in 90 degree heat ” for up to five days! No more trail mix and canned survival food for me, I have real meat and dairy products when I camp now. I like to bring along a smaller cooler for my drinks so that I don’t have to open my super cooler as often. That way, the food I store there stays cold and fresh the entire trip.

Camping isn’t civilized without a good pot of coffee. But the grounds and pots make it such a hassle. I have discovered that single serve coffee is the answer. These are individual tea bags that actually filter the coffee without the mess. I like to boil up a big pot of water, dunk several single serve coffee bags in. When they have set there awhile, I transfer to a thermos and have coffee all day long that is as good as home. It can be a disaster, however, with the wrong single serve brand. Some taste worse than shoe leather, so make sure you find a brand that you like before heading out on your trip.

Camping is great, but its no fun to cart all that gear around. I use plastic milk crates to store and carry my supplies. They are sturdy and can hold heavy weight, and the handles on all sides make them easy to carry no matter what you have stuffed in them. Try to find the real deal that dairies use rather than those sold in home stores. They are sturdier and make great seats and stepladders as well. Many dairies will be happy to sell you a few, and may even give them to you if they have an overflow.

No one likes when it unexpectedly rains on a long anticipated trip, and so my final piece of advice is to always take something to do in case of bad weather. One think I like to do when the weather turns bad on a trip is to play the card game Apple to Apples. People of all ages enjoy it and since it is small it doesn’t take up space that you’d rather have for all your other camping gear.

So, as you can see, you don’t have to leave the best things in life home when you hit the trail for a camping trip. A few simple additions and you are ready to hit the road in comfort.

Most fly fishermen will tell you that their reels are the most important piece of equipment in their arsenal. As there are different rods for certain situations so is the same for fly fishing reels. It is not required for you to drop a bunch of money on a new fly fishing reel, although you could if you want. Generally a basic fly reel is all that you will need, and work for most situations. If you make the correct choice you might not have to replace it for years to come.

You will see many trout fishermen striping their line manually instead of using the handle. When asked why, the majority reply that it is quicker doing it by hand rather than using the handle. Also stated that you get a better feel and control by holding the line in your hand.

Depending on the situation that you are in, sometimes it is better to reel the line in manually and sometimes it is preferable to use the handle. When following a large fish most people prefer to use the handle for better control. Another situation to use the handle is when you have thick foliage and there is a chance of getting your line caught. If you are moving around in the water a lot, using the handle is a good idea.

It seems that salmon fishermen reel their line in the most frequently. Salmon fishermen are more likely to be in the water fishing and this is the reason they reel their line in. The larger salmon reels are more efficient in reeling line in, than there sister trout reels.

With companies like Sage pressing research and development, fishing technology is growing by huge jumps. Using material such as graphite is also making fly fishing equipment lighter. Many fly fishing purists prefer to use the heavier older reels because it gave their rods a balance.

If you have your eye on a new fly fishing reel, consider purchasing two so that you will have a backup. You will not want to have only one reel when it goes bad in the field. A trick to help you in your decision is to mark your line weight so there will be no guesswork involved. You will save yourself a lot of time when preparing for your fishing trip.

Storing your fly reels in a storage bag is a smart decision to protect your investment. Extra reels find themselves in the bottom of tackle boxes for long periods of time. Reels in tackle boxes can get damaged without you knowing, and not finding out until critical situations.

To keep from having to change out reels and line you might consider getting two different rods. a lot of salmon fishermen will have two different rod and reel setups, one for when you want to float rod fish and one for sunk line fishing.

Make a list of your requirements before making a purchase, knowing how you will use your rod and reel and for what purposes will help immensely in your decision. Another option is to check out the Auction sites for used fly fishing equipment.