Todays video posting is a long one. First, I apologize for some technical difficulties. I'm still getting used to all this new equipment (new, LOL- I've had it all for at least a year and in the case of the camera two years). Second, I semi-apologize for all the disclaimers and the long lead in for this. For those of you who know me, or have seen me talk, you know that I believe very strongly in giving context and being upfront about where and how I fish. In this video, I felt it was particularly important to give context of where I was coming from.
Some of the lures are on this list are specifically picked because they are cheap or versatile- not because they're my ultimate favorites. And that raises a really interesting point, which I've alluded to before: lures that work, versus lures you enjoy fishing. There is a strange intersection between the two, and I think many are hesitant to admit that they fish lures because they like them, even if they don't catch them the most fish. For example, we know that night time fishing is the best way to catch the most consistent numbers of large Stripers. Yet, so many of you go out at dawn and fish poppers. Why? Well first off it's a little more comfortable in terms of most peoples schedules, but second off it's really damn fun to watch fish nail poppers. And I will fully admit that if I'm fishing during the day, top water are all I want to use (or the fly rod) and if I can't, I'm dramatically less interested, unless the fish are over 25-pounds. Even those that have the option of fishing all the time, day or night, often lean one way or the other and use specific lures because they're FUN.
The inverse is true of eels. Most agree, they're not particularly fun to fish: logistically they are obnoxious, and they are boring to cast and retrieve if you aren't catching. Yet, they are the top choice of trophy hunters, and many weekend warriors (and yes, even I fished them for a little while half-heartedly). And for good reason: eels out-fish plugs 10:1 or maybe even 50:1 under the vast majority of situations. So even though they're not particularly "enjoyable" to fish in-of-themselves, they are extremely fun to use because they catch huge fish for most anglers.
But I'm not most anglers, and I'm a freak in more ways than one (anyone else enjoy running for 10 hours alone?). I really define the "more than just catching" demographic of guys that care as much about the totality of the fishing experience vs. the actual fish caught. This is one of the reasons I enjoy playing with plugs and fishing and learning as many different types as I can- I like experimenting and challenging myself to catch fish on new things in new ways in new places. It's why I can't help myself but keep adding new locations and running all over the place fishing.
And I enjoy the actual action of fishing specific plugs- jerk-bait style glide baits, for example, are fun to work because they take a lot of input. It's why I adore fly fishing- the act of casting is so enjoyable that I almost never get bored and often have to force myself to go home.
So when I made this list, I was aware that this all factored into my choices. I think the Danny, Doc, and Pencil are the defining plugs here for that- they are perhaps not the best choices, but they are plugs I love, enjoy working, and fish because they are fun to cast and work without ever hooking up. It's what I really enjoyed about fishing bucktails in inlets for the 5-6 years I did it- getting the drift jjjuuussssttttt right and then getting nailed was really fun. My problem with that style of fishing was 1) standing in the same spot constantly, 2) can't get in the water, and 3) crowds and other anglers. That is to say, the experience wasn't perfect. I'll take waves and boulders, thank you.
Anyways, I'm still holding off really aggressively hitting the surf and haven't been out over a week now. With warm weather coming, I have a feeling I won't be able to hold off much longer. However, I have scouted new trout and bass waters and look forward to working those into my rotation starting this week. I took some nice "skunk weed" photos yesterday, and you are seeing them in this post.
I knocked out a 15 mile run last Saturday (with a 1000ft of climbing), and have to run a half-marathon with a client (on opposite sides of country roads- social distancing) in 4-5 weeks, and then hope to get in 1 more run of 18-20 miles before June 1 and it'll be time to cut wwaayyy back on running and dive into the surf "40 hours a week" again. Can't wait.
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