I have been fishing Cuttyhunk for the past 9 years.  I have fished with small groups (2 – 4 surfcasters) and large groups (12+ surfcasters). Large group trips are logically challenging to coordinate.  I prefer small groups because you can pair up with surfcasters of similar skill and divide and conquer the island over a two-night commando trip.  Small groups are also quieter during the day when you are trying to sleep after a sunset-to-sunrise bass hunt. Pete’s Place Rentals can easily accommodate small, medium, and large groups (across their 10 cottages).

Each cottage has a fully equipped kitchen, beds with linens, and a bathroom stocked with towels and toilet paper.  After being neck deep in the surf for several hours, there is nothing like peeling off your wetsuit, taking a hot shower, and eating a hot meal.  After a power nap, you feel rejuvenated and ready another sunset-to-sunrise bass hunt.

Lexi Lynch manages Pete’s Place Rentals.  She has lived on the island year round since she was a teenager.  She has traveled every road and path on the island.  She knows everyone and everything thing on Cuttyhunk.  If you are thinking of visiting Cutthunk to fish, hike, swim, sail, and just un-plug, drop Lexi a line.  She will set y’all up real nice! 😉

Last January I told my Doctor that I got really sick and lost consciousness. I have never been that sick before. I was very concerned because the ice fishing season was about to start. Not having any data on me, my Doctor ordered a battery of tests. I passed all of the tests. Ironically, my Doctor still issued a prescription: exercise.

Getting into a regular exercise pattern proved to be more difficult than the exercise itself.  The electronics on my elliptical machine failed.  I ordered a rowing machine; the rope snapped.  I am now on my third exercise machine: a Bowflex Max Trainer.  The waves of commitment never ebb.  After getting knocked down several times, I eventually found a time pattern that works.

After taking his prescription for the past 12 months, I have noticed some side effects:

1. Sugary drinks taste funny.
2. Water, wine, and risky taste amazing!
3. I fall asleep before my favorite fishing show ends.
4. Multiple morning coffees have been replace with one cup.
5. My belt has to be tighten to keep my pants from falling for gravity.
6. My T-shirts feel tight around the shoulders and arms.

Thankfully exercise did not impact my fishing schedule.  Surprisingly, I fished harder and longer than the previous year.  I will continue with the exercise thing because it appears to have a positive influence on my fishing.  I will not share the side effects with my Doctor.  I fear what he will prescribe next!

One of my favorite presentations to target largemouth bass is frogs.  I own and fish so many different frogs that I have become a frog freak!  I have frogs in a multitude of shapes, sizes, colors, weights, and actions.  Each frog has their specific application.  My go-to frog is the Stanley Jigs Ribbit Frog.

Stanley Jigs Ribbit Frogs are available in various colors.  They are available in two sizes: 3.5″ and 4.5″. I rig the 3.5″ with an unweighted 4/0 Owner Beast Swimbait Hook.  I rig the 4.5″ with an unweighted 6/0 Owner Beast Swimbait Hook.

Why is the Stanley Jigs Ribbit Frog my go-to frog?  First, I can rig it weedless.  I cast my frogs onto land, into thick weeds, over Lilly pads, and at fallen timber.  Second, it has lots of action.  The sonic vibrations of the feat are seductive.  Third, it casts well.  I like to make looong casts with my frogs so I can cover a lot of water and give fish time to chase the frog.  And lastly, it has a great strike-to-hook up ratio.

As a frog freak, when I go frogging for bass, I have 4 to 5 rods rigged with different frogs.  When fish ignore other frogs, the Stanley Jigs Ribbit Frogs always get’s their attention! 😉

I am a traveling surfcaster. I travel to fishy locations like Cuttyhunk, Blog Island, Mountauk, Cape Cod Canal, Plum Island, and Drake’s Island. Whether I am fishing one night or for multiple nights, I print up my Surfcasting Check List and check off items as I pack them and cross out items that are not needed for the respective trip.

TRUCK

• Gas (check and top up)
• Tire Pressure (check and top up)
• Oil Level (check and top up)
• Windshield washer fluid (check and top up)

GEAR

• 2 Rods (e.g. St. Croix)
• 2 Reels (e.g. ZeeBaas)
• 2 300 yard spools of 50 lb braid (e.g. Power Pro)
• 2 Wetsuits
• 2 Pairs of Wet Soxs
• Neoprene Booties
• Waders: Stocking Foot (Rock Hooping)
• Waders: Attached Boots (Sandy Beaches)
• 2 Pairs of Boots with Studs (e.g. Korkers or GripStuds)
• 2 Watches
• Compass
• 2 lights
• Surf bag
• Surf top
• Waterproof Bag (e.g. AquaPac)
• Fishing License
• Surf Belt (e.g. Tiderunner Ultimate Surf Belt)
• Plyers
• Split Ring Pryers
• 2 Pairs of Gloves
• Finger guard
• Scale
• Lip Gripper

ARTIFICIALS

• Needlefish
• Darters
• Poppers
• Pencil Poppers
• Swimmers
• Metal Lips
• Metals
• Bucktails
• Plastics (pre-rigged and un-rigged)
• Eel skins
• Teasers
• Squid Jigs

EELS

• Live Well Bucket
• Eels (live)
• Eels (rigged)
• Leaders (pre-tied)
• Live Bait Hooks (e.g. VMC Live Bait 6/0 9260)
• Rigging Needle
• Zip Ties
• Rigging Hooks
• Eel Jar

CHUNKING

• Rigs
• Hooks (e.g. Owner SSW In-Line Circle 9/0 5379-191)
• Sinkers
• Cooler (e.g. Coleman)
• Knife
• Bait

TERMINAL TACKLE

• Leader Material (e.g. Ande Mono-filament Line: 40 lb green, 60 lb pink, 80 lb clear)
• Leaders (pre-tied)
• Tail Hooks (e.g. VMC)
• Swivels (e.g. Kork)
• Split Rings (e.g. Wolverine)
• Clips (e.g. Tactical Anglers Power Clips)
• Treble Hooks (e.g. VMC: 2/0, 3/0, and 4/0)

CLOTHES

• Long Sleeve Shirts
• Short Sleeve Shirts
• Pants
• Shorts
• Underwear
• Socks
• Under Armor Tops + Bottoms
• Wool Sweater
• Rain Gear Top
• Sandals (e.g. Crocs)

TOILETRIES

• Glasses + Case
• Contacts + Case
• Contact solution
• Sunglasses
• Tooth brush
• Tooth paste
• Gel
• Shaving creme
• Shaving razor
• Beard Trimmer
• Shampoo
• Nail Clipper

ELECTRONICS

• Phone (fully charged)
• Phone Charger
• Camera (fully charged)
• Camera Charger

FIRST AID

• Pain Reliever (e.g. Aleve)
• Small Band-Aids
• Large Band-Aids
• Gauze pads
• First Aid Tape
• Tweazers
• Antibiotic cream (e.g. Neosporin)
• Sun screen
• Bug spray
• Pain Pads (e.g. IcyHot)
• Mini-Bolt Cutters (e.g. Knipex)

FOOD

• Energy Drinks (e.g. 5HOUR Energy)
• Energy Bars
• Gatorade Powder
• Water Bottle
• Fiber
• Multi Vitamins

STUFF

• Batteries (e.g. Duracel)
• All Purpose Tape (e.g. Duck Tape)
• Electrical Tape
• Super Glue
• WD40
• 2 Coat Hanagers (to dry wetsuit / waders)
• Can of Compressed Air (e.g. Dust Off)
• Trash Bags
• Zip Lock Bags: snack, sandwich, and gallon.

Shadows provide cover for fish. Fallen timber, vegetation, and rocks provide cover for fish.  When shadows cast over hard structures, you have a super structure.  Super structures are fish magnets.

Today I had an opportunity to fish.  But, I only had a 1 hour window.  To maximize my time on the water, I fished a series of super structures.  The water depth ranged from 2 feet to 10 feet, with varying vegetation and timber. Weedless soft plastics was the presentation of choice.

I got to my first spot at 6:00 AM.  I started with a Stanely Jigs Bull Ribbit frog rigged with an Owner Beast hook.  I had fish exploding every other cast.  At 6:10 AM I caught a well fed 4 lb largemouth bass.  This fish put a bend on my 8′ heavy/fast action rod!

At 6:15 AM, I switched over to a Gary Yamamoto senko with a weedless VMC hook.  I got hits on every other cast.  At 6:30 hooked a landed a pickerel terrorizing largemouth bass.  This fish was fearless and full of vengeance!

The super structure pattern produces fish at any time of the day (TOY).  I have had the most success at the light transitions (sunrises and sunsets).  Time is fish! Fish smart!!  Fish shadows and structures!!!

Running the Coast by Jamie Howard was one of the most anticipated films on striped bass.  The production of this film was epic.  We are fortunate for Jamie Howard’s perseverance!

When you start watching Running the Coast, the story telling and the vivid imagery hooks you instantly.  You forget about reality and feel like you are part of the experience.  The film transports you to amazing locations on the east coast:

• Chesapeake Bay, MD
• Susquehana River, PA
• Hudson River, NY
• Seasdie Heights, NY
• East Hampton, NY
• Martha’s Vineyard, MA
• Nantucket, MA
• Portland, ME

I enjoyed seeing my friends Greg Myerson from World Record Striper Company and “Crazy” Alberto Knie from Tactical Anglers.  I also enjoyed seeing Bill Wetzel, Bill Schulken, Tyler Snuffer, Tyler Noun, Lefty Kreh, Joe Shastay, Ken Hinman, Peter Laurelli, Bob Popovics, Paul Dixon, Bob Hines, Greg Bostater, Eric Wallace, Jeff Heyer, and Lynne Heyer.  These top anglers target striped bass from boat and surf via plugs and flies.  There is no shortage of fish being caught on this film!  The largest fish was caught by Tyler and Tyler on one of their fish hunting trips.

If you are new to striped bass fishing, if you are a seasoned striped bass hunter, or somewhere in between, then buy a copy of Running the Coast.  Running the Coast is require viewing for all who target for striped bass.

The Fish360 Journal project started as a single person project with an innovative idea beyond the reach of technology. As technology evolved, so did the project. Our newest evolution is the transition to open source.

If you would like to work on novel visualization models and innovate usability paradigms, drop us a line. If you have an idea for a new feature, drop us a line. If you would like to integrate with another service, drop us a line.

We are pleased to announce our Red, White, and Blue Give Away! To entered to win a collection of Red/White and Blue/White Roberts Rangers plugs (2 1/4 oz, 3 oz, 4 oz), simply create a FREE Fish360 Journal account via web, Android or iOS between 04-JUL-2017 and 11-/SEP-2017.

These Roberts Rangers are dressed with custom tied tails on strong 6/0 Gamakatsu siwash hooks with bleeding sharp points.

Anglers who keep a fishing journal consistently catch more and bigger fish than anglers who do not. But! Keeping a fishing journal is not enough!! You must identify patterns!!! Identifying patterns from a paper journal takes time and effort. Time is fish. Fish360 Journal identifies patterns for you. You can now find tidal and sol-lunar patterns visually.

When you add a fish to your journal and select a spot with with location coordinates, the fish will techno-magically be plotted on a tide graph along with the sunrise, sunset, moon rise, and moon set. This is a great way to visually identify the stage of the tide that is most productive for the spot you are fishing, relative to the time of day, sun, and moon.

This new feature is available for FREE. Download the Fish360 Android or iOS app today!

Today I said good bye to a long time fishing buddy. He was a great man and a great angler. What he accomplished in his life surpasses five life times.

He never caught a world record fish. He never wrote an article or a book. He never did a seminar. But, he could catch fish when everyone else was getting skunked. He was invited once to fish on a boat. He caught more fish than the captain and his crew, combined! He was not invited back.

We fished many tides together. At the end of each tide, he would always say , “One more cast…”. He was at peace in the surf. He is now in eternal peace without pain.

Life is short. Stop searching for time to go fishing. Make the time to go fishing!