Fished with Steve B. from 5:15 - 11:30. Launched from Shelter Island and fished the tide push, then the pull back to the launch area. It was a nice 4' swing, usually good for fishing, but hard on the legs. Baits: 5" freaks, 4" Zippers, and 9" grubs. All were hand pours in a special brownish color with various flakes (mostly black). Of course all were weedless, mostly T-rigged.

Fun day, but very very cold 57 degree water, and 42 degree air at launch time. One of those days I wish I wore waders. I did pretty good though, finishing with 13 legals, 1 or 2 shorts, and a small mackie that ate a 9" grub. Most of the bass were spotties ranging from just legal to 2.5# or so. But, the two sandies were bigger, one was about 4#, the other was a big 6#. Both these fish were grumpy turd rollers, both of them I saw there tails first since they rolled the line all over themselves. Steve had a bad day though. A flat tire on the way down and then went flat again while he prepped his gear for launch. Plus, he only got 3 shorts.

Hopefully, I'll go again next weekend.

Amish Ed
You Can't Catch it again if
it's Dead!
Amish Ed
You Can't Catch it again if
it's Dead!

Amish Ed
You can't catch it again if it's dead!

Nice sandies. Sounds like a good time. Waders are definitely what I'm talkin bout.
-Brian

how far out do you guys tube?

Only problem with waders Brian, is you really ought not to pee in them. I have some problems, so I need to go constantly. What I do need is a 6mm longjohn. I wear my suits around my waist (or I choke), but the water runs down my butt crack. So there's always cold water flowing in. I might need to just chop my current suit. I can't surf because of my knees, and this suit was bought for winter tubing.

HR, I'm not sure what you really need to know. We go where the fish are. In SD Bay, there's plenty of fish within a safe distance to shore. The water drops to 60' about 50yds from shore, giving a lot of depths to work. We drift with the tide and usually stay within a 100 yrds of shore. There is no speed limit for boats, there are lots of them too. So, going out far is not wise at all. Besides, some of the boats are actually ships. I watched an aircraft carrier and a troop transport leave Sat. They don't turn for anything. I've tubed places where I was much farther from shore, but I always check boat traffic and fish times when traffic is low. The only open water fishing I do is in Laguna in the summer. Then I'm boiler fishing, so it's more about staying tight. But, not so much so that I risk being swamped,
or bounced on the rocks. There's a few areas I want to try that are a mile or so out, but I haven't had the time, partner, and/or right conditons to try them. It's all about knowing your limits, watching for danger, and being aware of all the factors and conditions for a given area. Even staying close to shore has many problems to watch for. Does this help?

Amish Ed
You Can't Catch it again if
it's Dead!

Amish Ed
You can't catch it again if it's dead!

thanks just wondeiring how far you guys go out . ill have to go down there tubing sometime.

Yeah, Pete's pissing method might not work for you... It involves sitting on the seat with your knees, facing backwards, and then dropping the waders. Probably not good for a feeble old man like yourself :-) What size wetsuit do you have right now? I've got a two piece 3.5mm that I use for scuba diving. It stays nice and toasty, but of course on my torso I've got 7mm, and 3.5mm on my legs and arms. 3.5mm all over might get a little chilly, but I'm usually hot in that suit. A 7mm farmer john wetsuit should be just fine.
-Brian

Amish Ed, what happened to your knees? I had my 2nd arthroscopic knee surgery 8 months ago for a kneecap problem (luckily, the meniscus, and ligaments are ok). I thought it may be arthritis, but luckily it was only soft tissue inflammation called chronic synovitis. While it isn't totally back to normal, I'm able to longboard surf with no problem! You should try longboarding instead of shortboarding...much easier on the body! Hopefully, you could get out there soon!

Old, what's up with that? Damm punk ass kids, always thinking they're better than everyone else.

I have three suits, ranging from 2mm, to 4mm. It's the fact that I can't pull it on all the way without fighting the neckline that kills me. 57degree water constantly flushing down your butt has a way of chilling you. I just can't pee enough to offset that cold flow.I think I'll axe the neckline and sleeves on the 4mm. Make my own longjohn.

TB, Brian actually isn't too far off. My knees are shot from a combo of skateboarding and kneeboarding when younger, a couple mountain biking accidents, and arthritis which is affecting all my joints. I'm not sure what the exact problem is yet. I'm waiting to go to the Dr because of some insurance issues. I can tell you that after I surf (I already longboard) I can't bend my right knee (sometimes the left too) without extreme pain. I always have nasty popping noises when my knees are bent for too long, and I sometimes have to force my leg straight with my arms. This results in lots of pain for weeks on end. After a combination of flatspells and a busy schedule I was out of the water for a month. I realized I was almost walking normal and decided I should take it easy for a while. Besides, carrying my 6'2", 270lb body is enough work for my knees. Luckily tubing doesn't cause much pain, if any. If a knee is bugging me, I just don't use that leg.

Amish Ed
You Can't Catch it again if
it's Dead!

Amish Ed
You can't catch it again if it's dead!

Amish Ed, sounds like you may have a cartliage (meniscus) problem....especially if the knee locks up like you say it does. I'm no Doctor, but have read about knees a lot after my scopes. Good luck with the Doctor visit...they now implant cartliage into peoples knees (for arthritis)... it is supposed to help a lot! Float Tubing/Swimming don't stress the knees like running,etc...those may be the things to do now. Or...do what doesn't hurt it too much. Good Luck again with that Doctor appointment, and try not to give up surfing!

I too tube in a long john 3mm. I've peed in it plenty and found a that if you elevate your feet and legs as close to the surface as possible and sink your butt down the hot fluid will actually "float" upward toward your ankles because its less dense. Then you can squeeze it out with your hands, like toothpaste. That sounds so friggin' disgusting huh? Peeing or not, anything below 60 degrees for extended duration is pretty chilly for me. But a 7mm oughta be pretty comfortable.

There are other ways to take a leak in waders...Sit up on top of your back rest and pull the waders down far enough it works for us kids
Matt