March 2025
"The purpose of this organization shall be to promote, protect and preserve the surfcasting tradition, in its many forms, along our coasts...
CSA Bylaws, Article II. Purposes
Fish!
[intransitive] go fishing to spend time fishing for pleasure, Let's go fishing this weekend.
Contents:
President’s Letter
Meeting Notes
CSA Swag
Club Contests
June Cuttyhunk
Fly to Spin
Getting Ready
Rod Repair
March Skies
A Letter from our President
Greetings Surfcasters,
So much of what our executive board does is looking to the future. We must plan ahead. Nailing down guest speakers, meeting venues, trips and outing accommodations, even next year's 2026 Demo Day are planned far in advance. The eboard just confirmed that our May 7 general membership meeting will be held at Stony Creek Brewery, 5 Indian Neck Avenue, Branford. We will be upstairs in the second-floor events room area. www.stonycreekbeer.com. Special guest, traveling south from Middletown, Rhode Island is Peter Jenkins, the proprietor of The Saltwater Edge. Plan on showing up early, have dinner then head upstairs to Peter's presentation about changing over your trebles to single hooks. More about the May meeting in future Suds.
Overnight outings require months to finalize. Cuttyhunk is an easy example with our club's accommodation being planned, and reserved, a year in advance. Committing to Jersey Shore's Island Beach Motor Lodge for our usual Thanksgiving holiday trip gets firmed up by mid-summer. In the mix this year is serious consideration for overnight trips to Maine coast or Plum Island Beach, north shore Massachusetts or maybe both!
If you have an idea about a future event AND are also willing to participate in making your idea have legs then reach out to any eboard member.
Tight lines everyone,
Mike S.
March Membership Meeting
Montauk Surfcaster Guide Bill Wetzel
On Wednesday, March 5th 2025, famed Montauk/Long Island surf fishing guide Bill Wetzel will be presenting at the Connecticut Surfcasters’ Association monthly meeting. Bill will be talking about Understanding Surf Conditions and Choosing Presentations. The meeting is open and free of charge to the public, you do not have to be a member to attend.
The meeting will be held at the Madison Memorial Town Hall at 8 Meeting House Lane, Madison, CT promptly at 7:00 pm and will end before 9:00pm (or shortly thereafter). There will be a short business meeting and a raffle featuring surf fishing lures, equipment and maybe a rod or reel (hint: bring some money, the raffles always have some great items).
Bill has presented for us a few times in the past, and always gives a great talk. He’s a professional who is out there almost every night and is an expert on fishing different weather and surf conditions, as well as choosing what lures to use and how to work them depending on those conditions.
See you there!
George
CSA NEWS FLASH!!!
CSA neon green knit caps and a selection of CSA bill caps
will be available at the March meeting.
Club Contests
Striper a Month 2025
Each year CSA runs a year long contest to see who can catch a striped bass in the 12 month period between December of the previous year and November of the current year. The following members have managed to catch at least one bass a month from December 2024 through February 2025.
Jim Munson
Liam Rosati
High Hooks and Top 10
High Hook Rules are as follows:
1. Fish must be caught from shore or surf, with both feet planted on Terra Firma.
2. The High Hook club tournament generally runs from the first Sunday following Thanksgiving for a period of one year.
3. Overall length, measured from the tip of the lip, to the end of the tail, is used to determine the winner. Weight is optional and not used to determine a winner.
4. Entries must be reported by the first membership meeting following the catch.
5. Entries can be sent to Mike Mullen at mike@highhooklures.com or the current Club President via email or submitted in writing at the next club meeting.
June Cuttyhunk Trip
Mary Howard enjoying Cuttyhunk
We are confirmed for Pete's Place Rentals for a committed 12 heads from Thursday June 19 through Sunday June 22. We have accommodations at Pete's Place Upstairs and Pete's Place Downstairs http://petesplacerentals.com. Both sleep 9 singles, or, if couples, up to 11. To round out the committed 12 heads we have our pick of the other smaller rentals such as Boat Shop, Horseplay or The Loft. The price is $120 per head per night. It's a far cry from past years, even the last couple of years. But Cutty has become a June wedding destination spot. Accommodations such as Lehner House gets primo rental during June. Here's the bottom line, no exceptions allowed. The club is committed to 12 paid spots regardless if we fill them or not. June 19-22 is just 3 months away. PLAN YOR WORK/FAMILY OBLIGATIONS NOW. Once committed by paying $180 deposit by the May general membership meeting, that's May 7, your space will be saved. The remaining $180 balance due must be paid by the June 4 general membership meeting at the Madison Beach Surf Club. The first twelve $180 paid deposits will be the 12 going to Cutty. There will be no return of deposits! Be forewarned. So, if you can pay now, meaning you know for a fact you can commit now for a mid-June four-day trip then great. If you need to wait until the May 7 meeting then by all means do so. However, there is no guarantee that there will still be an available spot. Of course, full prepayment is always accepted. Depending on the sign-ups, committed paid-in-full numbers by the June 4 meeting, we may consider a waiting list. We may have some flexibility, and that's a big maybe, since by April - May most available Pete's Place rentals are spoken for by other anglers. So, PLAN NOW. Be it your first time or your umpteenth time, a Cuttyhunk stay in mid-June is magnificent. Every beach rosebush is in bloom, native brush and reintroduced native sassafras trees in flower.
How the Fly Fishing Made me Better with the Spin Rod
by Dave Nguyen
The first time I tried fly fishing for stripers, I brought a spin rod with me just in case. I leaned my spin rod on the piping plover barrier rope and waded out with my fly rod in hand. With a stiff wind in my face, I flailed around helplessly, barely able to shoot the fly line 10' past my rod tip. I looked back longingly towards the shore where my spin rod was and thought to myself "f*ck this fly rod.” I flung one more pathetic cast out, and somehow I hooked into a micro schoolie. After that moment, my spinning rods sat in my barn collecting dust for the next 2 seasons.
Fast forward to the 2024 season, I had high hopes and expectations. I had just broken the high hook fly rod division club record with a 46" bass in 2023, and I had my sights set on a 50". I was very quickly humbled. The spring run, typically the more productive season on the fly for me, was very disappointing. Early summer yielded very few bass as well. At the same time, my fly fishing partner moved to Maine with his girlfriend and her boat, and my motivation with the fly rod waned significantly. "F*ck this fly rod" I found myself saying once again.
So I blew the dust of my spin rod and plug bag and headed back into the surf. One of the main things I took from fly fishing is that the fish aren't always at the end of your cast. In fact, they are often right at your feet. The 46" bass hit with only about 15' of fly line out. So with that knowledge, I've learned to reel my plugs all the way into the leader. Even if your cast doesn't land exactly where you want it, fish that plug all the way in, dropping your rod tip as it gets closer. If you've ever been or seen musky and pike fishing, a popular method is the figure 8 retrieve. As the plug gets close to the boat, rather than lifting it out for another cast, pike and musky fisherman drag the plug in a figure 8 pattern by the boat, and that usually will entice an aggressive take. I don't figure 8 the plug by my rock but I will drop my rod tip and fish the plug all the way to the leader, and I have taken bass ridiculously close to the rock I'm standing on.
Another way fly fishing has influenced my spin rodding is by opening up the range of where I cast. What I mean by this is if you picture a clock, casting straight out would be 12 o'clock, to the left 9 o'clock and to the right 3 o'clock etc. Before fly fishing, I would find myself on a rock casting straight out at 12 over and over. Sometimes I would cast between 10 and 2 o'clock. But with fly fishing, since you can't cast very far, casting around in a full circle is a way to cover more water. I have found that when fishing a boulder field, the fish are staging behind those big boulders waiting for an easy meal. My 44" high hook from last season came on a cast in the 8 o'clock direction. I was standing far out on a rock and I wanted to fish between the other boulders beside me. So not only could the fish be close, they could even be behind you!
A nice bass caught on a B-2 on Cuttyhunk!
And finally, I think the biggest and most valuable lesson I took from fly fishing was applied to fishing the needlefish. As many of you know, the needlefish is a big fish catching plug. If you look back at the high hooks from years past, you will see Mike Mullen's High Hook needles at the top of the list year after year. I was never proficient at using needles before fly fishing. Typically I would cast one out, it would sink to the bottom and get snagged, and I would curse at the heavens and tie on a new leader and different plug. The needlefish is not a plug that "talks" back to you. With darters, bottles, Finnish Minnow type lures and other swimming plugs, you can feel the plug working through your rod tip. But needles don't "feel" like anything. Flies also don't "feel" like anything. With fly fishing, you have to be tight to your fly in order to feel a bite. By working the fly line through your hands, you are imparting the "action" on the fly and you can "feel" what that fly is doing in the water. The same is true for needlefish plugs. You have to be tight to the plug in order to "feel" it, and you are imparting the "action" on the plug with your rod lifts. I like a slow retrieve with a lift of the rod every 6-8 turns of the handle. You can play around with what works for you but the most important thing is to stay tight to the plug. Losing that connection to the needlefish can result in losing that plug to a rock. And in case you're wondering, yes, that 44" high hook from last season came on a needle, one of Billy D's.
So for those of you who have been thinking about getting into fly fishing for stripers, I say do it. It's a humbling and frustrating endeavor, but I think it could provide insights for even the most seasoned spin rodders.
Getting Ready for Fishing from Bill Fox
I scored these otter tales on Facebook marketplace for $45 after reading John skinners book this winter. I have some bucktails on order. I still need to change out my hooks and split rings on my plugs as well my current read by John Skinner, Striper pursuits. Just started.
STILL TIME TO CHECK YOUR GEAR by Billy D
With spring coming within a couple months, there's still time to get your fishing rods in order. Get a good look at them. Check the rod's blank for serious nicks and scrapes. If you have doubts on its integrity bring it to a knowledgeable rod builder for an assessment. How are the guide inserts/frames, tip top insert, reel seat and your rod's butt and foregrip?
Check the guide "rings" for cracks. Maybe this was the reason for your mysterious break offs? I use a short piece of braid fishing line then insert through ring and grab line on both sides and run the line around the ring. If the ring is compromised you will feel the braid line snag. Go back and check again to verify. Using a magnifying devise, you should see the fault if it wasn't seen with your eyes. It doesn't take much of a crack or chip to snag the braid. Upon finding a fault the only way to fix this is having the entire guide replaced. A simple guide replacement will bring back the rod's integrity and end those costly break offs of your favorite lure.
Take a look at the reel seat. Check the locking nut, reel foot hoods and overall condition. This is the only secure connection of your reel to rod. Does the reel foot fit into the reel seat hood far enough for a secure hold? I’d recommend a minimum of 1/4" of insertion of the front foot. Some of the "Newly" built rods come with a smaller size reel seat, so it's imperative to get the reel to fit secure. If you purchase a newly built rod, I highly recommend you bring the reel you intend to use on it and see how it fits, prior to leaving the shop. If the rod you have now is suspect on the fit, the existing reel seat can be replaced.
Last part of the rod is the butt grip assembly. Is the butt cap worn and revealing the blank? Is the cork dried and flaking off? Is the shrink wrap ripped or loose? Your only contact to the rod is the reel seat and butt grip. Does it fit comfortably in your hand while casting? Is the rear butt section too thin? Do you have to squeeze the bottom hand to securely hold the rod during casting from spinning? All these deficiencies can be corrected on your rod.
If you have any concerns or problems with your rod, please feel free to contact myself, Billy D. I will gladly advise you on any repairs if needed. You can also bring your rods to a meeting to have me look at them.
I hope everyone will be ready for a great season . Having your equipment ready to go is the best start.
March Skies by Mike Simko
Most months I get Skies inspiration from printed materials or subscribed newsletters. This month's Skies is edited, condensed from an article in my EarthSky daily newsletter subscription. I thought members would enjoy the change of pace. Enjoy. V Mike Simko
Wild fish can recognize unique humans with visual cues
Wild fish use visual cues to identify human divers
Scientists who study animal behavior just noticed something curious about wild fish. These researchers – at a Mediterranean Sea research station with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior – said on February 19, 2025, that the fish followed divers that carried food used in their experiments as rewards. Do the fish recognize the divers with food, the researchers wondered? They devised an experiment to find out. And they discovered that wild fish do recognize divers, based on visual cues from their dive gear.
Testing fish in the wild
Researchers conducted their experiments in the summer of 2024. The study site was in open water, 13 to 26 feet (4 to 8 meters) deep, in the Mediterranean Sea near Corsica, France.
The scientists studied two fish species, saddled sea bream and black sea bream.
The fish were willing volunteers who could come and go as they pleased.
There were two parts to the experiment: First, scientists trained the fish to follow a diver to get a food reward. Second, they wanted to determine if the fish could distinguish between two divers and follow the diver they associated with food.
Training wild fish to follow a diver with food
Before the food training, none of the fish would follow the divers. But that would soon change.
Katinka Soller was the fish trainer. She spent 12 days training the fish to follow her.
Soller began by feeding the fish pieces of shrimp. Then she swam about 150/160 feet and fed the fish that followed her.
She repeated this exercise each day, and the fish started associating her with food. Soller said:
Once I entered the water, it was a matter of seconds before I would see them swimming towards me, seemingly coming out of nowhere.
At the beginning of the training, Soller wore a bright red vest and other conspicuous accessories with her standard diving gear. But as the training progressed, she gradually shed those accessories. Towards the end of the training, she was only swimming with standard dive gear and not providing food at the starting point. The fish continued to follow her.
A second diver joins the experiment
In the second part of the experiment, Tomasek joined Soller. He wore different dive gear from Soller, with different colors. For five days, they repeated what Soller had done but each diver swam in different directions. Soller fed the fish, but Tomasek did not. On the first day, equal numbers of fish followed each diver. Soller said:
You could see them struggling to decide who to chase. On the second day, more fish followed Soller. And that number increased over the course of the five-day experiment.
A twist on that last experiment
Now, what would happen if both divers wore identical diving gear, making them indistinguishable? The fish, it turns out, were unable to tell them apart.
This, the researchers said, was strong evidence that the fish used visual cues from the diving gear to identify the divers. Tomasek explained:
Almost all fish have color vision, so it is not surprising that the sea bream learned to associate the correct diver based on patches of color on the body.
Soller added that humans do the same thing underwater:
Faces are distorted by diving masks, so we usually rely on differences between wetsuits, fins, or other parts of the gear to recognize each other.
Bottom line: Wild fish can recognize divers based on visual cues from their dive gear. But they cannot tell apart divers that are dressed in identical dive gear.
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Editor’s note: SUDS is generally better when more members contribute. Do your part and write something up. And remember, adding pictures can make a difference.
Mike M.