July 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 Fish Fish Fish Fish!
[intransitive] go fishing to spend time fishing for pleasure, Let's go fishing this weekend.
Contents:
President's Letter
Picnic
CSA Swag
Club Contests
New Fish Contest
Fishing Pictures
Book Review
July Skies
President’s Letter
Greetings Connecticut Surfcasters,
Hopefully everyone has found some time to get out and wet a line this past month. The first half of the month was good to me. But as I write this I’m sitting in an RV alongside the Clinch River in eastern Tennessee, where I spent some time ‘surfcasting’ some of the TVA dams. Landlocked striped bass have eluded me once again, but it turns out blue catfish will willingly take big soft plastics.
This Months CSA meeting is our annual picnic, which will be held the 2nd Wednesday of this month, July 9th, due to fireworks happening on our regular meeting date. There is a sign up on the sb.com forum, and Billy D has covered the details on that. The following month we are back inside the Surf Club on the 1st Wednesday for a presentation on fly rodding estuaries at night by Alan Caolo.
This month we begin our new monthly tournament "Fish of the Month.” Tournament may be a bit of a strong word. But each month, at our membership meeting, write your name and length of your longest fish, caught between the end of last meeting, and beginning of the next, on a piece of paper. Then drop it into a can or basket or whatever device we come up with by then. Before the raffle we will read off the entries and longest fish will receive a ticket for a cow prize.
We now have a closed/private Facebook page. This by no means is meant to replace our clubs sb.com forum, but to provide an alternative that allows for easier use of photographs, and to encourage participation among newer/younger members. I feel photographs allow for easier explanation when we're talking about gear and DIY type discussions. We have plenty of talented lure builders in the club as well. This gives a way for them to share their works. I also think pictures would help for members selling equipment. We'll see how it goes. If you have a Facebook profile, or choose to create one, reach out to either Billy D, Liam Rosati, George Baldwin, Greg McNamara, or myself and we will get you added. At the same time I would encourage newer members to check out the sb forum as well. There's a lot of good material in there that can be found by either digging through pages or using the search function.
Hopefully by the time this is published the heat is a bit more forgiving and I'll be able to put a wetsuit on without sweating out all my electrolytes. In the meantime I’m going up a mountain to find a tiny trout. Hope to see everyone at the picnic!
tight lines,
Steve
2025 CSA Picnic July 9th
The grills will fire up at 6 pm!
Members could show up at 6 or earlier to help secure tables and move them around. The food should be ready shortly after. CSA will furnish burgers, dogs, rolls, cheese, paper products, utensils, trash bags, napkins, condiments, bottle water and assorted soft drinks. Members may BYOB of bevies of your liking. We're hoping to get tables close to the building like usual. Tables possibly may be at a premium but we'll check. Also the contingent is well supplies tables if necessary. Members may want to bring a camp chair to be on the safe side. You never know how crowded that area may get and nothing can be reserved. It’s all first come first served!
Side dishes and extra goodies will be welcomed. I.E. Baked Beans, pasta salad, potato salad, bean salad, macaroni salad, fruit salad, chips, veggie plate w/dip etc.
Let’s hope for good weather and bring your appetite. If there’s a definite wash-out predicted, we will try to inform members early with a mass email along with a S-B club forum post.
There will be a sign up thread on the CSA forum. We would like to get an idea how many are attending. This picnic is open to family members also. We hope to see everyone there.
Billy D.
Renew Your Fishing License - portal.ct.gov › ctoutdoorlicenses
COMING SOON, NEW CSA Tee SHIRTS
I have placed an order for Black long sleeve w/ neon green logo tee shirts and short sleeve, dark graphite gray w/neon green logo tee shirts. They both feature our club's logo on the chest pocket and large CSA logo on back. I added a tag line to the logo on the back highlighting our club's mission statement. Sizes will be available Medium to XXXL. Availability should be around the latter part of the summer. Billy D
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 June 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.
Starting Now, Monthly Fish Contest
Starting at the July meeting, the club has created an interesting contest. A frugal (cheap) award will be given to the member who catches the longest striped bass between the meetings. Each contest starts at the current meeting and ends at the start of the next one. July meeting. The next contest period runs to the break of the August meeting and so on for each period between meetings.
All members are eligible but the fish slip must be given to the club secretary by the member who caught it before the meeting break, winner will be announced and awarded the prize. Contest runs monthly for the year.
Fine print rules
Contest is for the longest striped bass, all members in good standing are eligible
Contest runs for the period between each meeting
Entrants must present in person a slip with their name, date caught and lenght to the club secretary or the secretaries staff before the break
Measure to the nearest 1/4". In case of a tie, equally frugal prizes will be awarded
Winner will be announced just before the break
Fishing Pictures
Steve with his 46" bass
Brian Mawdsley with his 44" bass
A 35" bass caught by Mike M. on a freakin' eel!
Pete Gleason catching a schoolie out on Cuttyhunk with is pals from PISC
Reminds me of my sister
Book Review: Plugging the Water Column by Julio C. Silva
This is a good reference for deciding on lures for working any depth range or for stocking your bag to work the entire water column from top to bottom. This is an important strategy that too few surfcasters really consider when packing their weapons of bass destruction for the night… or the day.
In Part 1, Julio (who is a CSA member as well as a member and past President of the Plum Island Surfcasters) elaborates on lures starting with surface plugs such as spooks and poppers and ending with deepwater lures like bucktails and soft plastics. Some are commonly found in all our bags, but there were several I’ve never heard of. With each, he gives a nice description of the lure’s physical characteristics, castability, ways to work the plug and the lure’s action when doing so. He tells us whether the lure is made of plastic, wood, metal or resin, through-wired or not, and the hooks and hardware attached. With many, he includes a little story about one of his experiences with the lure that sticks in his memory for a particular reason. Julio includes teasers and casting eggs in this section. He told me this past weekend on Cuttyhunk that the only time he doesn’t use teasers is when it’s too weedy.
Part 2 deals with strategies for choosing plugs. He elaborates on the effects of physical characteristics such as length, width, weight, wood or plastic, lip design and more. Julio explains how each trait affects the depth(s) at which our lures will swim, their casting range and abilities to attract fish. There is a second subsection to Part 2 that Julio names “Parameters”. Here, the author explains how he chooses his offerings based on tides, current, moon phase, and other factors that vary from trip to trip… or hour to hour. He also tells the reader how he uses these parameters to choose the locations he fishes. Many will find that information very helpful.
Part 3 deals with modifying plugs. While talking about the common changes most of us make to our fresh purchases, such as changing out hooks and split rings, he elaborates on considerations in choosing the hardware to install, such as how they affect casting distance, avoiding tangling, effects on the lure’s running depth and action and how to reduce harm to the fish. He also talks about different scents and scent products of different viscosities, including the peculiarities of each. Adding sound and the use of light finish off this chapter, with a few techniques that I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Part 4 was a nice addition that other books about plugs don’t include, and that’s information about many of the plug builders who make the lures described throughout the book. Julio enlightens us on some facts about the lures each is known for, a bit about the history of their plug building and the tools they use for constructing and even testing the lures. He even includes the reasoning some of the builders used in developing some of the lures they were best known for. This added a little information that gives us a little more familiarity with the builders, on a more personal level.
The book concludes with three appendices (it makes me shudder when people say “appendixes”). Normally, I wouldn’t include this information, but I think they’re worth mentioning here. Appendix A elaborates on five fishing organizations of which Julio is a member. He gives us a little info on each club’s history, geographical range of membership and activities/offerings that make those clubs valuable to a surfcaster and worth joining. And yes, the Connecticut Surfcasters Association is one of them. Appendix B provides a list of plugbuilders, hooks, scents, etc. that you can Google and check out possible additions to your Christmas wish list. Appendix C is a bibliography of books and articles that contributed knowledge and information that was helpful to the author.
I was impressed with this book, as it added some angles that other books just don’t. If you’re new to this sport then this book is mandatory reading. It’ll shorten your learning curve like a golf match shortens my attention span. If you’re a seasoned surfcaster it will add some plugs to your arsenal and some tactics to your attack plan. Any fisherman reading this book will get a greater understanding of lure construction, how different features affect the performance of that lure (and how they SHOULD affect your lure choices) and how to better plan your night out in the suds. In short… just buy it.
July Skies by Mike Simko.
Look at that tiny circle in the galaxy—that’s where every star you’ve ever seen in the night sky lives. Seriously. All the constellations, shooting stars, and planets visible to the naked eye exist in just this one thin slice of the Milky Way.
Our galaxy is conservatively estimated to hold over 100 billion stars, but the ones we can spot from Earth without a telescope make up only a tiny fraction. At best, on a very dark night away from all ambient light sources, the naked eye can detect about 2,000 stars – that’s it!
We’re tucked into one spiral arm of this massive structure, orbiting around a core we can’t even see directly. It’s wild to think about how small our visible universe really is. Next time you look up at the stars, remember—you’re seeing just a few grains of light in a cosmic ocean.