Whether you fish at Island Beach, Montauk, South County or the Cape Cod Canal, when blitzing stripers hit the beach, you either are, or have fished with, the six individuals below.
The Gear Guy
This fisherman has more tackle hanging from his belt than a telephone lineman. Before the blitz begins he’ll chew your ear off about the nanofibers in his space-age rod blank, the gear ratio of his reel and his designer surf bag full of $50 custom plugs—even though you never asked.
The Loud Guy
You’ll hear this guy before you see him. He’ll hoot and holler at each hook-up and swear loudly at each lost fish. If he’s friendly, he’ll shout to no one in particular what color he’s using when he hooks up (“They’re on yellow!”); if he’s not, he’ll complain loudly about the crowds, blaming cell phones and the internet for ruining fishing.
The Guy Who’s Never Been Fishing Before
If the blitz has been going on for a few days, this guy will catch word of it from a fisherman friend or neighbor and stumble into some incredible fishing. His rod will still have a price tag on it, and he leaves a trail of empty lure packages behind him as he walks down the beach. If he manages to catch fish, this fisherman may evolve into The Gear Guy within a year.
The Cell Phone Guy
Just like a Homeroom Mom is tasked with starting the phone tree on snow days, the Cell Phone Guy is the self-appointed crier of the blitz. He’s usually behind the line of casters, relaying the location and size of the fish. When not in use, his cell phone is jammed down the front of his waders, ringing. His friends call friends, and what started as an orderly affair suddenly becomes mess of tangled lines, lost fish and exchanged words. The presence of the Cell Phone Guy is absolutely essential to the existence of the next fisherman.
The Guy Who Came Straight from Work
This poor fisherman, burdened by a day job, got a call from the Cell Phone Guy and ran down to the beach at lunch. You’ll see him slipping over the rocks in his docksiders or wading into the surf with his khaki’s rolled up to his knees. He won’t stay long, but he’ll stay longer than he should, and will arouse suspicion at the office when he leaves a path of sand, saltwater and fish slime on the way back to his desk.
I’m the if you get too close or cross my line I’ll kill you guy
Now you also have the “I don’t have a license and I am keeping the 24″ striper” guy. He fishes a chunk of bait with a big sinker and casts in the middle of the guys taking turns drifting eels along the canal!
That was an AWESOME blitz a few years ago. I’m in the pic…
Snook fishing is better…
I agree snook and tarpon are the best bass are ok when tou catch them
You definitely won’t see me there
I’m the just missed the blitz guy
Same here always a day or hour late except with schoolers that I can do
How about the guy with six foot rod 14 pound test and a 35 pond bass and no English
Great article bit you forgot the Guy who runs out and stands on the side of the jetty and casts over everyone’s line whether their hooked up or not!
Or the guy who thinks it’s ok to stand behind you and cast over your head and let his line rest on your neck while he’s fumbling with his reel ! With no gaff!
What about the non English speaking guy who turns his spinning reel setup the opposite way to cast(backwards) then once the lure is a whole 3 feet in front of him because that’s how good he can cast he flips it so he can start reeling it in. We see it almost everyday at the canal, and they keep bucket fish….in other words whatever can fit into the 5gal bucket they brought with goes home with, they were down the other day, kept a 18in striper and a 6in seabass…sad
You can call the Environemtal cop on them
Or The guy who sets the hook hard on every peice of seaweed that hits his line.
Jimmy, I remember one day fishing the canal and Chris B. called you, and you came down and had a 30lb bass on your first cast!
If you don’t know what a 3am Sandy Fish Burger is, you’re missing out on night fishing altogether. There’s also the 3 Vietnamese dudes who take your fishing spot when you return to the beach to reload your bait, which then makes me the guy who casts over their shoulder and rests his line on your neck (on purpose nevermind you). The only way to remove them in a non-violent manner is to bum cigarettes off them until they have to leave to get more. This occurs at the mouth of the Merrimack more often than not, which is why I don’t fish there during the day anymore.
I walked past a group not long ago on the way to the end of the jetty. They were catching, and cool. We’re all just fishing.
I’m the ghost walking the beach in the dark by myself.
Not to sound holier than thou but these are the reasons I’ll drive right by a blitz.
I love the go pro guys that have to record every little fish. 3 is a crowd for me. I fish at nite and look forward to bad weather which = good fishing
i’m the guy in the boat saying “glad I’m not in that mess”…
Then there’s the Old Guy who knows what he’s doing and so do I and I cast a top water “across” his line at the last half of his 5 Oz jig bounce and gets spitting mad that I don’t know what I’m doing. People who I know do it when I’m there so….OH well.
The last few times at Shinnecock Inlet there were a couple guys who would let the current take their lines down the jetty and cross the 8-10 of us who work our lines straight out in front of us…less than half of the potential casts for us and non stop tangles. Next time their braid will be cut.
The “old timer” who makes you wonder how’s he’s even able to cast. What you don’t realize is he probably has caught more “fifties” then you could even dream of.
Juste ? fishing no complaints why so serious:)
I’m the leave me alone I go late at night kind of guy. Screw those clowns that pull up beside you and cast over you. Fishing is my I need a break from reality.
I’m the guy who caught enough and backs off when the crowd shows up and just watches the shit show!