greybeard

That's a great lookin' fish..Very impressive .

Thanx Deerslayer..that 's an interesting chart, and sure looks right to me I've had a few calls yesterday and today from my surf fishing buddies who are VERY experienced and they thought it should have been 50..and those that saw the photos thought for sure.. BUT, I did have it weighed, so I guess that's it..The scale,could have been wrong, but I wouldn't think so...If you saw the photos you'd see how fat she was.. I just don't know how to put photos here. Like I reported, I had 15 lb. test on with a 30lb. shock leader...The reel was a low profile baitcast, that looks like a freshwater Largemouth reel...I guess that the equipment added to my excitement.. I'm sure glad that the reel and line held up..."WHEW" It's great that you get 20's on the Hudson... Me and everyone that I know will take and be more then happy with a 20 any day...Do you use a boat ? What do you use for bait/lures.. Thanx again for the info

That was a lucky snag to get a bunker while drifting squid...It's amazing how many bunker are around . If 45 lbs. is skinny, imagine if you got it in the fall....But it still wouldsa been 53 inches and to me that's the most important number...Great Trophy It was fun tryin' to fit her in there, but I gotta say for a few seconds as I lifted her in I had some concerns...It must have looked funny if someone saw me wrestling that thing in there.

That was a lucky snag to get a bunker while drifting squid...It's amazing how many bunker are around . If 45 lbs. is skinny, imagine if you got it in the fall....But it still wouldsa been 53 inches and to me that's the most important number...Great Trophy It was fun tryin' to fit her in there, but I gotta say for a few seconds as I lifted her in I had some concerns...It must have looked funny if someone saw me wrestling that thing in there.

Thanx Gthphtm.. 53"... That's huge..As You know once the hit those sizes every inch is significant..Don't you love the ride I'm curious, did you have your fish weighed. My fishing friends thought that my fish which was certainly not skinny shoulda been a 50.. They guage it by one inch per pound at that size..I don't know how they figured that, but it's how they do it.,.. I always go by length and don't care about weight, because almost everyone estimates ,so inches , in my mind, is accurate.. also some scales aren't accurate(my scale showed her heavier)...So if you weighed it I'd be interested in knowing it's weight.. I assume that the scale used to weigh mine was accurate, so mine didn't support the rule. I used to fish Hempstead harbor some years ago and did pretty good in the back with .bass, blues and shad.. But never got anything nearly as big as your bass..I would have loved to see it..Congrats again..

Biz...I have no idea how to put pictures here. I sent them to Shawn, by email and even fowled that up a few times.. First light..Thank you... Yeah there sure are a lot of adult bunker in and the Bass and blues are on a number of the bunker pods. I chased them yesterday and today also, in the yak...The blues weren't that big, but I'm sure there's some big ones around somewhere, I just haven't found them . I'm really beat up now and not sure if the old body 'll be able to chase tomorrow..The heat got me a bit today also.. Do you get Muskys where you are ?

I took off in the kayak about 7:30 am near the end of outgoing tide There was a significant amount of adult bunker (menhaden) around, but many appeared to be scattered So I searched for and found big pods of bunker.that were in tight schools. (When the tide turned to incoming, more bunker came in.). Many times the bass and blues will cause the bunker to get into tight schools. Sometimes bunker just hang tight, but it's a good way to target predator fish (I always carry 2 set ups.and when I fish bunker, I keep one rod with a weighted snagger and one with an unweighted hook, the later is usually a little heavier set up. I snag bait with one rod and then get it in and transfer the bunker to the other set up. However, I had just snapped my line on the heavier setup on an underwater snag, so I only had the lighter setup...A 7 ft. med. heavy rod and low profile baitcast reel) I followed the adult bunker snagging a few and saw them explode on occasion as Blues, or Bass tore thru them. So I would snag bunker.. change hooks and live line them.(pretty bloody and smelly business) After a few bunker got ripped up by bluefish finally the bass took a live one..I let her run and then set the hook and got a great ride. She took me quite a distance I guess..She was really strong, but after numerous great runs she finally tired out. I knew it was a striper shortly after she took the bait by the way she ran (bluefish usually give a different run) I can only estimate time because I was not calculating it and it felt like forever... So maybe It took 10 minutes, or more to land her, especially because as she came up I saw how big she was, with that cement block head and I saw that she wasn't hooked that good . So now I had to maneuver the rod and the yak so she wouldn't spit the hook..I don't use a net, or gaff.. Just a lip grip in my right hand and grab with my left..As I was trying to grab her in the water I remember thinking that if I lose this thing I'll beat myself up forever. Getting her inside a sit in kayak can have a few tense moments because of her weight if I lost leverage I'd tip over. also,. they don't have teeth, but have sharp dorsal fins.which can puncture your skin. She pretty much filled up the kayak with her body. Then I repeated it again and got the 16 pound bass... I was one lucky old man.. It doesn't really sound exciting as i write it, but for me it was, and also kind of intense at times. .

Shawn, glad you got the pictures.. Now you've seen that I really am computer illiterate

Thanx, I do read that site.. but ,I never post, just read

Thanx hunterman.. Yeah, they got real popular down here now.. When I started I only knew one other kayak fisherman.. I'm sure some were around, but I never saw them. I used to use them for duck/goose hunting .. My wife sewed camo cloth to cover them so I could beach on the sand and sit in it.. I used to try to get out almost every weekday (weekends are too crowded for me). I could fish right into Jan. (for herring), ,unless there was ice/

ok. I go your pm

I don't know how ... I only know how o attach them to email

I've been out in the kayak chasing fish for the past month on Long Island. I got a few nice stripers, blues and fluke..BUT.. Yesterday I caught a 51 inch( 41 and one half pound) striped bass and a 16 pounder.too.. I got a great ride !! I got them with 15lb. mono, and 30lb. shock leader. I've been kayak fishing since 1996 and gotten 25 pounders into the kayak and even a 30 lb. bass inside it,.( Also lotsa teen sized bluefish,) but this was a chore to maneuver her in safetly. . I have a sit inside kayak, so I had to stick her in, and have her between my legs .I was in the bay, about 1/2 mile from shore, so tipping could have been a disaster. I have pictures, but I'm computer illiterate, so I'd never figure out how to do it, even with instructions ( I'm only 63 inches so it looks bigger next to me).

Pygmy..Thanx for the info, I wonder why they re not all around the State.

Paula, that's good, I hope to read about your success.. good luck

Paula, I suspect that it's pretty cold and you have some snow so I was wondering how are the squirrels moving up there ?

He shoulda said that it must've eaten too much salt and was retaining water Are there a lot of fox squirrels in your area ? I've seen them, but never in NY... Does anyone know their range in NY ?

So, they say that the hunt promotes violence in kids.. ???.... How come there was less violence when hunting was more accepted., and more kids were into it. .These animal rights people piss me off big time, and many of them are hypocrites .. I unfortunately know some, but it is fun to tell them hunting stories to play with their empty heads I hope that the event goes on as scheduled and it's a great success..I can't even imagine how much grief there would be if they advertised a hunt like that down here.... I am computer illiterate and don't quite understand facebook, so I wouldn't know how to look at their page.. I don't know a twitter from a tweet(if there's a difference. ) I should have waited to read this until lunch time. It would make good reading while I ate today's entree, boiled, then sauteed squirrel..

Paula... thanks, I'd like to read it...

They all protest killing the "poor, cute little Squirrel" until one get's in their house. Then they cry for "DEATH of that destructive pest !!! ".. I think that the contest is great..than for sharing that Paula..

I have seen Guinea Fowl a number of times, over many years,roaming around Long Island. Most time in close proximity to houses so I'm sure that they were domestic. I know that people get them to eat ticks among other reasons so they let them wander. However, not that long ago I saw some too far away from houses to be what I would consider domestic( I have also seen chickens at times too far to be someones possessions, I even have seen chickens in the wooded areas near the bay side of Jones Beach..) I never much thought anything about them, except that they were noisy, until one morning I heard a Guinea Fowl calling,from some high marsh grass along the water when I was kayak fishing,. I always have some calls with me when I'm out there so I tried to imitate it's call, as best I could, with a mouth call. We'd call back and forth, but I think that all I did was aggravate it, and it really wasn't answering me.. My imitation left much to be desired. I had the right cadence, but my tone was off.(I'm working on it).. I sounded more like a rooster pheasant that day. My question is, if you are a LONG distance from houses, and now they are wild birds, and you see them in the public woods, are they legal game.. I would like to call them in even if I can't shoot one, but they look like they'd be good to eat, and calling one to the gun would be HOT SH#$@! Are they ever legal to shoot ?

Predate.. yeah that's the one.. I am a member of bark at the moon also, but haven't been on the site for a bit.. I'll check out the photo..After I find my login ID.. thanx

Predate.. I only use mouth calls to ,so I couldn't help them with ecall techniques. I will pass on the information you gave. I'm sure it will help . Thanx for taking the time to help.them. I learned from your info too . I never knew that fox would answer a coyote vocalization. I always figured that if a fox heard a 'yote , it'd be gone in a second. ...The only vocalizations that I ever heard about for fox was on a radio predator hunting radio show online. I love the show.. One of the guests on one show, named Andrew Lewand, spoke about FOX vocalizations using mouth calls,to call in fox... During around the time of the mating season, I tried it with one of my calls that I thought I could come close to the right tone. A red came in, but I had earlier used distress calls, so I'm not 100% sure if that was the key. At least I didn't scare it away. It was the last sequence that I used so I think that it could have been that barking series that brought him in. Lewand is a predator hunter and author and from NY. He impressed me, so I'm going to keep trying it when I'm out and the time of year is right. Thanks again for the help.I'll pass it on.

Predate.. Yes, nothing elaborate though.

I saw quite a few one year in Jamaica Bay, but of course, there's no hunting there. I asked someone about it because I would see so few on the Island. I was told, but never verified it ,that their flyway was west of Long Island. I have seen so few on Long Island, where I used to hunt, that I remember where I saw them. If you're ever down by Jones Beach west end, ask some of those bird watchers, they're around there most of the time.near the boat basin. They're a wealth of knowledge about birds.I don't think I'd tell them it's for hunting them though