I just returned from vacation in Bethany Beach, DE.
I was only able to fish the salt 1 time … and the only thing that I hooked up with was a sea gull that I foul-hooked with my back cast. Definitely catch and release, but nonetheless, he didn’t seem very happy. Oh, and I consumed lots of alcohol while I was there … although it was not rum.
So, do I qualify as a pirate? Do I hear an ARRRRRG! Just a little, may be just an arrg!
I will be giving the salt another shot at the end of September when I will go Striper fishing with my fly fishing club.
Dave
[This message has been edited by Dave Fulton (edited 25 August 2005).]
[This message has been edited by Dave Fulton (edited 25 August 2005).]
Well Dave, I give you “aaarrr”. Not quite an aaarrrggghhh!
Here’s the problem…
1). It has to be rum, nothing expensive, cheap stuff will get you in the door.
2). The seagull was a nice mention, however, there is a recipe for that gull. It goes as follows.
a). Clean seagull as any good pirate would do, like feather and gut the bird.
b). Find an old rubber boot (very well used).
c). Make a very nice cornbread dressing (southern pirate thing).
d). stuff the boot with dressing and gull.
e). Bake in oven until the boot is fork tender.
f). Dump out the gull and dressing and eat the boot.
3). you get an honorable mention for fishin’ the salt, even though it was only once.
4). Repeat after us…“AAARRRGGGHHH!!!”
Ah, but James, out gulls “pump out” all the time in the dive-bomb mode. A little less flavorful, but with the right seasonings, the boot is excellent table far wit me rum.
Dave, the pirate counsel has met (flatsdude, evil dave, and me)and we have hereby accepted you as a pirate, no matter what those fishers of that pacific pond say…
Since the powers that be have said we should welcome you then here goes.
Welcome Pirate, enjoy and prepare to pay.
Section 3 paragraph 4 states the new pirates must furnish the rum and food for the crew until a new pirate is selected. So for the next year or so you be the rum and food supplier. Now I do not drink but I do eat. So lets get with it pirate. Food and drink.
Becoming a pirate is sort of like your apprenticeship to the dirty old mens’ club, once you’ve tried it & like it and want to do more of it; you’re on your way. Ahoy Matey !
If only I’d have known … the next gull won’t be so lucky! I like cornbread stuffing, and rum. Perhaps a rum marinade?
I was fishing with a local fly fisher who was kind enough to show me a local spot and give me some tips. He even showed me how to release a gull with increased chances of survival … a must with catch 'n release.
We were fishing from a jetty at sunset when I saw (what I believe) was a Striper cruising between the rocks in a few feet of water. I cast in front of him and started stripping. I had a bird’s … gull’s eye view, and could see my fly and the fish moving towards each other. Then, true to Mr. Murphy, the fish turned to his right to go around a rock, when he clearly should have gone to his left. I don’t think the fish even saw my fly, and I gave him a Homer Simpson salute as he headed back into the deeper water of the channel.
I also saw a guy in float tube, with running lights out in the middle of the channel. Yes, a float tube, with running lights. I thought that the guy must be nuts because it was an outgoing tide, and the water was moving pretty fast through the inlet, with nothing but open sea beyond the jetty.
My next shot at the salt comes at the end of September, so I have a month to drink rum, and work on my double haul (which blows)and my AAARRRGGGHHH!.
Tight lines.
Dave Fulton
Apprentice Pirate
[This message has been edited by Dave Fulton (edited 26 August 2005).]
There be only one fit name for the new meat. He should be fairly hight “Steamboat Dave.”
If ye lubbers fail to see the jest, I’ll claim a week’s rum ration from ye each as penance and the cost o’ yer eddication.
Welcome aboard, Steamboat Dave. It be yer turn to swab the decks. If ye catch any more gulls, ice 'em down and keep 'em till the Florida fish-in. We’ll bake a gull pie or two.
aka Cap’n Yid.
Stev Lenon, 91B20 '68-'69
When the dawn came up like thunder
[This message has been edited by slenon (edited 27 August 2005).]
Dave don’t tell us it was a three weight that you where fishing with.
Philip
I look into… my fly box, and think about all the elements I should consider in choosing the perfect fly: water temperature, what stage of development the bugs are in, what the fish are eating right now. Then I remember what a guide told me: ‘Ninety percent of what a trout eats is brown and fuzzy and about five-eighths of an inch long.’ - Allison Moir.
No, no 3 Wt. I was using a 9 Ft 6 Wt. It is the biggest rod I have … and the smallest rod that I have. That gull put up a good fight on the 6 Wt., but I’ll bet that a 3 Wt would have made him feel like an Eagle.
I’m thinking about getting a 9 Wt. I might get to fish the salt a few times a year, and I think that the 9 would work for Small Mouth Bass as well as for Stripers and such. I’m considering a 14 Ft two-hander to get some distance though, because my double-haul is causing me to loose line speed and distance. Is any one out there using a two-handed switch rod for the salt? Any thoughts on it?
A lot of people like an 8wt for the salt but I don’t. I like at least a 9 wt for the salt and sometimes use it for smallies with big deer hair bugs and heavy crayfish imitations for deep water. You will be amazed at how far you can shoot with a bigger setup and keep your line speed up.
Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick
dave, i use a two hader (12.5 ft. 8 wt) early and late in the season when i fish from shore. i don’t spey cast, just overhand cast with it, and the thing is a cannon–can easily throw the whole line. plus it’s not too hard to get the hang of–the casting motion with a two hander seems much more natural than with a tradtional fly rod.
but i’m with micro–a 9 wt. is a great all around rod for the salt.
[This message has been edited by D. Micus (edited 29 August 2005).]
Maybe he’s Dave Ful o’ as in full of… something, like rum.
Hey Micus, I just did some shopping at Orvis (Avon CT), in your honor. Well actually it was the only place to find a 12’ 7x leader. Thats what I am using for those burly stripers (I’m good, don’t cha know)
Nick,
I actually use them for trout. You need to be gentle, but it makes the difference between some looks and some takes by the cautious trout in clear water. As for cost, they were $3.50 per for mono. Thats a decent price. I too was surprised that I did not need to sell my firstborn to afford them.
Definitely catch and release, but nonetheless, he didn’t seem very happy. Oh, and I consumed lots of alcohol while I was there … although it was not rum.
