Surfcasters Journal Issue 11

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Surfcaster’s Paradise...

Located 12 miles off the Massachusetts coast.

1 hour boat trip from historic New Bedford MA.

Open

May Until EarlyOctober Mid

Since

1864 For reservations or brochures call

508-992-5585

Or visit us online at cuttyhunkfishingclub-bb.com

If people concentrated on the really important th

hings in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles.

Doug Larson

Surfcaster’ s Journal Issue #11 January 2012 10-Quest for an Old Friend - Barone 11-Plugaholics Anonymous - Anderson 21-Beach To Table - Chase 30-Geared Up 49-Rollin’With The Rock - Paoline 59-The Rod Corner - Caruso 69-Commando Surfcasting Interview 83-The Road to Montauk 1942 - Mead 93-Fly Fishing Update - Papciak 99-Craftsmen At Work 113-Walter Krystock - Pintauro 131-Costa Rica/Pura Vida - Hromin 165-Reel Review Penn Torque - Hawk 216-Contributors

photo:silverfox

editor in chief head photographer/hater magnet: Zeno Hromin art director/beach cred dept: Tommy Corrigan head copy editor: Roger Martin boss of the head copy editor: Marie Martin rod guru: Lou Caruso executive chef: Andrew Chase plug guru: Dave Anderson fly guru: John Papciak 4x4 guru/enforcer: Russell Paoline cover photo: Zeno Hromin advertising and other inquiries info@surfcastersjournal.com Surfcaster's Journal is published bi-monthly by Surfcasting LLC. Publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising submitted for publication. Surfcasting LLC and Surfcaster's Journal assume no responsibility for errors made except to republish in future issue any advertisement having an error.

Use of this material without express written permission of Surfcasting LLC and Surfcaster's Journal is strictly prohibited.

© 2011 Pure Fishing, Inc.

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Quest for an Old Friend Wake up early, some stay out late The pickup is subtle, but she took the bait Motions are slow, reaction is fast You knew she’d be there, thought about it each cast

You feel her head shake, the fight is on Wee hours of the morning, sun approaching dawn

Drag screams out, a steady pull She runs like a tiger, and fights like a bull The fight has ended, you reach for her maw Alone on the beach you stand in awe A fish of a lifetime, whose life you can’t end I’ll see you next year; same tide, old friend.

Stephen Barone

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I have avoided writing on the subject of color for a long time mostly because there is both nothing to say and volumes to be written on the subject. People ask me all the time, “Do you think color matters?” My answer is always “Nope. Except when it does.”

Kind of like dropping the punchline to a joke that you know is horrible, it’s only good for the person saying it. Their faces are precious!

Color, for the most part, is there to make anglers feel super-prepared, it’s like Viagra for your plug bag, You feel like you’ll never fall short. It’s also kind of like guys who buy big expensive cars to impress their neighbors or the girls down at the club—it builds false confidence and moreover it just confuses the possibilities of finding something out that’s actually useful. If you have 20 colors and you keep switching up, how can you be sure that it was the color change that made the difference?!

It’s funny, I feel like I’m writing about something controversial or even dangerous like publishing the coordinates and battle plan of an Army squadron in Iran or the names of people involved in a CIA conspiracy. But it’s just color. So let’s dive in.

Let me start by saying that a million times out of a million subtle nuances in color mean nothing, black over purple, purple over black, black, black over maroon, black over brown—it’s all black. If someone tells you that a black plug won’t work it has to be blurple, your next question should be, “and exactly when was the last time you saw Bigfoot?” I’d bet a Grand Slam breakfast that they’d say something like, “Plumb saw him this mornin’ choppin’ wood with Elvis.”

The same goes for white, wonderbread, white/pink, white/silver, white with blue around the eyes, etc, etc. These plugs are all white, especially when fishing at night. So you can reduce the weight of your bag by, oh let’s say half a ton, right there. Just bring two darks and two lights or even one and one. And for my money—I prefer solid pearl white. It’s clean, simple and there’s nothing extraneous there to cloud it up, no pink or yellow or fluorescent raspberry just plain old white, a color present in every fish than swims in the ocean and one that stands out stark against the drab colors of the undersea world. Black plugs, I’m not so picky, black, blurple, elprulb (shutter) it’s all the same, I won’t even look at it twice.

Yellow, I could personally take or leave. I have caught plenty of fish on yellow, but I’ve never seen a time

when the fish were hitting yellow that they would not hit white. One night while fishing the Long Island beaches I saw everyone was tossing yellow, I purposely used a Lime Green Super Strike Bottleplug and I think I outfished most of the people around me.

You might think that I just proved that color does matter, truth is, the fish were all 20 feet behind the break and everyone was casting for Bermuda. But that’s another column. Yellow is a confidence color. If you’re confident in yellow use the hell out of it, because nothing is more important than confidence. More often I think the times that the fish will supposedly only hit a certain color it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. People see that guys are crushing on a yellow darter, what do you think they going to reach for? Then the few guys throwing something different, don’t get a hit in five casts and they’re running back to the truck or trying to buy an extra off the guy on the next rock.

It’s a lethal mix of a lack of confidence and the desperation that comes from not having what you supposedly need that makes the perceived truth, cardinal law.

(Maybe a plug rental service could be a lucrative venture at a place like Montauk or the Cape Cod Canal!)

Wild colors like Block Island Green, Parrot, Chartreuse over silver, hot pink, fire and ice etc. I have a little more interest in these colors and I know this seems to clash with the rest of my color claims. But something I have always strongly believed is that the fish don’t really look at a plug and see it as something familiar. I think the swimming action and vibration signature that they give off already stands out to the fish as something odd that they need to check out. Maybe they think it’s just a wounded or sick baitfish or maybe they have no idea, or maybe—well let’s say most likely—they don’t think inside their heads like we do and they react on impulse. The fact that your

plug is probably standing out by shape, sound and vibration means to me that making it stand out in color might not be a bad idea either. Standing out makes a lot more sense in the roiled world of the surf than blending in when you think about it—matching the hatch is just gilding the lily. It has also been widely accepted as fact that fish see chartreuse better than any other color so I always have something in that color with me.

Speaking of gilding the lily, how important is a 12-color paint job or scales or mackerel stripes or prismatic eyes or any of that other stuff? The answer is, only as important as it is to you. I’m a sucker for a good paint job, I have a full set of Weakfish-colored plugs from RM Smith and I have some amazing colors from Beachmaster, but I don’t fish them! I got them because I like them, when I fish a Beachmaster plug for instance, I use the simplest colors, white, black, parrot, blue/white and yes even yellow! Scales and all of that other stuff are for the fishermen. If scales give you confidence, then by all means seek out plugs with scales, but also STOP READING RIGHT NOW, because I don’t want to be responsible for squashing your confidence. I’ve said this numerous times about other things plug-related, but if scales mattered to the fish, you’d never catch a single one. If they inspected plugs that closely, they’d see the roll of the Danny, the lifeless eyes staring dead ahead and above all, the treble hooks clattering against the belly of the plug. In order of importance plugging is: confidence, action, size, silhouette and then color. And even then giving them a simple target to shoot for is better than trying to wow them with 49 colors and two-tone scales. Solid colors stand out best and they hide the most sins as far as unnatural motions go. For example the roll of a Danny or Pikie is all but nullified if the plug is a solid color and especially if it has no eyes.

I’ll finish up with a story. This past May I hit the Cape Cod Canal about 10 days earlier than I usually would because the tide and conditions were just so damned perfect. Well, I was rewarded handsomely. The Canal was brimming with bass, bunker and mackerel. I was prototyping a Glide Bait and I just-so-happened to have one in what I thought was a killer mackerel pattern so I snapped it on and began working it through the schools of macks that were getting crushed tight to the rocks just to my left.

I made roughly seven casts and did not get even a bump. The fish were in so tight, that I could see them ignoring my plug. I began to wonder if all my winter work on this design was going to be for naught. Determined, I switched to a white one. I tossed the plug into the fray and zig-zagged it

through the riot of bass and bait. The plug was blasted clear of the surface and landed in water that was just inches deep, before I could swing my rod out to swim it back into deeper water, before I could even move it, a low-20s bass charged the shallows and picked my glidebait up while it was lying on its side. I made five more consecutive connections with comparablesized fish before the blitz broke up and moved on. Later attempts with the mackerel plug proved fruitless but the white one worked all morning. Does this prove that color matters or that only certain colors matter? I think it proves my point about standing out, the solid white body was easy to pick up even when hundreds of mackerel were piled into a small space. The fish saw my white piece of wood since it stood out. And conversely the mackerel-colored one blended in too much. I’m on my third white glidebait for the season, I broke two of them off on big fish, and I still have that mackerel one, I think I caught one fish on it.

I know I’m not going to change the minds of anyone who is confident in their perfectly-painted fish replica plugs and that’s fine. But I caution all surfcasters not to assign too many human characteristics to the fish. They make their decisions on impulse and they use senses that we don’t even have to find their food. Color matters to the point that sometimes light, dark, bright and sometimes simple dual tones can turn the fish from might to bite. But taking it beyond that comes from being a human, we just can’t let things be simple. We actually want things to be more complicated, calculated and scientific than they really are. So does color matter? Well, I guess it does, but how much it matters depends more on you than it does the fish.

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SURF CASTER’S j o u r n a l We got all fancy and put our mag on the ipad.

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Spicy Squid Salad with Green Olives, Red Peppers and Lemon I knew I wanted to share this recipe when, in two separate instances last month, guys I was fishing with were talking about how much they liked to eat squid. I totally agree with them. It’s tasty, inexpensive and seems to be a sustainable resource.

With a mildly sweet oceanic taste, squid makes a great backdrop for any flavors you’d like to pair it with. For instance, you could easily take this recipe in an Asian direction with the substitution of soy and fish sauces or Mexican with cilantro and fresh chilies.

There are two basic approaches to cooking squid and those are: very briefly, approximately 1-2 minutes or long cooking for about an hour until it’s completely tender. To cook it briefly, any medium to high heat cooking method can be used whether it’s sautéing, grilling or poaching. Long cooking lends itself well to braising with some liquid or sauce on low heat, perhaps after an initial browning. This works perfectly with stuffed squid and could be done with the same filling we used here a few months ago for our skate recipe.

In this salad, the squid is quickly poached and then tossed in a refreshing and spicy dressing with olives, roasted peppers and celery to make a light appetizer or antipasto.

You could add vegetables like cooked artichoke hearts or string beans and even some shrimp or scallops if you’d like to make a more extravagant meal. The cooking method remains the same with slightly different cooking times for the seafood.

1/3 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed 1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced 1 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper or pepperoncino 2 red peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch strips ¾ cup green olives, pitted and sliced (oil-packed are best) 3-5 stalks of celery hearts with leaves, thinly sliced ½ bunch parsley, washed and chopped 2 pounds squid, (mine came out to 1 ¾ lbs. clean weight) In a large mixing bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the salt, garlic and olive oil until well combined. Add the olives, peppers, celery and parsley. Taste and adjust the salt and/or lemon, if desired.

Clean the squid. Cut off the tentacles just above the eyes, push out the beak and then halve the tentacles lengthwise. I like to peel the squid but this is optional. Pull out the insides from the squid bodies and split them top to bottom so that you can open them up flat on your cutting board. Scrape off any remaining innards and cut the bodies into strips 1 inch wide. Rinse all the squid well under running water to remove any grit then dry well and set aside.

Bring 4 quarts of well-salted water to a boil and have a large colander ready in the sink.

You’ll also need a slotted spoon to pull out a piece of squid to check the cooking. You only want to cook the squid until it turns opaque. It should be tender with just a tad of springiness to the tooth. Carefully add the squid to the boiling water and stir it to separate the pieces. After 30 seconds, lift a piece out to verify doneness. You may need another half a minute but that should be all.

Drain the squid very thoroughly and add it directly to your dressing and vegetables; the warm squid will absorb the dressing much more readily than if you cool it first. Stir well and taste again for seasoning. Let cool to room temperature before serving or refrigerate it for up to a day if you’re making it ahead of time.

I would serve this with crusty country bread to soak up the extra dressing. kafe

cafekatja.com

OMG! SURFCASTER’S JOURNAL TOTALLY HAS MORE FACEBOOK LIKES THAN ME...

Daiwa Salt Pro Minnow Every few years a lure comes along that captures the imagination of surfcasters. Those who are catching fish on it, proclaim it to be the hottest thing in the surf since the last Women in Waders calendar. The stores sell out of the lure in a day, the curse of not ordering enough of a new, unknown lure. This is what happened in Cape Cod recently.

Was it some custom painted, homemade wood masterpiece? Or a stock lure with a limited edition pattern? No and no. It was a SP Minnow from Daiwa. Surprised? You should not be if you have followed the innovations coming from Daiwa in recent years.

From Saltiga reels, to Samurai braid, to the SP Pro Minnows, the folks from Daiwa are at the forefront of innovation when it comes to fishing tackle. So what makes this SP Minnow so special that it made grown men clean out the shelves of major tackle stores so quickly? This was like our wives fighting over the latest, hot Christmas toy.

There is only one reason for a surfcaster behaving badly, and you know it's not the color, size or even the price although we have to admit we love the price of the SP Minnow. No, the only reason a lure becomes a “must-have lure� is because it produces. The Daiwa SP minnow features an internal weight-transfer system that makes this minnow one of the best casting lures in the market in this size and weight. But wait, there is more! Ok, we are just busting your chops but there really is more. First, forget those exaggerated motions many crank baits and plastic lip swimmers exhibit on the retrieve. The Daiwa SP Minnow has a tight wiggle, a dead ringer for mackerel. This was one of the main reasons the Cape Cod Canal faithful went ga-ga over these lures. Its body shape is also a great imitation of slender baits like sand eels.

It features quality components that will stand up to the rigors of saltwater fishing. If you are planning to use these lures in heavy current, like the Cape Cod Canal or in Long Island's South Shore inlets, we suggest you beef up the hooks and split rings. Although the hardware on these lures is more than adequate for most situations, places like the Canal and inlets are notoriously hard on hardware. There is more good stuff we can tell you. It dives down a few feet and that it’s available in some great patterns with a really realistic finish. But what you will probably find most appealing is the ability to alter the retrieve without making the plug useless. Many lures lose their effectiveness at a higher rate of retrieve while others look like dead pieces of driftwood on a slow retrieve. The Daiwa SP minnow can be slow trolled behind a boat or crawled in the surf and it will still retain its signature, tight wiggle. Give it a try and we are convinced that you'll like it. And it won't you set back a day's pay like those once-in-a-blue moon radioactive patterned wood lures that everyone wants but no one ever caught a fish on.

INFO

Hansom Pliers Sheath We wrote about Hansom pliers awhile ago in the Gear Review section of this magazine. We thought that the quality of the pliers was exceptional for the price, which was very reasonable. We know that you agreed with us as we have seen many of you carrying these pliers. New from Hansom Tackle for 2012 is their new plier’s sheath. This new product from Hansom, called the AQ-8 Pliers Sheath, is an optional item that can be purchased as a set with the pliers or as an individual item. The AQ-8 Pliers Sheath is designed and made exclusively for Hansom Tackle by Aqauskinz. It is designed to fit the Hansom AP-8 pliers perfectly but many of you are probably wondering will it fit other pliers and our answer is yes. We tried pliers from different manufacturers like Van Staal and they fit just fine.

We should mention, that regardless of which pliers you buy they should be attached via lanyard to your belt. No exceptions to this rule. This is one of the reasons why we liked the Hansom pliers when they came on the market. They were sold with a sheath and lanyard for a reasonable price. The fellows at Hansom are obviously surfcasters too and they know that it only takes a split second before your pliers disappear in the drink. The new AQ-8 pliers sheath is made in the USA. It is constructed from 22 ounce vinyl coated polyester which is 100% mildew and U.V. resistant. It was designed to be light, durable and of course to fit the Hansom AP-8 pliers like a glove. We bet there were many of these sheaths under the Christmas tree this past holiday season.

INFO

Owner Hooks If you haven't suffered a heartbreaking loss while surfcasting, you probably haven't been in the game long enough. We can expect to tie a bad knot once in a while. We admit we’ve stayed with a chafed leader that should have been replaced. We know we have not trimmed the frayed braid that was dragged through barnacle covered rocks.

What we refuse to accept is a hook that gets straightened out by a fish. Now, let's be clear about something. If you fish in a place where you need a 6 ounce bucktail to get close to the bottom, where the current is moving faster than your eyes, and you need to stop a big fish that is going down current dead in its tracks...most hooks will get straightened out.

This is why many big fish hunters prefer to use Owner Stinger Trebles when targeting big fish instead of the hooks that came with the lure. You should consider Owner hooks as an upgrade to most hooks that come packaged with today's lures. We like Owner Stinger ST-66TH 4X hooks in particular as a replacement on many of our lures.

They are incredibly strong and feature a super sharp needle point right out of the box and they hold their sharpness better than most other hooks we’ve tried.We have used these short shank hooks on everything from Super Strike poppers, Yo Zuri Surface Cruisers and many other lures. Our biggest fear was that we would get one implanted into our hand, because cutting through it would not be an easy task, regardless of the pliers you might have on your belt.

Yes, the Owner hooks are a bit pricier than average but unlike your better half, who has no qualms about spending a few hundred more for a "name" on her purse, you are actually paying for quality and added strength. We would be remiss if we did not mention that these hooks are slightly heavier than most and that you might change the swimming action on certain lures by swapping your Owner hooks for the hooks that came with the lure. This is not necessarily a bad thing. On a lure like a Super Strike darter you might be able to get it to dig better with a heavier hook than the standard hooks that come with it. But you also might throw off the balance of a lure if you add a heavy hook to a light lure. You should swim any lures you change hooks on to check out the action. The Owner hooks are definitely an item you should consider adding to your arsenal if you are looking for a treble that will withstand incredible pressure from the fish and keep its sharpness for a long time.

INFO

Thunnus CI4 8000 The biggest misconception in the sport of surfcasting today is not that most of us don't cast nearly as far as we claim or that you need to wear clothing that a Navy Seal would find cumbersome and constricting. No, the biggest hoax perpetrated on those who are new to the sport is the advice that they get from keyboard fisherman in regard to which reel to buy. Terms like hardcore and waterproof appear in posts about what reels to get more frequently than Lindsay Lohan makes court appearances. And there is a good reason for that. When you spend the GDP of a small country on a reel, you must tell everyone that they should buy the same. And if they can't afford it, even better, because that makes you, the keyboard fisherman even more important. By the way, how did we forget so quickly about Penn Squidders and 706Z reels being the workhorses of the sport for decades? We’re just saying‌...

There is a place for a high end waterproof reel and there is also a place for reels that can get the job done without you having access to Donald Trump's wallet. Let's get real: for every surfcaster that swims to a rock a hundred yards offshore in the middle of the night, there are a hundred surfcasters who just like to hit the beach with a cooler full of bait and a few lures. These guys do not need a reel that can be submersed. They need a reel with a "bait runner" feature and a smooth drag at a price that will allow them to have a few bucks left for a six pack and bait. They need a reel that is a smooth operator, that will stand up to punishing saltwater spray, frequent blasting by the sand and strong enough

to fight any inshore species in our waters. Luckily for them, there is such a reel. In fact, it’s been around for awhile but the current version of the Shimano Thunnus CI4 is the best one yet. We had the pleasure of using a Thunnus CI4 8000 model last fall and we walked away impressed. The first thing you will notice is that there is absolutely no wobble when you crank the handle. The reel feels more like a fine tuned machine than a tool for catching fish but that is what this reel is designed for. Its 7 bearings make this a smooth operator and the line lays perfectly on the spool. The Thunus features a waterproof drag which, like its gears, it is silky smooth. The 8000 model we used weighted in at 19 ounces and was capable of holding 250 yards of 17 lb monofilament which makes this a good plugging reel for those that still prefer monofilament over braid. If you are a braid aficionado you will load almost 300 yards of 50lb Power Pro, much more than you should ever need it in the surf. The new Thunnus is built with a new lightweight frame that is lighter yet stronger than previous version. In fact, according to Shimano the new frame is said to be 30 percent lighter yet one and a half times stronger than XT-7 graphite.

Although many surfcasters use these reels for both lure and bait fishing, it is the latter wh shines. On the back of the reel there is a bait-runner switch that allows you to put your bait avoid having the fish feel resistance when it picks up the bait. When you are ready to set switch and the reel immediately reverts to the drag setting you've set previously. Not only also an adjustment knob that allows you to increase or decrease free spool tension of you bonus for those fishing with bait as they are able to create just enough free spool tension After all, you would not set a same tension if you were live lining bait for shark as if you tossing chunks for stripers. It is nice to have this option. The oversized knob on the h comfortable, the reel gears are silky smooth and to boot, the reel itself is slick looking. Just in the finish to give it that "check me out look". We doubt anyone will be disappointed Thunnus CI4 8000 reel or any other sizes in this line.

here this reel really t in free spool. You t the hook, flip the y that, but there is ur reel. This is a big n to fit their needs. would if you were handle feels very t enough sparkles d by the Shimano

INFO

Spro Snap You ask 5 surfcasters how to they attach a lure to their leaders and you might get 5 different answers. There are those who trust no contraption of any kind and insist in tying the lure directly onto the leader each and every time. These are the same guys that hide dollars in their mattress because they don't trust the bank. Then you have those who trust a snap but only one style and no other. These guys usually gravitate to crosslock type snaps, great stuff but a bitch to get on some plugs and are hard to open on a cold night. These are the guys that keep money in the bank but not in a savings account but in a shoe box stashed in a safe deposit box instead. Then there are the rest of us, a mass of anglers willing to try anything that makes changing lures a snap. But just because we are more open minded than the aforementioned tightwads, it does not mean we are willing to use inferior products when attaching our lure to the leader. Not at all, but we are more open minded to new designs and ideas.

Frankly, we think that those who haven't tried clips are a little coocoo.

Every snap that we tried has a drawback of some kind. Duo Locks have the propensity to open at the worst possible times. Crosslocks are difficult to fit on some lures and the new paperclips type snaps can allow a lure to slip off. How often does any of this happen? Very rarely. You want to eliminate any chance of losing a lure or your snap straightening out and still be able to change lures quickly and effectively?

Give a new snap from Spro a try. The new Spro Split snap is unlike any snaps you've seen before. Just like the paperclip type snap, you slip your lure on to it easily. But

instead of calling it a day you must bring the eye of your lure all the way to the opposite side of the Spro Snap. The end result is that your lure will be attached to not a single but double wire in the trough of the snap. The chances of this snap straightening out are slim to none. There is ample room in the throat of the snap to allow your lure to move freely, something that cannot be accomplished by tying directly unless you use a loop knot. Are tSpro Snaps simple to use? Absolutely. Are they as simple as the paper clips style snaps? They are actually very similar in the ways you use them to attach the lure.

Spro Snap requires another half turn to finish the process. Yes, it might be a bit more cumbersome on those freezing November nights than a paper clip but think how confident you will feel after that big fish hits your lure. You know that your snap won’t fail. After all, it’s made by Spro. With a name like Spro, it has to be good.

INFO

Sniper Jacket Don't you wish sometimes that you could wear some of your fishing equipment to functions other than fishing? No, we are not suggesting you show up in your waders to your daughter's wedding rehearsal. Or that you try to impress a girl by showing up at her door wearing a wetsuit and carrying a bag of eels in lieu of flowers. It's just that there are not too many things that are great on the beach and on a date. The Sniper Jacket from Tactical Anglers is an exception. We walked through the front door the other day wearing a TA Sniper Jacket. The wife, the ultimate authority on style and substance in our little world, turned around, gave us a long glance, touched the material and said "Real nice. You can even wear that when you take me to diner". Two things stuck us as odd. First, Da Wife almost never approves me wearing anything "fishing" related in public, particularly those garments with mustard stains under our chin. Second, even if we occasionally have worn a sweatshirt with a fishing logo, she wasn't really thrilled about it. More likely she bit her tongue. But she really liked this jacket. And we are not surprised because we do too.

We particularly like the stylish look and soft texture of the jacket. The Sniper Jacket is made out of high quality velour micro-fleece. It is sleek on the outside and very warm on the inside. It is cut generously so if you are going to be casting with it, you will have ample room to do so. It has pockets everywhere and that is no exaggeration. All in all, you will find seven pockets on the jacket, including hand warmer pockets. You will find pockets on the inside of the jacket and even pockets on the sleeves in which you can store things you might need in a jiffy like glasses or leaders.

You can zipper the jacket all the way up and the storm collar will wrap around your neck, protecting you from the elements. The jacket is lightweight, windproof and very comfortable to wear. And best of all, it’s priced much more reasonably than comparable jackets from other manufacturers.

INFO

Van Staal Fly Reel We were quite happy with our old school standard arbor cork drag reels. Really! Then someone twisted our arm and held a gun to our heads. They forced us to give this Van Staal fly reel a workout (ok, not really).

We set out to find flaws. We fished it hard. We swam with it while wetsuiting. We let sand, mud and salt water get into every nook and cranny. We were lazy and hardly ever gave it a bath with fresh water. We constantly tested how the reel yielded line throughout the full range of drag settings: wet or dry, hot or cold, silt coated or clean.

So now we sit here fat and happy, at the end of the season, a pile of fish landed, reporting the reel held up its end of the bargain.

The official Van Staal web site offers little in the way of technical details on these reels. The C-Vex is machined using aircraft grade aluminum and anodized for saltwater protection. It still shows zero evidence of any exposure to the salt.

The reel reportedly weighs in at 9.6 oz, but this is just a number. Our silver 9/12 balanced nicely on a Sage 10 weight, easily within the weight range of most reels we have used for local saltwater applications over the last 20 years. This meant that after a full day of casting, the weight of the reel never entered into our thoughts.

The smooth wooden handle worked well for us, even with cold wet hands, but there have been reports of fishermen preferring a ridged or even plastic/rubber version.

We'll put that request back to VS and see if they bite.

The self-contained removable drag is certainly one of the most innovative designs we have seen in the world of salt water fly reels.

So, despite the "waterproof seal drag," which tends to make some reels more complicated, this reel was still easy to take apart, and thus passed our "fewer parts equals less complicated equals better" test.

Truth be told, we have not yet tested this drag on any high powered species like tuna or tarpon (sorry SJ aficionados, but stripers are not the fastest fish in the sea by a long shot) but we hope to do so in the not-too-distant future.

The C-Vex series will set you back $690 for the 9/10, and almost $1000 for the 9/12 combo series – which comes with one 9/10 spool and one 11/12 spool. If you have the cash and are willing to spoil yourself, we just might have your fly reel.

INFO

ck ith the ro rollin’ w l “big rock” paoline russel

n io s o r r o c ic n a v l a g

There is a serious matter we need to address as surf casters who drive our vehicles over the sand. It is galvanic corrosion, the corrosion that bonds dissimilar metals. I have two personal examples of this action. Hopefully it will save you a lot of time, money and aggravation in the future.

Let’s start by knowing exactly what we are talking about here. Whenever you join or place two different metals in contact there is the possibility of galvanic corrosion. In most cases you have aluminum and stainless steel that have a great difference of potential in the galvanic series of metals, and that means that the most active, aluminum will corrode.

Stainless steel and brass are closer in the galvanic series but galvanic corrosion is still possible. One thing you should evaluate is also the relative areas of the anode (aluminum) and the cathode (stainless steel). If the anode area is larger than the cathode the severity of galvanic corrosion is reduced while if the cathode area is larger than the anode corrosion, the attack will be severe. Add into this mix saltwater and sand and the problem expands exponentially.

My first experience with galvanic corrosion was a real eye opener. First off I was just able to drive again after a severe knee injury and surgery to repair my patella tendon, which I ripped off the lower leg bone, but that is another story‌... Anyway I was bored to death and longing to feel some sand under my feet, so in my infinite wisdom I decided to do a short shake down run to Island Beach State Park to get my buggy pass and get my gear ready. Enthusiastic is the nicest adjective I can use about my idea, flat out stupid is more appropriate. By the time I got to the entrance my knee was throbbing, but determination abounded this day, so I hobbled out of the truck, deflators in hand, and went to unscrew my valve cap....not happening. I figured I lost a lot of strength being laid up for two

months, so I went to the cargo area of my Nissan Pathfinder and retrieved my pliers. I bent down and grabbed the valve cap with the pliers and began to twist off the cap, and felt my heart sinking into my stomach as I heard a loud rush of rapidly flowing air. I looked down and to my horror saw my valve stem broken off at the lock nut where it bolts into the rim. Now I am a Boy Scout when it comes to being prepared, I carry a tire plug and patch kit, a Power Tank CO2 inflator, spare valve stems, yada yada yada, none of which was worth squat right now.

As reality set in I knew I had to change the tire, so I set about to the task. My jack and tire irons were in the factory position under a clever hidden hatch in the rear cargo area, which was buried cleverly under all my gear. Beads of sweat were rolling down my forehead as I fought back the pain, (thanks Doc for pulling me off the pain meds so quickly), and I set about unloading the truck. Fast forward to me trying to find the damn hole to put the crank in to drop the friggin spare from under the truck. Oh my, did the language flow!

Now with the tire changed, I secure a can of WD-40 and spray all the other stems, and slowly and carefully work the caps loose one at a time. I manage to work them off without further damage and proceed to air down. Then I pressed forward to continue my adventure. I drive the length of the beach one time and I'm getting sick to my stomach from the pain, so I drive off and air up, leaving my paradise behind. I'm not feeling too great about driving an hour and a half home with no spare, this is me and my luck we are talking about, so I stop at a big tire repair chain to fix my tire and restore some piece of mind. This is where I find out what had happened and why. Some little darling in my neighborhood removed my valve caps over the winter, so I went to the auto parts store and got a new set, deciding that stainless steel ones would be a better plan for my driving conditions. Well, refer to the first two paragraphs of this article.......

I'm sitting waiting for the work to be done when the manager comes over and informs me they don’t have the right parts and they have to order them from Nissan, and it will take about 20 more minutes. Really? It's just a valve stem right?

NOOOOO!! My valve stems have tire pressure sensors that are built in, and have to be replaced with the proper ones because they have a code to work with the computer.

“Technology peaked when they invented frozen pizza” was my response. After a pause, I uttered “OK”. A half an hour later I made a phone call to a frantic wife who thought I was dead in a ditch somewhere. (If she was happy or sad I couldn't tell at the time). I explained the situation to her and uttered two more prayers to find a Percocet lying on the floor. Finally my truck was done. I hobbled to the counter to pay the bill, reeling back as I heard the total, “That'll be $174.69 pal, cash or credit?” I couldn't speak, my brain wasn't processing how an item that used to cost $2 for a standard stem just cost me this much. “Credit” I mumbled, with some real choice phrases which escape me now.

NEVER, EVER, put anything except plastic valve caps on aluminum valve stems. Just think if all four broke!!

Situation number two just occurred a few weeks ago, fishing once again at IBSP with the usual suspects, it was a slow pick after the sun up blitz, I was trading details with a good friend who drives a newer Toyota FJ Cruiser, when we noticed his tire was getting soft really quick. We went over to check it, and he got his valve stem tool and tightened the stem insert, but we weren't sure if there was another problem with the tire so we thought it best to change it while we were all together, more hands making easier work. My friend got out a jack block and positioned the jack as I loosened the lug nuts, he then jacked it up as I took off the lug nuts and removed the center cap. The tire isn't budging, damn, let me rock it back and forth to see if I can loosen it....not happening. In short, we shook it, punched it, slapped it, kicked it.....nothing. I examine the rim closer, the aluminum rim, and look closer at the steel hub, yes, aluminum and steel again, driving on the beach, being splashed with salt and sand, when it hit me, galvanic corrosion! The same nemesis that snapped my valve stem has made my friends tire and hub become one. Now imagine being alone on the beach or high way with a flat and not being able to get the wheel off the hub! In short remember: try not to have dissimilar metals in contact with each other on your buggy, especially driving on the beach, and make sure if you have aluminum rims you routinely have your tires rotated, making sure they grease the surface of the hubs thoroughly, and keep on replacing those plastic valve caps!!

2OZ BUNKA BOY

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With-

Lou Caruso

So it’s been quite a year. Lots

of new blanks to play and fish with.

The ones that have been tested mostly this season were CTS and Century. Both have an expanded lineup of blanks usable for East Coast surfcasting.

Both have also caused a lot of controversy on the Internet as the folks that have either of these rods are quite passionate about the ones they own.

W E I V E R RODS IN 2011

First, let’s take a look at Century. They have quite a few blanks available.

Some are more long distance casters than fishers. The 3 that stand out as east coast fishing rods are the stealth series, sling shot series and the 12’ NG Spod. The present stealth series blanks come in 10’ and 11’. Both are very parabolic blanks. The weight ratings of these blanks seem to be over rated. The 11’ is rated on paper at 1 – 5 but because of the whippy nature feel like they are folding over with anything over 3 ½ to 4 oz. Next up are the sling shot series. These feel like moderate to moderate fast action blanks. I have tested the 11’ 2 – 5 oz., which is on the money in its rating. Could not seem to load the rod with anything under 2 oz. threw a 4-oz pencil with authority, and handled a 5-oz bucktail no problem. Liked it in heavy current at the inlet. The other slingshot tested was the 10’ 6” rated 1 – 3. Nice blank for throwing bombers to 2-½ oz. tins. Nice if you are starting in the back bays and heading out to some open water later on. Lastly, is the NG Spod. Did not get a chance to test one personally but built one for a guy that fishes the open beaches of Fire Island. He loved it for heavy tins and light bait fishing. Claims it throws a mile and says it handles fish to 10 pounds (as that was the largest he caught) well.

Now lets take a look at CTS. We have done some extensive testing with these blanks. Rich of RH Custom rods and his staff have done their homework and have come out with quite a lineup of blanks. The 3 blanks we tested this season in the surf were the S8 series, the Plug/Jetty series and the Vapor Trail series.

All have their place in a surf fisherman’s arsenal. The S8 is a rocket launcher, fast tip blank that smokes a tin on the open beach. Comes in a wide array of weight ranges and lengths from 10’6” all the way to 13’6”. They have just come out with a 5-piece travel blank rated 1 – 3 oz at 11’6” (hint hint for all you guys that like to fish abroad). You can put it in the overhead compartment on the plane and not worry about it getting lost. Next up, the plug/jetty series. They come in 8’, 9’ and 10’ in weight ranges that go from ½ - 1 5/8 up to 4-8 oz. We have tested the 2–4oz 10’ and the 3–6oz 10’. We tested the 2–4 oz throwing ¾ oz bucktails up to 3 ½ oz swimmers and it handled great. The 3–6 oz is a beast. Used it exclusively for inlet/fast current fishing. Threw down to 1 ½ oz but lost some feeling working a bucktail.

Anything from 2-6oz was great. Could feel every tick as a bucktail worked across the bottom. Lastly, we have the Vapor Trail. We’ll try to keep this objective, as this has come to be my go to rod this year. They come in weight ranges of 2-4 oz. all the way up to 4-8 oz and in 11’ and 12’ lengths. Tested were the 2 –4 oz 11’ (which is a great rod for the open beach) and the 11’ and 12’ 3–6 oz rods. Quite a few of the Jersey guys have been slaying bass fishing the ongoing sand eel bite using the 11’ 2–4 oz catching more fish than folks around them due to the fact that they are able to reach the back side of the sandbars where the bulk of the fish have been.

So there you have it. Many, many choices. A lot of the dyed in the wool guys will tell you this is just a fad and you should stick with your Lami. Time will tell with that one, but I believe they are wrong. These lighter, crisper rods are the ticket for a guy like me. Starting to get a little long in the tooth with a shoulder that is falling apart. I do believe if I had fished my GSB 1321M this season I would have been cooked by September. The lighter Vapor Trail, which takes much less effort to cast, may have saved my season.

So what do we have to look forward to in 2012; Century is working on a less parabolic Stealth. They are also working on a new Sling Shot 1560 which will handle 8-10 and bait. There might be others still under wraps.

CTS has been testing their 1 piece blanks that should be arriving in the U S early first quarter of the year. I have been testing the 11’ & 10’ 1 piece Vapor Trail 3-6oz. The 10’ is still up in the air as to whether it will be released into production. In the Plug/Jetty 2-4 and 3-6oz rods, I just received the 9’ blanks in the Lite & Medium ratings. There is also one in a heavy rating, which will make a great jetty stick. Building both the lite, and medium right now for testing, hopefully in March. CTS is also working on an entirely new blank called the S7. It will be a bit slower then the S8 and should be a blast for the chunkers out there.

Last thing I would like to add here, both distributors, Rich of RH Custom Rods and Mike of KM Custom Rods, hold demo days for CTS and Century respectively during the year and will be at the fishing shows over the winter. Look them up.

There is nothing like getting to test a rod before you actually have one built or build it yourself.

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tom white commando surfcasting interview

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Tom White, maker of Commando Surfcasting bags. We were always big fans of his bags and accessories but it was still an eye-opening experience to see for ourselves just how much work goes into making a bag.

SJ: Who introduced you to fishing?

When I was real young, my grandfather introduced me to fishing while growing up in Waterford, Connecticut. We used to go down to a little cove and catch snapper blues and small schoolies. We moved here to North Stonington when I was 15 years old. As time passed, I actually got away from fishing for quite a while. I went to college and afterwards as I worked on my career. In 2000 I ran into and started to fish with Joe the plumber, whom I had met years earlier. He got me back into surfcasting again, introduced me to Block Island and that was it! I fell in love with it and I've been doing it ever since.

Making custom lure bags is a long way from catching snapper blues.

Fill us in on your journey.

I got into making plug bags because of problems that I had with some of the bags that were on the market. For example, I purchased a bag on a Wednesday, went to Cutty on Thursday, and by Friday night I noticed that the seams were coming out of the bag. So after swimming out to a rock and feeling some pin pricks on my leg, I thought I must be wrapped up in some line. When I slid up on the rock, I got pricked pretty good and I looked down and saw that many of my plugs had come out of the bag and

were stuck in my wetsuit. The seams had all ripped out of my bag. Right then and there, I decided that was it! I was going to buy a machine and start making bags. That night, standing on the steps of the Cuttyhunk fishing club, I told Mike Ludlow that I was going to buy a machine. He laughed at me. He thought I was kidding. By the following Friday I had my 1st machine.

In the beginning, I started making bags for myself. I started making a small bucktail pouch just to get used to drawing templates and making something the way I wanted it to look. It took me a long time to find the right materials and all the things that it took to make a quality bag. In my mind, I decided that I was going to take the time to make a bag for myself that would be the best bag I could get. I started looking for the best components. This was difficult. I got samples upon samples. I made a lot of phone calls and ran into a lot of dead ends. People said “Oh yeah you gotta to talk to this guy.” You call that guy and he says “I don't know anything about that.” So basically after a period of trial and error lasting for months, I finally found the materials that I wanted and I made my first real surf bag. One my friends saw it and said he wanted one too. That was it.

That's how I got started. My friends pushed me because they wanted my bags.

Do you still have the first bag you made?

I gave away my first bag to a college kid about a year ago. I gave him the bag because he didn't have a bag and he was looking for a used one. There was nothing wrong with it. The stainless grommets didn't rust, they didn't wear, they didn't corrode. The bag looked pretty much like new except it was dirty. I cleaned it up, I put new tubes in it and attached a new shoulder strap. I gave it to him just before Thanksgiving and he was pretty happy.

So you made bags for yourself and your friends. That is far from where you are now, making bags commercially.

When I started making the bags for my friends, I really didn't have any intention of going commercial. I intended to make only a couple of bags. It was going to be a winter thing, like making plugs that I had started to do six years earlier. It would be a hobby and I thought it would be fun. I thought that I would have my friends over and we'd make a couple of bags and go from there. We'd test them out and see how they did. Well, after the first few bags my friends urged me to sell a couple because I had bought an expensive machine.

This was a pretty big investment initially and they felt I should, at least, cover my costs.

Although I said that I wasn’t interested, my friends persuaded me to sell them some bags.

One guy bought one‌.and then another buddy bought two and then it went from there.

My friends were paying me a decent amount of money for the bags and I started to realize they were right. I could recoup the cost of my machine. Well, as we know, that is not where it went. Four machines later, and some big expenses, I'm making bags commercially.

What are the challenges of designing and making a custom bag?

I make all the components myself and then I assemble the bags myself. I have a place where I lay out material: a big, big table on which I lay out the material and cut it out. It takes quite a bit of time to make a bag. From start to finish, it could take anywhere from 12 to 15 hours to make one bag depending on how complex the bag is. If I have to draw new templates for custom bags, this will add between 6 and 8 hours to the total construction time. Sometimes I have to draw templates for the pocket, the top, the internal pouches, components, the side pockets and then the main bag. It depends on what the customer wants. The most difficult part about drawing components is the stitching lines. They all have to line up. When you look at one of my bags, you will see that all the stitching lines go all the way around on the tops, the fronts, the backs, the sides. Everything lines up and it just makes a much neater and nicer finished product.

Many have said over the years that custom bags are not a necessity but a luxury. What are your thoughts on this?

I have had a lot of people ask me why they would need a custom bag. A lot of it is because of the quality of the bag. There will be no more hooks to dig out of the bag in the middle of the night. The bag can be made to custom fit the customer depending on his or her fishing style. You can get pockets where you want and pouches where you want. It's a little extra money but if you are someone who is out fishing a lot it's definitely worth it. If you are a surfcaster who only gets out an occasional weekend or two, you don't need to get a high end custom bag. You should get a mid range bag.

I'm actually making a bag which has one layer of dacron on the inside. It's a little less money but it's still a really good quality bag and will suit your needs. But the advantages to a high end, custom bag is you can get whatever you want. You can get extra wrapping on the pockets, you can get extra drainage if you are a wetsuiter, you can get a camera case, you can get a shoulder strap, you can get front pouches, you can get bags with no accessories on the outside. You can get anything that you want that's going to fit your fishing style. That’s what you get with a custom bag.

We know every bag maker makes their bags their own way. Tell us about your bags.

I've been asked a lot about what makes my bag different from everybody else's. One of the things I do is to use the best components available to make my bags. I use high quality stainless grommets. Cheap inexpensive grommets do not last. I make sure all my stitching is aligned. I don't double stitch because of the amount of stitching inside the bag. The more stitching inside the bag, the more there’s a chance you'll have that a hook will catch in the stitching. The bottom of the bag is very durable. I tested a lot of materials to find out what would make the toughest bottom.

I found a very durable tight weave material to make the bottom rigid so it doesn't have any flex and also it reinforces the whole bottom of the bag. I wrapped the back of the bag so your belt runs through reinforced belt loops. The whole back of the bag has that same material. I reinforced and box stitched the top flap.

I also have a side pouch that holds a 20 ounce Gatorade bottle. Even if this bottle is empty it's tight enough so that it will never float out if you are wetsuiting. I use a webbing pork rind holder on the side of the bag. It is something that I had wanted. I use military grade two inch Velcro on the pork rind holder and the front pouch.

I also sew the front pouch into the seams which is something new. It took a lot of design effort and a lot of trial and error. It took me quite a while to perfect the pocket so there are no gaps in the corners and everything lines up.

The pocket is sewn together and then sewn into the bag. It is designed to be full so if the pocket is empty, your top flap will never come open. It will fold down a little more when empty but it will still have that same strength in closing. The larger Velcro I use is a really, really tough industrial grade Velcro. It's something that is a necessity for any high end bag. You want to keep the bag closed in the surf.

We are simpletons and this stuff looks way too complicated for us. We'd probably stitch our fingers to the cloth. How did you learn about this stuff?

In the beginning, when I started making bags, there was a huge learning curve. I would go for weeks running into dead ends, sewing bags together and making prototypes. It took me quite a while to overcome many of the challenges of making a bag. I think the toughest thing to making a bag is having everything line up and having the bag close up right.

Tell us what type of bags you are currently making?

Right now I'm making a variety of bags. I make the 3 tube, which is designed for the wetsuiter, I make the 4 tube which is also designed for a wetsuiter but it's also a great bag for walking the beach if you don't want a really big bag. It has lots of drainage as does every bag I make. I produce a cube which is a great bag to stay compact behind your back when you are wetsuiting and you want to carry extra plugs. I also make a six tube and an eight tube which I don't currently have in stock.

What is the most fulfilling part of making a bag for a surfcaster?

The satisfaction that I get out of making bags doesn't come from getting a couple dollars for it. It really comes from making a bag that somebody loves. I am happy when I get an email from a customer telling me that they are ecstatic over their new bag. They say that they got the exact bag they wanted or express gratitude that I got it to them in time. It's really fulfilling to have somebody be really excited and really happy because they know they got a great bag.

Tom, thank you for inviting us to your shop and for being a gracious host. We at Surfcaster's Journal magazine are not only fans but end users too. We wish you continued success in the future.

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THE ROAD TO MONTAUK CIRCA 1942

My Great Grandfather showed me how to fish Montauk before I even got there by Mark Mead

My great grandfather Edward Crosby started fishing Montauk Point in the early 1940s then the war came. He returned in the early ’50s after the war.

He camped at a site known as Hither Hills. Rented tent platforms just off the beach on the ocean side.

Edward Joseph Crosby aka ‘Pop Pop’ Born March 11th, 1900 New York City

My father remembers camping in a tent with Pop Pop and Grandma the weekend of the Cuban Revolution. There were some Cubans in the next tent listening to a transistor radio of the news.

They would buy their own felt and glue it to their wader boots to climb on the rocks. It was pink. They would go to shoe maker in Sheepshead bay to have the felt put on and do it after each trip.

He would bring fish they caught to the nuns at the local convent in St. Albans, in Queens, NY when Pop had a good catch.

They fished a number of different areas of Montauk. The Browns and overall the south side. Coconuts and under light house in Turtle Cove.

He made all his own rods and fished the Penn squidder conventional reel before the Daiwa spinner reels came out later in the 50s.

They would spend the whole summer at Montauk every year and he would fish all the time both day and night.

Old photo of toddler with fish is my Uncle Bruce Crosby, circa 1941-42.

Do you have old surfcasting photos?

Let us tell your story. Email us: info@surfcastersjournal.com

Your fishing partner since 1986.

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d e t i s i v e r n o s a e s 2011

If you spend any portion of your time fishing Montauk or the Long Island South Shore, as I do, there is an excellent chance that your year ended on a disappointing note. Quite a number of surfcasters, some fishing with spinning gear - but a few alternating with fly gear - expressed frustration once the main body of “early fall” fish moved out of Montauk just after Columbus Day. To put November surfcasting into perspective, the local East Hampton Star newspaper reported that the largest fish weighed in the highly popular Montauk “Surfmasters” contest for November was fourteen pounds – despite a $250 purse for heaviest fish for the month. Translation: If some of the coast’s best surfcasters could not break fifteen pounds, despite beating the water to a froth with plugs, eels and bait, it does not take a genius to know how things panned out for a humble flyrodder.

Fishing to the west was only slightly better, at least for me anyway, but I had to work exceptionally hard for the few fish that I did land.

It is tempting to call attention to stock declines, as illustrated in the recent striped bass stock assessments, all of which suggest numbers are way down from the early 00’s. I just doubt the answer for fall’s poor fishing on the home front is that simple. I can report that the back bays were somewhat productive in late summer, but emptied out of bait and resident fish after hurricane Irene. What little life remained was further chased out during the Halloween Nor’easter ice storm that gave us the earliest mess of ice and snow that I can remember. During a portion of that storm, a steady line of Gulls and Gannets could be seen working off the LI South Shore – way out of casting range – but I will never know what exactly was under them. Some of those fish probably did pop up in Jersey, and I have since wondered if those gannets marked the same fish that eventually made landfall in the vicinity of Jersey’s Island Beach State Park toward the end of November.

What remained locally here on Long Island was a very slow pick, punctuated by precious few days of abbreviated blitzes that seldom repeated.

Flyrodding Strategy: One If By Land...but Better if By Sea It might be worth pointing out that my own style of “surfcasting” (when not in Montauk) tends to be a bit unconventional for the Long Island South Shore surfcaster. But this is entirely suited to fly fishing, which is why I bring this up here. The flats, cuts, sod banks and creek mouths of the Long Island South Shore bays are a fly fishing paradise, but it’s taken some creative thinking over the years to access these productive locations on a regular basis. My eighteen foot boat proved a tad too small for Montauk, so I moved it back west some years ago. Now it serves as my primary mode of fishing transportation.

The punch line is that I still hop out of the boat to fish most locations in waders.

In this context, I am talking about Long Island’s Great South Bay and South Oyster Bay. But the same type of water extends to Cape May, New Jersey, and beyond. I know this for a fact. Over the years, I have faithfully fished Jamaica Bay, Raritan Bay, the Shewsbury/Navesink system, the Manasquan, Barnegat, and the back bays of South Jersey from Townsends Inlet south to Wildwood, to name just a few spots.

Like any surfcaster, I initially thought that I would be bailing fish on day one, but it took a bit of time to learn how to “work the gear.” I had to learn how to operate a boat at night, and how to navigate in and out the shallow water and tight locations that I used to wade without giving it any extra thought. This meant I had to know each location exceptionally well – well enough to know how to approach, where to set the anchor, and well enough to know how the boat would swing given the wind and tide. I also had to know, given the tide, how much water would be under the boat by the time I got back to climb in. Nothing sucks more than finding you’ll need to swim to make it back out into the boat – except possibly finding that the boat drifted up onto a bar, and now it sits almost high and dry. Hello SeaTow.

Having spent so much time wading the back bays (and also fishing from time to time in a kayak), I put a premium on quiet and stealth. I cannot say that bass were ever spooked by boat noise (at least not for long) but other species like weakfish most certainly were.

There were many instances during the height of the weakfish runs in the late 90’s and early 00’s where a steady pick of yellowfins in skinny water would turn off at false dawn, or sooner, always after the first boats raced past, on their way to the inlet and oblivious to the good fishing they were passing by. For these very reasons, I still take extra care to approach each location with minimal noise, and I set the anchor a good distance from my intended fishing location.

All this does sound like a bit of work, but nothing beats crafting a plan where you can realistically hit a half dozen tailor-made flyrod locations (spread over 5 miles) during the course of a night, and be 99% sure that yours will be the only lure or fly that hits the water the entire tide.

More on this in an upcoming column.

photos:papciak

CRAFTSMEN AT WORK Making My Favorite Lure PART 2

The Agitator by Ron DiCostanzo (Lordship Lures) As a commercial plug builder, one of my goals is to streamline the plug building process to a point where I can build several different styles of plugs as efficiently as possible.

Duplicators, patterns, drilling jigs, spray racks for painting, and a host of other jigs allow me to turn out plugs much more efficiently. This is necessary to keep the business profitable. Unfortunately, once the process becomes routine, there is not that much difference from making one plug as opposed to another.

There is one plug however, that always brings a smile to my face when I’m doing a run. It’s not because I do anything different on this particular plug. It’s because I have such fond memories of fishing it. I’m about as one dimensional a fisherman as you’re ever likely to come across. I fish plugs. Period! Yes, this means I get skunked a lot but that’s OK. There’s something about fooling a fish into eating something it normally wouldn’t that appeals to me. If I can watch the fish actually strike that plug, well that’s an added bonus that I just can’t pass up. You guessed it; I’m a top water junkie with a capital J! I never set out to build a spook. I had never even fished one before. I was turning another plug with a homemade duplicator and I had taken too much off the head of the plug. The plug I was trying to make was a Slim Jim. (Similar profile, metal lip swimmer) A buddy of mine who loved to fish spooks told me that the “mistake” looked like a spook and he wanted to try it out. We guessed at where to put the hooks, threw some weight in the tail, and just sprayed a coat of primer on it. One trip in western Long Island Sound was all it took to make a believer out of me! (I still have that first accidental prototype) The Agitator, named for what it seems to do to the fish, is a top-water, spook type plug that zigzags through the water when retrieved properly. My favorite time to fish this plug is dusk

and dawn. On a calm day, the plug will leave a nice wake which may help fish track it down.

Unlike a pencil popper, I try to fish this lure silently, with a minimum amount of splashing.

The Agitator, for some unknown reason, seems to cause the fish to strike the plug with a ferocity that makes for some great adrenaline rushes! Sometimes the plug gets tail slapped and goes airborne. I prefer to fish this plug in yellow, not because I think the fish prefer yellow, but because I can see the plug even when it’s at the end of the cast. Many times the fish will come up and swirl on the plug, but not take it and in doing so, they give away their location. The next cast, I will change up the retrieve and see if I can entice the fish into striking.

If I could only have one of my plugs to fish with, it would be a yellow Agitator. Chances are, if you see me on the beach, or in a boat during daylight hours, that’s what will be clipped on my line. I just can’t pass up the chance to see and hear a nice bass crash on one.

Crackle Plugs by Don Guimelli (Afterhours Custom Plugs) When Zeno mentioned this to me, he asked, “What is your favorite lure to build�? I've been thinking about this for well over a month and to be honest about it my favorite lure to build changes quite often. One week it's my Sr. Jointed Eel and the next it might be the A-54 and so on. One thing that never changes is my favorite color pattern. I get the greatest enjoyment painting my crackle series plugs. It's by far the most difficult paint job that I do. What I really enjoy the most about it is that no two are exactly the same. Painting these requires a ton of patience as they have to be flipped and reflipped to attain the proper flow. They are truly a labor of love. Whether it’s a blue or green Crac Mac or a Lobstah I just love these things!

I first started painting crackle plugs for the spring shows about 8 years ago and for many years only made them for shows. Now I build them on a regular basis. Right now I really dig painting my Mini Blip in blue and green Crack Mac for the Cape Cod Canal and the Mega Pencil for the Bluefin Tuna run and gunners. What I like most about the Mini Blip Crac Macs is that they are super long casting (very important on the canal) and the small profile matches the mackerel in the area. This is a sinking, flat bottomed pencil that comes up very quickly and can be fed to a fish underwater after a strike and miss.

Again, I wish I could name one single style lure I like to build, but for me that just isn't possible. I build so many different styles of lures that I fall in love with whatever lure I'm currently producing. One thing that never changes is my fondness for the crackle paint in all of my lure styles and my love of lure building.

SLIM Troller Pike by Gary Soldati (Big Water Lures) Pikes (I call mine “Pikes” not Pikies”) are very versatile plugs that I began building in 2005. They fish well on top of the water in calm conditions and they can dig into big waves with that distinctive “dive lip”. Plus, the trademark Pikie action – a combination of side-to-side plus roll -- attracts fish of all sizes. But, a plug that is 10” or bigger will discourage the smaller, quicker fish and allow the big brutes a shot at your plug!

So, my favorite lure to build and fish is my SLIM Troller – 10” long and 7 ounces. I landed on this design for two reasons. First, I had initially built a full-size Troller (10” and 8 oz.) but realized it was not an everyday plug for most surfcasters. Second, my traditional Giant (8”, 4 oz.) was looking too small to me. I wanted something more user-friendly than my traditional Troller yet with a bigger profile in the water than my Giant.

The SLIM Troller seemed to fit the bill. It has a slimmer body than the full-size Troller and weighs 1 ounce less. Granted, this plug may not be for the faint of heart, especially given the effort it takes to cast and the bone-jarring strike on a lure this size. Neither is a subtle experience!

Given my “big bait, big fish” thinking, I learned early on that I can make Pikes to a mammoth size that still swim beautifully and hold in big waves. I experienced this on a recent day trip to Montauk. I was swimming a SLIM Troller in 10-foot waves coming into the backside of the Lighthouse. I don’t often get to see my plugs swim in the daylight as 99% of my fishing is done at night. I really liked the way this plug was swimming and holding in these big waves, and so did a 14 lb., 35” bass.

.

In all likelihood, 14 lbs. reflects the low end of the size fish you will take on this plug. When I was prototyping this plug, I caught a 30 lb. striper on my favorite color, Blackfish. That got my attention! I never got a picture of that fish because when I got her in, she had taken that big plug down her throat and only an inch of the tail of the plug was visible. I wanted to release this fish and with the plug that deep I didn’t want to take the time to take a picture. It all worked out in the end and I sent her on her way.

For me, the SLIM Troller is an everyday plug – and generally the first plug out of my bag. It’s a good match for my new CTS rod (rated to throw 4 oz. to 8 oz.) which is very light yet still has a lot of backbone. I can throw this plug all night.

5.2 Shovel Head Swimmer by Russell “Big Rock” Paoline (Big Rock Custom Lures) It is now the 15th anniversary of Big Rock Custom Lures. As I look back at all the failures and successes over the years (and notice I put failures first) one wooden plug stands out. It is the one that has taken more fish in more locations for me as well as for those who purchase and fish my lures: the 5.2 Shovel Head. It is a 5” 2oz. metal lip wooden swimmer with a custom made heavy gauge stainless steel lip that looks like a shovel, and is fully epoxy sealed under and over the finish. This plug can swim in flat bay water or rough ocean waves. Versatility is a key factor for me in my plug building as well as what I carry in my bag. As Father Time creeps up on me I find it most disconcerting to lug a heavy plug bag filled to the bursting point with lures. If a lure doesn't serve well in at least two conditions I don't carry it, so not many have made the cut. I know I can crawl a 5.2 across the top of the water and leave a huge wake or if the waves are rolling and there is a lot of white water I can drop my rod tip, speed up my retrieve and run the plug from just below the surface to about two feet deep. That serves me well as I don't like to have to stop and keep changing lures to meet conditions as water levels rise or fall, and this particular swimmer shines in areas of heavy current as well as calm water.

One set of conditions that is my favorite to fish is from slack to ebb at the mouth of my favorite inlet with a south to north sweep. I position myself at the tip of the jetty and cast slightly up current coming tight on the plug quickly and letting the sweep pull it down current. As the force of the water pulls the plug, it starts a swimming motion which increases in speed as the current exercises more force on the plug. I don't reel as the plug swings around the tip of the jetty, swimming like a bait fish caught in the current. The bass are usually stacked on the lee side of the tip waiting for prey to be washed to them, right where my 5.2 is headed. The toughness of my 5.2 is really

noticeable here as very often the bass will feel the bite of the hook and swim immediately for the bottom structure and smash the plug into the rocks. The sixteenth of an inch stainless steel through wire and custom made hook hangers ensure the fish stays buttoned tight and the lip, given its .034 inch thickness and shovel shape won’t bend after hitting structure.

The 5.2 was born of necessity for me, as I love to throw wooden swimmers but couldn't find one that cast well and one that could hold in a current. Many discarded attempts were made to find the right combination of wood, steel, and epoxy that would work correctly. It also had to have the right shape and balance to cast well and still be able to swim almost anywhere. The finished size of 5� and 2oz. fits much of today's fishing tackle and seems to entice striped bass of all sizes. It doesn't scare away smaller fish but catches the eye of the big girls as well. Look for our 15 year anniversary special plugs at the spring shows starting in March of 2012. The 5.2 will be joined by several new designs, including some one time only pieces.

Choopy Darter by Charlie Muller (Choopy Lures) My 1 3/4 oz. darter is my favorite plug to fish of all the ones I make. I think it’s a pretty universal plug that can be fished in many types of conditions and has a knack for finding some of my most memorable fish.

The first fish I ever caught on one of my darters was a 12 pound bass. I was on the tip of a jetty and had to get the cast just right to get the plug drifting over a small hump about 125 feet out. I couldn’t get a bite on any other plug. Some couldn’t hold the drift correctly while others swam too fast. With the darter, I was able to get the right drift and depth. I felt the fish suck in the darter before I felt the hit. I caught its twin a few casts later. After those fish and the ones that followed that spring, I knew I was finally onto something, and making progress in the design of the plug.

Another favorite catch was a 28 pound bass on a school bus darter. I was fishing an area I had never been to before and was trying to get a feel for it. The fish weren’t sitting where you would think in the main current, so I made a cast to a small seam that was out of the main current. The fish inhaled it 30 feet from my rock. After a bit of tug-of-war, the fish was at my rock. The rock barely had enough room for my two feet. In the process of landing the fish and keeping my balance, I got a hook stuck in my finger and broke my rod about 8” from the tip. Bigger fish always seem to come with a cost.

I like to fish my darters in calm to moderate current. The current can be an inflow or outflow like an inlet or along a jetty, a sweeping current the runs parallel to the shoreline or just the subtle movement of water through a cut of a sandbar. I generally cast up current, drift into the seam and let the plug ride the seam. There are a lot of fish that sit around the seam, but not in it. I find if you can angle your cast and slide in and out of the seam, you put yourself in a good position to catch fish.

I generally use a slow retrieve with some occasional twitches or rod lifts. I know the plug is sliding around, but sometimes I like give it a sharp movement, especially if I know it’s around a submerged rock or hole. My favorite colors are black scale, school bus, black/orange and yellow/white. But there really isn’t a color darter I don’t like.

“Connecticut Yankees”

By Frank Pintauro Photography by Ed Poore

Over the past six months more and more saltwater websites have been popping up on the Internet. Just last month anglersattic.net launched with the express purpose of educating collectors on the great STAN GIBBS. Some of the biggest freshwater collector sites now feature saltwater links and communications with our freshwater brethren is proving to be a vital resource in turning up information that is helping us set our saltwater lure history right. Now for the second issue in a row, we are publishing freshly unearthed, spectacular information that could easily have been lost to time if not for these new relationships.

Krystock and the biggest bass, 50 ½ pounds, he ever caught on a “Connecticut Yankee.”

Frank Woolner, Stan Gibbs, Bob Pond, Jerry Ferrone, Charlie Russo, and Charlie Murat are names most readers associate with the Golden Age of surfcasting. Well, we can now add Walter (“Kris”) Krystock of Meriden, Connecticut, to the list of pioneer lure makers!

Krystock was born in Meriden, CT, and spent his entire life there (1903-1979). He and his wife, Stella, originally lived on Cedar Street but moved to Parker Avenue in 1952. It was there that he raised his family while he worked in the shipping and receiving department of Pratt Whitney Aircraft (which is now United Technology).

Krystock was a master craftsman; and while recovering from back surgery in 1946 and 1947, he started to tinker with lure making. Most collectors thought his output came in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but this new information puts him squarely in the beginning stages of the great surf fishing renaissance.

Krystock’s son Paul advised us that those first generation "Connecticut Yankees" were produced from small children's toy bowling pin blanks. Those early lures are virtually impossible to find and as of this writing, neither Ed nor I nor the Krystocks had one that we could use and feature in this article.

By the early 1950s, after much trial and error, Krystock graduated to hardwoods, like oak and ash, and he found a mill house in Maine that would make the blanks for him. As he fine-tuned the style of his lures, he began to package them in the yellow boxes we have become familiar with. Read the side panels of his boxes carefully because on it he would (in code of course) give you all the information you would ever need to know about the stage of tide when the lure in that box should be fished! Krystock cared that much about satisfying his customers.

Two baby “Yankee” swimmers probably 1949-50 vintage and produced right after the bowling pin originals.

The Sunday Herald “Sports Section” of November 20th, 1950 featured Krystock with a 49 ½ pound striped bass caught at Charleston, RI, while fishing one of his “Connecticut Yankees” - more proof that Krystock was making surf baits much earlier than we suspected.

These gold-tail painted “Snook Specials� were done for Cuttyhunk guides who wintered in Florida and fished them for Snook.

A cross-section of swimming styles, shapes, and paint patterns on “Yankee� lures.

How could he be so sure when to fish a particular lure at a certain stage of the tide? Most luremakers drilled a 1/16” hole through their plugs, but Krystock drilled a 1/4” hole through his plugs so that he could also slide in a piece of lead and position it where he desired. Secured in place with a piece of rawhide, Krystock could load (front, middle, or back) the lure exactly where he wanted. And that is why his lures swam so well.

By 1953, Krystock was spending his Spring and Fall weekends surf fishing the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard, Cuttyhunk, and Rhode Island, happily selling his "Yankees" out of the back of his trunk after a night outfishing the local sharpies. During the ‘50s Krystock won numerous citations and awards in striper contests and derbies up and down the coast. His greatest feat, though, Krystock looks admiringly at the trophy awarded him as 1959 Striped Bass Fishing Champ of Connecticut.

just may have been his amassing the unheard of number of 1,529 points and being named the 1959 Bass Fishing Champ of Connecticut. The trophy was awarded to him by the Central CT Striper Club of which Krystock was a member. In its heyday the club boasted a 400-plus membership.

Rare Surfster and eel-inspired style “Connecticut Yankees.�

Krystock's lure production lasted from 1948 to 1970, and his son and grandson estimate that he made between 2,000-3,000 over that time. Because there was so much handwork involved, Krystock limited himself to runs of 200-250 twice a year.

He produced five styles: large and midget swimmers (with slight variations to each), reverse atoms, poppers, and the “Loomis” lure which was a special production model. Most of his early patterns were green, blue, and black scale models. By the ‘60s he got away from those patterns and went to the exotics, which included the pink scale and pearl patterns. His most prolific model was the big swimmers. The poppers and reverse models were produced in the smallest quantities.

Krystock retailed his lures for $3.50-$4.50 and, except for one small deal in the 1960s with Fall Mountain Sporting Goods Stores which sold out his inventory in less than two months, Krystock never did any marketing and depended solely on "word of mouth" advertising and the effectiveness (catchability) of his lures.

Regardless of lure color, Krystock would go through the tedious and time consuming process of dipping his lures in enamel four or five times before he put the finishing coat on. These steps ensured a quality seal on his lures.

By 1970, in declining health, but with the help of his son Paul, Krystock created his last prototype, called the “Loomis Special.” Produced and designed to catch Peacock Bass for a longtime customer of his, the “Loomis Special” would eventually find its way into the surf bags of striper fishermen up and down the coast.

The “Loomis Special� was a limited order made in four colors and developed to fish for peacock bass but surfmen found them equally effective on stripers.

Midget Swimmer and Midget Deep Swimmer in rare Midget-sized boxes.

Atom Style swimmers in a variety of popular and hard to find exotic colors.

Pearl was a popular post-1969 color as shown here on a rare reverse Atom and mid-size Swimmer.

Krystock with a pair of teen bass, his “Ct. Yankee� calling card, and Cuttyhunk Anglers membership card.

Krystock’s attention to detail was so great that in the early ‘60’s he fixed two brass screws into the swimming lips so they would not twist or wobble. This is a surefire way to distinguish baits made in the ‘50’s from baits made in the ‘60’s.

Two different sized rare mackerel colored poppers.

Extremely popular with collectors is the Bullhead Swimmer and the deep swimming, darter-style “Yankee.”

A decade after Krystock finished producing "Yankees," and shortly after his death, a small cadre of wet-suiters emerged on the striper grounds, hunting the Breezy Point Jetties and Block Island for trophy bass. Always eager to find an edge, these hardcore men had found a “new” lure that was killing the fish; and on their way to Block Island, they would stop at Parker Avenue and buy another dozen "Yankees" from Walter’s widow, Stella.

Krystock would have loved to know his plugs were still catching trophy bass!

Krystock on the beach in September of 1964 with five bass up to 43 ½ pounds and the nicest “buggy” you’ve ever seen.

(Many thanks to Marc Krystock for his endless enthusiasm in providing information for this article, and to Paul Krystock for guiding us through the history and timeline of "Ct. Yankees."

Thanks also to Steve Campo and Bob Hart for their help. Readers wishing to contact Frank Pintauro may do so by calling 516-741-7044 or emailing Masterlure@aol.com.)

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Costa Rica

Zeno Hromin

Who doesn’t dream

about casting one’s lure or fly in a tropical paradise? I bet most of you do. Most of you probably envision guided trips combined with lots of R&R by the pool. However, my friends are more adventurous; the kind that you run into after you find a great spot with a great rock only to learn they found it a few years ago. Some of them, instead of walking on shore, will float in their wetsuits with the current from point to point, searching for the rocks that no one knows are there. So I wasn’t surprised when three of them decided to take an exploratory trip to Costa Rica last year. Did they know where they were going? No. Did they know what they were going to catch? Not really. They rented a truck at San Jose airport and drove to the Pacific side of Costa Rica, in the vicinity of Flamingo Beach. They did book a kayak/shore guide to show them around a bit, at least to point them to some productive waters. .

They had a great time, caught some large amberjacks, snook, some monster five foot hound fish and a myriad of other species. They also told me that the trip was really affordable, actually downright cheap. I guess I was a bit jealous, who wouldn’t be? But I have two kids who are very involved in after-school activities, a demanding job, this magazine and of course a wife who needs attention too. For me the trip wasn’t really an option.

So why am I sitting down and writing this? Well, you only celebrate your 40th birthday once, right? So when I was asked if I was interested in going the following year, I said yes. When I found out that round trip air from JFK to San Jose, Costa Rica was $318 and a room in a three star hotel was going to cost me under $50 a night after splitting the tab with a buddy, I was in.

We spent December and January shoveling snow and waiting for our trip. Remember the last winter? Or are you trying to forget it? I bet you are. What follows is a synopsis of our adventure. I hope some of you undertake a similar trip and tell our readers about it. I for one would love to read it.

It is 5:00 AM on a Saturday and I have just settled into my plane seat. We are 10 minutes from takeoff at JFK airport in New York City but Ray is already passed out and snoring.

The flight attendant comes over and tells him to straighten out his seat for takeoff. His training on the Long Island Rail Road every work day is obviously paying off as he is back asleep while we are still taxing on the runway. Baby starts to cry somewhere in the back of the plane, Ray just starts to snore louder. This is going to be a loooong flight!

Just as I suspected, after 3 full hours with my eyes closed, I could not fall asleep for even one minute. I straighten up in my chair, more tired than when I started this stupid exercise of trying to fall asleep. The stewardess brings some pancakes and coffee but the coffee does not stay in my hand too long. A lady with an oversized butt hits my elbow in passing through the isle, spilling my hot coffee all over my you-know-what. “Just ducky”, I said to myself. I put on the headphones and catch the end of the movie “Salt”. I believe it starred Angelina Jolie. (Angie, you know I love you since you made the movie “Gia” but what were you thinking when you made this movie?) So I keep watching the tube, hoping that maybe the next movie will be better. It was something with Ashton Kutcher and Tom Selleck.

Something that should never have been made. I think it was called “Killers” and I nominate it for the worst movie ever made. The envelope, please!

We landed at San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, after a pleasant four and a half hour flight. We took a shuttle to Payless car rental where an almost new Mitsubishi Navajo 4x4 is waiting for us. We decided to spring for extra insurance that would take care of every conceivable thing that might go wrong and a GPS. Quickly we are heading on a “highway” towards the town of Liberia.

I have been told that Costa Rica’s infrastructure is miles ahead of its neighbors. That doesn’t mean you should expect a four lane road in each direction or even two lanes. There is only one southbound and one northbound lane winding through this mountainous country. I suggest that if you don’t want to drive 40 kilometers behind a tractor trailer full of livestock, get used to the idea of crossing into the oncoming lane to pass.

Don’t assume that you will only be passed by other cars when the law allows. Local drivers will often pass you when they have a double line so be forewarned.

Our drive was pretty uneventful. We stopped at a little restaurant about half way on our journey and the gastronomical experience was a sure sign of things to come. When I order “filet of fish” at home it usually means it will be some kind of fish that they can't sell at a higher price otherwise they would call it Filet of Sole or Filet of Flounder. The filet that I ate at this roadside restaurant was out of this world!

This was also my first experience with what local call the “Watchman”. Every time you park your car in a public place you will probably notice a local fellow with a yellow safety vest walking around the street while carrying a big wood baton. His one and only job is to watch your car and those of others parked in a public space. This might be a row of restaurants on a main street, at the beach or in this case a single restaurant along the road. I was told that Costa Rica has a very low rate of serious crime but that petty crime like breaking into cars has been a problem. I have to tell you that at no time during our trip did we feel threatened or uncomfortable. The people of Costa Rica go out of their way to make you feel welcome.

On the way to Ocotal Beach Resort, I saw more cows and horses grazing along the road than I could ever imagine possible. After about 4 hours of driving we arrived at Coco Beach and made a turn towards Ocotal Beach Club where we had booked a room. The road took us through a tiny village whose street was crowded with local residents. There were also dogs everywhere just hanging around, not a single one on a leash. After about 5 minutes we arrived at a large gate that said “Ocotal”. Not being a hundred percent sure if this was the right location, as we could not see beyond the gate, we were relieved when the guard waved us through and told us to make a right turn for the resort. We did not travel more than 200 yards when we arrived at another check point. It turns out that the first guard was for the whole community while the second one was only for the resort. After informing the friendly guard that we were checking in, we proceeded to drive up an immense hill straight towards the heavens! It was the steepest incline I’ve ever traveled to get to a hotel! The resort was perched on top of the cliff overlooking the water and the view was spectacular! The rocky shoreline featured black, volcanic rock while the sand coves featured a superfine

black sand under the palm trees. How about the resort itself? Let's put it this way, whoever took the pictures for their brochure was a really good professional photographer. Catch my drift?

There was a massive volcanic boulder the size of a small island right beneath the resort. At low tide you could walk to it on dry sand while at higher water you’d wade about thigh deep. We quickly changed into our swim trunks and grabbed our snorkeling gear. Fishing would have to wait for another day as we only had an hour of sunlight left and we wanted to explore this little piece of fishy real-estate.

In case you did not know, the sunset in Costa Rica is always at 5:30, every day, 365 days a year, From December to May is what they call their ‘summer” or “Dry season”. Every day the weather is gorgeous, warm, without a drop of rain. In this part of Costa Rica winds will kick up around noon and stay strong throughout the evening hours. It's almost like “Groundhog Day”. I haven’t experienced the rainy season but you can imagine that it probably rains a lot as the prices are definitely lower than during the dry season. Considering how affordable a trip is to Costa Rica even in high season, I can't imagine it being any more affordable.

Anyway, Ray and I got into the water like kids and snorkeled around the island. What we found on the backside of the island was a shallow reef loaded with all kinds of tropical fish. Ray really wanted to explore the front or the tip of this little island but once I got there I found very deep water right at the edge of the rocks and a lot of turbulence as the wind was

pushing water into the rocks. Feeling a bit overmatched and not wanting to be tossed into the jagged volcanic rocks by the angry seas, we hightailed it out of there fast. We decided that in the morning, we would do some exploring. Right now was the time to sample the local cuisine. After a very satisfying meal of grilled whole red snapper with a ceviche appetizer, I hit the sack and slept like a log. Early rising would have to wait for another day.

We slept late and picked up a few pounds of delicious local Brit coffee and a carton of milk at the local supermarket for our room coffeemaker. We decided to drive from Ocotal to Potrero. We did this for two reasons. First, Ray was familiar with the beaches around Potrero from last year's trip and the second reason was that our kayak trip was coming up on Monday. Ray and his friends had booked a local angler, Ralph Solano, to be their tour guide last year for a whole week. We decided to go with him on this trip. The plan was to fish with his kayaks on Monday and Tuesday in Potrero Bay. We grabbed a spectacularly good lunch consisting of rock scallops and squid at a restaurant where Ralph usually launches his kayaks.

Ray was the driver when we took a road that the local people call the Monkey Trail. It was a dirt road that features a hill so steep and full of giant potholes that Ray had to shift the truck into low 4x4 so that the truck would not slide down the hill and into an abyss. I am still amazed that we managed to keep the transmission attached to the truck. This Monkey Trail runs along the beaches from the town of Potrero to Coco Beach. Ray thought it would be great to explore the beaches on this stretch this way.

I know Ray’s group last year had run into some giant waves that precluded them from fishing many of the locations. But after fishing one local rock pile for about an hour and only catching one small grouper on a Yo-Zuri crank bait and teasing one

barracuda into chasing my plug before, of course, turning away from the lure at the last second, I had my doubts that fishing from shore here was even worth the effort. After a standout dinner in Coco, we went to bed as we had a 7:00 AM date with our guide, Ralph.

At 4:00 AM the first pot of coffee was brewing. Ray was still sleeping and I tried making some noise to no avail. Then I tried putting all the lights on and then making some more noise but nothing. The man sleeps like a log. At last, I had to resort to pulling on his leg to wake him up. He rose up begrudgingly but excited. We’re going fishing!

We drove on an unlighted road for about an hour and a half, passing many local folks riding their bicycles to work. They were hard to see in the dark. Too bad they couldn’t figure out that something as simple as a small reflector could save their lives. Many times, I had to swerve seconds before almost hitting a biker at 100 KPH (60 MPH)!

We arrived at Potrero and met Ralph at the local “Soda” where he is renting a room.

The locals call them Sodas, you’d probably call them Deli’s but they don’t resemble anything we have at home. They are little restaurants the local people run outside of their houses. The food is cheap and really good. After having a cup of coffee, Ralph towed the kayaks to the beach and within ten minutes we were paddling into Potrero bay.

I must say I was hesitant but excited for my first trip ever on a kayak. Ralph’s kayaks were not only brand new, but were operated by foot paddles. It took me a good half an hour to get used to sitting on one as we explored the area close to the shore looking for what they call “white sea bass”. Suddenly Ralph shouted, “Tuna” and pointed to an

area far away from the shore. I was thinking that there’s no way I am going that far from shore. What if I fall in? What if there are sharks? I should have taken that PDF he offered‌but the sight of the boiling fish was too much for me so I joined Ray and Ralph in pursuit of the breaking fish.

Within five minutes we were surrounded by skipjack tuna leaping out of the water all around our kayaks. I looked at Ray who was already hooked up and debated if I should take my camera out or make a cast. The sight of thousands of fish around me was too much and I let a Deadly Dick fly through the air.

After about a dozen fruitless casts over the boiling fish, I hooked up. At first, the fish reacted like it was not even hooked but then it put the afterburners on. Holy crap, half of the line on my reel was gone in an instant! I tightened up on the drag and tried to regain my line. The tuna, although only about ten pounds, was dragging me and the kayak around. I must say that I was not expecting to have to work this hard to get that fish into the kayak. After about a dozen fish, my wrist was sore and I was sweating profusely. I drained a bottle of water as the sun rode high in the sky and was gaining in intensity. It was hot!

Ray had enough of tuna and was trying to work at the edges of breaking fish and underneath them to see if there were other fish present along with them. Often rooster fish, Spanish mackerel, giant needlefish, jacks and a myriad of other tropical species will be found feasting along with tuna. Ralph was nowhere in sight. I would find out later he was trolling live bait about a mile away from us looking for bigger fish.

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At about noon we were back on the shore. Ray, even though he slathered himself with a SPF 90 sunscreen, was already burned to a crisp. His Swedish heritage and fair skin were not helping him today. Ralph cleaned the fish we kept and in a few minutes we were back at the Soda eating lunch. I ordered a whole fried fish, something I have not eaten since my childhood. For some inexplicable reason Ralph ordered me fries to go along with it. As if I don’t get enough fries at home!

The food was absolutely delicious and the tomatoes might have been the tastiest I’ve ever had. They were bursting with flavor, not surprisingly considering it was the dry season in Costa Rica and they grew in a full sun with minimal rain. After draining a few Coca Cola’s which are still served in tall glass bottles, we headed back to the hotel.

We meet Ralph on the beach the next day, this time at 6 AM. Since we knew the drill already, we were in the water within minutes. Bait was jumping out of the water along the shore and we cast Yo-Zuri minnows and jigs but came up empty. I saw four fins break the water about twenty yards away. I turned my kayak, attached a popper and let it fly. A few casts right over the fish and in front of it produced no results. My offering was ignored completely. I excitedly tried to get Ralph's attention but once I did, he told me that was a giant Manta Ray. I paddled closer for a look and sure enough, a ray as long as I am was sunning on the surface. As I looked around I saw a dozen more in the area. We paddled toward the other end of the bay, towards Flamingo Bay. Here we found another school of tuna working the bait but not as intensely as yesterday, Ray hooked up immediately while I drew blanks. The charter boats came out of the bay and drove right through the school, putting them down.

Two hours pass with just small pods of fast moving fish that were hard to chase. Finally I see a massive school but it's on the outside of the bay, a good half an hour paddle. I decide to go for it anyway. When I reach the school I hook up on the first cast but the fish mangles my split ring and I reel in the bare lure. Now I scramble to replace the hook by removing the hook from another plug. This takes seemingly forever, trying to remove the split ring without split ring pliers. Finally I accomplish the task and I am back in action. The fish have, in the meantime, moved even further out into the ocean but I manage to catch up after a few minutes of paddling. I hook up on the first cast but after I fight and release the fish, I realize that the school has moved out even further. I turn around and spot Ray a mile away on one side of the bay while Ralph is over on the opposite side, even further away.

I wasn’t willing to venture any further into the ocean so I turned the kayak around, tossed a Yo-Zuri minnow overboard and trolled the lure back into the bay. After a good half hour paddle, I reach Ralph who informs me that he live-lined a jack and twice nearly got spooled by a wahoo. The dude is a good fisherman. You can see it in his eyes, the way they light up when he talks fishing. But as a “guide”, he has a long way to go.

I decide to toss some jig heads embellished by Gulp shad bodies into the boulders that rise from the ocean forming a small island. Soon, I am hooking up on every cast with small grouper, grunts and even a big blowfish. Ray joins in the fun and our Gulp supply dwindles down to nothing in a hurry. I always knew Gulp was great bait but never thought that fish would prefer it 10 to 1 over anything else I retrieved along the bottom.

After we had the fill of bottom dwellers, we paddled toward a narrows between two islands where we find fish rolling and bait jumping everywhere. Before we could hook up a caravan of jet skiers passed by, killing the action immediately. Ray, like yesterday, spent most of the morning ignoring tuna and trying to catch anything but the speedsters. He brought a giant needlefish next to the boat before it spit the hook, for which he was grateful. Dealing with a four foot long fish with a nose that resembles a deadly weapon was not his idea of fun. He also managed to catch a Spanish mackerel while trolling and that fish was now taking its last gasps in the front of the kayak. Noon was upon us and the sun was beating on us with all its might. We decided to head back in, have lunch and try fishing from shore.

A hour later we feasted on fried Spanish mackerel under the awning in the place where Ralph rented his room. Plentiful rice and beans, fried plantains and a fresh salad made for a delicious lunch. After saying goodbye to Ralph, we headed over the “Monkey Trail” towards Ocotal. After about a half an hour of a bumpy ride, we reached the cove that Ray fished with his friends the year before. We decided to work on some underwater video and made a few halfhearted casts. Both of us were beat from the sun and wind. We said the hell with this, let's go back to the hotel and get our snorkeling gear and get into the water and cool off. After we drained a few pots of coffee and refreshed ourselves in the ocean, we again headed to Coco Beach for diner. If memory serves me right, I had snook in a green sauce while Ray ate a grilled chicken. Both dishes absolutely delicious! When we got to the hotel Ray said he wanted to get up before dawn and hit the little island in front of our hotel in Ocotel with a short rod. I told him that if he could wake me, I would go with him, but I said I would not set my alarm again. The next thing I remember it was 7:00 AM and I found Ray sitting on the porch drinking coffee. According to him, he did not have the heart to wake me……which was fine with me.

For the first time, we decided to take advantage of the free breakfast in the resort. Lots of eggs, pancakes, hash browns and rice and beans were consumed with ample doses of liquid gold: Costa Rican coffee. After we slathered ourselves with sunscreen, we grabbed our lure bags and walked towards the little island in front of the hotel.

This little island was made out of volcanic rock and the rocks were sharp, almost like coral. This made walking a bit easier as we did not have to worry about slipping.

However, falling down would not have been a pleasant experience. The island was connected to the shore by a small depression which was dry at low tide and about waist high at high water. We had snorkeled around the island and we knew that the side facing the hole was a shallower side full of tropical fish while the rocks at the side facing the ocean dropped straight down into an abyss.

Until this point in our trip, I was kind of full of conflicting emotions. I loved the friendliness of the local people. The narrow roads and simple life reminded me of my childhood in Europe. The food was above par and I wished I could ship a crate of tomatoes to New York. But the shore fishing, I wasn’t sold on. I knew Ray desperately wanted to catch a roosterfish. He had been dreaming about that for a long, long time. I on the other hand would have been happy with a bluefish. As long as it tugs on my line, I am content. You have to feel for a fellow who bubbles with desire to catch any fish, roosterfish or not.

The other reason I wasn’t excited about fishing here was that the water was very deep and I had mostly surface lures. I walked about half way around the island and

attached a small Line Stretcher Surface Tension lure to my clip and cast it halfheartedly.

When the lure was about half way back, I saw a swirl behind it. Something was following it! Excitedly I studied the water with my polarized WileyX shades and I was stunned by what I saw. Three huge, four foot long needlefish (also called hound fish by the local fishermen) were trailing behind my lure. I excitedly called Ray to come over and made another cast. Same thing happened. Huge silvery fish were trailing my lure before turning away at the last minute, just before the lure hit the rocks. On my third cast, I connected with one of the fish and it put on an incredible aerodynamic display.

After taking a few photos, we released the beast.

Ray was casting away not far from me, when he yelled excitedly “Roosterfish”. A school of no less than fifty roosterfish was making its way around the rocks that we stood on, no more than ten feet away, hugging the shoreline. It was an incredible thing to see.

Ray quickly cast his lure parallel to the rocks in front of where the roosters were traveling but they were already gone. A few moments later, Ray hooked a Spanish mackerel. Then he proceeded to school me by hooking up with a big jack. Finally I hooked one too, close to twenty pounds, but it took me so long to bring it in with a short St Croix rod, I was sweating profusely. We decided to go back to the room and get bigger rods. We were obviously overmatched. The Costa Rican fishing I’d only heard about over the years was finally coming alive right in front of us.

After grabbing our bigger rods we returned to the little island and after about an hour Ray finally hooked up with a fish he had been dreaming about for the last twenty years.

Ever since his buddy hooked a seventy pound rooster on his honeymoon here, Ray had this burning desire to do the same. Unfortunately the roosterfish he hooked took

him quickly around the island. He raised the rod tip high and jumped like a madman from rock to rock trying to reach the corner of the island so his line would not get shredded on the rocks but he was unsuccessful in his pursuit. The fish won and shook the hook loose leaving Ray deflated for a moment. A short while later he had the biggest jack I’ve ever seen in my life following his lure all the way to the rocks before taking one swipe and missing the lure. We got back to our room at dusk, itching to get some rest and get up early tomorrow in order to get there at sunrise.

After eating seafood and nothing else for the past five days we decided to change venues. Instead of going to one of the restaurants lining the main street at Coco Beach we decided to eat in a local bar which served only pizza, salad and chicken.

Why? Because they had ten PC’s you could use for free, with a free wifi connection and best yet a free phone to call the US and Canada. You did not even have to dial any special numbers, just your regular local number and you could chat all you wanted, free of charge. I took the opportunity to call my wife and talk to my kids while Ray spoke to his daughters.

We got up the next morning with high anticipation and made our way to the island in the predawn hours. I would love to tell you that the fish were responsive and hungry but that just wasn’t the case. Besides numerous follow-ups by hound fish and a few hook ups with no landings, the only thing we had to show for our efforts was a skipjack tuna Ray caught on a surface lure. We ate breakfast at the resort again, applied more sunscreen, grabbed a few bottles of water and headed for the island.

We spent the whole day there, casting and resting in the shade. We caught fish but it was like torture, you had to make five hundred casts for each strike you got. Now

armed with ten foot rods we managed to land our fish more quickly but repeated casting was taking a toll on my shoulders. In the morning, before our flight, we planned to give it one more shot. I already decided that I would bring my short stick as my rotator cuff was hurting pretty badly.

That night I took Ray out to dinner to one of the local restaurants to thank him for bringing me here. A week is really not enough time to explore the country and do some fishing. There is so much to see here. There is a beach where giant turtles, up to a thousand pounds, come to lay their eggs at night. There are volcanoes you can visit, national parks, zip lines are everywhere and that is just a small part. Costa Rica truly is a remarkable place with its Caribbean and Pacific coasts, tropical rainforests on the northeast part of the country, a hilly interior and good fishing just about everywhere. A week here is not nearly enough time to explore all the fishing opportunities, never mind visit all the interesting places.

If you get a chance to visit this part of the world, don’t let the opportunity slip away.

Bring an assortment of top water lures from Super Strike and Line Stretcher, some tins, jig heads and lots of Gulp if bottom fishing is your thing. Give yourself a lot of time to get from place to place as many roads are unpaved and rent a 4x4 with good ground clearance to drive through the dry riverbeds. Expect life to move at a much slower pace than you are used to and enjoy every moment. I know I did. When you arrive there you will find that the most popular t-shirts have a uniquely Costa Rican saying: “Pura Vida” or “The Good Life” printed all over them . Whoever came up with that slogan, knew what he was talking about.

reel review penn torque

alan hawk photos and text by

Alan Hawk is an abnormality in our little universe. He is not affiliated with any reel company, he is not on anyone's pro staff and he does not accept reels in return for positive reviews. Instead, he buys his reels with his own money, freeing him from any possible conflict of interest. This review of the highly anticipated Penn Torque reel has been featured on his website for a few months and some of you might have read it. We thought it would be informative to feature it in the pages of the Surfcaster's Journal Magazine for two reasons.

First, this is a reel that many in the surf fishing community have been dying to get their hands on. Because of the price, many are waiting to hear some honest feedback before making a purchase. Number two, this is an extremely thorough review, unlike anything we've seen before. After you finish reading it, you will understand why Penn Reels is again a major player in this sport. For other reel reviews please visit Alan's website at http://www.alanhawk.com/

Before we get to the reel I'd like to say something to those who are reading me for the first time. My reviews are different to those magazine and website "reviews" written by sponsored people who would take off the spool and recite the features handed to them by the makers then post an image of an impressive fish to get the reader pumped up. My reviews are real and my approach is different: I can't review every reel out there, so as I am reviewing one I share with you the little I know about why things work and why they don't, so you'd have a better idea about what to look for in a reel and maybe even you'll be able to vaguely envision how a reel would perform before you spend your hard earned cash. So forgive the length and detail because this is the only way I know to review a reel. Now let's move on to the Torque, a reel that has kept me excited for a very long time, mainly because of this...

Whenever I examine a reel I try to find the design theory behind it. Theories vary and could be anything such as "Absolute refinement for a price", "No frills reliability", "Low cost alternative to super spinners", "Weight first", etc. To my eyes the theory behind the Torque would be "Most features with fewest parts". As I examine the reel I will have the theory on my mind and will see if it conforms or not.

A few photos of the reel when I first received it. Size 9 is $699.99, but as you know only suckers pay retail, so I searched until I found one at a discount and got it for $699.55! They probably didn't know that reducing those lousy 44 cents will land them a stingy customer, but it did.

The reel's looks are subjective. I have not seen anyone who thinks it looks good. That includes Americans, mainland Europeans, Western Africans, and even some very forgiving Brits thought that it was a hideous looking machine. Nevertheless, I personally do find it to be a most beautiful reel that doesn't look like anything else. Maybe my taste in beauty is different or something. After all I find Angelina Jolie to be uglier than my left bum cheek (the uglier of the pair).

The reel's seat is of an unusual shape But it's strong and fits nicely in my Fuji Gold Label seat which is of pretty standard dimensions.

What comes with it A manual, parts diagram, registration card, small containers of Penn's oil and grease, and a Torx key that fits the reel's screws. Practical useful stuff. A round piece of paper printed "Fully Sealed System" is attached to the rear of the body.

They obviously used their existing packaging supplier in China to make the box. This is money saved wisely where harmless cuts could be made. I like it and it's fitting for this particular reel.

Manufacturers usually misrepresent reels' weight, and Penn honored that tradition. The weight printed on the reel's box is 28.5 (808 grams), but actual weight is

This is 870 grams. It's funny though because Penn's website states the correct weight of the reel, but the reel's box and sites such as Tackle direct and Cabela's and most online sellers display the wrong 28.5 OZ. I'll let it slide though, after all Zeebaas are notorious for shaving 2-3 OZ off the real weight of their reels in published specifications, and Daiwa and Shimano do that too but rather more conservatively.

The unusually large diameter spool took 426 yards (390 meters) of color coded PE 8 (0.47mm). To make your lives easier, I measured spools and calculated the volume of the line's space on both the Torque and Stella 20K, and the Torque's is 19% more than the Stella's. So whatever your Stella took of your favorite line, the Torque can take 19% more.

The handle In the photo you can see the seal mounted on the handle to seal the opening where the handle screws to the drive gear.

The handle's knob is big and comfortable, but I like the Torque 5 flat handle style more. In the above photo the red arrow points to the glue they used to secure the cap. In the high end Japanese reels screws and washers are used for this job, but the glued cap of the Torque is perfectly fitting for the "Fewest parts" bit of its design theory. We all have glue to stick it back after oiling.

This handle is a one piece design, and if I may say, it's actually more one piece than other one piece handles The spindle of the knob (red arrow) is actually an integral part of the handle. I have not seen that before on any reel. There will always be a separate pin screwed or riveted at the end of the handle to act as a knob spindle. This genuinely one-piece handle of the Torque feels solid and truly puts your mind at ease as you crank. I tried applying excessive forces on it in all directions, but short of stomping on it I can't see any way this handle can bend or break. So far the theory of "Most feature with fewest parts" is followed to surprising perfection using some ingenious engineering.

There are no ball bearings inside the handle's knob, which -again- conforms to the design theory. Tiny ball bearings inside the handle knobs are to me more of an aesthetic touch than it is a practical one. The Japanese high end reels have them only because they are built to be super refined products with bearings at all friction points, but a reel will function perfectly fine without them. Same goes for the two bearings inside the spool. They are definitely a beautiful refining touch, but they serve no practical purpose, especially in a part of the reel that purposely generates friction. The torque does away with those bearings too.

The reel is ambidextrous

In order to change the winding side you need to unscrew the cap with the hole (#1), unscrew the solid cap sealing the other side (#2), then re-screw each cap to the opposite side.

The old US made Spinfisher SS had the exact same arrangement for changing the winding side.

Moving inside the gearbox: A very good feature in the Torque is that the side cover can be removed just by unscrewing 4 screws. In most other spinning reels there is a hidden screw or two that can't be reached unless you take off the rotor. The reel comes with the correct size key in the box (shown earlier) in an invitation for the users to service the reel themselves. Removing the side cover and cleaning/greasing the drive train should not take more than 10 minutes, and it is indeed very easy to fully strip the reel to the last part for a full service. There is no reason to ever send it in for service. Just like the old Z series, it's quite simple for the user to tear down and find the faulty part then order it for a quick home fix. I did a quick parts count and on average the bailed Torque has 94 parts and the bail less Torque has 76, compared to 71 for the bail less Van Staal, 106 for the 2010 Saltiga, and 204 parts in the Stella SW. The red arrow points to where the shaft extends all the way through the body then goes into a bushing embedded in the rear extension of the body. This -too- is something that could be found on the old US made Spinfisher SS (the yellow rear support of the old Spinfisher is visible two photos up). Back to this photo, #1 is the drive gear, and #2 is a sealed ball bearing. These are ball bearings which have protective seals with rubber rims that snap between the races fully sealing the bearing. All the ball bearings in the reel are sealed, which is totally redundant. As brilliant as sealed bearings are, the rubber gaskets in them create fiction and drag making the bearing heavier to spin. If water gets inside the reel, bearings will be the least of my concerns. So the sealed bearings do nothing here except reducing the free-spinning (commonly known as "smoothness") of the reel. The Torque is lighter to spin than the Van Staal and Zeebass, but heavier to spin than the new Saltiga and the Stella. I'd say that the Torque is as free spinning as the old Saltiga.

Therefore...

I had to do it! I removed the seals from all the bearings except the two tiny bearings in the line roller, and when I have time I'll order replacement bearings of the regular shielded type. Guess what? The reel's free spinning did improve after I removed the seals. The improvement is not that much, but I can definitely feel it

The side cover and the blue gearbox seal going around it. The screws' holes (red arrow) are inside the seal perimeter, which looks faulty on paper. But for the screw holes to be outside of the perimeter, the body's wall would have needed to be made thicker (= higher weight), or screw posts would have needed to be machined bulging from the body which would have been cosmetically disastrous. Things on paper are one thing, and real life is another thing: The reel was subjected to lengthy submersions, reeled underwater, left to slowly bury itself in the beach's sand as waves came and went, and not a drop of water found its way inside the gearbox at any point during months of testing. Sand was no challenge for the reel too. A quick rinse in the wash always left it running perfectly smooth.

Back to the gearbox The traverse cam (oscillation block) is attached to the shaft via a single screw. When I first got it I opened the side cover and made this scratch (red arrow) parallel to the screw's slot so that I could tell if the screw starts loosening up during use, but thanks to the tight machining tolerance and proper tightening at the factory, the screw stayed securely still the whole time.

The drive gear It's a machined marine grade bronze, which is a wrought alloy more accurately known as aluminum bronze. It differs to the traditional bronze in that aluminum replaces tin in the alloy, and it usually has other agents such as nickel and iron added to improve its properties. This is just a general description of course as aluminum bronze alloys and their compositions are endless. But ultimately this marine bronze is lighter, more durable, more shock resistant, and has superior resistance to corrosion in saltwater environment than traditional bronze. Daiwa uses this marine bronze to make its proven first tier Digigear found on both old and new Saltigas. The red arrow in the photo points to the stainless steel gear axle.

A close-up showing the precise machining of the heavy gauge teeth, and the secure fitting of the axle to the gear without the need for screws. "Most features with fewest parts".

Pinion assembly #1 is the fore ball bearing the pinion runs on, #2 is the one way anti-reverse clutch, and #3 is the main pinion/rotor ball bearing.

A better look at the clutch (#1), and the pinion (#2). The red arrow points to the integral clutch sleeve that is machined directly on the pinion. This sleeve is what the one way anti-reverse clutch holds on to stop the rotor. Penn says in ads that this is done to "eliminate back-play", but this is pure and utter rubbish. In other reels that have independent clutch sleeves, the sleeve slips a little around the pinion until it reaches its final locked position before the rotor is assembled and the nut is tightened, and there is absolutely no chance for back-play. Saltiga, Stella, and Zeebaas (the rotor's clutch) all have one form or another of independent sleeve and these reels do not have that imaginary backplay. That integral sleeve on the Torque is only there for the sake of simplicity and nothing else.

A close-up on the clutch and the pinion.

The clutch definitely has a smaller circumference than the clutches of the Stella and Saltiga, but the performance of a clutch is not merely dependent on circumference: The Torque's clutch height is several times the height of the clutches of the Stella and Saltiga, and the steel braking pins (red arrow) are nearly three times the length of the ones in the two Japanese reels. This translates into more contact area between the clutch and the sleeve, which is what braking power and reliability of a clutch mainly depend on. The Torque's clutch has 8 pins, Saltiga's has only 6. So this one is far stronger and more reliable than the Saltiga's, and I would say that it's as reliable as the Stella's which has 8 pins too. The only edge the Stella's clutch has is the fact that it's powered by 8 coil springs which makes it much lighter to spin than the Torque's. Accurate's TwinSpin 30 has a clutch similar in size to the Torque's, and although the Accurate had some issues, clutch reliability was not one of them. The clutch of the Torque never slipped once on me, be it in freezing January mornings North of England or June's heat on the Mediterranean.

Still in the photo, do you notice the darkish brown color of the pinion? That is because it's hardened. Careful examination shows that it was hardened first, then machined afterwards. But isn't it easier to machine it first then harden the machined pinion? Who wants to go through the trouble of machining an already hardened part? Well, they chose to do it the tough way for a good reason: The process of hardening metals causes micro distortions in the hardened parts, hence they hardened first then machined the pinion to guarantee smooth and uniform meshing surfaces on the teeth with no distortions. This is quite simply the most durable pinion found on any spinning reel made today, and for that it is my favorite engineering feature in the entire reel.

The oscillation mechanism

The oscillation gear (#1) is a machined marine bronze too, and this makes me smile big. In almost every other reel that has a locomotive oscillation system this gear is made from some kind of grey alloy that is slightly or vastly inferior in strength to the drive gear. But Penn made it here from the same material they used for the drive gear, and it's machined too! In the new $1100 Saltiga this gear is cast aluminum. Another reel that has a machined bronze gear is the DAM Quick super from the 1960s, one of which has been in my family for three generations and is still running tight after 50 years of use.

The oscillation gear of the Torque does not run on a ball bearing. You might remember that last year when I reviewed the 2010 Saltiga I said that a ball bearing in this gear does more harm than good because you can't fully support a gear on a single bearing due to the internal play in the bearing. Go to the Saltiga's review for more details on that issue and photos of the wear on the body because of it. Penn safely avoided that issue and instead of a ball bearing they used a washer made of Polyphthalamide (red arrow in the photo above) to mount the gear. This material has a low friction coefficient and is extremely wear resistant. Daiwa uses it for the shaft support on the new Saltiga as could be seen in its own review here (part #3 in the 25th photo from the bottom). I keep referencing the 2010 Saltiga because it's the world's most advanced and expensive reel with a locomotive type oscillation, and the Torque keeps getting higher marks.

Still in the photo, #2 is a PTFE washer underneath the gear for smoother running, and #3 is the machined frame of the reel. Needless to say that a body machined from an aluminum billet creates a high strength part that is lighter than an equally strong part made by moulding.

The traverse cam is mounted on a ball bearing. I'll explain this quickly for those unfamiliar with this feature. When the reel operates under load, the spool falls under a twisting force that is passed on to the shaft which in turn twists clockwise, only to be stopped by the traverse cam. In regular systems, under load, the traverse cam rubs hard against the reel's body creating

friction/resistance and energy loss, but in a ball bearing system the cam rolls on the bearing virtually friction free. The bearing on the Torque's cam is the biggest I've seen on any similar design. It's nearly twice as big as those of the Saltiga and the TwinSpin. Bigger bearing means fewer revolutions per cycle which equals longer service life. Durability that compliments the super durable pinion and oscillation gear.

Main shaft

0.25 inch (6.3 mm) thick! This impressive chunkiness coupled with the support at the end of the reel's body make bending or dislodging the shaft a mission impossible.

Removing the rotor The arrow points to the extremely effective main shaft seal. Actually this seal is so tight that when the lubes on the shaft are gone, the seal tightly grabbing the shaft going up and down makes loud squeaks. A touch of grease should be put on the shaft where it disappears inside the seal as a part of the external maintenance you do every several trips.

Rotor off

The red arrow points the rotor's main seal that stops water from getting to the pinion assembly.

The red arrow points to the pinion/bearing/clutch retaining clip. This is a vital highly stressed area that connects the rotor with all the loads on it to the reel's body.

This stainless steel clip snaps into a circular recess creating a full contact lock that will not pop out or fail. Still in the above photo, the blue arrow points to the mechanism of the selective bail trip switch. This is the switch you can see behind the rotor that selects auto or manual bail trip.

For reasons beyond my comprehension this switch has been a target of hate and some truly weird speculations. The most common of those theories was that it's going to be a "sand trap". Well, I have been fishing beaches since I was 7, yet I failed to imagine a scenario where anyone would need to use the switch while the reel is stuffed with sand! You've just unhooked a fish and the reel was left on the sand, and now you are ready to fish again. Why would you need to switch the bail mode at this particular point in time? Aren't you supposed to keep fishing the same way you did just before that last fish? Even if you had an urge to switch the bail mode at this particular moment, is it really that hard to rinse the reel in the wash before you switch? It's normal to assume that bail trip mode is something that you would need to change every few weeks or months when your fishing style changes, not something that you'd mess with between casts!! If you hate it that intensely then for God's sake just push it to the left at manual bail position then forget that it exists.

If after doing that you still lose sleep and see dead people in the shower because of it, then pop the little retainer clip out and remove the entire bloody thing.....

You don't even need to take the reel apart to do it. In size 7 and 9 you can do it with a fine screwdriver through the big openings in the rotor just beneath the spool. No matter what you think of the switch, I find it to be an extraordinarily brilliant addition that is simple and reliable and gives the reel a great deal of versatility especially on charter boats where different people with different preferences and needs come and go. The switch is my second favorite feature of this reel, closely behind the "immortal" pinion.

The rotor's flange off There is no need to take this flange off in order to fully disassemble or service the reel, but I'm just showing you. The blue arrow points to the good amount of loctite on the flange's screws, and the red arrow points to the friction disc. This disc is what the rotor brake engages in order to keep the rotor from spinning when the bail is opened for a cast. In almost every other reel that has a rotor cast brake, a rubber ring is used. We all know what happens to those rings and how they dry out or swell and need change.

Expensive reels have rings that last longer, but ultimately they are going to need changing. This friction disc in the Torque is a solid polymer that has just enough elasticity to effectively brake the rotor, yet it's nowhere near being soft or rubbery. This disc will not need change and will easily keep serving you for the duration of the reel's life. This is unmatched and is my third favorite engineering feature in the Torque.

You don't need the special tool to remove the retaining clip. Just put a piece of mono through the eyelet and pull downwards and it will pop out cleanly. Still in the above photo, the red arrow points to the Polyphthalamide washer inserted inside the pinion.

This is Penn's version of the "floating shaft" feature. In regular reels, when the reel is under load the shaft rubs against the pinion creating a braking effect and reducing efficiency. Shimano invented a genius feature called "floating shaft" for their 1998 Stella that uses a ball bearing to separate the shaft from the pinion, and it has been copied since by everyone including Daiwa's Saltiga. That system requires several parts and retainers and weights about half an ounce. For the "Most features with fewest parts" Torque they installed this washer to create a mock version of the original complex system. It does not produce the full smoothness and virtual friction free operation of the ball bearing system, but it works great to isolate the shaft from the pinion to the point that I'd say that it achieves 70% of the efficiency of the ball bearing system with just a single washer. Not bad at all.

I once said that a modern reel is basically three things that would make or break the reel with everything else taking a back seat: Gears, anti-reverse, and drag. We've examined gears and anti-reverse, and now to the most important of the trio: The drag

On the top of the spool there is a single tiny drag washer made from woven carbon (red X) that is more of a separator between the spool's body and the drag knob than it is an actual drag washer.

The real drag

#1 are the massive woven carbon keyed drag washers, #2 are the metal drag discs, #3 is the outer seal of the drag compartment, and #4 is the inner seal. The red arrow points to the drag clicker.

A drag on the bottom of the spool is a trademark of the Stella, but historically there was this

USA made Penn Spinfisher SS reels had main drags underneath the spool since long before the first Stella was designed. In the Torque though they use a dual disc design instead of the single disc of the old SS reels. The Torque's dual disc arrangement is inspired by the Stella SW and incorporating the keyed drag washers. I'm going to explain this quickly, so skip to the next paragraph if you already know - In regular drag systems an ordinary drag washer (non-keyed) is sandwiched between two metal washers, therefore when the drag is operational the drag washer adheres to one of the metal washers and rubs against the other thus only one of its two sides is used for braking. When you key the drag washer though it remains static as the two sandwiching metal washers rotate against it, therefore both sides of the drag washer will be utilized for braking, giving you the work of two washers using only one. This means fewer parts and less weight.

In real life use the Torque's drag does not show the slightest hint of jerkiness or any conceivable starting inertia. They advertise a maximum drag of 50 lbs (22KG) for size 9. Actually the massive discs produce way more than that. I would say closer to 70 lbs of drag pressure. But here is the thing, real maximum drag pressure is not what the discs are able to produce. In order for the reel to utilize a specific drag pressure, the reel as a whole should be able to withstand it, otherwise the maximum pressure figures are as useless as man-boobs. In April and May we were catching great AJ and the drag pressure I fish started going up. Then something weird happened as I was fighting a large Grouper. The spool started spinning normally as the fish ran against the drag, but there was a metallic screeching sound and a weird feel in the reel. I thought that the drag knob was touching the spool and continued fighting as the screech continued, but then the fish spat the hook and I reeled my line getting ready to inspect.

It wasn't the drag knob as I thought. Rather it was the bail arm and the rotor arm bending too much the arm actually touched the spool. The scratch marks on the spool said it all...

Nope, I wasn't fishing higher than the designated maximum 50 lbs. I tested and it was at 13.5 kilos (29.5 lbs) of drag pressure that it happened. Later I tested the reel with scales on dry land and found that at about 13kg (28.6 lbs) of drag pressure the rotor's arm touched the spool, and when the reel was at its most vulnerable position with the bail arm furthest from the rod and the spool fully extended, only 12.5 Kilos (26.9 lbs) were enough to make the arm touch the spool, making roughly 26.5 lbs the real maximum pressure the reel could be fished at without the arm touching the spool and interfering with the drag operation. Pretty frustrating indeed and it made me realize that in order for me to keep testing the reel I must use it only when I knew that medium sized fish were the only thing biting, and that brought the occasional small fishes of the kind that you needed to photograph really close up in order to hide the embarrassing size!

Not just that. I mentioned earlier how the gearbox was not penetrated by water, but that wasn't the case with the drag. I started with a simple dunking test when I first fished it that involved the reel cranked under two feet of water several times for a total of no more than 10 minutes, and although I only caught small bass that did not move the drag, upon inspection I found a minute amount of water in the drag. I'm talking about a quantity of water that won't form 3 drops, yet it was water that penetrated the drag.

Afterwards, every time I tested waterproofing the gearbox passed with flying colors, even the more extreme tests, but a few droplets always found their way into the drag. I wanted to be useful and tried to locate the location of the leak using a few tricks, but the only thing I could tell was that the leak was happening on the bottom of the spool, not on the drag knob's end.

Speaking of the drag knob The outer casing of the knob is made of metal and is pleasing to touch.

You just need to pop the retainer (#1) out to disassemble and service the drag knob. #2 is the very effective round seal of the knob.

Like the shaft seal discussed earlier, this knob seal fits so tight it will start rubbing against the spool's body and squeaking when the lubes are washed away, so make sure to lube it during the regular external maintenance every few trips. #3 are the spring loaded clicking balls, and 4# is the keyed thrust tube that is in touch with the top drag washer. It's made of plastic, but the upper drag composes of that single small washer that will never heat enough to cause melting. Top marks for the entire design of the knob.

The red arrow points to the bottom seal of the spool. In the first production run of the Torque, this seal was free to move. As it double tasks as a retainer for the pin, there was a risk of the pin falling and getting lost as the spool was being removed. Also putting the spool back was slightly tricky because that seal kept getting squashed. In later reels this seal was glued to the shaft, and this totally eliminates these issues. If you have one of the first reels, clean everything off lubes then glue the seal down. Those first reels too had anti-reverse clutches that were fitted slightly different, which created a slight back play before the rotor locked. I don't think they are on sale anymore, but just needed to tell you in case you see one of them then wonder why I gave the anti-reverse a perfect score. These were early reels before the production was halted for a few months to make amends, and all the ones I personally saw that had that play were bailed 7.

Still in the above photo, the cross pin design leaves something to be desired. It makes it impossible to shim the spool to change its height. The reel spooled everything I put on it evenly from 40lb PowerPro to size 6 Sunline PE Jigger 8HG, but someone somewhere in this big world is bound to spool it with their favorite line then think that the shape needs adjustment, only to find that it can't be adjusted. On a quick side note the Sunline PE Jigger 8HG has replaced Varivas jigging Max power as the best solid braid money can buy in my book. It's more reliable than any solid I've used and it casts pretty impressively as well. But let's leave this until I decide to begin reviewing lines too

When I first took the reel out of box and began examining it, the line roller felt rough when I gave it a spin with my finger. I dismissed that as some finishing imperfection that will smooth itself out with use and spooled it with line. Just after I finished spooling it, I touched the roller and it was hot. I tried to spin it but it was stuck and needed some force to start spinning again and the roughness was still there. It heated up because it became jammed as I spooled it and the line was rubbing on it instead of rolling with it. I took a closer look to see what was up

As pointed by the red arrow, the line roller was not in the centre of the recess as it should have been. It was touching one of the sides and as it span it came in different degrees of contact with the wall of the recess causing the roughness until at one spot it jammed and needed a nudge to move again.

Disassembled

#1 are the two sealed ball bearings the roller runs on, #2 is the retainer ring to keep the screw from becoming loose, #3 is the line roller itself, and #4 is the one piece bail wire that smoothly delivers the line to the roller without joints. #5 is the retaining screw, and this screw is what causes the problem with the roller. The screw is threaded to the very end, and that's a design flaw.

When the screw is inserted in the bail arm it can play around in the hole a little bit, and because this screw is the only mechanism for centering the roller, it takes it around as it plays during assembly. Once the screw is fully tightened, the roller can't play around anymore, but it will be at a totally random location that in my case was contacting the recess at 8 O'clock. I fixed this by keeping the roller centered with my fingers as I re-tightened the screw.

The bail mechanism

The other side

The arrow points to the cast brake lever inside its black sleeve. Penn put a lot of grease on the lever which Simple and reliable, and smoother to makes the brake feel slightly weaker than it actually is, open and close than most reels. so you might want to remove the spool and use a cotton bud to clean the grease off the tip of the lever for an even stronger brake.

The bail arm retainer

The blue arrow points the clip that retains the bail arm, and the red arrow points a washer that is a part of what makes the bail opening motion that smooth and crisp.

That's all. As real and straight forward as it gets, away from all the bashing and hype and nonsense speculations. The reel got me excited for a very long time waiting for the release, and believe it or not, I applaud the designers.

If you draw an imaginary vertical line just behind the spool you will have two sections. The rear section is (start counting the superlatives) the simplest gearbox of any ambidextrous reel in existence. It is the most durable gearbox of any boat reel in current production. Stellas and Saltigas will serve you well for 1015 years with proper care, but with the Torque we are talking old school longevity to be passed to your children. The Torque is the easiest modern reel to self service, and even though the ZB has a brilliant quick access gearbox, the Torque is easier to completely strip down to the last screw. The gearbox is as waterproof as it gets, and the handle is easier to spin than the VS and ZB.

The issues are all in the front portion of the reel, and none of them is inherent in the design or can't be taken care of with little tweaking. Here is a list of what I would do to the reel: 1) Redesign the rotor arm and make it converge outwards like the one on the bail less models. This way it will have enough space to flex under load -like all other reels do- without touching the spool.

The rotor arm is a separate part that is attached to the rotor via two screws, so the redesigned arm could be sent to retailers to update their current stocks using the key already provided in the box.

The other arm might need some tweaking too to keep the rotor balanced.

2) Change the spool hub design and do away with the cross pin for a DD shaft spliced to drag washers. This way the spool could be shimmed.

3) With the new hub design, sealing the bottom of the spool will be easier so the leaking problem would go away and the reel would become as waterproof as the two leading surf reels.

4) Leave 2mm of the line roller's screw solid without threads, and make sure that this solid part has the exact same diameter as the hole so that the screw won't play around and the roller would selfcentre itself as the screw gets tightened. A drop of loctite on the screw threads would be great for peace of mind too.

5) Shave off some weight to take it below the Stella and the Saltiga: More ornamental cut-outs on the spool's skirt, shaving down the thick spool flange (around the drag knob), and when the spool hub is redesigned the metal plate at the bottom of the spool which is made thick to house the current seal could be replaced by a normal thin washer at 1/3rd of its current weight.

6) A minor touch would be to replace the sealed bearings (except the ones in the roller) with regular shielded bearings for lighter spinning.

I have mentioned the old SS at least three times in this review and drew connections between it and the Torque: The drag underneath the spool, the identical arrangement to move the handle to the opposite side, and the shaft's full body support. What is the significance? Well, it's something in the back of my head that tells me that the Torque is indeed a genuine Penn. It's not one of those cases where a company changes hands and its products become completely disconnected from the original heritage except for the name stamped on it. The Torque is a true Penn that retains strong attachment to the original design and feels like a continuation of its history. Those design features were not incorporated in the Torque for sentimental reasons, but rather because they are proven and tested features and were a part of what gave the original product its legendary status.

You probably remember how in the 1990s the original SS were popular in Japan where people modified them with custom made parts then went after heavy fish One of such modified SS Penns. They looked ugly and their dodgy anti-reverse was a pain in the ass, yet they were absolute beasts that served faithfully and landed big tuna and billfish time after time.

The Torque does have issues, but that's normal. The original VS and ZB had their issues at early stages, the TwinSpin was a joke when it was first released, and even the multi billion dollars R&D of the Airbus A380 could not prevent a recall of leaking engines. Good luck to Penn and looking forward to one day buying myself an updated faultless Torque for more fishing adventures.

alanhawk.com

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Contributors

Roger Martin has fished the rocky beaches of Rhode Island, plowed through soft sand on Cape Cod beaches and navigated the treacherous rocks of Montauk. But most of the time, you'll find him close to home, on the sandy beaches or the back bay marshes of Long Island’s south shore. Over the last half century he has written numerous articles, authored a chapter in William Muller's book “The Secrets of Surf Fishing at Night” and given many presentations on the subject of surf fishing.

He was taught how to rig eels by his friend, the late Al Bentsen, and has passed this knowledge on to many others. Roger and his wife Marie are co-editors of the Surfcaster's Journal and they are the ones who labor over our sloppy writing, bad grammar and terrible pronunciation errors. For that alone they should be saluted .

Zeno Hromin is the author of two recent bestselling books, “The Art of Surfcasting with Lures” and “The Hunt for Big Stripers.” He is a budding angling photographer who has won numerous awards for his camera skills. He is one of the founders of the Surfcaster's Journal and a frequent contributor to the Surfcaster's Journal Blog. You can get more information about Zeno on his website www.zenohromin.com Email him at info@surfcastersjournal.com Lou Caruso is a long time member of the Farragut Striper Club, Surfcaster's Journal official "Rod Guru" and one of the most well regarded custom rod builders on Long Island, NY. His web site is www.louscustomrods.com Tommy Corrigan is an insanely driven, ridiculously talented dude who designs the Surfcaster's Journal magazine from his head. No guidelines, no drafts and no boxes into which to plug articles.

Everything that you see is the result of late night inspirations on those nights when his better half makes him stay home. When he manages to sneak out you will probably find him on a local beach, plying his craft. His talents are vast and range from music CD cover designs, to posters, books and tshirts. Don't be surprised if the design on the shirt you or your kid is wearing was created by our design guru. You can send him an Email at tommy@surfcastersjournal.com

Dave Anderson is an editor of “The Fisherman Magazine”, New England edition. You have probably read many of the articles on surf fishing he has written over the years for that magazine and other publications. What you probably did not know was that Dave is also a well respected plug builder who creates exceptional lures under the name Surf Asylum. You can receive his newsletter by dropping him a line at danderson_nef@yahoo.com Andrew Chase is a renowned chef and a passionate surfcaster. He is equally comfortable around the stove as he is casting his lures for stripers. Along with his partner, he is a proprietor of Cafe Katja located at 79 Orchard Street in New York City. It's a great place to grab a beer and sample some authentic Austrian cuisine. No pretentiousness here or sky high prices, just an intimate neighborhood watering hole with exceptional food. Chef Andrew might be behind the bar or serving food on any given night but as soon as the lights go off you will find him on his favorite rocks casting into the darkness, looking to catch his own dinner. For more information about Cafe Katja please visit http://cafekatja.com Russ "Big Rock" Paoline is a well respected New Jersey lure builder whose creations are some of the most sought after lures on the market today. He creates his lures in small batches, one at a time and the quality and attention to detail are evident on each lure he makes. Russ has been a fixture on New Jersey beaches for many years but don't be surprised if you run into him at Montauk, NY or even Cuttyhunk, MA. In fact, Cuttyhunk is where we met him for the first time. A mountain of a man in every sense of the word, Russ is imposing figure in the night surf but have no worries, he is one of the nicest person you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting.

John Papciak is a well known New York surfcaster who is equally comfortable with a fly rod or a surf rod. John is one of the most fearless surfcasters of this generation and one of the rare anglers who fish from the far rocks with a fly rod. As much as we all admire his fearlessness when swimming to the rocks in the middle of the night, we are even more impressed with his conservation ethic. He was one of the people involved in the Bring Back Big Bass campaign in recent years and he has been always on the forefront of the conservation movement among the surf fishing community. You can email him at info@surfcastersjournal.com Frank Pintauro is an avid vintage surf fishing lure collector and the author of many articles on classic lures and lure makers. Frank's work has been published in The Fisherman magazine and Fishing and Hunting Collectibles Magazine among others. He is considered the leading authority on the authenticity of vintage surf fishing lures and their origins. Readers who wish to contact Frank can do so via email at masterlure@aol.com Alan Hawk is an abnormality in our little universe. He is not affiliated with any reel company, he is not on anyone's pro staff and he does not accept reels in return for positive reviews. Instead, he buys his reels with his own money, freeing him from any possible conflict of interest. For other reel reviews please visit Alan's website at http://www.alanhawk.com/

Mark Mead began fishing the surf then soon learned after his first trip to Montauk that his Great Grandfather Edward Crosby had the same passion for chasing Striper's 60 years earlier. Mark’s now following in his footsteps while continuing to research and write about his Great Grandfather’s journey. Mark is a member of The Jersey Shore Surfcasters where he continues to learn and support the growing sport. He’s fished from Costa Rica to the Florida Keys but his passion is fishing his native NJ waters while traveling up the coast in the hunt for big bass on the shores of Block Island, Cuttyhunk and Montauk.

Stephen Barone is a surfcaster from Massachusetts who fishes anywhere from Plum Island to Martha's Vineyard . He is currently in grad school studying for his MBA and fishing any chance he gets.

Special thanks to lure builders from Lordship Lures, Afterhours Custom Plugs, Big Rock Custom Plugs, and Choopy Lures for sharing with our readers what are their favorite lures to make.

SURF CASTER’S j o u r n a l

next issue march 2012