Crabcakes

My uncle was stationed in San Diego for a few years and I had a chance to catch a few of these little guys. Loads of fun. The saltwater fishing in Southern California is so different from the East Coast it still blows my mind.

About the dolphins. Yes they are smarter and it doesn't happen frequently but from what I've heard it can. I've had a dolphin follow a lure but it turned away very quickly once it realized something was up.

No idea about renting but you'd need some heavy gear. You can deifnitely catch sharks on casted baits. You'll need to have some large line capacity and the capability to throw a heavy bait. Daiwa sealines, saltists and avets are the types of reels you should be thinking of. You'll need to come up with some kind of castable leader system. There are alot of ways to do this if you google it. Bluefish and kingfish, whole or heads work ok for castable baits from what i've heard. There are duskys, spinners, and sandbar sharks to catch. That being said you can rent some surf gear and throw out some cut bait on a fishfinder rig. You might get a smaller shark or a ray to come by. For the large sharks in that area people kayak out baits and use very heavy tackle. There are truly large sand tigers in delaware. I know a 9 foot bull shark was caught from the beach in the last two weeks.

The Kingfish (sea mullet/whiting not king mackerel) should be in now. Those can be caught from the open beach pretty dependably. Use mole crab( sand flea as they call them in some parts)or blood worm on small hooks. Often times they require only a short cast just past the wash. My favorite way to catch these is on ultra light tackle using a light carolina rig with a small mole crab on a single hook. Smaller bluefish will probably be around but may require a longer cast. You'll see them breaking, often with birds. Most artificials will work but I tend to go with hopkins or kastmasters to reach them. Bluefish do have teeth so a mono leader will help reduce bite-offs if you're using braid. Flounder/fluke may be a possibility. Bucktails with Gulp or squid work well. Stripers will be spread out this time of year and not very dependable. If you want to go for those with lures your best luck may be to find a jetty or breachway and fish in low light hours. I've never fished delaware for stripers but the rest of the delmarva area rewards a long cast with bait and patience. The big sharks are around now. Keep an eye out for the kayakers dropping bait. It's quite a show.

If you're fishing the Maryland part of the bay you can probably get by just fine spending a little less and going with the medalist or a Penn SSG. The conditions in the Maryland part of the bay are just a lot more forgiving on gear than a wavy windy salty surf. I actually used a Pflueger president for a long time and it got the job done although it was a bit testy when it got wet. Of course it all depends on how often you'll use it. If you intend to use it frequently or might bring it to the ocean from time to time then I'd opt to spend more in the 120-150 range for better quality as Sir Snookalot said.

I agree with the points mentioned before but I'll add this: As a general rule I would go with an 8000 size shimano (or other manufacturers equivalent) for bait fishing for stripers and blues. An 8000 will not be too big. I use a 4000 size for casting smaller lures for fluke and sea trout. I'd be looking at around 17lb mono or 30-50lb braid for chunking stripers and blues. For your price range (or just a little over) I'd recommend one of the Quantum Boca spinning reels or second Sirsnookalot's recommendation of a Penn. While I also find my Pflueger Medalist exceptionally smooth I'd give a word of caution if used as a surf reel. This is just my experience and opinion: The drags on Pflueger Medalists (at least the silver ones, I understand they have a newer model) were not sealed and very prone to getting sand under them. This was a problem for me a few times and I'd spend a few extra dollars for the penn or another reel to avoid the worry. If you don't plan on surf fishing a a great deal it may still be a good reel. Just check that your drag is clean before fishing. Also just a general point: I saw your location is listed as NoVa. Are you fishing in the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia? In Virginia Beach/DelMarva Coast/Outer Banks you should be prepared to use much heavier lead than 2ozs at times and it is important to select a rod to adress this. You very well could have a specific spot/reason in mind already so I want to make sure you don't think I'm saying you're wrong. I just thought I'd bring it up in case.

Gar as we know them in the US are a family of fish (Lepisoteidae) with seven species in North and South America. The presence of Gar is not related to alligators and the do not interbreed. There are other fish referred to as "gar" in the ocean but those are ususally actually needlefish or houndfish.

Many of the lures northeast surfcasters use for striped bass can be used for freshwater bass fishing. In many cases they are often sluggos, rebels or other "bass" lures in larger sizes.

Just t reinforce the post above... If you make a comment through their online request form you'll get a very prompt and helpful response from a real person who will try and add the maps you ask for. My questions have all been answered same day. Good customer service.

I know a little bit about this issue but I'm not any be all end all expert. I'll try and share some of what I've learned though. There is not at this point any concrete evidence to suggest that reproductive success of smallmouth bass is being reduced by this trend in the Potomac. There could be a link found in the future but the evidence isn't conclusive at this time. It's unclear how much of the occurence of intersex fish is natural. That being said, there's really alot of evidence to suggest this issue could be important and is not adequately studied. I think it's going to come up more and more in the next few years. The way the endocrine system works means that a huge variety of chemicals can interfere with hormone reception and other processes. Synthetic estrogens from birth control are not the only chemicals that can have an effect. Pesticides, fire retardants chemicals in plastics and literally thousands of others can too. It tends to be a problem of chronic exposure over time, especially when an organism is in the dvelopmental stages. The endocrine system is also pretty similar among vertebrates. There is a frequently cited study that found a strong connection between the levels of pthalates (a chemical in plastic bottles) in the mother and subtle female-like changes to the male childrens genitalia in humans. As to the point about sewage treatment it's my understanding that hormones are not filtered out of water but I am not an expert in this area. However, I do know there is a greater incidence of intersex fish in the Upper Potomac than downstream of the Blue Plains water treatment plant . This is theorized to relate to a greater amount of runoff from agriculture and livestock around the upper part of the river but this isn't proven. Either way as stated by others, estrogens and other hormones can certainly cause radical changes in the sexual development of fish and there are certainly hormones in our drinking water. What this really means for us and other organisms is less clear.

My prediction is that Kimbo wins one fight loses another but stands a good chance of getting brought back as a replacement and/or fighting on the finale. The fight last night wasn't even fun to watch. Total mismatch and the winner wasn't really that impressive either. The UFN just beforehand was great. I'm surprised no one mentioned this. Four good fights in a row with alot of back and forth fights. Huertas shoulder was 180 degrees the wrong way and it didn't seem to phase him. I thought he was going to be hurt really badly. Condit and Quarry really came back.

You tube has a lot of good material (a lot of bad material too). Yahoo finance has a lot of fundamental information on companies. For charting go to bigcharts.com for free charts. I've found the best way to learn charts is to familiarize yourself with the terminology then look at lots and lots of charts. I'd also recommend some paper trading. It can't truly reflect risking your own money but it is useful for learning. But really I'd recommend taking a class or joining a local trading/investment discussion group. I went the route of taking an intensive 6 month course at my university and it really really paid off even though I didn't 100% agree with my instructor's strategies. Just don't fall for the "magic system" or "gateway to profits" type stuff. Strategies may differ but in the end it's all about discipline and having no ego. Invest only what you can afford to lose.

Anybody catch WEC 42? It was another good event for them. I was happy to see Bowles win as he's been a favorite of mine. It looked like his first hook might have had a little divine guidance. B.J. had a good performance. He fought a smart fight and capitalized as soon as he saw a chance. He also looked to be much fitter for this fight. And i agree with everybody else.... that was not a good night for Forrest Griffin.

I have no idea about bass but try a silver yo zuri crystal minnow in the surf. That imitates alot of the bait down there pretty well.

Are Skunked and I the only ones who enjoy bike racing? I've watched the majority of the tour for years now. It's a summer time ritual for me.

Lesnar knows how to suck you in and make money. He played the heel to perfection. I have to wonder how much he practiced his little routine. Brock is going to be tough to beat. He's comically larger than everyone else in the UFC to the point that they can't seem to do anything. The one armed immobilizing neck crank thing he had Mir trapped in was a totally new one to me. Pretty good fights overall, though the three big ones were very one sided. Alves impressed me with his sweeps and ground defense but GSP was too good. I don't sense that killer instinct from GSP though. Hendo's right hand had been coming that whole fight. Bisping looked like he was afraid that was going to happen from the opening bell. Also the complaints by the announcers that Belcher got robbed annoyed me. They can be extremely unprofessional sometimes. That was a very close fight and a split decision one way or the other was fair. That wasn't a "robbery", just a tough call.

I fish sand beaches in New Jersey mostly. I use 9 10 and 11 ft rods with one 12ft rod. 10 is my vote for the best general purpose length. If you are fishing more than 4 ozs with bait it does help a little to have that extra length. 9 is fine too. 12ft is definitely a little much for your main rod. You can cast farther with a longer rod but if the combo is heavy/awkward enough to impede your casting speed or form it won't matter. Casting is about technique and balancing your rod/lure/line/reel combination more than rod length and muscle. I use 14lb and 17lb monofilament for most situations. I fish bunker heads/ big chunks on 20lb sometimes. I use braided line on some plugging rods but I find it to be a little too unforgiving for casting heavy bait/sinker combinatons. I use 40-60lb leader. If fishing around rocks you can go a little heavier. Casting distance is overrated in most situations. The most productive water is not necessarily the furthest away. Having the ability certainly doesn't hurt though.

Silva has fought at 170 earlier in his career but it has been awhile so the cut might be hard for him now. If they were to fight I'd guess GSP would go up to 185 rather than Silva going down to 170. Silva actually came in at 182 for this fight which makes me think he was either sick or did that on purpose because he thinks a lighter weight is better for him. The main event was bad but the card was ok. I think matchmaking was a bit of an issue. Leites was scared to stand but couldn't get the fight to the ground so he flopped. Silva wasn't going to just jump in his guard... so you got a boring fight. Silva could have spent less time punching him in the leg and more time trying to finish though. He had Leites outclassed and should have finished the fight. Mizugaki vs. Torres and Condit vs. Kampmann were pretty good so I can't get too upset about it

Great fish. I always enjoy reading your posts.

89%? Where did you get that number?

That was really impressive. I thought he'd win but not like that. BJ did almost no damage. That wresting was something else. BJ is not easy to take down. Lyoto Machida looked great. I dunno where he's headed next. For some reason they matched up rampage and keith jardine as a headliner for 96 or 97. Logically I think this means lyoto should get a title shot, but they might match him up with forrest or something and put the title fight on hold till summer.

:-?....huh?

That was a good feature. I think the writing quality in F&S is better than most other hunting and fishing magazines.

I have to admit I spent a few minutes confusedly looking all over the site for new forum sections before I looked at the date of the original post.

Gotcha. I misunderstood.