Article by Sue Foster
knowl•edge
1. facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
2. awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.
“I want to learn about fishing!”
I get people all the time e-mailing me about fishing guides and classes to learn about fishing. There’s limited classes out there and unfortunately, several of the “shore” guides couldn’t make it and had to close down. One that has stayed active over the years is a group class sponsored by Old Inlet Bait and Tackle that teaches anglers the basics of rigging, baits, and how to cast in the surf. I’ve watched the class and I would say it’s quite informative.
I’ve had several anglers who have taken the class “step up” and purchase a nice surf outfit so they could really get into the surf fishing experience.
Other than this class, anglers are pretty much on their own, unless they pay the price for a charter. There are a few local captains that fish the bay who will teach you whatever you want to know about fishing in the bay or possibly from the surf. It’s definitely worth giving them a call. Capt. Jason Mumford on the charter boat, “Lucky Break” advertises Guided Surf Trips and I’m sure he’d teach you a trick or two! Capt. Jeff Hurley on “Whatever Charters” is also a good guy to call.. He’ll do whatever you want! You can find ads for both of these boats in the “Bay Fishing” section of this issue.
I also have anglers ask me who can teach them about crabbing and clamming. Paying a charter price may be steep, but you can learn from some local captains. I know Captain Nick Clemente on the “Get Sum” will also teach you about crabbing and clamming, along with a whole lot about fishing if you keep your eyes open. You can also get all of his information from his ad in the “Bay Fishing” section.
If you want to learn a little about fishing in the bay and can’t afford a charter price, there’s no better way to learn than to go out on one of Ocean City’s many party boats. Some of these boats head out into the ocean and others fish mainly in the bay. They are all advertised in this issue of the Coastal Fisherman.
Some of the head boats go out for 4 hours and others have 2 hour trips. If you want to learn about flounder fishing, see where the channels are and learn the basics about setting up a rod and reel for bottom fishing and drifting for flounder, a few trips out on these boats will help you a lot. Of course, you need to keep your eyes open and watch what is going on. Don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. You can learn a lot with an open mind. You learn nothing with a closed mind and opinions already made.
The smaller, 2-hour boats can sometimes get into places where the larger boats can’t go. If you want to learn about “skinny water fishing”, a couple trips on these boats may be worth the money spent! I get anglers all the time tell me they just got a new boat and want to learn the local waters.
Recently, I have learned a lot of things from YouTube! (I always use private browsing!) Log onto Goggle and search for what you want to learn. Make sure you add YouTube in the search and often times you can get a video that will teach you a multitude of tricks. I watched several this winter about jigging Gulp! artificial baits for flounder. Wow!
If you want to learn about surf fishing, go to your browser and punch in “YouTube surf fishing.” There are tons of videos! Way more than you can imagine. Watch several and look for videos filmed close to our area. If you want to learn about clamming or crabbing, search “YouTube Crabbing”. To get area specific, add a “Maryland” to your search criteria. That way, you will filter out clamming for soft shell clams and razor clams or clamming out in CA where it may be totally different. If there’s a certain product you want to know more about, do the same thing! Search in YouTube for “MoJo Surf Rod” for example. Some of the videos may be techie while others may be simple. Some are amateur and some are professional. Always watch several to get a good cross section of training and ideas.
The other thing you can do is to hang out at the local tackle store and ask a lot of questions. During slow times, especially during the week, the clerks have plenty time on their hands and will show you how to rig up your rods, how to tie knots and how to select the best bait for the fish you are going after. Ask a lot of questions and if you need your rods rigged up, bring them in with you. Watch, learn, and listen, and most importantly, avoid a busy Saturday morning... please!
If you want to go fishing from a pier and are totally a novice and feel insecure about tying on rigs or getting a fish off the hook, I’d suggest going to a pay pier, such as the Oceanic Pier or the Ocean Pier, (when it is fixed) where there is always an attendee at the on-site tackle store who can give you a hand.
I have found that anglers on a pier are always willing to help a novice out. Just be careful about knowledge of rules and regulations. I have had other anglers tell me things that just aren’t true! Be sure to take the page of size and creel limits in this issue of the Coastal Fisherman with you whenever you go fishing. It’s much better than the State Books that have “to be announced” in many of the categories! The size/creel limits in the Coastal Fisherman have pictures of the fish next to them that make them even easier to read. Also know that most public piers have a sign with the size limits on it.
If you were trying to learn surf fishing, I’d spend some time on the beach watching and talking to good anglers. In Ocean City, the northern beaches between 120th and 146th Streets are popular “local” haunts and you could learn a lot watching and listening.
If you are up in Delaware, pay to go to the beach at 3 R’s and just talk to and watch the anglers. Might be the best $10 you ever spent!
I personally write this Coastal Fisherman article once a week and I have lots of articles archived on my website www.oysterbaytackle.com: On the left hand side click on “Drifting Easy.” Scroll down until you find a subject that interests you!
Learn, watch, and listen. Then go fishing. Experience is the best teacher. You can’t really learn without going out there and trying it. Once you go fishing a few times, you’ll know what questions to ask the next time you go into the tackle store! As Libby at Oyster Bay Tackle says: “It’s time to quit analyzing now. Put some meat on the hook and go fishing!”
Sue Foster is an outdoor writer and co-owner of Oyster Bay Tackle in Ocean City, MD and Fenwick Tackle in Fenwick, DE.
