YOU’VE GOT GEAR AND TECHNIQUES BUT DO YOU HAVE THE “LINGO”?
Updated: Aug 25
EDITOR: This article was written by our good friend and Long Island Beach Buggy Association (LIBBA) officer Joe Pellegrini. We are sharing it as a partner with LIBBA, together advocating fun and productive surfcasting along the Striper Coast. The Long Island Beach Buggy Association was founded in 1958 by a small group of people who were dedicated to beach access and conservation- beomg good Keepers of the Beach. It is because of these volunteers and those who have followed that we can drive and fish on Breezy Point, Gilgo Beach, Cedar Beach, Democrat Point, Fins, Smith Point, Great Gun, Cupsogue, Shinnecock, South Hampton, East Hampton, Neapague, Hither Hills, Shagwong, and Montauk Point. LIBBA continues to promote activities that protect and preserve LI's beautiful beaches for the future generations.
You’ve heard the expression- “If it looks
like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck”. Well. the same could be said about a surf fisherman- if he has gear like a…. technique like a…. and talks like a surf fisherman, he is probably a surf fisherman. We angling bloggers write a lot about the tackle and the technique, but do we talk the talk? If you don’t know the lingo, are you really a surf fisherman?
Surfcasters talk about what plugs should be in your bag and how to use them. There is a ton of information out there on choosing the right rod and reel for the job. When it comes to hooks, rigs, and all kinds of jigs, volumes have been written. How to cast, how to identify structure, how to tie knots, between the books, the blogs and the videos there are a lot of materials to help you become a well-rounded angler AND to look the part. You got it all covered, right? Not so fast Mr. Blaster Caster.
Picture this: You’re the ‘plus one’ at a party being thrown by your date’s best friend. You’re the new guy amongst a group of long-time friends. You don’t know anyone except your date, and you’ve only been seeing her for a month or two. It’s awkward, but you have skills, you’re a confident person who likes to socialize. Hey, you’re a smart guy who gets more right than wrong than a lot of the players on Jeopardy. You even answer with a question sitting in front of your TV. You got this; it’s not rocket science.
You start to mingle; your date is not too far away. You see small clusters of people chatting, a lot of heads nodding in agreement. You sharpen your focus on the conversation hearing one woman say, “the amount of Flux was incredible” Another adds “How many Janskys do you think it was?” The other replies “36!”; The third person in the group jumps in “that’s incredible for a Maria on the dark side of the moon.” You interject with a chuckle and say: “oh that’s nothing… I’ve seen more Janskys in the parking lot! Am I right?” They suddenly turn and look at you. They look bewildered, staring at you with that deer in headlights look. Your confidence drains from your body. You think back to 5 minutes ago when you told yourself “It’s not Rocket Science”. Then it dawns on you OMG, IT IS rocket science! Your date failed to tell you her friend worked at NASA.
You see, you did not know the lingo. Who knew that one Jansky equaled a bandwidth 10-26 W m-2 Hz-1 a unit of measure used to express flux. I’ll tell you who knew… the Rocket Scientists!
The guy looked the part, had some basic skills and techniques for party mingling, but it was clear he was not who the others were because he did not know the lingo. For all you “maybe” surfcasters, this blog will expand your knowledge regarding surfcasting lingo. I’ll give a few examples to get you started, and I’ll sprinkle in one or two gems to help increase your vocabulary so you can knowledgably work them into conversation at the right place and time.
Some of you have been fishing for a while, others are new to the game. Either way, there is a lot to learn beyond the basics. If you want people to think you’re a surfcaster next time you are at the tackle shop, you need to know exactly what it means when someone says “Yesterday at the ‘Pill Box’ the water was ‘boiling’; the ‘linesiders’ were ‘on the chew’' they weren’t at CVS making spaghetti for dinner. There’s a ton of fishing lingo being used today. Some make sense, some don’t; some is common, words you’ve used before, but never in this context. But now you hear it on the beach or at the shop where you’re expected to know what people are talking about.
Let me help get you on your way to “Lingotown”!
A Googan: This is you- for now- someone new to fishing, or someone oblivious to what’s going on. Someone who makes dumb mistakes. “That guy forgot to close the snap on his swivel and his sinker is now in orbit. What a total googan”.
“Wet a Line”: To go fishing. Refers to casting the fishing line into the water thus getting it wet. “It’s supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, I’m going to call in sick and wet a line”.
“The Water is/was Boiling”: Churning water indicative of a feeding frenzy. A concentration of bait fish balled up and being attacked from all sides by predators giving the appearance that the water is boiling.
“Birds are Working’”: Seabirds feed on baitfish. When you spot a large group of birds’ dive bombing the water to partake in a feeding frenzy caused by predator fish riling up the bait fish, the birds are working. For the angler, it’s a beautiful sight to see from the beach because it indicates exactly where the fish
are. It can also be frustrating when the “boil” is just out of casting range.
Birds Nest: This is the result when a cast goes foul and your line tangles in the reel spool making it jumbled up and looking like a bird’s nest. It is often the result of incorrect reel settings, the line leaving the spool unevenly, or having too much slack in the line. You may feel compelled to take a break to untangle it but trust me on this- don’t. Have a spare reel ready to go and save yourself the time and frustration. Deal with it later when you get off the beach If you must deal with it right then, cut the line and start fresh.
“Match the Hatch”: This term has crossed over from fly fishing to other fishing disciplines and refers to choosing your lure or presentation based on what bait fish are present where you are fishing, and which are actually being pursued by the fish species you are targeting. When matching the hatch pay attention to shape, size, color and action.
Salad: This refers to seaweed. “How was the fishing today?” ; “Oh, conditions were good, but I picked up a lot of salad on every retrieve”. The other truth is that salad is probably what
you’ll be served for dinner if you don’t catch anything.
“Skunked”: This is why you are eating salad. You didn’t catch anything- you were SKUNKED. Enough said about that.
Creel, Bag Limit, or just Limit: This is the total number of fish by species that you are legally allowed to harvest in any one day or have in your possession at any time. A “Creel” is an old-school wicker basket used to carry fish- you’ve seen them, you just
didn’t know what they were called.
“On the Chew”: Simply put, this means the fish were biting, AND you were catching. This usually means it was a good day.
First Light: It’s the first light you see but does not mean that it’s sunrise-yet. Generally means there is enough light, certainly more than during the dark of night, to fish comfortably. Sunrise occurs when the sun is visible on the horizon. First light is generally about 30 minutes before sunrise.
Snotty: This is a general reference to unfavorable weather and NOT the condition of your handkerchief. Windy, rainy, and choppy water are snotty conditions and not very good fishing conditions. Snotty conditions will contribute to getting skunked and fish not being on the chew. Got it? See, it’s not that hard.
Foul Hooked: Means the fish was snagged by the hook anywhere OTHER THAN the mouth.
That should get you started- a baker’s dozen of terms you can add to your vocabulary so you can walk AND talk like a surfcaster. I hope you learned something and had some chuckles while reading it. I am sure you know there’s a lot more to the surfcasting game than just pieces of metal, plastic and wood with hooks with hooks tied to them. Now get out there and #LiveThePassion!
Tackle Tuesday
Joe Pellegrini
See you on the beach!
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