Fall Flip: From Sheepshead to Stripers with Capt. Scotty Sevins

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Capt. Scotty Sevins (00:00):
It doesn't have to be like a like a double
digit sheep's head or like a a40-inch backwater bass.
Every catch is something to becelebrated, man.
It you know, it's making thosememories with those people and
especially the important peopleto you, you know.
That's the stuff that reallymatters.
It really does.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fis (00:26):
Hello and welcome back to the Fat Dad
Fishing Show.
I'm your regular host, RichNatoli.
And tonight we're going to haveon Captain Scotty Sevens, one
of my favorite returning guestsof all time.
Trying to bribe him to come onlike every week.
But we'll see how that goes.
I mean, he does have a job, Iguess.
Uh, but yeah, I I love talkingto Scotty.

(00:48):
He's just one of those guysthat uh to use one of his terms,
I just vibe with.
And uh and he's he alwaysteaches me something.
So Scotty's gonna come on.
We're gonna be talking about uha really well-timed topic, the
way that this works out, andthat's going to be the shift
into fall fishing.
And what we all know that everfocus on strike bats is that

(01:11):
first nor'easter, once you hitOctober, is typically going to
be a kickoff to some some reallygood action.
Not that there hasn't beenaction already, but we're just
coming out of the tail end ofthat.
And I kind of feel bad becauseman, the points at the shore in
New Jersey, New York, evensouth, they're still dealing
with uh, I saw 15-foot wavesoffshore, um, up to around 12

(01:34):
feet against the coast.
So they're still dealing withit right now, but we're going to
talk what we do on the otherside of this for fishing uh
because it's it's time to talkabout that.
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Numbers 267-270-1145.
And as we're just about to jumpin, I'm going to bring Scotty
on in a second.
I want to just take a second toreach out to everybody that is

(04:09):
watching live, listening later,or watching the video later, and
just say, I am reallyappreciative of everyone for
tuning into this.
This is kind of like a passionproject.
Not making money on this, butit's it's something I love
doing, love connecting with notjust the guests, but all of you

(04:30):
out there.
James Flynn was the first onein chat.
He's almost always the firstone in chat.
And it's just great to see youguys coming back.
And my brother's in there.
Good to see you, Tom, eventhough you're there to troll.
We all know that.
You know, Scotty's in there.
Tad, I haven't been on thewater with Tad in way too long.
Paul's in there for Great BayOutfitters.

(04:51):
Michelle and Joseph are inthere so far.
And there are a bunch of othersthat haven't chatted, but I am
really grateful for everybodyfor kind of sticking with me
over the time.
This is not easy to do,especially as a solo show, but I
just I love it.
And the guests like coming onand connecting with all of you.
So yeah, with that said, we'regonna bring Captain Scotty

(05:14):
Sevens on because Scotty is theone that I need to talk to about
this transition because youtalk about somebody who is well
into the summer species duringseason.
He's he makes that big switchand then starts to dominate the
fall species while he has a boatin the water.
And then actually, even afterthat, he's been known to take

(05:36):
other people's boats and go outand get some great footage and
pictures.
So, with that said, I'm gonnabring him on stage.
Captain Scotty Seven.
Scotty, it's good to see youagain, man.

What's going on, fellas?
Very happy to see you, Rich.

Yeah, very happy to have you on, and
I'm very happy to have you onpost Sheepshead.

So I am so happy to look and talk and do
anything else aside from Sheep'sHead at this point in this in
the year.
Yeah, I can't even tell you.
It's I I gotta tell you, thelast two weeks or so, I I've
actually had an opportunity, atime or two to get out for a few

(06:17):
hours myself.
And I was not dropping forsheeps.
I was I was I was fishing forbass, and I I like just to get
my hand around some bass lipsagain.
Yeah, I gotta tell you, I stillI still have so a little bit of
bass thumb, but like it justfelt good.
I've never been more stoked forfor bass in my life.

(06:39):
And I never really thought I'dsay that.
You know what I mean?
Because after a while, you justkind of get a little bit jaded
to things, but like super, superexcited for this change.

Yeah, I I am as well.
And look, full disclosure toeveryone, as I get in, you know,
through my recovery and backinto things, Scotty and I were
just talking.
I've only been out five, maybesix times this entire year,
which is five or six times morethan last year.
And I have always said stripedbass is not one of my favorites.

(07:11):
But I just I decided though, Iguess the lack of fishing, maybe
I took it for granted becauseI've been getting more and more
excited for this changeover tohappen and for the fall to hit.
And maybe I would maybe I didjust take it for granted because
I am I I started the last fewweeks kind of saving my time

(07:32):
that I can get away from workand kind of stacking it later in
the year.
So one day is for the Fat Dadfishing get together, which
we're gonna do on the Osprey.
As soon as they publish theschedule, I will tell everyone
live.

Okay, I I'm doing that.
I remember we did that the lasttime we did that.
I I think the I I think Icaught the only fish.
I caught a starfish.
And you know what?
Coincidentally, I actuallysaved that and dried it out and
gave it to a friend of mine.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fishi (08:01):
Oh, did you?

Yeah, yeah, that was rough.

Yeah, the starfish day.
Oh, yeah, that's brutal.

Yeah, I try, but somebody else caught a
lobster, so I think that mayhave superseded.
I I don't know.
I feel like mine wastechnically a fish.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fish (08:16):
Yes, there was a lot of discussion
and debate about that.
Yes.

Either way, I just uh I've never had such a
fun time getting skunked in mylife.
It was just good vibes allaround with everybody.
Yeah.
Ben was there, you know, Ed wasthere.
It was just so many, so muchfun with so many good people.
So I am so down for thatwhenever it happens.

Yeah, and I'm just waiting for the
Osprey to publish their schedulebecause look, we could just
rent the whole boat, but it'stoo much.
I just I can't do that.
Solo, I'm not gonna be able todo all this and then collect
money and do all this stuff toget it set up.
So we're gonna wait for theschedule to come out.
Okay, and then as soon as thathappens, the next Monday, I'm

(09:05):
going to announce live and Iwill let people know in the
social media post what day it isso that people can jump in and
get their spot.
Um actually we ran out ofspots.
Good, good.
The more, the more the better.
I remember the last time we didit, I was not feeling well, but

(09:25):
I had such a good time becauseeverybody else was having such a
good time around.

That's all that matters, man.

Yeah, yeah.
It was it was great.
And uh and I'm really lookingforward to it.
I keep getting texts.
When is it?
When is it?
And I there's nothing I can dounless maybe I can call the
captain and just say, Hey, uhAmanda.

Yeah.

Yeah, what when can we get this thing
set up?

Yeah, she's the best.
She really is.

Yeah.
Behind the scenes, she's doingeverything.

Oh, I know, I know.
She she she's a bad hun.
She really is.

Yeah.
So so that'll be coming up.
But let's let's start talking alittle bit about what we have
in front of us because you know,I mentioned it at the at the
open.
It seems that every year it's astorm that kicks it off.
It's a nor'easter or ahurricane that comes through,
and it has similar effects onthe water.

(10:16):
It just blows away thecoastline, but then right behind
it, you start getting the morethe bigger volume and the bigger
fish coming in.
Do you see that happening thistime or do you think it's
earlier?

A thousand percent.
And I I'll tell you this.
So, and I'm going to have toback up from this, but there was
there was fish up in LongIsland.
I mean, this stuff kicked offlike this week ahead of this
storm.
So those fish that were up inLong Island, I guarantee will be
down in after this flow here,they'll they'll they'll be

(10:52):
they'll be right in our lapalready.
Yeah, they really will.
So, but going back to that, youwere right, we like there was
signs of fall all over the marshstarting back in August.
It really was.
And you see this bait startingto move around.
And and in my brain, because Iam forever in never-ending

(11:14):
summer mode, you know what Imean?
Like, I I'm still rocking myflip-flops heavy.
Like, you know, it's funny.
My last trip, uh, just Friday,my guys were like, I can't
believe you're still in shortsand flip-flops.
I don't know how you're doingit.
But but so anyway, but yeah,there were signs of fall all
over the marsh, even going backto August.

(11:35):
And I will tell you this thatEren, Eren was like the third
week of August.
Erin changed the entiretrajectory of this early fall
fishery.
Completely.
Yeah, it completely did.
And uh few weeks after Erin, wegot this nor'easter, I think it

(11:56):
was like second week ofSeptember.
Again, it completely changedthe entire trajectory of the
fish that I saw, what was here,what moved out, and what moved
in.
Yeah, um, and I and I gottatell you, like, we like those
those storms, while it it it puta damper and killed one

(12:21):
fishery, it brought like uh awhole realm of new
possibilities.
And and I'll tell you what, itreally brought with it even
those those earlier storms, andI'm gonna I'm going back with
Aaron, it really brought in alot of big bass into the
backwater.

unknown (12:39):
Yeah.

Well, how have you been doing on them
in your personal time?
You're not you're notchartering for them yet, are
you?
Or have you already made that?

So I always I always bring spot with me, no
matter what I'm doing, and Ialways bring that as a backup.
That's always my just in caseanyone that's been out with me
knows, because there's usuallyan opportunity within, like,
say, like a normal trip, whereyou have the opportunity to drop

(13:10):
and hook into some reallyquality bass.
Like, I'll tell you, we brokeoff, and nobody wants to hear
about the ones that got away,but we we broke off some real
monsters the last few weeks, andit's just based on what you're
trying to pull them out of.
You're just trying to pull themout of wretched, wretched,

(13:31):
wretched rubble.
And you know what I mean?
And and I'll say this peoplesay, okay, we'll scale up the
tackle.
Well, you do, but there's avery there's a very distinct
like correlation between thesize of your tackle and your
leader size, and the amount ofbites that you get.
So if you're throwing down 50fluoro, you're not getting the

(13:54):
same amount of bites as you arewith 20 fluoro.
It's just a fact of the matter.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad F (13:58):
Really?

A thousand percent, yeah.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fishing (14:01):
I I haven't really tested that.
I I would say that I don't feelthat they're well, let's
qualify this.
It it does depend on whatthey're doing at the time.
In a blitz, I think you're finewith whatever.

Yeah, and we're talking, um we're talking
strictly back bay right now.

Yeah, so you're you're talking some
holdovers and some of theirtheir early arrivals.
Yeah, so yeah, so you'redefinitely gonna want to lead
her down where you can.
The other thing is it gives youbetter action when you have the
lighter leaders on there, yeah,it does and for the spot too.

The bait, the yeah, the bait swim sprayer.
Like, I'm constantly lookingfor new ways to present like a
live spot to make it look asnatural as possible.
Like for the longest time foryears and years and years and
years and years, but actuallybefore anybody else was doing
it, like I was live lininglining on bottom sweeper jakes

(15:01):
for years, man.
Even eels included.
Like, I I was dropping the oneounce 3-0.
That was that was that was mymy eel, my eel reg go-to.
And of course, you can't dothat anymore because uh, you
know the circle hook.
Circle hooks, exactly.

Yeah, which which I was shocked that
I suspect it, but I I would Iwas still shocked that they
don't have any updated mortalityrates based on circle hooks.
And not only do they not havethem, they they haven't studied
it.

Yeah, and uh listen, I'll I'll say this,
and like, you know, like I Ireally do try to follow the
regs, but I was one of those Idid not want to switch over, and
I switched over, and I will saythe next 10 fish, uh, eight out
of ten were all gut hooked withon circle hooks.

Really?

Uh yeah, absolutely.
Man, back when I used to liveline with the bottom sweepers,
it was it they were alwayscaught in the same thing, uh,
same place, right in the rightin the tip of the uh.
Yeah, right at the top.
Ne never I never had aswallowed uh hook uh live lining
on a bottom sweeper, not ever.

Yeah, I think you know, one of the
things is that I think I thinkcircle hooks work, however, it
doesn't matter what the shape ofthe hook is if you're letting
it eat it all the way.
Yeah, it's gonna it's gonnacircle its way into something on
the way out.
I mean, that's soft, softtissue it's going through if it
if it gets down into thestomach.

(16:40):
You know, and and when youthink about it, people that are
using circle hooks may be deadsticking.
And if they're dead sticking itand they they inhale the thing,
all it takes is that secondgulp of it.
You know, it inhales it andthen it gulps it all the way
down.
Yeah.
And then you know, on thesecond or the third time, once
it's turned right in its mouth,and that's it.

(17:01):
You're you're gut hooked.
But if you're using the bottomsweepers, you're not doing that.
You're actively.

I mean, really, and and the fish, the
fish would always hookthemselves, yeah.
Really, you know, there wasn'ta whole lot.
Even back when you could use,you know, the snag hooks, a lot
of people made the mistake of,you know, letting that bass like
like actually swallow the bait.
But no, you don't even have todo that.

(17:27):
Like back back when you coulduse the snag hooks, if you just
kept that thing locked up, thatas soon as they grabbed that
bunker, there there's no gettingaway from that.
And they were always they werealways hooked in in some not not
deep in their throat andsomewhere where you could grab
them.

Yeah, I'll I'll tell you this though.
As far as the snag hooks, forme personally, I I didn't see
any issue with saying, you know,with the no snag and drop part
of it, you know, because look,my snag rigs are not the the
rods and the the tackle that Iwant to use to actually catch
and fight a fish.

(18:04):
Yeah, you know, they'retypically heavier with that real
heavy tip, they've got aheavier leader on it, and I'm
just cranking that thing out asfar as I can because often
you're doing it offshore or outfront, and the bunker is not
right next to you.
Now, now in a kayak like in theRaritan, you can literally just
toss five feet and just snagsomething most of the time.

(18:25):
But back then it was you'repulling the boat up and you see
it 50, 60 yards away and you'rehauling to get it.
So I always, always from dayone, would snag and bring it in
and just transfer it onto aregular hook and then toss it
out.
I just I honestly I think thatworks better than having that
big heavy snag hook on there.

(18:46):
It just to me, it's not thesame thing, it's an easier fight
with that big snag hook onthere.
And to me, that's that's notwhat I'm looking for.
I'm looking for some fight too.

Yeah, no, I I get it.
Yeah, and there's there's a lotof different schools of
thought, and there's a lot ofguys that agree with it, and
some that don't agree, but yeah,you know, I I don't want to get
into the I I I don't judge theguys that still do it, and I
don't judge the guys that youknow that do the transfer, you

(19:16):
know what I mean?

Yeah, um I don't either.
I like I said, it was mypersonal preference to do it
that way.
If other people are like, no,you just snag it and let it go.
I'm like, that's cool, that'swhat you like doing, just do it.
You know, now you can'tanymore, or at least don't get
caught doing it.
But I just didn't think it wasthat much fun.
So for me personally, I waslike, yeah, I don't care, no big
deal.
Yeah.

But so I'm hoping that back into like the
whole backwater piece of things,because that's that's what I'm
most excited with.
Like, Rich, when I tell you,like uh anybody that's that's
known me for a while know knewhow much, especially my
sophomore Sundays, how specialflats fishing for striped bass

(19:59):
was to me.
You know, like that was mypeace, that was my serenity,
that was my church.
And you know, the last fewyears I haven't had a chance to
do that, but like I'm reallyexcited to start doing that
again.
In fact, that's real, I'm moreexcited to start doing that than
I am chasing, you know, likethe fall ocean bass, believe it

(20:20):
or not.

I I prefer the I do prefer the
backwater.
I think it's and actually, whydon't we do this?
Why don't we go through andwe'll both kind of throw out how
things are changing between thesummer bass fishing and and the
fall?
And listen, everybody, I Itotally realize tog, blackfish,
is a big part of this falltransition.
That's not going to be reallywhat we're focusing on right

(20:44):
now.
It's really the transition fromyou know, away from fluke and
away from some of the otherspecies and into striped bass as
king, and it is king throughthe end of the year for most
people, for most people, noteverybody, but most people.
One thing I do want to mentionis the where you're going to
find them is going to expand.

(21:07):
And what I mean by that is inthe summer, when you're fishing,
yes, there are certain well,let let me just start here.
It's very much a time of daydependent fishery.
So there are certain spots thatyou have to be at certain
times.
And if you're not there, thefish don't leave, they don't
leave the inlets, but they'renot going to be feeding.

(21:28):
And what they typically do isthey get down deep and they just
kind of hunker down for the dayin the heat of the day because
the water's a little warm forthem.

And yeah, that's changing.
I totally I totally agree withyou in a lot of different
scenarios with that.
But believe it or not, likeeven the last few weeks, like
the bass that I'm I've beenplucking, even bigger bass,
believe it or not, is likemidday stuff.
Right.

But what is what's the water
temperature right now, though?

Yeah, well, before this, like I was still
plucking them in like 73 degreewater temp, believe it or not.

Speaker 3 (22:08):
Okay.

Yeah.
I mean, I think my last tripout Friday, yeah, Friday, I
think it was like 68 or 69,believe it or not.

See, that to me is perfect.
That's that to me is where thetransition happens once it gets
below 70.
That's where you start seeinglike the wholesale change of
behaviors and locations.
And it's it's almost like theywake up.

It is, it is.
And I know a lot of guys likelike I am not, and and I've
often said this, but like, I amnot a purist by any stretch of
the imagination.
Uh purist meaning likeartificial purist.
Right.
I I I I like doing what works,you know what I mean?

(22:49):
And and the one thing that Ialways said, sometimes you have
to feed them what they want toeat and not what you want to
feed them.

Speaker 3 (22:58):
Yeah.

You know, and that that's that's my big
that's a quote that I I've beensaying for years, and it's
really the truth.
Because a lot of these bass,uh, and even stretching back
into August, they they've beenhere, they've been here for a
while, and and sometimes you'reyou're not gonna get these

(23:19):
bigger bass to eat like anartificial, and it takes things
like live mullet and live spotor live eels to get these bigger
backwater fish to eat.

Yeah, I I agree.
You know, it's it's like theuh, you know, when I worked for
Salt Storm, it was like allartificial.
I was like, fishing withminnows.
Um, it's like you can say that,but when the tournament comes
up, guess guess who's going outwith live bait or dead baits in
variety, and guess who's atleast gonna have something to

(23:53):
weigh if he wants to.
Exactly.
And it was me.
Exactly.
You know, it was me andeverybody that was open-minded.
It's the guys that go out, Ithink, and are and look, if you
if it's just what you want todo, you just hate bait fishing,
more power to you.
Just then then don't do that.

I get it, and and you know what?
In a lot of ways, it's not thecool thing to do.
You're not you're not throwingthe uh the the cool new bait
companies, you know what I mean?
You're not repping them, and uhit's not the cool thing to do.
But guess what?
Lifelining puts up more numbersthan anything, it really does,
especially in the back bay,hands down.

(24:30):
And and and I and I real Ireally stick I stick by that.
I really do.

I I would agree.
It it's you know, again, if youcan bring yourself to do it.
I've said before, and JohnCreeley was on recently, and I I
always joke with him that he'sa good dude.

I I've I've been thinking about him a lot
lately.

I I always tell him, I'm like,
you know, you wear your yourgear like fashion accessories.
Yeah, and he's like, I know, Iknow.
I'm like, you got you got yourvan stall over here, you got
your whatever rod here, you gotthis, you got this beautiful
pink reel.
And he's like, I know, I know.
I'm like, it's nothing wrongwith that.
But then you have me on theopposite, like one of my most

(25:13):
used reels over the past five,six years is a what is it?
It's a pen pursuit.
It's like a it now, it's like a$20 to $30 reel.
But I've caught more stripedbass, more actually, that's my
sheep's head rig.
I've caught more sheep's head,striped bass, and fluke on that
than all of my others combined.

(25:34):
And I don't go really expensivefor the kayak, but I just don't
do it.

You can't take the chance.
And and you know, it's funny,like people think like, oh, I
have all this expensive gear,and I do for like my fall run
ocean bass, I do have my reallynot nice setups, which are I'll
go over shortly.
But if people looked at mybackwater setups, they'd be

(25:59):
like, What even is this?
It's it's destroyed, it'sliterally destroyed.
Like, I haven't bought myself anew backwater fishing reel in
probably six years.
Yeah, and and all my backwaterrods, my my tackle is just
trashed.
It's it it really is.
I gotta, but you know what?

(26:20):
Uh it's it's funny when peoplesay like when people have like
really nice things.
I was like, I'm a boat guy, Ican't afford nice, nice tackle.
Yeah, you know what I mean?

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fishin (26:29):
Uh it's but look, there there's
nothing I again, there's nothingwrong with that.
I gotta show this comment.
This is this is freakinghilarious.
What's this?
All right, check on the screenof Jeff DiDario.
Got a lot of product in thathair.
I do it.
I do have product.

Yeah, yeah.
Oh, okay.

Yes, this is where I spend my money.

Oh, Keith, Keith Alanardo, what's up,
Keith?
That's Hip Fish.
How you doing, buddy?

Yeah, and Keith, Keith has some a
good point that I I also startedto bring up.
I just had to bring up the thehair product thing first.
Yes, I do spend money oncertain products.

I I I gotta tell you, Keith is one of those
guys that flies under the radarand he doesn't get enough
acknowledgement as he should.
Keith is an OG in this game.

Speaker 3 (27:17):
Yeah.

And I I have so much love and respect,
and I'm I'm just giving them ashout-out right now, Keith.
Uh you you are the man, and youare inspiring.
And like I remember when I wascoming up, I would watch Hit
Fish all the time.
And man, he just he he knows.

(27:41):
He is he is really dialed in,and he's another guy with no
ego, and just I don't know, justcan't say enough good things
about him.

I I've never I've never met
Keith.
It sounds like my mystery.

I've never met him in person, but I've
always I've been dying to fishwith him and even just kick it
at a restaurant and just haveyou know have a good meal with
him.
Him and him and his wife, Amy,man, they're always on some sort
of cool adventure.

Well, so maybe, maybe, you know,
that's what that's why we do theuh the annual fishing trip so
that people can see each otherin person.
You know, it's funny.
And I I I joke around with mywife.
She's like, Are you goingfishing?
I'm like, I don't have anyoneto go with.
And she's like, Really?
Out of all those people, I'mlike, no, but I know that so and
so is going with so and so, andso and she's like, she's like,

(28:31):
You're not included on the no.
It's but it's but a lot of I'veI've gotten a lot of messages
from people that met each otherin person.
They know each other from thechat, right?
Yeah, sure.
And and they got to know eachother on the talk trips, and now
they go out and they fishtogether all the time.
I think that's awesome.
That's one of the best parts ofthis book.

I can't say enough good things about Ben
Barber too, crabbing andfishing.
Yeah, it's been so nice to seehis rise.
Like that man, he just he I methim in the chats and through
this, and you know, met him onthe on the top trip, and I've
just seen him accomplish so manygreat things.
Like, and it's it's nice tosee, man.

(29:14):
Shout, shout out to Ben Barber.
He he really put his time in,he really put a lot of time and
hard work in, and I'm glad tosee it paying off for him.

Yeah, he he's done, he's done a good
job.
Yeah, yeah, he was on recently.
Uh yeah.
There are a couple we're we'restarting to get some questions
in there.
Yeah, sure.
But one one thing I do want to,it's good that you mentioned
Keith because I had starred oneof his comments to show, and I'm
gonna show it right now.
And I think this goes to whereI was I was talking about how

(29:44):
the fish in the warmer waterswill get down deep and kind of
hang there until it cools off.
Yeah, and that goes directlywith this comment.
The oxygen levels have a lot todo with it as well.
And yeah, what people don'talways know, I think, I think a
lot of people know.
this most people know this butmaybe not everyone is that when
you have the warmer water it'sholding less oxygen and just

(30:07):
think about it think about itthis way it it's if you think
about sports and playing at MileHigh Stadium and how that can
impact the fitness not thefitness but the the stamina an
athlete now and you're talkingathletes I went I went once to
out to the Rockies and we hikeda mountain and it was absolute

(30:29):
insanity.

I couldn't catch my breath and that's what
it can get like the hotter thewater gets and that's why you
have to be a that that is areally great point and that is
and that's why like OGs likeKeith like they know that stuff.
Me like my simple mind I Iequate oh the bite shut down

(30:51):
because the because of the moonphase that we're in you know
what I mean or the time and Idon't think about important
things like that that really dohave a lot to do with it.

Yeah and that's what a lot of the
temperature is is it's it'sreally an oxygen level for for
some fish.
You know like you can see aspeckled trout is good up to
like 95 degree water.
Well it it's not necessarilythe temperature of the water
it's what happens to the oxygenlevels in there combined with
the temperature that can reallygo.

Yeah and that's and I know even even for
a sheep's head like you know youpeople would think there are
warm water fish but like eventhis year when the when the the
water temps went like tropicallike that even shut them down.

Yeah you know it's because they're
the there's not enough oxygenit's too stagnant and they
probably all disappeared and ranoff you know yeah or they sit
in the cooler water untilnighttime and then you know they
wake up and they get moreactive because it's easier for
them to move around.
Again it all goes back to thethe the simple fact every fish

(31:56):
is eating only to stay aliveright so every calorie that they
expend to get that meal is isprecious to them.
So if they're expending morecalories in the hot water with
less oxygen because you knowthey're doing the equivalent of
gasping for air, well it's it'sless appealing to them.

(32:17):
They'll still do it they'llstill eat you know all day long
if they can if it's an easy mealbut you know I I think that
does have a big a big role init.

So and and and I'll I'll even say this and
and I might get a little bit ofhate for this but you know like
I've I kept a few bass over thelast few weeks you know just for
for people that I had out andwith the amount of bait I'm
telling you the backwater isteeming with bait.

(32:46):
You can walk across the waterand most of these fish that that
I had whacked up had nothing intheir belly and they're they
have every reason to be feastingand gorging on all this all
these resources that that arethere to them.
So it's really interesting.

Yeah it really is so so what are you
what are what are the sizesthat you've been seeing so far
in the backwaters?

Oh my God kind of all all over the place
like yeah you I'm seeing somelike smaller like 26 inch fish
but like I'm telling youespecially live lining like most
fish are going to be in thatslot range or above like I'm I'm
seeing fish up to 36 incheslike and that's like on the

(33:35):
norm.
It really is so I mean and whenyou you you think about and you
know I know there's probably alot of North Jersey guys that
think about what will hear thisand be like oh you know like 36
inch bass or a slap bass but youknow for us South Jersey guys
that is an incredible backwaterfish.

(33:55):
Yeah yeah even th 30 inches isa is is an amazing backwater
fish.

It is I I remember my biggest I
was so excited back in the daywhen I caught a 37 incher I was
so excited you know because itwas back it was a giant
backwater fish.

Yeah you know what's funny and it just
makes you reminisce on thingslike I remember like my when I
really first started gettinginto backwater fishing I
remember my first like actualkeeper bass and the the regs
back then it was two fish over28 inches or whatever.
And my first keeper strike bassand looking back on it I

(34:38):
wouldn't have kept it these daysbut was probably like 33 inches
or something like that.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fi (34:44):
That's a good one.

And it is and but I was so proud and like
I I remember that there's apicture of me with it and the
look on my face and just theexcitement like I was shocked
that I was even able to do it.
And you know it's funny in inhis belly he had one big giant
shrimp like a prawn size shrimpin his belly.

(35:05):
Really?
Yeah yeah I was actually justtalking with a buddy of mine
about that the you know I but Ibelieve that it's this time of
year that we actually do get ahuge flow of uh of shrimp of
like big shrimp that come intoour back bays this time of year.

Really?
Okay.
So I did not know that.
And yeah so that that's key.
I mean you know knowing thingslike that I mean that's
important because that changesyour tactics right there.
It does.
It does.
And I'll tell you one thing I'mjust gonna mention this one of
my favorite lures to use whenfishing artificial is a a shrimp
lure.
And I'm not saying gulp youknow gulp work by the way a lot

(35:47):
of people won't use gulp forstriped bass.
They work they're fine youdon't need them but you start
looking at any of the largershrimp patterns and throw those
up along a sod bank and just letit kind of you know knock down
the ledge that to me is is agreat way to do it.
I do I do put some procure onit but I I found that the best

(36:09):
way to work a shrimp in thebackwater is in the shallower
waters under a what's it calleda popping cork.

Yeah so that is a great way now we're
getting now we're getting intothe weeds with things because
this is something that I've beenI've I've started to implement
and I'm starting to use this ina lot of different ways with the
popping corks and everythingand the floats and being able to
set afloat at a certaindistance I gotta tell you the

(36:40):
guys up in Jersey that issomething that is not utilized
nearly enough and can beabsolutely deadly especially
with flounder striped bass I'lleven go as far as to say as your
barnacle eaters so to speak theyes now you're getting

(37:01):
somewhere.

Yeah I really like them and a lot of
people think oh it's a it's abobber but it's not like you
actually work it and there is away to work it and if it it's
just that noise that clack forsome reason it brings them in
I've heard everything from itmimics an injured bait fish to a
crab whatever you know thesound a shrimp makes when it
takes off I don't know what thehell it sounds like but I know

(37:24):
that I've caught a lot ofdifferent species of fish
everything from redfish tospecks to weak fish to fluke to
strip bass on it.
I don't know I can't recallanything oh bluefish obviously
catch bluefish on on a bottlecap.
Yeah but it it it works and youcan put artificial or you can
put natural baits under it tooso it's it's really up to you.

And you know what I'm just sorry if I'm
looking away I'm just lookingthrough like the chat and like
there and like this is why Ilove the chat in this community
so much.
Like like look looking at Keithuh just said my biggest
backwater bass is 42 inches inlike oh one maybe he said he
never beat it and that was on aclam haha but like a 42 inch

(38:09):
striped bass in the back baythat's a monster man absolutely
that's a monster and that'ssomething to be proud of it is
yeah Ben crabbing and fishing Ibelieve any catch for a given
person might be their personalbest and it will always be
celebrated on my boat.
And you know what Ben there'sno better there's that that is

(38:32):
truly beautiful because Itotally agree.
It's man any catch like beproud of anything you catch.
It doesn't have to be alwaysthe biggest it doesn't have to
be the greatest you know itdoesn't have to be like a like a
double digit sheep's head orlike a a 40 inch backwater bass.

(38:52):
Every catch is something to becelebrated man it you know it's
making those memories with thosepeople and especially the
important people to you you knowthat's the stuff that really
matters.

Yeah my my uh good on you Ben yeah I
I agree me personally myfavorite catch ever was a six
foot Mako I've caught biggeryeah but it was the first one I
caught with with my grandfathersure that's the only fish that I
have tattooed on me.
That's awesome that that isreally awesome I have that on on
the back of my shoulder and youknow it a lot of people would

(39:27):
look at that if I don't I don'teven know if there are any
pictures around anymore.

We did by the way eat it back when
pictures were actually pictures.

Yeah they were pictures we did eat
it for dinner well many dinnersbut it it was yeah I'll never
forget that um and that actuallygot me into a decade of just
constant shark fishing.

Uh obsessed with sharks exactly and and I I
everybody I if you've beenfollowing me you've hear heard
me tell to tell this story butmy one of my earliest fishing
memories my dad had me on a boatI I think I was two years old
and they took me Mako fishingfor my first time at two years
old and they proceeded to hookinto probably a 10 foot Mako and

(40:09):
I just remember being in aweand watching this thing
somersault and jump.
Yeah just they're like Scottyget in the cabin and and I just
remember climbing up on the helmseat and watching this thing
swim by but you know what watchI that is burned in my memory
forever.
Yeah like I don't I don't knowthese days who would take a two

(40:32):
year old make of fish and shoutout to Nut for doing that that
was epic.

That's awesome but that's that's what
that's what got me bit yeahthat's what got me bit and I was
obsessed with sharks after thatyeah you know I I'm still
obsessed with them I I forcedmyself not to go for them but
honestly and we'll get back ontopic in a second but honestly
what I want to do is do amothership kayak trip if I can

(40:59):
find somebody to do it at anaffordable price to take us off
you know 30 40 miles maybe outto the cigar or something like
that drop the kayaks in thewater you just mothership around
you do your own fishing do hangout and on the kayaks go shark
fishing.
Yeah and then you know when webring it in if it's you know a

(41:20):
certain size then obviously wecan land it and they can they
can boat it from the the actualboat and they can take care of
it.

You know what Rich, if you're serious
about doing that I know someguys that have boats that would
actually love to make thathappen.
And even you know like athresher or something like that.
Yeah I actually do know someguys that would be that would be
happy to to would probably loveto make that happen.

Oh well we'll talk about it then I
just got to find a couple ofother people that are willing to
do it.
Yeah I I think it would begreat.
I think it'd be so much fun toto go out there and do that.
All right well we got to jumpback while we've been talking
there's been a conversation inthe chat that I think is worth
bringing up and it's aboutdifferent we were talking about

(42:07):
the different brands and the thethe pricey equipment and
everything.
So Jeff started off theconversation said well how do
you guys feel about pen so I'mgonna start off and I'm gonna
say Penn used to be in my mindthe best that was available
we're talking 30 40 years agoright yeah and that's all that
and look full disclosure I wasbrought up on pen.

(42:29):
That's all that we ever haveand they're heavy as hell the
old ones I still have old onesand I still use them when I'm
surf fishing for with bait youknow if I'm sticking it in a rod
holder that's what I'm using.
I still use pen even thoughthey're made in China they're
not of the same quality and acouple reasons they are still
more reliable in my opinion thanmost other brands they're less

(42:54):
expensive and any shop can fixit at a reasonable price.
Yeah you look at Dio Iabsolutely love Dio.
You break a Dio you're nevergoing to get it fixed.

I mean you're talking years to get new
parts I think the real seatactually works on Dio but same
yeah it's it's very difficult toget that stuff worked on.
And it's funny that you saythat because I remember when I
first got into backwater fishingmy first real good reel that I
bought was the Pen Spin Fisher Va Live Liner 4500.

(43:30):
I still have that and you knowwhat it's something that I use
for my charters now for livelining.
Yeah and that thing has neveronce been serviced the the paint
is peeling off it has beenabused I used to use it for uh
my ghetto shark and I would callit and it it just keeps working
yeah so I mean pen stuff isgreat it really is yeah the

(43:54):
other other things I so Straticis probably my favorite reel.

It's a little pricey for me in a
kayak I have dropped just beingan idiot I've dropped you know
rods overboard and watched themsink.
So that's the reason I don'tspend money on them.
It's not because they getabused by the salt because every
single one including thatpursuit I talked about that is
literally on every kayak tripthat I take and that little $30

(44:21):
reel has been going for sincebefore my actually it was in the
first video I ever made forthis channel was that run.

And and and that and that stuff like my
4500 live liners it becomes veryvery sentimental and some
things just have the mojo but Iwas going to get into some of
like my fall run gear I haveyeah let's roll right into that.
So my fall run gear this is myhands down my favorite rod so

(44:52):
this is built by House of Rodsshout out to Uncle Chuck he is
the best this is a what is itblack hole Suzuki blank and it's
rated to half ounce to twoounces but you can do a lot with
it I have it set up to whereit's got like the surf handle
grip and on it I have my viscer.

(45:13):
Now this is the Gem1 Visser andI've had a lot of issues with
with this but I will say thecompany has been very very stand
up and they were great to dealwith amazing customer service
but I do have 30 pound braid setup on this and this is eight
foot like even fishing from theboat for fall run stuff like I I

(45:34):
really prefer eight foot rods.
And just real quick going intothis so and this is my one
heavier back water setup that Iuse now this has uh I'm a huge
fan of the VRs I know that we'regetting into expensive stuff
but these VRs are incredible andthis is a VR 50 but I will I

(45:57):
will tell you this so for me theperfect boat reel that you can
do anything with for the fallrun would be a VR 75 which my
dad has.
I have the VR 50 which is alittle bit smaller but what most
people don't know is the onlydifference between the VR 50 and

(46:20):
75 is spool size.
So if you're somebody that hasa VR 50 and likes it all I did
is I bought a VR 75 spool and Ican I and I can swap them out.
So I have my 50 spool on rightnow for the backwater but when I

(46:41):
switch over the fall run I havemy 75 spool which fits right on
the VR 50 body filled with 30pound braid that I can do
whatever with you know what Imean so so yeah so you don't
have to so if you do you don'thave to spend the money on an

(47:02):
extra reel like that because Idon't have that like extra
money.
So that is a great little trickand a lot of the VR stuff is
sized like that.
So so yeah so I'll be puttingmy 75 spool back on the 50 now
that we're getting into like thefall run stuff then going into

(47:22):
like my heavier outfit and thisis another one my this is my
it's my my my pink my pink rodmade by House of Rods with the
my little pony spec in it yeah Ilove it I love it but this has
the VR 125 on it and I will saythis again I'm a huge fan of the

(47:45):
VRs because you they they don'tneed service they don't break
down and you can just beat themup and beat them up and beat
them up.
However the 125 I do not likebecause it's geared a whole lot
lower so if you're gonna try towork like topwater plugs with
this you're cranking out it yeahit's just like turn and turn

(48:06):
and turn and that's why that'swhy I think the the VR 75 is
like the perfect backwater oryou can the if you get the 50
and get a 75 spool you can doanything in the backwater with
that like heavier bass work orand you can go out front and you

(48:26):
can live line 40 pound bass onit with the 75 and the the the
gear the gear it's a lot fastergear ratio on the 75 and 50 they
have the same like quickpickup.
So believe it or not the the 50the VR50 and VR 75 the pickup
and line return is a lot fasterthan even on the bigger wheels.

So yeah the the gear ratio is the
gear ratio is important and alot of people don't think about
massively important.
Yeah yeah yeah and I I I wantto bring up a point we're
getting into the season whereyou are going to start getting
some 40 pound fish even ifyou're in the backwaters and one
thing that I I did so look youyou have those bigger reels and

(49:11):
those bigger rods and I I wantto say you don't have to have
the big equipment to get thosemy personal best striped bass I
didn't take it out of the waterbut very easy to tell it was
well over 50 inches by where itwas alongside my kayak I caught
it on a TFO Pro 76 medium heavy15 pound braid love it.

(49:34):
Yeah but it took too long rightyeah it was 14 feet of water
and it took it took 20 minutesto get it that's awesome up 14
feet and it was a fight andeverything so I I'd want to
caution people don't go toolight.
I thought I had a snag when Ihooked it and then it moved and

(49:58):
it was insanity after that.
That's awesome.

Yeah I was I was ready to break the rod
that you that you say that toobecause honestly I used I used
to use my little noodlelamaglass TFX uh it was 6615 S.
It was a little six foot sixcarbon fiber noodle rod and all
I had was a 2500 Dio on thatwith 15 pound test and I would

(50:24):
live line with that and mybiggest backwater bass even back
then I I 40 plus inch fish likelike 30 plus pounds I've caught
on on that that setup on a2500.

Yeah if you work it right you can I
I will let let's qualify it alittle bit.
So I did I had a a Penn Fierce3000 and by the way once you get
to the fierce model and abovethey have the same drag system
so the the the fierce which isaround $90 is the same drag
system that you're getting onthe $200 reels.

(50:59):
So just so that people knowthat I was in a kayak which
makes it easier because it waspulling me.
So it wasn't you know you're ona big boat it's not pulling the
boat so it puts more strain onthe rod and the line a lot of
times you have to do a lot offancy boat work in order to even
land a lot of these fishbecause they're they're going

(51:20):
ballistic well exactly but witha kayak it's more of just turn
the rudder and let it kind ofpull you so you have your weight
plus the rod and the line andall that stuff helps out.
But I think the one thing Iwant to make from that point is
yes you can land really big fishwith really small gear.
Yeah but you shouldn'tnecessarily do that right

(51:44):
because that fish was played outwhen I let it go.
Now luckily it was really coldwater it was I think it was late
March up in the Raritan Bay orRaritan River a couple years ago
and it it swam off reallystrong.
I'm hoping that she stayedalive I'm pretty sure she did
the re the way that she got freewas as I grabbed her mouth I I

(52:08):
went to knock the hook out ofthe lip and she thrashed once
and just snapped the the leader.
So like right at the hookalmost so I think she was okay
she took off what pound leaderwas it?
So it was 15 pound braid so itwas probably it was probably 20
pound liter yeah but it brokethe it broke the leader not the

(52:30):
line because I was holding theleader with my left hand and I
had the the mouth with my rightand it was a perfect spot that I
could put my thumb to kind oflike knock the lure out.

And as I did that she thrashed I dropped
it and it just kind of snappedso real quick so James Flynn was
asking about uh ghost bluefinsetups.
Yep so and of course everybodyknows the debacle we're in right
now with them closing down thebluefin fishery in fact that

(53:04):
killed a lot of my motivationfor this ball I'm going to be
honest with you it's a shamebecause it's always been my
dream to land one solo butanyhow so I don't have I'm still
working through like mypreferred setup I know for for
real wise I have an 18000Saragosa and that that reel has

(53:31):
been through a lot of stuff therod I'm not very happy with and
I'll just call it out is it's anOTI it's like a it's like it
was like a cheaper I don't knowintroductory setup but the rod's
like a it's an eight foot rodit's like a broomstick all of
the pressure goes on to theangler like the like the rod

(53:54):
doesn't eat up any of the any ofthe pressure of of the fish so
you all that is going likeweighing back on you which is
really really difficult.
So I would suggest gettingsomething more with a parabolic
soft bend and parabolic bendespecially like with bigger fish

(54:17):
that's that's what I need thesedays.
Even like my bigger setups forbigger bass I don't like this
fast action stuff.
I like stuff with a real niceparabolic bend where the rod
just heats up all that pressure.

Right.
So it gets into the backboneand it's a it's a long backbone.

Exactly exactly and as far as my 1800
ghost so what I have I have 65pound braid on that and I choose
to go with the 65 because Iwanted more line capacity than I
did with the drag becausehere's the thing man I know with
me these days I'm getting olderlike I'm not I'm not fighting a

(54:59):
fish on maxed out drag anymore.
I I can't like in fact the lastbluefin from last year my uh
that blew it blew up my my elbowyeah like I see Rothman and all
like I was on that fish likefull locked like Saragosa for an
hour and 20 minutes and at onepoint I had to put the rod in

(55:21):
the rod holder as I'mmaneuvering the boat and that
rod is just buckling and poppingand creaking and like the real
seat was like I thought the rodwas going to explode it never
did but but yeah so that'sthat's just like a fun little
story.

I forgot where I was going with
that well I'll tell you whatthose those videos when you're
hooking into those fish solo andyou've got that 360 cam are
insanity.

Yeah the stoke the stoke is just unreal
when you're chasing a feed forsix hours and you've you get one
bite or two bites and youfinally get one to stick it's
just like the this there thereis nothing fishing wise that
could ever compare to that.
Truly I mean it and listen I amnot the authority in ghost

(56:08):
hunting at all there's theseyoung kids that I that I have a
tremendous amount of respect forin their earlier 20s mid-20s
especially a lot of local kidsto hear I mean they they put in
some work and shout out to themI'll say it right now shout out
to Thomas shout out to Connorlike you guys you guys got your

(56:32):
stuff figured out big salute toyou guys I mean yeah the it's
it's incredible the kids thesedays like just you know there's
there's two different schools ofthought there's the ones that
just want to watch YouTube anddon't want to put in their time
right and then there's the dudeslike like Thomas and Connor
that they're out there grindingtheir chase they're they're

(56:56):
making reports they they're notposting they're they work really
hard to like figure the fisheryout you know what I mean and I
I'm just I'm just honestly I'mjust a lone wolf with a dream I
don't have the knowledge of theghost I I just I'm out there

(57:17):
just doing my thing like a lonewolf hoping that I could score
on something.
So I just want to likepre-qualify myself that I am I
am nowhere near any sort ofexpert on this subject at all.

But um just just a kid with a dream
that's all yeah but we've allwe've all seen your video your
videos of when you hook intothose things and did you get
spooled on you got spool almostspooled on one yeah the the last
one the last one from lastDecember December 7th and like I
remember the dates it's likecrazy.

Fact in fact that day I actually did
hook a thresher on a jig believeit or not too I didn't even
believe what I was seeing but II I saw fish of all sizes that
day Rich and I was like man I'lljust be happy with a 200
pounder.
Fish of all sizes I think I Ihooked up and pulled hooks on

(58:12):
too rolled up on this last feedand I'm like dude I don't even
want to cast into this I don'teven want to cast into these
fish they are not manageablethey're like five six eight
hundred pounds are absolutelyfreaking huge and and and like I
hesitate and I cast and I'mlike kind of wincing and of

(58:35):
course that's the one that stayspinned it's always the one that
and I gotta tell you frominitial hookup it was like 20
seconds and I saw silver on thespool and you can hear me like I
run around the boat start theengines up yeah um start chasing
it down and you can hear me sayoh oh shit and that's because

(58:56):
I'm seeing silver on the spoollike that fast that fast and I
got 500 yards of uh of 65 poundon my on my GOSA 18k you know
what I mean there's nothingthere's nothing worse than
hooking into a a fish you know aa great fish and hearing that
ping at the end where it breaksoh no there there is no hearing

(59:19):
that ping and let me tell you Iwas full throttle up on plane
chasing that fish down becausethere was no way I was getting
dumped yeah you know what I meannot only that but like come on
man like I'm not made of moneythat's 80 bucks worth of line
that's going like I want to getsome of it back.
Yeah and also like if I gotspooled I didn't have another

(59:39):
rod to continue fishing withlike you better get that back.

Yeah I've I've been spooled I've
been spooled surf fishing sucks.
It's the worst it's the worstalthough the last time that I
was spooled I was young enoughthat my grandfather was still
paying for the the line yeah solet me tell you let me tell you
something about being

Capt. Scotty Sevins (01:00:00):
spooled and being spooled close.
So in my marina this year,everybody's familiar.
Well I'm not gonna say thename.
So there's there's a bigcharter guy, very well known,
well very well respected.
I have a tremendous amount ofrespect for the guy.
They went sea bass in every seabass scrap that through got

(01:00:22):
thrown into the water they had ahundred pound bluefin eating it
eating it eating it eating it.
Well they end up catching itand who would have thought in my
marina just right right here inSouth Jersey there would be a
hundred pound bluefin tunalurking around in my marina
that's awesome.

(01:00:43):
You know it's it's crazy but itreally makes you think like in
the back bay here in you know inOcean City or wherever you get
picked up by something and youget spooled you just never know
what that could actually be.
Yeah yeah you know and thatthat to me is a big appeal for
saltwater fishing because youyou pretty well know for fresh

(01:01:04):
that's what keeps us all comingback you know yeah yeah that's
that that is for me so yeahwe're Jesus we're already at our
hour I know what what have wewhat have we missed what have we
missed that that we shouldreally just throw out there
right now you always have a listof stuff did we cover it so

(01:01:25):
yeah so just some things if youguys are looking for like fall
run fishing and like stuffthat's in my bag and this can go
for tuna or best wolfpacktackle these ahi jigs man I
can't say enough good thingsabout these they look like an
eel they can look like a bunkerthey got tuna grade hooks on

(01:01:49):
them in fact this is what Ihooked my last bluefin on back
in the fall but I love thesewolf pack tackle and it's
another it's another companythat like kind of flies under
the radar that's not well knownthey make these jigs in all
sizes I cannot say enough goodthings about them and these are

(01:02:11):
not going to get destroyed onyou.
I don't I don't even know ifthese are I think there might
even be bluefish proof so I gotthose when it comes to like
everyone needs the big walkingspooks in their bag this is one
of my favorites shout out toAhern Tackle I don't really care
for some of the biggerwell-known companies I'm not

(01:02:33):
gonna knock them but AhernTackle Bobby from Back Bay uh
plugs did uh did a run alureswith these can't say enough good
things and they're notexpensive at all there's some of
my my favorite go-to grabs ofcourse you always gotta have the
white storm shads in thecollection I will say this

(01:02:56):
though one of my favoritecompanies and I don't have one
out now but shout out to slabzone man slab zone makes killer
killer killer products and ifyou're looking for jigs like
that that aren't gonna like youmay pay a little bit more money

(01:03:16):
for them but uh slab zones don'tget torn up like I remember my
slab zones from the back bay Iused to catch a hundred fish on
one slab zone and that's that'sno joke.
Yeah so I would really lookinto slab zone Aaron is a great
dude he's a West Coast guy youknow some you some uh he just

(01:03:37):
did a a slab zone version tooyou could they track incredibly
well whether you're reeling themfast or deep jigging working
them slow they they they theytrack truer than any shad that
I've ever used so definitelyslab zone also shout out to
Hokahe I love the the plugs thatHokahe makes this is a jointed

(01:04:02):
swimmer here he's got a littletail on it Hokahe is he's an
incredible guy Jonathan he wastaught by Mike Fixter and Mike
Fixter was the godfather of thePikey yeah and Jonathan shout
out to him big respect forJonathan I love all of his
products again backbait plugcompany I can't get say enough

(01:04:26):
good things about Bobby this isthe jersey killer here everybody
knows has seen this color ifyou're familiar with them love
these jointed swimmers bybackbait plug company can be
worked just a thousand differentways and one of my all-time
favorites that I don't throwenough because I'm so scared to

(01:04:47):
use it but is the Larson Luresuh jointed swimmer yeah I am a
huge fan of these jointed baitsman nothing swims like these
guys and Larson Lures they theyjust have it dialed in I mean
you throw this in the water itlooks so good you would pile on

(01:05:09):
it you really would and I got Igot I got two different two
different kinds of these I got abunker color and the white
white has always been myfavorite but big shout out to
Larson Lures because he reallydoes make some incredible stuff
and his join at stuff amazingalso I haven't even mentioned

(01:05:30):
them but personal best lurescan't say enough good things
about their top water plugs manI've been using personal best
for years for the fall and lovetheir stuff.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fishin (01:05:41):
So there's so there's a great list
of things to go for I'm gonnathrow something out there that's
a little different.
Yeah you've covered all of thethe hard baits and those
artificials but for those thatare watching those that are
listening didn't see this butevery one of those was a large
lure.
Yeah I'm going to throw in Idon't know if there's science

(01:06:02):
behind this or not there's myexperience and my results that
I'll just share I often catchthe biggest fish on the smaller
profiles.
So yeah so something like that.
So I I'm talking now when I saysmaller I'm saying you know
like a soft plastic that is youknow I wouldn't go under

(01:06:25):
necessarily five and a halfinches but up to like eight but
something with a small a thinprofile so think about any type
I I don't care what brand throwwhatever brand you want if you
think you have to do no livebait needed then just do it
whatever.
But a soft plastic with a lowprofile in the midst of a bunch

(01:06:46):
of large profile natural baitscan stand out.
It's sure can and when I caughtthat when I caught that fish
that that the biggest one that Icaught that I talked about
earlier the 50 plus inch onethat was 14 feet of water it was
on a just a regular jig headwith a what is it it's the a

(01:07:07):
Z-man plastic.
Yeah the diesel size yeah so itwasn't big and what I did
though is it was very brightoutside.
So I changed it up and I wentwith a darker color.
So it was like a root beercolor in the middle of the day
and I fished it right there.

And now you're getting into my favorite
color right there.
And a lot of people are gonnahate on me for that but go
ahead.
Well I I like I love the rootbeer sparkle.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fishing (01:07:34):
I love yes so it has to have flex
in it.
So this had silver and goldflex and it I actually it wasn't
root beer it was it was almostlike a a really dark green with
a little bit of purple in it.
So it was like this really uglycombination but the profile was
going to stand out amongstother things.
So I have found that whenthere's a ton of bait in the

(01:07:57):
water change it up and lookdifferent.
So I like using the shrimpbecause the shrimp are always
going to look different becausethey're typically not going to
be in mass in one area.
So if there's a you know amillion bunker going by and one
really nice sized shrimp, youfigure they're at least going to
see it.
Right.
If there's a lot of bunkergoing through and I throw a very

(01:08:19):
low profile thin soft plasticin there in a different color so
it's going to have a differentcontrast a different silhouette
I'm gonna throw that out thereand I have caught almost not all
not all but I would say I wouldsay over half maybe almost 70%
of my biggest fish were when Iwas not matching the hatch but

(01:08:40):
they were active they wereactively feeding that that's an
incredibly good point.

And it just reminds me of uh going back to
Keith you know hit fish the daythat he is on the jetty working
his his fly rod and ends upcatching that 50 pounder on a
fly.
Yeah I I think we all rememberthat I mean that that day went

(01:09:07):
down in history and I he wasn'tmatching the hatch.

No no no that's why one of the
best things you can do if you'reif you're live lining spot or
bunker or whatever you're doinga snag and drop when you go to
drop it after you transfer itonto that circle throw it
literally into the center of thebunker because it'll scatter
them and all what they do isthey'll make a big circle around
it and there's one fish in themiddle and it's your fish.

(01:09:32):
That's how you get if you'regonna have the same profile of
everything that's out there makeit stand out and you can throw
it along the edges and just sitnext to the blue fish that are
on the edges or you can throw itinto the middle scatter
everything and be the only thingsitting in a 15 foot area.
So as soon as a bass comesthrough the middle there they're
gonna see one bait and that'show you you got to find ways to

(01:09:55):
stand out when there's tons ofbait in the water and that's
that's just another way to doit.

You do you do and it's a good point there
too because it reminds me of youknow fishing the bunker pods
and things like that.
Like and shout out to humpbackZach and his dad Doug I have a
tremendous amount of respect forthose guys.
And again not guys that post ordo anything he he does make

(01:10:21):
rods crazy face customs love hisrods but man they have their
system and they had they foryears all they had was a little
18 foot aluminum boat and theywould crush fish.
Yeah and they're I mean I don'twant to give away their secret
but their their secret wasalways getting their bunker

(01:10:41):
below that bunker pod.
Yeah you know what I meanthat's where the big fish are
sitting they're sitting on theoutsides and they're looking for
something that's you knowdifferent if they're in the
middle and even down on thebottom right uh like underneath
like waiting for just all thescraps to fall down because
they're the laziest fish.
Yep.
And let me tell you somethingthose two guys have caught more

(01:11:03):
big fish and not even posted itor talked about it than than
anybody I know really I I was Idon't I don't think I posted a
fish picture this year.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fish (01:11:16):
Yeah I didn't have any like
outstanding ones but it it wasnice.

Yeah I I hear I it it it hurt my heart
because like I genuinely lovethe photography and videography
end of things.
And that was my biggest reasonwhy I would post because I
always wanted to get a good shotof something.
It wasn't always about hey lookat me look what I caught it was

(01:11:41):
more like look at the I I I puta lot of effort into getting
that shot or capturing thatmoment.
And and it it really botheredme this year that I I didn't
post hardly anything because Ididn't have any of my own
personal material.

Well it if anyone's interested go
back and look at Scotty'sInstagram at the beginning and
you'll see exactly what he'stalking about.
It was more go back to like1920 yeah yeah it was more like
an art page you know of aphotography page than anything
and just amazing stuff andthat's the I actually followed

(01:12:21):
you back then because of thepictures were so awesome.

Like great angles great lighting it was
just I always tried to do andget angles and of things that
that nobody else was getting youknow what I mean yeah well now
they copy you and and thatthat's why going back to what
Ben said like it doesn't matterevery catch should be
celebrated.
Every catch should be and Igotta tell you like I've I've

(01:12:48):
always said that small fish taketake nice pictures too you know
what I mean some of my picturesthat got the most traction were
of small fish yeah you knowwhat I mean yeah and yeah just I
don't I don't know that'sgetting into the whole
photography end of things butyeah well from every cat should

(01:13:11):
be celebrated.

Yeah from the photography end Steven
Dude is asking do you use acell phone or a real camera?

I know you use a real camera real camera
yeah but there I but I gottatell you like my my first
magazine cover came from aniPhone 10 shot yeah you know
what I mean cameras especiallythese days can can go a long way
if you get yourself a tripodand a shutter remote and proper

(01:13:40):
lighting and the biggest thingis too that people don't think
about this is background abackground is what makes the
picture it's not the it's notthe focal point of the picture
it's the background like youpeople don't want to see like
nets and rods and all this crapand garbage in the background

(01:14:00):
and you know like settingyourself up with a nice
background backdrop that thatcreates that creates the picture
it really does.
Yeah and then there's a lot oftheories that go into that
because I'm a freak about it butthe angle of the sun versus
what way the direction the windis coming from there's all that

(01:14:22):
stuff that goes into it but thethen I could we'll be here for
another hour.

Yeah we'll get my brother on for
that too he's a photographeryeah he can he can educate us
all you two can share share tipswith each other so well look
Scotty thanks for coming on I'mreally excited I can tell by the
chat that they're excited forthis this changeover once this
weather gets out hopefully I seea bunch of you in the chat and
I've gotten some texts from somefolks that I know live on the

(01:14:49):
barrier islands in New Jerseyyep Stephen Duda then there's no
spot burning that is key yeahno spot burning that is key
watch the background and withthe amount of technology these
days that gets me started on awhole other thing it is so easy

(01:15:10):
to blur a background or toremove or conceal a background
these days like there is noexcuse to have backgrounds in
your pictures or whatever.

I got yelled at before for using a
blurred background blurredbackground AI AI does incredible
things with backgrounds andlike you know I do it the old
fashioned way like I can conceala background to where nobody
would ever know just from likepost photo editing type stuff.

Rich Natoli - Fat Dad Fishi (01:15:43):
But it's easy in in post-editing I
mean you can remove anythingmake it look however you want
you can put a water tower wherethere is no water tower.
Exactly you can put a you knowa fat guy in in a in a thong in
the background if you want youcan put whatever you want to to
throw people off the the thing Imight be in a thong in the
background oh man all right wellhey thanks for coming on yeah

(01:16:07):
yeah no thank you so much andthank you to to the chat you
guys like this is why I lovethis community because this
community is family it is it isand I'm just so glad that they
that the the show is back andand Rich you mentioned in the
beginning I am definitely downto be a weekly guest or a
co-host for this all right therewe go there we go open invite

(01:16:31):
happy to do it I would love itall right you know it's gonna
happen now yeah no I I'm totallygood with it I'm telling you
right now I'm good there we goI'm ready to go you guys heard
it here first you heard it herefirst um yeah so uh we're gonna
I I will announce who's comingon next week uh later in the
week that's up in the air at themoment um it's really tough to

(01:16:55):
get people that have time tocome on at a certain time
because we do it as a livestream and as a podcast uh but
we have a few guys that saidlook I can't ever make a Monday
but we can we can do apre-recorded I'm trying not to
do those until you know later inthe winter you know when other
things are going on but uh allright so who is it I I can't

(01:17:17):
take it anymore.
No I don't I I don't have itlocked in otherwise otherwise it
would I I will tell you thatFrank Mahalik's going to come on
in a couple weeks.
We're gonna talk you know theopening of the big top season in
New Jersey.
It's already going on up anddown the coast but it's gonna
get it's it's about to get good.

So Frank's gonna come I'm actually believe
it or not on that note um I amwhen top season opens I am going
to be doing uh backwater toptrips for this year.
So um it's something and theand the bite should still stay
good um uh so that's somethingthat I'm going to be offering

(01:17:53):
this year.
So keep me in mind if you don'twant to do the deal with big
party boat head boat six pack umyou can have a lot of fun in
the back of the bay with Todd.

Oh yeah yeah I mean we we did
videos kayak fishing uhChristmas week catching keeper
tog in the back you know if youknow where the pieces are you're
gonna know where the fish areand you know where they are when
you fish them yeah all righteverybody thanks for tuning in
we'll be back next week muchlove nothing but pineapple vibes
to everybody exactly oh yeahand we'll talk about the

(01:18:27):
pineapple next time yeah allright everyone after this
weather gets through everyoneget at that get out there oh I
messed it up Scotty I messed upthe the last line I say the same
thing every damn week all rightready let's try it again after
the weather clears aftereverybody's house is dried get
out there get on the water andget some tight lines

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