Connecticut Post - One man's guide to the best surf fishing

• Arguably, there is a greater angling thrill than standing knee-deep in pounding waves at dawn, wader boots sinking alarmingly into soft, wet sand, casting eight-inch surface plugs at busting bluefish, marauding striped bass or a zooming pod of false albacore.I've done many types of fishing, and the only thing that comes close to the pure surf experience in my view is hooking a fat trout on a fly rod in a rippling stream.Although fall does not officially begin for seven more days, now is the time to plan surf-fishing expedition. With apologies to whoever said it first, Shakespeare? (No, not the tackle maker, the other one): in fall, many a fishermen's fancy turns to the surf.
• Every dedicated surf fisher has his or her favorite place in the world to visit in the fall. Below are my top five, in order of preference, surf-fishing places in the Northeast. To be sure, this is not the definitive list. There are a number of surf-fishing venues along New England's spectacular coastline I have yet to visit, much less fish, including such legendary locals as the Massachusetts's Plum Island, the Rhode Island sluiceways and Block Island's south shore. So what follows is an entirely personal and subjective view of some great places to spend a few chilly autumn mornings watching the sun rise over angry waves as the fish are hauled up onto the beach. 1. Nantucket, Mass. OK, don't blow a gut. Yes, the island is a billionaire's paradise where a restaurant meal can cost more than a Van Staal rod-and-reel combo. But it's that very exclusivity that has allowed so many miles of the island's beaches to be open (after Labor Day) to four wheel-drive beach buggies. By contrast, nearby Martha's Vineyard, while having far fewer miles of drivable beaches, has better park-and-walk access for anglers without four-wheelers.
• It not easy, but in the fall, budget-conscious anglers can rent a small cottage with a kitchen in the town of Nantucket for under $800. The kitchen will keep you away out of the pricey restaurants. From town, it's a 20-minute drive to Great Point, perhaps the greatest of all East Coast surf-fishing locations, or to Smith's Point in the West. In between are miles and miles of open beaches.
• 2. Montauk. Ah, Montauk; beautiful, wild, fish-mad Montauk. What's there to say? Standing below the great cliffs, the magnificent Montauk light at Long Island's easternmost point towering above; it almost does not matter if the fish are there or not. The thrill is being there. Happily, chances of not catching fish at Montauk during the fall run are very slim. The incredible sight of hundreds, perhaps thousands of wheeling, screaming birds above three acres of crazed striped bass chasing panicked baitfish is something every fishermen must experience before going to wherever fishermen go after their last cast is cast. Beware, though, too long a cast might end up on the deck of a charter boat whose foolhardy captain has allowed it to drift into the surf line, hoping to share the action of the folks in chest waders.
• 3. Nauset Beach. In fall, Cape Cod's National Seashore, from Chatham to Race Point near Provincetown is one endless deserted beach, but Nauset is the best of the magnificent lot. The non-four wheeled angler can park in any one of several public parking lots and walk to the water's edge. Rents are cheaper and the tourist throngs have left for work. An angler can walk for miles casting into nearly perfect surf, searching for the deep holes formed by offshore sandbars. It is in the holes where the really big bass sometimes lurk. The fishing can get crowded on weekends, but there are plenty of bass and blues to go around.
• 4. Cuttyhunk, Mass. No cars: that's the thing with this tiny dot at the very tip of the Elizabeth Islands chain that swings off the base of Cape Cod into Rhode Island Sound like a bowed surf rod. The only way to get to the Cuttyhunk surf is to walk there or rent a golf cart, the only motorized vehicles allowed on the island. But however you get to the surf, Cuttyhunk offers some of the best conditions and largest stripers you'll ever see. Huge boulder deposits along the Western shore are a favorite haunt lunker bass. Chances are whatever place on the island you choose to wade and cast you will be alone with the fish. There really is only one place to stay on Cuttyhunk, that's the Cuttyhunk Fishing Club, a beautifully restored former rich man's fishing haunt established in 1864 by a gaggle of barons of industry whose bait of choice was usually lobster tails.
• 5. Hatteras. It true North Carolina's Outer Banks are technically not in the Northeast, but they ought to be. When the blues are running at Hatteras Point, there is no more exciting fishing sight in the world as hundreds of anglers stand shoulder to shoulder casting into the white froth created by crazed blues and bass. If The Point is dead, there always a quick run up to the vast sandbars of Oregon Inlet. Somewhere along that route birds you are likely to spot birds hovering over breaking fish. That's when you park the vehicle and run over the dunes for some fast casts.
• So there they are my top five fall surf locations. As I said, it's a personal thing. If you have a favorite surf spot, even on tame old Long Island Sound, we want to hear about it Send it along by email along with some of the reasons you think it is better than those listed above. We'll run as many emails as we can later this season.
• The Department of Environmental Protection's Boating Division has launched a series of pages on the department's Web site devoted to DEP-operated coastal and inland boat launches, including car top and carry-in sites. The sites provide driving directions, launch and boating regulations, maps, and photographs of the ramp, access road, parking area and park entrance for over 100 Connecticut launches. To access this new feature, visit the main boating page at www.ct.gov/dep/boating, select the "Where to Go Boating" link on the left-side screen, and then select "Locate a Boat Launch." The state boat launch at Gardner Lake will close for renovations on Monday and is expected to reopen in mid-April 2008. (Charles Walsh, Connecticut Post).