For those of you who practice catch and release, why not switch to barbless hooks and replace trebles with in-line single hooks? Seems like the right thing to do if we want the fish we catch to survive. Tom Lutton

When surf fishing, particularly at night, I use tactical angler clips at the end of a flouro leader. It doesn't seem to cut down on strikes from striped bass, bluefish, or channel bass. I do tie directly when fishing for sea trout and spanish mackerel, since both of these fish have excellent eyesight and tend to hit smaller lures. When fresh water fishing I always tie direct. Tom L

Over the years, bluefish have rescued many a surf fishing trip when striped bass refused my lures. The excitement of bluefish savaging a surface plug is etched into my memories. Releasing snapper blues so that they could grow to choppers was my introduction to conservation. In my opinion, they are wonderful gamefish that demand respect.

The world record bluefish was caught on Jan. 1, 1972, by James Hussey. Hussey was fishing at Hatteras Inlet in North Carolina, trolling plastic eels when a gigantic bluefish slammed his line. He fought the to-be world record for 15 minutes before hoisting it into the boat. Back at shore, the monster bluefish tipped the scales at 31 pounds and 2 ounces.

It's been a while since big bluefish have made routine appearances in the surf. Smaller blues certainly have shown up but the reduction in catch limits in 2019 from 15 to 3 are indicative of a general decline in population.

Lock 10. Go up stream toward the American legion bridge and hug the Va. side. Weighted Rapalas (3-4 inches) focus on rocky areas not mud. Hit 10-15 feet deep. TomL

When catch and release fishing, why not crimp the barbs on lures? It seems like barbs can really tear up a fish's mouth and make unhooking messy. Survival rates probably increase. In addition, a barbed hook stuck in a finger can be difficult to extract. Perhaps it becomes a little more difficult to land a fish, but I'll bet the hook-up ratio increases.

You might try a tippet ring if you continue to use 6x. A triple surgeon knot works well if you can upsize to 4x.

The "take", i.e. when a fish first strikes a lure or bait.

It depends if you are running the knot through your guides. If the Alberto knot is outside your guides then it works well. If the leader is too long and the Alberto knot runs through your guides it can stick on occasion. The FG knot works well in this situation. Yes it's a bit tricky to tie but it floats through the guides.

See https://www.fishtalkmag.com/fishing-reports/way-south. Local tackle shops also work. Focus on precisely the areas you want to fish. Check tides and winds before you go. TomL

Short casts seem like a combination of rod, reel, and line. A medium heavy 7' rod with 20 lb mono test is not going to cast a 3/16 oz lure well regardless of how good a caster you are. Several options: (1)lighter action rod and 20 lb braid might help; (2) heavier weight lures consider jigs and crankbaits; (3) go to spinning with lighter braid and reserve the bait caster for fishing rough cover and flipping. Having both rods with you gives you a lot more options for where and how you fish. Tom L.

See https://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots. The more you fish, the more you may find the need to tie different types of knots. Most knots are comparatively easy to tie with a little practice. Good luck and tight lines. Tom

The current IFDA record drum was 94 lbs 2 oz. caught by David Deuel in 1984. It measured 57 in. to the fork in the tail. https://www.sportfishingmag.com/largest-redfish-in-the-world-igfa/. If the fish in the article truly measured 64 in., I suspect it would have weighed considerably more than 60-70 lbs. It was a great catch whether it was certified or not! Kudos for the release! Tom

Depends on what you mean by "hard". It is often more difficult to find and catch fish in the surf but jetty fishing can be very physically demanding and at times dangerous. Surf fishing among rocks however can be just as difficult. A sandy beach by comparison is certainly easier to fish but finding the fish can be difficult. Jetties provide wonderful structure for forage and tend to concentrate fish so it may be "easier" to locate and catch fish when jetty fishing. Both jetties and the surf can provide excellent fishing depending on the tide, current, time of day, etc. Find the bait and you will find the fish. Check out John Skinner's books on surf and jetty fishing. Tom Lutton

It depends on whether you are fishing bait or lures. Because bait fishing requires less casting a long leader with a double uni or FG knot works fine, particularly if the bottom has sharp shells or rocks. If fishing lures, a 2' to 4' leader is usually adequate in the surf particularly in white-water. Flouro-carbon is the choice in exceptionally clean water but most times a simple mono leader is OK. The longer leader in the surf serves as a shock leader and is often used when tossing bait and heavy sinkers, but with lures the knot passing through the guides takes too much of a beating. It's better to go with shorter leaders, but if using a teaser go with at least 3'. You didn't mention the length of the rod that you are using but shorter rods clearly require less length of leader to get the max distance in the casting. TomL