QUESTION:
Mark, when and where
can I find your show?
ANSWER:
The 2004 season of Mark Sosin’s Saltwater Journal kicks
off on Monday, December 29th at 8:00 p.m. EST on The
Outdoor Channel. It will also air on The Outdoor Channel on
Wednesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. and again on Friday at 1:00 a.m.
EST. In addition, Mark Sosin’s Saltwater Journal will air
Sunday evenings and Friday mornings on Sunshine Network (Fox) in
Florida. Thirteen exciting new educational and entertaining shows
will highlight the season as we set out in pursuit of the world’s
greatest gamefish.
Mark Sosin
QUESTION:
Mark, why do you like
short butt rods?
ANSWER:
Not long ago on this
website, we explored the merits of short-butted rods at considerable
length. Experts in physics explained the laws of a lever and fulcrum,
while personal opinions leaned toward traditional length butts. Rick
Stammers, a former leading guide in the Florida Keys, was probably the
only one who understood the merits of a rod with a short butt.
Consider it a South Florida thing.
Long before I became a
journalist and educator in the fishing business, I thought I knew
quite a bit about the sport. My knowledge was actually akin to playing
Class B ball and not even knowing that there were Classes A, AA, and
AAA, not to mention the major leagues. The Young Turks in South
Florida took me under their wings and began the long and tedious task
of teaching me to whip big fish on light tackle...fishing Florida
style. I learned from the best and became a convert to their methods.
Rods with short butts were standard fare.
That's probably more
than you wanted to know, but I wanted to preface the answer to your
question with a bit of historical fact.
The bottom line is that
rods with short butts don't sell simply because the bulk of the
anglers don't battle big fish on light tackle and have not been
through the indoctrination that South Florida anglers must undergo.
Chopping the butt of the
rod to make it shorter does not produce the type of rod with which I
want to fish. First of all, the rod is shorter than it should be and,
secondly, there are other features that are important to me. That
means that I have to have my rods custom built with only a few
exceptions. Tommy Greene at Custom Rod and Reel in Lighthouse Point,
Florida builds my rods just the way I want them.
I want a short butt and
a minimum foregrip on my rods with guides large enough to let the knot
connecting the line to a heavy shock leader pass through easily.
Almost all my rods are 7-feet long. Frequently, I use a single-footed
guide as a tiptop instead of a standard tiptop because the ring size
is larger.
Most people look at my
rods and, although they don't comment aloud, are probably thinking
that I have no clue about fishing rods. The words of management guru
Peter Drucker echo in my head from the days when I once studied under
him. Peter would say, "When everyone believes something to be
true, you assume it is false and begin your investigation from
there." Fishing rods are no exception.
Mark Sosin
QUESTION:
Mark, how do you tie the No Name Knot?
ANSWER:
I have shown the No Name Knot on Saltwater Journal several times. We
have not reproduced it on this website and have no plans to do so.
What we do have is a CD that works with Windows 95 or a later
version that shows the No Name Knot, Bimini Twist, and 21 other
knots that I use. The CD has video of me tying each knot and talking
about it. For $12.95, we'll have it delivered to your door.
Mark Sosin
QUESTION:
Mark, how do you make
your sunglasses strap using mono?
ANSWER:
The mono that holds my
sunglasses is 300 pound test. I wanted something stiff enough so that
it would stay clear of my neck. In the warm weather, anything that
touches the neck can irritate it.
Cut the mono to your
preferred length. Use a candle or match to burn both ends slightly.
This causes them to swell and they won't pull through the wraps. I use
bait rigging floss to wrap the mono against the temple bars of the
glasses. Finish the wraps by using a separate loop of floss to pull
the tag end under several wraps. You do this by laying the loop beyond
the point to which you are wrapping. Make several wraps toward the end
of the loop. Insert the tag end through the loop and pull the two tag
ends of the loop. This will draw the floss under the last several
wraps. Trim it and do the other temple bar the same way.
Mark Sosin
QUESTION:
Mark, How do you
build your rod cases when you travel?
ANSWER:
The idea is to have your rods arrive safely. That's why I
make my cases. Start with Schedule 40 PVC pipe in either 3" or
4". I use a totally different technique to be able to pack the
maximum number of rods. You don't have to do that.
Buy two Schedule 40 end
caps. Cement one on. The cap on the other end is removable. I drill a
hole through the center of the cap and crimp some heavy 49 strand
cable through the hole so that the crimp is inside the cap. That
prevents someone from pulling it out. I then bolt a small clamp to
side of the PVC pipe just below where the cap seats and then epoxy the
heads of the two bolts. Crimp a loop in the other end of the aircraft
cable (49 strand) so it just reaches the clamp. Then, you can lock the
top with any type of padlock. Use a pair of stainless hose clamps to
attach a handle somewhere in the middle of the PVC pipe and you're
ready to go. Take a felt tip marker and put your name on it.
Mark Sosin
QUESTION:
Mark, What color artificials do you like to use?
ANSWER:
Fishermen are always looking for a neat package of rules that
they can apply across the board. There simply aren't any, yet so
many anglers refuse to believe that. I fish with only two
colors...light and dark. Consider light to include white, yellow,
pink, etc. The dark colors lean toward browns and blacks. If one
category doesn't work, I make a dramatic switch to the other.
What most folks don't realize is that color underwater produces
an extensive set of variables. The reds and oranges are the first
colors to be lost both in depth and horizontal distance. Within
20-feet, you can't see red. The blues and greens are at the other
end of the spectrum and the last to go. Color also is a function of
background. If a predator looks up, does it see color or a
silhouette? Are you fishing during the day or at night?
The rule of thumb, for what it is worth, leans toward dark colors
in off-color water and poor light situations, but nothing in fishing
is guaranteed. You need to experiment to find the color du jour and
that could change within the hour.
Realtors talk about the three factors in choosing a
property...location, location, location. The three factors in
catching fish are presentation, presentation, presentation.
Mark Sosin
QUESTION:
Mark, why don't you do shows in California?
ANSWER:
In the early days of our show when it was produced by another
company, we did ,indeed, do a number of shows in California. Things
have changed dramatically since those early days.
Most viewers believe that we have an unlimited budget to fish
anywhere we choose and shoot shows along all three coasts of the
United States. It doesn't work that way. The truth is that we have
no travel budget. We are paid to produce 13 shows per year. If we
have to go out17 or 18 times to put 13 shows "in the can,"
that's our problem and our expense.
On the basis of pure economics and our survival as a production
company, we are forced to shoot most of the shows close to home.
This is a business and if we spend more money than we earn, we're
not going to be around very long.
I would love to shoot shows in California again, but unless the
situation changes, I don't see us doing it in the immediate future
unless we get help with the travel expenses.
Mark Sosin
