With the weather finally starting to get beautiful out here on Long Island we took our truck out to the beach finally. We're setup for surf fishing here on Long Island and I've been going for over 30 years now.

 

Looks nice. Down here in Texas we get to drive the beaches too. I am surprised you don't have any rod holders out front, or the racks with a place for the cooler and the rod holders. The post also seems liker an ad for the business but its all good.

 

My rod holder is on the roof. I don't particuarlly like the cooler/rod mount in the front. It adds a lot of "stuff" to the front of the truck. I liked them on top since I can leave them up there all the time without worrying that my truck might stick out of a parking spot now.

 

Very cool, but I cringe every time I see a truck on a salt water beach. I grew up on the coast, and remember seeing vehicles that spent lots of time on the beach and looked like a solid mass of rust after a few years.

 

I don't go on the beach that often and every time I do I make sure to rinse it down the next day. I also have a wheeled multi-port power washing thing that rolls under the truck as well.

I'm not driving in the wet sand. I stay up where it's dryer so it's not a huge problem. It's the guys who drive through the actual salt water who end up with issues.

 

Sore Thumb or demo? Hows the erosion from the off season?

 

Democrat. I almost NEVER go to Sore Thumb. I honestly don't know why anybody goes there. The only benefit is the massive air down/air up area. Gilgo is a new favorite of mine since they re-did it a few years back. It's really wide open. The entrance area sucks as it's so tiny though.

Erosion wasn't too too bad. I didn't head down to the jetty though, but I heard the inlet side is closed due to erosion.

 

I cant stand the time restrictions for entry @ Democrat -- its nice for a full day, but I am usually at the beach with my family. I'll be on the lookout @ Gilgo!

 

That's why they enforce restrictions during the peak season. They try and keep the people going out there to "goof off" to a minimum. It's not a "beach pass" it's a "4x4 Fishing Pass" People always forget that. I like to hangout as much as the next guy but i'm a fisherman also. Sometimes I fish, sometimes I don't.

Driving on the beach back in the day was something ONLY the surf fisherman did. It was not as populate and the fisherman were able to get to some great fishing spots.

Over the past few years it's been the opposite. More people going out there who are not fishing and ruining the beach then fisherman. It's been a constant battle.

Limiting the time you can get on during the summer has HELPED this a tiny bit. The fisherman are out there early and the people who just wanna go hang out at the beach can't get on, so they have to go somewhere else and it keeps the crowds down.

Remember this isn't Daytona Beach where you can drive on and just hangout. It's an actual beach where you need to do things a certain way. Too many people causing problems, driving on dunes, leaving trash and ruining the beach in the summer. Summer fishing actually got ruined because of all the people getting a 4x4 pass with no intentions of fishing.

Sorry I take it a bit personal. As I said I grew up doing this with my dad and it was a LOT different back in the day. I'm talking back when there WAS a democrat point. Now the point is gone, non-existant because of errosion. We used to go out there and you would have to wait 4 hours or so before you could leave because the tide blocked your way out.

Now you get guys who just pull right in, don't air down and go out there speeding around. That's why there are so many people at each entrance now checking passes/permits. They never used to do this 5+ years ago.

 

I couldnt agree with you more on every point
Im not an avid fisherman by any means...I fish when I want to, and have the kids playing by the truck while I do so. My wife grew up on boats in GSB, but we're not boaters these days and fishing is something she loves to do.
Ive been a 4x4 pass holder going on 10 years now...the quality of fellow "enthusiasts" has declined greatly, especially since covid when people were looking for something to do w social distancing.

Apparently its very difficult to air down, drive slow and respect the place youre visiting

My kids and I play the cleanup game before we leave -- always trying to take out more than what we brought in

Be safe out there!