Hey everyone.

I just got back from Long Beach Island, New Jersey. It was a nice week sunny most of the days I was there and the water wasn't all that freezing but it was pretty chilly even in the hot sun!

I went fishing off the beach and I caught loads of different species. Sand Shark, Sea Robin were the two unediable ones. I also caught quite a few King Fish, a blow fish (I let him go though too many people making him puff up --- you scratch there tummy and they blow up), two or three Fluke (one was 19 inches), and a Stripe Bass (28 inches it tasted so good).

I went clamming in the bay which is a gross process (I kayak out a mile or two to an island then hop out of the kayak the bay water is never as clean as the ocean. Then you walk backwards shoving your heels in the muck till you feel something like a rock under your foot. Then you reach down and dig it up and yey its a clam) but well worth it since clams are so yummy and crabbing at the local dock.

I sat on the beach and got fried since I was so pathetically pale from working so much I even wore sun block and all and now I'm sad to be back home.

Discuss:

What was your favorite beach you've ever been too?
How long were you there?
Do you just sit in the sun and swim or do you do other stuff?
Ever caught any of the fish I listed?
Have you ever clammed or crabbed?
Do you tan or get burnt? Do you peel after you burn?
Anything else mentionable ^__^

• Wow, sounds like a fun experience! I have fished before, but never clamming. ^^ Mm...clams. <3
  
  The only beach I have spent a lot of time at was Waikiki Beach. (My dad's side of the family lives in Honolulu.) We went together when I was younger and built sandcastles. I collected washed up coral pieces and seashells while running toward and away from the tides. XD
  
  What is sad is tourists have basically destroyed the beach. It's very dirty and not as pretty as I remember it. :( So we don't go anymore when we visit Honolulu...

I live on the water, so I can say I've been clamming before. I remember picking through some razor clams (I think that's the species) that would spit water on me and make me jump. xD

I've been fishing before, but it was for fun. I didn't go to an area that had so many different species. It sounds like you saw quite a few! I've never seen a blowfish, but we do have scalpins(sp) here, and they blow up too if you poke at them. I remember having to hold one under water long enough to wait for him to burp his air out. Sometimes they can't do it without help and end up dying by floating on the ocean surface for too long. :/

I always burn in the sun. Always. I have to sunscreen myself all the time, elsewise I tend to blister. n_n I'm very pale too.

@ToriKat - That is cool. I've never been to the west coast beaches. AND I forgot to mention drizzly sandcastles! We make those that the beach. Where you get wet water sand and let it drizzle. I don't know hard to explain. What type of fish have you caught over there? Did you mean you fished at the beach or somewhere else?

Yeah Long Beach Island is a tourist place... but I'm a tourist there so I really can't talk. Wait... maybe I should be called a regular since we go there every year. I like that better lol.

You don't go there at all anymore T__T that is so sad. Time to search for a new beach to visit then huh?

@Chiairen Hoshino - That must be nice. I have to travel at least 6 hours to get to the ocean lol. I've dug up razor clams and soft shells in Cape Cod. Razor clams are so much fun! Pinning them to the side of the sand while you dig around them. So much fun. We always got them at rock harbor in cape cod. I hate when they spit and it goes right on you, it scares the crap out of me.

LOL yeah sounds like Scalpins are the same as blow fish since that one did the same thing. I thought he was dead since he was floating around in the pool I had full of air. So I brought him to the ocean and the SECOND I let him go he pushed his air out and swam away. Tricky little bastard. They are so funny. I love poking at them >__>

I haven't blistered from the sun since I went to the Florida keys. I had a massive sun blister right on my cheek. It hurt, I don't envy you... I sun screen myself and still burn. How annoying is that? 50 SPF or whatever its called and I still get all lobster like. Sigh. No good.

i like the galveston beach in texas. i used to go swimming in the ocean there all the time when i lived in texas. it's really kool cause there's a lot of hermit crabs and there's this seaweed that glows at night if you step on it XD and the water is like warm sometimes

• Ah, I went fishing to a lake. xD I haven't a clue what I caught. I was really freaked out because my neighbor's dad gouged a worm on the hook (I'm terrified of worms). I lowered the reel, and it wasn't long before I got a jerk. When I pulled it up, it came flying at me because I didn't know how to control the fishing pole, which freaked me out further. xD
  
  I think I know what you mean about the drizzly sandcastles!
  
  Yeah...when we go to Hawaii again, we're probably going to Maui instead of Oahu. I'll see if I can go to a beach then. ^^

I've never been to Cape Cod. I live in Maine. ^^

Did the razor clams spit at you at all? I actually helped purge some of those last weekend. I didn't dig them up, but I changed the water on the ones we were purging the dirt out of before we ate. They weren't bad, but I do think I like quahogs better. They have smaller bellies and more chewy bits.

Haha... seems like your blow fish/scalpin gave you as much trouble as mine did me. xD I love poking at them as well. A lot of fishermen here can't stand them, so when they haul them up in their lobster traps, they immediately crack them against the side of their boats and then use them as bait. ~~; I understand fish are food for other fish, but still. I can't imagine dying by getting my spine broken. *shudder*

Ironically, my worst "blister burn" was when I was in Flordia, too.

I had a really bad burn last year, but I had forgotten sun screen that day. Fresh aloe vera (as in plucking a leaf from a plant) works best, I find. Even more so when it's been chilled in the fridge.

I live in Florida so there's lots to do here.. beaches everywhere.. blue sea

I went out with my boyfriend everywhere, fishing was very relaxing.. but I never caught anything.

I didn't enjoy the beaches as much, the sun was so hot, I had to hide under an umbrella.

and then there was dolphins and manatees that come along every now and then, it was so fun.

• What was your favorite beach you've ever been too?
  Silver strand in San Diego i live in the same county and its a really nice beach but i dont get sown there to often its hard because my surf board is to short its a 6'6 but i need like a 10-12 ft because im not that good yet
  
  How long were you there?
  About 6 hours or so just trying to surf when ever i go the surf seems to be bad :?
  
  Do you just sit in the sun and swim or do you do other stuff?
  Surf boogie board swim
  
  
  Ever caught any of the fish I listed?
  Nope, Rainbow trout is all i have caught
  
  Have you ever clammed or crabbed?
  Nope
  
  Do you tan or get burnt? Do you peel after you burn?
  Both me and my farmers tan but mostly burn lol
  
  Anything else mentionable ^__^ Nope

I love beaches! I don't really have any particular favorites because I love all the ones I've been to. I've never gone surfing. Just swimming is enough for me. I also like making sand castles. I have gotten sun burns, and It hurt like heck. I peeled like a banana, then went back to being my abnormally pale self. I've only gone fishing once, but I didn't catch anything. Oh well. It was fun anyway.

@gangsterllamagirl - Awww I like hermit crabs. I personally am not a fan of swimming in the ocean just cause of how to salt feels but I do it every now and then.

I bet the water is much warmer in Texas than New Jersey.

@ToriKat - Lake fishing is fun but the fishies are much much smaller. :P Yeah I don't like putting the wormies on the hook it grosses me out. I used to be able to do it but now I'm all girly about it lol. You don't sounds like the fisher woman xD that is alright though not everyone is.

Drizzly sandcastles are so much fun ^__^<3

I've never been to Hawaii is it really as nice as everyone says it is? :/ I think I'd prefer going to Europe or something. Even though there are no beaches there.

@Chiairen Hoshino - MAINE LOBSTERS. u.u I envy you. Yummmmy! I've never been there but my parents have. I hear it is really nice.

Yeah the razor clams spit and then you quickly dig before they can get away. Nasty brats! I've never ate any we just dig them up for fun then let them go. OF course there name is important, we forgot that once and my friend Tom jammed his hand down the hole and sliced his finger open like he ran it alone a razor it was gross.

When we were in North Carolina we caught tons, you can eat them you just have to make sure you don't touch their liver or something whatever is poisonous. They taste really good though. Yeah spine breakage would hurt.

Damn that Florida sun! THE GREEN CRAP. I always use that stuff on my burn but I hate it since it leaves you sticky and gross feeling. IT only releaves the sun burn for like 2 minutes too. I've never tried fresh stuff.

@Orihime - Gasp Flordia the sun blister state. Do you ever get annoyed that it is so hot there?

Gasp fishing is no fun if you don't catch anything. It gets me annoyed. But it is relaxing I suppose.

When I was in the Flordia keys we saw loads of Manatees swim by. They really quite adorable and pretty ^__^

@zaner - SURFING! That is something the pathetic east coasters attempt to do but the waves just aren't big enough so I feel bad for them they just need to stick to boogie boards. 6 hours of surffing? Didn't you get bored? I would have unless it was fun.

Rainbow trout are fun to catch and they are pretty ^__^

LOL I hate farmers tans. I get them sometimes if I'm working out side for a day. It is annoying.

@Nokturnne - You like swimming in the ocean? The sand and salt and everything makes me feel so gross and stiff. Sandcastles do indeed rock. I love watching the professionals on television make them xD

I'm from near LBI actually. I love it there, but traffic is murder on Saturdays.

I went to Cape Hatteras with my best friend last summer. It was a load of fun. Her family rented a house and 30 or so people were spread throughout the 4 stories. I got the worst sun burn on my face (between my friend and I we went through a whole tube of aloe, and even sun blocked burned it). We went on a boat to go fishing, but we, as well as her little brother and cousin, wound up sleeping in the cabin. I lost my shorts on that boat, too. Never found them.

@Queen Fool - Don't you love it there? We left this morning at 5 am to dodge traffic. God I'm tired. It is miserable driving on and off during the day. Even at 8am in the morning it is a pain to get on the island.

We actually rent a bunch of houses along one street and our entire family is spread out between four of them. It is quite the festivities.

You lost your shorts? >__> of the implication. Lol. Maybe they blew off the boat? That happened to my hat once it made me sad lol.

It was a really rough day and I had a bathing suit under my shorts....and I took them off because they were soaked. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, no shorts.

I've never really been to a beach before.

But I've been sunburnt before! I got burnt on the second when we went to an amusement park -- just a little bit on my arms and face, but it was pretty darn uncomfortable around my collar bone. That wasn't that bad, though, and the pain went away pretty quick (I was, uh, slightly more concerned about the welt on my arm after I got a mosquito bite the next night).

That wasn't that bad, but then I sat out in the sun last Saturday without any sunscreen. Ouch. It was painful. I didn't really burn where I had just been burnt, but I got burnt on my shoulders and on my thighs. It hurt, but I still went swimming the next day. I just slapped a little extra sunscreen on. Mm, nope. I figured that there was no way I could possibly get even more burnt, anyway. Well, eh, I did. It hurt pretty bad for a couple days. I only peeled on my shoulders, though. It's still a little gross, but nowhere near as gross as it was.

Haha oh yeah they flew off the boat. I hate when my bottoms of my bathing suit get wet. It just feels so icky. And if I'm actually on the beach where there is sand and it gets in the crease area its all rash forming and stuff -shutters- Ew ew ew.

Haha. I never liked the beach. O-o
Dunno why. Scared me...just...never took to my fancy. I'm glad you had fun though.
I like trout, flounder and tilapia best...but clams aren't that bad either.
-seems like a completely random post-

@Aeva - No beach! Find one and experience it ^__^ I think everyone has experienced sun burn once in their life. If not I envy them those luck jerks. Yeah forgetting sun screen is kind of a painful mistake unfortunately. I hate when you get burnt in places that are inconvenient... I got burnt on the tops of my feet the other day and it hurt to wear shoes ;_;

@Masochism - I don't know if I have ever had flounder but aren't they pretty much the same as clams? I can understand your dislike for the beach sometimes I don't like it.

I can get lobsters easily in the summer, so I am indeed spoiled. If I felt inclined enough, I'm pretty sure I could handle catching my own. I know the ropes. I'd just need a boat. xD;;

On the aloe vera... I'm not exaggerating when I say this. The fresh stuff, even though it's cold and sticky, it will get rid of your burn in a mere couple days. It heals faster than I ever could have imagined. People also say it's healthy to drink the juice from the plant, but I wouldn't know.

Either way, it is a pretty nifty plant. ^^ Especially for burns.

@Chiairen Hoshino - I love lobster. When we go to Cape Cod I practically live on them since they are so easy and cheap there. I'm in coo hoots with the sea food store there lol.

I've caught a baby lobster before it was pretty crazy. It bit my dad on the hand but let go pretty fast. I felt bad for him.

I will have to try and get that fresh stuff. I need it. I'm all peely now from my burn T__T

What was your favorite beach you've ever been too?
Cooling down in the water.

How long were you there?
Uh? Last time was for a few hours.

Do you just sit in the sun and swim or do you do other stuff?
Both, swimming more though, I don't like to bake in the sun.

Ever caught any of the fish I listed?
No ._. I don't fish. But my boyfriend wanted to do that soon.

Have you ever clammed or crabbed?
Nope. XD I'd hate that ;_: I think it's a bit scary to swim in the sea...

Do you tan or get burnt? Do you peel after you burn?
Well ,I burn right away and turn white again.

Sounds like you had a great time at the beach then <3

What was your favorite beach you've ever been too?
I honestly don't know the name of it, but my cousin used to live two minutes away from the beach, and it was really nice and secluded and it was really a more family oriented beach rather than touristy. It was fabulous to go there when I went to visit.

How long were you there?
Probably three days or so? We don't take long vacations in my family.

Do you just sit in the sun and swim or do you do other stuff?
A little of both really. I like digging in the sand, and making chambers in it :']

Ever caught any of the fish I listed?
I don't fish.

Have you ever clammed or crabbed?
Nope. I define that as fishing DX

Do you tan or get burnt? Do you peel after you burn?
I don't tan unfortunately, but I'm super protective about burning. I don't like to do it more than necessary.

Originally Posted by Tease

@zaner - SURFING! That is something the pathetic east coasters attempt to do but the waves just aren't big enough so I feel bad for them they just need to stick to boogie boards. 6 hours of surffing? Didn't you get bored? I would have unless it was fun.

• 
  Yes but still got to pratice but the waves are not that bad you just got to know where to go LA area is decent but San anofreae (spelt wrong) is the best i have seen

I'm not much of a beach person. But I love camping and I can't wait to go. 12 of my friends and I are going for a week, its going to be nothing but partying, fishing, swimming and hiking.. Just amazing going to be so great.

Umm. Maybe it sounds strange, but I don't like go over a sea and spend time on a beach. Because the only thing that I always do was swimming and sunbathing. And I absolutely hate sunbathing. It's so boring, I always get burnt and it's too hot everywhere.
Ohh... I mean, I don't mind spend one day or a few hours on a beach, but - please - no more.

And questions now.
What was your favorite beach you've ever been too?
But my favourite beach? I dunno, maybe it could be one of those in Greece (I don't remember name, it was about five, six years ago). There was really hot, but the beach was pretty and clean compared to Polish ones ;d
How long were you there?
Last time was for one, maybe two hours. It was windy and weather was bad. I was just going along the sea, so it wasn't so bad and boring like always.
Do you just sit in the sun and swim or do you do other stuff?
I wasn't on a beach for pretty long time, like 2 or 3 years. But I'm getting bored. I try to read a book, and keep myself so far from the sun as it is possible ;]
Ever caught any of the fish I listed?
I've never caught any fish. But I've also never tried, I think it's not for me.
Have you ever clammed or crabbed?
Nope.
Do you tan or get burnt? Do you peel after you burn?
Get burnt T__T That's why I hate sun!