Flea Markets and Frigid Fishing
Just a quick note at the top. The OTW family lost one of our own recently. Dave “Pops” Masch had me hooked on his columns long before I ever started with OTW. Even though we never met face-to-face I knew him very well through his writing, and looked forward to our time together every month for many years. See you on the other side Pops.
“Oh Snap!”
I adopted this short phrase from my daughter because it just seems to ring true for this week’s report.
As in the next person that walks up to me and says ” Cold enough for you?” is going to get a fresh one right across the kisser. Plunging mercury and gale force winds over the last couple of days has put New Jersey on ice. We went out to dinner last night to a neighborhood restaurant a block away and when the heat inside hit my face, I thought it was going to fall off. I am as much of a die-hard as anyone, but thinking about fishing right now, beyond catching the TV shows on NBCSports on Saturday, is a tough thing to wrap my brain around.
That does not mean that there are not some options, and we will get to them in a moment, but let’s do some quick housekeeping first. Got your datebook ready?
Jan. 26
New Jersey Beach Buggy Association Fisherman’s Flea Market
Toms River, NJ
This is a great event from one of the most important organizations in NJ for fisherman that fish the surf. If you have ever driven a truck on sand in our state, you owe these guys a nod of gratitude.
Feb.2
Raritan Bay Anglers Fisherman’s Flea Market
Iselin, NJ
Feb 2-12
Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show
Harrisburg, PA
There is some controversy over this show regarding the position they took on tactical firearms. You may want to investigate their position before attending.
Feb. 6-10
Atlantic City International Power Boat Show
Atlantic City, NJ
Feb. 10
Palmyra Fire Dept. Fishing Flea Market
Palmyra, NJ
Feb. 14-17
Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Show
Oaks, PA
www.sportshows.com/Philly_Main.html
Feb. 15-17
NY Sportfishing Federation Forum & Auction
Freeport, NY
Feb. 16
Southern Regional High School Fishing Flea Market
Manahawkjin, NJ
609-597-9481 X-2256
Feb. 23
Mercer County Anglers Fishing Flea Market
East Windsor, NJ
Feb 24
Ocean Fire Co. # 1 Fishing Flea Market
Point Pleasant, NJ
There are a TON of events in the month of March. I will post them in an upcoming report. If you have an fishing event you would like to see posted, just shoot me an email with the info to ed@steelfinangling.com .
There has been some pre-arctic activity to report, although I kind of feel like I am re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic a little. Shorts and some keeper bass were still being taken on the beach last week by pluggers dragging teasers as well as a few clam chuckers. The tog bite was still going strong, if you put in the time to make all the phone calls you needed to in order to get a bait supply together. Add in a nothing short of a spectacular January for offshore sea-bassing and all of a sudden you start to just barely understand how you can rationalize yourself into a great case of hypothermia. Nothing more fun that reaching over to your buddy when he has been fishing next to you on the rail for an hour and cracking that snot-cicle that has been growing off the bottom edge of his beard. That’s some real cold weather bro-mance. I love ya man!
Let’s stop in a few shops ‘n ships that are running winter hours and see what they are up to.
65 feet of warm cabin and hot action. That’s the scoop from the Big Mohawk out of the Belmar Marine Basin in Belmar, NJ. The blackfish are chewing January style and Capt. Chris has got them dialed in. The weather is throwing some curveballs, so be sure to call well in advance, and then double check again before heading out. 732-974-9606.
If you are looking for a warm spot to chew some fishing stories, swing through Reel Life Bait & Tackle in Point Pleasant. The guys are in the shop every day, have lots of new toys for you to play with, and you would be helping out a real local shop that, like many of us, are still feeling the bite from when Sandy blew through. Reports from before the deep freeze still had some bass being caught on and around Point Pleasant beach on clams and teasers. Boats were catching as well, but nobody knows what this deep freeze is going to do to any of the remaining Captains that are running smaller charters.
Captain Dave over at Absecon Bay Sportsman’s Center is not keeping regular hours in the shop right now, but he is still there most of the time. If you are looking for some grass shrimp or bloods to give the perchin’ in the Mullica a shot, or are looking to start gearing up for spring, you will not find a more knowledgable Absecon local than Dave. Call before running over.
I was over at TackleDirect on Monday watching two of the guys on the Team putting together some serious packages for new boat owners, one in NJ and one in Florida. There is something incredibly cool about seeing a full Viking’s worth of rods, reels, gaffs, handheld electronics, and a small mountain of tackle being spooled, wrapped, inventoried and shipped. Lotta bling out the door! The Team is also getting ready for the AC Show and has some new surprises for the big booth. Be sure to check them out.
Best Bet for this weekend?
Your guess is as good as mine! There is supposed to be a “snow event” starting sometime Friday with a big, ugly front pushing down from the Great Lakes. I know my job is to be all sorts of positive about the upcoming weekend and inspire you guys to push the envelope… not this time. Hunker down, grab your honey, throw another log on the fire. Might be a good time to renew your NJ Saltwater Registration on-line, www.nj.gov/dep/saltwaterregistry/index.html, or fire up the heater in the garage and get to work tying up and stowing away some flounder rigs for opening day. The way I figure, it’s only about 100 years from now.
Stay Tuna-ed!