We are pleased to announce the launch of our custom and hard to find tackle line.  Currently we offer butterfly jigs, assist hooks and Kevlar assist cord.

I have always taken great pride in creating jigs and rigs myself that not only looked good but continually catch fish. I have been told numerous times that I should sell the tackle that I’ve been making for myself and friends.  After a few years of hearing it over and over I have decided to offer some of my creations for sale here. 

The butterfly jigs are all hand poured, individually dipped in powder paint and then baked at 3oo degrees for forty-five minutes to harden the finish.  Butter fly jigs are offered in six colors and five sizes from 2 to 9 ounces.

Assist hooks start with heavy duty, 4x strong Gamakatsu live bait hooks which are then hand tied with Tuf-Line Kevlar assist cord in 200, 300, 500 or 700 pound test (depending on the size of the hook).  We offer four sizes of hook in 5/0, 7/0, 9/0 and 11/0 with three leash lengths-short, medium and long.

We are also thrilled to announce that we are stocking Tuf-Line Kevlar Assist Cord.  Available in 200, 300, 500 and 700 pound test we offer handy packs of 10 or 25 feet or 100 and 300 foot spools.

Keep checking back as we will be adding more products that we use every season like our custom shark rigs which will feature Lindgren-Pitman circle hooks, 2′ of 49 strand cable, premium ball bearing swivels and 530 pound Momoi Extra Hard wind-on leaders.

Barnegat Fishin’ Hole Store

Went out Sunday with Mark, Wayne and Mike.  Had a blast, first time I have ever been out with Mike…he his hilarious.  Always a good time at the marina with Mike around and now he is certainly welcome as a crew member anytime.

Decided to stick close to home in case the storms rolled through early so we headed to the Axel Carlson.  Tried a few wrecks I haven’t fished in a while and had a slow pick at short fluke and sea bass until a couple of dive boats showed up, at which point I decided to move to other structure.

On our first drift on some rubble I boated my personal best summer flounder, it measured out at 24″ and 5 lbs 6 3/4 ounces.

We continued to take the same drift and put a few more fish in the boat, fish were either shorts or over 20″.  We also continued to pick away at short and keeper sea bass.

Conditions were great, flat seas, light breeze and warm water for a change.  Temps ranged from 71.4 to 74.3.  Throughout the day we had bunker flipping and occasionally being harassed by something.  A couple times there were slicks around the flipping bunker so we suspect that blues are starting to make a showing.  We mainly fished water 80′ in depth and I used a 2 ounce bucktail all day while others used 3 or 4 ounce ball jigs and bucktails.  All the bigger fish hit bucktails or ball jigs and spearing seemed to be the preferred bait.  Didn’t get even a tap on peanut bunker or squid heads.  Also tried the Hogy Squid and caught a few skates but nothing else.  This was in one of our first spots so I will definitely try it again for fluking with the 7″ bait.  I think it will be a good addition to our lure selection for other species as well including, striped bass, offshore wreck fishing, tile fish, tuna and maybe even as a trolling lure.

Headed in around 11 and got the boat and gear cleaned with time for a beer before the storms stated rolling through.  Got some pretty high winds up to 46 knots and near horizontal rain for a while.  And some pretty big lightening strikes as well.

Next to us in the JCAA booth at the Saltwater Fishing Expo we had Joe Calcavecchia of Saltwater Custom Flies.  He had a pattern that caught my eye right away.  It was a mummichog, or more commonly known in NJ as a killie.  Joe Calcavecchia wished he had known earlier that we called them killies here in NJ, he would have changed his display to read killie imitation.

It is his signature fly and a very good imitation of one of our staple baits here.  I picked up a few from Joe and can’t wait to try them out.  I will also attempt to recreate them but on a smaller scale.  The ones I picked up are in the four to five inch range which should prove deadly on stripers, weakfish and blues.  When I try and recreate them I will do so in a three inch model.  I think the smaller incarnation would be very effective on summer flounder and sea bass, and probably deadly on mahi mahi in any size.

I got to the marina early and measured for wiring up the inverter.  Then we headed down to Lacey Marine to pickup some supplies, including the wire for the inverter project.  We got to speak with the Interlux rep and got some good ideas for some painting projects on friends boats in the marina. 

 From there we headed over to the Lacey Elks Fisherman’s Flea Market.  There were some interesting items at the flea market.  Met Brian from GarbageFish.com and picked up a sticker.  Bought some raffle tickets for the Billy Gale Rod and reel from Lacey Marine.  At the door they were trying to get everyone to fill out a pots off the reef card, most were filling them out.  Hopefully Roberts will get the message soon.

On out way back to the marina we got a call that the soda blaster that damages several boats had shown up and started washing mine and Tommy’s boats.  We had Mike stop them and wait for us since we were only about five minutes out.

After speaking with the soda blaster for a while he said he would produce a proper proof of insurance and would like the opportunity to clean the boats.  He pretty much finished Tommy’s yesterday and should hopefully complete mine today.  If he does I should be able to get wet on Tuesday.

Tommy and I got the inverter hung and wired.  I still need to wire in the breaker/switch at the battery but will do that next weekend.  It looks as if I will get in just in time for the winter flounder opener and be serving piping hot coffee and hot chocolate throughout the day.

It is a really neat little piece of engineering.  The amount of drag and the capability of such a small reel, you really have to admire what the folks at Avet achieved with this one.  But how practical is it really?

I picked one up last season and was a little disappointed in the line capacity.  It states on the web site and the box 220 yards of 20#.  I have tried twice now to pack 65# or 50# braid on it and can barely get 200 yards on it.  Not because I don’t pack it tight, I have ruined a pair of leather work gloves both times, just about cutting through the fingers the line is packed so tight.  With either size of braid I should be able to get much more on there as the 65# is supposed to be about 16# mono.

I was really hoping to use it on a Shimano Trevala jigging rod as a workhorse, multi-tasking rod, jigging for tuna, tiles, striped bass and deep water wreck fishing (offshore sea bass, cod and pollock).  With its limited capacity I think I am going to end up putting it onto a Shimano Tescata or a Lamiglas Tri-Flex 7040 and get either a Shimano Tyrnos 16 2 speed or an Avet LX 2 speed or HX (only comes in 2 speed).

What are your thoughts?  I am curious to see what everyone else has been using the SX 2 speed for.

With one of the harshest winters in a long time taking hold in our area  many are getting cabin fever and going stir crazy earlier than normal.  I have seen many questions lately about rod building and tackle craft.  It is no secret that if I can make it I fish it.  I love making my own bucktail jigs as well as other lures and rigs.  There is definitely a huge amount of pride that goes with catching fish with tackle that you have made and rigged yourself.  This will be the first in a multi-part series of articles on creating your own jigs and lures.  For now I am going to go over some of the basics of getting started and as I start molding and tying again I will take a lot of pictures and videos to help you get started or to give you some new ideas.  For the sake of this article I am going to assume most readers are new to rolling their own and start with the basics.

First you will need some basic safety equipment depending on what you will be working with.  I have safety goggles, dust masks, heavy cotton apron, heavy leather gloves, light leather gloves, flame proof mat and keep a fire extinguisher handy as well.  As always, when working with lead work outdoors if possible and position yourself upwind from your work, if it is not possible to work outdoors make sure you have adequate ventilation.

I get my jig making supplies from Sun Harbor Bay Club, most of it is special order but comes in within a few days usually.  Depending on how involved in lure making you want to get you will need some or all of the items below, I will go into detail on each later:

• Supply of lead
• Melting pot
• Ladle
• Molds
• Hooks
• Wire eyes
• Powder paint
• Stick on eyes
• Deer hair
• Synthetic hair
• Polar Flash
• Flashabou
• Danville fine mono thread
• Hard as Hull head Cement
• Tiemco ceramic bobbin
• Tiemco scissors
• Tiemco spinning hackle pliers
• Martelli long reach whip finisher
• Dyna King fly tying vise
• HMH Tube Tool
• Small bench vise
• Vise Grips

Of course you will need lead.  It can be in the form of tire weights from the junk yard (I tend not to use these, more detail later), old lead plumbing pipes, or you can buy it from many retailers and on e-bay in ingots of various sizes.  Make sure you lead is clean before putting it into the melting pot.  Tire weights tend not to be, have a horrible smell when melted and smoke a lot.  Tire weights are also considered hard lead which is not desirable for molding or casting jigs, you can get away with it for sinkers but they will be slightly lighter than their stamped weight.  Usee extra caution with old pipes, if there is any moisture inside it will create a rocket effect and shoot any debris inside the pipe out as it is heated during melting.

Next you will need some molds.  They can be as simple as bank sinkers or they can be ball jigs, bucktail jigs, weighted trebles and even butterfly jigs.   All of my molds are from Do-It Molds.  Below are the molds that I have:

• Snag Weight Mold 8/0
• Trolling Lure (Sea Witch head)
• Flutter Lure 7 & 9 oz (butterfly style jig)
• Spire Point Jig (All sizes, my personal favorite)
• Bank Sinker (various sizes)
• Trolling Drail (various sizes)

These molds pretty much cover most of our needs from the rivers and bays, to inshore and offshore fishing.  It can be a big investment if you were to buy them all at once, I have purchased a couple each year and was given a few of the sinker molds by guys no longer interested in rolling their own.  You could also buddy up with a few guys to split costs or look into joining a local fishing club.  Many clubs have annual sinker parties and the best part is the members all bring in some lead and the clubs usually have the molds so it only costs a few bucks for hooks and you are all set.

For any of the molds you will need a melting pot and ladle.  I would shy away from the bottom pour pots.  Unless you have very clean and pure lead they are problematic and clog.  Also if you are pouring anything over three to four ounces they usually don’t pour fast enough.  For smaller projects I use an old  ten pound pot on a hinge and for larger work I use a fifty pound pot on a propane burner.

Preparing your molds.  I have found that it is best to smoke the mold, or position the mold cavities just above a candle’s flame.  A thin coat of black carbon soot will form which will help the flow of molten lead into the cavities and also make it easier to remove the cast lead.  Once that is done you need to heat the mold prior to making a production run of whatever it is you are going to mold.  I simply sit the mold over the pot for a few minutes.  If I am making bucktail jigs or anything else that requires hooks, through wires or wire eyes I then mold a few without any hardware to ensure the mold is hot enough and I get a good even pour.  Then I add the hardware and begin my production run.  When making your pours make sure to have enough in the ladle to fill the cavity completely in one continuous even pour.  If you do not, the jig will come out wrinkled and could break apart at the seams.  You don’t want the molds to get too hot, there is no race-take your time and be safe, lead does not cool quickly, especially when on skin.

No matter if you are molding sinkers, snag weights, bucktail jigs or any other lure do not remove the sprue right away.  Give it a chance to cool a little and you get a much cleaner break.  When removing the sprue you want to grab it and rock it back and forth, with pliers if that makes it easier.  Rocking it until it breaks will give you a much cleaner edge than using a pair of cutting pliers or shears.

It may be tempting to dip jigs into the powder paint right after they have come out of the mold, I have tried this several times but have found that it is better to let the jigs fully cool first.  In most cases you will need to remove the sprue (the sprue can be saved and remelted), you will probably also want to use a coarse file to smooth out where the sprue broke off from.  This will ensure a smooth even coat of the powder paint.

For any jig or lure that needs to be painted I separate the sizes and styles by colors, that way I can dip all jigs for that color in one batch.  I use a standard propane torch to heat the jigs from a second or two to a minute depending on size.  The smaller jigs (up to three ounces) only need a few seconds, you don’t want them too hot or the paint will bubble.  Then you swish the jig side to side into the powder paint and remove immediately.  You only need a very thin coat of powder to cover the jig.  You may need to setup some sort of rack for allowing the jigs to dry.  I made a three tier rack out of oak that works very well.  The powder paint needs to be kept loose and fluffy, I will dip from one to three or four jigs depending on size and then put the cap back on the jar and shake it up to loosen up the powder before continuing.  You can then bake the jigs at 350 degrees for 15 minutes to harden the paint even more.  I usually skip this step since I tend to fish a lot of structure and either lose the jig before its paint is chipped or toothy critters remove the hair. 

Once you have all your jigs painted up and have allowed them to cool they can be dressed.  Dressing can be as simple as applying stick-on eyes or as elaborate as painting scales, gills and adding bucktail, synthetic hair and a touch of flash.  No matter how simple or elaborate I always add eyes to the jig if it has eye sockets.  I don’t just peel and stick, I apply a small amount of head cement to the eye socket first and then apply the eye.  This insures it stays put after being bounced off rocks, mussel beds or numerous strikes from fish.  It is also much easier to apply the eyes first on bucktail jigs, that way you don’t have any hair in your way.

Before I put a jig in the vise to be dressed, I sharpen the hook.  Once sharpened I coat the surface of the point and anywhere that was filled with a red Sharpie marker.  This serves two purposes.  One, to easily identify that the hook was already sharpened and two to protect the hook from rusting.  When you sharpen a tinned hook you are removing the duratin finish that protects the hook, the marker applies a thin coat of ink that will protect it while in your box.

There are many fly tying vises on the market, you can get an inexpensive, clamping vise for under $30 or you can get a professional rotary vise for upward of $400.  I have several for different styles of flies and jigs that I tie.  I have a basic vise, the Dyna King Kingfisher that I keep in my tying bag for traveling use.  For everyday use and when creating several dozen flies or jigs at a time I prefer a rotary vise and use the Dyna King Barracuda.  And for tying tube flies the HMH Tube Tool.

The mighty bucktail jig, it can be as simple as plain white, or contain many colors and a touch of flash.  Either way it can be used to catch just about every species that swims in our oceans.  I personally have caught striped bass, summer flounder, bluefish, weakfish, sea bass, mahi mahi, bonito, false albacore and various species of trash fish with the jigs I have made.  Less is more, or so I have been told by many accomplished fly tyers.  I have taken this adage from fly tying to my bucktail tying.  Basically I make only a handful of patters for everyday use in sizes from one ounce to six ounces.  All white, yellow, white and green chartreuse (my favorite and go to combo), chartreuse, white and red and magic bus (yellow, black and white).  Don’t get me wrong, I do also make black back and blue back with white bellies to simulate herring for striped bass as well as blue, green and white to mimic a bay anchovy for smaller jigs.  But with time becoming harder to come by I stick to my basic four-white, yellow, chartreuse and chartreuse and white, with the latter two my go to baits.

Before tying any fibers to the jig I first wrap all the way across the collar with thread, this gives the next wraps that will hold fibers something to bite into and prevent the thread from spinning on the painted collar.  Back to the less is more…when I tie my bucktails I tie the hair so that there is basically no overlapping but each hair right next to its neighbor.  This creates a thin fan of fibers all the way around the jig.  The spire point jigs have a flared collar and once you are done wrapping hair and build up the body with repeated wraps around the collar the hair flares out.  This gives the jig an amazing presentation in the water.  Once the hair is flared you can add a half dozen or so strands of polar flash or flashabou down each side, so as to mimic a lateral line like on a spearing.  Once all the fibers are in place wrap back and forth across the body twice and then finish with a whip finish.

Like the painting I will do a run of similar pattered jigs all at once, I find it easier than reaching all over for different colors and materials.  Once I have several dozen tied I then apply head cement to the wrappings, one to two coats is sufficient.  Again I am fishing around structure and with toothy critters, the jigs are usually lost before they fall apart.  Also be careful applying head cement to the thread wraps, especially if you used powder paint, most cements will make the finish run if you get it on the body of the jig.

Now that you are all stocked up with sinkers, snags and jigs we just need a break in the weather so you can go and test out your new creations.  As the winter and spring progresses I will take some pictures and video to show the entire process and show some more advanced dressings and paintings of jigs and lures.  It can be a very enjoyable and rewarding hobby, as long as you stay safe and are cautious handling molten and hot lead.  If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me or post comments to this article.

With the Holidays coming there have been questions flying around what rod or what reel should I use for trolling bunker spoons. Whether you may be buying these items for someone or planning on using cash or gift cards received to buy them after the Holidays I thought I would share my experiences and opinions about them.

Rods for spoons have a very specific blank that is used. Typically they are surf blanks that are cut down from 12 or 14′ to 8, 9 or 10′. Some blank manufacturers have started rolling blanks specifically for spoon rods. They have a soft tip with a parabolic bend to them. This allows them to ‘pump’ and work the spoons properly.

If I did it all again, which I might next year…I would go with two pairs of custom rods from a reputable rod builder, they are about the same cost as production rods from Seeker in 8 or 9′. I currently have the 8′ Seeker rods and would definitely go with a 9′ rod next time for spoons. I would also get a pair of shorter 6′ 6″ or 7′ strictly for umbrella rigs. This does not mean that you have to have two pairs of rods, you can get a pair that can perform double duty and troll both spoons and umbrella rigs. With the amount of trolling we do I find it more pleasurable to use a shorter rod when not pulling spoons.

There are two big advantages to getting custom rods. If you are going to only troll braid you can have lighter less expensive guides put on. And you can get removable butts which make them much easier to store on the boat. Plus you have many more options for other components-guides, swivel roller tips, grips, butt material and reel seat material, etc.

If and when I get new rods I will also opt for cork fore grips instead of foam. I like the feel better and I think they hold up much better.

The reels are very much personal preference. The Penn Senator 113HSP seems to be the defacto standard but there are more and more converts to Shimano Tekota’s and other brands with heavy duty level winds. I have fished 113HSP’s with and without the Accurate one piece frame, Accurate spools and Aftco Star Sets. I personally have the Shimano Tekota 800′s and love them. They do require a little more diligence with maintenance due to the aluminum spool. But you get a lighter reel (5.2 oz lighter), they come with a one piece frame, they have a heavy duty level wind, they have two more bearings, are capable of four pounds more drag and they crank in 7″ more line per crank than a Senator 113. 7″ may not seem like a lot but when checking rigs for weeds or if they are fouled from bouncing bottom or to pickup and run to another location they do crank in a whole lot faster.

The only thing I miss on the Tekota’s is the Aftco Star Set. It is a very nice feature to have but we work around it. But when I do go to a four rod setup (2 for spoons, 2 for umbrellas), all four will have Tekota 800′s unless something newer and better comes along, but as of right now that would be my ideal setup.

I have used several different brands over the years…Canyon, Reliable, homemade ones and custom ones. I have also seen many newer models at boating and fishing shows over the past two years. The one that really caught my eye was the Tournament Grade Tackle Rod Rigger. There are two drawbacks to these that I can think of. One they bring the rod tips in about 6-8″ on each side. On a narrow beam boat this may be an issue depending on how much your bunker spoons swing. The second is you can not put a spinning outfit into them.

I know some of you are thinking why would you wan to troll a spinning outfit…well, I don’t. But drifting for fluke I typically use the rod riggers. It lays the rod down, jigs the bait better than if in a rod holder and when a fish hits the rod tip pulls the bait away from the fish less when it is laid down. Again not a huge deal since I have very few spinning outfits anyway and almost always use a conventional when fluking.

One of the advantages is being able to use them when trolling offshore. You can put up to an 80W in these. A big advantage when trolling on a small beam boat. I can now extend my third and fifth wake baits out away from the flat lines by a few feet now, making my spread look bigger and leading to less tangles when multiple hook ups occur.

I can’t wait to test them out this weekend. I will post my opinions and some pictures after the weekend.

This seems to be a hot topic lately so I thought I would start a new thread where we can share some tips, tricks and ideas that we do when trolling with wire line. Below are some of the things we do, I know a lot is personal preference. Please post your methods and ways in comments so others can also learn and pickup new ways of doing some old things. Enjoy.

Wire Types: Basically there are two types used, monel and stainless. Monel is denser than stainless but much more forgiving, it is less springy than stainless and does not kink as much. But that comes at a cost of about three times the price for the same test line and 300′ length. Monel also stretches over time causing it to get thinner and thinner. Depending on how much you troll the wire will determine how long it takes for it to get thin enough to cause mystery break offs. I typically use a shot of wire for two to three seasons or, four to six half seasons depending on if you started using the shot in the spring or fall.

Marking Wire: I have tried the Malin pre-marked wire and it is not worth the extra money or even for the same money as non-marked. They started to slide on the wire the very first day we used them. I know a few shop owners that fought with Malin to give them refunds on the large spools they fill reels from because they had issues with them sliding as well. The best method I have come across is not easy to do and I have not mastered it yet…basically you use colored phone wire and create haywire twists and barrel wraps with the telephone wire onto the monel or stainless. When done this way they will never move for the life of the wire since they are interlocked with the haywire twist. The second best method I have used is to take a small board and pound two nails through it about a foot apart. Then cut a rubber band and tie each end around a nail stretching it a good amount in the process. Lay the wire over the stretched rubber band and then wrap tightly a colored piece of wire ten to fifteen times finishing with seven to nine barrel wraps on each end. This creates a good visual and also feeling mark if fishing in low light conditions. You can mark your wire however often as needed for your fishing habits. I personally mark it at 150′, 200′ and 250′ as this covers all our needs.

Trolling Habits: I usually troll deeper water so we usually have the hole 300′ out but if you are inshore and not deploying the whole shot of wire you should let out a few feet or crank in a few feet every ten to fifteen minutes to avoid creating a kink and also wearing a weak spot into monel especially, but should also do this with stainless.

Aluminum Spools: I have had Shimano Tekota 800 reels for three seasons now and my spools are healthy and fine. Yes they have a few pits on them but I have also seen worse on older Penn Senators with steel spools. The new anodized aluminum spools hold very well with wire line as long as you take care of them. We wash our rods and reels down after each trip, towel or chamois them off and then liberally apply CRC 656 to the whole reel and the wire, let it soak in a bit then towel off the reel and leave the wire coated well. This extends the life of the wire and the spool. Also about once a month or if I suspect damage I lay the rod on my bench, attach a hand crank spool to the other end and remove the wire from the reel looking for damage to the wire and also checking the marks are in the right location with a line counter. I also take this time to clean the exposed portion of the spool and apply some CRC directly to it. Once I am satisfied the line is OK I crank it back onto the reel pulling it through an oil soaked rag.

Wire to Mono Knots: To attach the wire to the backing I tie a Bimini twist in the backing first. Then I tie a long slender haywire twist in both ends of the wire line. This allows you to use a loop-to-loop connection to your backing and replace a shot of wire quickly and easily on the water should you break off, kink or have other damage to your wire causing it to be unusable. For the leader I tie a twelve to fifteen turn Albright knot and use eight to twelve feet of eighty or one hundred pound fluorocarbon leader to which I attach a two hundred pound ball bearing snap swivel.

Spoon Attachment Points: Whether the spoon comes with one or not I always attach a heavy duty, stainless split ring to it. I have had several spoons fail or severely weaken by them being attached directly to the snap swivel.

Spoon Weights: On spoons with weights I use either 3M marine silicone sealant or 5200 (whichever is handy). Most manufacturers of spoons recommend that you check the screws every fifteen minutes of use. I have found that if you bed them well with the silicone sealant or 5200 you pretty much don’t ever have to worry about them coming loose and losing a weight to the screws loosening from the pumping action.

Trolling Speed: This has a lot of personal preference but we usually don’t look at our tach or our SOG or SOW readings as much as we watch the rod tips. One thing we try to avoid at all costs though is trolling with the current. We always troll against it or across it. As for the actual speed we adjust the throttle till we have big slow pulses in the rods. You can run the spoon only a few feet behind the boat so you can see if it is wobbling back and forth or spinning. This will give you an idea of what the pulsing of the rod tip should look like.

Spare Shots of Wire: You have extra rods, reels, plugs, plastics, sinkers and everything else you use…carry an extra shot of wire. I keep at least one sometimes two spare shots with the trolling gear. You can mark them ahead of time and tie the haywire twists in the ends and even attach the flouro leader too. If you use a Bimini twist in your backing changing it out is a breeze as long as the damage to the line or where it parted is not in your backing. Even if it was once proficient with a Bimini it only takes a minute or two to whip another into your backing. Having a spare or two on board can really save the day sometimes.

There is a lot of buzz around here the past few days. I have been preparing rods, reels, jigs, rigs, sinkers, and list goes on. It is only a few short days till the opening of Winter Flounder for 2008. I have for many years fished opening day and am sad to say this year I will not be due to family obligations and the Easter Holiday.

In seasons past I have also typically caught a fish over four pounds on opening day and hope I can continue that tradition fishing the day after the official opener. if you are out on Monday the 24th give me a shout, will be glad to share real time reports.

I hope Santa was good to everyone. He was good to me…although he did not bring a new 4 man offshore life raft he did bring a few new things for the boat. For starters he brought a Fluke mini infra-red thermometer. This will come in really handy in reading surface temps at any speed, especially with my transducer thermometers on the fritz.

I also got a new horn for the hailer and a macerator pump. It will be so nice to not have to climb halfway into the fish box to clean it out anymore. And also not have to remember to put the plug in so the blood, guts, scales and regurgitation does not end up in the bilge.

The 2008 tide and current table books were also under the tree, but not Eldridge this year…somehow left it off my list. I did get some money for Christmas so that will be one thing it is used for.

One of the stocking stuffers that I can’t wait to try out is a new pair of gloves…they are supposed to be waterproof. We will see. I have tried probably two dozen so far that claim to be waterproof and are not. So far the best for warmth and being completely waterproof are the Kenai gloves from Glacier Glove. They are a little bulky and slight pain to take off and on when you need to tie knots. But you hands will never be cold and wet with them.

Merry Christmas!

Since we are now on the hard and Will be doing repairs, maintenance and improvements till February if we can’t fish or use the boat we might as well look. I will be heading up to the NY National Boat show. I have given up going due to the cost of going and the lack of boats, tackle and accessories. But this year I received two free tickets so I am going to make the trip.

It will actually be good to see some of the new sportfish type boats that should be on display this year. That and what I really want to do is spend some time picking the brains of the safety gears vendors. I am starting to do my research on purchasing a raft and what better time and place than when most of the major manufacturers and bigger vendors of them will be all in one place.

So far I have been fortunate enough to borrow a raft from friends when needed. But I would prefer to have one on the boat always and this year I am going to take that step. The first big decision I made was to go with a canister model that will get mounted on the pilothouse roof. This will serve two purposes. One it will free up precious space in the pilothouse and two it will allow for auto-deployment in the event of a sudden sinking or capsizing.

Lets be realistic, if the boat were to capsize, and in frigid water what would the likely hood of someone getting into the pilothouse to retrieve the raft, exit and deploy it. The canister style makes deployment much easier in more dire situations. I will just have to be careful with placement in preparation to add a radar unit.

For those still in the water, good luck, fish on and stay safe.

It was like unwrapping coal! I got to my fishing club meeting to find out my new Tekota’s did not come in and are on backorder to arrive in about three weeks. I sure hope they come in soon. I need to get them spooled up and wanted to take a coupld of runs with them deployed to check the action on the spoons and adjust the spoons to the new rods.

Just got an e-mail my new pair of Shimano Tekota 800′s came into the shop. I have been waiting several weeks for them to arrive, now I have to wait till Friday night to get them. It is like being 10 years old, seeing tons of presents under the Christmas tree for a week and not being able to open them. Well, at least it will give me something to do on Saturday. Have to put on the backing, mark the wire, put the wire on and mound them on the rods….and then wait for the spring run!