End Of March Goes Big!!!
We have a lot of big news for this report, both in the shop and for the fishing. Read on!
First, we are going to be carrying more LIVE BAIT!. Ray has finally approved it. We have built and tested an eel tank. So far, it has only held one eel, but we have so much confidence it will work we are building a second for killies, and possibly a third for live pilchards. We’ll be running to Florida every other day to get the pilchards, which are going to be a great bait for striped bass, fluke, and sea robins. Price will be market price.
Big, Big Big Big News!!!!
We have a new reel coming out that is going to change the surf fishing. It will be an exclusive for Grumpys, a waterproof spinning reel to rival the Van Staals, Zeebaas, and Vissers of the world.
I am proud to introduce the Grumpys Wyciek series spinning reel.
The reel will be available in sizes from 1000 to 18000. Available in bright silver, they have a waterproof rating of IPX8. They can be reeled underwater without water incursion down to 100 fathoms. Drag ratings are impressive too. They range from 85 pounds for the 1000 size to 195 pounds for the 18000 size. We tested the drag on the 4000 size by putting a harness on Frank and having him run across the field across the street from the shop. Sheldon was able to reel him back in easily. While we are still working out some of the details, we expect price points to fall in the $200 range of the smaller sized reels to the low $400 range for the largest reels. Availability should be late June to early July. Call Ray at the shop to get on the wait-list.
And that’s not all…
With the popularity of our Grumpys Sandstorm rod, we decided to expand the line. We are coming out with a new model for the bait fishermen. It is 16 feet long and is rated for ½ oz to 32 oz weights, but the sweet spot is 16 to 22 oz. We have been extensively testing this rod and it casts awesome as the guide layout was designed by our in house rod expert, BlackCloud Bob. Employee of the shop, Sean, was our primary product tester, and after a couple days of chucking bait on IBSP, he said “This is one hunka bunka chunka hucker”. So that it was what we called it. Sean reported great things about the rod, including “There was no need for a 12 hour bunker head soak when you can cast your bait to the 3 mile line where the fish are. The only problem I had was avoiding getting my line tangled in the passing boats trolling Mojo Rigs. But it is OK, the rod is so strong I collected up a pile of lightly used mojos.” These rods are due to arrive in late May. If you want one, give Ray a call and get on the list for the Grumpys Sandstorm Hunka Bunka Chunka Hucker!
In local area news, guys have been reporting having something stealing their fish. We have been hearing it from the striped bass fishermen and the winter flounder fishermen. What typically happens is they hook a fish, fight it for a few seconds to a couple of minutes, and then all of a sudden line starts peeling off the reel and they cannot stop it. The best case scenario, the line breaks, but we have had a umber of fishermen report that whatever they hooked took all their line. Yesterday, a customer named Tommy L. sent us this picture:
As for how the fishing is when there is nothing stealing your catch. It has been fantastic. The striped bass have been hitting just about whatever you throw in the bay wherever you throw it in the bay. A social media user called JC_Superstar said you could literally walk across the water on the backs of the fish.
The big bluefish have shown up too, and are being caught in Barnegat Inlet and the channels behind the inlet. They have been hitting topwaters, and will only hit white plugs with purple bucktail tied onto a single hook on the tail. This method has also landed a couple of red drum, and a mahi mahi.
I hope everyone has a great first day of April.
