Mostly Shop Updates……… Mostly…
Those who read our previous report know we got a big shipment from one of our suppliers. While most of that was restocks of items, there were some new ones too. Here is what we added to the website in the past couple of days:
Backpacks are all the rage lately. Seems everyone carries one, and it makes sense. With a backpack, you don’t have to go without an item since you can easily carry it with you. The Calcutta Squall Tactical Tackle Backpack is a durable backpack built to take the extremes we all experience while fishing. It comes with three 3600 size tackle boxes, with room for three more. It has two pockets for leader spools, pockets for pliers, and more. This is a perfect solution for those who make long walks to their fishing spot. You won’t need to leave anything behind because it doesn’t fit in a traditional plug bag. It’s also perfect if you are a guest on someone’s boat. You can bring everything you need and won’t have to worry about your host not having a tool, lure, or other tackle required.
We added two tools from Cuda, Titanium Bonded 8” Snips and Titanium Bonded 8” Marine Shears. For the former, don’t let the name “snips” fool you. These are heavy duty scissors that will cut just about anything. Their uses are endless and they would make a great addition to a beach tackle bag or the tool storage on a boat. The 8” Marine Shears are going to be very popular with tautog and sheepshead fishermen who will love them for cutting crab baits into bite sized pieces.
We also added a fantastic tool you probably don’t even realize you need, but if you have caught a spiny dogfish, skate, or other toothy or spikey fish, you are going to want one of these. It’s the Hurricane Custom Tip Design Dehooker. Unlike pliers or similarly designed dehookers, this does not require you to hold the fish while you try to pry a hook out of it’s mouth. The process is simple. Catch the bend of the hook in the bend at the tip of the dehooker. If you are using single hooks snelled on a leader, you can catch the leader in the bend and then slide the dehooker up to the hook. Grab the fishing line or leader with your free hand and hold it so the point of the hook is pointing down and simply give the dehooker (and fish) a shake. The fish will fall right off the hook without you ever needing to touch it. If you are in a boat, you can do this over the side of the boat for a quick, hands-free release.
We added another tool you may not realize you need. This one is for the boat fishermen. If you need to set out baits to certain depths, or if you need to drag lures at certain depths, you need to get a Berkley Line Counter. This neat little device clips to your rod and lets you know how much line you let out. This becomes important when you find where the fish are holding and need to repeat that depth. Don’t guess. Know how much line you put out.
And this last tool will probably have you scratching your head, but trust us, its usefulness far exceeds its looks. The Luna Sea Cush-it rod cushion is more useful than you think. There is nothing worse than fighting a fish with a rod that has a gimbal butt while not wearing a gimbal belt. We have found Cush-Its useful to have on the boat when big game fishing, especially when tournament fishing. When you don’t have time to put on a belt to fight a fish, pop a Cush-It on the butt of the rod and you can fight the fish while another angler gets the belt set up. Once they are ready, pop off the Cush-it and hand off the rod. They are also useful to have when there are double hook ups as the second angler can use the Cush-It to fight the fish. And if you have a smaller fish, you can use the Cush-It for the whole fight and forego the belt altogether. So yeah, we understand these are a bit strange looking, but they are good to have on hand.
If you are reading this report on January 7th, 2022, we are opening the shop late due to the predicted snow we are supposed to get. As of the writing of this report, it is coming down pretty good.
As far as the fishing goes, we heard some rumors here and there of stripers still being caught in the surf. We don’t think a lot of anglers have been out, which is why we didn’t hear much. The couple of reports we did get, they got several fish, so it seems when they are found, the fish are feeding willingly.
Ray is unhappy about the new snowfall. He doesn’t like the cold and doesn’t want to be out in it cleaning off cars, driveways and sidewalks. Keep an eye out for him and say hi to cheer him up. Maybe even bring him a hot chocolate. That will really cheer him up. He’ll be dressed like this …
