Thanks For Supporting Our Grumpy Santa Event! Oh, and fish...
Thank you all for coming out to the Grumpy Santa event. It was a rousing success and as much as he likes to flaunt his gruff persona, Grumpy Hisself seemed to have a good time. I mean, look at the face as he gives Blackcloud Bob the “Bart Simpson” treatment.
If you wanted to make if but could not, we will keep the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital donation box out on the front counter until we close on Thursday, so there is still a chance to help out a very good cause. And all help is appreciated.
A quick word about our hours with the upcoming holidays. We will be open today and tomorrow (Wednesday 12/22 and Thursday 12/23) at our normal hours of 4:30 am to 8:00 pm to accommodate last minute Christmas shoppers. On Christmas Eve (Friday 12/24) we will open at our normal time but close at 11:00 am so some of us can start our Christmas shopping. Christmas Day is the one and only day that Grumpys is closed for a full day (weather emergencies being an exception). On Sunday 12/26 (Boxing Day for the Canadiens), we will begin our winter hours. That means we open at 7:00 am and close at 7:00 pm. Those hours will continue until sometime in the early spring.
What about New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day? That was too much for Ray to think about. We’ll update our hours for those days next week…
For you last minute shoppers, or those who have been patiently waiting, we got a shipment of Vanford reels from Shimano. These are great light tackle reels. The are super light, strong, and have smooth drags. Pair it with an ODM D.N.A. BackBay rod, or an 8 foot DNA or Genesis and you have a great combo for the striped bass that are around right now, and the ones you are going to find when the back bay seasons opens on March 1st. This setup will also make a great rod for fishing fluke in the surf in the summer. The setup will also handle big blues if you happen to tie into them in the late spring. Come into the shop and pick up a custom Black Hole 701L spinning rod and you have a rod & reel combo that can do all of the above, but also makes a great rod for fishing jigs for blackfish. We currently have a couple of these rods on our spec rods rack.
We also got a in a shipment of Guy Cotton Surf Smocks. We are getting to the time of year that, if what you are wearing when you are fishing the surf has any leaks, you are going to become uncomfortable quickly, spoiling one of your last precious days of the season. Come in and check out the surf smocks as a replacement and stay dry for the rest of the season.
So there are still fish around. They are not big fish, but they do have stripes. And when anglers are finding them, they are regularly feeding on sand eel type lures like ava jigs, Tsunami Holographic Eels, and Bill Hurley Sand Eels. They are also hitting small swim shads like those from Tsunami or Storm. And you will definitely want a teaser in front of any one of those lures.
We had a couple anglers send us pics or videos this weekend:
@pure_guava got into a nice batch of striped bass that were willing to hit teasers but also were taking salted clams.
@areyouthomas also got into fish willing to hit on ava jig & teaser combos.
There will be no picking on Ray today. Why? Well, because sometimes real life is more entertaining than anything I can make up. Those who attended the Grumpy Santa event on Sunday may have noticed a monkey with a red nose and antlers wandering around the shop, as in this picture with Grumpy Santa Hisself.
That monkey is Connor, our rod building apprentice. After the event ended Sunday afternoon, Blackcloud Bob sent Monkeysuit Connor on an errand. He sent him to the local grocery store for bananas. Yes, there was a kid in a crowded supermarket on Sunday in a monkey onesie buying bananas. The looks of those around him must have been comedy gold. We really need a camera crew in this shop some days…
