What a weekend…
The Berkeley Striper Club had their annual fisherman’s flea market a little late this year, and because of COVID-19 restrictions, needed to have it outdoors. They decided to have it across the street from the shop. We understand they had about 700 people through their “doors”, on Saturday, and it seemed every one of those customers came into the shop to take advantage of our flea market sale. It was absolute chaos in the shop for a few hours, and we enjoyed every minute of it. It was nice to see people we have not seen in a while too.
In shop news, we got more ODM Surfwave bags in stock, including the popular 2.5 tube bag.
We are also well stocked in Daiwa SP minnows, which we hear are getting more difficult to find.
As far as the fishing goes, it remains good. The bluefish have been the stars of the show lately, and they can be found all over the place. We are hearing about them in the surf, in the inlets and in parts of the back bay. They are ranging anywhere from 4 pounds up to 15 plus. Surface plugs are the most fun way to catch them, and the Tsunami Talking Popper is a great plug for blues. If they are shying away from topwater, SP minnows have also been taking their fair share.
The bluefish have not been the only fish being caught. We have been hearing about striped bass in the surf. Bait has been getting the larger fish, and both bunker chunks and clams are working. Brett Brounstein sent us this picture of a 36 inch fish he caught in the surf on a clam.
Artificial lures are working for bass in the surf too. Anglers who are successful with these are fishing in low to no light conditions, and the kettle creek shads on a bullet head jig has been the best lure for them. SP Minnows have taken their share too.
We have also heard of a few pre-season fluke (summer flounder) caught in the surf by people fishing for bass. We are hoping this is a good sign for fluke season, which opens later this month. It will be here before you know it, so you may want to make sure you are stocked up with Gulp!, Jigs, and teasers for the flatties.
I am giving Ray a break again for this report, because Connor gave us a good laugh in the shop yesterday. You remember Connor, our rod building apprentice who got the big bluefish off the beach the other day? Well, he was working on some rod repairs tonight and he somehow got either rod tip glue or epoxy in his hair. On the back of his head. How the heck to you get this stuff in your hair, much less in the hair on the back of your head? Connor is a special person...