Today wasn't one of the nicer winter days to fish so I stopped by Pride Fishing Tackle in Red Bank. This time of year things are slow, for tackle shops, charter boats, and guides. Unless you're on a fishery where cold is the norm, ie- The Salmon River, then things are kind of shut down. We are lucky here in New Jersey that we had the 2011 fall run that just ran right through into March 2012, and now it seems we've had the 2012 fall run go almost to February.
Max and I talked about fishing the bays and rivers in the early spring. It can be such a fun time to exploring waters other then "out front" for bluefish and stripers. Last year was great, although we didn't have the big gator blues we had in 2011. This year will no doubt be different as Sandy has changed so much to our fishery. One, will people be ready to come out and fish, two, will anglers that have boats be back in the water, three, will the marinas and boat ramps be up and running, and then, four, will the bait and predator fish be around in good numbers.
Before I left Max handed me a bag of clams he raked last evening. As I drove home thinking on how I would prepare them for dinner I thought how important relationships are in this business. We're all in this to keep the sport thriving, clients happy, and food on the table. My family opted to move steak night tonight so we could have a surf and turf dinner and boy were the clams fresh and good.
I continued tying today with the SF Flash Blend and I am enjoying the learning process and balance between material, thread, and shaping after it's done.
If you're in Red Bank or need a tackle shop to call home stop by Pride Tackle and talk with Max.