More Striped Bass.
Before shop news, some sad news.
The NJ angling community has lost one of our own. We heard local angler Chris Lagrossa passed away Thursday. We at Grumpys extend our condolences to his family and friends.
In shop news, we have added something interesting to the online store. ODM Evolution Surf Rods have been our top selling high end rod out of the shop. ODM doesn’t provide an off-the-shelf Evolution, so they need to be custom built. They were so popular we were making “Custom-Spec” Evolutions built to Blackcloud Bob’s explicit specifications and they were flying off the shelves. To the point where we would announce their availability and by the time some anglers got here, they were gone. So, we made it easier to lock in your Evolution. We now have them listed in the online store in addition to being available in the brick & mortar store. When they become available, you can purchase one through the website and it will be waiting for you when you can get to the shop. Unfortunately, due to the fact the blanks are one-piece and the length of the rods, we cannot ship these, so they are in-store pickup only. The rods are built with all Fuji components and are available with Fuji K-Guides in BC Gray or Titanium. Builds vary slightly depending on the length of the rod, so check the details in the listing.
We got in a small shipment of the new Van Staal VSX2 reels, so we restocked where we could. For those waiting for the Gold, we haven't seen any yet, but as soon as they show we will start calling those on the list in the order they were put on the list.
In fishing news, the big striped bass are still here. The boats fishing live bunker or dragging bunker spoons and mojo rigs are doing very well north of the shop. That body of fish is moving south so consider when this was written vs when you are reading it before you head out.
The bass are also cooperating for the surf anglers, and reports from them are coming in from both north and south of the shop. Those fishing bunker chunks are doing well regardless of the time of day, while those who are throwing lures are doing better in low light, or no light, conditions.
Here are some notable catches:
@jeepcj1979 found some fish trolling spoons.
With our first weigh in of November, here is Barney with a nice 31 incher on a good ole Grumpy Bunker. Not all fish being caught are over the slot limit for those looking to bring home dinner.
@dylan_hall19 just sent us this… “32 inch on fresh bunker head first cast within 5 min safely caught and released”
@d.shelkin just sent us this report.. “Fish up to 15lbs for a while tonight. Soft plastic eels, and poppers believe it or not 😆”
Jeff With a 32 inch 11.95 pound bass caught on a Yo-Zuri mag darter.
We had a little falling out here at Grumpys. Ray said that he thinks those green fish he chases in that unsalted water are better fish than striped bass. An argument ensued and Ray, trying to drive his point home, said he would rather catch bluegill sunfish. Well, that aggression did not stand, man, and we banished Ray from the shop for a week. We hear he is going a little stir crazy at home…
