New Scabelly Item, plus a Fishing Report
But first, shop news.
We have added a new item from Scabelly to the online store! Now, for those who just ran and looked at their bookmarked Scabelly Glider page(s), we would say “Sorry”, but we’re really not. What we do have is some packs of Scabelly Hook keepers. Scabelly makes these from the same stainless steel he uses to through-wire his plugs. It’s a great tool to prevent hooks (specifically, the barb), from damaging the ring in your guide. They come in packs of 5 and come with a Scabelly sticker. Get them while they last.
Scabelly wasn’t the only notable addition to the online store lineup. We added Shimano Ocea Jigger reels. These are great conventional reels for slow pitch jigging.
Every year, we get asked in the shop if we have any gloves. We have always carried STORMR and Glacier Gloves for the surf angler looking to extend their season, but sometimes people were looking for gloves to handle fish or bait in the warm weather. We heard you, and stocked up on a few options for you. If you are working with lots of ice, or lots of frozen bait, or even if you are working with critters that pinch, we have Promar Insulated Progrip Gloves. These will keep your hands warm and protected when working in a harsh environment any time of year. When you are not dealing with frozen stuff, we have two other options. The All Purpose Grip Gloves by Hurricane are those prototypical orange gloves that grip everything. They are always good to have around. The other option is the Calcutta Knit Gripper Gloves. These gloves are a lightweight knot with latex coated palms and fingers for added grip. They are perfect for the summer weather.
We have restocked NLBN products in both the brick & mortar store and the online store. If you were looking for something we didn’t have, check again.
We have also added a few new items to Grumpys Garage Sale. Some good deals in there.
Ok, so the fishing locally has been, just OK. There are small to just over keeper size striped bass in Barnegat Bay. There are no real hotspots right now. The anglers looking around have done best. Bloodworms are still your best bet, but small rubber shads from NLBN, Kettle Creek, Storm and Tsunami are also taking their share of fish.
We had a few angler go out and try clams on the ocean side yet, but no reports came back from them.
There is a winter flounder bite going on right now in Barnegat Bay, but there isn’t much participation in that fishery. If you want to go, bloodworms are the bait. We have the flounder rigs.
In a bay north of here, we have been hearing of good bites of some decent striped bass. Some nice fish, including a few claimed Jersey 50’s (ie 35 pounders…). Metal lipped swimmers, large plastic swimmers and large gliders are the go to.
Here are some notable catches:
Scott got out recently and got some in his kayak using NLBN Shads.
Dave (our clothing cover model) also did some kayak fishing and got a nice one.
Our own Sean got out with his son Connor and got into some nice winter flounder. Bloodworms were the ticket.
Two of our Grumpys Crew have gone through a minor crisis recently. In each case, they each went fishing for “puddle fish”. Puddle fish are those green fish you find in sweetwater puddles around the state. Some people call them ponds, some even call them lakes.
First was Scott, who went pickerel fishing. Now, what existential crisis did Scott go through? He recently found out he was not a member of GenX, but was actually a Millennial. He is not doing well with this new info. If you confront him with this, he will deny it, or may even try making some new generation between the two. But look at this picture of him with a pickerel. Would a GenX’er take a picture of a fish like that? No, that is a Millennial taking a “I’m putting this on Instagram and TikTok” picture.
The other crisis was Ray. Not sure exactly what the crisis was. All of the people who showed up for our Spring Has Sprung sale? All the shipments that have recently arrived? All of the shipments yet to arrive? Dealing with Scott coming to terms with being a Millennial? Could be anything. Anyway, he went fishing for green bass and struck out. He did not take it well.
