Winter Fishing Doldrums

Blackfish, Fishing Reports, Sale, Tautog, White Perch, Winter Sale -

Winter Fishing Doldrums

First, shop news…

We are extending our winter sale through this weekend in the Brick & Mortar store.  The table of deals and the blowout rod rack will be out until Sunday, so if you missed it last week, now is your chance.  Deals on jigs, select Nomad plugs, reels, and rods. 

Our neighbors in Yakity Yak's Kayaks, under new ownership of Scott and David from Grumpys, is currently open on a limited basis.  Look for a grand opening later in February.  They have kayaks from Hobie, Old Towne, and Ocean Kayak available.  They will also continue the kayak and paddleboard rentals when the weather improves.  They have done a lot of work cleaning up the space and making it look very nice.  Come in and check it out, and buy yourself a new kayak.  These guys know how to set one up for fishing. 

This is the time of the year for tackle maintenance in the northeast.  Whether you need to replace hooks on the lures you used last season, tie new rigs or leaders, repair some broken equipment, or just get your tackle organized, Grumpys has what you need.  We have replacement treble hooks, or take the opportunity to switch to inline single hooks.  We have wader repair kits, and tackle repair kits.  We have leader material and inline circle hooks so you can tie your own bait rigs.  Or restock with whatever you need from MaiTai.  And we have plenty of Plano Boxes so you can get organized before the season starts.  Don’t wait too long,  the backwaters open for striped bass and winter flounder in 30 days (as of the writing of this report).

Now would also be a good time to get a new handle for your reel.  Gomexus makes a nice Plug & Play option for most of the popular reels out there. 

What is the current fishing like?   If you can find open water, there are white perch around. And the good news is, the warmer (relatively) past couple of days we had has opened up the ice on the bay.  Try small pieces of clam and/or Fishbites for the perch.  Your other option this time of year is to jump on a party or charter boat for blackfish. 

So those of you who know Ray will know he is a huge fan of the Washington Commanders football team.  He has been a fan since way back when, and through all of their recent name changes.  He is a true fan.  His team just played the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game and, unfortunately for Ray, they lost.  Those of you who follow Jim Hutchinson’s reports on YouTube will have recently seen the bet Ray & Jim made on the game.  Well, here is a very unhappy Ray in an Eagles jersey.  This, like all other pictures of Ray in the fishing report, is an unedited photo.  That is the face of a man in true emotional pain.