I decided to break some new ground, so I hopped in the new
(old) Corolla wagon and set out west, through the hills of PA and
into Ohio.  We have some established clients out there, as well as
new folks who've never heard of us.  My rationale is to let the people
see what you have to offer, give them a price, and let them make their
own decisions. 
 I pretty much criss-crossed the state, driving all the way down to Hamilton,
which is just outside of Cincinnatti, up 71 through Columbus to the outskirts
Cleveland, visiting mostly distributors and bait guys, but hitting a few
tackle shops here and there along the way.
  The scenery?


 Ice on Lake Erie was interesting....



...much more interesting than 200 miles of flat farm land...



...the fog off Sandusky Bay (not to mention the tornado that blew
through a couple hours after I passed)...



...and more cops than you'd EVER want to see on anybody's
highway.  All in all, it was a positive trip (I didn't get pulled over!)
1600 miles total netted me a few more dropship opportunities and
contacts.

 Har-Lee Rod is a familiar landmark in the North Jersey fishing scene.
They've been around for decades, servicing both local anglers, and
fisherman around the world at www.harleerod.com

Well stocked, Har-Lee has a little something for everybody
from salt and fresh water to crabbing and beyond. Har-lee's custom
rods can be found in OTHER tackle shops across America.
But they don't stop in Jersey City....oh no.



 I worked a consumer show at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY with
them recently. The turn out was fantastic!



 The crew was moving not on some Jeros Tackle classic rods,
but high ticket conventional reels, rigs, soft baits and accessories.



 So if you're ever wandering around Jersey City, NJ, or
want to check out some good bargins online, stop by
Har-Lee Rod, and tell Bill the Sensible Angler sent ya!

I don't think there's been any more controversial issue discussed in my New Jersey
visits than the proposal regarding Fluke fishing for 2007 and beyond. The proposal as discussed here on Fisherman's Headquarters site:  http://www.fishermansheadquarters.com/hot_issues1.htm 
has nearly EVERY shop owner from Cape May to Bayonne has telling me horror stories about what
will happen to not only their business, but its effect on their entire community.

 

The issue is complex...it's always a juggling act between environmental protection, commercial and leisure fishermen demands. As a salesman of fishing gear, with a large family of fluke rigs and hooks to promote to the leisure fisherman, you can imagine which side I would fall on if this legislation passes, which limits the leisure fluke fisherman to ONE FISH PER DAY.

Trust me, nobody is going to pay $40 or $50 dollars to a party boat captain for a night out for ONE FLUKE.  Nobody's going to pay to fuel up their boat (high cost to start with), tow it down to the launch and cast off for ONE FLUKE, and the surrounding businesses that thrive off of Fluke fishermen and tourist fluke fishermen's patronage will suffer from the absence of traffic.



###

The Honorable Frank E. Pallone

420 Cannon House Office Bldg.

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Representative Pallone,

As you know, recreational and commercial fishermen are facing deep cuts in the summer flounder quota for 2007 and into the future. The biomass of summer flounder is at the highest level ever recorded yet the National Marine Fisheries Service is threatening to significantly reduce quota. Their quota proposal will deny anglers a reasonable opportunity to land summer flounder for at least the next 3 years. The reason for these unprecedented restrictions is not just an unrealistic target biomass, but also the arbitrary l0 year rebuilding requirement of Magnuson-Stevens. NMFS says its hands are tied because of the 10 year rebuilding requirement.

Summer flounder stocks are robust and continue to rebuild, but NMFS says they are not rebuilding fast enough to meet Magnuson-Stevens’ 10 year rebuilding requirement. To meet that unrealistic goal, the quota will have to be reduced to a level that will not allow fishermen reasonable opportunities to land summer flounder. The result will be the destruction of livelihoods and devastation to fishing communities such as Belmar, Barnegat Light, Cape May, Brielle, the Atlantic Highlands and others. We need flexibility in rebuilding built into Magnuson-Stevens.

HR 5018 provides a valuable opportunity to address shortcomings in the current Magnuson-Stevens Act. I respectfully request that you support the fishing community on two important points;

1) to allow for flexibility in the 10 year rebuilding requirement for recovering stocks and

2) to remove language that requires that over fishing be ended in two years.

Even NMFS biologists and attorneys see the ten-year rebuilding period as arbitrary and support flexibility in the time frame. To now add an arbitrary period to end “over fishing” makes management even less flexible and more destructive.

These two critical points would not compromise the long-term sustainability of marine resources. They will help assure that the small businesses and culture which make up fishing communities survive, and allow reasonable fishing opportunities. Please support the fishing community.

Without the needed flexibility and elimination of a two-year end to “over fishing”, the infrastructure of the recreational fishing communities of New Jersey and other coastal states will be forever lost.

Respectfully submitted,

###



The above petition is circulating at several tackle shops to in an effort to stop this
legislation from going into effect. If you're a fluke fisherman, or someone who lives in the areas
affected (darn near all of the NEW JERSEY), I would STRONGLY encourage you to contact your local tackle shop
to get a copy, or simply print this one out yourself, sign it, and send it to:

 The Honorable Frank E. Pallone
      420 Cannon House Office Bldg.
       Washington, DC 20510

But don't stop with him. Every Representative from New Jersey should be made aware of the
potential devastation this will have on the Jersey Shore economy.  If you live in NJ, and you want
to know WHO your Congressman is, go here:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/ and follow the
instructions provided.

This is MID-TERM ELECTION YEAR.  They WILL listen to you.

 Yeah, I've been pitching it, alluding to it, and dropping product plugs for it. Jeros Tackle's
PRO SERIES line of rigs and hooks have been a fairly successful mover for me at both
distributor shows, client up-sale visits and even COLD CALLS. Why?
 
I believe it's a combination of :
 
1) Product Quality....Seaguar Fluoro Carbon and Gamakatsu Hooks are established, name
recognition-level brands in the fishing industry, giving the product instant credibility.

2) The best, most eye-catching, species-specific packaging that Jeros Tackle's ever ran with.

  Artists such as Roz Davis (Striped Bass), Diane Rome Peebles (Porgy, Sea Bass, Weakfish) & 
Elizabeth Kinahan (Blackfish) from the P.M. Group in Shrewsbury, NJ contributed to the modern
package design of the Pro Series, and the results have been very well received at both industry
trade shows and dealers through out the northeast.

 That's a prime reason we've been able to get sales from as far and wide as:

 
Bahia Marina in Ocean City, MD  

 
Hillyer's Bait & Tackle in Waterford, CT

  
Cross Bay Bait & Tackle, Howard Beach, NY

  
Girl's Place, Port Elizabeth, NJ

 
Biggie's Bait & Tackle, Staten Island, NY

  
Falmouth Bait & Tackle, Falmouth, MA

 
Ramsey Outdoors in 3 locations: Paramus, Ramsey and Ledgewood, NJ, and countless other
tackle shops, marinas and retail outlets all along the eastern seaboard.

  In addition to the current assortment of hooks and rigs for Fluke, Blackfish, Porgy, Sea Bass,
Striped Bass and Weakfish, Jeros Tackle has added a NEW line of Fly Teasers (#PS40-TR, in
colors black/purple, black/chartruse, green/chartruse & white) Swiveled leaders (#PS403LDR 40lbs.,
#PS503LDR 50lbs., #PS603LDR 60lbs.) Hi-Lo Clam Striped Bass rigs (#PS505SB 50lbs.) and
 Three-way Striped Bass Loop Rigs, (#PS604SB 50lb. leader) offering a legitimate pre-tied alternative for
the discerning angler.





 And hey, if your local fishing tackle retailer doesn't have the Pro Series yet,  post a response
to me right here on this entry with some details, and I'll definitely follow up with them. If you
would like MORE information about this product, don't hesistate to email: jt@tackleco.com

Skip at Skippy's Bait and Tackle in Laurence Harbor, NJ recently tipped me off about what he sees as
an alarming issue for all fishermen in Raritan Bay...a significant lack of Bunker.

First, let's look at the species. Here's an exerpt from Captain Steve Byrne's article on Raritan Bay bass
fishing on Noreast.com:

###

"“As coastal waters warm, schools of menhaden, a.k.a. bunker, make their way up the coast, invading estuarine waters along the way. Menhaden can spawn year-round, and while they spawn offshore from December to March, spawning grows increasingly closer to coastal waters in the spring, eventually winding up in the many bays and harbors along the coast. The peak of the spring spawn occurs before June, and most menhaden will take up residence in our local waters well before then.

Jamaica Bay, New York Harbor, and Raritan Bay each get their fair share of the bunker population. But why does so much of the menhaden population wind up in Raritan Bay? A quick look at the chart reveals the reason. Menhaden migrate north and west at the same time. Once they reach the tip of Sandy Hook, the coast falls away to the west and the fish wind up in Raritan Bay. After arriving in the Bay, the fish will find their way into the various harbors that boaters use to access the Bay. Menhaden are filter-feeders, and these harbors are rich in plankton; the food source that menhaden need to survive. As a food source for stripers, bluefish, weakfish, king mackerel, bluefin tuna and sharks, menhaden serve as a direct link in the food chain between plankton and top predators.

Keyport Harbor, Great Kills Harbor, the sheltered waters of Union Beach, Laurence Harbor, Seguine Point, and Prince's Bay can all attract and hold good numbers of bunker in the spring. Once the schools of bunker come in, they will usually remain in the area for some time. It is not uncommon for a school to settle into the same harbor for weeks at a time.”

 Skip, who's not only a shop owner, but a resident, had some stunning revelations.

"I've lived on this bay for most of my life, and I can remember just two years ago seeing schools of bunker hitting the bay every day, and you'd know...because you'd watch the seagulls bombing them as they come

through. Now? I might have seen FOUR schools all season. Something's wrong."
 
 Skip believes the missing bunker could be from one of two things:
 1) Commercial overfishing at the mouth of the bay. Manufacturers have a variety of use for this fish, including lipstick.
 2) Environmental conditions in the Bay. We've already seen this year recommendation about the hazards of PCB's:

>>>"

Today's demand comes after the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a consumption advisory warning people not to eat more than one serving per month of winter flounder caught from Raritan Bay.  Pallone said the flounder in the Raritan Bay are contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) left by GE in the Hudson River, which flows into Raritan Bay."

http://www.house.gov/list/press/nj06_pallone/pr_apr12_hudsoncleanup.html



It's actually pretty simple. NO BUNKER = NO GAMEFISH, so I'd get in touch with your local congressman
to find out if he or she is aware of the situation in the Bay.

If you visit as many tackle shops as I do, you'll find that there are
many ways to acheive common goals: sales, profit and client traffic.
The Boondocks, a new store in North Stonington, CT is one example.
www.boondocksct.com

It sits between the Mystic Seaport and Indian Reservation Casinos,
so traffic isn't an issue. The building is physically gorgeous, utilizing hardwood
floors and panelling throughout.

It has a robust fly fishing area, with clothing and literature
available for the consumer needs. 

Not to mention top of line reels and video presentations. Of course,
Jeros Tackle is represented throughly in this store. We've got a selection
of rigs and hooks (including the Pro Series), as well as tackle accessories.
If you're rolling down I-95 in eastern CT, it might be worth your while to pull off
on Route 2 North and say hi to Pete and Kate. Tell 'em Darren from Jeros sent ya.

Here's an example of success on a different track than the elaborate
tackle shops. Mrs. Sam's Bait and Tackle in East Hampton, NY is essentially
a gas station/auto repair shop. But in the area that would usually be an office
or snack shop...

Here we see  Jeros Tackle's weighted crab line #CL-12 and our
popular coated chum pots #595-CP, both in stock and ready to serve
the leisure angler who frequents this shop.



And rigs and hooks? C'mon! Sebastian, pictured above, will tell you
first hand how many rigs and hooks he moves out of that place, which
is merely blocks away from Three Mile Harbor. Mrs. Sam's is consistantly
one of the top purchasers of Jeros Tackle merchandise at the distributor
shows.  If you're in the area, and need it fast, see Sebastian.

 Yeah, we were rolling with the players out on the Strip this past week,
as the 2006 ICAST show came to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Yours truly had most of the grunt work...



What started as two crates and empty space.....



....slowly and methodically...gridwall by gridwall......



....to a 40' wide Jeros Tackle City of a display. If they had turned on
the air conditioning day one of set-up, it would've been a fun time for all.
No such luck.



 The great thing about gridwall with hooks is the uniformity. Look at how
the hooks on the far left, and rigs sit like soldiers on the pegs without constant
straightening or adjusting. You don't have to worry about heat affecting velcro
glue, or jostling knocking off product.



We made a big push on the Pro Series of Rigs and Hooks, and
even had the head of Gamakatzu hooks drop by to see the display.



  We also had to make sure tackle accessories were represented well,
as most of the attendees are from areas of the country that have absolutely
NOTHING to do with Northeastern Saltwater fishing.



After all that work, however I still had some time left to drink in
the rest of the show, and meet some interesting booth personel...



...like the Hula Girls from the Maui Sunglasses booth.
Very interesting indeed!



 All in all, I didn't think the show was as well attended as the 2005 show.
We still made some decent contacts, but it definitely seemed like traffic
was down. Perhaps fuel costs and the state of the leisure economy right
now is playing a factor, but I hope it's not a trend for the future.