I recently had the pleasant surprise of opening a gift and discovering:

Reel People: Fisherman of Plum Island by James Waldron is true to it’s title.  The film captures genuine stories from 60+ reel people. The stories are easy to listen to, but difficult to forget.  The art of Waldron’s film is how the stories and photographs are weaved into a continuous script that hooks you immediately and pulls you in until the end.

Waldron’s film provides a 360 degree view of fishing on Plum Island, Massachusetts. There are Beach Buggy fisherman, Boat fisherman, and Surf fisherman. There are foreshadows of the new breed of PI fisherman: kayak fisherman. There are scientists explaining their research in plain terms. There are exemplary surf-transport solutions that move gear up and down the soft sand with ease.  My favorite is the little red wagon with “Big Foot” wheels.  There are beautiful aerial scenes that provide great reconnaissance information for the bass hunter. And lastly, there are photographs of BIG fish past and a vintage film that helps penetrate through the last 47 years of Plum Island history: “A Day to Remember“, edited by Bob Smith (circa 1960).  All this great content in 62 minutes, kudos Waldron!

I personally liked the scientific perspective, because of my background. More specifically, the scientists (who also fish!) are using telemetry data to learn how striped bass move and utilize an estuary; in particular, how their eating habits relate to measurable parameters such as temperature, tide, and lunar cycle. The goal is to exploit all this data to predict how striped bass will impact the bait fish in an estuary. I would hypothesis that the same data my also yield the inverse; that is, how the amount of bait fish in an estuary will impact the population of striped bass.

Fishing is not just about catching fish. It’s about playing in the water without thinking about life’s obligations. It’s about the people you get to know during your trips and the stories you build together. In my humble opinion, Reel People captures this human element, something few films realize. The tides will continue to change. Life will go on. But, the stories of the Plum Island fisherman will continue to breath via Reel People and Kay’s scrapbook.

“Once you get the sand of Plum Inland in your shoes, you’ll never get it out.” – “Reel People: Fisherman of Plum Island”.

Predatory fish will not expand more energy than the prey they are hunting shall provide. This would be diminishing returns. As anglers, we can learn from this self-preservation instinct. Why should we pay more money for a bait that will seduce the same quality fish as a another bait that costs significantly less?

For me, fishconomics is easy, select a bait that satisfies the following criteria:

• Made In USA
• Strong
• Versatile
• Catches Fish
• Value Priced

The first requirement, is my personal preference. The second, third, and fourth, are a must! The fifth, “Value Priced” is central to fishconomis. For example, I love to fish Danny plugs! Last fall I was in Saco Bait and Tackle for the first time. I was trolling through the shop, when BANG! A tasty yellow-over-white Danny plug for $17.00 caught my eye. Right next to this plug was another Danny plug for $35.00. Both were made in the USA, strong, versatile, and independently proven to catch fish. The latter had a better paint job than my truck and a prestigious reputation. But, the former had a higher “value price” and is hence a tenant in my plug bag.

I recently attended the annual Plum Island Surfcaster’s 2009 fishing show. The presentation by Zeno Hronin was worth the price of admission. Before Zeno’s talk, I had the pleasure of speaking to Ray Jussaume from Line Stretcher Tackle Company and Gene Bourque from Hogy Lure Company. The baits from these two innovative companies exceed the fishconomic criteria by a full cast.

The surface tension from Line Stretcher Tackle Company caught my attention immediately, given my fetish for top water baits.

The construction of this lure is the cause for its “bullet proof” reputation:

• Solid ABS Plastic
• Tru-wire techonology
• Strong, Penetrating Hook

In addition to surface tension’s construction, I also like its castablity and the wide spectrum of species it seduces.
The versatile hand-poured soft plastics from Hogy Lures Company are perfect examples of fishconomic baits. The beautiful thing about these baits is the numerous ways they can be rigged to adapt to different conditions, water depths, and structures: tandem, texas style (a.k.a. weed-less) or jig heads. The thing that hooked me was that the operation to rig a Hogy a la Steve McKenna (a.k.a. tandem) takes less than 5 minutes with the re-usable tandem Hogy rig!

During Gene’s presentation at show, I asked him “Are Hogy plastics bio-degrabable?”. He responded that they are made with a natural organic oil, which I have to imagine is more environmentally friendly than machine extruded petroleum based soft plastics.

The currency of predatory fish is energy. The currency of anglers is money. Spend your currency wisely, the fish are!

While in Oxford, England, I was absolutely amazed by the number of small book shops. At the time, there were two mega-book stores in the city who were competing with each other and with the small book shops, some of which are so deeply rooted in the town’s history that they are local landmarks. Interestingly, the Tourists tended to shop at the Mega-book stores and the Bibliophils shopped the small book shops.

On this side of the Atlantic Ocean, in New England, the same pattern that I observed in Oxford, holds true here as well: Googans tend to shop at the Mega-stores, while Fisherman tend to shop at New England Bait and Tackle Shops. Why?

1. Great Customer Service
2. Fishing Expertise
3. Purpose Specific Tackle
4. Local Fishing & Access Information
5. Custom Plugs & Flies (by commercial and local craftsman)
   
6. Custom Rod Building
   
7. Rod & Reel Repair Services
8. The Best Bait Possible!

I once organized a fishing trip with four of my friends. By the time everyone showed up at my house, it was 6:00 PM. The bait shop was closing at 7:00 PM.  When we were 30 minutes way, I called my friends at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island, Massachusetts and asked them if they could stay open 15 more minutes. Ray Moulton said, “Tonight we can’t, but we can put your bait in a brown bag with your name at location “*********”.  When we finally reached the shop, there were three other bags with names on them.

During one of the recent fall runs, I was trying to buy a last minute gift for a friend: a 9 ft surf rod with enough backbone to cast a 3 oz pyramid sinker and a high-low rig decorated with clams into the Atlantic. I went to a local sporting goods store (that shall remain nameless) because I did not have time to drive to a New England Bait and Tackle Shop. After browsing through the rods on display, I asked the clerk in the Fishing department for help. He replied: “I do not fish. I just work here.” I immediately called my friends at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island, Massachusetts and Kay Moulton responded “We have a lot of those. I will have one set aside for you the next time you are up our way.”

A few seasons back, I was on vacation in Wells, Maine. I traveled up and down Route 1 from Wells to Ogunquit (and back!) in search of a New England Bait and Tackle Shop. I found many great bait and tackle shops that specialized in fly fishing and fresh water fishing. But, no New England Bait and Tackle Shops. I ended up traveling back to Massachusetts to pick up fresh clams at Surfland. (No comment on the clams that sold for bait in the state of Maine.)

During the last fall run, I was up in Wells, Maine.  I traveled up and down Route 1 from Wells to Ogunquit (and back!) in search of a New England Bait and Tackle Shop. This time, I saw a sign:

I immediately turned off Route 1 into the parking lot. As I walked towards the shop, the first thing that I noticed was a pair of waders hanging upside down just to the right of the front door.  I walked in and said “Hello.”.  Knowing how difficult it is to get good clams in Maine, I asked Robert Mirisola if he had any Mackerel.  “Yes. I drove down to Boston this morning to pick them up.”, he replied.  In fact, Seven Rivers Bait and & Tackle is the only shop in Maine that I have consistently found eels and custom plugs. Rob, a true outdoors man, knows first hand what is happening with the “stripah” bite in Maine.

The eight items above define and differentiate the New England Bait and Tackle shop from the X-Marts, Mega Stores, and eCommerce sites. But, they are not what makes a bait and tackle shop a New England Bait and Tackle Shop. It’s the people, the stories, the aged floors turned squeaky by the weight of the 50, 60, and 70 lb specimens, the original black and white photos, and the children asking countless questions. The New England Bait and Tackle Shop provides the products and services that we selective New England Fisherman require to successfully target the multitude of species that swim in our salty and sweet waters. And the good people who work in our New England Bait and Tackle Shops are pulling fish out of the near by waters with the very tackle they sell, and without getting their cars towed. What does that tell you?

Unfortunately, I have not yet visited all the New England Bait and Tackle Shops, but I have had the honor and pleasure of visiting many of them.  Surfland Bait and Tackle and Seven Rivers Bait and Tackle exemplify and set the standard for The New England Bait and Tackle Shop.  We are fortunate to have many more such shops and I encourage you to visit them, shop them, and talk to the good people there.  And an amazing thing will happen: you will start catching more quality fish!

Fisherman wanted.

Resources

Surfland Bait and Tackle
28 Plum Island Blvd.
Plum Island, MA 01951
978.462.4202

Seven Rivers Bait and Tackle
1720 Post Road
Wells, ME 04090
207.646.0654

1. You decorate your Christmas tree with plugs [no hooks!]
2. You named your dog “keepah” and your cat “schoolie”
3. You drink sea water and spit salt
4. You think ideal fishing weather is a N’easter
5. You get caught looking at Plug porn on the internet.
6. You only care about using wood you can cast.
7. You think nothing feels better after a long winter than the spring run.
8. You get caught fondling your new Van Staal.
9. You think happiness is a sleepless night on a cold rock, unhooking big bass, that you never tell anyone about.
10. You bitch about $4.00 a gallon gas but don’t flinch at $500.00 in new plugs.
11. You climb into your own bed in the middle of the night and your girlfriend says “who is that.”
12. You rather come to S-B.com instead of watching the local news.
13. You think it is better to Hab than to Gibb…
14. Your only criteria when buying a new vehicle is how to carry your rods.
15. Your job is second on the priority list to fishing.
16. Your idea of a good nights rest is a power nap for 30 mins before the alarm goes off.
17. Your idea of drinking and driving is a Dunkin Donuts coffee to keep you awake on the drive home.
18. You have a real good set of excuses lined up on why your car stinks.
19. You wonder how you will resolve work and fishing.
20. Your wife has a pained expression now when you mention spring is near.
21. You promise your wife you will do spring yard work in spring and not try to hide it in July.
22. You won’t do certain things because of your serious back pain, arthritic knees, and cranky joints but you will go walk all over Cuttyhunk climbing on rocks to fish.
23. You are actually thinking of using a condom for a non sexual purpose (eel skin).
24. Every pair of pliers you own are made of stainless steel.
25. You snow blow your driveway in your waders.
26. The only reason you workout at the gym is to prepare for tossing 5oz jigs at the canal and the death march out to squibby.
27. You think you are cool when riding a girls bike.
28. You know in February what time sunrise is and the exact date of the full and new moons for May, June, September and October….also scheduled the time off from work for these days.
29. You are always watching the fish in your fish tank before during and after a major storm and taking notes.
30. You use your lunch time at work to catch up on sleep and to prepare for the upcoming night of fishing.
31. You wish someone bottled eel smell and sold it as perfume.
32. You are going to send your kid to Mass Maritime so he can provide up to the second fishing reports of the Canal during the fall run.
33. You know what Plug in What Color and what size to use on which rod with a certain reel and and what pound test Braid or Mono to use with the Current Tide, Wind Direction, Wind Speed, Air Temp, and Moon Phase……But you can’t find clean socks if they aren’t in the draw you expect them to be in.
34. You’re taking a romantic walk on the beach with your SO [significant other] in some tropical paradise, and the only thing on your mind is “man, that is some pissah structure out there”
35. Your getting married in a park overlooking the ocean in September and as you are exchanging vows you see birds going nuts and get distracted for a few seconds and have no idea what the pastor is saying.
36. You only wash your hooded sweatshirt when actual fish guts get on the front. Slime and snots are ignored all season.
37. You have used your purse as an auxillary tackle box.
38. You never, ever go to the beach without a rod. Because you’ve already learned this lesson the hard way….
39. You have completely educated your immediate family about the significance of New moons and bargained for yer disappearances from major familial functions during them.
40. You know every “public facility” (porta johns, too) from CT to ME and its availability in the wee hours of the morning.
41. The last five books you’ve read’s titles prominently feature the root words “stripe”, “surf”, “water”, and “bait/lure”.
42. You begin sleep deprivation training in FEB, so that, by June~~October it’s not a problem to function for three days on 6 hours of sleep.
43. You wake your wife up setting a hook in your dreams.
44. You can’t see out any window in your house because of all the plugs hanging on the curtins.
45. Your wife is afraid to open soup pots in your fridge because they’re likely to contain live eels.

Q: What does a fisherman do during the off season?

A: Watch fishing shows and read books!

For one reason or another, the number of saltwater fishing shows are few in number, compared to freshwater fishing shows; but, they are high in quality. Once of my favorites shows is the On The Water TV fishing show. Each season is also available on DVD and at $30.00 a season, it’s a great value. (I have own the first two seasons and just ordered the third and fourth seasons.)
Some other good shows are:

1. On The Hook TV
2. Northeast Angling
3. Mark Sosin’s Saltwater Journal
4. Shallow Water Angler TV

Once again, for one reason or another, the number of saltwater fishing books are few in number, compared to freshwater fishing shows; but, they are high in quality. I have been building my fishing library book by book. Here are the books that I have purchased and enjoy reading.
Hot Spots

1. Striper Hot Spots second edition
2. Surf Fishing the Atlantic Cost
3. The New England Stripers A Fishing Anthology
4. Fishing New England A Cape Cod Shore Guide
5. Fishing New England – A Boater’s Guide to Cape Cod and the Islands
6. Fishing New England A Rhode Island Shore Guide
7. The Surfcaster’s Guide to the Striper Coast
8. Chesapeake Stripers
9. Coastal Fishing in the Carolinas: From Surf, Pier, and Jetty
10. Gone Fishin: The 100 Best Spots in New Jersey
11. Fishing the New Jersey Coast
12. Striped Bass Fishing in California and Oregon
13. Fly Fishing Boston: A Complete Saltwater Guide from Rhode Island to Maine
14. Fishing the Connecticut and Rhode Island Coasts

Fishing Techniques

1. Fly Fishing the Striper Surf
2. Striper Surf
3. The Trophy Striper
4. The New England Stripers A Fishing Anthology
5. The Fisherman’s Ocean
6. The Striped Bass Book
7. Saltwater Fishing A Tactical Approach
8. The Complete Book of Fishing Knots
9. Striped Bass Fishing: Saltwater Strategies
10. The Art of Surfcasting with Lures
11. The Orvis Pocket Guide To Saltwater Baits
12. The Hunt for Big Stripers
13. Fishing with Bucktails
14. The Striped Bass 60+ Pound Club
15. Striper Strategies: Surfcasting Methods for Catching Striped Bass
16. The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting
17. Power Surfcasting
18. How to Catch Monster Shallow-Water Stripers
19. Stripers on the Fly: A Thorough Guide to Tackle, Flies, Locating Fish, Techniques,
    Casting and Much More
20. Striper Moon: Fly Fishing Techniques and Flies for Striped Bass in Estuary, River, Bay and Surf
21. Stripers and Streamers
22. Trophy Stripers and Hybrids
23. The Complete Book of Surf Fishing
24. The Complete Book of Striped Bass Fishing
    
25. The Striped Bass
26. Sight-Fishing for Striped Bass: Fly-Fishing Strategies for Inshore, Offshore and the Surf
27. The Orvis Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing For Striped Bass and Bluefish: Foods, Flies, Tides, and the Best Techniques
28. Fishing Soft Baits in Saltwater
29. Fishing the Big Four: A Guide for Saltwater Anglers
30. Surf-Fishing Basics
31. The Surfcaster’s Guide to Baits, Rigs & Lures
32. Trolling for Striped Bass and Bluefish
33. The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing: Where to Find Them, How to Catch Them
34. Fly Fishing for Striped Bass (Striped Bass Masters)
35. Striped Bass Flies: Patterns of the Pros
36. Inshore Fly Fishing
37. Fly-Fishing the Saltwater Shoreline
38. L.L. Bean Fly Fishing for Striped Bass Handbook
39. Fly Fishing for Striped Bass
40. Monster Shallow Water Stripers

Fishing Stories

1. Twenty years on the Cape My Time as a Surfcaster
2. Eastern Tides
3. Reading the Water
4. Striper Wars
5. On the Run
6. The Striped Bass Chronicles
7. A Season on the Edge
8. The Call of the surf
9. Surfcaster’s Quest: Seeking Stripers, Blues, and Solitude at the Edge of the Surging Sea
10. Striper Chronicles: East Coast Surf Fishing Legends & Adventures
11. Striper: An Angler’s Anthology
12. Striper: A Story of Fish and Man
13. Night Tides: The Striper Fishing Legend of Billy the Greek

“Other”

1. The Most Important Fish in the Sea: Menhaden and America

Kayak Fishing

1. Kayak Fishing The Ultimate Guide (book review)
   
2. The Complete Kayak Fisherman

Rod Building

1. Rod Building Basics With Steve Petri (DVD)

In conclusion, there is no “off season”. Fish every day, on and off the water.