I exhibited at the New England Saltwater Fishing Show earlier this month.  This was my second year as an exhibitor and my first year as a seminar and work shop speaker.

The new Fish360.net features that I discussed during my seminar will be available soon!  Be sure to read the next newsletter. (Use the contact form to join the Fish360.net newsletter.)

Yes!  That is a Montauk Tackle Comapny performance fishing shirt.  It’s fashionable and fucntional.  And Made In U.S.A.!

One of the things that I like about the New England Saltwater Fishing Show is the booths.  This year in particular there were many fishy booths!  A few stand out in my mind.

The AqauSkinz booth was full of well designed and fishconomic products.  I cannot wait to field test my new Elite Hunter Pro Series surf belt and Cobra plug bag.

CTS rods had a cool looking booth.  I am looking forward to cast my CTS Cape Cod Canal custom rod that is being built for me by Dante Soriente from RH Custom Rods.

The Lemire’s Pugworks booth was decorated with new plugs and fishy patterns.  If fish could talk, they would say: “Yum!”  Al Lemire told me that his small bait mimicking plugs seduce striped bass in saltwater and large mouth bass in fresh water!  Now that’s worth writing about!!

The Jay Jigs booth had some impressive gear.  I am looking forward to trolling some sea worms this season from the pointy end of my new tube-and-worm rig.  Stay tuned.

The Bill Hurley Lures both has some seriously fishy jig heads and soft plastics.  I cannot wait to jig them in the Cape Cod Canal using my new CTS Canal Custom rod.

The On The Water booth is a must visit booth.  I always join the Stiper Cup.  But, this year I also renewed my New England Edition and New York / New Jersey Edition subscriptions and got a free LiveTarget lure.

To all who attended my seminar and visited my boot: Thank you!  I enjoyed meeting you and chatting with you on all things fishy.   I am looking forward to exhibiting and presenting at next years show.  You will want to see the new features my team is currently building into Fish360.net. Trust me ! 😉

I have been trying to make it to Striperfest since the first one hit the Falmouth shore. Each year, Life happened.  But, this past September I finally made it!

The free parking was great.  The free bus ride to and from Striperfest was even better.  Talk about riding in style!

Patrick Sebile was there demonstrating his arsenal of lures in a water tank.

After watching Patick Sebile demo his lures, I visited the Goose Hummock Shop booth and picked up some new toys.  I may not have fashion sense, but I have lure sense!

Costa del Mar was also there.   Their sunglasses exemplify form and function working together. Lots of styles and shapes.  My next set of eyes may very well be from Costa del Mar.

The Black Dog Tavern served great food at fair prices.  I enjoyed the pulled BBQ chicken sandwich— a great value at $6.00. Yum!

To my pleasant surprise, there were several activities for children.   In fact, I have now been informed that I will not attend the 2013 Striperfest alone. 😉

The Fisherman Fund raffled off a surfrod with a Van Staal reel and a Schwinncanal cruiser.  The proceeds go to fund the “The Fisherman” statue that will commemorate fisherman past, present, and future.

I enjoyed sampling the food, visiting the booths, and watching the awards ceremony.  But, Striperfest is much more than each of these things.  It’s an experience!

I attended the September Plum Island Surfcasters meeting to see Roy Leyva from Off The Hook Fishing present “Artificials In The Cape Cod Canal”.  In August, Roy moved from Bassachussets to the sunshine state.  Roy traveled from Florida back to Massachusetts to honor his commitment.  Impressive!

Roy’s presentation was off the hook!  He not only covered every artificial option from alpha to omega, but also gear, safety, locations (sorry, no GPS coordinates), canal cruisers, and the multitude of species that frequent the big ditch.  His passion for fishing lit up the room from the first slide to the last slide.   After the last slide, Roy answered a multitude of questions.  He only left he afer he answered the very last question.

Everyone who attended learned something— even the old salts in the club.  If you missed his presentation, be sure to follow him on Facebook  His seminars are a must see.  Trust me! ;-).

I would like to thank all of you who stopped by my booth at the New England Saltwater Fishing Show. I am glad you found the Go Fish service useful.

I drew a ticket out the fish bowl and the winner of the Fish360 Newsletter drawing is…

…a lucky angler in Massachusetts, who will soon receive five plugs from Lemire’s Plugworks.

I have had the opportunity to attend several universities.  The most unique was Oxford University in England.  But, the “learning is fun” award goes to Shallow Water Striper University in Rhode Island.  Here is everything you need to know to get admitted:

Professors

1. Capt. Jim White
2. Joe Pagano
3. Capt. Al Anderson
4. Capt. Pat Rena
5. Dave Cheiffo
6. Capt. Jack Springel
7. Steve Mckenna
8. David Pickering
9. Mike Guanya
10. Chris Gately
11. Russ Wood
12. Mike Laptew
13. Capt. Jerry Sparks
14. Bob Oberg

Curriculum

1. Electronics
2. Boat Care
3. Mapping
4. GPS
5. Advanced Saltwater Tactics
6. Controlled Depth Fishing
7. Fly Fishing
8. Kayak Fishing
9. Surf Fishing
10. Hot Spots
11. Lure Selection
12. A Fish Eye View (Under water video seminar)

Class Schedule

Tuition
$89.00 USD for 19.5 hours of instruction.  That’s only $4.50 / hour.  Now that’s fishconomic!

Campus

Sheraton Airport Motor Inn, Warwick, RI.

In the USA, our holidays are well defined.  But, if you are in New Jersey during the month of February, then you may see evidence of a new “holiday” taking root: Surf Day.  By definition, Surf Day is “A day dedicated to the surfcaster.”  More specifically, Surf Day is an all day event hosted by the Jersey Shore Surfcasters that features:

1. Seminars
2. Workshops
3. Prizes
4. Plugbuilders
5. Tackle Representatives

This year’s Surf Day is on Saturday, February 19th from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Brookdale Community College.

Here the all-star seminar line up:

The workshops are a must see:

1. Fly Tying
2. Rod Building
3. Plug Modifications

Admission is only $10.00 USD and children under the age of 10 enter FREE.  All children receive something from the Jersey Shore Surfcasters.

The calendar year starts with January 1.  But, my fishing year starts with the East Bay Anglers annual fishing show.  This year’s show is featuring two of Rhode Island’s finest anglers: Mike Laptew & David Pickering.

The HD video presentations by Mike Laptew are a must see.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Mike’s videos are worth a billion words.  I have not seen David Pickering present before, but his reputation precedes him and I am looking forward to his presentation.

The show is on January 30 , 2011 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at the Barrington High School, Barrington, RI.

View Larger Map

Tickets are only $15.00 each and must be purchased in advance via snail mail or PayPal.  Parking is FREE!  But, seating is limited.  The 2009 and the 2010 shows had 250+ anglers!  Start the new fishing year off right by attending the East Bay Angler’s show.  Cya there. :-).

I attended the Plum Island Surfcasters fishing show this past February, which hosted DJ Muller.  DJ gave an awesome presentation on wet suiting.  I just learned that DJ and Dave Anderson have crafted an eight hour class on striped bass and surfcasting: Bass Class 2010 ~ New England~.

If you are a novice or an intermediate surfcaster and you would like to take you fishing up a level, then attend the Bass Class.  This class is the most comprehensive class on surfcasting for striped bass and it’s going to be off the hook.  Trust me!

The class will cover:

1. Surfcasting History
2. Striped bass biology: spawning, reproduction, and migration
3. Equipment
4. Techniques: eels, chunking, bait, snag and drop, and artificials
5. Plug Building History
6. Understanding lures and how and when to use them: pencil poppers, red fins, shads, and jigs.
7. Striper Variables: tides, moon phases, wind, and time of year
8. Reading the water
9. Bait fish patterns and movements
10. Finding Stripers
11. The mental and physical approaches to surfcasting
12. Cape Cod Canal Basics

The segment on Finding Stripers will be an in depth discussion with pictures and illustrations on what to look for and how to read water.  In addition to these topics, there will also be workshops on how to load Red Fins and Super Strikes and how to rig Slug-Go’s and eels.

The Bass Class is being held on Saturday, September 4th from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, Rhode Island.  The class costs $125.00 per person.  But, as a Fish360 blog reader, you can attend the class for only $100.00; and if you bring a friend, you and your friend can attend the class for only $75.00 per person.  As an attendee, you will also receive a notebook and a Bass Class T-Shirt.  Now that’s fishconomic!

Seating is limited, so register today by sending DJ an email (be sure to mention this blog article) and a non-refundable $50 deposit. So, am I attending the class?  Absolutely!  If you knew a blitz was going to happen, would you miss it?  I hope to see you there.

I attended the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association’s annual New England Saltwater Fishing Show this month for the first time.  Getting to the Rhode Island Convention Center was easy.  Parking was plentiful, secure, and reduced for the show at the center’s garage.  No need for commando parking tactics.

When I got to the ticket counter, I handed the sales person the online coupon that I printed; and as advertised, I got one dollar off admission.  One word describes the ticket counter: speedy. I arrived in the exhibition hall a half hour before the seminars started, to secure a good seat.

I attended the “Kayak fishing for big Stripers” seminar by Bob Oberg and Dave Giuliano.  The seminar was well structured and full of great tips derived from many hours on the water.  I am new to kayakfishing, so I learned a lot; but, even the kayakfishing masters learned a few things.  After the seminar, I visited the boths.

The “cool booth” award goes to Striped-Bass.com (a.k.a. S-B). The booth was inviting.  There were beach chairs, a large LCD displaying pictures from last year’s events, and of course the “hola dancer”.  The both was a great way to connect up with other S-B’ers and plan for The Striper Cup.

The “WOW! booth” award goes to the CMS booth, which had more sticks than the George Washington Memorial State Forest.  A very good thing!   Without question, the CMS folks really know their rods.  They ask you some questions, listen to the way you fish, and then suggest the optimal rod specific to your method and application.

The show is a very efficient way to shop for plugs: the local plug craftsman are in one place with their latests creations fully dressed and accessorized.  I turned by brief case into a plug bag and stuffed it with tasty offerings from Saltybugger, BigFish, Afterhours, Lemire’s Plugworks, Line Stretcher, Roberts Lures, and Point Jude Lures.  Next year I am bring my wading belt and empty plug bag. ;-).

I was impressed with the organization of the show, the number of content rich seminars, and the wide spectrum of vendors: plugs, kayaks, rods, reels, books, charters, etc., etc., etc..  And at nine dollars, the show ranks very high on the fishconomic scale.  Kudos RISAA!