Sometimes I wonder if you guys just do not realize there are videos inside of the pages of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. Maybe you just don’t care, which is fine too. I am not exactly Spielberg here. But I find in puzzling that only maybe a hundred guys will watch a video in the magazine.

Here is a video I did with my son few weeks ago, where my son was a cameraman. We came back from Mexico where I got spanked by casters there. In fact, my son spanked me too with Torque after just learning how to cast. I thought Torque would blow away the competition because of its spool design  but I was way off

[youtube]http://youtu.be/bO2saandPxQ[/youtube]

Managing Fish In The Real World

By John Papciak

By now you’ve probably heard about the latest Striped Bass Stock Assessment. If you are like most, you were probably confused with the acronyms and the bureaucracy. Let me take a minute to try to put the situation into a scenario you might be better able to relate to.

***

Let’s say you just got called into your boss’ office.

Times are getting tough, not like it was in ’05. He wants your input with setting plans for next year. Whether he will listen to you is another story, but at least he’s asking.

You’ve been around the block more than most. Realistically, at this point, you know the company will book sales of about 62. The original sales “target” was 72, but that was a pipe dream. You wonder why it is still put out there, no one takes that target seriously.

62, on the other hand, that’s getting a bit close to the “threshold” of 58, which is absolute zero. Anything below 58 and you know the company is probably losing money. They’d probably have to lay people off and close some operations. Nasty stuff like that. You’ve been there before, and you promised yourself “Never Again.”

Maybe now is a good time to be proactive, rather than wait and hope for business to improve?

In walks the whiz-kid from Finance. He gives you both a copy of his updated forecasts. It has all the latest projections from Marketing.

You thumb through the report making believe you understand it all, but it’s really complicated (it’s thorough, but maybe more complicated than it needs to be).

It’s all these acronyms and technical terms. He’s got all these different types of forecasts, and you don’t know which, if any, is more reliable than the next. There are so many tables and graphs, your head is spinning. At least they are all pointing in the same general direction. And at least the direction seems to jibe with what you are seeing and hearing in the real world.

You know it’s gotten harder over the last few years, but just how bad are things?

The whiz kid’s conclusions are hard to interpret.

“At current status, the probability of losses increases until 2015-2016, but declines thereafter. If corrective action is delayed until 2014 or 2015, the probability of losses increases.”

It takes a long time to get through the techno mumbo jumbo, but there is one set of graphs that is easier to understand.

The graphs show the different forecasts over the next few years. It looks like there is a 60% chance of the company being in the red by 2015 – but only if immediate corrective action is taken. If there are delays in taking action, the chances of losses increase to almost 80% by 2015.

“Wow, 80% chance of being in the red, that’s bad,” you say to yourself!

Then it sinks in – no matter what they do, it will almost certainly get worse before it gets better. Cutbacks are hell. Losses and layoffs are worse.

So where is the silver lining? When does it getter better, and then by how much?

The Whiz-Kid’s projections all show a return to profit by 2017, but not by much. It will not be a return to the boom years. This is the new normal. And a lot of the upside hinges on some new prospects that may or may not materialize by 2017.

The whiz-kid is going to get an ear full, that much you do know. Some will want to discredit the report, others might already be working behind the scenes to find a way to spin it. Maybe they will twist his arm for a “new” forecast? You know none of the Big Shots around the place is going to accept any cut in HIS empire, not without a fight.

***

Well, that’s how it all might unfold in the private sector, but we will have to wait to see how this plays out in the business of managing fish over at ASMFC. Only time will tell. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Management Board gets together in late October to review the 2012 Striped Bass Stock Assessment.

How do you think it will turn out?

You can read it for yourself in the ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS ASSESSMENT SUMMARY FOR 2013

http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/crd/crd1314/partb.pdf

Key Excerpts-

The Atlantic striped bass stock was not overfished or experiencing overfishing relative to the new reference points from the 2013 SAW/SARC57 (Figure B1-B3). Female spawning stock biomass (SSB) was estimated at 61.5 thousand mt (136 million lbs), above the SSB threshold of 57,904 mt, but below the SSB target of 72,380 mt. Total fishing mortality was estimated at 0.188, below the F threshold of 0.213 but above the F target of 0.175.

When compared to the biological reference points currently used in management (ASMFC 2008), the stock is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. Female SSB in 2012 is above both the target (46,101 mt) and the threshold (36,000 mt), and F2012 is below both the target (0.30) and the threshold (0.34).

Projections: Five-year projections of female spawning SSB and fishing mortality (Figure B4) were made by using a standard forward projection methodology. If the current fully-recruited F (0.188) is maintained during 2013-2017, or if it increases to the threshold or decreases to the target, the probability of being below the SSB threshold increases until 2015-2016, but declines thereafter. If action to reduce F is delayed until 2014 or 2015, the probability of being below the SSB threshold increases (Figure B5). If the current removals, meaning landings and dead discards of 3.59 million fish, are maintained during 2013-2017, the probability of the fully-recruited F being above the F threshold increases rapidly starting in 2013 and reaches near 1 by 2014 (Figure B6). If constant removals equal to 50% of the 2012 removals are taken during 2013-2017, the probability of fully-recruited F being above the F threshold is near zero.

I am not going to get on my soapbox today regarding the state of fisheries. I always wrote this blog from the personal perspective and my opinions are my own. And what I see I don’t like. But there is nothing I can do but make you aware of what I see. But today is not the day..because all the fish are taking different migration patterns, the bait is in deep water, the surf temperatures are too high, we have no storms and yeah…Sandy did it!

Nope, today we are going to talk STRIPERTHON 2013 Catch and Release Contest.  So let’s get to it

But before I say anything, let me get this out and please no thanks or kudos. You’ll know in life when time is right for something, and to me this feel as good time as any. The fishing community, all of you on the blog, all the magazine subscribers, advertisers and yes, even lurkers, all of you have had an effect on my life and life of my family. You maybe subscribed to the magazine, maybe you bought a shirt or my book over the years. My point is, I and my family are grateful for the support. We kind of came up with this contest concept quickly, basically copying our editor’s Dave Anderson rules from his season long Surfcaster’s Classic tournament at http://www.gotight.net/ (if you haven’t checked it yet, you should http://www.gotight.net/ ). At first, I was going to keep the prizes simple and modest. It’s about friendly competition, it’s about camaraderie, it’s about bringing attention to the declining fishery. And it’s about us thanking you. But it’s also moved me to thank you on a personal level. So I bought a shinny ZeeBaaS reel for the winner on my own. Just as a token of thanks to all of you. I wish I could buy you each one. I also wish striper stocks would be what they are few years ago. All in due time, I guess. But that it, I just had to get it off my chest. No thanks needed or necessary. Save them for SJ writers who according to many emails we get “always give their all and they never just mail-it-in”‘

Yup, we got a lot to be proud off. I am only going to make one plea. For fairness and ethics. That’s it.

Back to important stuff.

STRIPERTHON 2013

Boundaries?

Everywhere in saltwater striped bass swims. Yup..anywhere in saltwater, any state, any county, any rock your heart desires

Dates?

Weekend of October 18 at 5 pm through  October 20th till 5 pm

Minimum size?

28inches

Entry fee?

Zero, Nada, Nula. All Surfcaster’s Journal Subscribers are automatically entered. No entry fee. If you were thinking about subscribing, now might be a good time?

Pictures?

Two pictures, one picture with ruler and SJ Tag and one of you holding the fish. See rules below.

Prizes

1. ZeeBaaS 27 Spinning Reel
2. St Croix AVSS100MF2 Avid Surf Rod
3. Hansom Tackle Pack -Pliers, Knife ,Sheaths
4. Set of Super Strike Lures
5. Surfcaster’s Journal Gear

Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine announces STRIPERTHON 2013

Coast wide Catch and Release Tournament on October 18th to 21st.

The STRIPERTHON 2013 is open to only subscribers of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. There is no entry fee, as a subscriber you are automatically entered.

Only saltwater striped bass may be entered into the tournament.
All fish entered into the STRPERTHON 2013 must be caught in a surfcasting situation. A surfcasting situation constitutes contacting the ground, rocks, beach or a dock with ones feet. Any means may be used to reach these destinations, such as boat, ferry, swimming or kayaking but the fish must be hooked and landed while the angler’s feet are in contact with the Earth or something permanently affixed to the Earth.
All fish entered must be caught using a rod and reel and a legal live (or dead) bait or lure.

The CONTEST TAG will be emailed to you at 5 pm on Friday October 18th. TAG must be included in the photo for each fish entered into the tournament. You may also download it onto your cell phone and show the TAG on your phone screen in the photo as well
All measurements will be ROUNDED UP to the nearest whole inch.
All qualifying fish have to be photographed with the CONTEST TAG and next to a measuring tape showing entire length of the fish in inches visible in the photo accompanied by a SECOND photo of the angler holding the fish. This event is intended to be a CATCH AND RELEASE competition, remember all fish must be photographed alive. Minimum size 28 inches

The largest fish by length will win first prize, second largest second prize and so on. In case of a tie, the first entry submitted will be placed ahead of a second entry of the identical size.

You must send us your entry pictures by 5PM on Sunday October 20th. Email pictures to info@surfcastersjournal.com with email heading “STRIPERTHON 2013”.  Include your name and phone contact.
Anyone caught cheating in any way will be disqualified, ejected and publicly shamed.  This means any photo editing, unannounced substitutions, entering fish caught by non members etc, will result in disqualification. We reserve the right to disqualify any entries in which the measurements are not clearly visible without enlargement. The SJ tournament committee will have final say in all disputes concerning the legitimacy of photos, size of the fish and quality of the photo submitted.. Photos entered without a CONTEST TAG shown will not be counted, no exceptions.
Contest TAG must be printed at a size of 6 inches by 6 inches or larger.
You are urged to take whatever means necessary to protect the TAG. Designating a page in your leader wallet is a great way to protect the tag. It is also wise to print several extras because, water and paper don’t mesh well.

All anglers fishing in any STRIPERTHON 2013 tournament agree to do so at their own risk. Surfcaster’s Journal, it’s owner, partners, sponsors or employees are in no way liable for any injuries or accidents that may occur during the act of fishing or traveling, walking, boating or kayaking to or from a fishing location. By printing the Contest TAG  you agree to indemnify and defend Surfcaster’s Journal, it’s owner and/or employees against all claims, causes of action, damages, judgments, costs or expenses, including attorney fees and other litigation costs which may, in any way, arise from your  participation in the STRIPERTHON 2013.

Stay tuned for info on STRIPERTHON 2013 this weekend. Waiting for Tommy to make the contest file. The gist of it is, Catch and Release , no fee, open only to SJ subscribers, October 18 to 20…oh yeah, and something called “ZeeBaaS” for a winner :-)……stay tuned

Here is todays blog by John Papciak

The Midnight Rambler
John Papciak

Ritual (de lo) Habitual

The other night I attended the NY Fisherman Surf Fishing Seminar on Long Island.

I’ve been going to this seminar, and earlier versions, for as long as I can remember. And the truth is I hope to always go, as long as work and health allows – and so long as it doesn’t conflict with any serious fishing.

Was there a seminar that I just had to see? Did I need any tackle? Did I need to know about any new products?

Not particularly.

I just reorganized my tackle and uncovered bags and bags of plugs – dozens of darters, needlefish and metal lips of all makes and sizes. When and how I got them is a big mystery, but that’s what a compulsive surfcaster does, I guess. I felt like the squirrel who finally found 10 years worth of nuts buried in the ground.

So, was the seminar a waste of time for me? Absolutely not

While one side of my brain might have said “been there and done that,” the other side recognized this seminar as part of the fall ritual.

Organizing my tackle, new hooks, new line, the Huntington Surf Fishing Show, watching for the first Nor’easter..it’s just not fall unless I do some of these things.

Bill Lomnicki of LIBBA stopped to fill me in on how he was doing with his tin boat. Craig Cantelmo of Van Staal was fired up about the first fall ablies on the fly. Alberto of Tactical Anglers was gushing about fishing in Florida. Bruce Froh of Blue Frog Bucktails gave me his observations on the recent run of weakfish. And the list goes on.

A few other guys told me the same stories they told me last time I saw them, and yes I probably repeated a bit of my own.

None of them needed any new tackle either, but there we all were, a year older.

A common new theme brought up by nearly everyone was the scarcity of stripers in local waters during this past spring and summer.

But was anyone altering their plans for fishing Montauk this fall, and breaking from the tradition? Hell no, or not yet anyway.

Fish or no fish, trucks will assemble in the lower lot, at North Bar and at Camp Hero. The folding chairs will come out, and the wetsuits and waders will be hanging out to dry each morning. Each night you’ll hear that click-click-click of a surfcaster in korkers, plodding his way to and from the rocks.

If the fishing does tank, numbers will thin rather quickly. But with so many fisherman locked into the ritual (and having already booked vacation and/or hotel rooms), a new wave will replace the departed rather quickly.

And for many, there’s a bit more to this than just fishing.

Some will immediately go the same spots they fished last year…and the year before that. Fish or not fish many will be happy as hell just casting without a care in the world

The picnic tables will be covered with tackle, and the adjacent grills will be smoking each afternoon from burgers and sausages. (Ok ,perhaps some things have changed, I’ll see fewer cans of Schaefer and Rheingold, but instead bottles of Blue Point Sam Adams and Stella).

I’ll see a few who no longer have the energy to fish in a wetsuit, or to go toe to toe with six foot waves in a 30 knot wind. They might wait for more humane conditions. Many with grey hair will be fishing much less than they used to, but they will still be content in just being there, to take it all in .

Its fall, and this is what they do. Most of them would have it no other way.   Hopefully, when I’m older, I’ll see it this way too

Finally around 9 am I made my way to False Bar where I ran into some friends. How was last night I asked?

Thumbs down they said. I talked to approximately fifty guys on Saturday. Only three had fish. One guys had a few short bass, one had few in Casewels, also small, and one had a bluefish. Most of the dudes I talked to got skunked. You’d never know that by looking at 37 pound on leader board. The winner, John Bruno deserves a world of credit for winning this contest just about every year. But for the most guys, I got a feeling they would have sold their mother for a bluefish bump.

I took a nap and eventually worked my way around the north side into the Camp Hero lot. Few birds were working on outside , they got a lot of guys excited but they were not coming in. I’ve seen no splashes but something must have pushed that bait up to the surface? Willy Young stood next to me and said this was the most promising water he has seen all week.

There was a lady and two gents in Browns trying to hold onto to their respective rocks and cast into the birds but the swells were too much. They spent as much time in water as they did casting. But they gave an honest effort.

Finally around four o’clock I suited up and walked to the Rat Hole. There was no one fishing on the north or south side, so I figured I might as well get some exercise. And hour of casting produced noting as expected. Other than this picture opportunity which will probably be my favorite shot taken during this unproductive picture taking weekend.

By 6 PM I was back under the lighthouse with camera and Ron D. Like groundhogs days where every day looked the same. Why under the light again? It was the only place where we found people fishing.

Finally someone caught a bass! I swear on my mother it was less than 12 inches long. And I think I am being generous!

Poor fellow dropped it in the rocks while trying to toss it back, but he was a great sport and crawled into the rocks, head first and got it out and into the water. Luckily there were no waves while he did this.

Few minutes later, the Great Ole caught a bluefish and that was all she wrote. I said goodbye to Ron and jumped in my truck and drove home, picking up my son along the way in East Islip.

What do you make out of it? There was  LOT of bait in the wash on the north side, not so much on the south side. The boats were hammering fish the last few days. But not even bluefish made a foray into the surf. I always said that when there are no bass under the lighthouse..watch out. More often than not there won’t be any in other places. I might be wrong but I always found a lighthouse rip to be a great barometer.

I know there was not much to be had at Moriches, Fins or Jones Beach over the weekend even though they all have bait, some more, some less. Full moon? Sure, it effects it but there was  scarce action before the moon too. I guess we should wait and see if things improve in next few weeks. Should be interesting

Of course, if your name is Skinner, you are not having ANY problems catching fish :-)…just kidding

New video just uploaded by John Skinner

[youtube]http://youtu.be/-MvE8ivI4Lw[/youtube]

btw

we have last few limited edition shirts ($20 shipped) and hats($15 shipped) left from The Fisherman show

One size  XL

Four  size 2XL

Four -retro hats

First people that contact us at info@surfcastersjournal.com take them

I spent 24 hours in Montauk Friday into Saturday evening. My sole purpose was to try to get some images for the magazine. I brought a rod and a handful of lures with me, but my primary objective was to shot some pictures. With The Fisherman Montauk Classic on top this weekend, I knew there would be a lot of guys fishing. Plenty of photo opportunities, or so I thought.

I meet Ron D, the ZeeBaaS Guru under the light at dusk. He was there for the same reason, camera in hand shooting away. You can see that the level of excitement was there, as there were few rocks to be had. But from what we could see, no one told the fish they were suppose to be there.

As it got dark, we reset our cameras in the upper lot and spent better portion of two hours shooting at the moon over the lighthouse using long exposures. This was all new to me and judging by my pictures I suck at it, but it was something new. Waiting for a camera to take a 20 second exposure is definitely something different then anything I ever did before.

Around 10 PM the SJ Art Guru “Yo Dude” (Tommy to most of you) arrived. Ron and him suited up and walked down to bluffs while I set up my cameras and headed out to the False Bar. Holy crap! There must have been close to hundred guys lined up in the water on outgoing tide. But after watching them for a half an hour I’ve seen no fish caught. Zero

So I went back to Jones Reef and crashed in my truck. No worries , with hundreds of guys in the contest, there will be some good picture opportunities at sunrise.

The sunrise was at 6 38 and I set a clock for 5 AM. I really do not care about taking pictures once the sun has peaked over the horizon so I like to be in position early. I thought about going to Browns and shooting into the Lighthouse to capture that predawn red glory but I was worried if there will be guys fishing there. I can always take shots of empty rocks.

At 5 am the phone alarmed buzzed….and I re-set it to 5 30. Hey, I got a fluffy pillow award! At 5 30 it went off again and I was up this time. The coffee in thermos from 7/11 was still hot and it felt great as it warmed me up. After pulling into a Weed Bowl I grabbed the camera and started to walk towards the Bluffs. I only seen one guy at the edge of the bowl which I thought it was unusual. I didn’t make more than five steps before I felt that familiar grumbling in my stomach.

Oh shit! Literally. I dumped the camera in the truck and took off for the bathroom in the parking lot. This is EXACTLY  a reason why I like to get up extra early. In front of the bathroom Fisherman Editor Fred Golofaro was manning the weigh in station. He told me John Bruno had a 37 and there were two 18lb fish on board. Awesome I thought as I went it do my business. Five minutes latter I was walking back along the bluff and scratching my head. NO ONE was fishing!

Other then two guys in Scotts and handful under the light, there was no one there. Oh well, they must all be on south side. Or they were exhausted from bailing fish all night.

I drove to Camp Hero, took a peak over the cliffs and counted ZERO guys fishing. But the lot was full. Back over the lighthouse where I spent an hour shooting at people for no reason. God knows that there was not a fish caught while I was there.

Finally around 9 am I made my way to False Bar where I ran into some friends. How was last night I asked?

I got my thinking hat on…..and that can be dangerous to my health…and to those around me.

We heard you last year when you told us that you wish that the Catch and Release Weekend Tournament we held in the South Shore of Long Island was a coast wide thing. So we thought about it and said, why the hell not? You can call it STRIPERTHON 2013.

A Catch and Release Weekend tournament, only for the Subscribers of the Surfcaster’s Journal Online Magazine. To promote Catch and Release fishing, to hopefully raise awareness amongst other anglers, to spare life of a few egg bearing females. To try to stop to put an end to this insane killing of striped bass whose stocks are in my humble opinion, collapsing right in front of our eyes. The entry fee?

Big fat zero. Yup, every Surfcaster’s Journal Subscriber will be automatically eligible to enter the fish. The Rule? Almost done with them but basically a carbon copy of Surfcasters Classic ran by Dave Anderson at gotight.com. Go check it out at http://www.gotight.net

You’ll get a special SJ logo card to print and display with your fish. When? In October, more on dates as we narrow it down. Prizes? I am working on it. Its our way of giving  back to you our readers, and at the same time trying to raise awareness of this alarming decline in the striped bass stocks. Remember, we went through the total collapse not too long ago. I am not saying that we are going down that road again but if I look at my catches compared to just few years ago, then we are already there. We all know I suck at fishing but not THAT much! Look for information about the contest in few days.

We also have a one of a kind, blow your roof off your house contest that will be unveiled on Veteran’s Day. Yes, it has to do with Veterans, active and former. You know, the dudes that made possible for you and I to send our kids to school every day without fear. We will solute them in a very special way.

Continuing in our video series with rod gurus, here is a video with Dave Colley from St Croix Rods, talking about new Avid rods and some tidbits about Mojo and Legend lines too

Enjoy

[youtube]http://youtu.be/BHF7AGDv798[/youtube]

There are a lot of surprises we have in store for you this fall, this is just a first one. Today we will unveil a 2013 SJ Photo Contest sponsored by Tsunami .

The Rules

Send us a photo from this fall run that best depicts the Fall Striper surf experience. The only rule is “no dead fish pictures!”. Folks from Tsunami are just as concerned about the state of fisheries as we are at the Surfcaster’s Journal Online Magazine.

What makes us fall in love with surf. The people, the places, the fish, the camaraderie, the blitzes. By entering the photo into the Surfcaster’s Journal 2013 Photo Contest, you give us the right to use the picture in the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine for promotional purposes in association with this contest.

So starting today, you can send your best shots to info@surfcastersjournal.com with “SJ photo contest 2013″ in the email subject. On November 15th, we will announce three winners. The first and second place winners will receive SJ Gear items. The First Place winner will receive a brand new 10′ 6 ” TSAWESS1062MH Tsunami Airwave Elite rod rated 1 to 3 1/2 ounce that we have recent did a video review with Lou Caruso. You know that when custom rod builder of his statue gives thumbs up to a readymade rod, it better be good.

And while we are on the subject of Tsunami Airwave rods, might as well give you the video we did last week with Nick Cicero, representative of Tsunami at The Fisherman Show & Seminar in Huntington, Long Island. Yup, we asked him about the two new “plugging” models he just released.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/Siajog3-grc[/youtube]

By the way..today is the last day you can subscribe to SJ and receive the free copy of the book HOOKED.Offer expires at midnight tonight

AND

our friend Bob Jones has a Show this weekend

We know you are waiting with baited breath for the winner of the Super Strike Custom Lures awesome three-pack of mackerel darters winner. The winner is surf zone bronh22@yahoo.com . You have 5 days to email us at info@surfcastersjournal.com and we will forward your shipping info to great Steve Musso of the Super Strike lures.

I hope you are enjoying the new issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Online Magazine. I think it might be our best one yet. Did you notice how everything got better once I was not involved? Remarkable how that works..lol

How do we make it better? Well, as much as I like to think we are “cool” I also know that the current and future “young guns” in the surf will want us to “keep up with times” . Please stop asking me if you can get a paper version. I tell you what, I can promise you a paper version if you promise to teach me how to put a video in the paper publication. Deal?

However we are working on few things. We are working on adding the “PRINT” feature as some of you have asked to be able to print the publication for reference on paper. But even better, we are looking into adding an “APP” for your phone or tablet (IOS and Android) so you are able to download the magazine to your device and read it offline any time you want. We are also looking into adding the ability of “pinch and zoom” on your IPad. So don’t think we don’t hear what you are saying, we do. And we will do it for you. As soon as we wrap up our regular job-wedding anniversaries-fall run fishing-kids activities-cooking-andGodknowswhat else.

We also have a bunch more videos for you coming up

Nick from Tsunami is talking about his Airwave Elite

Dave from St Croix on Avid Rods

Rich from CTS on new CTS S7 Rods

How to use manual bail reel

Lure bag storage

how to properly seat two piece rod

How to separate a “stuck” two piece rod

and more

We are also working on a concept of a coastwide weekend catch and release contests, open to only magazine subscribers with no fee nope, zero. It will be our gift to you

you will also have a chance to award your best buddy a reel which you have never seen before in such a configuration of which are only two in existence and valued well over thousand dollars..stay tuned for this huge event

You will also get a chance to win a Tsunami Elite Airwave rod for just sending us a picture from this fall run.

Since this is dedicated to be a week of video blogs, here is today entry.

We spoke to Rich from CTS Custom rods at the Fisherman Show and Seminar last week. He’s got a new rod coming out, model S7.

check it out

[youtube]http://youtu.be/AuNr7LinmH4[/youtube]

Hmm, not much interest in talking about new Super Surf from Lamiglas, huh? Is it maybe because no one even knew they were coming? Last year someone from Lamiglas asked me if I thought these new rod companies like CTS and Century are really going to affect their business or they are just flash in the pan. I told them what I honestly thought, that these new companies are operating on a “grass root level”. Meaning they are connecting with potential customers in person. Via demonstrations, on the beach, at seminars. By sponsoring just about every contest in the surf fishing world. I don’t know, I am not a marketing genius but it seems to me five years ago everyone fished Lami. Super Surf, GSB, Arra, you name it, but you had one of those. Not sure if that is the case these days.

Speaking of Lamiglas, has anyone on this blog bought their top of the line Infinity rod? Care to tell us what you think? I am yet to see one on the beach but then again , being that my body is falling apart I haven’t really been fishing as much as I would like. I have one that was sent to me last fall by Lamiglas but few weeks after that, they redesigned the rod by adding more straight to the tip after a demo at Paulie’s. Or at least I think that is what they did? I guess it’s one of a kind now…

Continuing with this week video series from The Fisherman Show and Seminar in Huntington, Century rods.

Here is a video we shot with Ryan White, exclusive USA distributor of Century Rods trough his company Advance Fishing USA. They have a new line of rods named Nor’easter that they unveiled at the Huntington show. Again, thanks go to Lou Caruso our rod guru for stepping in and doing the camera duties while Tommy was swamped with crowds around his table wanting new t-shirts

[youtube]http://youtu.be/bqnl8wt9A7Y[/youtube]