Fisherman's Headquarters, Ship Bottom NJ - Spring Fishing, 2012

Early Springtime fishing.  Where can I start...well, with a trip to a “local” tackle shop.  It was a warming evening with the sun shining out of Philadelphia.  I could tell there was a special feeling in the air that motivated me to get on my move as quickly as possible in order to avoid traffic and get to Ship Bottom, NJ.

Taking the PA Turnpike 276 into the NJ brought me back through some beautiful back woods of our nations Garden State.  I could savor the fresh air coming through the windows of my jeep because I could be sure this route wouldn’t be made again for a while.  The twisted highways lead to flat and calm throughways of 72 and onto the “island”.  I was finally there to pick up a rod I had my bud build for me while being out of town.  I made it around 6:30pm and was greeted by great guys thinking, speaking, and doing everything fishing.  It was a great feeling to be back in Fisherman’s Headquarters.  The helm Greg leads is a frequent spot for many anglers and for me it is a place I spend countless hours.

   

I ended up taking my time to catch up and test out a few new Seeker Hercules blanks.  GTS70L, H, & XH to name a few that I had some interest in.  I had been anticipating my custom rod and felt that although it was a first of its kind, once people understood the capabilities of this blank they would find a good usage for its action and taper. 

This is the one blank I used from Sean Elumba back last Fall with Captain Rich on the Lady Frances.  I decided on a spinning setup for all around fishing that could range from porgy, black seabass, bluefish, stripers, along with the marathon fishing up north for cod, pollock, haddock, & hake.  The composite S-glass that Seeker rolls out was designed by a local stud named Billy Vivona of Staten Island.  His work helped produced a lineup that can introduce a typical west coast tackle company to the east coast shores lined with sharpies young and old. 

I anticipated this trip down to the shop that I underestimated my time I would spend talking tackle.  I had to leave because I had a fishing trip to get on!

Shimano Ocea Jigger 1500PG - JDM Yumeya Knob, Spring Cod 2012

Shout Fisherman's Tool - Expedition Bag IV & Jigger III (White/Black), Spring Gear 2012

AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been meaning to post some stuff up about the Shout and their products for jigging and popping.  My first experience with Shout was through their Kudako hooks.  Eventually fellow anglers from Singapore and Malaysia along with Japan convinced me to check out their gear.  This time around my fellow fishos were kind enough to pick up this item along with some others for a up-and-coming multi-day excursion. 

There are some times when you have those MUST HAVE items and this particular model is one of them.
Enter the Shout Expedition Bag IV, in limited White colour range.  Realize that the Black hooded EVA cover comes off and can be used as a lunch-time plate for quick eats between fishing drops when the captain decides to move the boat.  Cheers mate!

Dimensions: W45cm x D32cm x H35cm

 The bag is part of their "Just Fit" lineup where different cases or sleeves can be partitioned into each other making the piece just fit together evenly.  Although not new, there are alot of products that Shout has only in Japan and slowly they will trickle down into the US market.  Thank our local storefronts for bringing them in, especially this type of product where shipping them per piece creates less then "most" profitable margins.




Notice the very useful addition of a "rod holder".  This is the simple reason for purchasing the Expedition IV.  I can use this to keep track of my scissors!  Or plier if I don't have it on a lanyard to my belt.  Finally...I won't mis-place them and have fellow anglers use the PE cutter for their Mono Leaders!! (magahai!)

The Jigger III is another item I very well wanted in my line up. This belongs to my fellow fisho.  A tad smaller, this is the model that is more compact.  You can use this for your lunch box at work or for tackle on the boat.  More popular and having outstanding useability the Jigger III (Black) makes a handsome piece even for home pets.

Dimensions: W41cm × D25cm × H27cm

Beautiful!  Size comparison to putter.