Good times with old friends:

[AndyS]

Hope it's okay to post a tackle store report in the Saltwater Reports section:

A few weeks ago Duffman and I set out to visit tackle stores in the Brielle-Point Pleasant area. Fishing was on the slow side for late February which is to be expected and Duffman was antsy to get out of the house while convalescing.
We visited no less than 4 tackle stores that day and I tried to make a purchase in each store, even if it was a much as a tee shirt. There were no outdoor shows nor flea markets that day but we had a great time. At the end of the day I stopped by a local fish market and purchased some fresh fish to take home.

A few days ago I visited a good friend I knew from 6th and 7th grade living in Bridgewater. Tom Santiguida relocated back to New Jersey after leaving his commercial lobster business in Maine. Tom will be taking over Surf City Bait and Tackle on Long Beach Island New Jersey. I met with Tom the other day and we had the obligatory welcome back to New Jersey cheesesteak. Amazing the work that goes into running even a small tackle store. We are pretty lucky to have such stores, I have 3 such stores right here near Seaside Heights. So I wish Tom back and we reminisced the old days of catching snapper blues and helping out on the Norma K II with his step father Dick Kuhn. I used to sit and talk with Dick at Gates Bait and Tackle also, a great story teller he was.
So in light of everything else going on we continue to support out local stores, good luck this year fishing and stay safe.