Archive for February, 2011
NY Sportfishing Federation Fishing Show
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2011 Freeport Fishing Show
I paid my annual visit to the New York Sportfishing Federations Fishing Show and Auction in Freeport today. I had hoped to take a shot at some of the white perch in the south shore tidal creeks but 45 knot NW gale conditions quickly changed my mind. As it turns out the wind was a blessing in disguise as I spent the entire day at the show picking through all the vendors wares for some good stuff, renew the usual magazine subscriptions and just talk fishing with other like minded folks. There was also several great seminars offered by some of the sharpest anglers in the area on a whole range of topics and techniques and how they apply to our local waters.
Freeport Show Lobby Before the Crowds Arrived
Capt Bob Rochetta, the NY State Striped Bass record holder with a fish of 76 pounds did a great session speaking about some of his favorite tactics. John Skinner, a writer for a local fishing paper, designer of FisherLogs software and all around sharpie fisherman did a presentation of bucktailing for fluke that included a bunch of underwater footage of the fish in their natural domain. A very cool video showed a test he did of Berkley Gulp baits where he just dropped a bunch on the sandy bottom and filmed fish charging the bait and fighting each other over it. Bruce Froh the original designer of Blue Frog bucktails ( some of the HOTTEST bucktails around the Northeast) shared his knowledge of fishing his creations for stripers, bluefish, weakfish and fluke.
Beautiful Hand Tied Teasers
And then there was the tackle vendors. The show featured four rows of tackle shops, fishing manufacturers, custom rod builders and many types of other fishing related vendors most of which were offering very nice Show specials and discounts. Of course it goes without saying that I was able to find a reason for “‘needing”" many of these items. Which reminds me, I now need to shop for an additional tackle box.
Loads of deals on equipment
I had a very nice time on a not so nice day. These shows are always a blast. They give us the chance to get out and spend time looking at all the new goodies which generally leads to the planning and scheming of how the new stuff will be put into action during the upcoming season.
It was well worth the hour ride from my point of view. Please forgive the quality of the pictures as I forgot my camera and snapped these quick on my cell phone.
Diamond Jigs Galore
Gorgeous Fish Mounts
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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And The Winner Is….
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Super Strike Lures Little Neck Popper
Before I announce the winner I want to thank EVERYONE who submitted their photos for this giveaway. I asked for some great shots to help take my mind off the nasty winter we are having here on Long Island and you guys came through big-time!! Thank YOU very much, I have enjoyed seeing your pictures. I think this may have helped cure Winter as well since it hasn’t snowed in two weeks and we actually hit 53 degrees here today. BONUS!!!
And now I have happy to announce that the Winner of the 2011 Winter STINKS Giveaway is William Ragulsky. William’s winning shot came to me directly from the Concrete Ships off Virginia’s Eastern Shore area. You can read the entire story on William’s blog at Coastal Kayak Angler. Action photos were asked for and I think William’s has that pretty much covered. Click the pic for larger size.
2011 Winter STINKS Giveaway Winner
I will reach out to William for shipping details. If there is no word after 7 days I will pick a new winner next Monday.
Congratulations to William on a BEAUTIFUL fish (Caught atop a kayak to boot) and I hope you catch a better one on your new Super Strike popper.
And to everyone who participated, once again I thank you for taking the time to send in your pictures.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Choosing A Cast Net for Live Bait
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Live Bunker for Striped Bass
When your goal is large striped bass, fewer methods are more successful than using live bait. Striped bass will eat just about anything it can get in its mouth and this leads to a choice of potential baits. The problem here is that procuring enough of a certain type of bait for the day’s trip can sometimes be difficult. Flounder, porgies and blackfish to name a few, are all excellent live baits for striped bass however regulations surrounding size and bag limits, as well as declining stocks all conspire to make using these as perspective baits problematic. In the case of the winter flounder here on Long Island you could spend your entire day just trying to find a SINGLE legal size fish let alone enough for a striper fishing trip.
Other species such as bergalls, kingfish, etc are nice alternatives and will catch fish. Generally these baits are obtained in the normal fashion of using rod and reel until enough baits are in the livewell for the day. Somedays a good portion of your fishing time may be consumed by just making bait. An angler may also choose from live baits stocked in some local bait shops. Live eels and, in recent years, spots are very nice but the cost puts some folks off.
In the area I fish I believe it would be safe to say the most popular live bait for striped bass is the menhaden, (aka, Bunker, pogies). These baitfish generally swim in large schools and most years are easily spotted in the early morning or late afternoons in many of the local canals that flow into the Great South Bay. Anglers can obtain their striped bass baits by casting weighted treble hooks into the schools of bunker and snag them or a better option would be tossing a castnet over the school and catching your days bait in a single toss.
While there are still conditions where I will snag the bunker, the vast majority of the time I will be throwing the castnet on them. The first time you haul the net loaded with 40-50 bunker in it you will be wondering why you EVER were snagging to begin with. Read More→
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Fishing Photography Failures
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Very Forgetttable Digital Photos
Digital cameras are fantastic little items for fisherman. Every year it seems they are getting smaller and packed with more fancy features then we could ever wish for. There are slim-line cameras out there that will fit in your back pocket so nicely you may forget they are there. Yes, it seems you just can NOT escape a camera these days.
Do not take me the wrong way. I LOVE having cameras aboard, I always have the digital camera nearby and encourage all aboard to have theirs ready as well. In fact this year I am already planning on how to best use VIDEO cameras to expand the digital footprint aboard the boat.
With all the nice features and ease of use the modern digital cameras provide, there is also an apparent “downside” to having a camera snapping away at just about every move made. I present the following as evidence of this fact 
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Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Super Bowl Weekend Wanderings
Posted by: | CommentsThe weather around Long Island took a decided turn for the better over the big Super Bowl weekend. There was NO snow falling from the sky and with temperatures in the high 40s for Sunday the snow actually started to recede. My yard is starting to show signs of thawing as patches of lawn are now visible through the snow that has been covering it since the day after Christmas. It was a great weekend for fishing related activities as the 2011 fishing show season here on Long Island kicked off with the Long Island Recreational Fishing Expo running through the weekend and the Melville Fishing Flea Market on Sunday.
I visited the LI Recreational Expo on Saturday and spent several hours pouring over the vendors offerings along with chatting it up with fellow fishing buddies. The show debutted in a new venue for this year’s edition and it was a fantastic location. Long Island anglers anxious to clear some of the cabin fever suffered around these parts turned out in droves with long lines at the entrance for most of the time I was there. Consensus among friends I spoke with was although the show was somewhat smaller, due in large part to the economical state nowadays I’d guess, there was still plenty of opportunity to stock up on quality items. I scored a BUNCH of custom tied fluke teasers that are just plain works of art. I can not wait to get after the local fluke populations with these things!!
Hand Tied Custom Fluke Teaser
On Sunday morning it was off to the Melville Fishing Flea market. The hall was PACKED as folks strolled the aisles and dug through an endless amount of new and used rods/reels, line, lure, and any terminal tackle ever needed. For my part I found a dealer offering my very FAVORITE rods, Star Rods, at 50 percent off. SWEET!! Further down the aisle I found reelsforless.com and grabbed up some Cabo PTs spinning reels and Shimano Tekota conventional reels at AMAZING savings. 6 large bags of plastic shrimp tails rounded out my bounty for the day. This show as a LOT of fun!!!!
After the flea market my wife and I took a drive down to Smith Point County Park to say hello to her friends, the whitetail deer population. We watched a small group come out of the reeds just before dusk to grab up some cracked corn and other snacks folks had left around for them. Good stuff.
2011 Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers
Had a good time watching the Super Bowl. It was a great game and while I am an Oakland Raider fan and longtime AFC devotee it was nice to see Green Bay take the title. To this day I have a hard time rooting for the Steelers since Franco’s Immaculate Reception against my team in the 70′s. I was sick to my stomach listening to Christine Aguilera screw-up the Anthem. Why can’t these “stars” just SING the song without putting their own spin on it?? And how about remembering the WORDS!!!! Congrats to the Green Bay Packers and their fans on a great win.
Sailfish 2360 Center Console
On the matter of congratulations I have to say a very sincere congratulations to my cousin Sandy, her husband Dennis and their son Matt on their purchase of a new Sailfish 2360 center console boat!! Dennis and Matt fish with me all the time. Matt has been a die-hard fisherman for EVER. You guys must be totally psyched. Now I just hope you guys will still have some time to fish with ME!!!
According to the calendar there is only about 4-5 weeks before the cover comes off the boat. I’m hoping the Groundhog was correct this year.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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