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Holiday gift ideas for the outdoorsman on your list

December 7, 2018

On Nov. 28, I made my annual pilgrimage across the bay to Atlantic City, N.J., and the Folsom Trade Show. My longtime friend and Bimini Bay product manager Jerry Gomber invites me every year so he can show off the new products he has developed.

The first product he brought out was the SALTX Spinning reel. This is a forged and CNC-machined A6061 aluminum body and rotor-spinning reel that is fully sealed and contains seven sealed ball bearings plus one sealed anti-reverse ball bearing. The fully sealed drag system can handle 50 pounds of drag, more than enough to convince the largest fish to come to the boat or beach. The spool has a non-slip ring to hold braided line in place. All internal gears are stainless steel. The line roller is coated with titanium.

The SALTX has all the features of reels costing, $500 to $700, but will retail for much less when it becomes available in 2019. There will be two sizes, the TSSTX 4000 and the TSSTX 6000.

Another new spinning reel in the Tsunami line is the EVICT. It has an aluminum body, machined aluminum spool with braid-ready band, graphite rotor with aluminum bailwire and seven sealed bearings plus one anti-reverse bearing. The drive and pinon gears are stainless steel, as is the sealed main shaft. The aluminum handle arm is machined and comes with a power knob.

The EVICT comes in three sizes, TSEVT 3000, TSEVT 4000 AND TSEVT 5000. The 3000 holds 250 yards of 15-pound line, the 4000 holds 260 yards of 20-pound line and the 5000 can hold 300 yards of 30-pound line.

Another new product is the Platinum Surface Striker plug. This is a big lure for big fish. Jerry told me on the very first trip to test this lure, and on the very first cast, the angler hooked a big striped bass. I can see this lure working on bluefin and yellowfin tuna.

The construction of this Surface Striker is foam with through wires to hold the heavy hooks. The surface of the lure is clear with all the holographic design and colors under the clear coat so they won’t fade or get chewed off by toothy critters.

There are two chambers with weight balls that can be accessed through removable plugs. The angler can change the balls to make the plug cast better, sit in the water tail or head down or keep the lure balanced as the fish and conditions warrant.

Another new lure is the Heavy Shad. Tsunami Shads have been catching fish for many years not only in the ocean, but in the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. While the regular shad is heavy enough for most applications, a heavier model was requested for times when more weight is required to get the shad deeper in the water column. This model will do just that.

In addition to more weight, the new shad has a larger hook to hold the larger fish it attracts. It will come in several fish attracting colors.

Tsunami products are available in all of our local tackle stores. If yours doesn’t have a particular item in stock, ask and they will order it for you.

Fishing report

I am sure no one will be surprised that fishing has been difficult due to the generally unpleasant weather. We just can’t seem to catch a break between the wind and rain, and now we have below normal temperatures.

Everyone seems to have rockfish fever, but the closest ones to us are still off the coast of New Jersey.  A very few have been caught at the Eights and the occasional keeper is pulled from the surf and Indian River Inlet.

Chris and Joe Huk ran up to Wildwood, N.J., where Joe caught a 38-pound striper and Joe had a 30-incher. Both were caught on jigs. The Indian Giver out of Indian River Marina has been running up the Jersey coast and catching rockfish in the 12- to 15-pound class.

Tog fishing has been hampered by rough seas and dirty water. The Katydid and the Grizzly out of Lewes and the No Limit out of Indian River Marina are finding some tog when conditions allow them to sail. The Fish Bound out of Ocean City, Md., was catching boat limits of tog to 17 pounds, but his last trip produced fewer fish to nine pounds.

The run of big rockfish out of Cape Charles, Va., is on and this week we saw a 52-pound, 10-ounce rock caught. I still have no idea where these fish come from.

I fished the surf at the Point on Saturday and caught nothing nor did I see a fish caught.

  • Eric Burnley is a Delaware native who has fished and hunted the state from an early age. Since 1978 he has written countless articles about hunting and fishing in Delaware and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast. He has been the regional editor for several publications and was the founding editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman magazine. Eric is the author of three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Striped Bass Fishing and Fishing Saltwater Baits. He and his wife Barbara live near Milton, Delaware. Eric can be reached at Eburnle@aol.com.

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