As the outdoor expo season winds down the Saltwater Fishing Expo is the show I look forward to every year. I took the 75 mile trek to Somerset NJ this past Saturday. There is no hunting, shooting and freshwater fishing and as always I was not disappointed in the show. All the seminars featured esteemed saltwater anglers like Al Ristori, surf fishing legend Ron Arra and underwater cinematographer Matt Laptew. Most of the major tackle companies had booths to showcase their latest gear. The main reason I go is to purchase new gear for the upcoming season. Sandeels are a main forage fish for striped bass and Savagear came out with a great new sandeel soft plastic & leadhead jig. I picked up some assorted colors and sizes. Check out the video http://www.savage-gear.com/ . The decades old umbrella rig recently got face lift with the Alabama Rig. I was never a fan of trolling umbrella rigs but the idea of casting and retrieving the Alabama Rig intrigued me. I purchased a one once for $11 and a two once for $16, saltwater Alabama Rigs by Run Off lures. http://www.runofflures.com/ I bought a couple of packs of Red Gill Evolution 7" sand eels to be used as baits on the Alabama Rigs. You can check out the Red Gill Sandeels at http://www.redgill.co.uk/ . One of the tackle shops had Z-Man 10X Tough jerkbaits for $1.99 and SwimmerZ swim baits for $3.25 so I stocked up on both. My major purchase was a Gary Loomis designed TFO TFG SWS 705-1 seven foot MH spinning rod. I can't wait to use it this spring. I have a new Penn Battle BTL 4000 reel I purchased this winter from BPS to go on this rod.Go to http://www.tforods.com/ to check out all the Gary Loomis designed rods from Temple Fork Outfitters. The Saltwater Fishing Expo keeps on getting bigger and better every year and I can't wait to see what's in store for next year.
Tight Lines
