Fishing season looms, are you ready?
Sharpen the hooks and put the prop back on your outboard. It might still officially be winter, but the new fishing season is coming on fast!
As a matter of fact, depending upon who you talk to, some might even contend that it all started up a few weeks ago. After all, perch have been wandering their way up our local rivers and creeks for over a month, and when the weather has allowed it, a handful of hardy anglers have even poked their way offshore and managed to pluck a few fat tautog off some of our wrecks and reefs.
Whether or not one chooses to consider that it’s truly fishing season, one thing is for certain, in a month from now it surely will be, and there will be a lot of fishermen who won’t be ready for it.
I think that many anglers get ready for fishing season the same way they do for the upcoming IRS deadline – wait until the last minute and then frantically try to pull everything together with just seconds to spare. Right now there’s still time to get your taxes done and off to Uncle Sam early, just as there’s time to get your boat and fishing equipment in order before the first schools of fish move through our inlet.
But the “early-bird” window is closing rapidly and very soon those who are procrastinating will be facing the inevitable pains of “crunch time.”
READ MORE: With spring-like temps, fish are moving up north
We know the season is coming, and it’s going to be here whether we’re ready or not. So why in the world would we want to wait until the last minute to get our tackle in order, boats ready and equipment prepped for the fun times ahead?
Now is the time to make sure everything is good-to-go so that when we get the sudden word that flounder are biting at the Route 50 bridge, bluefish are schooled-up in the inlet or that sea bass season has opened, we are able to respond right away.
Right now you can bet that most tackle shop personnel as well as boat dealers and technicians are humming with the business of stocking shelves with new inventory and preparing their equipment and repair shops for the onslaught of customer traffic that miraculously materializes as soon as the fish start to bite.
Yes, they’re busy now, but nothing like they will be in about a month.
READ MORE: Stay informed with outdoors public meetings
Before you get back to fishing are you going to need your outboard tuned up? Boat bottom painted? Or maybe some new electronics installed? How about your tackle? Do you need your reels serviced or new line run on them, or maybe a rod re-wrapped or tip replaced?
There’s still time to get these kind of things done in time for the start of fishing season without feeling like you have to apologize to the guy at the shop as he fills out your work order because you know he’s already swamped with the spring flood of business.
Right now anglers are sitting on one of the last opportunities to stay ahead of the game. Fishing season and tax day, next month they’re both going to be here whether we’re ready or not!
