Christmas and the striped bastages....

December 11, 2000:

  Monday again....do these things ever give up? ;-) As we approach the Christmas holiday, the fishing opportunities begin to thin out....not for any other reason than trying to maintain some semblance of being social ;-) Between things getting busier and busier here, the very cold weather, the increase in parties, shopping, and general Ho, Ho, Ho stuff, the fishing is in a temporary holding pattern for me. Paul and I managed to sneak out last night and hit a few spots. We even found a few fish...not many and not big, but at least there were some bites for a change. Last night felt just like so many last year in December where Paul and I crushed the fish....it felt just like last year...except for the crushing the fish part ;-) The air temp was upper 40's, water temp about the same...waves were about ideal at 3-4 foot...no wind. It was just the fish that were sadly missing. 

  This could be the beginning (of the December/January bite) or it could be the end of the 2000 season...it's hard to tell. I hope I can get out enough in the next week to be able to make a call...it'll have to be more than just one trip! I'd like to start focusing on the beaches south of here...perhaps tonight? Maybe tomorrow night? One way or the other, those beaches need to be fished at night....so many Decembers I'd be alone down there. Not really alone, me and loads of my striped friends...just no other anglers out there. Perfect conditions ;-) It's going to be warmer for a couple days, maybe I can force myself out there a couple more times in the next few day...just maybe.

   I just got off the phone with one of the Gibb's guys...Dennis...he called to assure me he does read ....but I already knew that! ;-) He also called to let me know, much to the joy of the southern contingent, that he's very interested in making all yer favorite stuff in both black and purple and black/gold/orange belly! So, not only was I listening when you asked, so was Gibbs. All I gotta do is get some samples to him and then we'll talk about production. That's one of the neat things about this place, when we're all talkin', the manufacturers of the stuff we are talking about are often listening. What a wonderful thing, we've all finally got manufacturers to listen to our rants, our wants, and our raves. Ain't the internet a wonderful thing? Don't forget to thank Al Gore for inventing it ;-)

   This Thursday night, 7:30pm at the Belmar Firehouse, is the Shark River Surf Anglers Christmas party/meeting. For all you guys who've asked about joining the club, here's your chance. Actually, you can fill out an application at any meeting...this is just the next meeting you've all been asking about. Check out the SRSA Page for directions and more information about the club. If ya join us now, you'll be joining the current number one, top of the pile, first place surf club! Yup, we won the season long invitational tournament....13 tournaments all together, from which we put together enough points to win for the year! In my 6 or 7 years with this smaller club, this is the first time we've accomplished this...so yes, we're a little proud of this feat at the moment ;-)

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent

Lamiglas and 'tis the season!
December 13, 2000:

    Yesterday was exciting....not the part where they shut down the site for 45 minutes 'cause of the "online/offline" script, that part sucked...it was the part where I had the pleasure of speaking to Todd from Lamiglas for a good, long while. Seems the folks at Lamiglas are interested in working together with us...boy do they have excellent taste! ;-) I've long been a fan/user of Lamiglas rods, they make the widest variety of rods and blanks for not just us surf crazies, but for all walks of the fishing lifestyle. Well, after much discussion on the phone with Todd, very little to do with actual business...hey, we're both fishermen ya know....we'll proudly carry the entire line of Lamiglas products! No, not just the entire Surf & Jetty selection...not just the wonderful Ron Arra selection...the entire line! And not just the entire line of rods, but also, the entire selection of blanks! From now on, if Lamiglas makes it, you can get it here. And you can get it here at Lamiglas' mandatory "minimum retail price." Yup, as cheap as Lamiglas will allow any merchant to sell them for...sure, some folks don't honor this agreement and sell them for less, but we're not like that. Lots of folks are worried about shipping rods/blanks over 9ft....not even an issue. We've got it worked out where all orders will be delivered in 2-4 days...mostly towards the third day, but in fairness, figured I say 2-4 days ;-) And, from this end, I will do everything I can to absorb as much of all shipping charges as possible! If it costs $20 to air mail the rod/blank to your doorstep, either split it with you or I'll eat the entire $20 to make sure we move these rods....it would of course depend on the rod/blank you order how the exact shipping will play out, but at no time will I ask you to pay more than 1/2 the actual shipping charges. Pretty fair, no? ;-)

   I'd love to stay and chat, but did you ever realize exactly how many rods/blanks Lamiglas makes?!?! Whew, that's lots and lots of pages to add...and I'm trying to get all of them done today...that way there's still ample time for Lami-Christmas presents for you guys who have been extra good this year ;-)

   I just got off the phone with one of the Gibb's guys...Dennis...he called to assure me he does read ....but I already knew that! ;-) He also called to let me know, much to the joy of the southern contingent, that he's very interested in making all yer favorite stuff in both black and purple and black/gold/orange belly! So, not only was I listening when you asked, so was Gibbs. All I gotta do is get some samples to him and then we'll talk about production. That's one of the neat things about this place, when we're all talkin', the manufacturers of the stuff we are talking about are often listening. What a wonderful thing, we've all finally got manufacturers to listen to our rants, our wants, and our raves. Ain't the internet a wonderful thing? Don't forget to thank Al Gore for inventing it ;-)

   This Thursday night, 7:30pm at the Belmar Firehouse, is the Shark River Surf Anglers Christmas party/meeting. For all you guys who've asked about joining the club, here's your chance. Actually, you can fill out an application at any meeting...this is just the next meeting you've all been asking about. Check out the SRSA Page for directions and more information about the club. If ya join us now, you'll be joining the current number one, top of the pile, first place surf club! Yup, we won the season long invitational tournament....13 tournaments all together, from which we put together enough points to win for the year! In my 6 or 7 years with this smaller club, this is the first time we've accomplished this...so yes, we're a little proud of this feat at the moment ;-)

Sincerely,

Tim Surgent