n the past ten years I have written over 2,000 published articles in both national and regional magazines, newspaper columns, on the Internet, and had the privilege of having two books published. These works are always a labor of love as I attempt to share my knowledge with my readers. I have discussed tactics and techniques, gear and tackle, locations and hotspots, and much more from both a beach and boat perspective.

To make for some interesting winter reading I thought I would share with you some of my favorite tips or tidbits that I have accumulated over the years. These cover a wide variety of topics in no specific order. If you are like me struggling with cabin fever right now I hope that they can offer some relief or some new ideas to remember for the new season ahead. I have put them in a list type of format where each one can be milled over separately for consideration.

So here goes.

• When striped bass are feeding on sandeels make sure you have a teaser such as fly, Femlee® eel, or Red Gill® attached 18 - 36 inches above your artificial when casting a plug, Hopkins, or tin squid from the surf. With this method double-header hook-ups can be fairly common.

•With the surf action slows down the best way to locate action is to keep moving around. Don’t lock yourself into fishing only one particular location; you may miss some great action only miles away.

• When you first step onto your boat in the morning during November and December be cautious of a thin layer of skim ice that can be present on the deck due to colder nighttime temperatures that can develop. A nasty fall can ruin your day.

• To get down deep on the boat when fly fishing try using 30 feet of a Rio® T-14 head attached to a .030 intermediate running line fished on a 10 weight rod.

• When big baits such as bunker or herring are on the scene make sure you fish your big custom wood topwater swimmers, they will catch a lot of bass.

• When striped bass are holding near the bottom in 60-75 feet of water jig with a plain Ava 47 or 67 keeping the jig within five feet of the bottom.

• When jigging an ava 27, 47, or 67 for striped bass keep a tight line to the jig as you drop the jig after lifting it up. Striped bass are know for hitting the jig on the drop and if you have slack in your line you will not be able to feel their characteristic bump and be ready to set the hook.

• When bass move up onto the flats in our rivers and back bays position your boat so you can cast up onto the flat and retrieve back across the drop-off. This ledge makes for an excellent ambush point.

• A yellow and black Bomber® Long A is a great plug to catch blues on when they are high in the water column near the warmer water in the spring and early summer. Just remove all the trebles and put a single J hook on the tail. You can then also lift the blue by grabbing onto the plug.

• When snagging bunker there are different size bunker snags by weight, hook size, and gap. Use the larger snags like a 10/0 and you won’t miss hitting your baits.

• When netting a big bass, bluefish, or weakfish place a small rubber band beforehand around the net bag securing it to the pole. This will keep the net from falling into the face of the fish when you drop it into the water which can result in possibly catching the hooks in the bag. This would then interfere with getting the fish in the net. When the fish is in the net and you lift up the elastic band will just break loose and the bag will open fully.

• When bluefish are around in the spring and early summer and ocean temperatures drop quickly and steeply over a short period of time look for the bluefish to push into our backbays and inlets where warmer water can be found.

• In northern and central NJ the traditional summer ocean bluefish hotspots are the Farms, the Mud Buoy, and 17 Fathoms.

• The Shrewsbury Rocks are a hot spot for big stripers throughout the season. They are located off of Monmouth Beach spreading around the GPS coordinates N40.20.323 W73.57.523. This is approximately 9 miles south of Sandy Hook, 10 miles north of Shark River Inlet, or 15 miles north of Manasquan Inlet.

• When surfcasting from a jetty use 40 - 50 lb Stren® Super Braid or PowerPro® on your surf rod.

• Yes hickory shad can be live lined for big stripers by placing your hook a half an inch below the dorsal fin or through the bottom lip and out through the snout.

• A great place for an additional rod holder is on the inside of the swinging spare tire in the back of your truck. This holder can be used as a place to safely put your rod when rigging up. It will also free up both of your hands.

• If you are tossing metal for false albacore from the surf the "Deadly Dick™" lure has been a time proven producer. Its slim design and weight will give you the distance that you need.

• If your boat is kept in the water into late November and December keep your outboard engine tilted down so that the prop remains in the water. This will allow any remaining water to drain out and not freeze up inside. When left in the tilted up position, freeze inside the engine is possible.

• When it is cold on the water at the beginning or end of the season pick up several packs of Hot Hands® hand warmers and place one in each pocket when you leave to go out fishing. These disposable hand warmers will provide just enough heat to take the cold away if your fingers or hands get really cold. Just place your hands in your pockets for a minute or two and you will really feel the difference.

• When Christmas time rolls around again if you don’t know what to get that favorite fishing person that’s on you’re list then find out what tackle shop they visit and purchase a gift certificate for them. I’m sure they will be happy with that.

• At the end of the season remove your line from your reels right away so it will force you to put on new line at the start of the next season. If you don’t you may just reuse that old line which might cost you a trophy fish.

• When doing maintenance on your fly reels during the winter check what type of lubricant is recommended to be used by the manufacturer. Gears and drags usually require different applications of grease and oil

• If your boat batteries are three or four years old think about getting new batteries for next season.

• A cold winter day is a great time to organize your tackle box or fly cases so they are ready to go this spring.

Finally, I want to mention again our big event that we will be holding on Saturday, February 18th. Once again we will be presenting our “Ultimate Saltwater Fishing Workshop” at 507 Main Restaurant in Belmar. This is a full day of seminars and hands-on workshops along with some industry vendors displaying some of the finest tackle and gear. Bob Popovics will be our special guest and will work with you one on one for tying any saltwater flies or to do any saltwater knots or rigging. This workshop is limited to 100 participants and was completely full last year. The day also includes an ongoing all you can eat lunch buffet and plenty of door prizes. You can still register if you are interested in coming as there are a few spaces left. Register online through Paypal $65.00/person at www.shorecatch.com. Follow the link to the workshop. Hope to see you there.