Hi-Mar Striper Fishing Club fishing flea market

[DarkSkies]

Went to the Middletown VFW today to check out the fleamarket. It was pretty crowded. I got there a little late, but still got a chance to meet some good people. I also met some members of the Hi-Mar Striper fishing club, nice guys.

There was a little something for everyone. I saw more new stuff at this market than some of the other ones. Lots of reels and rods, tons of flies, teasers, spoons, jigs, plugs regular and custom, crab and fish traps, gear, hunting stuff, etc.

Most of the people I saw leaving had a bag in their hands, so it's safe to say a lot of people found deals they were happy with. Hats off to the Hi-Mar club for putting on a great show.

[DarkSkies]

Some pics. The VFW hall is located behind Foodtown on Rt 36 S, make the first right after Dunkin Donuts.

[DarkSkies]

more

[DarkSkies]

Hunting, knives, etc

[DarkSkies]

Want to join Hi-Mar? Heres how to contact them.





Somehow I missed seeing "Albacore Al" Allen Reilly and his brother there. Hope all's well, Al.

[DarkSkies]

[DarkSkies]

need some crab traps or bunker cages?

[DarkSkies]

Met a new plug builder today. His name is Russ, he's out of Piscataway. Somehow I always screw up the plugbuilder shots because I'm in too much of a hurry.

A little background on Russ: He's only been doing this awhile, but he learned from one of the best in the business! He told me Tony Spina took him under his wing, and taught him a lot of what he knows.

Every show I go to, I meet more and more people who know or have a debt of gratitude to Tony Spina (also a Hi-Mar member) One of these days I'm gonna run into Tony himself!

In the meantime, I don't know anything about Lures4you, how they swim, or if they catch fish.

I did see a bunch of nice pics Russ had and was proudly displaying, of all the fish that were caught on his plugs. He says they go over great down South, where they are used offshore for more aggressive fish, and they are just starting to catch on here in the Northeast.

They look like decent plugs, some come dressed with bucktail, and he's selling them for a decent price, around $16, which seems very reasonable for a custom plug.

He won't be at the Asbury show, and doesn't have a website yet. He will be at some more area shows. If you want to find out more about his plugs, how they swim, if they can take a beating on the rocks, just ask him.

He seems like a pretty personable guy, and I got the sense that he takes great pride in his work.

Some pics:






fish caught on his plugs

[DarkSkies]

used rods and reels for sale

[DarkSkies]

trolling eels

[DarkSkies]

Kugler's lures - met Vinnie and his son?, these guys had an avalanche of teasers, flies, tubes, sandeels, jigs, and spoons









father and son

[DarkSkies]

50/50 was won by Joe Petrucha?, of Joe Petrucha's Rod Builders. Nice haul, man!

[DarkSkies]

lucky winner of some raingear

[DarkSkies]

Feb.13
2010 Hi-Mar Striper Fishing Club
Fishing Flea Market
Feb. 13, 2010
Middletown V F W
1 Veterans Lane
off Hwy 36 East Port Monmouth NJ 07758
Time: 8:00am - 3:00pm
Contact: Capt. Jerry Beaver
Phone: 732-671-1442
E-mail: JerryBeaver@comcast.net
Website:
www.Hi-Mar.com
Venders: Are Welcome
Admission: $5.00
Additional Info:
Hi-Mar will be hosting a seminar room with different speakers throughout the day. More info to follow. See Website
***Raffles***
***Door Prizes***
***Refreshments***
***Professional Seminars***

Directions: Garden State Pkwy to exit 117. to State Hwy 36 East. Aprox five miles. Look for Dunkin Donuts just past Wilson Ave. Vetrans Lane is immed. past Dunkin Donuts, on Right.

[DarkSkies]

Just a reminder of the Hi-Mar fishing flea market for today. It's a good one with lots of used stuff and new items at reasonable prices.

[DarkSkies]

I managed to make both the Hi-Mar and Freeport LI shows today. To anyone I met, if I seemed a little hyper, that's the usual me when I'm not fishin. Even with sitting in stalled traffic for 1 1/2 hours I still was able to hit both places and get a decent assessment of those shows.

First off, the Hi-Mar fishing flea market. I remembered some of the Hi-Mar club from last year, and I think Tony Spina is a lifetime member as well. He's won in some of their earlier tournaments.

I was introduced to Joe, and Steve Machalaba (current President). The guys and girls of Hi-Mar all did a nice job putting this together, but it seemed they wanted to give a lot of the credit to Jerry Beaver. So we'll say that with Jerry Beaver in charge of the show and all the help he had, it once again turned out to be a worthwhile show to break out of the winter doldrums and get some good deals as well.

Nice meeting all you people.

The facts and figures:
Been running for at least 7 years.
Every year the attendance gets better and better.
This year I believe all 109 vendor tables were filled.

In the early afternoon, I was told about 725 people had walked through the door. It could be they reached 800 by the time they closed, or close to that. That's an impressive turnout for a fishing flea market no matter how you look at it.

Admision was cheap, only $5, and there were deals to be had, and people willing to make them. Got a very positive vibe being there.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who lives in NJ. There were some vendors there from NY as well because they said the table fees were reasonable. That's a big plus in today's economy.

In all a good job was done by everyone, they all deserve a round of applause.

[DarkSkies]

Great group of guys and girls of all ages who primarily fish Raritan Bay and the ocean in the Monmouth county area.

Where does the flea market money go?

"We use the money for club functions, and fishing trips for kids and veterans."

Sounds like a great plan to me. Hi-Mar is very well-regarded in the area, and today seemed things went off without a hitch.

Link to their site, check it out if you have more questions:

www.Hi-Mar.com

[DarkSkies]

Met George and his lovely wife. They only go to that show once a year, and today George had some great deals on plugs, tins, reels, rods, assorted offshore lures.

George still had some reels left at the end of the show. I'll post up some of George's reels under the "Fishing items new and used" forum,

http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...splay.php?f=85
along with his e-mail in case anyone has any questions.

It was nice meeting you and your wife George.

[DarkSkies]

Just a little video to give people an idea of the inside.

[DarkSkies]

The Kuglers are local vendors out of the Morganville NJ area. I usually see Mr. Kugler and one or both of his sons at the Asbury show in March.













They always have some great deals on bucktails, teasers, etc.
www.freewebs.com/kuglerslures

Next stop:
Asbury show
Stop by and check out some of their stuff, great prices.