Feb 14-15, 2009 PASADENA SPORTFISHING Annual fishing and boating flea market/show

[DarkSkies]

Took a ride to Pasedena to check out the show. Never been to Pasadena before, the people down there were great. Friendly, helpful, very willing to help a stranger. I met some amazing fishermen and heard some great stories. It's a cool thing that whrever you go, the love of fishing can be a common bond for people from all walks of life.

The Pasadena Sportsfishing Association and the Earliegh Heights volunteer Fire Department, and the women helping them, put on a great show! There were people everywhere. and the parking lot was so filled many had to park on the street.

Not only that, there was a stream of anglers constantly coming and going. I don't know the actual attendance numbers, but a guess of 2000 might be a fair estimate.

There was something for everyone, from used gear to shads, jigs, tackle, plugs, rods, reels, some crafts for sale, great food and drink, and lots of fish stories told in the aisles, and around the kitchen and beer area. Almost everyone leaving had a bag in their hands, and there were lots of happy fishermen and their families.

It seems like this show was the "Don't miss" show for that area. I'm glad I had the chance to go, and got to meet some good people.

I had to downsize these pics to 75k and under. If anyone wants copies of any of the originals, which are around 200k in size, e-mail me and I'll be glad to send em out to ya.

[DarkSkies]

some pics:

The Earleigh Heights station

[DarkSkies]

Need lead??

[DarkSkies]

Parachutes and daisy chains seem to be the big thing in the Chesapeake area. Everywhere you turned there was another table with parachute bucktails and daisy chain rigs. Must be because they catch.

One of the tables that stood out was Bluefin's B&T of Dundalk, Md. Staffed by Brian & Nancy Esteppe, and their helper Willie, they had a bunch of guys waiting to talk to Brian. That might be because this guy was like a preacher talking about his products and his designs. The pride in his work and the pride he had for their adaptibility to the different shallpw and deepwater conditions of the Chesapeake was apparent as he spoke.

He was talking about open water trolling 2-300 feet behind the boat, in colder spring or fall waters. He said many people make the mistake of letting too much line out, and they shouldn't. Some of the points he made about his custom designed teaser rigs:

1. His tubes allow the teaser to standoff apart from the main line.
2. They consistently run 12" above the bottom, the perfect zone for feeding bass in colder water.
3. The action is erratic, another attraction for bass who are sometimes sluggish.

Brian, Nancy, Willie, was nice meetin ya's, hope you did well at the show.

[DarkSkies]

Got a chance to meet Tom Scibek of East Fallowfield, Pa, aka the tinman. He makes bucktails, shad darts, hair jigs, teasers. The way he talked about his craft, you would swear he has a PHD in chremistry. He went on in great detail how much of a challenge it was to turn white bucktails black, and make the colors last. PH is important in the process, along with a whole host of other factors.

He had hundreds of teasers, regular and stainless, for sale at good prices, in addition to his bucktails and jigs, and large quantities of deer hair.

Not only is the guy a fanatic about deer hair and the things you can make with it, he's a motocross nut!!! At 62, he's still ridin and winning a trophy here and there. Power to ya, man. Nice meetin ya.

[DarkSkies]

Met Lenny Rudolph, acclaimed Rockfish expert and fisherman author. His work is available at geareduppublications, and you can also catch him at a few more of the shows. He's been fishin since he was a little kid, and I had a nice conversation with the guy. Seems to know the Chesapeake Bay and ocean area pretty well, and he's caught quite a few large in his career. Nice meetin ya, Len.