Somerset Show

[Billfish715]

It's that time again. Besides being able to restock your tackle boxes and buying a new fishing outfit at the show, check out the schedule of seminars and presenters. There are lots of familiar local captains on tap speaking about topics that might have some of you hanging around for hours or coming back the next day. Check the hours for the show. There are no late nights so plan accordingly.

http://www.sportshows.com/somerset/seminar.html

[MrAC1980]

Bill when will you be there? You better not tell me tomorrow/Friday again like Rockland?! Hopefully I'll see you there over the weekend! :D:p:D

[Ice Cream Bill]

Anthony,

You know that I'm the REAL Bill Fish.

Are you working the JW booth?

Bill

[TerriMc223]

I'll be there tomorrow and possibly Sunday. I really enjoy the seminars and seeing folks I fish with most of the year.
I've been going to fishing flea markets all over Jersey and watching too many fishing shows on TV this winter and somehow I have never caught a single fish from my sofa or at a show!
Gotta get out there!
Striper season can't get here soon enough!

[Gerry Zagorski]

I'll be at the RFA booth Saturday morning....See you all there.

[CadiShackFishing]

Salt and I will stop by to say Hi and buy those new shirts from Dave. :)

[hartattack]

Paulie made my day. He remembered the NJFishing.com JJBitings holiday party from a few years back "Yeahh it was a fund-raisah for folks who lahhst their homes" His laugh is still reverberating in my head - wicked pissah :eek::)

[Billfish715]

While Paulie may be the major T.V attraction from Wicked Tuna at the show, don't pass by the ladies from Wicked Tuna Outer Banks without saying "hi." They are located next to the Costa Booth near Fishermen's Supply.

Expect to spend some money at the show. There was lots of interesting stuff. If you are into jigging for fluke, there are some great outfits to test out. I found some super, light combos at the Tsunami/Bimini Bay booth. (Talk to Captain Nick Cicero.) There were some great balanced rods and reels at the Shimano booth as well. ( See Captain Fred Gamboa/Andrea's Toy or Captain Brian Rice/Jersey Devil.)

http://carolinagirlsportfishing.com/

[Abrasion]

Walked through yesterday. Hopefully someone will prove me wrong but "deals" were few and far between. Nothing seemed to be cheaper than it is in stores. All of it was cheaper online.

There's a guy in the middle somewhere selling umbrella rigs where every single shad had a hook. That's a real bad idea when you troll through a school of bluefish....

[foggy notion]

I attended Friday's show. What was especially interesting is that the 2018 Saltwater Show is MOVING to the NJ Convention Center in Edison which is part of the old Raritan Arsenal. There are at least two large banners at this weekend's show announcing the change. The Edison facility to just down the road from Harold's restaurant...yeah.:)

[Billfish715]

I attended Friday's show. What was especially interesting is that the 2018 Saltwater Show is MOVING to the NJ Convention Center in Edison which is part of the old Raritan Arsenal. There are at least two large banners at this weekend's show announcing the change. The Edison facility to just down the road from Harold's restaurant...yeah.:)

I must have just missed you there yesterday. I guess I should have looked for you at Harold's. When will you be asked to do a seminar or have you been?

[bbills4x]

Attended last night and enjoyed the jigging seminar put on by Bucktail boys. Must say I agree with Abrasion, deals were hard to find, A good evening spent though.

[Billfish715]

Walked through yesterday. Hopefully someone will prove me wrong but "deals" were few and far between. Nothing seemed to be cheaper than it is in stores. All of it was cheaper online.

There's a guy in the middle somewhere selling umbrella rigs where every single shad had a hook. That's a real bad idea when you troll through a school of bluefish....

I don't work for any companies or stores, first of all. I just think that the store owners or charters or other businesses deserve a look and a little $upport from us. Some of the exhibitors are sponsors on this site.

Deals? No one store has all of the things that are on display like there are at this show. I guess you could drive around the state to tackle stores to look for something to buy but that's going to cost you time and gas money. I guess you can buy a reel or rod or almost anything online from a catalogue and then send it back because it wasn't what you wanted. At least here, you can see or touch or feel what you want before you buy it.

Deals? Try a flea market. You could have written your post to come across differently. You sounded like you were trashing the show. If you didn't find anything to buy, you should have just said that there was nothing there that you needed or wanted and let it go.

Thousands of people go to the show for all sorts of reasons the least of which is to find a deal. Obviously, you're not one of them. No offense.....just an observation. To me, your response came across with a little too much .......abrasion!

[ALS Mako]

went yesterday. good show as always...really the only one i go to. got some blackfish jigs, went to a couple of seminars. picked up my "enough is enough" t-shirt. said hello to couple of peeps. all in all a good afternoon.

[reely]

Good show to get out of the house and see some friends, support some of the businesses of our sport and community. Gerry even hooked my kid up with a tarpon today.

[Bass Specialist]

This year is the first year that I can remember that I will not be attending this fishing show. There are a couple stands that usually have pretty decent pricing like olde salt and some other stand I forget the name of. Has $5 wooden top water swimmers and poppers in a big bucket. Plastic wrapping. Not fancy at all but produce just as well as those $40 plugs. The guy who sells the crab/fish cakes is good too. But on the downside deals are very few and far between. You see a nice rod you ask the price. You say I'll take it and they say we actually aren't selling any rods here but you can order it?? WTF. If I want d to order it I woulda stayed my ass home not pay the $12 entry fee and ordered it online.

[makosnax]

I attended Friday's show. What was especially interesting is that the 2018 Saltwater Show is MOVING to the NJ Convention Center in Edison which is part of the old Raritan Arsenal. There are at least two large banners at this weekend's show announcing the change. The Edison facility to just down the road from Harold's restaurant...yeah.:)

This move will most likely be the demise of this great show. It's my understanding that the Raritan Center Expo Center charges a lot more for vendor booths. I've asked a few vendors in the past why they never rented booths during the boat show or outdoor expo and that was the reason given

[Abrasion]

I don't work for any companies or stores, first of all. I just think that the store owners or charters or other businesses deserve a look and a little $upport from us. Some of the exhibitors are sponsors on this site.

Deals? No one store has all of the things that are on display like there are at this show. I guess you could drive around the state to tackle stores to look for something to buy but that's going to cost you time and gas money. I guess you can buy a reel or rod or almost anything online from a catalogue and then send it back because it wasn't what you wanted. At least here, you can see or touch or feel what you want before you buy it.

Deals? Try a flea market. You could have written your post to come across differently. You sounded like you were trashing the show. If you didn't find anything to buy, you should have just said that there was nothing there that you needed or wanted and let it go.

Thousands of people go to the show for all sorts of reasons the least of which is to find a deal. Obviously, you're not one of them. No offense.....just an observation. To me, your response came across with a little too much .......abrasion!


Had a nice time walking around. Picked up a few rods that Kevin Bogan built for me. Bought some stuff from the Run-Off guys so I agree to some degree with buying local. I guess my point is that you could have saved the 15 bucks or whatever it was and just go visit Jigging World for the same stuff... for the same price, and you'd have an extra 15 bucks to spend on fishing gear. Service would have been better too since it wouldnt be a zoo like the show is. Not necessarily bashing it, but just saying that there's nothing really to buy there you cant buy for the same price from a local store(or cheaper online). If i'm going shopping at the show, I would expect a little more "flea market" and a little less "retail".

[dakota560]

This year is the first year that I can remember that I will not be attending this fishing show. There are a couple stands that usually have pretty decent pricing like olde salt and some other stand I forget the name of. Has $5 wooden top water swimmers and poppers in a big bucket. Plastic wrapping. Not fancy at all but produce just as well as those $40 plugs. The guy who sells the crab/fish cakes is good too. But on the downside deals are very few and far between. You see a nice rod you ask the price. You say I'll take it and they say we actually aren't selling any rods here but you can order it?? WTF. If I want d to order it I woulda stayed my ass home not pay the $12 entry fee and ordered it online.

Want to add my .02 to this thread. Just got back from the show and thought the show itself was great and attendance in my opinion was phenomenal. Was hard to find a parking spot when I got there around 2:00 and from what I understand it was busier in the morning.

That said here's my take on shows like Somerset. Bass specialist I guess things have changed since the last show you attended because as I was walking in, I was shocked how many people were walking out with rods. Literally 80% of the people exiting had rods in hand. It was unbelievable! The show was packed which we should all feel good about. Industry associations, small businesses, manufacturers, retailers, distributors. enforcement agencies etc. spend a lot of time, effort and money making shows like this possible for the angling community. The least we can do is show our support for their efforts. We voice our concern when stores like Rays, Meltzers and Effingers go out of business after 100 years yet complain about lack of "deals" at shows like this which are in many cases the annual showcase of these businesses. In my opinion it's about so much more than deals. I spent some time at the Recreational Fishing Alliance "RFA" exhibit. Gerry and Dave, like many others, were there giving of their personal time to support the cause of the RFA, get the message out about our plight with summer flounder regulations and introduce fishing to the next generation of fisherman. In a matter of an hour, no less than a dozen kids sat at the fish simulator and the expressions on their faces was nothing less than complete amazement. Guaranteed they're hooked for life. Met Paulie from Wicked Tuna who was good enough to talk for about 15 minutes. Spoke with Jim Hutchinson from Fisherman Magazine, Pete Sykes from Parker Pete, Keefe from Bucktail boys and many others who were there to promote the fishery, exchange information, get the word out regarding the fisheries challenges and make this event a success for all our benefits. There are so many people whose lives have literally been dedicated to OUR sport at these shows, to me that's the juice.....not the deals. There are deals to be had but it's not in my opinion why these shows should be important to all of us.

I fear the day when our only option is online purchases, no personalities or faces to associate with a product, no consultative advise, no stories to tell and no comradery. The sponsors of these shows work their asses off to support our beloved past time, we owe it to them to support their efforts or these shows like Rays, Effingers and Meltzers will be a thing of the past and that wouldn't be a good thing for the sport we love. Shows are a great way to ride out a long winter and segue into the season, get out and show your support for the businesses and people who make our fishery possible, many of whom fight the battle every day to make sure recreational fishing is not spoken about in past tense as well. And bring your kids along and let them experience the same thrill we did when our parents first introduced us to the sport.

[Ice Cream Bill]

Went to the Somerset show today and thought about the changes we've seen in just the past two years--no more Meltzer's or Effinger's, both who used to exhibit at Suffern and Somerset. Include Rt. 46 Bait & Tackle and that's three big retailers GONE!

I spent more money on pickles and crab cakes than I did on any fishing stuff. I only bough a t-shirt at the RFA booth to express my anger at NOAA. Those that were looking for "deals" should have gone to Raritan Bay, Hi-Mar, or Berkeley Striper flea markets. At least I didn't have to see any perfume vendors like the Suffern show two weeks ago!

I visited with Capts. Al Ristori, Frank Tenore, Jim Freda and Mike Farmer. Also introduced myself to Capts. Kris Black (Fish Stix), Pete Sykes (Parker Pete's), and Jeff Viamari (Bad Influence)--all site sponsors that I hope to fish with for the first time in 2017.

Also nice to see John DeBona and Jim Hutchinson from the Fisherman Magazine, Chris Lido with NJ Fish & Wildlife, Keefe from Bucktail Boys, Don Parr from Canyon Reels, and Danny and Ben at the Jigging World booth, as well as fellow members from SWABC and HRFA--two clubs that I belong to.

A great day to talk fishing with those in our community as the cabin fever is upon us. Tight Lines to all!

Bill

[hammer4reel]

Show was packed right up until the last half hour.
The 12 bucks spent to get in for what you get to see is a bargain.
how many stores are going to let you pick up HUNDREDS of different reels, and rods in a day ? and see all other types of fishing equipment.
was nice to see there are more electronics installers and other fishing related vendors showing up.

Looking forward to getting some down time there today and actually getting to see the rest of the show.
was nice to just be out of the house and get to talk fishing with many guys from here and other sites in person.

for the guys crying their arent any bargains, the bargain is 12 bucks to enjoy a half day of getting out of the house. not much you can do for 12 bucks for hours.

.

[Finprof]

It was a good show even though I had to park in Piscataway. I should have brought my GPS so I could find my car after the show.
I spent most of the time with the reps at Penn and Shimano and Daiwa and Black Hole and got my boat towing insurance for $99.
It wasn't a cheap show for me because the Shimano rep showed me the new Twin Power reel. I didn't need a new $450 reel. That is one awesome reel.
I brought two newbie fishermen with me. They learned a lot from the seminars and bought an outfit for each- a Trevala with a Stradic ci4. They got good deals on both. I talked to a friend who owns a tackle shop in Murrells Inlet and he said that he would never sell at those prices.

[TerriMc223]

I enjoyed the seminars and re-connecting with a number of people I fish with including the folks from a nonsponsor boat out of Cape Cod.
I confess I caved in and bought one of those bright orange Carrot Stix fishing poles. You could see people carrying them all over the show!