Eastern Marine Outlet Blog

Eastern Marine expands bait offering for 2012

Eastern Marine will be expanding its selection of live bait offerings for the 2012 season in an effort to better serve our local fresh and saltwater anglers.  Seasonally available fresh water baits would include: Shiners in a variety of sizes from extra small to extra-large mill roach. Rosy Red minnows in 4 size categories.  Crayfish and Grass Shrimp can also be ordered.

Some of our saltwater selections will include Bull Head Minnows for flounder fishing.  Live Peelers, which are on every saltwater fishes menu.  Fresh Bunker for the early spring and fall Striper bite, as well as live Eels.  Live surf clams for Black Drum fishing in May.   For our crabbing faithful we will also special order bulk flats of chicken necks, fowl necks, bull lips, and razor clams.

All special bait orders and prices are based on market price and seasonal availability. Procedure for placing special orders will be conducted as follows.  Orders must be placed no later than Wednesday morning with bait department manager and all orders are on a pre-pay basis.  We recommend keeping an eye on the future forecast for that week before placing orders, as all special orders are non-refundable.  We at Eastern Marine hope offering this service will better provide for our customers’ needs as well as enhance the productivity of their future fishing adventures.  Please contact us with any questions on your next bait order and we look forward to serving you in the future.

2012 Eastern Marine Showroom Schedule Update

 

Happy New Year from the staff at Eastern Marine!
Just a reminder, our Newark, DE showroom will be closed until noon on Wednesday, January 4th for inventory & remodeling.

Ecommerce operations will be available 8-5 EST on Monday & Tuesday, and back to standard 8-6 hours starting Wednesday.

Mid-December Fishing Report Roundup

Stripers have been the hot topic of discussion here at Eastern Marine over the holiday season. Starting a few days after Halloween Striped Bass started showing up in the lower bay. Reports from New Jersey anglers were on the positive side as large migrating Stripers pushed down the coast. According to most Jersey fishermen quality fish and abundant quantities of them were to be had on jigs, and Sand Eel imitations. Fresh cut bunker was also effective provided it was available! Sand Eels seemed to be the forage that was most identifiable to anglers cleaning their quarry. Striper bellies were noticeably swollen and upon examination it was easy to determine what they were dinning on. Numerous reports of large linesiders being landed in the Jersey surf came from as far north as Sandy Point all the way down to Absecon Inlet near Atlantic City.

Delaware anglers were waiting with anticipation on the schooling Stripers as reports rifled southward. As is the norm, most were checking their tackle bags and taking tally of their quantities of Mann’s Stretch 25′s. Chunkers were franticly on the search for fresh bunker, which was in high demand and short supply. Many anglers and local tackle shops traveled to Virginia to purchase what was available and most was spoken for before the return trip. As Stripers entered the Delaware Bay several large fish in excess of 40 plus pounds were being weighed at tackle shops in the local area. Draging Stretches and chunking bunker were both effective methods for sticking the large ocean runners. The upper Delaware Bay and Delaware River are also producing citation quality Stripers in the 30 lb class. Woodland, Collins, and Augustine Beaches are locations that have provided good Striper fishing with consistency over the past month! The Valley, buoys 8A and 8B, the Jersey rips, and the Outer Wall were areas in the lower Delaware Bay mentioned by anglers reporting in here at Eastern Marine. Numerous citation Stripers have come from all of these locations.

The bite on the Upper Chesapeake never seemed to get back in gear after Septembers weather events. As we reported last month, anglers had to travel far south to find productive waters. Even then most excursions involved alot of hunting and pecking to find keeper sized fish. As of late a few reports have surfaced from the upper bay. A few fishermen who are in tune with striper patterns and locations of favorable structure have had good success on fish in the 24-inch range. Most on the upper bay are waiting on Yellow Perch to school up in and around the Perryville area. We have recently stocked up on a variety of new panfish offerings. Some include Yum’s F2 Ferocity formula in soft plastics designed specifically for panfish. Skippy Fishes life like technology minnow and Lindys Fuzz-E-Grub. All will be stone cold killers on Yellow Neds and Crappies in the upper bay area. Whether by boat or from the finger piers at Owens Marina in Perryville these baits are going to put fish in the cooler!

Here at Eastern Marine we are also having a huge Christmas Sale which targets are core fishing and crabbing consumer.  The sale lasts until December 30th and prices have never been lower on fishing and crabbing gear!!!  You won’t believe the savings!  So come on over to Eastern Marine and outfit the fisherman or woman on your Christmas list while saving a bundle!!  Until next time have a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

Eastern Marine Upgrades Online Shopping System

Eastern Marine / Trailer Parts Superstore is pleased to announce the recent launch of an entirely new, more secure website for your enhanced shopping pleasure.

Eastern Marine has partnered with Geo-Trust, Authorize.Net and FineLine Websites to provide you with an improved shopping experience that provides enhanced security. Our new website exceeds standards developed by the Banking Credit Card Industry for your added protection. We believe that shopping online should be a pleasure, not a risk!

In addition to these improvements we now have a much simpler, quicker checkout system, an enhanced site search tool to help you find what you’re shopping for fast, and best of all an entire suite of order history / tracking information for customers who choose to create an online account at any of our websites. Check it out today by clicking on ‘My Account’ near the top of our site and create your very own customer profile for an enhanced shopping experience.

We hope you enjoy our upgraded websites and shopping system and welcome your comments or suggestions using the ‘Contact Us’ button at EASTERN MARINE.

October 14th Eastern Marine Fishing Report

With a hurricane and three weeks of what seemed like consistent rain to follow, the month of September was a complete wash out. The hurricanes run-off flowed south into the Chesapeake Bay and a silt bloom was visible by satellite view as far as The Honga River. The Delaware River crested its banks and a deluge of floating and subsurface debris poured into the Delaware Bay and its tributaries. Most boaters pulled up stakes and decided not to introduce their boats back into the water. Commercial watermen bared the brunt of the storms fall out as full pots of crabs were pulled but found dead, as a result of the suffocating mudflow. For the recreational crabber and fishermen all signs of life seemed to vanish in the aftermath of the storm and the wake of rain it dragged behind it.

Finally last week an encouraging belt of high pressure dropped in over the eastern seaboard. Anglers made preparations in advance to make one last stab at an offshore excursion. In the canyons reports of massive schools of Yellow Fin and Big Eye Tuna were abundant. Captains claim the tuna are suspended in 60′ feet of water and surfacing to take whole Butter Fish and Diamond Jigs. Captain Joe of the Jamaica said watching the school of tuna on the fishfinder was an impressive sight rising just under the boat! Gill Kirk and family went as far as the fingers and trolled up False Albi’s and Tunnies on Bally Hoo. Gill said huge flocks of Gulls surrounded them and were picking their baits out of the water due to the calm conditions.

On the other side of the peninsula anglers had to travel to Eastern Bay to find fish of decent proportion. Although some schoolie stripers have been snagged in the North East River most took the opportunity to travel with good weather and headed the narrows and points south. Richard and Wendell Clendening made a trip to the Honga River and limited out on 10-14 pound Stripers in about 10 minutes. Richard was throwing hand made jigs with chartreuse bucktail and mylar flash. Rich also said jigs rigged with Bass Assassins in white was productive. He and Wendell concentrated their efforts in the skinny water spotting breaking fish and pelicans resting on the surface. Tom Davidson and Dave Smith also trekked to the Eastern Bay on Monday the 10th. Tom and Dave were also using jigs rigged with soft plastic but opted for fluke bodies instead of straight tails. Tom said a more Limetrusse hue in a 5″ inch size was what turned the trick for them. The pair boated fish to 20 plus inches and had some good table fare at the days end.

After the storm we weighed and cited a Flounder for Gary Coleman. Gary was aboard the Miss Cheyanne out of Bowers Beach when he hooked up with the 9-pound 3oz flatty. At 24.5 inches this was a big old fatty flatty! Another successful trip with Captain Dave Russell and first mate Chris Vann of the Miss Cheyanne. Schoolie Stripers and a few keeper flounder have been reported being caught at the Indian River Inlet on bucktails and live Spot. The D.M.S. Surf Fishing Tournament was this past weekend and from collective reviews a success as usual. Although a 16-1/2″ Bluefish was the tournament winner a good time was had by all and the weather couldn’t have been more enjoyable! Just a reminder for those who surf fish… we here at Eastern Marine are specializing in equipment for the surf geared guy’s and gal’s. Everything from vehicular accessories (8-10 rod holding front porches), Rods and reels from Diawa, St.Croix, Tsunami and Star Lite. Neoprene waders and rain gear from Calcutta and Helly Hansen. Anglers Aluminum products, sand spikes, surf carts, and rod holders for vehicle and boat. Come take a look at our newly expanded surf department.

The fresh water report was a little cloudy until the ponds settled down and then things started to pick up. Larry Guthrie fished Wagomans Pond and brought a 1 lb 5oz Redear Sunfish to the scales. We also cited a 2 lb 9 oz Smallmouth Bass from Red Clay Creek.

We still have a good supply of chicken necks available for those who are still a little on the crabby side. Good solid 1-bushel reports have come from the Sassafras and the Bohemia Rivers. Further south the Chester River has been producing heavy, fat crabs in the area of the Shipyard and Langford Creek area. Eastern Neck Island was also another location mentioned by customers getting their crabbing gear here at Eastern Marine. Well as always and until next time keep your trotline tight and don’t cheap date the bait!

E-10 FUEL IN MARINE APPLICATIONS

There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about the effects of E-10 fuel on marine fuel systems since it was introduced in 2006. E–10 is a mixture of 10% ethanol with 90% unleaded 87-octane gasoline. The purpose of adding the ethanol is to extend the fuel and reduce emissions. However, since the ethanol is less potent than gasoline, fuel economy actually decreases by 5-8 % in automobiles and presumably has the same effect on marine engines.

Since ethanol has the properties of a solvent, it had a negative effect on the marine fuel systems of the day. Some of the problems are as follows:

1) The fuel lines, fuel fill hoses, vent hoses and primer balls tend to swell and degrade with E-10 fuel.

2) Fiberglass tanks will start to degrade. The ethanol slowly dissolves the resin in the fiberglass weakening the tank and contaminating the fuel. This has caused major repairs in boats like Bertram.

3) Any corrosion or contamination build-up in metal tanks will eventually loosen up and foul the fuel system and motor.

4) Since the ethanol component of the fuel is hydroscopic, it attracts water molecules. When the amount of water reaches a maximum limit, a phase separation occurs where the water/ethanol mixture will separate and lay in the bottom of the tank where the fuel pickup is located. This again will contaminate the rest of the fuel system and motor. MOELLER MARINE Ethanol Info.

As far as a treatment to prevent water contamination AND remediate E-10 fuel, Starbrite’s STAR-TRON makes the strongest claims. It acts as a fuel stabilizer that prevents fuel breakdown for up to two years. It also claims to be able to reverse the effects of phase separation using an enzyme formulation. STARTRON Spec Sheet
Also, using a water-separating filter will also contain some of these problems.

Another negative property of ethanol in fuel is that it causes an increase in fuel permeation across fuel system components such as tanks, fuel lines etc. The Environmental Protection Agency has adopted CARB fuel regulations for 2011. At great expense, Moeller Marine Products has addressed the fuel permeation issues in their fuel tanks, fuel line and accessories.
The x-linked polyethylene tanks are now of a two layer composite construction and tests show that the new design will meet the new regulations. The same is true of the new fuel lines. They are grey above deck now marked as B1-15. Below deck fuel, fuel vent and fuel fill lines will continue with the ethanol resistant A2 lines currently in use. New primer balls have also been developed to meet the CARB/EPA regulations. Moeller CARB EPA Advisory

Of course, engineering these product changes has caused a significant price hike for the end user.

Eastern Marine Fishing Report ~ 08/02/2011

It has been quite some time since I have had the opportunity to report on our most favorite pastimes (crabbing & fishing). Fortunately for our customers and us we have been extremely busy over the past few months. With new and upcoming product coming into the fishing and crabbing department both staff and patrons have had a lot to be excited about. We here at Eastern have been occupied beefing up our selection of fishing and crabbing supplies to better serve and outfit our customer base! Namely our surf fishing line-up and our inventory of devices for catching the Atlantic Blue Crab. It should not go without mention to the ladies portion of our customer base that Eastern Marine is now stocking an array of crab theme decorative items designed to dress-up any home and or beach house. Everything from lexan glass wares, serving vessels, utensils, and even quilted pillows for the living area. It’s all here from soup to nuts, everything for catching, steaming, and eating your day’s hard earned catch. We even have the latest in crab motif paper and cleaning utensils bound to dress up any picnic table and make you look like a real pro! Last but not least Eastern Marine will be stocking products specifically aimed at our kayaker friends. We already have a good supply of paddles, life vests, precisionpak, and dry-pak accessories for the serious Yaker! Oh, I almost forgot to mention Eastern Marine has a huge selection of Air Head Brand tubes, towables, and coolers for those that take the more laid back approach to boating. You can view all of these on our Eastern Marine Outlet web site and order today!

Okay, back to the fishing and crabbing end of things… Striped Bass are still being caught in the upper Delaware River around Augustine Beach and locations further north. Fresh Bunker and Peeler Crabs have been the primary baits while some anglers have had limited success with cut Spot and Finger Mullet. The mid and lower bay have seemed to dry up and have many scratching their head as the Flounder bite has vanished from areas like Port Mahon and the Cross Ledge. Some good reports have come from Indian River. John Justison and family drifted the inlet and boated quite a few keepers in the 20″ inch range. John’s grandmother nailed a 22″ incher on her first drift ever and brought everyone on board good luck with multiple hook-ups on the rest of the days venture. John’s 11 year old daughter also followed suit with her own 22″ incher soon after. Congrats to the Justinson family on a great days fishing. The Croakers are still a little on the small side 7″-10″ according to most reports coming from the lower bay and Outer Wall. Shark fishing is still in high gear and new guidelines have been set. For those that may have not been informed, you may not beach sharks, they must be released while in the water. This has left some perplexed and second-guessing another hook-up with some of the bigger, toothier species. One post on a local web site stated the individual would rather hand feed a large alligator while poking it with a sharp stick. I’ll agree with that, after living in south Florida for 6 years, most gators I encountered were more than willing to high tail it out of site when approached. Unbuttoning a 5 – 7’ toothed shark while standing in the surf seems a little risky to say the least.

Crabbing has been on the upswing as the migration heads north. Good but spotty reports first came from the Wye River but with drastic temperature changes crabbers had to find water temps in the low 80′s to bushel out in a reasonable amount of time. I experienced a long slow grind myself on the Wye three weeks ago and the water temperature was in the mid to upper 80′s. Fellow crabbers had better success towards the mouth of the Wye where the water temps were cooler. The Chester River has given up the best reports according to most customers here at Eastern. Boats launching out of Rolph’s Warf had great results in the area of Southeast Creek and locations further down the river. Two weeks ago conditions were more suitable and 1-2 bushel limits were harvested with little effort. It won’t be long now before the Sassafras, Bohemia, and Elk Rivers will turn on in full force and the days crabbing will be a little easier on us folks from the local area. Eastern Marine has all of your crabbing essentials: trot lines, hand pots, crabbing hardware, and 4-10# pound crayo-vac bags (40# pounds) for $28.95. Well until next time keep your trotline tight and don’t cheap date the bait!

Eastern Marine Weights new State Record Catfish!

Last weeks ending brought some of the biggest news we have had to talk about in quite some time! On Saturday June 4th Jason Michalski of Rising Sun Maryland brought an enormous Flat Head Catfish to our scale to be weighed. Acting weigh master Donnie Barnes greeted Michalski and after seeing the fish started the citation paper work process. Barnes hoisted the big fish onto our tray and cited the fish at 24lbs and 7oz. After taking thorough measurements of the fishes overall length (40″ inches) and girth (29 1/2″ inches), Barnes completed the citation paperwork and congratulated Michalski on his fine catch! Little did either of the two of them realize that they had just cited the new potential state record Catfish.

After Michalski had returned home Donnie Barnes mentioned to Eastern Marine fishing department manager Mike Bowen about the big Catfish he had just done paper work on. Bowen inquired about the fishes weight and upon hearing the fishes statistics flew to the licensing counter for the Delaware State Fishing Guide. Bowen was certain Michalski’s fish was at least 1 pound heavier than the existing Delaware State Record of 23lbs 6ozs held by William Ridgley in 1992. After confirming his suspicion with the state guide Bowen called D.N.R. officials and got the ball rolling for submitting the potential new state record.

SR. CPL. Mari Grehofsky with division of fish and wildlife arrived to Eastern Marine and was witness to the fish and the statistics recorded by Donnie Barnes. Michalski returned to Eastern Marine after Mike Bowen telephoned him of his findings. Michalski posed for a picture spoke with D.N.R. agent Grehofsky and received some complimentary Eastern Marine gear from General Manager Tom Davidson. On Thursday June 9th News Journal reporter Bob Jones did a story in the river section of his report and declared the fish was going be accepted as the new state record! Congrats to Jason Michalski on his outstanding catch and to all that were involved in submitting this fish to the Delaware Sportfishing Tournament. Just a reminder for those who may not know! Eastern Marine is an official state weigh station and you to can enter your next big catch here!

Eastern Marine Fishing Report ~ 05/11/2011

With the present weather pattern in place, anglers have had little opportunity to get out on the water let alone develop a pattern on the Striper bite down on the Susquehanna Flats. A mixture of high winds, daylong rain events, and the upper Susquehanna well over flood stage have kept the lower river and the flats a churning chocolate mess. Positive reports have been few and far between. An occasional quality Striper has been landed on the few sunny days we have managed to have and all these were taken on fresh-cut or live Herring. Most customers we talk to are waiting on conditions to improve so they can change the method of take to jigs or plugs.

The Striper bite on the Delaware side has started to slow. Where there was a good bite two weeks ago, anglers stopping in for Bloodworms have noticed a considerable down turn in the numbers of fish being caught as well as the quality of the fish. Many anglers reported to us here at Eastern Marine that the female fish they were catching had not yet spawned out. I have seen years that a second surge of spawning fish arrive a little later in the upper river and a good bite develops about the second week of May. This typically happens when we have a rainy cold spring as we have this year. So lets keep our fingers crossed and don’t give up on those pre-or post spawn fish as the case may have it.

Eastern Marine Fishing Report ~ 04/14/2011

With April upon us anglers are waiting with anticipation for the opening day of trout season. That first Saturday in April when fathers, sons, family, and friends gather at their favorite fishing spots along New Castle Counties designated trout streams. Opening day is a time-honored tradition with each angler having their own set of rituals and procedures. Licenses, trout stamps, and fin numbers must first be acquired and after becoming licensed a thorough investigation of the tackle, artificial, and live offerings is a must. Each individual has their go to set up or lure that is a sure fire trout killer, guaranteed to fill each clip on any anglers chain stringer! Berkley Power Baits are usually at the top of most trout anglers shopping list and this year was no different. Each jar purchased with specific color and flavor in mind. Here at Eastern Marine the fishing department staff expanded the offerings available to anglers headed to the trout stream. A wide variety of new Power Bait colors, scents, and trout dips were added over the winter months in preparation for this years stocking. Berkley Gulp 1″ inch fish fry baits and Berkley 3″ inch trout worms were also additions to our stock and a nice surprise for anglers in search of these hard to find items.

The State had a big surprise of their own in store for anglers when they reached their favorite fishing hole. The state had the opportunity to purchase brood stock from their hatchery and the average fish was over 2 pounds and most fish ranged from 3-5 pounds! Those who were unaware nearly had heart failure as they approached the bank for a first time look! Never… and I mean never… have we filled out so many citations for the Delaware Sport Fishing Tournament. I was prepared with two unopened stacks of citation forms, 100 forms in each stack. By Saturday afternoon it was evident we were going to need more and a quick call to the tournament director in Little Creek was placed. In all 247 citations were filed and we are still counting. A hearty congratulation is in order for all those who participated and a salutation of appreciation to our Fish and Wildlife Dept. for a job well done!!! Never in all my days have I ever witnessed a trout stocking like we received this year!

Some of the outstanding mentionables we cited were as follows:
Fred Conkey of Newark Delaware weighed in a 6lb 6oz Rainbow Trout that taped out to 24 1/2 inches. Shane Malek of Wilmington Delaware fished Rittenhouse Park and brought a 5lb 9oz Rainbow to the scales here at Eastern Marine. Mike McLaughlin of Newark Delaware weighed in a 5lb 8oz Rainbow Trout from White Clay Creek. Dallas Johnson of Wilmington Delaware fished Wilson Run and managed a 5lb 3oz Rainbow from the little stream. Don’t forget that the state will be stocking throughout the month of April and it’s not to late to get in on the fun. Well until next opening day remember Eastern Marine is your one stop fishing supply shop.