The gardens are mulched, so no more leaves to rake and make into mulch, unless you are dumb enough to rake my forest. We only rake leaves to make mulch for the gardens. Aside from mowing the driveway with the riding mower to clear the debris, that is about it for leaf raking. Now I can spend most of my free time fishing, right? And then there is that firewood we need on the daily for the shop. Winter chores are not as bad and abide more fishing. The fact winter fishing options are limited helps make trips easier. You only need so much gear.

The shrimp tanks are loaded with hundreds per tank for white perch fishing. It’s just a matter of getting out and finding a nice quiet place to relax and drop a line. There are plenty of places around Delmarva to do just that, relax and fish. The mild winter weather is perfect for an afternoon on or next to the water. Grass shrimp make for easy bait, and having plenty on hand makes for a quicker trip. Just siphon the tank dry and all the shrimp come with the water.

Local bait shops are loaded up with the usual baits for perch, striped bass and tautog fishing.

Fly anglers are doing well on pickerel, and perch in ponds and creeks. Winter is a great time of year to learn fly fishing. There is less of an audience in case you fear looking dumb. You will next learn to hate trees. The other nice thing is less people means less in the way of your back cast — that will always need work. Welcome to fly fishing.

The Saltwater Fly Anglers of Delaware club might be meeting this winter to tie flies. Check in with Terry Peach at A Marblehead Flyfisher to see what the fly anglers up north are doing.

Charters and head boats are still getting out for trips. The weather has cooperated enough for this time of year. I’m not a big fan of wind, boat ride or not, and especially on the beach, where you get blasted by sand. Once it is sticking in my teeth it is time to go home.

The inlets are producing a lot of small tautog. Striped bass resident action is decent as usual. There are not many migratory bass yet but it’s still a tad early and still above us in Jersey. I’d say after this weekend you will see boats headed to Cape May, if not by this weekend.

I just got a new set of waders. The Bassdash brand in black, with the cleated boots. Felt are great waders, but the boots, when worn in sand, fill with sand and shells, which will pierce your waders and is uncomfortable. Or, if you are like me, you get fed up with clogged-up boots and go felt only. That didn’t last long, but the waders were shot anyway.

I like these Bassdash, the fit is great, it was just hard to figure out which size.
There are two sizes of waders on the market — bean pole and fat kid. I’m in betwixt the two. I went for bean pole this time around. I don’t need my inner fat kid turning me into a drift anchor in rough, cold surf. My summer waders are large and baggy for air circulation. I wanted closer quarters for winter conditions.

I like the slimmer fit waders. I wear my Helly Hansen base layers only and wool socks, and the fit is perfect and flexible.

If I do get jammed up, these won’t fill with as much water. It is hard to size waders even with their sizing chart. It depends on your body shape and shoe size. Apparently people with large feet are also giants in height with 40-inch inseams. Who comes up with these sizes?

Just a heads-up to keep a close eye on sizes and try on what you can to gauge what you need. Internet prices right now are no better than local shops, I found, so support your local shops. The availability is an issue as well. I couldn’t get the Frogg Toggs I wanted until March. I’m still getting those, but needed a new set for this fall and winter fishing.

Speaking of supply chain issues, start stocking up now for your summer fishing gear. Buy from local tackle makers like DS Custom Tackle.

“We won’t run out of gear this year, the same as last year. Sadly our customers aren’t hearing the same from the major wholesalers. As always, buy local and stay stocked all year. We will have a constant supply of not only our hallmark rigs but also all the gear fellow rig makers need,” according to owner David Okonewski.

If you are looking for a cool outdoors camera like a GoPro but don’t want to break the bank, check out the SJ Cam SJ4000 Air 4K Wi-Fi Action Camera 16MP Waterproof DV Camcorder. It is essentially the same technology as the leading brands but at a fraction of the cost. My cam cost about $80 with all the attachments you need. Now you too can be a YouTube angler, for less cost.

I beat these to death because the cost is minimal in comparison and they can take it. I don’t do the YouTube fishing thing. I just use these for other fun fishing stuff. They also make great dash cameras.

If you are done fishing for the year, get your reels in now to get cleaned or learn to do it yourself. There are hundreds of videos online on cleaning and tearing down your reels. Have fun with those unexpected springs that pop out and fly across the room. If you have shops do your reels, get them in now so you beat the spring rush.

Here’s a holiday gift idea for the angler in your life: needle-nose pliers. I don’t care who you are, everyone likes a nice pair of needle-nose pliers. I’m talking the really nice ones, not the one-season cheapos. The floating ones at the shops are really nice or hit a local hardware shop. Even if he doesn’t fish, ladies, a man can either fix or destroy anything with a good set of needle-nose pliers. If he can’t do either of those, reevaluate your relationship. I mean, you should have already at not fishing, but what do I know?