5 Years Today
 

Our good friend Habs went to the eternal Striper grounds.

RIP John. We miss you every time we throw a needlefish.

Thanks Paul,still have his number on my cell.Strange how a man who loved life so much could pass so suddenly.He is still missed.

I just gave my 3' black needle a pat and salute as I walked by it on the livingroom wall. Man how time flys.

Rest in Peace John
gone way too soon and I think of him often
I just had a 30 on one of his needles the other night, parrot color-my favorite. The man taught me a lot.

One of the very best outdoorsmen. :(

Will be tossing a habs tonight when I teach my son how to cast (with the wind to our backs).

-spence

Best needles ever

I saw his number on my phone the other day and thought about him. I could not bring myself to delete it.

He had a oddball sense of humor. He would call me and pretend to be someone else or answer the phone as a pizza place.

The fishing world has lost a few major players the last few years that is for sure.

I remember the first time I tried his needle. I was headed to CH in for 4 nights back in late mid-late 90's and stopped by weekapaug B&T to pick up some last minute odds and ends and saw a few in a display case (not on the wall), not in a bag just displayed. I asked about them. (they were clearly cherished) . He let me hold it and I eventually I asked if I could buy one and the owner said OK but only one and I had to let him know how I did with it on my trip. It was an epic trip and that lure was like a dagger punching a hole thru the wind out there. Eventually I lost it on that trip. (You might recall hearing a loud screamed curse-word around 2:00am or so) Anyway I was a Habs disciple after that.

The Habs Story
 

September 1991, I am fishing Fresh Pond Rocks about 2:00 AM. Pouring rain, about 50 degrees and a big swell on. Nothing to show for 3 hours of plugging so I am sitting on the “rock” with a Grunden parker, hood and all pulled tight around me.

Suddenly there’s a light in my face and a guy yelling. “Hey ya bum, you gonna fish or sit there and feel sorry for yourself.” Some guy with a walrus mustache who I have never met. “What! You talking to me?” “Yeah, I’m talking to you! Let me see you rod.”

He grabs my rod from me and says:”Habs is the name. Here’s your problem”. He cuts my Super Strike needle off and throws it away. He pulls a white needle with a red head out of his bag and ties it to my line. “OK, let’s fish”. So I’m thinking I have met a lunatic and its either fish with this nut or he might stab me.

3rd cast I’m on with a bass around 20#. Next cast Hab is on. And so it went until false dawn. We hammered fish for about 3 hours. That was the first time I met and fished with John. We became best of friend and I field tested hundreds of his early swimmers, needles and poppers.

The last time I saw John was at Home Depot in Greenville. I had just been diagnosed with cancer and had been operated on and had chemo the week before. John knew as only a few of my friends were privy to the fact. So I am struggling to put an exterior front door in my truck. Here comes Habs. What *&^%$ are you doing you stupid ((*&^!!! Get the **^% out of the way. John helped me get the door in the truck and then we went for coffee at D&D right up the road.

God speed John. I think of you every time I go to Fresh Pond Rock and all the other places we fished together.

I would love to see pics of your single most mojo-covered habs needles!

Little Habs needlefish my favorite needle. R.I.P sir.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I have some pre-production needles that I'll post sometime this week. Headed out right now for a night of bass hunting. Working tomorrow but it's that time of year and work never stopped me before.

He is missed for sure.

I'll never forget the time RIROCKHOUND invited me to the Newport fishing club (or what ever it's called) meeting and Habs came in late, sat in the back with Iron Mike and ripped a really loud fart.

-spence

RIP brother.

RIP Johnny.....

One of the first times I remember meeting Habs was in line at the Ranger station at Race Point waiting for stickers that first nightmare of a year when the sticker sales went bonkers!!! He was ahead of me in line with Bassmaster! He could not have been more friendly. Another time we got together was at an MSBA "Plug Night" that I finally got John to come to and participate!! He was always the jokester......so doesn't he give my young son a Habs t-shirt (BigFish Bait Co. had just started up) I just thought that was so funny and my son wore it all night!!:rotf2: Just the kind of guy John was...friendly, generous and sincere! We had tried to make plans to fish together down the Cape but we never pulled it together.....I sure wish we had!

I still have a Habs hat John gave me at Goose Hummock many moons ago when he was there selling his plugs.......it has a place of honor here!

I still missed my dad, wished he would live little longer that he did. Love ya Dad

Wish that could have been John. Its testimony to the man your Dad was that so many remember him and miss him almost as much as you, your Mom and your family do.

John called me on the vineyard 2 days before he passed bitchin at me for not tyin the tail hooks for him. Told me to just suck it up an do it for him till he could get ahead on things .He told me he'd pay me all the beer an plugs i needed. When got the call about it It was a hard night . Miss the bum. was a good guy.

Miss ya Johnny.

Just thinking about the missed deer this morning...

HAAAABssssss! He was a cool a$$ dude.

How could you not love a guy that could drive through Provincetown in his buggy with with the slogan "I HAVE A HAB ON!" prominately displayed.

RIP John - miss you

DZ

I met John and his son at the one of the breaches 9-10 years ago. Me and a buddy were newbies to the area and etiquette of the fishing there. Habs and a couple other locals took the time to show us what was up, how to fish the flows properly and politely and I fished with them all many times over the next few years. Funny, never really knew what he looked like- except for the mustache- for over a year because I never saw him in the daylight.
A great fisherman (as is his son) and teacher, miss seeing him.
I keep his plugs safe at home, duplicating them as I need. Hard though, he had the skills to make them swim right.
Tight lines John.

John is one of the most generous people I have ever met .

I have a white ( his favorite ) habs in a shadow box along with his obituary .

Miss seeing him when I go to RI these days .

Jr I hope you and Mom are doing good .

I think about John often...
 

I can still hear him passing gas and saying, "It's good to be the king!"

I'll never forget when John joined me on our annual Menemsha filming trip. When he sat down in the rocker at the corner store at Bettlebung Corner and looked at me and kept saying, "I'm sooooo relaxed. No really, I'm so relaxed." It was great seeing John unwind for a change...he often got wound up pretty tight by people and events that rubbed him the wrong way.

We had epic fishing in the creek at dawn and on one of the outings I got him on film turning to the camera and saying, "I think I died and went to heaven." Could be the fact that his Habs poppers were outfishing live herring had something to do with his euphoria. I hope he's catching on every cast now. RIP my old friend.

Here are a couple of vintage Hab shots: