For the first time in 21 years of running charters I had a group of 4 Amish fellows along with their driver/assistant, John, join me. These guys were serious about feeding their families as they drove all the way from Cooperstown (5 hours) to fish with me today. I had been told that they were all avid freshwater fisherman but had never dipped a line in the salt.
Sure enough these were very skilled anglers who handled the tackle masterfully and really wailed on the Porgies putting together a limit catch with no trouble in about 3 hours. Like last week we saw a number of real quality fish with several in the 3#+ range and many double headers.
The big excitement for the day came when Jacob ties into a fish that was obviously not a Scup. The fish took many long runs first to the bow, back to the stern, then amidships, but always digging for the bottom. So, while I thought it was a gator Blue I had hoped it might be something different. Sure enough after a very protracted battle I slip the net under a beautiful 30” Striped Bass. Amazing the tiny Porgy hook did not snap or pull out for all the pressure it sustained. I asked Jacob if this was the largest fish he ever caught but he modestly said no. He and his friends do take advantage of the Salmon run in Pulaski NY each year and they have landed some fish close to 40”. It is no wonder he did such a good job fighting that nice Bass on super light Scup tackle.
I hope the weather forecast for later this week settles down as I have Thurs, Fri, and Sat all booked. I also hope we can finally find some Weakfish as I know the upcoming crews have a desire to catch some of those beauties.
Capt. Mike
