Nancy Ann - Orient Point
November 20, 1998
(516)477-2337
"That Old Blackie Magic"
This story comes around once in a blue moon...
Where do I start...and where do I end? This is no fairytale, just the straight facts folks. Friday morning I got up at 3 AM...half dead to the world (the squirrels weren't even up yet) crawled around as usual to find the coffee, stubbed my toe on the stove and my eyes rolled back three times (get the drift!). OK, four cups of espresso and I'm ready to go anywhere. Load the car get another cup of coffee for the road...light a cigarette and we're off at 3:45. Drive baby drive...out to Orient Point...out to meet my buddy Al and his friends on the Nancy Ann for some black fishing. Had no expectations...maybe just a little. Two hours later, I'm at the dock all excited and ready to rock 'n' roll. Meet all the people in this party of ten...and out we went.
It was fifty degrees with no wind...not bad for the end of November. There was definately something in the air...probably my fishing sweater, which I hadn't washed in three days! Anyway, at the first stop, no sooner than the lines hit the water, when BANG...FISH ON to my left, to my right, and behind me...but not me! Al lent me one of his custom rods...we're talking sweet. The rods that I'm used to fishing with are...let's say, a Volkswagon Beetle...this was a Porsche. I had to adjust to the feel and as soon as I did, I became a blackfish maniac. I was pulling back fish one after another 2 lbs., 3 lbs., 5 lbs. and on and on like there was no tomorrow. I was working now...knowing there was a big bull dog out there. Everyone was hauling blacks. Within about 2 hours over a hundred blacks came and went. We were throwing back a ton of fish. I thought things couldn't get any better...WRONG...WRONG...WRONG.
We moved, not far, to a new spot (I cannot disclose this spot or I will be hog tied and skinned alive for Thanksgiving)...it was somewhere in Long Island Sound between here and there. First we drifted over the spot and then came the pigs...the big fat blackie bulldogs. The tide had just started turning out. One of the men behind me nailed a blackfish close to 7 lbs. easy. Al and his two buddies infront of me were hitting four pounders one after another. I layed my bait out and slowly bounced it back. It came to a dead halt and started walking against the tide. With Al's rod, I could feel every move that fish made.
I tightened my line and swung to the sky. That sweet rod was put to the test...she bowed ever so gracefully as this maniac knew he had a blue ribbon fish on the other end. It was thumper! The rod gave smoothly as the blackfish went to work. I held that rod high and when he came up my eyes were smiling. 11 1/2 pound blackfish...my 5 pound fish looked like a midgets next to it. What do you say now? We kept on fishing...the couple next to me were amazing sharpies. Betty Rickert scared me, the tide started ripping and she was hammering the fish even still. When everyone else was slowing way down. I looked at Al exhausted and stupified. I was done...stick a fork in me and turn me over! I was on a natural fish high, for it was going to be a long time before I would ever break that day with Al again.
Fishing that day were Lorry Mangan, Betty Rickert, Dick Rickert, Jay Seigerman, Greg Maynard, Al Goldberg, Harvey Holmes, Bob Upton and myself. To everyone on the boat that day...thank you for sharing a wonderful fishing experience...one I will not soon forget. To Capt. Rich Jensen and Mate Ricky Jensen your boat gets my four stars, as one of the top blackfishing boats on Long Island.
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Where do I start...and where do I end? This is no fairytale, just the straight facts folks. Friday morning I got up at 3 AM...half dead to the world (the squirrels weren't even up yet) crawled around as usual to find the coffee, stubbed my toe on the stove and my eyes rolled back three times (get the drift!). OK, four cups of espresso and I'm ready to go anywhere. Load the car get another cup of coffee for the road...light a cigarette and we're off at 3:45. Drive baby drive...out to Orient Point...out to meet my buddy Al and his friends on the Nancy Ann for some black fishing. Had no expectations...maybe just a little. Two hours later, I'm at the dock all excited and ready to rock 'n' roll. Meet all the people in this party of ten...and out we went.
It was fifty degrees with no wind...not bad for the end of November. There was definately something in the air...probably my fishing sweater, which I hadn't washed in three days! Anyway, at the first stop, no sooner than the lines hit the water, when BANG...FISH ON to my left, to my right, and behind me...but not me! Al lent me one of his custom rods...we're talking sweet. The rods that I'm used to fishing with are...let's say, a Volkswagon Beetle...this was a Porsche. I had to adjust to the feel and as soon as I did, I became a blackfish maniac. I was pulling back fish one after another 2 lbs., 3 lbs., 5 lbs. and on and on like there was no tomorrow. I was working now...knowing there was a big bull dog out there. Everyone was hauling blacks. Within about 2 hours over a hundred blacks came and went. We were throwing back a ton of fish. I thought things couldn't get any better...WRONG...WRONG...WRONG.
We moved, not far, to a new spot (I cannot disclose this spot or I will be hog tied and skinned alive for Thanksgiving)...it was somewhere in Long Island Sound between here and there. First we drifted over the spot and then came the pigs...the big fat blackie bulldogs. The tide had just started turning out. One of the men behind me nailed a blackfish close to 7 lbs. easy. Al and his two buddies infront of me were hitting four pounders one after another. I layed my bait out and slowly bounced it back. It came to a dead halt and started walking against the tide. With Al's rod, I could feel every move that fish made.
I tightened my line and swung to the sky. That sweet rod was put to the test...she bowed ever so gracefully as this maniac knew he had a blue ribbon fish on the other end. It was thumper! The rod gave smoothly as the blackfish went to work. I held that rod high and when he came up my eyes were smiling. 11 1/2 pound blackfish...my 5 pound fish looked like a midgets next to it. What do you say now? We kept on fishing...the couple next to me were amazing sharpies. Betty Rickert scared me, the tide started ripping and she was hammering the fish even still. When everyone else was slowing way down. I looked at Al exhausted and stupified. I was done...stick a fork in me and turn me over! I was on a natural fish high, for it was going to be a long time before I would ever break that day with Al again.
Fishing that day were Lorry Mangan, Betty Rickert, Dick Rickert, Jay Seigerman, Greg Maynard, Al Goldberg, Harvey Holmes, Bob Upton and myself. To everyone on the boat that day...thank you for sharing a wonderful fishing experience...one I will not soon forget. To Capt. Rich Jensen and Mate Ricky Jensen your boat gets my four stars, as one of the top blackfishing boats on Long Island.