"No More Nine to Five"
by George Jehn
August, 1999
You say you're tired of the old nine to five? Well, how about breaking up your nine to five, changing it to a seven to one? No, I do not mean like in a job, but a fishing trip! Dave Richichi and I decided to give a seven to one striped bass trip a try last week on board the 140' Viking Starship out of Montauk Point, New York.
It was a beautiful, cloudless summer evening when we boarded the boat, with Captain Rich Castellano at the helm. We left the Viking dock precisely at seven PM. Since Rich has been running these trips all summer, on the short run out to the Great Eastern grounds just north of the Montauk lighthouse, I inquired about what kind of action he anticipated for the evening's fishing. He replied that he believed we would see some pretty fast fishing for the first couple of hours. Rich went on to explain that the tide is the biggest determining factor when striper fishing. In addition there was only a quarter moon and the weak running ebb tide was due to change at approximately 9:30 that evening.
"Once the tide slacks off, the fishing for the rest of the evening depends on when the tide begins to flood and how strong it is. During slack tide the action is usually pretty slow," he related.
Dave and I would be using our own rigs. My equipment consisted of a Shimano TLD-10 reel and a seven-foot Offshore Adventure rod rated for use with twenty to forty pound line. Dave was using a brand new custom rod (this combination glass and graphite work of art was made by our own Al Goldberg) and a Penn level-wind reel. We would be using live eels for bait that evening. On the way out, the mates put out a number of pails full of eels and others with sand in them. If you first put the eel in the sand bucket, this made the sometimes-difficult task of hooking them much easier.
The normal method employed in this type of party boat fishing is to use an eel on a four-foot leader attached to a three-way swivel. A ten-ounce sinker is then affixed to the swivel. The rig is lowered to the bottom and then reeled up about a half a crank. However due to the sizeable crowd that night, Dave and I instead opted for a standard fish-finder rig with the sinker attached to the clip on the swivel. We felt his would enable us to let the line out further, away from the boat and myriad of lines. Then if we got a hit, the plan would be to freespool the line until we were certain the fish had ingested the eel. If you intend to use your own rod on one of these trips, make certain it has enough backbone for the ten ounces of lead. Also, bring along some lighter (and heavier) sinkers in case the current is stronger or weaker than normal. The latter was the case the night we fished.
We arrived at Great Eastern after a short, twenty-five minute ride. The action began almost immediately. I had just let my line out away from the boat when I felt what I believed was a strike. With the heavy sinker dragging along the bottom behind the drifting boat, I figured it might be somewhat difficult to feel when a fish picked up my eel. I decided that if the line peeled off while the reel was in freespool faster than the boat was drifting, this would be a good indication that a fish had picked up the bait. This was the case, so I counted to ten and set the hook. I was into a good fish and the twenty-five pound test line began to peel off the reel. Ten minutes later I had a beautiful fish of approximately twenty pounds alongside, where the mate netted it. I was halfway to my limit for the night.
When fishing on a party or charter boat on Long Island, the limit for striped bass is two fish per angler, twenty-eight inches or larger. This is opposed to a one fish limit of the same size when fishing on a private boat.
After putting my fish in the cooler, I watched as a number of other anglers hooked up. In addition to striped bass, there were also quite a few bluefish hooked. Some of these were caught, while others bit through the mono line and escaped. I noticed one young angler at mid-ships who had hooked into what was obviously a good fish. He was using a rental rod and finally got a beautiful fish of approximately thirty pounds alongside where it was netted.
Rich skillfully repositioned the boat about every ten minutes in order to get a precise drift, and there was good action with bass for approximately two hours. Then just as he predicted, the tide slowed down and so did the fishing. We fished at that spot a while longer and then we moved to the Pollock Rip. A few more bass were caught here, but the fishing never picked up to its previous level. When we started in at 12:30, the final count was approximately thirty keeper bass for forty-five anglersÑnot too bad considering the unfavorable tidal conditions. The largest was the previously mentioned thirty-pounder.
The plan right now for the Viking is to sail for striped bass at least until the end of October, and depending upon how the fishing holds up, maybe later. The boat sails Wednesday through Sunday nights at 7 PM returning to the dock by 1 AM. There will also be additional trips announced for special full and new moon trips. You can call their office at (516) 668-5700 for the very latest schedule.
So go ahead and shake that old nine to five and try the seven to one instead. I'm certain you'll feel better for it.
To send us your fishing reports, Click Here.
Return to Main Page or Dave's Special Reports.
"Once the tide slacks off, the fishing for the rest of the evening depends on when the tide begins to flood and how strong it is. During slack tide the action is usually pretty slow," he related.
Dave and I would be using our own rigs. My equipment consisted of a Shimano TLD-10 reel and a seven-foot Offshore Adventure rod rated for use with twenty to forty pound line. Dave was using a brand new custom rod (this combination glass and graphite work of art was made by our own Al Goldberg) and a Penn level-wind reel. We would be using live eels for bait that evening. On the way out, the mates put out a number of pails full of eels and others with sand in them. If you first put the eel in the sand bucket, this made the sometimes-difficult task of hooking them much easier.
The normal method employed in this type of party boat fishing is to use an eel on a four-foot leader attached to a three-way swivel. A ten-ounce sinker is then affixed to the swivel. The rig is lowered to the bottom and then reeled up about a half a crank. However due to the sizeable crowd that night, Dave and I instead opted for a standard fish-finder rig with the sinker attached to the clip on the swivel. We felt his would enable us to let the line out further, away from the boat and myriad of lines. Then if we got a hit, the plan would be to freespool the line until we were certain the fish had ingested the eel. If you intend to use your own rod on one of these trips, make certain it has enough backbone for the ten ounces of lead. Also, bring along some lighter (and heavier) sinkers in case the current is stronger or weaker than normal. The latter was the case the night we fished.
We arrived at Great Eastern after a short, twenty-five minute ride. The action began almost immediately. I had just let my line out away from the boat when I felt what I believed was a strike. With the heavy sinker dragging along the bottom behind the drifting boat, I figured it might be somewhat difficult to feel when a fish picked up my eel. I decided that if the line peeled off while the reel was in freespool faster than the boat was drifting, this would be a good indication that a fish had picked up the bait. This was the case, so I counted to ten and set the hook. I was into a good fish and the twenty-five pound test line began to peel off the reel. Ten minutes later I had a beautiful fish of approximately twenty pounds alongside, where the mate netted it. I was halfway to my limit for the night.
When fishing on a party or charter boat on Long Island, the limit for striped bass is two fish per angler, twenty-eight inches or larger. This is opposed to a one fish limit of the same size when fishing on a private boat.
After putting my fish in the cooler, I watched as a number of other anglers hooked up. In addition to striped bass, there were also quite a few bluefish hooked. Some of these were caught, while others bit through the mono line and escaped. I noticed one young angler at mid-ships who had hooked into what was obviously a good fish. He was using a rental rod and finally got a beautiful fish of approximately thirty pounds alongside where it was netted.
Rich skillfully repositioned the boat about every ten minutes in order to get a precise drift, and there was good action with bass for approximately two hours. Then just as he predicted, the tide slowed down and so did the fishing. We fished at that spot a while longer and then we moved to the Pollock Rip. A few more bass were caught here, but the fishing never picked up to its previous level. When we started in at 12:30, the final count was approximately thirty keeper bass for forty-five anglersÑnot too bad considering the unfavorable tidal conditions. The largest was the previously mentioned thirty-pounder.
The plan right now for the Viking is to sail for striped bass at least until the end of October, and depending upon how the fishing holds up, maybe later. The boat sails Wednesday through Sunday nights at 7 PM returning to the dock by 1 AM. There will also be additional trips announced for special full and new moon trips. You can call their office at (516) 668-5700 for the very latest schedule.
So go ahead and shake that old nine to five and try the seven to one instead. I'm certain you'll feel better for it.
To send us your fishing reports, Click Here.
Return to Main Page or Dave's Special Reports.
Rich skillfully repositioned the boat about every ten minutes in order to get a precise drift, and there was good action with bass for approximately two hours. Then just as he predicted, the tide slowed down and so did the fishing. We fished at that spot a while longer and then we moved to the Pollock Rip. A few more bass were caught here, but the fishing never picked up to its previous level. When we started in at 12:30, the final count was approximately thirty keeper bass for forty-five anglersÑnot too bad considering the unfavorable tidal conditions. The largest was the previously mentioned thirty-pounder.
The plan right now for the Viking is to sail for striped bass at least until the end of October, and depending upon how the fishing holds up, maybe later. The boat sails Wednesday through Sunday nights at 7 PM returning to the dock by 1 AM. There will also be additional trips announced for special full and new moon trips. You can call their office at (516) 668-5700 for the very latest schedule.
So go ahead and shake that old nine to five and try the seven to one instead. I'm certain you'll feel better for it.