Striper Queen
07-14-2007, 07:57 PM
Made the drive out to Montauk to fish the Viking Starship for Stripers on her Friday night trip. It was a long ride as mapquest told me it would be 3 3/4 hours, when in actuality it took a little over 5 with the traffic. I left early enough in the morning so that I would not get stuck in the mass exodus from the City to the Island.
The party boat was very large and handled great in the water. The fishing was another thing . . .
17 anglers aboard. We fished an area of rips called the Race. The water started out at between 100 - 120 feet deep and then shelved up to about 80 as we drifted. Fished with eels, my personal favorite way to fish stripers. The current was rough, requiring us to use 14 ounces of lead and much heavier rigs than I had with me.
Catch for the night consisted of about a dozen demons and about 6 stripers, all well over the length requirement, with the largest weighing about 27 pounds. I pulled a blond one, and left my camera ashore, so no pictures. The bite seemed best about the first hour after sunset, then it was meager for the rest of the night.
So, here is what I learned from one of the mates on the Viking Starship . . .
BLOCK ISLAND IS CLOSED TO ALL FISHING BOATS ! ! ! Aparently because of the submarine lanes in the area, it was always supposed to be off limits to fishing boats, but the coast guard never bothered the fishing boats in the past. There are several boueys which consistently gave up quite a few very large striped bass. I was told that the fly fishermen from Block Island have been putting up such a stink about the large bass not being able to get to shore, that the government and the coast guard are now enforcing the NO FISHING BOATS AT BLOCK ISLAND, and that they take satellite pictures and if you are caught fishing there, you get hit with a hefty fine. 3 infractions in one year and the boat's license to fish Stripers is taken away.
So, all of the fishing boats in Long Island, as well as CT and RI are now srcambling for new places and new ways to successfully fish for the Stripers.
I personnally did not see the draw to Montauk, and liked Mystic, CT and Point Judith, RI much better.
Live and learn . . .
The party boat was very large and handled great in the water. The fishing was another thing . . .
17 anglers aboard. We fished an area of rips called the Race. The water started out at between 100 - 120 feet deep and then shelved up to about 80 as we drifted. Fished with eels, my personal favorite way to fish stripers. The current was rough, requiring us to use 14 ounces of lead and much heavier rigs than I had with me.
Catch for the night consisted of about a dozen demons and about 6 stripers, all well over the length requirement, with the largest weighing about 27 pounds. I pulled a blond one, and left my camera ashore, so no pictures. The bite seemed best about the first hour after sunset, then it was meager for the rest of the night.
So, here is what I learned from one of the mates on the Viking Starship . . .
BLOCK ISLAND IS CLOSED TO ALL FISHING BOATS ! ! ! Aparently because of the submarine lanes in the area, it was always supposed to be off limits to fishing boats, but the coast guard never bothered the fishing boats in the past. There are several boueys which consistently gave up quite a few very large striped bass. I was told that the fly fishermen from Block Island have been putting up such a stink about the large bass not being able to get to shore, that the government and the coast guard are now enforcing the NO FISHING BOATS AT BLOCK ISLAND, and that they take satellite pictures and if you are caught fishing there, you get hit with a hefty fine. 3 infractions in one year and the boat's license to fish Stripers is taken away.
So, all of the fishing boats in Long Island, as well as CT and RI are now srcambling for new places and new ways to successfully fish for the Stripers.
I personnally did not see the draw to Montauk, and liked Mystic, CT and Point Judith, RI much better.
Live and learn . . .