captmike28
Well-Known Angler
As the number of fishable days continues to dwindle, the Bob W. party of 4 was able to take advantage of yesterday’s cold but calm conditions for a shot at the steady Blackfish bite on the North Fork. I wasted no time in heading straight back to my favorite jig spot off Fishers Island, and for the 4th time in a row we were treated to a “one-stop shopping” experience!
As the flood tide began to move gently Andy started us off with a healthy 18” keeper for the box. Bob followed suit with his own fat Tog of 17” and then we began the typical rounds of a bunch of shorts with a nice keeper mixed in here and there. Frank had a few frustrating moments as he hung up and lost 3 jigs in a short period of time only managing a few shorts in between. I handed him one of my spinning rods and almost instantly his luck changed as he decked his first keeper of 18” in length. Rob had been quietly working away at a lot of short fish until about mid-morning when he had a big hit and following a strong fight put a sweet 4.5# fish in the box. The guys kept working away diligently and by 11:15, the 4-man limit, plus the captain’s share had graced the fish box. Although we did break off a couple of the typical “freight trains”, most of the keepers were in the 17”-19” class but nice and thick. Of course, while in the C&R mode as I was cleaning the catch the crew did manage to land several other nice keepers including a few more in the 4# class that were all quickly returned.
A nice comfortable, smooth ride back to port with healthy bags of filet capped off another very satisfying day on our North Fork Tog grounds. Although I still have 4 trips on the books for the balance of my season, the weather forecasts are looking quite iffy. I sure hope we can squeeze at least one of two more trips in before the curtain comes down as the fish are chewing good right now.
Capt. Mike
As the flood tide began to move gently Andy started us off with a healthy 18” keeper for the box. Bob followed suit with his own fat Tog of 17” and then we began the typical rounds of a bunch of shorts with a nice keeper mixed in here and there. Frank had a few frustrating moments as he hung up and lost 3 jigs in a short period of time only managing a few shorts in between. I handed him one of my spinning rods and almost instantly his luck changed as he decked his first keeper of 18” in length. Rob had been quietly working away at a lot of short fish until about mid-morning when he had a big hit and following a strong fight put a sweet 4.5# fish in the box. The guys kept working away diligently and by 11:15, the 4-man limit, plus the captain’s share had graced the fish box. Although we did break off a couple of the typical “freight trains”, most of the keepers were in the 17”-19” class but nice and thick. Of course, while in the C&R mode as I was cleaning the catch the crew did manage to land several other nice keepers including a few more in the 4# class that were all quickly returned.
A nice comfortable, smooth ride back to port with healthy bags of filet capped off another very satisfying day on our North Fork Tog grounds. Although I still have 4 trips on the books for the balance of my season, the weather forecasts are looking quite iffy. I sure hope we can squeeze at least one of two more trips in before the curtain comes down as the fish are chewing good right now.
Capt. Mike
