Every year, The Fisherman Magazine meets up on an annual trip with the crew from Spro, Gamakatsu, and Sea Falcon, using their products and lures and testing out anything new that they bring along. For the past few years, the trip has been set sail out of Orient Point on Nancy Ann Charters, led by Captain Rich Jensen. Like the trips in the past, the ’24 trip saw no lack of action whatsoever.
The boat itself, the Nancy Ann IV, is a very seaworthy vessel more than capable of fishing all of the waters that surround the North Fork, including the Peconics, Sound, Gut, and Race. She’s a comfortable and very fishable boat with a lot of fish to her credit. Bottom trips see a 20-passenger max, while the bass and blue trips carry anywhere from 6 to 12 passengers for the best fishing experience. Captain Rich knows all of the local waters like the back of his hand, and it’s clear that after a little time spent on the boat, he knows exactly what he’s doing. His family has been sailing full-time since the 1960s and are also a part of the North Fork Captains Association.
We set out a little after 7 a.m. with the whole gang onboard. Fisherman publisher Mike Caruso and content creator Tim Smith were also along for the ride. Our first stop was the Race where we would try to jig up some stripers and bluefish. Being that the tide was on the slower side, we got out the light Spro bucktails, Sea Falcon jigs, and lighter jigging rods. We were working our jigs up a ledge where the bass and blues were waiting to ambush baitfish. In the first segment of the trip, we were able to pick away slot bass and some large bluefish.
The next stop between tides was the bottom fishing grounds southeast of Orient point in search of some sea bass and porgies. Half of us went with small jigs from Sea Falcon while the other half opted out for the traditional hi-lo rigs baited with clam. Both methods yielded some nice porgies but it did seem like the jigs grabbed the interest of the bigger sea bass (see Syd’s cover fish) a few big porgies.
After we had our fill with the bottom feeders and put together a nice haul for the coolers, we went back to the striper and bluefish rips and fished the underwater hills where the fish were holding. This time around, we had a better tide, and right away, the rods started bending. Some of us fished the traditional 3-way bucktails and sinker rigs that are used in the Race with Spro bucktails trailered with Fat Cow strips, while a few of us used lighter rigs with bucktails before the tide started to kick. I was one of those with the light bucktails, and on one of my first drops, I hooked into a fish that did not want to stop running. I could feel the powerful tail pulse of the fish, so I knew this one was not foul-hooked, tricking me into thinking it was bigger than it actually was. Unfortunately, I probably had a nick in the line, and one of the runs snapped my leader. We made up for it in the next couple of hours of the trip, though. Everyone on board had their fair share of stripers of all sizes! Mike had a really good one on a Sea Falcon jig that put up quite the fight as well.
By the end of the trip, it was all smiles and sore arms across the board. The crew from Spro, Gamakatsu, and Sea Falcon made sure we were well-fed and hydrated as well. Everyone went home with bags of filets, making it once again a successful trip. I personally want to thank all of those from the three groups who made this happen once again, the others who came along to make it a fun trip, and, of course, Captain Rich for putting us all on the fish and helping with everything else throughout the trip.
