FishTales

Triple Crown Charlie

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2009

All capos were on deck.  We had two trucks and two guides–myself and Big Bob Wilsusen–and a full complement of gear all in top condition. If we didn’t catch fish on this day, it would all be Vinny’s fault. At least that was my alibi since  A) we did so well the year he was absent and  B) we got skunked the one previous time he made the trip to Montauk from his home in Benicia, CA. This Saturday morning, the weather had worsened since the weekend began. But it was do or die time because everyone was departing early on Sunday.

Shortly after first light, we watched a loose cloud of birds cruising and wheeling in the sky a couple of hundred yards off the beach in Montauk village. More hunting and roaming ensued. We attempted the north-side Montauk beaches, however, they were simply not accessible with water piled up to the weeds and the rocky beach totally washed out. On the south side, we found a touch of shelter at Turtle Cove. There, the Red Hill capos practiced casting into the white water. Soon they demanded a coffee-and-donuts break in Montauk. To kill time, with the hope that some action would develop, I added a sidetrip to Paulie’s Tackle Shop where we scored a handful of diamond jig lures. We took our brew to Ditch Plains where the sun made valiant attempts to peek through the dense gray clouds. Spirits were high, but all we had to show for our casting by late morning was a bagful of lures half empty.

Pizza or Burgers?

However, we saw at least one short striper landed at Ditch and that gave the boys great hope–and an appetite as well. It was only 1130am, but the Red Hill capos were ready for their third meal of the day (I plied them with scrambled eggs, toast and sliced tomato before we left my house at 7am). Dr. Charlie Boyz and Tony Dolce debated whether pizza or burgers offered the right karma for our afternoon efforts. Dr. Charlie Boyz won and we all sat down to what was a either a really late breakfast or a very early lunch at Montauk’s classic Greek diner, the Plaza Restaurant, where the bleak wintry view out of the curved wall of windows recalled scenes from the Jim Carrey movie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Afterwards, however, instead of being recharged for a new assault, the boys claimed they needed some “nap time”. All except Dr. Charlie Boyz, that is. “To hell with that,” said the good doctor, “let’s fish”. We dropped off the pantywaists on Treasure Island Drive and Charlie, Big Bob and I headed for the ocean at Napeague—perhaps the only beach with any room to run the trucks. It was all quiet once we got through the dunes. But looking east, we could see six sticks in the water in the vicinity of Hither Hills State Park. Back onto the blacktop, we drove another 3 miles and came back through the dunes. Indeed, we found two handfuls of anglers standing out on an exposed sand bar a good 50 yards from shore and many a bent rod among them.

Triple Crown Charlie

I urged Charlie into the water and Big Bob and I soon followed. Most of the action was focused in a tight area at the tip of the promontory. I signaled Charlie to start cheating to the right. The wind and rain was on our backs but that was the least of our problems. The waves pounded and the backwash was fierce. At one point Charile went down for a good soaking. After a few minutes of casting 1 1/2-ounce diamond jigs with green tubes, I switched Charlie’s lure to a 2-ounce white bucktail. On his next cast, Dr. Charlie Boyz nailed a hungry striper. We were excited to say the least. Two days of fishing and finally a hook up. Lots of pressure on this fish, and Charlie handled it nobly.

Through the foamy white water, he coaxed the fish to his boots. Exhausted, the bass floated on its side . We marveled at the monochromatic contrast of this schoolie’s blue-black stripes against a silvery-white belly on this dreary sun-starved afternoon. Though chubby from gorging on skinny 3-inch sand eels, this fish was just shy of a keeper and we released it to swim another day.  In no time, however, Charlie was on another fish. By this time, he had the technique honed: pull up with the incoming wave, reel down to pick up line. In short order Charile had this fish by his side and it measured out at 29 inches plus! Dinner was on hand! I waded the fish back through the trough and into our cooler. By the time I got back on the bar, Charlie was on his third fish! Alas, it was another short.  Soon, Bob and I connected but both our fish were short too.

This slow pick slacked off with the end of the tide. Arm weary, exhilarated and pretty well soaked, we retired to Treasure Island Drive to gloat. One by one, the Red Hill capos awoke from their food comas to see Charlie’s triumph on the fish table outside my house. Once photos were taken, I filleted the fish and prepared it for the grill.

Adapting a dressing I learned in Sicily, I served up this bass with roasted new potatoes, eggplant parmigiana as a side dish, and another new adaptation: Striped Bass Brandade accompanied by garlic toast, as hors d’oeuvres. By dinner’s end, we made a serious dent in Dolce’s Cugini e Amici wine stash. Finally, after Natalie’s pumpkin pie, Haagan Dazs vanilla and chocolate ice cream and espresso coffee, the cards came out. Can you guess who cleaned our clocks? Dr. Charlie Boyz! On this day, he went from 2008 Surfcasting Rookie of the Year to 2009 Triple Crown Winner (First Fish, Biggest Fish, Most Fish).  He also claimed a personal trifecta for the weekend: high hook in the fishing department, gross winner at the poker table and happy Yankee fan with two victories over the Los Angeles Angels in the ALCS .

I have a sneaky feeing he is coming back next year.

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