[RobO]

I took a vacation day from work on Thursday so I could try fishing for the first time on the Lucky Lady out of Clinton CT.

I got to the dock nice and early and was greeted by Tony the captain. He has a small bait shop located right there next to the boat. In the shop he has all sorts of rigs that you can use for porgy, black sea bass, fluke, etc. He sells all the stuff you might need for your fishing trip in case you didn't bring it yourself. I asked him what size sinkers we might need to hold bottom and he said anywhere from 8 - 12 ounces as there is strong current where he will be fishing for sea bass.Tony said that we would be fishing in about 90 - 110 feet of water.

I had brought a ton of gear with me, but I was not prepared for 90 -110 feet of water with that strong of a current. I am more use to 20 - 40 feet of water with a maximum of 6ounces needed. So I purchased 3 - 10oz sinkers at 25 cents an ounce (great price) and 2 sets of high/low sea bass rigs. I asked Cpt. Tony if there was anything in particular that seemed to be working well and he said pink hoochies seemed to be the hot color. So I also purchased a 5 pack of hoochie skirts to add to my rigs.

I was the first to get on the boat so I chose my favorite spot and brought my cooler on board. My cooler didn't fit under the bench so Tony suggested a spot for me to put it under the ladder and out of the way, but still accessible. The boat is super clean with plenty of room and two bathrooms. There are approximately 10 booths where people can comfortably sit and enjoy lunch or store your belongings. The exterior railing is nice and low which makes fishing for a short guy like me very comfortable.

The mates Paul and Al are younger guys. They were both very polite and did not mind sharing info. They were there when you needed them but gave you space and did not bark at you like other mates I have come across in the past. There were a lot of newbies on the boat and of course tangles happen however the mates never once got flustered.

We started out fishing for sea bass and I was hoping to use my homemade ultra minnow jigs, but with the fast current I quickly switched over to my high-low rigs I had bought and added the 10 oz sinkers. The current was strong and at one point I thought I would even need a heavier sinker to hold bottom. We used squid chunks as bait.

I instantly got into some fish, including some doubles, and before I new it The mates were measuring and putting sea bass in my cooler. Captain Tony would watch everyone while drifting to make sure we were all being taken care of. If the mates were busy netting fish or tying a rig, Tony would come down and net your fish or tie on a rig for you if needed. He also would ask to see if we were getting fish or at least some nibbles. If we did a drift and people caught some fish, Tony was aware and would do the same drift again. If not he would move to another location quickly.

We fished for sea bass for about 3 1/2 hours until the tide changed and then the boat moved on to find the fluke. I was lucky enough to have caught 8 keeper sea bass and a 24 inch fluke that went 4 1/2 lbs by this point. Another fisherman caught a nice sea bass that looked to have gone at least 3lbs.





So when we went over to the fluke area, I switched over to my fluke rigs. We fished some nice areas that were very sandy. We fished in about 20 to 40 feet of water and I was able to downsize the sinker to about a 6 ounce and still hold bottom well. The bait we used was now spearing and squid strips. I was able to catch a couple of shorties and 2 more keeper fluke. One was just a little over 18 inches and the other was 23 inches and 3 1/2 lbs.



Luckily the seas were super flat with the only waves we experienced were by other boats wakes. I was super happy about this as I can get sea sick easily. I will say it was extremely hot and with barely any wind to cool us down.

On the way in the mates were fileting the fish caught. I watched as they fileted the fish and made small talk with other passengers. At the point I realized that I did really well that day compared to others. I not only caught my new personal best fluke, but I also won the big fish pool. Unfortunately not too many people entered the pool ($5.00 per person). I only won $55 since only 1/2 of the people on board entered the pool. Like I said, there were quite a few newbies on board, but we all had plenty of room to fish. The mates wanted to filet my fish last since I had a cooler full. I ended up with over 10lbs of filets. At the docks I was able to purchase a bag of ice for $1.50 for my ride home.



I had an awesome time fishing and I will say that Captain Tony is first class and he runs a super clean and quiet boat. I like the bait shop and the mates were great. The only suggestion I have for this party boat is to add additional direction signs to his boat as it can get confusing trying to find the boat with such a big marina. Once you find his boat, I am sure you will be glad you did!

[JimiChanga]

I told you Rob you'd like the boat, Capt. & crew.

Congratulations on a great day!!!
I can't wait to go out with them again.

John.

P.S. I was thinking of going today, but I'm sure the boat will be packed.

[RobO]

John it is about that time of year. Let's plan a day and get out there.
_________________
I'd rather be fishing, than sitting here in front of this computer,,,

[JimiChanga]

Ok, only thing is the sea bass limit is only 3 right now. June 21st on party boats it goes up to 8.

Black Sea Bass
Minimum length: 14 inches**
Open Season: June 1 - August 31,
3 fish per angler
Open Season: September 1 - December 31,
5 fish per angler
**Excluding tail fin filament (tendril)
Party/Charter Vessels:
For paying passengers only:
Daily creel Limit: 8 fish per day
Open Season: June 21 - December 31
Daily Logbook Catch Reporting required
on trips taking Black Sea Bass

Now does this mean that the party boat season isn't open yet?

Any how, I went on the Middlebank this past Saturday and only got 3 sea robins, 2 short fluke & a windowpane flounder. I'm still game to go, just got to figure out when.

John.