Guys,
Here we go again, lots of condemnation for a show that hasn’t even aired yet. Does anyone know what the focus of the show was about? Was the theme, “Top secret spots of RI?”
Let’s hang them all now!
While we are at it, let’s make sure we get the whole staff from The Fisherman; they just blew the lid off Q…but then again over the past 20 years they seem to put “A Spotlight on Q” in about one or two articles a year. After we wack those guys, we can get those rotten tackle shop owners that just can’t keep their mouths shut. It’s like the bird flu, we’ll have to quarantine a lot of the area fishing clubs too…there’s a lot of spot burning taking place at those monthly meetings. From now on fishing reports should be censored by at least a few members from this board. Then when you turn to ProJo you’ll be reading, “There were some really big stripers caught in Narragansett Bay last week, especially near the shore. Anglers fishing from boats found them on the reefs, points, sand bars and breakwaters.” Have you seen the Seagull Charts? They have the guts to name names and even circle them in red. For that matter Goggle Earth should be banned. Imagine being able to see what the shoreline looks like up and down the striper coast. Hell, all charts, maps, satellite views and cave drawing should be destroyed.
Believe me, I understand why people are sensitive to having limited access areas labeled as this week’s must-fish location. IMHO finding striper hot spots is not rocket science. As an outdoor writer, photographer and video producer I try to pass on (in pretty generic ways) techniques on how people can find hot spots on their own.
I know that OTW is listening to its readers and they too are sensitive to this matter. They’ve received a lot of letters as a result of Steve’s article, and you might be surprised at the percentage breakdown for and against his tell all story. I’m sure they’ll be responding to a survey they’re conducting in an upcoming issue.
As far as the OTW shoot yesterday, I SUGGESTED IT and I’ll take all the heat for it.
First let me set the record straight and explain the storyline for the show.
Every shoot starts with a goal, an objective, a theme. I thought their audience (and every member of this board) would enjoy seeing a tribute segment to the surf angler…especially one the deviled into the hard-core world of night fishing. When is the last time you saw a surf fishing show, never mind one at night? How about a show that shares the intimate secrets of how to catch big fish on soft plastics? How about a show where the talent is someone who has perfected the technique to the point where he has given up fishing with live eels (something he had done for 33 years)? Soon we may not be able to fish with eels; I would think an alternative method would come in pretty handy.
The shoot took place at Beavertail State Park, an area where Arthur Clarke caught a 65-pound striper 69 years ago this October…it was the largest shore-caught striper for almost 36 years. He caught it on his patented eel bob rig. Why not fish those historic waters with a 21st century version of that rig?
Plenty of time was dedicated to showing the step-by-step rigging. Then the camera turned on Steve as he demonstrated how to fish the Slugo to its fullest potential. The wind was blowing from the SW and there was plenty of salt spray in the air. It was just before sunset and with the third oldest lighthouse in the US as a backdrop Steve and Chris Megan (Publisher of OTW) fished the rising tide. I shot the anglers from a water’s edge perspective you'll never see unless the camera is protected by an underwater housing. The setting was beautiful, but only a few fish hit the plastic, and only one was landed.
Under the cover of darkness we switched spots and then introduced the viewers to “The East Coast of Narragansett.” Not “F,” not “A,” not “X” marks the spot.
On a perfect night for fishing, there was very little catching. However the image of two savvy anglers working the suds under a cloudy sky with only a few brief peeks of the moon was spectacular. With the aid of high intensity underwater lights we were able to light up about a 20 foot stretch of shoreline and thus reveal the rugged world of rock hopping RI style…all without revealing where.
We burned a couple of hours with only one small fish. If you think a truck's high beams are bright you should have seen how much my HID lights lit up the surf. To a man, we all agreed that a light on the water turning off the bite was more myth than fact. Case in point, five minutes later Chris was into a nice fish. It was a great battle with lots of leaping from rock to rock, and a really cool finally when Chris coaxed the fish into a deep bowl. Chris jumped in up to his chest and I was able to get some unbelievable “half in the water – half out of the water” scenes. The underwater release of a near 20 pound fish was pretty darn dramatic.
Five minutes after our Hollywood lights on and in the water sequence, Steve was hooked up. I frantically worked at getting the salt off my lens in time to capture Steve struggling to keep a big fish out of the rocks. With perfect timing he brought the fish up to the top of a wave where he surfed it onto the rocks next to him. It’s great when a plan all comes together. The fish weighed 39.55 pounds and it made for the perfect ending to a perfect night of fishing. Hopefully when the show airs in January you’ll appreciate all the effort we put into creating a breathtakingly beautiful show that’s as informative as it is entertaining. I’m confident that you’ll also appreciate the fact that no specifics, other than how to get to Beavertail, were discussed.
Now stop worrying and go catch some cows…a 46 pound fish was also taken somewhere nearby but nobody is quite sure where
.
Mike