On The Water TV Films 100th Episode
Yesterday, we celebrated an incredible milestone when we filmed the 100th episode of On The Water TV. To make the episode special, On The Water’s Publisher Chris Megan invited the entire staff to skip out of work and spend the day party boat cod fishing.
The Island Current Fleet is based in City Island, New York, but in the wintertime they run two boats—the 76’ Island Current III open boat and the 50’ Island Current II—out of Snug Harbor, Rhode Island, to take advantage of the winter cod bite off of Block Island. We reserved the Island Current II and filled it with 15 anglers and a boatload of snacks, tackle, foul weather gear and cameras.
After leaving the dock at 5 a.m., we steamed for 90 minutes, anchored up and found a steady early morning bite on clams. A couple-dozen nice codfish and some throwbacks found their way over the rail before the bite died off. For the next few hours, we bounced around and targeted pieces of structure, enjoying some great action and adding more cod, ling, a couple of pollock, and a cool variety of bottom-dwelling fish that included ocean pout, spiny dogfish, sea bass, cunner, blackfish, and scup.
Winter party boat fishing is a lot of fun and a great way to break up the cold months with some open-water angling. Party boats are running right now out of Rhode Island, Long Island and New Jersey.
photos by Andy Nabreski, George Clondas and Kevin Blinkoff
The OTW crew heads out to the cod grounds off Block Island.
On The Water’s Neal Larsson (left) and Chris Megan hosted the 100th episode of On The Water TV.
Neal Larsson holds a big wreck-dwelling cunner (bergall).
Graphic Designer George Clondas eyes a delicious cod. A simple dropper rig baited with clam accounted for most of the fish.
Joe Pechie took “biggest fish” honors with a big pollock.
The ocean pout has a big mouth and an eel-like body. We kept a few to eat.
Ling, or red hake, are a bottom-dwelling fish with delicious meat that some people prefer over their cousin, the cod.
OTW’s Anthony DeiCicchi caught and released an out-of-season scup.
Anthony battles one of many spiny dogfish that he targeted throughout the day with remarkable success.
Jimmy Fee got tough on some tasty ling.
A fine brace of Block Island codfish that fell for fresh skimmer clams.
OTW’s salty Business Manager Val Watts gazes out at the sea.
Val beat out Jimmy Fee for “Best Dressed” and assisted with cod-gaffing duty.
First mate Randy Brown (left) and Chris Megan showed off a couple of keeper cod at the end of the trip. By occasionally leaving a rod unattended in a rod holder, Randy outfished the editorial staff of OTW.
Clams were the key to enticing the keeper cod.
when will show number 100 be on TV ???