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Addictive Fishing TV Comes To New York
by John Luchka
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| Captain Blair was
delighted with the size of NY stripers compared to those he
caught years ago down south. |
Usually the traveling angler article you are
used to reading about is of a tropical setting where bonefish on
the flats in the Bahamas are pulling drag or picturing the
battle of a blue marlin off of Costa Rica while we here in the
Northeast are digging out of a February snow storm.
Capt. Blair Wiggins, the host of Addictive Fishing TV, (www.addictivefishing.com)
which airs on Fox and the SUN networks, is now in his 8th year
of filming out of Florida. Captain Blair had contacted me to set
up a trip to experience striped bass fishing in the Western Long
Island Sound. Being very familiar with Blair's show and watching
him catch and release redfish, snook, tarpon, and other species
out of the Southeast portion of the USA, we discussed a time and
way to make his trek to the Big Apple an experience he would
remember forever.
Blair told me his largest striper was one of six pounds which
was caught many years ago down south. We conversed over the
winter so as to select a prime time to enjoy the spring
migration and we decided on mid-June. I explained to Blair that
the bunker schools, or pogy schools as they are called in his
region, should be here in good numbers with some post spawned
stripers. We discussed tactics and the most exciting ways to
target this great species and tell the story to his viewers who
are not accustomed to seeing this type of fishing yet alone a
southern boy venturing into the fast paced New York landscape.
Blair and his family set out the Friday before Father's Day with
the Ranger bay boat in tow with 2500 miles of road between him
and his date with a NY striper. We were all set to meet at the
Imperial Yacht Club in New Rochelle, NY, my home port for Long
Run Fishing Charters, on Sunday when I got the call stating he
was stuck on the George Washington Bridge as he made his way on
to the Cross Bronx Expressway. I laughed as I told Blair that
with a Yankee home game and the roads filled with Father's Day
traffic, all I could muster was a “Welcome to New York bro!” You
know what I’m talkin’ about.
Watching Blair and his family pull into the marina I could see
he was excited, tired, overwhelmed, and pumped to do some
fishing after I told him we had pulled fish up to forty pounds
earlier in the week. We met on Monday, bright and early, after a
briefing with the camera crew and explained that we were off to
Manhasset Bay to net bunker for some live-lining and chunking
amongst the mids-sound bunker schools.
As we pulled into the bay on a beautiful Ranger bay boat, which
are rarely seen or used on the Sound, as center consoles, walk-arounds
and smaller cruisers rule. I was amazed at how dry we stayed
flying by Harts Island at 54 miles per hour! This boat sports a
great platform for tossing a cast net and we were equipped with
a trolling motor if we decided to plug the skinny waters behind
David's Island. We quickly loaded up with bunker after two
throws and cleared the five mile per hour sign and made our way
to find the schools of bunker being harassed by hungry stripers.
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| Captain Blair
Wiggins, the host of Addictive Fishing TV, holding a nice NY
striper with the author, Captain John Luchka, standing
beside him. |
We were prepared with conventional combos
spooled with Power Pro and 9/0 Octopus hooks. Some were weighted
with 4-ounce egg sinkers just in case we marked some fish close
to the bottom or if we decided to drop the hook and chunk. It
was not quite 5:30am and we were virtually between countless
schools of bunker. Their wakes and occasional splashes had the
entire crew filled with anticipation. Here we were in New York
where millions lived and we were the only ones on these schools
was simply amazing for Blair to see and experience.
My eyes were glued to the fish finder as we live lined 1 to
2-pound bunker into the many schools of bunker that cruised by
our boat. The water was flat calm as the sun was breaking the
eastern horizon as my rod tipped danced from the tail beating of
my live bunker. Blair nose-hooked a bunker and swam it about 40
feet off the bow when all of a sudden the bunker went into its
defensive dance which is swimming in a tornado type circle,
something many baitfish do when threatened by a huge predator.
This tornado posture is their way of gathering into a larger
school as this huge presence on occasion will stave off
predators until that one lone straggler drifts away from the
pack. What happened next was watching line peel off of Blair’s
reel and me yelling, “Lock it up and take a swing!” Hit'em again
I yelled to Blair as his signature Wright & McGill rod bowed and
now the fight was on.
My mind raced as I watched Blair stick it to possibly his
largest striper as I cleared lines and made my way around the
camera man. Seeing the fish surface behind the boat and catching
a glimpse of its large tail slap water I knew this was a big
fish. “Keep constant pressure Blair,” I yelled while holding the
net as the fish drew closer, but just out of my reach. She
decided to take another run and I looked up and said, “Looks
like a Mogan!” For those familiar with the show, you know what a
Mogan is. We landed and released a beautiful 30-pound class
striper and words could not do justice to how this whole bite
materialized. |
The morning bite shut down
as a slight chop made it hard to follow the bunker schools so I
decided to introduce Blair to some chunking. We dropped the hook
on a nice piece of structure as I began to cut up bunker and
chum. We free spooled chunks with and without weight as we
landed multiple fish from 20-34 inches. Despite catching bigger
fish on the schools of bait, this type of fishing proved to be
just as exciting as we had multiple doubles on throughout the
day.
Once I told Blair of all the ways we catch stripers like live
lining, plugging, drifting worms, on the fly, pulling spoons and
plugs on the troll and of course chunking, I could see he was
hooked on NY striper fishing! Maybe he was “Addicted”?
Here is a brief synopsis of Addictive Fishing and my friend
Capt. Blair Wiggins and read on if you want to know what a Mogan
is.
The addiction began in 1980 with two young kids growing up on
the barrier islands of Florida's Space Coast. Daily fishing
excursions before and after school fueled the passion for
fishing. Graduation was not only from high school, but to the
realism of the uncharted future. Kevin traveled to Tampa to
study television production at the University of South Florida.
Blair struggled with the fishing addiction, before enlisting in
the Air Force. A career working on the Space Shuttle brought him
back home, where the fishing addiction returned.
Twenty years later, Blair, a professional fishing guide, and
Kevin, an award-winning television producer, have reunited to
create the next generation of outdoor television. And about “Mogan”,
the word was coined by these two a long time ago. Blair was born
and raised in Florida and called fish “biggans”. Kevin moved to
Florida from up North and called big fish "monsters". You know
how kids are. . .they put the two words together and created
their own. Like a “lunker”, but a "mogan" is in saltwater!
Capt. Blair Wiggins
He’s the kind of guy you’d want on “your island.” As a
professional guide for 12 years, and a full-time outdoorsman
since birth, Capt. Blair has made his livelihood on the water.
That’s why the show's format was created in-part to promote and
support the guide industry that afforded him this career
opportunity. He is conservation-minded, and works to ensure our
future will enjoy the same plentiful waters as he did by
practicing and teaching “catch and release” principles. His
contagious style is a cross between the in-your-face-style of
Pro-Wrestling and the crazy antics of the Crocodile Hunter.
Children seem to gravitate towards him the most. The Mogan Man
is real, and possesses “child-like” qualities that make him
approachable to people of all ages.
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| Captain Blair took the whole
family to enjoy some "Big Apple" striper fishing! |
The Fishing Academy and Blair as your
teacher
In recent years, fishing has become the largest participatory
sport in the world. More people are fishing than playing tennis
and golf combined. Competition on the water is getting more
intense with every cast of the line.
IMG Academies and Cay Club have recognized that there is a huge
demand for access to qualified fishing knowledge and
information. That's why they have recruited Captain Blair
Wiggins to direct the Professional Fishing Academy. Captain
Blair is the 2006 FLW Redfish Series Champion and host of
Addictive Fishing, the top rated fishing show on the Fox Network
today. He brings a lifetime of inshore and near shore fishing
experiences to the training and education environment of IMG
Academies.
The Professional Fishing Academy offers classes geared to teach
every aspect of inshore and near-shore fishing. Areas of focus
include:
Equipment and lure selection, Rigging, Presentation, Fish
fighting skills, Fish handling, Cast netting, Casting to
tournament skills, Tournament strategies, and How to find the
fish you want to catch!
Whether you’re already a pro tournament angler looking to
improve your skills or just a junior angler, the PFA can take
your performance on the water to a new level. Classes will
consist of three and five day courses. The five day course will
be geared towards those who want to learn all aspects of
inshore/near-shore fishery, and will provide the knowledge to be
a proficient angler, no matter the water conditions. The three
day course will be a more intense course that will cover the
major topics to ensure success on the water.
Note: Adult accommodations are available onsite. For more
information, call 1.800.872.6425 / 941.752.2600 or email
directly at Blair@Addictivefishing.com.
Please visit our web sites at www.imgacademies.com and
www.addictivefishing.com
Visit www.addictivefishing.com for details on our Western
Sound striper trip as it is slated to air in August. Special
thanks to the crew at the Imperial Yacht Club and the Marriott
New Roc City. |
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