Announcement of the 2013 Golden Tile Derby
Rules are simple. The angler who lands the largest Golden Tile of 2013 will win
a spot on the 2014 Abyss Trip. The only requirement is that the angler must possess
a ticket for any of the Viking 2013 trips which includes the all new Viking Five
Star and be on a trip that departs from the Viking dock in Montauk NY. So get on
a trip and be automatically entered. Come out and see if you can beat our new leader
Tony Kosinski who is leading now with a 58.2 Lb Tile!!!
**
CLICK HERE
to view photos of the Viking FiveStar arriving to it's Montauk port
Fight for Your Right to Fish
March 15, RFA'S Absurdity of Fisheries Management" Series, Final Part
Click Here
SCHEDULE UPDATE!!!
Due to weather,
this Friday May 24th 38 Hour Tile Express has been CANCELLED!!
Now booking New Bedford Porgies and Sea Bass 2013!
Saturday AM New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass - May 25, 2013
Captain Dave reports an okay day today on the fishing grounds in New Bedford. It
was a little slow due to the strong east wind and rough conditions, but we were
able to get some fish on the boat! Today's first place pool winner was Howard McDonald
with a 3.2lb porgy, and in second place was Michael Smith of Hoboken, NJ with a
4lb sea bass.
New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass - Friday May 24, 2013
Capt Dave reports an okay day on the porgy grounds in New Bedford today. It
was a slow go due to the tough conditions but we managed to get a some meat on the
boat.
New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass - Thursday May 23
Excellent day today porgy fishing! Unlike the past few days where we had a pick
to start, today they started bright and early with lots of nice sized fish coming
up and many double headers. Again today lots of big seabass too in the mix. By 10
am everyone had full coolers and we called it a day. It was New Bedford fishing
at its best! Now is the time to be here so don't hesitate and get up here and get
in on the action. Today's first place pool winner was Michael Lewis of Baltimore,
MA with a 3.85 porgy and in second place was Bill Praporius of Bethpage, NY with
a 4.75 sea bass.
Click Here
for pics
New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass - Wednesday May 22, 2013
Capt Steven Jr reports the day started off on the slower side with a pick of
some nice sized porgys and seabass but it stayed as a pick for the first half until
the later part of the day and fishing got better and better as the day went on.
We put in a little extra time to top off the coolers before we called it a day.
We had tons of nice seabass in the mix as well to send everyone home with a nice
days catch. The pool only had one prize today and it went to Ben Navarrete of Staten
Island NY with a jumbo 4lb porgy.
New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass - Tuesday May 21, 2013
Captain Dave reports a slow start this morning with a good finish aboard the
Viking Starship! It was a little picky in the morning, but after a few moves, we
found them! We had a lot of really nice sized porgies along with some beautiful
sea bass! Today's first place pool winner was Randal Harris of Lithonia, GA with
a JUMBO 4lb porgy, and in second place was Alena Tran of Boston, MA with a MONSTER
6lb sea bass!
Monday May 20 - Montauk Harbor Viking Fleet Fishing Report
New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass
Captain Dave reports fantastic fishing in deeper water today. They caught plenty
of Porgies and lots and lots of Sea Bass with everyone taking their limits. Rev.
Willie Alexander of Wadesbory NC was todays pool winner with a 3.5lb Porgy.
2 Day Deep water Limited
Captain Steven Sr reports that the trip was very good. We now have a new leader of
the tile Derby a wopping 58lb 2 oz Golden Tile caught by Mr Tony Kosinski from New
Providence, NJ. The edible Pool winner was Mr Samuel Torres with a 60lb Bluefin.
Mr Jacob Rypkema who finally caught his trophy fluke at 11lb 8oz. congrats from
us all here at the Viking!
Click Here
see some great shots
New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass AM - Sunday May 19, 2013
Captain Dave reports another good morning from New Bedford aboard the Viking
Starship today! It was a slow start, but the fishing just kept on getting better
and better as the day went on! The action was really good with mostly porgies and
sea bass and a mix of a couple black fish and some blues. Today's 1st place pool
winner was Domingo "Mango" Lambert of Merriden CT with a 3lb porgy, and in 2nd place
went to Mark Vulaj of Hopewell Junction NY with a 5lb black fish.
Half Day Fluke AM
Captain Ant reports a killer Sunday morning. Fluke were flying into the boat
and via net and gaff. Michael Pettinella and Casandra Coy from manhattan whacked
some big boys. Mike took the pool with an 8.1 lber and had a 5.5 as well. Cassandra
had a 5.6lber. Young Mike Sadowski took the edible pool with a 5 lb blue. 11 year
old James Cappel from Lindenhurst had 19 fluke, yes a commercial fisherman in the
making. 3 made the bucket to 4 lbs. What a morning, man do I wish we were "full-daying"
it!
CLICK
HERE for photos!
New Bedford Porgies & Sea Bass AM
Capt Carl reports another great day of Porgy fishing in New Bedford on the Viking
Superstar. The boat was chartered by the John Ford group again and what a great
group of anglers, with the kids really enjoying the thrill. We had plenty of Jumbo
Porgies and Sea bass mixed in, with a few blackfish and bluefish too! It was another
great day in Buzzards Bay! Thank you again Mr Ford for joining us year after year
and we look forward to seeing you all again!
Night Striped Bass - Saturday May 18
Capt Ant reports a slow nite bass trip and expected. The fish are gorging all
day long-sleeping at nite that will change with next weeks moon. we did manage a
few keepers Nick Madugno from upstate NY and Bob from Shirley, NY
PM Fluke
Capt Ant reports a complete crushing of the inshore species on jigs. More to
come......
Porgies & Sea Bass New Bedford MA - Saturday May 18
Aboard the SuperStar
Capt Carl reports excellent excellent fishing in New Bedford on the Viking Superstar
today! We had beautiful weather and tons of jumbo porgies with double headers the
norm! There was also a great mix of Sea Bass, as well as some Blackfish, Bluefish,
and even a keeper flounder! It was a one drop day, as we landed right on the meat!
Everyone filled up! Ricardo Lopez from Queens, NY won the pool with a 3.5 lb humpback
porgy, and Luis Cayancelo from Spring Valley, NY took second with a 6 lb Blackfish.
Aboard the Starship
Capt Dave reports a very very good day of fishing in New Bedford! It was a great
day for porgy fishing! We also had some sea bass and a couple of blackfish. Today's
1st place pool winner was Mark Bracco of New Bedford MA with a 4lb porgy, and in
2nd place was Chuck Brewer of Coatesville, PA with a 7lb blackfish.
AM Fluke
Tom O'Dwyer Bachelor Party
William O'Dwyer boated an absolute DOORMAT FLUKE @ 11lbs 11 ounces!!!!
Captain Ant reports a great day of fishing and plenty of keepers to go around!
Greg Durso landed a 5+lber from a wheel chair, accompanied by a nice mix bag of
fluke, blues, and bass. Josh Talley limited out with 3-4lb flukes on a dual spro
with spearing, a north shore touch. Mike Perrone says it was his best day on the
water. Matt Noell took the largest fish with a 15lb bass. Viking Fleet delivers
again memories and trophies and an amazing day!!
CLICK HERE
for photos from this trip!
Night Striped Bass - Friday May 17, 2013
As expected Capt. Ant reports insane fishing on last nights Bass trip. We arrived
at the light to acres of birds and yes the fish were underneath them. Blues of all
sizes from a pound up to 10lbs and a similar situation for the Stripers. We had
18 inch fish up to 21lb fish. Doug "Bering" Seay had his limit and the pool on the
first three drifts. He added another for good measure (ORL). Flyboy George Jehn
also had his limit once he remembered how to throw the jig. Martin Wellen Dowd from
Manhattan nailed his first of hopefully many Bass this season. The action slowed
after dark as conditions deteriorated and we lost the tide but man what a start
to the season!!
PM Half Day Fluke
Captain Ant reports a "shorts" trip for fluke this afternoon. There was tons
of action with a few keepers to 3.5lbs. We also had a showing of knot head sea bass
up to 5lbs (all released unharmed) Charles "Twist" Oliver from Baltimore took the
pool!
Sunday May 12, 2013
PM Fluke Fishing
Captain Ant reports a tougher time fishing this afternoon. With the SW wind against
the tide, fishing was okay. We managed to find a few keepers with a couple cocktail
blues in the mix. The pool winner was Lindsay Murphy of Montauk with a 3.2 lb fluke.
Click Here
for a photo
AM Fluke Fishing
Captain Ant reports a decent morning of fluking. We had beautiful conditions,
once the fog lifted it felt like summer. Plenty of action and nice fat keepers with
a 6-1 short keeper ratio. Pool fish went to Mike Lauria from Flushing with a 5.3lber.
Fred Shea had 3 keepers as did Tater Tot. Capt Ant had 2 Kobe 0 Eric 0 little Ant
0
Click
Here for photos!
Annual Freeport Tuna Club Charter - Monday May 6, 2013
Captain Steven Sr and crew returned late last night from the annual Freeport
Tuna Club Charter. Due to the weather offshore, our Tile fish plans were scratched
but the FTC Club would not be denied their weekend of fishing. They opted
to switch zones and just go fishing old school style back to Stellwagen Banks, which
was our original destination when this charter started over 10 years ago. Well,
the first drop on the "Wagen" was a disappointment, although some could say it was
a bail job, the bottom was loaded with 12-14" pollack and cod so we pressed on. As
the morning progressed, the ground swell also intensified and although we were marking
piles and fishing among the whales and porpoise, it was a very slow pick.
In the afternoon Captain Steven decided to go a bit deeper and we found some
steadier action with a solid mix of Redfish and Cod although the keeper ratio on
the cod was about 1 to every 6 caught. The Redfish however were in a frenzy
with plenty of double headers of fish every time down. We did have a little shot
of keeper cod on our last drift in the zone, but Captain Steven was just not satisfied
with what was at the time our best drift of the day and pressed on down the bank
to even deeper water. At approximately 4p, the weather improved and the cod
began biting. With each drift we saw fishing getting better and better and
the bite lasted even through sundown. Still not a bail job but solid catches
each drift and the coolers were starting to fill with pure cod. Traditionally
by 8p the entire club is inside eating Kobi's delectable Plime Lib, however after
we anchored up for the night, the sharpies went back out and found a cod feeding
frenzy. While Capt Ant, Capt Carl and mate Steve were cutting the days catch,
there were about 10 guys around the stern bailing beautiful market cod and throwing
them right on the fillet table. Some guys boated their limit for the day in
an hour.
The bite went through the night on and off but we got on the drift immediately
at daybreak with now beautiful conditions and it was ON!!! Each drift produced
between 30-40 cod, now a reverse where mostly keepers with a few shorts in the mix. Finally
every rod was bending and there was joy in Freeport! We bailed fish until
around 1130a and then we bailed on the Bank and headed home with a much heavier
Viking Star than when we left. Some notable catches were as usual, the bow
boys headed by their captain Bobby "Diners Drive-ins and pes" Hindelang and Luke
figuratively and literally "Smoked" them!!! The group of four filled two 151's
with a catch of Cod, Reds and Elusive Cusk. The only Haddock on the trip also
came from the group and would have taken 2nd in the pool...unfortunately they forgot
they caught it!!! Big Chris and Little Chris Ballanzoni(although based on
size the should probably think about switching names:):) also had their 2 day cod
limit. It was great to see big Chris back with the original Viking Helmet
still in tact!! Once Oh Reely Bruce took his jewelry off (his hook and his
finger), his day changed and limited with a cooler full of brown bunnies. Tim
Sherman switched fishing position and also changed his luck nailing his limit. The
group of Big Steve, Sully and Coast Guard Sean also crushed the cod however young
Sean was playing dog catcher day one with not one, not two, but four Wolfish including
a double header to 12 lbs. All were released unharmed and although we released
about 15 on the boat, for most guys it was their first time catching the species
and a great photo opportunity.
We could go on and on but the truth is we had our 2-Day boat limit of Cod, pool
fish around 10lbs, a solid mix of Redfish and Elusive Cusk and a smattering of Pollack
one lone Haddock and gorgeous red hake. Old school Wagen fishing at its best
on Sunday, we returned to Montauk well fed (probably the Best FTC Cape Cod Canal
buffet ever) and knowing that the FTC crew would be eating Stellwagen Spring Cod
for months to come.
Captain Steven, Captain Carl, Captain Ant and First Mate Steve would like to
thank Captain Harry for once again putting together a stellar group of guys who
fished hard throughout the trip. Their effort was well rewarded and we would
like to thank them all for making our "jobs" more like we part of the "Club".
Please note:: if anyone left an Ugly Stick with a Penn 4/0 reel on the boat,
please contact Harry before he uses it as a tomato stake for his garden!!
Afternoon Half Day Fluke - Sunday May 5, 2013
Captain Dave reports a good afternoon trip today despite it being a bit rocky
out there. The bite was okay but not as steady as it was this morning, but we did
have more keepers! The pool winner was Al Rosenbloom of Island Park NY with a 3.5
lb fluke.
Viking FiveStar 3rd Leg Cape Canaveral to Virginia Beach
Throughout the trip there was good action everyday. We picked some on the troll
and a couple bottom drops produced for us. The highlights of this leg were some
beautiful snowy grouper up to 40 lbs and the consistent Mahi action, which left
us with 20 nice Mahi in the mid to upper teens. A few hours out of Canaveral, we
put some lures out and trolled our way out to the Gulf Stream. Just before sundown,
we picked up a couple Mahi as we hit the stream. We steamed throughout the night
to get some miles behind us. The next morning on the troll, we were attacked by
Wahoo, which ended up eating 4 of our lures and we never got one on the boat.
That afternoon we tried our first bottom fishing and had some great action, a
mix of red snapper, XXL vermillion snappers, champagne porgies, triggers and some
other reef fish kept us busy. Then a school of Mahi- nice sized Mahi- showed up
and we got to have some fun with them on the light tackle landing 10. After they
left us, Frank dropped back to the bottom to catch a beautiful 30lb gag grouper,
which we had to release. We continued to travel trough the night and the next day
we did some more bottom fishing. We had a few fish every drop and all of the similar
species with the exception to Jose's beauty Hogfish. That afternoon on the troll,
we had a few more Mahi, a couple baby yellow fin, some Bonita and a nice king fish
that was in the 40lb range.
The next day we had a little break in the weather to get out to try some deep
dropping. We tried a couple different ledges and wrecks and got some nice gray tiles,
a couple beauty snowy grouper and a couple of jacks- one snowy around 30lbs and
the other big one around 40 lbs. In that same spot, we had a few fish that won the
battle breaking some leaders and pulling hooks. As the day went on the weather got
worse and we worked our way inshore to another wreck and had tons of nice sea bass,
but they were out of season and had to be released.
That's when we got the updated forecast and the thought of 2 days trying to fish
deep water in 20-25 knots of wind didn’t appeal to anyone, so we called it a trip.
In the end we made the right decision as the wind has continued to stay over 20
knots on the beach since we arrived in Rudee inlet. Although we didn’t get to fish
as much as we wanted to, the guys all had a good pile of filets in the end. This
leg we had 26 different species, 7 of which we haven't seen yet, bringing our entire
trip total to 53 different species.
Click
HERE
for photos from this trip!
Afternoon Half Day Fluke -Sunday May 5, 2013
Captain Dave reports another great day on the water! It was a brisk morning,
but as the day went on the weather got better and so did the fishing! Overall it
was a day of good conditions and great fishing! Our first place pool winner was
Vinny Ballard of Centerport, NY with a 4.7 lb fluke.
First Half Day Fluke Trip! - Saturday May 4, 2013
Captain Dave reports a great first day of fishing on the fluke grounds! It was
a rocky trip out, but once we made it to the grounds we were set and had a great
turn out on the first drop! We had a bunch of keepers along with some short throw
backs, but everyone seemed to have left with some meat for dinner tonight! Our first
place pool winner was Angelo Demetroulakos of Brooklyn with a 6.1 lb fluke, and
in second place was first time angler Liz Fye of NY NY with a 3.4 fluke. We had
a wonderful trip and can't wait to get back out tomorrow morning!
Click
HERE
for photos!
Viking Fivestar 2nd Leg Key West to Cape Canaveral
Capt. Steven Jr and Capt Bobby report from the Viking Fivestar’s 2nd leg of their
East Coast Expedition that this leg of the trip we mostly spent trolling our way
around the southern tip of Florida in the Florida straits. We did a few bottom drops
along the way and managed some deep-water and shallow water species. Over all this
leg was a bit slower action then we had on our first leg.
We did a lot of
trolling in the Gulf Stream and in some weed lines inshore and found a few nice
Mahi-Mahi up to 20 lbs. and a pair of Wahoo, the bigger of the two around 50 lbs.
,but not the amount of fish we were expecting. We also had a mix of the smaller
tunas including Bonitos, Skip Jacks, and False Albacore. We spent a couple nights
drifting in the deep in hopes of find a Swordfish but had no luck. Both nights some
stiff north east winds made it rough. We did a few drops in the deep water off the
keys and found some Yellow-Edge and Snowy Grouper along with some big Champaign
Porgies and Black-Belly Rose Fish.
The rest of the bottom fishing we did
was up the coast a bit closer to Cape Canaveral. We tried a couple wrecks and ledges
and never found a really solid bite. We did catch some Mangrove and Mutton Snapper,
a mess of Porgies and other reef fish and a bunch of American Red Snapper and Sea
Bass which had to be released. Overall not as impressive a trip as our first on
in the gulf but the guys went home with a big pile of filets of a variety of different
species. This leg we ended up catching 25 different species, 11 of which we haven't
caught yet. With this leg we brought our trip total up to 46 different species since
we departed Tarpon Springs.
We are getting everything ready here now in
Cape Canaveral and will be getting underway shortly on our 3rd leg which will be
a 6 day trip and we will be landing in Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, VA next Friday.
Viking FiveStar 1st Leg Tarpon Springs, FL to Key West
We had an excellent first leg of our trip up the coast. This leg was primarily
bottom fishing in the Gulf of Mexico in depths ranging from 180 -750 feet of water.
In total we landed 35 different species on this leg.
We departed Tarpon springs
on Monday afternoon and steamed the better half of the night trying to get some
miles behind us. At 3 am we arrived in the shallow water zone where we were to spend
the first day of fishing. We had good action threw out the day catching lots of
Red, Scamp and Gag groupers, Vermilion and Red snappers, big Amber Jack, Trigger
fish, Champagne porgies along with a bunch of other reef fish and a nice Cobia.
We had some beautiful Gag groupers with 2 of them close to 40lbs and a couple in
the upper 20's. Unfortunately the season is closed for the Gag grouper along with
some other species so after a quick picture they were sent back. When night came
we made a few drops for some Mangrove snappers and ended up with not a ton of them,
but better sized ones and a good mess of them to wrap up the first day.
From
there we steamed offshore to look for some different species and on our first drop
we landed a 130 lb. Warsaw grouper, a 30 lb. Kitty Michel grouper and some XL gray
tiles. The rest of the day we stayed in the deep water and chipped away at a bunch
of deep water species finding good action every where we went. At dark we steamed
further offshore to 300 fathom of water to try drifting for sword fish. With in
the first hour we had a pup sword to the boat which we released and after that the
wind came on and our drift picked up and never had another sword bite the rest of
the night.
The next morning the wind stayed steady at 20-25 knots but we
were still able to manage an excellent day of deep water fishing. Lots of tiles,
some queen snapper, black fin snapper, yellow edge grouper and snowy grouper. So
give the conditions we still had a very productive day for fishing in 750 feet of
water. That afternoon we started trolling our way back inshore to fish the dry Tortugas
that night. On the ride we managed to pick up a couple black fin tuna and a Bonita.
We were looking to find some Mutton snapper and chipped away at a couple by the
end of the night we ended up with a good mess of them up to 20lbs. and most were
in the mid teens.
At 4 am we called it a trip and headed for Key West. The
next morning the wind stayed steady at 20-25 knots but we were still able to manage
an excellent day of deep water fishing. Lots of tiles, some queen snapper, black
fin snapper, yellow edge grouper and snowy grouper. So give the conditions we still
had a very productive day for fishing in 750 feet of water. That afternoon we started
trolling our way back inshore to fish the dry Tortugas that night. On the ride we
managed to pick up a couple black fin tuna and a Bonita. We were looking to find
some Mutton snapper and chipped away at a couple by the end of the night we ended
up with a good mess of them up to 20lbs. and most were in the mid teens. At 4 am
we called it a trip and headed for Key West.
Overall a great start
to our journey up the coast. We had lots of nice fish and a lot of fun catching
them. Looking forward to see what the east coast has to offer us on our next three
legs before we arrive in Montauk. We still have room on the last 2 legs of this
expedition for any ambitious last minute anglers. Give our office a call and get
on one of the most unique experiences the east coast has to offer.
The next
morning the wind stayed steady at 20-25 knots but we were still able to manage an
excellent day of deep water fishing. Lots of tiles, some queen snapper, black fin
snapper, yellow edge grouper and snowy grouper. So give the conditions we still
had a very productive day for fishing in 750 feet of water. That afternoon we started
trolling our way back inshore to fish the dry Tortugas that night. On the ride we
managed to pick up a couple black fin tuna and a Bonita. We were looking to find
some Mutton snapper and chipped away at a couple by the end of the night we ended
up with a good mess of them up to 20lbs. and most were in the mid teens. At 4 am
we called it a trip and headed for Key West.
