[seaslug44]

Less than a week to go before the annual WICC CHAOS WEEKEND on the Sound!

Why do I call it chaos weekend? Well, if you ever fished it, you'll know that the tournament attracts every fool with a fishing rod within a hundred mile radius.

Visit ANY buoy, and you'll sure to find a hundred or so boats. Tangled lines bewteen boats are as common as anchor lines snagged by umbrella rigs. If you dare to have a bent rod on board, even if it's a porgy, plan to have twenty boats cluttered around you swarming like bees trying to get in on the action.

Every year I fish this tournament and every year I find new ways to laugh at the crowds! The Eaton's Neck Triangle might as well be called the Bermuda Triangle. On top of all the tournament boats, every year there seems to be at least two or three sailing races and an unusually large amount of cargo barges to add to the chaos.

But keeping in mind that SOMEBODY has to win it, what will YOUR strategy be to get away from the crowds and increase your odds of doing battle with a decent fish?? On second thought, is it really necessary to get away from the crowds or is location so important that you just have to be in the right place at the right time regardless of the competition around you?

Also, what is your view on how odd it is every year that it seems like right up until the night of the tournament, not one blue over 15 pounds is caught yet all these 17, 18, and 19lb fish seem to "appear" just in time?

Are the sharpies keeping the locations of these huge fish to themselves? Bluefish roam so much, is that even possible to do?

Is there a "secret" method that we just don't know about?

Finally, what is your prediction as to where the top five fish will be caught and on what method?

 

[loonzter]

West,West, go west young men! Seems to me the larger Blues year in and year out seem to come from the western sound and on the North side. Chunks of Bunker with buckets of bunker chum. One year 3 of us spent two days on a 22' cc without coming home. I don't think anyone of us were ever the same after that!LOL There is also a number of guys that will fish the harbors and entrances early in the morning before boat traffic gets crazy. Seems this can also be a recipe for a winning fish.

 

[flybyme.]

get away from the pack. it is like jaws out there. people might as well be throwing tnt overboard. last year i had over 60 fish with the biggest 10lbs, came in 10th with a 15.6 year before and placed a port prize of 15.2 3 years ago. the key is to fish shallow with poppers, live or chunks. remember the west is always best.

 

[flybyme.]

get away from the pack. it is like jaws out there. people might as well be throwing tnt overboard. last year i had over 60 fish with the biggest 10lbs, came in 10th with a 15.6 year before and placed a port prize of 15.2 3 years ago. the key is to fish shallow with poppers, live or chunks. remember the west is always best.

 

[LkyLindy]

HOT HOT HOT

Doc-This year could be interesting if this heat doesn't break-It's hot out there and so will be the tempers of the intrepid "fishermen".Personally. I think deeper water will be the way to go-away from the maddening crowds-I'll be mid sound myself

 

[seaslug44]

Options... Options... Options...

Some say shallow.

Some say deep.

Some will tell us to stick with the locations that produce regardless of the crowds.

Others will tell us to seek out new locations.

What about baits and techniques?

Is fresh bunker the way to go? Or is it too overplayed? In the tackle shops you'll see hundreds of cans of bunker chum being sold for the contest. Does the chum really work in the LI Sound where the currents are very strong or are those anglers just wasting their money?

In the ocean, catching monster blues is SO EASY! Sometimes while sharking, we just can't seem to get away from them. So why is it now so difficult to even find them in the Sound???

 

[Capt. Marc]

I would find some quiet back bay on the north shore, anchor up and toss some fresh chunks of bunker out to drift with the current. Chumming all night wouldn't hurt either. You may even come home with a few bonus bass. At daybreak, go home and get some sleep.
Capt. Marc

PS don't forget the deet

 

[seaslug44]

I agree about the back-bays. However, even at night during the tournaments, it's hard to find a single cove that isn't over crowded. I'm also starting to think that some of the fishing reports, even those posted in our reports section here on this site, are decoys the two weeks heading into the tournament.

For example, anglers who find large blues in Cold Spring Harbor this week and nothing in Hempstead Harbor might be reporting that the opposite harbor is hot to send in this example as many boats as possible to the wrong harbor. I know it's all part of the game. But other anglers should be wise not to believe everything they read, especially with a big tournament approaching.

 

[boatnblues]

be careful out there boys

Three years ago I was tied up at Mamaroneck town dock getting some sleep during the tournament and I heard all this comotion outside my boat. I crawled out of the cuddy to see this 18ft cuddy cabin (what was left of it) limping into the harbor followed by the coast guard. These two guys were anchored in hempstead harbor with lights on at 3am when they were literaly run over by a 40ft boat. This guy went right over them and never stopped. It was amazing that little old boat stayed a float and even started back up to get them in. They were both in the cuddy sleeping when they were hit. They had to kick open the cuddy door to get out. They were knee deep in water but the bildge worked and they got in. After I saw that me and my brother inlaw take turns sleeping at night on anchor. Be careful and alert .. expect the other guy to do the wrong thing !!

 

[seaslug44]

I heard about that accident. There is also a dozen other risks to watch out for like the high-speed ferry that goes from Glen Cove to Foxwoods Casino. You don't want to get in her way.

If you plan on anchoring, I've got a method that will help protect the chum slick behind your boat...

Take one of your rods and spool it with "High-Vis" line. That's the stuff that's bright yellow, green, etc... I take that rod and fish it on the surface WAY behind my boat using a large sharking float. When I say WAY behind my boat, I mean let that line out about twenty boat lengths. I keep the rod in one of my rocket launcher rodholders with the clicker on. The purpose is to "CLAIM" the water behind my boat where my slick is.

If another boat attempts to anchor or troll behind my boat, I point to the float and the line and they always back off. Most times when the sun is shining the high-vis line is so bright that others see it and know to stay away. Every once in a while some fool will troll right over it (don't they feel embarassed).

 

[arathkopf]

I have been fishing this tournament for the past 2 years. This will be my third. Each year I convince different friends to register and enter the tournament to fish off my boat for the weekend. When asked what is the tournament like I usually ask them if the remeber the scene from JAWS when the reward was offered up to the person who caught the shark and all those boats start running like crazy with harpoons and guns and overloaded boats. I know it's a bit on the commical side, but you have to admit during the day it's not that far of a stretch. My advice to all is fish at night and sleep during the day while the first timers are running around at top speed to move 10 feet....LOL

 

[seaslug44]

That jaws scene truly is not far off. What's also funny are the hundreds of boats that follow the schools of ****tail blues all weekend. The tournament has a minimum size limit of 28 inches. You'd think that after catching and releasing the first two or three DOZEN ****tails, they'd get the hint to try something other than throwing surface plugs, kastmasters and diamond jigs at feeding ****tails.

 

[Hman158]

WICC Chaos

I'm with Doc. The daytime is going to be where you sit back and watch the comedy. Every idiot with a rod and a dream of 25,000 bucks will be out there. My take is to stay away from crowds in the day, rest in the afternoons, and fish at night. A good nightime slick, lots of chum, some poppers and bunker should do the trick for a few fish that might reach 28". Lately, there have not been many of these big fish around, so when they "magically" appear it is going to be interesting to see from where they come.

 

[617905]

Cloak and Dagger....

Deceptive reports plotted and planted two weeks prior

Jumbo fish that suddenly appear one day that weren't to be found anywhere until then

Staking claims to open water

Big boats running over little boats in the dark of night

Tangled lines and anchors

General chaos and mayhem....

Sounds like they should start the tournament with "LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUMBLE!!!" instead of an air horn.

ISN'T FISHING SO MUCH FUN??? Doncha just love it?

Anyway... I'll be watching from the pier, stay off my line!!! And remember, 5 MPH in the channel (yeah right)

Safe fun and good luck to all

 

[seaslug44]

Speeding, Cheating, and more...

SPEEDING- 5 mph within not just a channel but within 100 feet of any dock, marina or ANCHORED BOAT! It's the last part that most boaters either forget, or just don't have a clue about.

As for me, I am a bait chaser. It would make sense that big blues have large appetites and need large amounts of bait such as adult bunker. The problem with this tournament every year is that it seems that if you locate the large schools of bunker, it's a sure way NOT to find the large blues!!

CHEATING?? Seriously, it sounds crazy, but if you speak with anyone who livelines bunker during this tournament, they'll tell you that they often find acres of large bunker during the tournament and never any blues feeding under them. It's been hinted to me that the reason behind this is that some "sharpies" do a number all week long on the larger blues that are feeding on the larger schools of bunker. I know that there is a polygraph test required for any of the money winners, but do you think such a test is actually accurate?

Also, how on earth does someone preserve a bluefish for two or three days?

With $25,000 and more on the line, you've got to expect that some people will try almost anything. The crazy part is that you can go out to the Sound right now and observe suspected cheaters. For instance, go to Manhasset Bay and I'll guarantee you that a handful of anglers are livelining large bunker and keeping the largest blues they can catch.

Doesn't this look suspicious? Nothing for nothing, but I have been making it a point to stear CLEAR of the two or three "honey holes" I'd like to fish in the tournament this weekend. The last thing I would want to do is capture and kill whatever potential contendors who are hanging out there!!! One year I took the Wednesday off before the tournament to do some prospecting and catch some fresh bait. I found a large school of bunker and two other boats joined me as we snagged a few. All three boats were close enough that we started talking. We learned that each of us were in the tournament. Then the monster blues showed up and we all stopped snagging bunker and left the blues alone. A few minutes later, I noticed one of the boats go back and liveline a bunker. A few minutes later he boated a very large blue.

I can't remember if it was last year or the year before, but the tournament started at 12:00am and at about 12:15am there was already a huge bluefish weighed-in!! Another great story I heard was about a husband and wife who fish all week long (they are probably out there right now) and come the tournament they often have large fish despite the fact that their boat remains at the dock most of the weekend!

MORE... My conclusion is that LUCK has more to do with winning this tournament than SKILL. I say this because the conditions this weekend rarely exist any other time during the rest of the year. Our very best sharpies have skills that work excellent under most normal conditions. But the honest ones will all tell you that their skills are no match for these tournaments because most large fish are spooked by the boat traffic and increased angler pressure. A fine example is Captain John from Sound Charters. Every year before and after the tournament his fares pound teen-sized blues and bass one after the other. However, during the WICC tournament, I don't think he even bothers to have his fares enter the tournament because his awesome skills simply do not work with excessive boat traffic and his "honey holes" often do not produce during the tournament for the same reasons.

 

[617905]

I know what you mean Doc

It really sucks when you can't trust your fellow "man" (person?). Money has a way of bringing out the worst in people. Oooops! Hold on! I'll be right back! I almost forgot, I have to go ice down that 24# Bluefish I just bought from the Fulton Fish Market.

 

[flywhaler]

Don?t pick on anglers in Manhasset Bay, just the cheaters!

 

[capt jack]

fish is there anything you don't complain about? do you see the positive in any fishing related topic? why do you always have to post the negative side of fishing topics? i don't think i ever saw a positive spin on any topic from you.
if you don't like the tournament DON'T go in it.why rain on everyones parade?
if you haven't figured it out et fishing is supposed to be fun,but it seems you never see that.
YES there are issues which need to be adressed ,which are negative, BUT you only find the negative.

i look at crazy al and see how positive he is and how he shows his enthusiasim and love of the sport. and how he tries to share his knowledge with others and help them along. to me that is what a moderator is supposed to do and i have a lot of respect for al.

maybe you should look and see that fishing is a fun thing and NOT everything is as bad as you think and you should try to convey that message NOT all the negative aspects.there are far more positive aspects to fishing than negative. and yes there are cheaters and there are people who don't know the rules of the road and there are inconsiderate people who poach and many other things ,BUT there are many rewards to fishing also.LOOK AT THEM FOR A CHANGE!

 

[flybyme.]

yeah that was a little fishy comming back to the dock 15 minutes after 12 with a 16lb fish in manhasset. please don't say we are cheaters. the guy with his wife is a honest fisherman and know him personally. he is one of the best i know besides rich from r&g. as for fishing before the contest, yes i many catch a monster in pratice but you have to find a pattern which will produce. i know plum will always produce fish but will only fish there the first 3-4 hrs because of the boat traffic. not knowing where the big fish are could be a waste of picking though 7-9lb fish or knowing where those rogue winners are. yes bunker schools produce large fish but every yahoo fishing them will be doing it wrong and put the bite off!! good luck to all and stay safe everybody.......... only 3 days left and i can hardly wait!

 

[620435]

wrong place

hey guys, there are plenty of big fish to the east.I fish the Branford ct area and always weigh in good fish. Maybe there are way fewer boats per square mile and not as many fishermen so the winners don't always come from there, but if it is as crazy as you guys are saying to the west then I feel real good fishing deepwater wrecks with nobody near me.