| Ken Schuster's trip to ACE Charters fishing for Striped Bass On the Hudson River |
| Ken won a trip to the Hudson River to fish for Stripe Bass with Ace Charters and Captain Jimmy Samia. Captain Jimmy Samia runs his charter out of Ravena, New York with his wife Kathy, Son in Law Erick and daughter Kim. On May 12th 2008 Ken finally got to take his trip. It was about a 5 1/2 to 6 hour trip from home to the river. When Ken arrived, he was greeted by Captain Jimmy about 8:00 AM. This time was scheduled for 8:00 AM to be in harmony with the tide. Ken is deaf and cannot speak so this was a very exciting trip for him. He does a lot of fishing and hunting and does not let his disability hinder him from enjoying the outdoors. He doesn't get the opportunity to do trips like this so this was a big deal for Ken. Captain Jimmy Samia made us very comfortable from the start. He was very friendly and made us very at ease with his knowledge of fishing. At 8:30 Ken boarded the boat and was ready to start fishing. Captain Jimmy first took ken towards Albany to fish for our bait. To Ken's surprise, the bait was not netted, but caught with fishing poles. The captain instructed Ken to a fishing pole baited with 5 small flies hooks and as soon as the lines were dropped into the water they started pulling in bait. Not just one at a time, but 5 at a time! It was great. Ken had a blast just fishing for bait, and they had plenty of bait. The Captain then put out the two rods for strippers. Ken had a little wait for the outgoing tide before the fishing could get serious. As Ken sat and watched the rods he saw one acting erratic and the Captain grabbed the pole and gave it to Ken. Ken pulled the fish in only to find out that it was a Catfish. A short time later Ken hooked into a Stripe Bass only to have it come off. When the tide started to work out the Captain headed for 40 feet of water. Extra weight was added to the rods and Ken sat patiently for a hook up. The weather had changed, and unfortunately fishing a cold front. It was real windy and cold and Captain Jimmy to use his skills to keep the boat steady and on course. He did a terrific job, because finally Ken hooked into a fish. The smile on Ken's face was truly awe-inspiring. Ken was in the zone of landing his first Stripe Bass. The rod was bent nearly to the water and Ken was playing the fish to perfection. Finally, the fish came to the surface. The excitement for Ken was building and peaked when the Captain reached into the water and netted the fish. It was huge 25#, 36" female. The girth on this fish reminded Ken that it was similar to a salmon. The remainder of the day, Ken missed many hook ups due to his inexperience and maybe the bitter cold weather played a part too, because about 3:00 PM everyone agreed they had enough. That's fishing, and there is never a guarantee on catching fish or the . The day before Ken's trip, Captain Jimmy had a triple hook up going and by the end of the day they landed nine fish. All in all the trip was great. The fish were there and they were suspended just like the Captain liked, but that's fishing. We, Kenny and his family want to thank New York Outdoorsman Central for this wonderful experience and the opportunity to do some fishing that he would never be able to do. Most importantly our thanks go to Captain Jimmy Samia for the trip of a lifetime. As Ken parted company with Captain Jimmy, he knew he would love to make this an annual trip. |
| Contact: Capt. Jimmy Samia Phone: 413-743-2204 Location: Hudson River and Eastern Lake Ontario - Troy, NY & Oswego, NY Offering: Trophy Striped Bass & Trophy King Salmon as well as Coho, Steelhead, Lake Trout and Atlantic Salmon. Fish aboard a brand new 2009 28ft Baha Cruiser set-up and sponsored by Big Jon Downriggers, Attomik Trolling flies, Legendary Products, Shark Downrigger weights, Johnson Outdoors, and Fish 307. Ask about being a part of filming upcoming episodes for" Full Rut Outdoors TV ". Accommodations: Lodging can be arranged for as little as 20.00 per person per night with air conditioning. Free airport pick-up on most packages |
