Fish Monger today- Friday 1/8: MONSTER tog-mania!!

[Capt. JJ]

I hate Capt. Jerry Postorino.

No; hate is too kind a word. I "hate-loathe-despise-cant-stand-wish-he-was-a-janitor" Jerry Postorino.

Let me explain why.....

Went out on a charter today....great crew that consisted of Rubber Band Pete, Dave-the-fave, Yours truly, and a new cast of potential monger nation folks Jim, Tim, Joe, Joe.1, and I forget the rest....but a great group of guys, both experienced, and newbies.

Dave was trying out his new StormR jacket that his daughters got him for Xmas. (When I asked MY daughter for a StormR she got me colorful socks instead.....Dave -1, Joe -0)

Left the dock at zero-dark F&^%$#king thirty, and actually saw the sun for about 5 minutes. The rest of the day was cold, windy, and overcast, but certainly manageable, especially for January.

(BTW...GDubs could not make this trip because he had to....."work"??? Really??) Lame excuse, dude!

Got set up on some sticky stuff and the crew went to work. We encountered a scratchy bite but had a fairly decent pull of shorts and keepers. Shorts varied between just-legal, and nice roasters....then Tim, who had been complaining to all of us, "what does a tog bite feel like?", rears back and sets into a slob. Nails his PB 10.5 pound cow and now its off to the races.....

THis is where the Postorino saga begins. I swear, if I retire in 5 years and buy a charter boat, Im going to name it "NottheMonger" and ban Jerry for life.

(Hear that George??? Banned for life, my friend!)

Jerry starts his usual Tog Whisperer act. He grabs his KMart rod, slips in between a couple guys, and starts catching tog after tog after tog. Doesnt matter where he stands. He just quietly slips up next to you...throws his line 3" from where yours is, and 30 seconds later he gets all intense as he does his whisperer routine. He's like Yoda and the force. (come to think of it, he is sorta' short.....but I digress) He just starts pounding away (of course, releasing all fish that are not legally allowed in the boat)....BUT THENNNNNNNNN it gets worse.

Things slow up a bit and he decides to hit....."a piece".

We set up, and Jerry says, "all big fish here guys....I feel it", and THAT is about 30 seconds before The Whisperer starts doing his thing again, only this time, it takes him about 10 minutes to bring the damned fish to the net.

Holy F%$#@*&ing Sh*&^t! Like 14 pounds of togzilla on the deck (I think it was closer to 6 but, ok, I'll believe his magical hand scale)...then all hell breaks loose, EVERYWHERE on the boat EXCEPT where I was standing.

Guys pulled up a 10.5, a 12, another 12, an 11....a 14...another 10.5...then Jerry does his Yoda/force/Tog Whisperer routine again and an even bigger fish hits...dont know how big...the batteries for the scale burnt out from all the weighing....(I think he just pocketed the batteries)

Everyone on the boat either boated a togzilla, or missed one that doubled the rod.

And through it all, Postorino just does his zen/force routine....moving from person to person...slipping up next to them, and boating fish that would be personal bests for the majority of us.

Ya know????!!!!!!! How does this guy do it?????

Anyways...Im sure he will post pics on his site...I have NO clue what the final count was...no clue how many we released but I think Jim had 25 shorts alone...I managed 5 keepers, only keeping my legal, allowable, certifiable, justifiable limit.....but they were all a HELL of a lot smaller than the slobs.

Im telling you guys...if you have ever seen Postorino pull this, I think its time we all banded together and told him how we REALLY feel about his mad tog skills! I say lets ban him from the rail on our trips! (right...that would happen)

Anyways....all kidding aside, this guy is just about the most amazing tog master Ive ever met (and Ive worked with a few of them)....I dont ask how anymore. I just shut up and watch, and grin.....because I know Im watching arguably the best at what he does, period.

If any of you have never fished the Monger, and are brave and bored enough to read my ramblings, you owe it to yourselves. Get on a trip with this guy and his crew (Kevin handled deck superbly today!!!)

JJ out....................

[LotsobitesBB]

Was Jerry using the foamy crabs again?

Sorry I has to work and missed the trip.

[MVP]

Outstanding report as usual

[PaBeerGuy]

Not taking away from his natural skill level, but if If Jerry was fishing, that's because you guys were screwing up. He only fishes to show the rest of the crew that there are fish there to be had, setting an example if you will. btw, I like how he can stand in the middle of the boat and still manage to wiggle that long rod of his in between two fishermen and catch.

[Capt. JJ]

Ive seen his rod.

Its not very long..............................

[ALS Mako]

One of the best, jerry is.