I think I can get used to this ChatGPT stuff, but deep down I really hate technology. The top image came from the ad on FBM for the Bulls Bay 151 (15'1") and I swapped out the seller's headshot for one of yours truly sitting on the poling platform with my hand on the tiller. I am excited to start so many new chapters down south. Below is a birds-eye view of my future skiff, like the actual skiff.
The flats or technical skiff game is a game onto itself. My overall boat knowledge is average, and my skiff knowledge is nill. I know some guides who fish the skinny waters in skiffs for some of my favorite species, Paul Dixon and Andrew Derr for stripers on Long Island's East End, Jamie Boyle and Abie Schuster on the Vineyard, Ben Whalley up in Maine, John McMurray around Jamaica Bay, Dan Schafer in South Jersey, Marc Nutting in the Lowcountry, and Dave Choinard when he was down in Tampa.
And the skiffs? Well I've heard the names of the big manufacturers and that's about it. Hell's Bay, Maverick, Chittum, Hewe's, and Beavertail, and I'm sure there are a ton more. When I used to do those long commutes to Essex County College I'd listen to Any Mill's Mill House Podcast, HERE, which is really all about skiffs, sight fishing, and the legends of the game. Sadly, I haven't listened in some time, but it will be soon coming from the speakers while down in The Shrimp Shack.
So across my Facebook feed now comes everything about skiffs since I did some searches and now they have me pegged. One that came up yesterday was of a guy standing in front of
Mt. Houston Marine after he took delivery of a new 2026 Chittum 18' Challenger 2.0. I have seen that flats skiffs either have a side or center console or tiller steer. His choice is below,
I know that Chittum is one of the big guns in that market so I did a little search on how much a boat like that might cost. You know I never buy new but maybe it's time. Even though I just dropped a deposit down on a used Bulls Bay why not inquire.
So, mmmm, let's just say I'll stay in the used and not the top of the line market, for anything and everything. A new Chittum runs any where from $75-100,000 +, depending on the options you choose. I can't do that, wouldn't do that, and never will do that. But Congratulations to Jack and his new ride.
In between bouts of working around and in the cauldron that is weather this week I've started looking for resources about skiffs and how to pole them. I've found some videos on You Tube, there's a 1,000, that have been a help as I sit in front of my keyboard.
I have to say I can't wait to get out there looking for fish in skinny water. One day I'd love to bring it up to the Vineyard and pole around Menemsha Pond or Lake Tashmoo. I wish I started this new chapter of my life about 10 years ago. But guys who pole seem to stay in the game for a long time. Ansil Saunders died at the age of 91 and stopped guiding only a few years before his death. That gives me, say 30 years to learn it and get it right.