With its 1,600 miles of shoreline, it makes sense that the largest island in the contiguous United States — Long Island — breeds an abundance of saltwater fishermen. It also happens to be right in the migratory path of striped bass, creating a niche of fisherman so hyper-focused on the mid-Atlantic fish that the term “striper widow” was coined. After thousands of casts, fishing tides at all hours of the day and night forges the “striper sharpie,” a fisherman whose line is tight when all others lay slack. And using bait doesn’t count: Anyone can catch with a hunk of meat on the hook. The true purist casts only plugs, pieces of wood shaped and painted to look and act like a fleeing baitfish. Sharpies use plugs, and many use bespoke plugs that were designed and built right here on the North Fork—in Cutchogue by Larry Welcome.
Listen to “Making the Bait: How Larry Welcome spun a career out of wood” by Angela Colangelo on the latest episode of Northforker Stories.
