Morning Aboard The Commanding Mistress.. Long Island, NY

[Anthony Babich]

Happy Holiday's All!
Wishing everyone a healthy & happy, just wanted to share some recent captures aboard the fine gunning vessel the "Commanding Mistress" to some, this boat may be familiar to a few as myself, Steve Sanford & Craig Kessler featured her in the 2017 Documentary "When Broadbill Was King"2017 When Broadbill Was King At that time the boat was owned and operated by Red Oster and his brother Stevie. They ran the guiding outfit: Redhead Guide Service out of Sayville, NY.

As our season's became more scarce here on LI especially with the Broadbill and a move ahead in Red's future to upstate, NY the outfit was broken up and sold about 5-6 years ago. I recently acquired the layout boat built in the late 1960's, this past July from one of Red's former clients in New Jersey and Jim Jankowski purchased the late 60's Commanding Mistress specifically 1968 by Raymond Lofstad from Islip Terrace, NY

The boat having served it's entire life as a battery rig was once again ready to sail the seas here in 2024 with a fresh dose of new life. The owner Jim and friends put countless hours of labor into the boat constructing her with more modern materials and upgraded equipment.

Here in 2024, she has been upgraded to a new exhaust system, rebuilt motor single screw, new windows, planking, wiring and wrapped around some fresh paint epoxy. There are still similar features that remain such as the layout roller, the nostalgic bow broadbill and cabin bell!

Yesterday December 23rd some close friends and I steamed out of Sayville, LI once again for the first time for me in about 6 years. The Mistress now towed a beautiful restored 17' Bristol Skiff outfitted with a brand new 2024 Mercury 30hp. The decoys (Plastic Final Approach) are the new replacements over the ole' E. Allen Decoys once placed into barrels. Nowadays this rig is neatly nestled within individual decoy bags among some spinner & motorized decoys. Definitely a more modern approach. Lastly, the double man layout was replaced by the AREA-51 2-Man boat built by Waterfowl Works Tony Homer.

We left the dock approx 6:45am and enjoyed a beautiful morning sunrise looking to our east on the Great South Bay, LI NY. The Mistress cruses at a steady 15kts in tow so the ride is slow & steady for sure. The bay was like a lake with only 3mph winds from the NE. Captain Hunter noted some broadbill and bufflehead along with "Long-Tails" aka ("Old Squaw's" years ago). The decision was made to set up the rig a bit further then planned in the east and enjoy a morning hunt.

I had the honor of hosting my friend & writer Ryan Chelius from Field & Stream who got a chance to enjoy the maiden voyage along us all. Ryan now living in Colorado was in awe of the nostalgia surrounding this hunt for sure! I was glad to have camera in hand capturing the moment..

Ryan & I jumped into the layout first and enjoyed a nice shoot of butterballs aka bufflehead. The action seemed to have slowed down quickly given the sunny no wind conditions. Although temps reached around 10-12 degrees we were excited just to be there enjoying the warmth of the cabin heater once back from the hunt and of course the fine amenities the Mistress offers like Bacon, Egg & Cheese sandwiches.

It was surely a day to remember and I look forward to next time!

Happy Holidays all & continued safe season ahead!

 

[Eric Patterson]

Anthony

Month after month, year after year, your cameras capture the most interesting duck hunting content I see. There is a lot of great photography out there on social media, but you sir find the best subjects and capture them in such a tasteful and delightful way. Excellent work and when can we expect a coffee table book of your work? Seriously, you need to publish your work beyond social media.

 

[Anthony Babich]

Anthony

Month after month, year after year, your cameras capture the most interesting duck hunting content I see. There is a lot of great photography out there on social media, but you sir find the best subjects and capture them in such a tasteful and delightful way. Excellent work and when can we expect a coffee table book of your work? Seriously, you need to publish your work beyond social media.

Hey Eric,

Thanks so much for the kind words. Ever grateful to be apart of this forum to share my passions. I’ve got to say I’m blessed enough to be surrounded by some of the best who have influenced my passions each year. Steve Sanford being one of the many.
Jay Fleming Maryland Photography My friend Jay Fleming recently finished his latest book for release so it’s definitely in my mind!

I’ve got to say the tech I’ve got now has been a big improvement over that Little Tikes Camera!

Merry Christmas!

 

[greg setter]

Great photo essay Anthony

 

[Chris Hughes]

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us...
Like the A-5 hanging in the gun rack. Beautiful pictures.

 

[Jay K]

Thanks for sharing your adventures with us...
Like the A-5 hanging in the gun rack. Beautiful pictures.

That pic right there might be the coolest thing I've seen in a while. The whole concept of that boat and how they hunted is very unique.

 

[Scott Gilliland]

Hi Anthony, Those are great pictures. I started hunting eiders in the mid-80s on the New Brunswick side of the Maine border. We hunted until the end of February. Hunting was great, but it was cold and I'll say we took some chances. At that time, I dreamt about getting a 32-35' Cape Islander outfitted for hunting. There is (was) a large weir fisher for herring and they had large barges or scows that they would leave moored at the weir site to hold equipment. I had thought about converting one of these to an island with a pit like blind. I forgot al about those thoughts and deams until I saw your pictures.

Thanks for sharing
Scott

 

[Mike Sanzone]

Hi Anthony, Those are great pictures. I started hunting eiders in the mid-80s on the New Brunswick side of the Maine border. We hunted until the end of February. Hunting was great, but it was cold and I'll say we took some chances. At that time, I dreamt about getting a 32-35' Cape Islander outfitted for hunting. There is (was) a large weir fisher for herring and they had large barges or scows that they would leave moored at the weir site to hold equipment. I had thought about converting one of these to an island with a pit like blind. I forgot al about those thoughts and deams until I saw your pictures.

Thanks for sharing
Scott

Happy Holiday's All!
Wishing everyone a healthy & happy, just wanted to share some recent captures aboard the fine gunning vessel the "Commanding Mistress" to some, this boat may be familiar to a few as myself, Steve Sanford & Craig Kessler featured her in the 2017 Documentary "When Broadbill Was King"2017 When Broadbill Was King At that time the boat was owned and operated by Red Oster and his brother Stevie. They ran the guiding outfit: Redhead Guide Service out of Sayville, NY.

As our season's became more scarce here on LI especially with the Broadbill and a move ahead in Red's future to upstate, NY the outfit was broken up and sold about 5-6 years ago. I recently acquired the layout boat built in the late 1960's, this past July from one of Red's former clients in New Jersey and Jim Jankowski purchased the late 60's Commanding Mistress specifically 1968 by Raymond Lofstad from Islip Terrace, NY

The boat having served it's entire life as a battery rig was once again ready to sail the seas here in 2024 with a fresh dose of new life. The owner Jim and friends put countless hours of labor into the boat constructing her with more modern materials and upgraded equipment.

Here in 2024, she has been upgraded to a new exhaust system, rebuilt motor single screw, new windows, planking, wiring and wrapped around some fresh paint epoxy. There are still similar features that remain such as the layout roller, the nostalgic bow broadbill and cabin bell!

Yesterday December 23rd some close friends and I steamed out of Sayville, LI once again for the first time for me in about 6 years. The Mistress now towed a beautiful restored 17' Bristol Skiff outfitted with a brand new 2024 Mercury 30hp. The decoys (Plastic Final Approach) are the new replacements over the ole' E. Allen Decoys once placed into barrels. Nowadays this rig is neatly nestled within individual decoy bags among some spinner & motorized decoys. Definitely a more modern approach. Lastly, the double man layout was replaced by the AREA-51 2-Man boat built by Waterfowl Works Tony Homer.

We left the dock approx 6:45am and enjoyed a beautiful morning sunrise looking to our east on the Great South Bay, LI NY. The Mistress cruses at a steady 15kts in tow so the ride is slow & steady for sure. The bay was like a lake with only 3mph winds from the NE. Captain Hunter noted some broadbill and bufflehead along with "Long-Tails" aka ("Old Squaw's" years ago). The decision was made to set up the rig a bit further then planned in the east and enjoy a morning hunt.

I had the honor of hosting my friend & writer Ryan Chelius from Field & Stream who got a chance to enjoy the maiden voyage along us all. Ryan now living in Colorado was in awe of the nostalgia surrounding this hunt for sure! I was glad to have camera in hand capturing the moment..

Ryan & I jumped into the layout first and enjoyed a nice shoot of butterballs aka bufflehead. The action seemed to have slowed down quickly given the sunny no wind conditions. Although temps reached around 10-12 degrees we were excited just to be there enjoying the warmth of the cabin heater once back from the hunt and of course the fine amenities the Mistress offers like Bacon, Egg & Cheese sandwiches.

It was surely a day to remember and I look forward to next time!

Happy Holidays all & continued safe season ahead!




View attachment 62583

View attachment 62585

View attachment 62586

View attachment 62587

View attachment 62588


View attachment 62589

View attachment 62590

View attachment 62594
View attachment 62593

View attachment 62591

View attachment 62592

View attachment 62595

View attachment 62596View attachment 62597

View attachment 62598

Anthony, Thank you for sharing your adventure..looks like you guys had a great time. Would love to set the Wayne Beal up for that type of hunting

 

[Anthony Babich]

Anthony, Thank you for sharing your adventure..looks like you guys had a great time. Would love to set the Wayne Beal up for that type of hunting View attachment 62905

Hey Mike,
That’s a great shot the Baur & Scooter with our Broadbill season coming up to 2 soon I’m sure we should see more guys gunning em. Hopefully the cold weather sticks around!
I’ll have the new addition I acquired at the show in March. Bring that along!

 

[Steve Sanford]

Anthony~

Sorry for not weighing in sooner! Of course, I thoroughly appreciated seeing Red's old "mother ship" back at work. I was surprised that Jim and Hunter had not yet re-installed the grab rails I restored for them this past year. I made them for Red back in 2015.



I certainly want to pile on with praise, too, for your photographic and videographic skills - which Craig Kessler and I have had the pleasure of seeing you grow and perfect ever since we met you way back when - when you were "just" a college student. We both fondly remember when we all met Preston Raynor. When he - age 90 at the time - brought out some slides for us to borrow, your reaction was: "What are they?" We are so glad you embrace so much of modern technology but combine it with a curiosity about and respect for this grand sport's history. I hope others here at duckboats.net are aware of the 3 documentaries we worked on as a team and watch them to see your many talents - and to learn about Long Island's wonderful gunning history

I know I speak for Craig, too, when I recognize your positive spirit and ever-helpful approach to everything you do. As he and I slowly "graduate" into that "Grand Old Men of Great South Bay" stage of our gunning lives, we could not be happier to see that you have become The Guy on Long Island to carry the mantle - with passion and good cheer.

Thanks very much - and hope to see you soon!

SJS

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Anthony, it's nice to see some one with the interest, knowledge, and expertise to document our heritage of hunting in the north east. Always a pleasure to look at your photography. Keep up the great work.

 

[Capt Rich Geminski]

Anthony~

Sorry for not weighing in sooner! Of course, I thoroughly appreciated seeing Red's old "mother ship" back at work. I was surprised that Jim and Hunter had not yet re-installed the grab rails I restored for them this past year. I made them for Red back in 2015.

View attachment 62922

I certainly want to pile on with praise, too, for your photographic and videographic skills - which Craig Kessler and I have had the pleasure of seeing you grow and perfect ever since we met you way back when - when you were "just" a college student. We both fondly remember when we all met Preston Raynor. When he - age 90 at the time - brought out some slides for us to borrow, your reaction was: "What are they?" We are so glad you embrace so much of modern technology but combine it with a curiosity about and respect for this grand sport's history. I hope others here at duckboats.net are aware of the 3 documentaries we worked on as a team and watch them to see your many talents - and to learn about Long Island's wonderful gunning history

I know I speak for Craig, too, when I recognize your positive spirit and ever-helpful approach to everything you do. As he and I slowly "graduate" into that "Grand Old Men of Great South Bay" stage of our gunning lives, we could not be happier to see that you have become The Guy on Long Island to carry the mantle - with passion and good cheer.

Thanks very much - and hope to see you soon!

SJS

Steve, starting to see blacks showing up now on the island. Saw a group of about 14-16 over shinnecock.

 

[Bill Ferrar]

Looks like you guys had a great time. It's nice to see people still putting in the effort to duck hunt. The old school way.
thanks for sharing

 

[Anthony Babich]

Thanks all & as always appreciate the complements. Looking forward to sharing, preserving and continuing all those traditions those who I've looked up to have taught me. Excited for the years ahead!