Steve Sanford..."When the Broadbill was King on Great South Bay".

Yeah Steve, it was a commercial thing, We used to net shiners [Spearing] in the spring, This one spring everything happened late, shiners didnt show yet, so we decided to try for sand eels. We heard Shinnecock was loaded with them, so we packed our 600 ft shiner net into my eel garvey and trailred out east. We were told that the canal was state waters, so we thought we were safe, found out we were not when we got back to the ramp at the indian reservation. Cool memories Rich
 
Steve....no kidding....that has to be unique..or close to it....in the U.S....first I've ever heard of it being like that "on the Ocean"......
Rich....did they take your Eels and fine you or was it just a "don't ever come back here"?.....


Steve
 
Here's the rest of the story. We found a little sand beach along the east bulkhead, almost under the bridge. We unloaded about 100 ft of net on the beach, I backed the net out of the bow, around a big bunch of sand eels and came back to where I started. the net looked full to bursting. We were counting our money before we had it. As we started pursing it together the net got heavier and heavier. This shouldnt happen with swimming fish. Turned out the sand eels were a bit on the small size and just the right size to gill in our sein, almost every hole was filled. This net was like a big wet rug, it was all we could do to get it back into the boat. As the clam cop at the ramp was about to cuff us and stuff us, my partner Tommy Duffy told him that the net belonged to Burton Smith of Smittys live Lobster fame, and we were working for him!. The cop called in to to have someone call smitty and verify our B.S. story, lo and behold Smitty backed us up. Soon the cop drove off, and as soon as he did, we unloaded our net on the parking lot and proceeded to mush and shake all the sand eels out of our net. I bet it was a big stinkey mess in a few days, no wonder they didnt want any Patchogue clam diggers in Southampton town waters! Rich
 
Guys, if you haven't seen this DVD yet you're missing out. I just finished watching it last night and really enjoyed the stories from the old timers and how they were reminiscing of the old days. That John Verbeke is a talker for sure...he seemed a little hesitant at first, but once he got going there was no stopping the memories from flowing. It was nice to see a waterfowling video that wasn't just a bunch of shoot 'em up jibberish. These guys really love(d) and RESPECTED what they did back in the day. This is definitely well worth the $20 to add this to your waterfowling collection. It's a small slice of history that has been captured and documented for future generations.
Thanks for helping to put it all together and offering it for sale here Steve. I'm sure you had just as much fun with this project as the guys did when they were hunting.
Steve
 
Everyone I speak with around the country is raving about this DVD. All of the copies I sent out as gifts were well received. Great job Steve Sanford. Thanks again for preserving a very important part of our water-fowling heritage.
 
Bill~

Thanks for the kind works. Your note validates our thinking that gunners anywhere who appreciate the history and traditions of our grand sport would appreciate the tales and wisdom from our "grand old men of Great South Bay".

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve and guys, I finally got to see my video! I was so impressed I had to call John Verbeke. As we were talking, I was watching him talk on my computer. Kind of like that Skype thing or what ever they call it. Thanks again Rich
 
Steve, I have to agree with you ,the found memories your CD brought back were fantastic, it reminded me of my earlier days on Raritan bay with a 10 bird limit with 4 guys & be done by early day with our layout boats,shots. Unfortunately we will never see those days again. Thanks for the memories your CD brought back. Great job. PAUL.
PS. Good luck on your next boat Project.
 
Paul & Rich~

I'm so glad you both enjoyed the Broadbill video. I will be placing the order for our 4th printing later today.

All the best,

SJS
 
Hi, Rod~

Got your mail today - really like that drawing! Your Broadbill is all packed up and will go out in Monday's mail.

All the best,

SJS
 
The exhibit (When the Broadbill was King on Great South Bay) is even mentioned in the latest copy of Decoy Magazine by Joe Engers. Anyone on this site who has a passion for hunting and decoys should be a subscriber of the great magazine. I have learned so much in the last 10 years about the history of different decoys, their carvers, and the regions that they came from. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.
 
Hi, Rob~

Yup - just got our 4th printing delivered on Friday. Just send me a personal check made out to Steve Sanford with LIDCA-DVD on the memo line. Two DVDs is $20 + $10 = $30.

Mail to me at:

Steve Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
160 Gannon Road
Buskirk, NY 12028

Be sure to include your return address.

All the best,

SJS
 
I finally figured how to use the volume control on my computer, or my beloved Broadbill hunting disc. Now I can really hear what everyone is saying instead of lip reading. One of the best things I learned was that the Belmonts owned that Novi gunning rig I used to clam around off bayshore, back in the sixties. My first retriever was a little Black Lab bred by Bill Joeckel and Tony Quintal her name was Cindy, her sire was "West Islands Black Man". If I remember right the West Island Kennel was Augie Belmonts, or his brothers. Ah, the good old days! Rich
 
Steve,

Awesome video! Watched it last night, Thanks for taking the time to do the video.

Craig
 
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