Captain Jake Dougherty

Captain Jake Dougherty has amassed some serious fishing knowledge over the years, and he passes it on to you every time you go out on the Salty Hooker. Born in Southwick, MA, he grew up in the New England fishing tradition.

Jake Dougherty, with a 100 ton Master license and two endorsements, has done a lot of fishing - places like Long Island Sound, Fisherman's Island, NY, Watch Hill, RI, the Block Island Canyons, Atlantis Canyon, Race Rock Lighthouse, NY, Connecticut waters, Rhode Island waters, and New York waters. He moved to Virginia Beach, VA over three years ago and in that time has fished inshore and offshore in headboats, private charter boats, and other pleasure boats.

He's caught record and tournament winning Striped Bass, Thresher Sharks, Giant Tuna, and Big Eye Tuna.

Now he's here as your Captain on the Salty Hooker!

"I started fishing very young. My father has a brand new 1986 31' ft Rampage that he charter fished every summer when I was growing up. By the age of 10, I had fished every summer since he got the boat, and that's the summer that I worked my first trip - a half day of bass and blue fishing. I worked the half day trips for a few years until I started working the full day trips at age 13.

I started fishing offshore, around 4 to 5 miles off of Block Island catching Blue Sharks, Thresher Sharks, Mako Sharks, and even a Great White one day.

At 16, I did my first canyon trip. It was such an amazing experience - it was like a city out there with all the boats tied up to the high flyers. There were 15 inch squids all around the boat in the flood lights; we kept catching live bait and setting them right back out on balloon rigs - it was one of the most incredible fishing experiences I had ever had."