Apple Knocker Time - Capt. Dixon Merkt

Plum Island, NY
Apple Knocker Time
By TOm Migdalski
T
he miles melted away in our wake as we churned
across the unusually placid waters of eastern Long
Island Sound. By many standards, a 9-mile run
in a small boat is a long distance to travel for a few shots
at phantom-like fish you can't even eat. But it was apple
knocker time in southern New England, and no amount
of effort is too great when every hookup pulls deep into
the backing or results in a parted leader. Busted rods aren't
uncommon, either.
As we approached Plum Island, New York, rhe nearest
knot of wheeling terns looked like several other frenzied
flocks along the rip, but the slashing breaks of porpoising
fish beneath them indicated we had found a pod of revered
false albacore and not toothy bluefish.
As we rapidly closed in on casting distance, I throttled
down, cut the wheel, and killed the motor. Although he
expected the sudden stop, Albert Buchman, who had
been kneeling on the bow cover with rod in hand, almost
rolled over rhe gunwale and into rhe drink. I laughed ar
his clumsy tumble and amazingly agile recovery. In the
meantime, Rob Person, who had been wisely holding on
to the handrail behind me, ignored our antics and was
already pumping out bursrs of line. But Al, an excellent
caster, quickly caught up and was first to launch his Epoxy
Minnow into the fray.
"I got one!" Al yelled as line melted off his spool, the
reel's drag like a tread-bare tire spinning on ice. "Better
srart the motor-it's
taking lots ofline."
As I fired up the engine, which I had shut down only
moments before, I heard Rob's excited voice behind me.
"Don't move!" he said. ''I'm on, too!"
I glanced over my shoulder in time to witness Rob's
rod bending double under the strain of a sprinting "hardtail." Now I heard drags singing in stereo, but the fish were
running in opposite directions.
'~, it's all you," I said. "I can't chase him."
After almost 10 minutes of give-and-take and maneuvering around the minefield of nearby lobster-trap
buoys, Rob's false albacore started corkscrewing beneath
the hull-a
sure sign of a tuna's fatigue. I tailed his fish
coasts and are highly sought
soon thereafter, guessed it
at a plump 8 pounds, and
by fly- and light-spinningtackle enthusiasts.
They
administered tuna CPR by
have a well-deserved repuplunging it headfirst into
tation for elusiveness and,
the steely green conveyor
belt of seawater.
once hooked, for tearing
Unfortunately,
AI's
off drag-burning runs and
ruining expensive tackle.
leader had broken, perhaps
Aibies have dark, strong,
from the pressure or perhaps
oily meat. But that works
from a lobster-trap rope. Eito their advantage, because
ther way, his fish was already
in the next county. Without
they have no commercial
food value and almost all
so much as a curse or frown,
are immediately
released.
Ai began the well-practiced
Nonetheless,
population
routine of rigging another
estimates remain difficult
fluorocarbon
leader and a
to determine.
new fly, pausing only for a
"Numbers are a tough
slug of iced tea.
call," says Rod MacLeod,
While Ai was busy tying
Connecticut's senior marine
knots, Rob wiped up the
fisheries biologist. "It's hard
piles of regurgitated
bay
anchovies
now littering
to predict what each year
False albacore ready fOr a quick release (above). Captain Dixon Merkt
the deck and I motored
will bring. We participate
fights a late-day false albacore aboard his boat (left).
us back up-current-at
with the National Marine
least the fish's parting gift
Fisheries Service collecting
saltwater recreational fishing data. We call Atlantic bonito,
would allow us to better match the hatch. Technically,
false albacore, and Spanish mackerel 'pulse fisheries,' which
the score was tied at anglers 1 and tuna 1, bur in this
means they migrate through for a shon period and are hard
game we already had a winning record.
to track-they're
fast swimming and challenging to catch.
Apple Knockers
Obtaining reliable numbers from anglers is difficult. Their
Each September, die-hard saltwater fly casters eagerly
popularity in Long Island Sound has recently increased due
anticipate apple knocker time in southern New England.
to the growth oEfly fishing. Anglers are pursuing them more.
Little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus) are
known by various names, including false albacore, albies, bonito, and apple knockers.
These scombroids,
like
all tunas, are actually
members of the mackerel family, and they show
like clockwork when our
apples begin to ripen
and drop, thus the local
nickname.
False al bacore are
small by tuna standards,
but they pack loads of
muscle into their 6- to
12-pound, football-shaped
bodies. Labeled and dismissed as trash fish not
too long ago, they are now
considered exotics along the
Northeast
and Mid-Atlantic
They found out what these fish are that go screaming along
the surface at 90 miles an hour."
Finding false albacore is half the challenge of hooking
one of these speedsters. Unlike most inshore fish, albies
don't forage or stage for long in anyone location. They pop
up randomly depending on bait movement, vanish into
the depths without warning, and may travel miles in one
day. Certain marine environments,
however, are much
more alluring to them than water with no distinguishing
characteristics. That's why we were plying the bountiful
rips along Plum Island, which is located just northeast
of Orient Point, New York, at the tip of the north fork
of eastern Long Island.
Glacial Deposit
After our first frenzy had subsided, Rob was blind-casting
toward the island's rugged western shore when he spotted a big
white sign with red letters that
read, "DANGER-GOVERNMENT
PROPERTY-NO
TRESPASSING."
"What's that all about?" he
asked, pointing his rod at the
posting.
"Oh, that," I said matter-offactly. "See those low, factorylooking buildings with all the
little smokestacks? That's where
the government does hoof-andmouth research on diseased
cattle. I guess they want to keep
it away from the mainland. Rumors are they experiment with
anthrax and other lethal stuff,
too. But I'm sure it's just fisherman talk. That's why we
can't land and cast from shore."
"Great," Rob quipped. "Can we please stay upwindjust in case?"
"Oh, don't be a wimp," AI said. "Just hold your bream."
Suddenly, another school of albies busted on top about
100 yards behind us. We immediately gave chase, and bad
jokes about biological warfare were stowed for anomer day.
Plum Island, a 3-mile-Iong, pork-chop-shaped
landmass, is part of trillions of tons of rubble left 20,000 years
ago by the Late Wisconsin Glacier. When the mile-thick
ice sheet scoured New England to bedrock like a giant,
laboring snowplow, it pushed many miles of stones, soil,
and sand to the coast.
Here, at its southeasternmost
point, the glacier halted
and deposited its terminal moraine, thereby creating a
massive dam that separated the ocean from the 90-milelong trough it had plowed out. When the oversize ice cube
receded, its runoff filled the huge new hollow and turned
it into a freshwater lake, recen t1y named Lal<:eConnecticut
by geologists. With that warming trend continuing, water
from the incessant melt raised ocean levels nearly 300 feet
worldwide and gradually flooded into the impoundment's
low eastern end. The rwice-daily tidal flow soon opened
Lake Connecticut to the Atlantic Ocean, and Long Island
Sound was created.
Today, the moraine remains as Long Island and the
short chain oflarge and small landmasses to the east, which
includes Plum Island, Great Gull Island, Little Gull Island,
and Fishers Island. Stiff currents still surge into the basin of
the ancient lake by way of a huge tidal rip called the Race.
Water also floods into and ebbs
from the sound through two
smaller, but equally tumultuous,
rips called the Sluiceway and
Plum Gut, which flank both
ends of Plum Island.
Running Across
As many anglers do, we had
trekked from Niantic, Connecticut,
across Long Island
Sound to reach Plum Island-a
big event in itselfin my 18-foot
center console, the minimumsize boat needed to safely make
this run. The ride across the
sound to reach these border
islands isn't always a pleasure
trip. Dense fog or stiff winds
can quickly sweep in off the
cooler ocean. When opposiHg
the formidable currents, even a
modetate breeze creates short,
steep whitecaps, especially in the rips and passages.
If you're crossing from the mainland, as most anglers
do, you'll encounter the ferry route berween New London
and Orient Point. One of these ferries is a high-speed
catamaran-style boat that moves at about 40 knots and
throws a large wake. Oceangoing tugboats pulling large
barges, oil tankers, merchant ships, yachts, and even
nuclear submarines complete the sound's cast of characters.
They're good to watch, but they're also good to avoid.
More obstacles are in store once you arrive at Plum
Island. Hundreds of hungry boulders litter the shoals and
wait for the chance to rear up and take a bite out of your
propeller or hull. Some are several hundred yards offshore,
which is farther out than you would normally expect to
find such obstructions. Making matters even more challenging, strong tides course around these islands.
"The current moves very quickly over long stretches of
rocky shore," explains Captain Dixon Merkt, a light-tackle
and fly-fishing specialist who runs the SurfScoter out of
A lone angler (not the saftst way tofish the border islands) fights a raIsealbacore while others break in the fOreground; the Connecticut shoreline
is visible in the background acrossLong Island Sound (above). Albert Buchman with a late-day Plum Island bass (left)
Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
"It's not as though you're
These hot spots offer a variety of species that hold
here all season, with false albacore the highlight of the
just rounding a point. In order to find the best fishing
year. The bite kicks off in May with "schoolie" striped
you might be traveling through boulders for a long time.
bass, which are numerous through late June, when the
But it's exactly these difficult conditions that create such
bluefish push in. Atlantic bonito (not to be confused
wonderful and challenging fishing."
One reason it's so good is because the vast amount
with false albacore) show up in mid-August,
followed
of structure provides shelter for forage species, while the
shortly by the much more numerous false albacore and,
occasionally, a few Spanish mackerel.
confluence of big waters flushes nutrients in and out of
"The sound's perimeter waters hold a strong. tuna
Long Island Sound four times a day. Predators lurk among
fishery," Merkt says. "And it gets
the rocks and maraud through
more exciting as the season goes
the rips and passages, where they
on. In September and October
gorge on butterfish, squid, herring, eels, peanut bunker, silverwe've usually got lots of false
sides, sand eels, and anchovies.
albacore
along Orient
Point
The border islands are also
and the islands, which join our
normal high numbers of bluefish
invi ting because they're less
crowded than waters near the
and striped bass. It's a great mix.
mainland.
"Not everybody's
The fish usually stay until late
October, when cold northwest
tin boat can get there," Merkt
Saltwater hook, size 2
Hook:
winds
chase them out."
says, "and not everybody has the
Thread: Clear or white
electronic gear or seamanship to
The reason these passages at6 white saddle hackles and white bucktail
get themselves back in limited
tract fish is simple: the ferocious
Pear! Krystal Flash
Body:
visibility or wind. This makes it a
currents and rip lines are caused
6 strands of pear! Krystal Flash
Wing:
by the bottlenecking landmasses
great spot for the more dedicated
Blue bucktail (top), white bucktail
Collar:
and knowledgeable fishermen."
and a steep bottom that surges
(sides/bottom)
from more than 300 feet deep to
Topping: Peacock her!
Kickoff Time
less than 30 feet deep in spots. As
Head:
Cerulean blue and epoxy
the current wells up and rushes
Casting along the rocky shores
Eyes:
Black on white, coated with epoxy
offers excellent action in depths
over the boulder-strewn
ledges,
ranging
from 5 to 25 feet.
it creates a large vacuum-like
pocket-similar
to how an airplane wing gets its lift-on
the up-tide side of the reefs. This nutrient-rich "sweet spot"
attracts schools of baitfish.
Foraging bluefish and striped bass usually hold near
the rocks in the sheltered water ahead of reefs where their
energy expenditure is less and food is abundant. False albacore and bonito, on the other hand, are pelagic, which
means they roam open waters and are independent
of
the ocean bottom. They frequently drive baitfish upward
from the depths and trap them against the surface, thereby
creating world-class top-water action.
Finding Fish
Unlike almost every other big-water boating situation,
having a smaller craft is advantageous-and
almost
required-to
fish along these islands. "Small" boats of 18
to 26 feet are still seaworthy enough to cross the sound, yet
they maneuver better, draw less water, and are less likely to
run into trouble in these skinny, rock-filled waters.
activate baitfish movement. Likewise, later in the fall the
incoming tide can be better because the sound cools before
the ocean does. The best times are when fast water coincides
with low light. However, the bite sometimes lasts all day.
In the passages, the fish and birds start feeding when the
water moves, and experienced anglers search for flocks of
diving terns and gulls to give away the location offish. Start
looking for birds along rip lines and over shallow humps,
then set up a drift that tal<es you through the active area.
"In shallow water it's best to cut the engine," advises
Merkt. "By having the engine off, you're not going to disturb the fish or put them down, unless, of course, you're
drifting into an area where the engine should be left on
for safety reasons. But if that's the condition, then you're
venturing into a dangerous situation to begin with."
If no birds or fish are working along the rips, try casting
along stretches of riffled water where the current passes
over shoals, lone boulders, and ledges. Also try the various
points and cuts along the shorelines. Start fishing ahead
of the nervous water and work down through it.
Almost all of the rocky shores and rips produce
fish, but some locations are more dependable than
others. False albacore can pop up anywhere within
0.25 mile of shore along the main landmass of Orient Point. From west to east, good spots to check
out are any small rips or bays where albies can trap
baitfish schools. Rocky Point, Orient Shoal, Terry
Point, Mulford Point, Pettys Bight, and the tip of
Orient Point are all good places to look.
Plum Gut, a major passage and rip, is located
between Orient Point and the western end of Plum
Island. Here the water shoals quickly and dangerous rip currents form near the island. Th~ area
around the "tea kettle," a large navigational aid in
the middle of Plum Gut, is often a place to find
breaking bluefish and albies. But be wary of the
waters directly southwest of the tea kettle, which
rapidly shallow to a string of surface-breaking
boulders. If you're new to the area, your best bet
here is to stay with the fleet.
The west end of Plum Island is good near the
False albacore work along the rocky northern coast of Plum Island late on a Sepcable crossing but can be treacherous due to the
tember afternoon. A ftvorite ftlse albacore fOraging technique is to trap and corral
rocks and a major rip. Much of the south side is
schools of tiny baitfish, such as bay anchovies or silvers ides, against the shoreline.
sandy, wirh little fish-attracting structure; however,
as you move east the terrain becomes rougher and
"Often," says Merkt, "some of the better spots are the
improves. The entire north shore of Plum Island is rock
studded and has long stretches of very fishable water,
more treacherous spots, because the fish get into the rocks in
including a couple of small rip lines that attract albies.
fairly shallow water. The boulders produce some great fishThe Sluiceway, another large tidal rip, is located off Plum
ing, but they can also produce some tough conditions."
Island's northeast end. This spot is one of the best places
Pros always plan their trips around a moving tide.
to find false albacore in mid- to late September. Be wary
Either tide is good, but in early summer the outgoing tide
of Old Silas Rock, which breaks water in the middle of
sometimes triggers a better bite. That's because the ebb
the Sluiceway and is marked by a can to its south.
tide carries warmer temperatures from the comparatively
Continuing northeast from the Sluiceway, the south
shallow Long Island Sound, and the warm water can
When: Mid May-October.
Where: One of several land masses separating Long
Island Sound from Block Island Sound and Gardiners
Bay at the north fork of Long Island, NY.The Plum Island
chain and passages are in NY waters, and NY regulations
apply regardless of home port or launch site.
Headquarters:
Old Saybrook, Old Lyme, Niantic, Waterford, New London, and Groton, CT. Information: www.
visitco n nectic ut. com, www.ctrivervalley.co m.
Appropriate
gear: All species: 9- and 10-wt. rods; intermediate and floating lines. Stripers: 8-ft. leader, 20- to
25-lb. fluorocarbon tippet. Bluefish: Short 25-lb. mono
leaders, wire bite tippets. False albacore: Floating and intermediate
tippets, 250 yd. of 20-lb. Spectra backing.
shooting-heads,
15- to 20-lb. fluorocarbon
Useful fly patterns: Stripers/bluefish: Size 2/0 to 6/0 squid, herring, and bunker patterns; Clouser Minnows and
Deceivers. False albacore/Atlantic bonito: Size 1 and 1/0 Bonito Bunnies; sparse Deceivers and Clousers; epoxy-body
sand eel, bay anchovy, silverside, and peanut bunker patterns.
Necessary accessories: VHF radio for NOAA marine weather forecasts and distress calls, navigational equipment,
33 percent more fuel than you need, waterproof chart, polarized sunglasses, hat, lightweight and warm clothes,
waterproof shell, foul-weather gear, personal floatation devices, sunscreen, drinking water, BogaGrip, first-aid kit,
emergency anchor with 300 ft. of rope, 8- to 10-ft. push pole for fending off rocks.
Nonresident
license: None required.
Fly shops/guides: Old Saybrook: North Cove Outfitters, (866) 437-6707, www.northcove.com; River's End Tackle, (860)
388-2283, www.riversendtackle.com. Dixon Merkt, (860) 434-2301; Dan Wood, 860-442-6343, www.ctwoodsandwater.
com; Kerry Douton, (860) 739-7419, www.jbtackle.com; Ned Kittredge, (508) 998-7965, www.watchoutfish.com.
Charts/information:
Embassy Complete Charts No.7 B Long Island Sound, Guilford, CT/Riverhead, NY, to Point judith, RI
by Embassy Marine Publishing; Embassy's Complete Boating Guide & Chartbook to Long Island Sound by Embassy
Marine Publishing; Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound by Captain Segull's Nautical Fishing Charts, www.
captainsegullcharts.com.
Information: www.flyfishsaltwaters.com;
New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, www.dec.state.ny.us;
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, www.dep.state.ct.us;
marine weather forecasts, www.wunderground.com.
side of Great Gull can be productive from the east tip to
the west tower. Plenty of rocks are workable along the north
side, where you'll often find big flocks of wheeling birds. The
island itself is a nesting sanctuary for terns, so the shore is
off-limits. A picturesque lighthouse marks Little Gull Island,
which lies just beyond Great Gull. Try working its north side
on an ebb tide. The small, rocky rip between the can and
the northeast shore is another popular place to cast a fly for
albies. Small-craft operators slide in among the rocks on the
island's south side, where they fish close to land. However, the
passage between Little Gull and Great Gull islands-although
usually loaded with bird and fish activity-is a treacherous
place for boats. Many boulders lurk just beneath the surface,
even at high tide. It's best to leave this spot to the pros.
Winning Ways
Al, Rob, and I chased ghosting schools of false albacore
all afternoon. But an hour before sunset, with fish still
breaking near us, we called it quits to safely make the run
back to the mainland. That night, our tally went into the
logbook at three albies released, four albies hooked and
lost, and seven hits missed. Plus we had three small bluefish in the cooler and headed for the grill. During apple
knocker time along Plum Island, that's a winning record
in any angler's book. •.•
Tom Migdalski is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in
Hamden, Connecticut.