Volume 19 Number 22 September 3, 2008

Transcription

Volume 19
Number 22
September 3,
2008
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2
www.noreast.com
SAT 6AM-5PM
SUN 6AM-4PM
NY . NJ . CT . RI • September 3, 2008
PUBLISHER &
PRESIDENT
George R. Scocca
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sal Amendolia
FISHERY MANAGEMENT
NY, NJ, CT, RI THE JOURNAL OF NORTHEAST SPORTFISHING NY, NJ, CT, RI
Cover Story
Dusty Rhodes
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Ronnie S. Smith
V.P. OF MARKETING
Rob Pavlick
PROOFREADER
Linda A. Avignone
WEBMASTER
James Sullivan
On our cover this week is a
beautiful reminder that Fall is
right around the corner, bringing
with it the special time of year in
the fishing season that many of
us love and wait for.
This is the 3rd Special Surf
Fishing Issue of Noreast
Saltwater and we sincerely
hope that you will agree that it
is our best yet. Enjoy browsing
and reading this issue and
make sure you save the features because we feel very confident that they will help you
catch more fish when you are
out pursuing those gamefish
from the surf.
Our thanks to our Surf
Fishing Field Editor, John
Skinner, for the beautiful cover
photo.
Good luck and good fishing!
Departments
Publisher’s Page....4
Dusty’s Angle .........5
Salt on the Fly ........6
Tournament Recap..7
Surf Side .................8&9
Offshore..................10
Trophy Pages ..........28&29
On 8/4, Capt. Chris of the Island Current took the family out aboard his party boat. His daughter, Marie
caught her first bluefish jigging. Capt. Chris said, "It
was a great day on the water, with my oldest really
starting to get into the fishing!"
Features
Swimmers In The Surf
By Ken Legge .................................................12
Surf Bags Of Fall
By John Skinner..............................................16
Toggin The Townsends Inlet Surf
By Sean MacNeal...........................................19
CONTRIBUTING
EDITORS
Chuck Barbato • Chris Grech
Mike Wright • Glenn
Kleinhans • John Skinner
Sean MacNeal •Tony Salerno
Karim Farid • Allen Singer
Steve Byrne • Rob Caluori
Anthony Alessi • Richard
Pannone • Frank Ruczynski
Robert Lee • Ben Treadwell
Roland St. Denis •Greg Hazley
Mike Plaia
Tying Sizable Flies With Synthetics
By Bob Banfelder............................................21
Reports
Southern NJ ...............................................23
Central NJ ..................................................24
Northern NJ...............................................26
New York Bight .........................................30
Debs/Jones.................................................33
Fire Island ..................................................35
Moriches .....................................................37
Shinnecock .................................................39
Montauk .....................................................41
North Fork..................................................44
North Shore ...............................................46
Western Sound ..........................................48
Western Connecticut .................................50
Eastern Connecticut .................................51
Rhode Island..............................................53
September 3, 2008 • NY . NJ . CT . RI
www.noreast.com
Nor’east Media, LLC
525 West Jericho Tpke.
Smithtown, NY 11787-5020
Phone: 631.863.0170
Fax: 631.361.9737
Nor’east Saltwater is published weekly from May
through October and monthly in November, December, January, February, March and April by
Nor’east Media, LLC, 525 W. Jericho Tpke.,
Smithtown, NY 11787. Nor’east Saltwater,
Volume 19, Number 22 ©2008, Nor’east Media,
LLC. The design and contents of this publication
may not be reproduced in any manner without
the written consent of the publisher. We will consider for publication all submitted photographs.
All material will be handled with care, although
we are not responsible for loss or damage.
Photographs will be returned only when received
with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
3
P ublisher’s Page
SPORTSMAN’S OUTFITTER SINCE 1950
http://www.noreast.com/publisherspage.cfm
by George Scocca
It’s More Than Just A Job
Headquarters
for All Your
Fishing Needs!
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3 Great Locations
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Store Hours: Mon thru Fri 10AM-7PM
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HOME OF MONTAUK STRIPER PRODUCTS
• Montauk Bunker Spoons
• Custom Made 9' Wire Line Rods
I've been pretty lucky when it comes to fishing, and I'm not judging that by the quality of fish I've been catching. As an angler that publishes a fishing magazine and websites, fishing is actually part of my job description. And unlike a commercial fisherman
I don't have to catch anything to get paid!
The problem I'm having is I just can't seem to get enough time to "work" lately. I'm
too busy doing nothing here in the office each day. Besides that, the old "honey I have
to go to work, do you know where the boat keys are?" just doesn't fly as easily as it has
in years past.
So here it is September 2nd and my opportunity to catch a fluke has already past as
New York's fluke season closed at midnight. It's a sad fact that it's shut down and we
all agree we're getting hosed by these regulations, but I'm a fisherman and that sure isn't
going to stop me from fishing - or working as it may be.
I'm thinking I may need to charter a boat or get on a party boat and do some research
on a few offshore trips for tuna and shark. And then when I'm done with that, I will need
to study the migration of those big bass that will soon be feeding up for their annual
migration. Let's not forget about those big chopper bluefish that are sure to blitz the
region as the waters cool here in the noreast. There's always something in these waters
for us to target, and if you're like me, you too will make the necessary adjustments and
continue to enjoy our great sport of saltwater fishing.
And even though I can't target those big migrating fluke, some of the best fishing of
the year lies ahead of us. You can be rest assured that I will be working diligently with
my fishing rod in one hand, and pen in the other, as I work hard to bring you our fine
fishing media products.
It's not easy, but someone has to do it.
NOREAST BASS BASH
Over the past few years we have introduced a number of great fishing tournaments,
and this one is sure to be a great time! We will be holding a big fish striped bass tournament on Saturday, October 11th. Fishing will be from 7AM-3PM for the heaviest
striped bass and all boats will depart from Manhasset Bay Marina and weigh in at
Manhasset Bay Marina. Prize money is as follows:
Guaranteed Cash Prizes:
1st Place: $5,000
2nd Place: $2,000
3rd Place: $1,000
The tournament will be followed by a bash & awards dinner at LaMotta's
Restaurant, located adjacent to Manhasset Bay Marina. All tournament participants
include a seat at the bash and tickets to just the bash are also available. Come celebrate
fishing with us and your friends from the Nor'east Saltwater and Noreast.com family!
There will be door prizes, raffles, and lots of fun with your fellow noreast.com members.
Stop by Noreast.com for more information.
JULIAN’S BAIT & TACKLE
(732) 291-0050 • Fax (732) 291-0064
George Scocca
Publisher
I miss you Bro.
Rte. 36, Atlantic Highlands, NJ 07716
www.JulianIce.com
4
www.noreast.com
D usty’s Angle
http://www.noreast.com/anglersangle.cfm
NEW FISHERY MANAGEMENT
ACTION AHEAD
The months ahead will be filled with
fishery management action involving several species. I'll mention highlights here and
in subsequent weeks report on details as
they emerge.
Of primary importance is news to summer flounder fans that the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)
has approved the start of an addendum
(fishery plan change) to explore the addition of maximum size limits as a potential
management tool for the flatfish recreational fishery. Maximum size limits may provide managers with a wider range of recreational management tools (for example,
slot limits or trophy fish) as the stock continues to rebuild.
That action responds to a preliminary
review by the ASMFC's Summer Flounder
Technical Committee on the use of slot limits in the recreational fishery. Given that the
effectiveness of state-specific slot limits
could not be evaluated due to the limited
length frequency data (specific data on the
size of fish harvested by recreational fishermen on a state-by-state basis), the Technical
Committee recommended that slot limits
should only be considered on a coastwide
basis. That group also cautioned that seasons and size limits associated with slot
limits are likely to be more restrictive than
current regulations given the greater availability of fish that could fall within the slot
limit.
Yes, folks, this could usher in the return
to coastwide management of flatfish, a
move I think holds considerable promise
for fairness in this fishery. From what I
have learned, the first draft of the addendum will be developed for review at the
ASMFC's annual meeting this October in
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. More as I have
it.
On another front, bass fishermen might
be interested to know that the ASMFC has
released for public comment a Draft River
Herring Amendment. According to the
ASMFC, it seeks input on proposed
requirements for population and bycatch
monitoring, as well as commercial and
recreational management measures. It is
anticipated that the majority of coastal
states will conduct public meetings on the
Draft Amendment at dates to be announced.
An ASMFC spokesperson explained to
me that the Draft Amendment is in response
to widespread concern regarding the
decline of river herring stocks. "While
many populations of blueback herring and
alewife, collectively known as river herring, are in decline or remain depressed at
stable levels, lack of fishery-dependent and
independent data makes it difficult to ascertain the status of river herring stocks coastwide," the spokesperson said.
Between 1985 and 2004, commercial
landings of river herring dropped by 90 percent from 13.6 to 1.33 million pounds. In
2007, ASMFC member states reported
river herring landings of approximately 1.1
million pounds. In response to declining
stocks within their own waters, four states Massachusetts,
Rhode
Island,
Connecticut, and North Carolina -- have
closed their river herring fisheries.
However, a few years back a scientist
with one of those states---he shall remain
nameless---told me that in his opinion
recreational fishing for river herring could
not possibly have any impact on stocks.
Predation and commercial fishing were, in
his opinion, the causes of any decline. But
as we have often observed in fishery management, when there's any doubt about
causes, especially if evidence suggests the
commercial sector is likely more to blame,
widespread impact occurs, including
unwarranted restrictions on angling. We
may witness more of the same with river
herring.
To be fair, the ASMFC did state,
"Preliminary analyses indicate that, in some
years, the total bycatch of river herring
species by the Atlantic herring fleet alone
could be equal to the total landings from the
entire in-river directed fishery on the East
Coast."
Thus, the Draft Amendment proposes a
suite of management measures to address
these concerns and ensure the survival and
enhancement of depressed stocks or the
maintenance of presently stable stocks. The
Draft Amendment proposes mandatory
data and bycatch monitoring provisions, as
well as options to close fisheries by river
system or establish a coastwide moratorium
on the river herring fishery. Specific commercial measures include area closures,
escapement provisions, and landings reductions by river systems, as well as limited
access.
Recreational measures include recreational license/permit (yes, there's that
piece of paper again!), limiting recreational
harvest by the days of the week, coastwide
www.noreast.com
by Dusty Rhodes
creel limit, gear restrictions, and area or
seasonal closures by river system.
Also on the docket is action for Atlantic
coastal sharks. The ASMFC has just
approved
an
Interstate
Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic
Coastal Sharks, which addresses the management of 40 species, including smooth
dogfish, and establishes a suite of management measures for recreational and commercial shark fisheries in state waters.
An ASMFC spokesperson said that prior
to this FMP an inconsistent application of
shark regulations existed at the state level.
"Some states mirrored federal regulations
while others had less stringent provisions,"
the
spokesperson
explained.
"Implementing the complementary plan
will not only help the stocks rebuild by controlling fishing pressure but will also
increase enforceability throughout the
species management area."
Especially interesting is the FMP provision for management measures of smooth
dogfish, which is the first coastwide management move for that species off the
Atlantic coast. While horn dogs are managed in federal waters, smooth doggies are
not and the FMP will control harvest---even
from the EEZ---through state landing
restrictions.
Although details have yet to emerge, the
FMP will establish a seasonal closure to
protect pregnant female sharks and a
requirement that fins must remain attached
through landings; these measures apply to
both recreational and commercial fisheries.
Recreational management measures
include a prohibition on the harvest of
severely depleted species, size limits, and
authorized gear. Commercial management
measures include species groupings (such
as prohibited and research only); the opening and closing of fisheries concurrent with
federal actions for small coastal, large
coastal and pelagic species groups; a
smooth dogfish quota; seasons, landings
restrictions, possession limits, gear restrictions and bycatch reduction measures; state
commercial license/permit requirements;
display and research permit exemptions;
and federal dealer permit requirements.
Stay tuned, some of this has enormous
potential.
Dusty Rhodes
Fishery Management
Field Editor
5
T ournament Recap
http://www.noreast.com/fyi.cfm
When the editors at Nor'east Saltwater
offered me the opportunity to re-cap the
2008 Striped Bass Memorial Classic and
the 2008 Flukemania Smackdown, I
jumped at the opportunity. There are patterns that quickly emerge from well-kept
statistics, and I looked forward to what I
might learn. While a good fishing log will
yield information from the trips you
made, the information is limited to the
areas that you fish. The results from tournaments that take place over a wide range
will give a broader perspective of the distribution of quality fish; that might affect
where you decide to go fishing in the
future.
Chronologically, the first tournament
up is the Memorial Classic, so let's start
there. This year's tournament saw some
familiar names among the top ten weighins. In fact, the top three anglers in 2008
were among the top four from 2007 - a
testament to their consistent success with
springtime stripers. Exactly half of this
year's top ten competitors were among the
top ten last year. Most notable among
them are last year's winner James
Culleton, who placed fourth this year, and
2008's tournament winner Marco Soeiro,
who placed third in 2007. Max Dall'Orso
also demonstrated his rock-solid skills by
placing third this year after finishing second last year.
In order to have a serious shot at
finishing in the money, anglers need to
put together a catch totaling 30 pounds
or more - at least that's what history
tells us. Of course next year could be an
entirely different story, so if you put
two of the right size fish in the box
don't be shy about weighing them in for
2009.
What really stands out from all the
entries is the number of fish from
Crossbay Bait & Tackle. Four of the top
ten and seven of the top twenty entries for
2008 were weighed in at Crossbay. In
2007, there were eight entries with com6
by Steve Byrne
bined weights of more than 30 pounds
from the shop. Anglers from that area are
targeting Jamaica Bay and the Rockaways
during the spring. Sorry guys, but your
secret is out.
Nor'east Saltwater's Flukemania
Smackdown was the polar opposite of the
Memorial Classic - at least as far as repeat
winners. The top ten entries for the 2008
tournament did not include a single name
from last year. Part of that is due to the
difference in format from the Classic. A
tournament with a slot limit doesn't just
protect the big breeders; it also tests the
consistency of the anglers. With
Flukemania Smackdown's biggest fish
format, lady luck comes into play more
than ever. Clearly, anyone who is in it can
win it. This year's top ten included two
lucky ladies; Karen Sorrentino, whose
9.21-pound fluke was good for sixth
place, and Diane Moore (pictured) who
weighed in her 8.58-pound fish at
Causeway and finished ninth.
While the names of the winners were
all different from 2007 to 2008, another
pattern emerged from the list of winners.
Nearly all of this year's top ten finishers
caught their fish at the East End of Long
Island, Connecticut, or in the cool ocean
waters of the New Jersey shore. Ken
Delisi's 9.75-pounder from Rhode Island
was the lone exception. Jack's Shoreline
Bait & Tackle weighed in the11.28-pound
winning doormat for John Shopey (pictured) and an 8.84-pounder, good for seventh for Mike Beebe, while West Lake
Marina checked in Walter Morgis' 9.85pound fish for second, and Jack Castella's
9.35-pound fluke, which was good for
fifth. New Jersey anglers were well represented by Joe Fischler, who brought in the
9.80-pound fluke (pictured).
A quick look at last year's results
revealed similar results; with the top-ten
fish all coming from the same areas, with
the addition of Patrick Ciesielski's 9.95pound fluke from Massachusetts. None of
the top entries came from the estuarine
waters of Raritan Bay, Jamaica Bay or
even from Long Island's south shore, west
of Wantagh. If you are targeting big fluke
in mid-July, think cold and think deep.
Congratulations to all the winners, and
a special thank you to all of our sponsors
who made their scales available to contestants, and kept track of the weigh-in
information.
www.noreast.com
Diane Moore
John Shopey
Joe Fischler
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Well it seems that maybe we all got a
little spoiled by the exceptional season we
had last year with bonito. As we head into
September it has become clear that we will
have to resign ourselves to the fact that we
aren’t going to see the same easy fishing
we were fortunate enough to have last season. That’s o.k. though, as it doesn’t mean
that we are not going to have a good season. It just means that every season is different. We are really only now getting into
that point in the season when we can start
to expect a good showing from both the
bonito and the false albacore. The bonito,
usually, a little earlier than the albies.
Nobody can say for sure why we haven’t
seen them in great numbers yet and, of
course, there is no guarantee that we will
but there are a few variables that could
have something to do with it. For one
thing, the month of August was plagued
with one severe thunder storm after another. This pattern was followed by unusually
cool weather.
If you recall, we started to have some
consistent action with bonito in the eastern
section of Long Island Sound prior to the
storms in early August. The good news is
that there is still a lot of bonito food in the
area. Loads of it actually. I’m talking about
the spearing and rain bait that turns my
sonar screen black when I stop my center
console anywhere in the Sound. I am going
to predict that we will see a ‘normal’ season for the speedsters just as soon as the
weather settles down and the water clears
up a bit so don’t slack off. Make sure your
box is well stocked with the appropriate
flies and get out there and do a little hunting because you can believe that the hunt is
still on.
Captain Vinny Catalano of Joey C
Charters out of Smithtown is filling in
time with bass and bluefish while he is
waiting for the bonito and albie bite to pull
itself back together. Luckily the bass and
blues have been cooperating making for
some exceptional sport on fly tackle. The
bass continue to be available to early birds
only and the blues are often of the large
variety.
Captain Don Kaye of Shinnecock
Guiding in Shinnecock bay got in touch
and had this to tell us: “Well, Mates, prior
to the ‘big’ Labor Day weekend, Gil
Sandvik, an angler from upstate Ithaca,
N.Y., joined me for his first Shinnecock
experience. The skies were blue, the south
breezes calm, and the bay was chock full
of feeding bluefish. Well, Gil, using both
flies and light spin tackle, captured and
released more than 20 hard fighting
Shinnecock bluefish. A most enjoyable
session on the bay, inlet and ocean. Gil had
a great time even though he was far below
Cayuga’s waters.”
Justin from Parkwood Outfitters in
Bohemia said that the action lately has
been dominated by bluefish at most times
in most locations. Bass are not scarce, it’s
just that you have to hunt a bit right now
and it’s best to hunt during low light conditions.
Yours truly was out on Saturday afternoon on a hunch that due to the less than
perfect weather conditions there would be
little boat traffic inside Northport Harbor.
The hunch paid off as the action with
school bass was actually quite good at a
few local points inside the harbor.
A special note to readers: This is the last
weekly print copy of Nor’ east Saltwater
magazine for this season. However, starting next week, you can find this weekly
column online at www.noreast.com. I will
be doing my best to keep you all up to date
with what’s happening on the saltwater flyfishing scene right through November. ◆
www.noreast.com
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Fax 631-264-1601
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9630
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7
S urf Side
by John Skinner
http://www.noreast.com/surfside.cfm
Diane at Duffy’s in Glen Cove said there the day. He put Billy Riker into a 21were a lot more bass caught in the last week pounder on Friday night, and Matt Carlson
of August than in the previous weeks. Most into a 24-pounder on Saturday night. Both
of the bass were in the 26- to 28-inch range fish fell to live eels. Bill caught bass to
and were hitting small plugs and soft plas- about keeper size on Super Strike darters
tics. The bluefish action was slower, but while his clients threw eels.
look for it to pick up again as more adult
Ken at Tightlines Tackle in Sag Harbor
bunker move into the harbor. Porgies were said a couple of his customers did well on
still in good supply at Morgan’s and bass in the teens at Montauk, east of Ditch
Pryibil’s.
Plains. Nick’s 26-pounder was the best fish
“Bluefish, bluefish, and more bluefish” Ken heard of there. Some big blues to 12
was what I heard from Rich at Northeast pounds were mixed in.
Bait and Tackle in Huntington. Crab
Scott at East End Bait and Tackle in
Meadow Beach was especially productive Hampton Bays said the bass fishing
for the choppers that ranged up
to 9 pounds. Poppers, tins, and Photo By: Ken Legge
bunker chunks accounted for
most of the fish.
“Plenty of blues” was what
I heard from Matt at Rocky
Point Fishing Stop. On
Thursday evening and Friday
afternoon, blues to 10 pounds
pushed shad and adult bunker
against the beach at Rocky
Point and Shoreham. Matt
found plenty of 5- to 10-pound
blues on the North Fork on
Friday afternoon. Clams produced some bass to 34 inches
from the beach at Shoreham at
night. With water temperatures
beginning to drop, look for the
after dark plug bite to pick up soon.
remained slow, but divers reported seeing
Bluefish and porgies provided most of bass stacking up in Shinnecock Inlet.
the action on the North Fork beaches, Schoolie bass action was pretty good near
according to Steve at WEGO Fishing in and in the inlet with an occasional keeper
Southold. Blues in the 2- to 5-pound range mixed in. Bluefish were in good supply at
were hitting tins and poppers at many of the the inlet. Scott heard his first report of bonibeaches. Porgies were being caught on to feeding along the beaches with the blueworms and clams in the rocky areas. Bass fish, so it might be time to hit that area with
fishing was improving, with fish hitting Deadly Dick tins.
swimming plugs in the evenings and after
Bass fishing was improving in
dark near Horton’s Point.
Shinnecock Inlet, according to Peter at
Paul at Paulie’s in Montauk reported Haskell’s Bait and Tackle in East Quogue.
blitzes of small bass on both sides of the The fish ranged from schoolies to 25point almost every day last week. He said pounders and were feeding on 5-inch herthe tide didn’t matter. Early in the week the ring and balls of tiny anchovies. Peter recvast majority of the fish were only in the 3- ommended throwing into the schools with
to 4-pound range. The size improved a little Fin-S fish on light jig heads, 6-inch Storm
toward the end of the week with more keep- Wildeyes, and lures similar to Pt. Jude
ers mixing in. Paulie said the night bite was Butterfish tins. Both jetties of the inlet were
quite slow, but a handful of teen to 20- producing.
pound class fish were picked from the South
Charlie at Smith’s Point Bait and Tackle
Side rocks. Kevin Williamson had a 28- reported a few bass being caught in
pounder on Saturday night. Paul Melnyk, Moriches Inlet on bucktails and eels on the
while fishing in waders, had four keepers night tides. With temperatures starting to
from the North Side on Saturday night.
cool, plugging the beaches near the inlet
Surf Guide Bill Wetzel worked very hard should become productive soon.
on the night tides to put his clients into betMike at Saltwaters Tackle in West Islip
ter fish than what were being caught during said he heard reports that ranged from full
8
www.noreast.com
out blitzes to nothing but small blues. Fresh
bunker chunks worked for Michael
O’Donald, as he managed a 27.8-pound
bass off Robert Moses early Sunday morning. Weakfish were being caught from Sore
Thumb by fishing whole sandworms 30 to
40 feet from shore.
Greg at Causeway in Wantagh reported
shots of bluefish at the West End 2 jetty and
the construction dock on the weekend. 15year-old Bobby Woods caught his first
keeper bass while fishing a tin at
Shinnecock. Greg was encouraged by the
nice concentration of 3- to 5-inch bunker in
the area.
Mordy at West End Bait Shop
in Long Beach reported a lot of 8to 12-pound blues raiding the bay
at night. Kingfish were plentiful
on the ocean beaches and were
hitting small clam strips. It’s
worth noting that if you have any
Luxor or Crack reels that need
work, Mordy provides parts and
service for these old surf workhorses.
West End Bait Shop will be
holding their Second Annual 48
Hour Surf Striped Bass
Tournament on the second weekend in October. The contest starts
4 p.m Friday October 10th and
ends 4 p.m. Sunday October 12th.
The fishing boundaries are the beaches
between Jones Inlet and Debs Inlet. The
three largest bass and two largest bluefish
will win prizes. The angler with the heaviest
striper will win prizes worth over $800. The
entry fee is $30 per angler, and registration
will be open until 10 p.m. on the Friday of
the contest. Call the shop at 516-897-9378
for more details.
Jerry at Bernie’s in Sheepshead Bay said
8- to 14-pound blues pushed adult bunker
into the canal at Knapp Street near where
the party boats are docked. Blues and small
bass were also being caught near the Marine
Park Bridge, Breezy Point Jetty, and at
Floyd Bennet. Fort Tilden had short bass
and kingfish hitting clams. Staten Island
was seeing good bluefish action.
It’s hard to believe we’ve reached this
point of the season already, but this is the
last weekly print edition of Nor’east
Saltwater for the year. Nor’east will continue to publish weekly online at www.noreast.com through the rest of the fishing season. This surf column will continue as long
as there is something to write about, which
hopefully will be until it’s time to shovel
snow. ◆
New Jersey/Rhode Island
Although Labor Day is behind us,
some of the best fishing of the year lay
ahead with fall runs still to come. To keep
up on the action, be sure to check out our
weekly reports on Noreast.com because,
unfortunately, this is the last printed
weekly edition that will hit bait and tackle shops in 2008. No worries though,
because we’ve got you covered online
with reports that are just as detailed with
the sole intention of putting you on the
bite. Monthly publications will continue
as usual with our next one in October.
Anglers were finding fluke around the
local jetties, the crew with Hands Too
Bait & Tackle in Cape May said. There
were no real specifics on bait, but if you
can swing it, fishing live killies on a
three-way swivel rig can be deadly on
fluke around the rocks. Remember, you
don’t have to cast away from the jetty, as
fish will be holding in tight to the structure. Sea bass and weakfish are also
being caught around the rock piles, so be
sure to switch baits until you find something that works.
Croakers continue to be caught around
the Cape May Point area, Cathy with
Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle in
Wildwood reported. When fishing for
croakers it is far better to hold a rod and
strike the bite rather than dead stick with
a sands pike, as the drum fish family
members are incredibly adept at stealing
bait good. Surfcasters have been picking
up flounder around the local inlets and it’s
always tough to beat a bucktail baited
with a strip of mackerel. Don’t forget to
tie a teaser about 12 to 18 inches ahead of
the bucktail, as it will often out fish your
main bait! Word has it that spot have
invaded the surf and that bloodworms or
their Fishbite alternative will put them
into a frenzy.
The inlets are the place to be if you’re
looking to put a bend in your rod, according to Wes with Gibson’s Tackle in Sea
Isle City. Fluke are being caught there
although it’s mostly a short affair. Anglers
are also bailing croakers and small bluefish from the same waters. Try tossing
small Hopkins or Kastmasters for bluefish
in the wash or, just as effective, try fishing
cut spearing under a float. Tog can be
taken around the bridges with green crab.
Anglers have been landing spot from
the Ocean City beaches, the team with
Fin-Atics said. To get in on the action, try
using a top and bottom rig with small
hooks. For this type of action, the storebought kingfish rigs with floats will work
perfectly. Bring along some bloodworms
or an artificial alternative like Berkeley
Gulp or Fishbites and you’ll be good to
By: Sean MacNeal NJSurf@noreast.com
go. Spot are not shy about biting, so if
they’re in the area, you’ll know quickly!
Croakers have made their appearance
around the local waters, Scott with Scott’s
Bait & Tackle in Mystic Island reported.
Anglers have been tightlipped on
specifics, but fish are putting the bend in
rods. The weakfish bite has been showing
signs of improvement recently with a
back bay bite being best. Try using pick
Fin-S fish rigged on a jighead or even better use a seine net to pick up some grass
shrimp and fish them beneath a bobber.
For bigger game, anglers have been bailing sharks, both sand and brown, up to
five feet.
There are kingfish being landed all
along the beaches, the crew with
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Long
Beach Island reported. Without question
the best bait to haul a few tasty kings for
the table are bloodworms and their artificial alternatives. Cocktail bluefish are
swimming the surf with the beaches of
Beach Haven being mentioned as a productive spot.
Jetty jumpers reported pulling a few
sea bass from the rocks by Barnegat Inlet.
Anglers in the area also reported pulling
flounder and bluefish from the inlet
waters. By all accounts, the blues weren’t
being very picky and were attacking just
about anything that their yellow eyes saw.
Oceanfront fluking has been solid
although keepers are few and far between,
said John with The Dock Outfitters in
Seaside Heights. Try picking up a few
chrome bullet rigs and heading out to the
beaches for some action. You’ll definitely
want to tip the bullet rigs with some strip
bait and top it off with a teaser for best
results. In the back bay, anglers have been
nailing kingfish and snapper blues around
docks and structure. Meanwhile, there is a
pretty decent weakfish bite taking place
under cover of the night.
There are decent striped bass hitting
peanut bunker at night, Jimmy with
Julian’s Bait & Tackle in Atlantic
Highlands said. Reports of weakfish are
also streaming in, although it’s mostly
spike weaks being caught by landlocked
anglers in the rivers. Porgies and bluefish
are being reeled in around structure in the
bay and crabbing remains solid in the
area.
In northern latitudes, there were some
big striped bass smacking bait and lures
around the Point Judi lighthouse, Mary
with Maridee Bait & Tackle in
Narragansett said. Smaller bass are hitting
around the Narrow River. Snapper blues
are hitting just about anywhere a hook
and line can be tossed. Meanwhile, scup
www.noreast.com
fishing has been decent around the East
Wall and Pier 5. There are a few bonito
and albacore sightings being reported
from the local beaches and rocks, but no
real reports of fish hitting the land. I still
expect them to show up soon.
There are some striped bass being
landed around the area, Phil with
Breachway Bait & Tackle in Charlestown
reported, but the action has certainly
slowed a bit. The salt ponds seem to be
giving up the most consistent linesider
action and there are some decent blues
thrown in the mix. Scup and blackfish
have also been making a decent local
showing. ◆
RSMAN
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9
O ffshore
http://www.noreast.com/offshore.cfm
The yellowfin tuna fishing remains
in the doldrums, with only a few scattered boats reporting decent catches of
yellowfin and even fewer boats reporting catches of albacore. The bright
spots in the canyon fishing scene are
the continuing bigeye bite and the
abundance of both white and blue marlin. Down to the southern end of our
reading area the bluefin tuna continue
to please anglers fishing inshore of the
canyons down off southern New Jersey.
This will be the last printed report of the
season, as the magazine will become a
monthly, after this issue. However, you
will be able to read the rest of the season’s
reports on the Noreast.com website.
Last weekend wrapped up the
Hamptons
Invitational
Offshore
Tournament and a number of familiar
names took the honors in the various divisions. The tournament was run in two divisions, an overnight division for the bigger
boats and a day division for the smaller
boats that opted to return to port every day.
In the overnight division the biggest bigeye
tuna was brought in by John Haley on his
Reel Lucky. The big bigeye tipped the
scales at a whopping 253.5 pounds. The
biggest yellowfin was an 87-pound fish
landed by Ernie Spellman on the Sundaze.
Largest albacore went to Gregg DeSantis
on the Barbaric for his 61-pound specimen. There were no mako sharks landed in
the overnight division. The largest white
marlin (released) was an estimated 100pound fish caught on Ron Moschetta’s
Jacklyn-Roe. Biggest Blue Marlin
(released) was a three way tie between Nat
Kramer on his Sheldrake, Ray McDevitt
on his Deni-Lou and John DeLaTorre on
his Sea-U-II. All three boats released fish
estimated at 250 pounds.
In the day boat division no one landed a
bigeye tuna. The biggest yellowfin tuna
was a 63.5-pound fish brought to the scales
by Anthony Vaccaro on the White Water.
Largest albacore tuna was captured by Rick
Fayer on the Skidz that went 34 pounds.
Biggest mako shark was a 175.5-pound fish
10
by Mike Plaia
caught by the team of Anthony Herman and
Mike Plaia Jr. on the Matala. Largest white
marlin was an estimated 105-pound fish
(released) caught on the Victoria by Mike
Gadman. Biggest blue marlin was an estimated 300-pound fish caught by Doug
Wells on the Spellman’s Marine.
Congratulations to everyone who competed
in the tournament this year, it was a tough
time of the year to find a big tuna.
There are some very interesting developments on the sea surface temperature
charts from Oceantemp.com this week.
Out in the far eastern canyons the cooler
slope water in the mid 60-degree range has
pushed the warm water in the mid 70degree range out off the edge and out to at
least the 1,000-fathom line. There is a finger of warm water pointing inshore to
about the 1,000-fathom line just to the
south of Walker’s Canyon. From Walkers
west almost to Atlantis Canyon the warmer
water is several miles south of the 1,000fathom line. There is a thin finger of
warmer water just touching the 100-fathom
line on the eastern side of east Atlantis
Canyon. From there to the west, almost to
the Fish Tails, the warmer water sits offshore of the 100-fathom line. Just west of
the Fish Tails at about the 14450 line, the
warm water touches the 100-fathom line
where there is a temperature break of about
3 degrees. We have to travel west to the
area of the Dip to find the next temperature
break along the 100-fathom line. Right at
the Dip there is a temperature break of
about 4 degrees along a north/south axis
right at the 100-fathom line. The warm
water west of the Dip extends inshore into
about the 40-fathom area until we get to
Hudson, where the warmer water extends
well inshore of the 40-fathom line. Moving
to southwest from the Hudson the warm
water continues to extend well inshore
through Tom’s and Berkley Canyons until
we get to the Carteret Canyon. Right at
Carteret Canyon there is a small band of
cooler water that runs from well inshore
out into the deep. This band is very narrow
and appears to be about a 2-degree temperature break. From the Lindenkohl to
Spencer Canyon there is about a 3-degree
temperature break that runs northeast to
southwest just inshore of the 100-fathom
line. The further you move to the southwest the further inshore you’ll find the
warm water. By the time you get to the
Wilmington Canyon the warm water is up
inside the 40-fathom mark.
Charlie at South Jersey Marina reports
that the yellowfin fishing picked up early
in the week in the area of the Elephant
Trunk only to die before the weekend. On
www.noreast.com
Wednesday the Big Game brought in six
yellowfin and a 135-pound bluefin. The
same day Slammer had nine yellowfin. On
Thursday Top Shelf had a pair of nice yellowfin. But by the time the weekend rolled
around the fish were nowhere to be found.
Matt at Jim’s Bait and Tackle reports
some good yellowfin fishing between the
Spencer and the Lindenkohl Canyons.
Fishing was said to be “crazy” for several
days with loads of yellowfin and more than
a few white marlin mixed in. Inshore some
wahoo and small bluefin are starting to
show up on the East Lump, the Lori Dawn
Lumps, the fingers and the Misty Blue
wreck. Matt says it’s not “hot and heavy”
yet but there are some fish around and it
looks like the fishing may get better.
Adam Larosa reports that both the 48foot and 60-foot Canyon Runner fished
Wednesday to Thursday at the Lobster
Claw. Both boats drifted for four hours and
fought many bluefin before anchoring for
the night. In the morning both boats once
again got into the bluefin, with both of
them releasing about ten fish before calling
it a day. Each boat kept one fish between
100 and 150 pounds and released all the
rest.
The Jule V went to the Dip from their
home port in New London, CT where they
managed to boat a 125-pound swordfish
while drifting during the night. They also
broke off several good-sized mystery fish.
Snug Harbor Marina in Rhode Island
reports some decent shark fishing for blue
shark and small makos south of Block
Island. They say that there are also some
small pods of bluefin tuna from the Mud
Hole to the Fairway Buoy but they can be
tough to find.
A shop trip from Sam’s Bait and Tackle
in Rhode Island went to the Dip on
Thursday and Friday. They managed to
boat four yellowfin, two albacore, a small
mako and released a white marlin. ◆
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Somewhere out there in our world-famous fishing
grounds there’s a monster bass with your name on it.
But if you don’t hurry, someone’s going to beat you to it.
Don’t let that happen. We’ve got dozens of daily open
boats and deep-sea charters to take you right to the best
spots. And great waterfront restaurants, accommodations
and attractions to enjoy when you get back. So what
exactly are you waiting for?
We’ll hook you up with everything you need at
www.fishonlongisland.com/tg250. Or call
1-877-386-66
654, ext. 250 for a FREE Travel Guide.
and you will find one to match the conditions you are fishing along with bait patterns in the area.
So let's talk about another one of my goto lures, the Darter. The Darter is another
versatile and deadly lure that I use mostly
at night and always in current driven water.
I find that a Darter is useless in non-moving water, as it does not have the action
needed to attract a bite.
The author landed this nice bass on a black Long-A Bomber along the reed lines of
Long Island’s north shore.
T
his may not come as a surprise,
but this article is not about the girl
in Jaws who swims out to the
buoy at night and gets eaten by a
hungry Great White Shark with a bad attitude. Interestingly enough, there are some
similarities that apply with this analogy.
Think about it for a minute, a long slender
figure, swimming in the night, making
some noise, light reflection off the figure
from the moon, and next thing you
know….well you know how the story
goes. So let's compare this to a Long-A
Bomber or Darter, but with a hungry bass
with the feedbag on. The fish is roaming
around leisurely looking for an easy meal.
The fish looks up as it feels vibrations
along its lateral lines coming from the surface. It sees a profile near the upper water
column moving very slowly all by itself.
The bass just cannot resist the allure of an
easy meal and next thing you know, your
rod is bent and the fight is on.
In this article I focus my attention on
Bombers and Darters. I find that these two
lures are so productive along our shorelines, back bays, harbors and inlets that
they deserve some attention.
BOMBERS AND DARTERS, THE
BASICS
So let's kick this off and talk about a lure
you will always find in my surf bag both
day and night, the Long-A Bomber. The
lure is simple to use, extremely versatile
and will drive a hungry bass or bluefish
crazy. Even if they are not hungry, the
allure of easy prey is one they cannot
12
resist. If bass or blues are in the area you
are fishing and are on the feed, a Bomber
will get their attention for sure. The
Bomber will imitate just about anything. I
have caught some nice fish when there was
bunker, spearing or sand eels in the area.
My preference is to use these lures during
the night tides, but under certain conditions
they are effective during the day. Bombers
work best in moving water and I focus
their use almost exclusively where current
is a factor.
Bombers come in several sizes, styles
and colors and I will talk more about colors later. The A-Salt is a two hook 5.75inch lure at 1 ounce; the Long-16A has
three hooks and is 6 inches long at 7/8
ounce and the Long-17A is 7 inches long
and weighs in at 1.5 ounces. Bomber produces both solid and jointed body styles.
My favorites are the solid models as they
have out produced the jointed bodies for
me, but the action on a jointed model is
incredible. They just released a new line of
swimmers called the windcheater that I
will be testing this summer and fall.
I go with the A-Salt when the baitfish is
smaller in size such as spearing or small
sand eels. The A-Salt swims about a foot
deeper than the Long-A so if the fish are
feeding a little lower in the water column
then the A-Salt should be used. If the baitfish are longer in profile then go with a
Long-16A but if you need a little more
casting distance the 17A will get the job
done nicely. The Long-16A and 17 will
dive between 2 to 3 feet and the A-Salt
dives between 3 - 4 feet. Experiment a bit
www.noreast.com
Darters and inlets are like peas and carrots, they just work well together. Darters
have become very popular with the
Montauk surf crowd and over time spread
along the eastern seaboard where others
found them to work wonders on very large
bass. I never make the trek to Montauk or
to any inlet with moving water without
several sizes and shapes in my bag. My
go-to darters are Gibbs, Super Strike,
Tattoo's and YoZuri Mag which all come in
various colors. Each does a very good job
depending on the environment you fish.
Super Strike makes a plastic slender body
version at just shy of 7 inches long at 2 3/8ounce. Gibbs makes a similar style out of
wood in 6 3/8 inch and 5-inch at 1.5 ounces
and 1 5/8 ounces respectively. I find these
work best when the current is moving nicely and when the fish are hitting closer to
the top of the water column as they dive
between 2 and 3 feet. I think thin profile
bait for either lure when fishing these particular Darters. Tattoo's makes a fatter 2
and 3 ounce version that I will use when
the adult bunker are in thick. With all that
said I couldn't forget about the YoZuri Mag
Darter, which tends to be a go to Darter for
me on the north shore of Long Island. I
prefer the mackerel green color and black
as both produce very well for me. The
YoZuri swims like a blend of a Darter and
Bomber due to its lip and body design.
The patented Mag System helps with casting distance and adds an underwater noise
factor when twitched which helps tick off a
non-aggressive fish. The Mag Darter I use
is a 5-inch, 1-ounce lure.
LIKE IT OR NOT COLOR MATTERS
On the right are my favorite Bombers
and on the left some classic Darters.
Ok, here is where the opinions get
mixed. There are many published articles
on the topic of lure color and I speak with
many anglers who all have their preference, but I will tell you that in all my years
of working both Bombers and Darters,
color matters. What I have proven is that
on dark nights with new or a late rising
moon, or a cloud covered night sky, that
black and blurple (black and purple combo
colors) tend to capture the eye of bass and
blues. During the full moon tides or on any
bright evening, I go strictly with white or
yellows. I have found that yellow is the
most versatile and if I could only have one
color in my bag it would be yellow. Yellow
tends to work during either period but dark
colors only work with any sense of consistency when it is really dark out. Since I am
not a scientist or marine biologist, I will
save myself the embarrassment in trying to
explain the eye color spectrum of striped
bass. All I know is that there is a whole lot
of opinion on this topic and all I can add to
it is my personal experience. I also like the
red head Bombers and the Mag Darters
with white body and red head. They too
would be used during a bright night.
With Bombers there are several ways to
swim this lure, and it all starts with the
cast. After you cast the Bomber and it hits
the water, I like to "dig it in" by using a
long fast sweep of the rod or take several
fast cranks of the reel to ensure it dives into
its range and starts to swim properly. You
will know it's swimming correctly when
you feel the vibration on your rod tip. If
you don't then there is a good chance it
landed in weed or got tangled during the
toss. I like to keep my rod tip just above
parallel to the water that allows me to feel
the swimmer’s action and give me a full
hook setting swing for what might be a
very subtle strike.
DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES
PROVEN TO WORK
Presentation with a Bomber is very
important based on experience and my
observations of others. My go to technique
is to reel in the Bomber very slow; I mean
VERY slow, just fast enough to feel the
pulse of the lure on your rod tip. With this
approach there is no twitching or any other
movement of the rod unless the fish are
playing hard to get. I always tell people,
that slow and steady wins the race with
Bombers and I have out fished other
anglers 5 to 1 because they were reeling
too fast. If that technique is not producing
any interest of the fish, then I will use a
technique, which has worked very well for
my fishing buddy Danny J., that is a sweep
and stop approach. Here you crank the reel
very slow and every few turns make a
steady sweep of the rod as if a predator is
chasing the bait, then stop for a second,
suspend the lure as if it is tired and hold on
for a strike. If you don't get a hit then start
the process over again. My final technique
is what I call "stemming the tide". This is
where I cast cross current into a fast moving channel and I only crank in the lure to
remove any slack in the line. As the lure
gets pulled down current it will start doing
its magic without any assistance other than
some minor reel cranks to adjust position
of the lure. I like to let it sit and "stem" the
tide just swimming in a stationary position.
This works really well if you are in a channel that you can safely wade out a little and
hold the lure in one place down current for
a minute or two. Saves the casting shoulder for sure and I have had some nice fish
using this approach.
Sometimes I feel technique is overcomplicated and a simple approach works best. I
typically start with a steady, slow retrieve on
most lures in my bag then mix it up until I
find what works. For me it's like dancing, if I
get on the dance floor and start bouncing
around people look at me funny…well, they
always look at me funny on a dance floor, but
if I start out slow, watch what everybody else
is doing then I become part of the crowd.
Many people modify their Bombers to
either increase hook strength or improve
casting range. The only modification I do
to my Bombers is to remove the factory
treble hooks and change them over to the
same size hook with a 4X strong VMC
hook. I don't believe the factory hooks are
all that bad, but what I think goes wrong is
what I call "the prying factor". Depending
on how the fish hits the lure, some portion
Will landed this
chopper bluefish on
a yellow and white Long-16A Bomber.
www.noreast.com
of the Bomber may lay along side the fish
and the force you need to apply puts a lot
of pressure on the hook, this is where the
extra hook strength will help. Don't feel
this is fool proof as I have seen a 4X strong
hook bend from this same factor. There are
several good articles and discussion board
topics out there that will explain how to
"load" your Bomber, but again, I just don't
feel the need to do it. If I need a longer
casting swimmer I go to the Darter.
A yellow Darter just before sunrise was
the right choice for this keeper bass in a
strong inlet rip.
Working a Darter is very similar to my
approach with a Bomber. The one significant difference is that I twitch the rod during every three or four cranks of the reel
during the retrieve to make the Darter do
what it is designed to do and that is "dart",
hence the name.
CHOOSE YOUR GEAR WISELY
Gear selection is really going to make or
break your day with a Bomber. Using a
Lamiglas GSB1321M or Super Surf
10MHS is not the way to go with these
light lures. Sure when I am tossing the 2
and 3-oz Darters these two rods happen to
be what I use and the perfect choice. I
match these rods with a Zee Baas or a classic Penn 706Z series reel. In my opinion
the 706Z was one of the best surf reels ever
made. When they were in production the
704Z and 706Z was reasonably priced and
self-serviceable reel. I also like Zee Baas
for the same self-service reason. Go with a
Zee Baas or a Van Staal 250 or 275 if you
will dunk the reel in salt-water as they have
been designed for rough surf and are fully
waterproof. My only real complaint with
the older Penn 706Z reels is the coffee
grinder effect that happens when sand
enters the spool when dunking. If you
have a bottle of fresh water, a quick rinse
makes it a short problem.
My go-to rod in the Bomber world is a
9-foot Lamiglas MB-1083 fiberglass blank
that Stan at Rocky Point Fishing Stop built
for me. This rod will allow you to cast
these light lures with a vengeance and
when you dig the lure in, there will be no
13
mistake that it is swimming correctly. The risk of cutting deep into a hand or finger if
rod blank is very light in comparison to the fish gets a last minute burst of energy
fiberglass rods of yesteryear and the arch when holding mono or fluorocarbon. On
when you set the hook and fight a fish is an an open beach I will use 40-pound leaders
incredible sight. If you use a 9 or 10-foot about 3 feet in length. You can tie direct to
medium or light, fast-action
the lure but for convenience
graphite rod you will also
of changing up, I use a 75do fine. As for reels, there
pound duo-lock snap. To
are a myriad of choices and
connect my leader to the
just make sure it has the
main line I use a SPRO 130cranking power to land a
pound barrel connector.
large bass. A good drag
This sounds heavy, but
system is critical here as
SPRO has such a small footyou may need to get the fish
print in their barrel swivels
out of any rock structure in
that a little extra strength is
a hurry or you can say
just some insurance.
farewell to that nice bass
you wanted a photo of and
Safety gear is the single
maybe your lure. I use a
most important part of
Quantum PT40 reel and is a Gibbs Darters have been a being a good angler.
perfect match for my 9- Montauk staple for years so Always be prepared for the
footer and was reasonably make sure you have a black conditions you plan on fishone in your bag during new
priced. I have had it on my moon tides.
ing and the unexpected.
rod for three years now and
There is a high likelihood
have had no issues at all with annual serv- you will be fishing on a jetty with these
ice. I spool this reel with 20-pound Power lures, so be sure to wear studded waders or
Pro braided line and it has yet to let me Korkers. Jetties are a dangerous place to
down. The lighter line also assists with fish so take your time and watch your step
your casting distance with these light lures. even with studded gear. Wet suits are a
I have no wind knot problems to speak of great option when fishing a jetty, but if you
and I find the line has been very consistent prefer waders then make sure you wear a
for my purpose. I add a 30 or 50-pound pullover dry top over the wader with a surf
fluorocarbon leader depending on several belt cinched tightly to slow down any
variables. If bluefish are around go with water entry if you happen to slip and fall
50-pound leaders to help save your lure, no into the water. Attached to my surf belt, I
guarantee, but a little extra helps. When I always have a sharp knife in case I need to
fish a jetty I will use the 60-pound leader cut anything in a hurry. Both Darters and
that is at least 4 feet long to allow me some Bombers have several sets of sharp treble
room to grab the leader and not the braid hooks. I highly recommend you crimp the
when lifting my fish and to provide some barbs flat for quick fish release or in the
rock abrasion resistance. You lower your event one penetrates your skin. I also sug-
gest some sort of lip and grip tool to get
control of your fish before you try and handle it. This serves two purposes, first you
can safely remove the treble when your
fish is under control and second it helps
with the release of your fish with as little
contact as possible. I always have good
quality cutters on my belt with enough
strength to cut through any hook in my surf
bag. I use a Sargent brand cutter that
serves me well. Having a 15-pound fish
attached to a treble hook that is stuck in
your hand is painful and dangerous and
you must be able to cut the hook off in a
hurry. Don't forget a good quality waterproof light that will resist the weather. The
LED head lamps made today are lightweight and come in white and red LED
combinations to maximize your sight when
walking and minimize light that may spook
the fish when changing up or better yet
releasing a fish. Lastly, a fishing buddy is
great to have for both safety and for good
company. I enjoy some alone time like
anybody when fishing, but I fish with a
friend more often than not.
IN CONCLUSION
So there you have it, simple lures that
will provide you with a great "catching"
experience. There are several brands and
styles of swimmers on the market, so stop
by your local tackle shop and check them
out. Ask the shop owner what they like,
why, when and where, they will give you
good advice. When people ask me why I
like these two lures so much I respond with,
"Bombers bring big bass to light tackle
fishing and a darter could be the one lure
that will land you a world record fish". ◆
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Seminar Topics & In-Water Demonstrations
Introduction to Kayak Fishing
Basic Paddle Strokes & Safety Gear
Kayak Rigging & Equipment
Kayak Fishing Techniques & Tackle
Self Rescue and Dressing for Survival
Featuring Captain Kayak Hobie Team Members
American Canoe Association Instructor Trainer
"Crazy Alberto" Knie
Elizabeth O'Connor, of SKSA
Steve "Hooper" McDonald
Demonstrations by Drysuit Company
Eric "Kayakfisherman" Albert
OS Systems, Inc.
After the seminar we will be having a delicious BBQ put on by Dockers Waterside Restaurant that will include hot dogs,
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Cost: $20 (includes seminar fee and raffle ticket)
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14
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©2008 Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA. All rights reserved.
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15
I
If you stop me on the sand of an water temperature, and a strong cold front
ocean beach on a fall day, what occurring near the middle of September is
lures will you find in my surf bag? usually enough to get them moving from
It depends on what part of the fall. the back bays and pouring out of Long
The bag will have some constants that will Island's South Shore Inlets. Areas of the
always be there from mid-September North Shore also see some mullet, but it's
through
early
usually nothing like
December, but a good
the
concentrations
portion of the bag's
dumping into the
content will change
ocean. Ideally, a midthrough fall's progresSeptember Nor'easter
sion as the different
is the catalyst that
types of baitfish come
pushes the mullet out
and go.
and puts the waiting
An easy way to
bass and blues into a
think about gearing
feeding frenzy, but
surf bags for the fall
more often the run is
run is to break the fall
initiated by a string of
into the three phases.
cold nights coupled
First is the mullet run,
with a wind out of any
last is the herring run,
northerly quarter.
and the middle phase is
The jackpot of the
simply
everything
migration would be to
between those two. In a
find all out blitz action
perfect season, there
with quality bass pushwould actually be muling schools of bait in
let and herring runs,
the wash. It's been a
but the reality is that The author with a teen bass that
long time since I've
the mullet run is often a inhaled a Beachmaster Danny.
seen that kind of mulslow trickle or quick
let-related action. Most
shot of unmolested bait, and the potential years the anglers who cash in best on the
of a herring run is usually nothing more run do so by fishing areas where they
than a reason for everyone to stay geared expect some mullet to be moving through,
until they have to start shoveling snow.
even if the visual signs are subtle. A charThe mullet I'm talking about are the 3- acteristic of a mullet run is that the best
to 5-inch finger mullet that are spawned in fishing often occurs during daylight hours.
our bays and harbors during the summer. A good strategy is to pick an area with
They're very sensitive to a sudden drop in good beach structure near an inlet. The
16
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west side of an inlet has an edge over the
east side because that's the direction the
mullet will be heading, but anywhere near
an inlet has potential. If you can find a
point with a sandbar and whitewater within casting distance, that's a good place to
start. The perfect scenario would have outgoing current at daybreak.
I'm usually not too hung up on lure
color, and generally believe white is right,
or at least adequate, for most situations, but
there's no doubt in my mind that bass feeding on mullet show a preference for blue.
I'd start the predawn hours throwing 6- and
7-inch blue Bombers and RedFins. Any
minnow-style swimmer in that size range
is a good choice. When there's enough light
to easily see my plug hit the water, I'd start
with the poppers. I love pencil poppers, but
if I had to choose just one popper for mullet-driven fishing, it would be a 1.5-ounce
blue Super Strike Little Neck. This 4 1/4inch plug is about the same length as the
passing mullet, and bass of all sizes will
engulf it. No matter what lure you're using,
it's more important than ever to work the
plug all the way to the shore, because mullet often swim tight to the beach and many
of the hits come right in the wash. Another
winner in a mullet run is a small blue and
white metal-lipped swimmer, such as a 1ounce Gibbs Danny plug. In addition, I'll
be sure to carry a few pencil poppers and
larger versions of the previously mentioned plugs. Because snappers are often
moving down the beach at the same time as
mullet, I'd mix in some white lures as well.
No surf bag is complete at any time of the
year without a few bucktails and soft plastic swim shads, so they'd be taking up most
of whatever space was left. I'd carry a pair
of good casting tins for distance, but probably never get them wet.
By the beginning of October, most of
the mullet should be gone, the colder
nights will be dipping below 50 degrees,
and whatever peanut bunker were spawned
during the summer should be starting to
move. If you're lucky, you might come
across some adult bunker. The last of the
snappers will be on their way out, and
they'll be rather large in the 6- to 8-inch
range. White will become the predominant
color of the lures in my bag, and they'll be
a fair amount of yellow and some blue. I'll
still be carrying some Little Necks, but
they'll be mostly the larger 2 3/8-ounce and
3-ounce versions. 2- to 3-ounce pencils and
7-inch metal-lips will compete for space.
The bag will be heavy with bucktails in the
5/8- to 1.5-ounce range, and most will be
white. Jars of pork rind will be loaded with
Uncle Josh #50 and #70 strips in white,
red, and green. I'll carry 4- to 6-inch Storm
Wildeyes for the times when the bass are
picky and there aren't too many bluefish
around.
Bucktails make a superb match for the
profile of a peanut bunker, and I'll rely
heavily on them if there's a substantial
peanut run. By working them below and
slightly behind blitzing schools of fish,
they do an excellent job of culling larger
bass from schools of predominantly bluefish and smaller bass. They're also much
easier to deal with than lures carrying treble hooks when the fishing gets hot and
heavy. In any open beach situation, I'm
almost always aiming to retrieve the bucktail within a couple feet of the bottom on a
slow to moderate retrieve.
If there's any sign of adult bunker, big
snappers, or even juvenile weakfish
around, a 7-inch metal-lip will see a lot of
use. The Gibbs Danny's are fine plugs, and
there are many high-end custom plugs on
the market. I have a preference for
Beachmaster Danny plugs in white and
blue. Worked on a slow retrieve, these
plugs leave an enticing wake on the water's
surface that often results in vacuum-like
explosions as bass take advantage of what
they perceive as an easy meal.
If big baits and big fish are present and
out of the metal-lip casting range, a 2- to 3ounce pencil popper will probably get the
nod. The Gibbs pencils are perfectly adequate, and as with the metal lips, there's an
almost overwhelming selection of custommade pencils in shops that cater to surfcasters. I'm also a fan of the 7-inch Cotton
Cordell pencil popper. These plugs are relatively inexpensive, they catch fish, and
they stand up great to bluefish. If I see
snappers, I'll definitely give a 2 3/8-ounce
white Super Strike Little Neck a chance.
As always, I'll carry a few tins in case I
need a very long cast.
The bulk of the bunker are usually
gone by the end of November. With the
water temperature flirting with the 50degree mark, the season will either fizzle
out in the beginning of December, or there
could be a grand finale run that will be
burned into surfcasters' memories for
years. It all depends if there's a substantial
herring run. 2006 was a classic, and if you
were on just about any South Shore beach
on December 4th of that year, you know
what I'm referring too. Unfortunately, a
strong herring run is a season ending
bonus, and never develops in most years.
When it happens, it's special because it
means big fish on big baits. If you find me
in the middle of a herring-induced blitz,
besides a huge smile on my face, you'll
catch me with a bag full of big blue plugs.
7-inch Danny-style metal lips, 7-inch
Bombers, 3-ounce pencil poppers, and 3ounce Super Strike Little Neck poppers
will easily consume the space in my bag.
Those Super Strikes are a real favorite of
mine when the fish are feeding on herring.
More than half of the plugs will be blue;
most of the rest will be white. It's one of
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17
the few times of the year when my bucktails might not even get wet, as I'm much
more focused on trying to match the size
and profile of the herring.
I've never been one to throw a lot of
tin, but they definitely have a place in my
bag in early December. The days when the
herring are an easy cast off the beach are
few and far between. Many times, the
gannets that do a nice job of marking the
herring schools are just out of reach, or
are on the very end of the cast. This is the
time I'll break out 3- and 4-ounce
Kastmasters and 3-ounce diamond jigs.
I'd rather be in those fish with a hunk of
metal than for my plug casts to come up
short.
Note that the surf bags discussed here
are loaded for dawn to dusk fishing on
ocean sand beaches. It's one of the enjoyable aspects of the fall that surf anglers
can experience productive, and occasionally intense, daytime action. If I'm fishing
the open beach under the cover of darkness, the poppers will be replaced by
needlefish and darter plugs. The bucktails
will be lighter in weight than what I use
during the day so that they can be worked
at the slower retrieve speeds that are
called for after dark.
It seems everyone's wallets are
18
TOP: Joey Marino with a high teen bluefish that hit a bucktail worked beneath a
peanut bunker blitz.
BELOW: A few of the plugs that have
earned a spot in the author's fall bag.
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stretched thin these days. With gasoline
near $4/gallon, it's costing a lot of money
to fill up the truck to cover some miles of
shoreline. If you can afford $25 custom
plugs, great. The guys who make these
lures are very serious about their craft and
put out some excellent products. If losing
a few is too painful, don't feel as though
your chances of success are severely
impaired. If you hit the sand with nothing
but Bombers, RedFins, Creek Chubs,
Cotton Cordell pencil poppers, Storm
Shads, bargain bin bucktails, and a few
tins, you'll be in excellent shape. None of
these lures costs more than $7. Fishing
durable plastics instead of wood is also
much more practical when there are a lot
of bluefish around.
This is an exciting time of the year for
surfcasters. It's a time when good fishing
potential exists 24/7, and wild scenes can
be encountered that will be remembered
for a lifetime. While the blitzes are often
what first comes to mind when one thinks
of the fall run, it's the quieter settings
where anglers make the right offerings in
well-chosen circumstances that often
intercept the best fish of fall. Proper planning and lure selection now can go a long
way toward making this fall fishing season a special one. ◆
Tautog are bucktoothed bait stealers of
nightmarish proportions. Also known as
blackfish, tog, or white chins, tautog are
bottom dwellers whose haunts include both
inshore and offshore structures, such as
wrecks, bridges, and jetties, with a face
that only a mother could love. Thick, rubbery lips and a powerful jaw enable it to
power down on the tough outer shells
belonging to the many crustaceans that
make up the majority of this species' forage. However, as ugly and unappealing as
this fish's exterior may seem, its meat is
Mr. Tog
actually quite delicious. When cleaned and
prepared properly blackfish has been
known to rival lobster in both taste and texture. Though not much to look at, this
mutant from the depths is a formidable foe
with surprising power that will test even
the most seasoned angler. Throw in the
jagged edges, sweeping currents, and linecutting barnacles associated with the
bridges and rock piles that tog like to haunt
and anglers could be in for a frustrating,
not to mention expensive, afternoon!
Where They Live
Location, location, location. It's as
important to the successful tog fisherman
as it is the perspective homeowner.
Inshore jetties, sea walls, and bridge pilings constitute the majority of the habitats
that hold tog. Lucky for us surfcasters,
most of these areas are easy to access and,
in the case of blackfish, seeing a number of
anglers using stout tackle around the aforementioned locations is often a dead giveaway that white chins are in the area. You
can research potential areas in a variety of
ways, including online, by word of mouth
at local bait shops, or, perhaps most productive and rewarding, through personal
observation.
To be a successful angler it
is advisable to first understand your quarry. With
regard to this species, blackfish require three basic needs
to be met by their environment: shelter,
security, and forage. Although there are
several areas throughout the Garden State
that meet these standards, one of the most
productive is found by the bridge and various outcroppings associated with the
expanse of water between Sea Isle City and
Avalon, New Jersey known as Townsends
Inlet.
Although tog can be pulled from both
sides of the bridge, it is fairly safe to say
that the Avalon side is the more productive
of the two. From this area anglers can gain
easy access to the bridge pilings and an
extensive sea wall that holds tog well. As
an added plus, if things are slow, or the
area crowded, around the Townsend Inlet
bridge, the 8th Street jetty in Avalon is just
up the beach and is well-known as a toggin'
hotspot.
The Right Gear
Now that we have an idea of where to
find blackfish, it's time to gear up. For this
type of fishing, a stout 6'6" to 7' mediumheavy spinning or conventional rod is
essential. The rod should be paired with a
matching reel equipped with a rugged and
reliable drag system for stopping power.
Line choice between monofilament and
braided line is ruled by personal preference. Monofilament, while less expensive
and more easily tied into knots, has a larger diameter per pound test than braided
lines and is subject to stretching from the
tension of hook-sets. Braided lines, on the
other hand, are more expensive, but allow
for little-to-no stretch and have a smaller
diameter that can be spooled to almost
double the capacity of monofilament of the
same tensile strength. As a general rule of
thumb, reels spooled with 30 to 40-pound
monofilament or braided lines are usually
good choices for this type of fishing. On
the terminal tackle end of things, the leader
should be attached to the running line by a
barrel swivel, and should be short and
heavy enough to stand up to the abuse of a
sharp, rocky environment. Although bait
rigs vary, the shorter the distance between
the sinker and hook as well as connection
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8th St. Jetty
of the hook to the leader, the better off
you'll be. The size of tog in the area typically dictates hook size with 1, 1/0, and 2/0
Gami Octopus and bait holder hooks being
the most popular for inshore applications.
Sinker weight will be dependent on the
current/tide strength. With that in mind,
bank sinkers, and their more rounded
edges, are less likely to snag. That being
Townsends Inlet Bridge
said, it is absolutely imperative that you
pack extra leader material, hooks, and
weights because snags and rig loss is an
inevitable part of this type of fishing.
Although this gear may seem heavy when
the average fish may range between 1-3
pounds, but knowing the environment in
which they live should shed some light on
this. When hooked up you simply need
enough backbone and power from your
equipment to heave the fish out of the
rocks before it gains a foothold in a hole,
crack, or crevice because once that happens, it's game over. Though seemingly
overkill, this type of tackle will land more
fish while other anglers are continually
required to re-rig.
What They Eat
While it is possible to entice a strike
with an artificial lure, natural baits tend to
be the ticket when targeting blackfish, and
although tog will take many natural baits,
including fish chunks, squid, and shellfish,
it is small crabs and sand fleas that produce
best. Actually, what is nice about the top
two baits is the fact that with a little extra
work they can be caught in the surrounding
rocks and beaches free of charge.
19
most productive time in the tide cycle from
the surf tends to be at slack tide. Slack tide
occurs when there is little to no amount of
water movement and there will be two
chances to fish slack; one at peak high and
one at peak low tide. While it's true that the
less water movement allows for more fish
activity, it also decreases the movement of
lines and baits into potential snag and rig
However, take care to properly identify the
crabs because there are size and bag limits
for certain species. Should you choose not
to hunt your own bait, almost all bait and
tackle shops should carry a selection of
baits suited for tog fishing. Now, depending on the size of baits, make sure you have
enough to produce approximately 24 baits
for every two hours you plan to fish. With
crabs, when size allows, remove the claws
and legs and use a knife or kitchen shears
to quarter the body. Hook the body
between two leg sockets pushing the point
into the body cavity and bringing the hook
point back between two different leg sockets. Be sure that the hook point is exposed
in order to offer the best shot at a quick,
solid hook-set. Blackfish are extremely
adept at stealing bait with just a nibble so it
is wise to pack enough bait to allow for
such theft.
Bridge view from the
8th St. Jetty
loss areas. For best results, try fishing the
slack tide that falls a few hours after sunrise.
It is important to note that once a general location has been found, one must not
become glued to a single fixed point. If
you are not getting any action do not be
afraid to shift or move. Sometimes the difference between a productive spot and a
dead zone is only a few feet. With plenty
of sunlight and a slow current, a fish yielding location should not be hard to find.
When to Get Them
Now that the who, where, and with what
has been answered, it's time to tackle the
when. Because blackfish have notoriously
bad eyesight, fishing during daylight hours
will improve activity and availability of
fish. Additionally, when fishing tog, the
23rd l
a
Annu
Regulations
Tautog is a highly sought after species
for table fare, and as such the population
has been exposed to increasing pressure.
New Jersey has imposed strict size and
daily bag limits to ensure the sustainability
of this fishery. In 2008, a blackfish must
be at least 14 inches to be kept and the
daily bag limits are subject to set seasons
throughout the year. As such, between July
16th and November 15th anglers can keep
one fish at 14 inches per day. However, the
limit jumps to six fish per angler from
November 16th through the end of the
year. It is important to research and understand the regulations for the geographical
area and species being targeted. Failure to
comply will not only negatively impact the
fishery as a whole, but noncompliance can
and normally will result in fines. It is
imperative to respect the regulations set by
the state's fish and wildlife governing body
to ensure our rights as anglers and the protection of the environment for future generations.
That said, with the right location, tackle,
time, and tide now known, every angler
that takes the time should be able to land a
few cooler-worthy white chins. Trust us,
you will not be disappointed. ◆
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BLUEFISH TOURNAMENT
SEPTEMBER 14, 2008 4:30 AM - 4:00 PM
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Stopping
In At:
20
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516-922-8010
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Town of Oyster Bay Dept. of Parks
977 Hicksville Road, Massapequa, NY 11758
516-797-4125
You've often heard it said that in order to
be successful in real estate, it is important
to keep three things in mind when selecting
properties: location, location, and location.
Similarly, in journeying through life, I've
discovered that there are three bywords to
bear in mind in order to render an often
bumpy road more bearable: organization,
organization, and organization. Well, in fly
tying, there are three forms to effect in
order to fool fish: full profile, full profile,
and full profile. Match the baitfish dimensionally, meaning its length, height, andjust as importantly-its breadth, and you'll
catch more fish. Many fly tiers simply
concern themselves with the imitation's
side-view profile; that is, its length and
height, but then fail to take into consideration the fly's thickness. Personally, I give
initial attention to affecting a three-dimensional profile of an imitation ahead of anything else.
Next, I carefully weigh (both figuratively and literally speaking) the kinds of materials used in the construction of that fly.
For example, a rather bulky although natural feathery form is not going to undulate
through the water column like some of our
more popular fibers, synthetic or otherwise. In a conversation followed up by a
letter to me from Bernard "Lefty" Kreh,
dated March 27th of 2005, Lefty stated
that, "Bob Clouser, Bob Popovics and I
were talking fly tying last year and we
three agreed that we favor natural [materials] over almost all synthetics simply
because they give more life to the fly."
However, he suggested that in imitating a
mantis shrimp I was perfecting at the time,
I try "softer materials that move such as
Pola Fiber, etc." It worked extremely well.
Those who feel that they must not break
from tying flies with traditional [natural]
fibers, feathers, and furs are shortchanging
themselves. Would folks want to revert
back to the days when catgut and horsehair
were used as leader, line, and fly tying
materials in order to remain a purest?
Horsefeathers! More to the point; are not
some of the stronger threads and brilliant
yarns we use today synthetic? And here's a
flash for you; let's not forget Mylar. Where
do we draw the line of demarcation as to
what materials we should and shouldn't use
in tying flies? 'We've come a long way,
baby,' so don't be afraid to experiment with
materials (both genuine and artificial) that
offer full profile, desired grain weight, lifelike movement in the water and, last but
not least, correct color match.
Let's open Pandora's box a little farther.
Let's open a modern day fly box possessed
by those who are not purists at heart and,
therefore, not afraid to mix it up and match
the hatch with synthetics as well as the real
McCoy. Most of us realize that there are
pretty flies out there that hook fishermen
and flies that hook fish; hook being the
operative word here because in just a
moment we're going to open Pandora's box
real wide and begin at the very beginning
of first adjusting and then tying a fly on
long shank 8XL or 10XL hooks for big
brutes that cruise our waters in search of a
hearty meal. But first let's preview a most
versatile, yes, synthetic material.
For the moment, let's forego the soft,
pulsating and undulating actions of our
favored feathers in addition to specific furs
and fibers (be they artificial or authentic) in
order to create a more realistic representation of certain baitfish. When it comes to
lures like sand lance imitations, I find the
action of light, bright, braided tubular bodies to offer the proper weight and profile.
The body material we'll use to imitate this
prolific baitfish is perfection personified.
Sand eel representations should be long
and appealing if they are to be considered
a cruising, bruising connoisseur's delight.
The problem is that long translates into
several problems, one of which is tanglement, with the tail of the fly wrapping
around the hook. This can prove very
annoying but is not a problem when tied
with braided tubing such as Orvis' E-Z
Braid Body material. Also, long shank facsimiles thereof often result in frustrating
strikes but no cigar, meaning that the fish
has hit but not held. Let's address this matter head on.
To give you an added edge, and I trust
this point will be well-taken, hooks are key
to, well, hooking up . . . and holding on.
Just as the wind, per se, does not create
wind knots in leader tippets (tailing loops
do), fish, as a rule, do not spit hooks as I
frequently hear tell. What generally happens is that the predator simply missed the
point (both literally and figuratively speaking) when the hook was set. Most long
shank hooks-2¾ inches to 3 inches in
length-need to be tweaked a bit. Why?
Answer: because the axis between the
point of the hook and its eye is not conducive to solid strikes. There are certainly
applications when a bend-back design is
advantageous, but not on a long shank
hook. Rather than expound on supposedly
arcane physics-as scientists, doctors, and
even some lawyers love to do-the simple
fact is that the axis between those two critical focal points is misaligned. This causes the point of the hook, when set, to avert
the center of its target (the fish's mouth)
and most likely winds up alongside the
predator's face. The ephemeral battle
between man and fish is suddenly finished,
giving the angler the impression that the
denizen of the deep had spat the hook. By
bending the shank of a 3-inch hook
approximately ten degrees down toward its
point (not up as you would to form a bendback design), you eliminate part of the
problem.
The monofilament leader,
pulling against the eye of the hook, should
now be aligned with its point, not off at
some obtuse angle as with a bend-back
style.
Next, the placement of a set of prismatic eyes-now nearer the point of the hook
than before bending the shank down-not
only gives the predator sideliner its target,
it clearly gives you an advantage of hooking up solidly. Get the picture? You will
have far fewer hit-and-misses. Fine-tuning
these alignments on long shank hooks is
the key to greater success.
Examine the hook point-to-eye axis
among the three sand eel imitations shown
in figure #1. Keep in mind that the trio was
tied with the same size 6/0-8/XL hook.
The top item will result in more hit-andmiss strikes not only because of misalignment but because the distance (admittedly
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21
brief) between the hook point and the targeted eye is somewhat greater than the two
representations below it. Note, too, that in
order to align both the hook point and its
eye in a bend-down style as depicted with
the middle item, we are left with a rather
poor imitation that resembles the shape of
a sea horse of sorts instead of an elongated
eel, which will track unnaturally, humpbacked, through the water column.
However, bent at the same desired tendegree angle as the middle freak, the bottom item, because of its hook placement
through the braided material, allows for a
significantly longer and considerably more
inviting imitation. Which of the three imitations belongs in your arsenal? If you've
selected the last item, you're as smart as
you look. It appears more lifelike, possesses zero possibility of fouling, displays the
perfect hook point-to-eye axis, and bears a
somewhat shorter striking distance
between the terminal point and the targeted
eye, assisting in solid hookups. Many fly
tiers shy away from tying the imitation in
this fashion because it involves a seemingly complicated process of threading the tail
through the body and then whip-finishing
that connection outside the vise. A walk in
the park, folks. You'll see. So let's get
started.
8-inch Sand Eel Recipe
Hook: Any quality saltwater 6/0-8XL
or 10XL shank hook (approximately 2¾
inches to 3¼ inches in overall length).
Note: If you can't locate 8XL or 10XL
hooks, you may want to contact Mustad,
who, back in 1966, acquired Partridge of
Redditch Ltd. (located in Worcestershire,
England), producers of some of Britain's
finest fly hooks-if not the world's. Inquire
about Carrie Stevens' 6/0-8XL or 10XL
streamer size hooks with looped-down
eyes and bronze finish. REF CS15.
Thread: Danville's flat waxed nylon
Body: 5-inch length of Orvis' E-Z Body
Braid-¼-inch diameter pearl with black
lateral line
Tail: sea-blue 8-inch wavy synthetic
fiber strands such as Spirit River's Slinky
Fibre sea-green 8-inch wavy synthetic
fiber strands
Eyes: 3/16-inch prismatic/heliographic
gold eyes-black pupils
Head cement: Sally Hansen's Hard as
Nails Dazzle Frost, or Wet 'n' Wild's
Crystalic Limelight/Vedette
Epoxy: 5-minute two-part plastic resin
epoxy, or clear sealant such as Softex
Hook threader: with large enough eye
to catch a bunch of fibers
Bobbin: Special Note: Wrap the thread
once or twice around one of the arms of the
bobbin in order to spin the tool for an outof-the-vise, tail-to-body connection. As a
22
point of information, I leave one bobbin set
up in this fashion when tying and spinning
deer hair flies; four wraps in making loops
in fly lines for leader connections. This
will give you the tension needed to swing
the bobbin and make tight wraps.
1. At approximately an inch behind the
eye of an overall barb or barbless 3-inch
hook, bend the shank ten degrees down
toward the point. With a marking pen,
approximately 2 inches from one end of
the 5-inch braid, make a discernible dot
between the lateral black lines of tubing.
This will be your point of exit penetration.
Starting at the eye of the hook, push on the
5-inch length of E-Z Body Braid, carefully
working it along the shank, around its
bend, then aligning the point of the hook
with the dot. Push the hook through. The
¼-inch diameter braid, along with its overall length, allows for the ten-degree bend
of the hook without distorting its lateral
form through the water column.
2. Place your fly in the vise. With your
fingers and a long bobbin threader, bunch
the braided tube together like an accordion
(if needed) in order to pass the needle of
the tool from front to back and then out.
3. Pinch together one end of both 8-inch
lengths of blue and green material, trim
evenly and place an inch or so of those
strands in between the needle in order
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catch the fibers. Gently pull the material
forward and out the front end of the braid.
Trim and firmly tie off with a dozen or so
wraps, locking the braided material and
fibers directly behind the eye of the hook,
building up a nicely tapered head. Whipfinish and tie off.
4. Remove the fly from the vise and,
with the bobbin, carefully make several
tight-clockwise-wraps where the E-Z
Braid Body meets the tail. You are now
ready to swing the bobbin, locking in that
section, then whip-finish it by hand. No
big deal . . . short of knocking yourself in
the head if you don't pay attention.
Ready? With approximately six inches of
thread hanging from the bobbin-thumb
and forefinger of each hand holding on to
the tail and braid sections, arms extended
and away from your face and body-rotate
your hands in a circular-still clockwise
fashion-firmly swinging that bobbin
around and around, back and forth, securing that connection. Repeat the process,
swinging another six inches; whip-finish
by hand. With only a little practice, you
will be able to lay wraps of thread side by
side with uncanny precision.
5. Next, put the sightless sand eel fly
back in the vise. With a two-part epoxy or
sealant of your choice, affix a pair of eyes
close to the nose. Just a pinpoint of adhesive applied to the area where the eyes are
to be set will stay the orbs for the moment.
Working on a horizontal plane, allow a
tiny drop of resin to touch, cover, then settle upon the periphery of each eye; this
will ensure their placement. A drop of
epoxy around the bend of the hook where
it penetrated the E-Z Body Braid will seal
and help support that section.
6. Add the finishing touches by
stroking the thread at the head and tail
section with Sally Hansen's Dazzle Frost,
or
Wet
'n'
Wild's
Crystalic
Limelight/Vedette, they are a complementary match to the braid. If you have trouble locating these colors after rummaging
through your significant other's supplies,
look for other sparkling nail polishes at
the appropriate cosmetics counter. I'm
sure you'll find several from which to
choose.
Congratulations. You have just created
an 8-inch lethal sand eel imitation, weighing in at approximately 30 grains, of which
the hook alone weighs 23 grains. Fish it
with a continuous darting, then settling
damaged motion-and stand by. Your sizable sand lance, about as long as they
come, will stand out from the crowd.
Editor's Note: Bob Banfelder is an
award-winning novelist whose psycho-
logical thriller, The Teacher, was the winner of the Best Fiction Suspense Book for
2006 from NewBookReviews.org. His
newest release is The Author, of which
Mark Reid says, "Banfelder has written
another winner for 2007." Bob weaves a
love and knowledge of the great outdoors
through his fiction and, of course, his
nonfiction. ◆
Fishing Reports: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut & Rhode Island
Log on to www.noreast.com for the most up-to-date fishing reports!
Absecon
SOUTHERN
NEW JERSEY
New Moon
September 30
From Brigantine Inlet including
Atlantic City in the North to Cape
May Point and into Delaware Bay
in the South.
First Quarter
September 7
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Full Moon
September 15
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Cape May, Atlantic Ocean High & Low Tides
4:36am
11:11am
5:02pm
11:24pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0 5:11am Lo
5.3 11:55am Hi
0.3 5:44pm Lo
4.7
4:20am
10:40am
4:46pm
10:53pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0
5.1
0.3
4.5
5:25am
11:33am
5:51pm
11:46pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
4:49am
11:11am
5:15pm
11:24pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.3 12:10am Hi
5.1 5:47am Lo
0.7 12:40pm Hi
6:30pm Lo
4.3
0.7
4.8
1
12:59am
6:25am
1:27pm
7:24pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
4
1
4.7
1.2
1:49am
7:15am
2:16pm
8:29pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.8
1.3
4.5
1.4
2:42am
8:23am
3:09pm
9:35pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
TUES.
3.6
1.4
4.4
1.3
3:40am
9:33am
4:06pm
10:31pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.6
1.4
4.5
1.1
3.5
1.3
4.2
1.2
3:09am
9:17am
3:35pm
10:15pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.5
1.3
4.3
1
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.4
1.3
4.2
1
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.1
1.2
3.8
0.9
Wildwood Crest, Fishing Pier High & Low Tides
4:55am
11:24am
5:28pm
11:39pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.3 5:31am Lo
4.9 12:09pm Hi
0.7 6:14pm Lo
4.1
0.7 12:28am Hi
4.6 6:09am Lo
0.9 12:56pm Hi
7:08pm Lo
3.9
0.9
4.5
1.1
1:18am
6:59am
1:45pm
8:13pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.7
1.2
4.3
1.3
2:11am
8:07am
2:38pm
9:19pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
Old Turtle Thoroughfare, Railroad Bridge High & Low Tides
0 6:00am Lo
5 12:17pm Hi
0.3 6:33pm Lo
4.4
0.3 12:32am Hi
4.8 6:36am Lo
0.6 1:02pm Hi
7:19pm Lo
4
0.6
4.5
0.9
1:21am
7:14am
1:49pm
8:13pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.8
0.9
4.4
1.1
2:11am
8:04am
2:38pm
9:18pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.6
1.2
4.2
1.3
3:04am
9:12am
3:31pm
10:24pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.4
1.3
4.1
1.2
4:02am
10:22am
4:28pm
11:20pm
Townsends Inlet, Ocean's Drive Bridge High & Low Tides
0 5:24am Lo
4.5 11:55am Hi
0.2 5:57pm Lo
4
0.2 12:10am Hi
4.3 6:00am Lo
0.6 12:40pm Hi
6:43pm Lo
3.7
0.6
4.1
0.8
12:59am
6:38am
1:27pm
7:37pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.4
0.8
4
1
1:49am
7:28am
2:16pm
8:42pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.2
1.1
3.8
1.2
2:42am
8:36am
3:09pm
9:48pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.1
1.2
3.7
1.1
3:40am
9:46am
4:06pm
10:44pm
Corson Inlet - Middle Thoroughfare, Ocean Drive High & Low Tides
4:45am
11:07am
5:11pm
11:20pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0 5:20am Lo
4.4 11:51am Hi
0.2 5:53pm Lo
3.9
4:15am
10:37am
4:41pm
10:50pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0
4.8
0.3
4.2
0.2 12:06am Hi
4.3 5:56am Lo
0.6 12:36pm Hi
6:39pm Lo
3.6
0.6
4
0.8
12:55am
6:34am
1:23pm
7:33pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.4
0.8
3.9
1
1:45am
7:24am
2:12pm
8:38pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.2
1.1
3.8
1.1
2:38am
8:32am
3:05pm
9:44pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3
1.1
3.7
1.1
3:36am
9:42am
4:02pm
10:40pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3
1.1
3.8
0.9
3.3
1.3
4
1.2
3:06am
9:12am
3:32pm
10:10pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.3
1.3
4
1
Atlantic City - Ocean Pier High & Low Tides
4:50am
11:21am
5:23pm
11:36pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.3 5:26am Lo
4.6 12:06pm Hi
0.6 6:09pm Lo
3.9
Live Bait Specialist
Surf Clams • Live Spot • Live Eels
Shedder crabs peanut bunker minnows
609-484-0409
www.abseconbay.com
81 Natalie Terrace • Absecon, NJ
By Frank Ruczynski
email: SouthernNJ@noreast.com
WEDS.
Absecon Bay
Sportsman Center
0.6 12:25am Hi
4.3 6:04am Lo
0.9 12:53pm Hi
7:03pm Lo
Week of August 25 through August 31
This week’s report begins with word of
weakfish limits in the Delaware Bay,
according to Nick at Hands Too Bait and
Tackle in Cape May. Boating anglers are
scoring good numbers of 15 to 18-inch
weakfish at most of the well-known hot
spots. The #1 Buoy, EP Tower, Bug Light,
and some of the holes just off of
Dennisville Creek have been producing
3.6
0.9
4.2
1.1
1:15am
6:54am
1:42pm
8:08pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.4
1.2
4
1.3
2:08am
8:02am
2:35pm
9:14pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
lately. The guys that I talked to over the
weekend seemed to have the best luck in
about 15 feet of water. Shedder crab and
chicken soaked in shedder crab oil worked
well again this week. Let’s hope this great
weakfish action holds up until striper season!
Boaters reported flounder and tons of
croakers along the Bayshore Channel.
When the drift is right flounder fishing
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can’t be beat at places like the Old
Grounds, Reef Site 11, and the southern
end of the Cape May Reef; some goodsized sea bass are also mixing in with the
fluke. Nick also mentioned that he’s been
hearing good things about the tuna bite at
the Lobster Claw.
Cape May surfcasters are keeping their
rods bent! Croakers, weakfish, spot, and
kingfish can be found in great numbers
along the oceanfront and bayside beaches.
While most of the fish seem to be running
on the short side, there are a few good ones
out there still, as evidenced by an 8-yearold patron that checked into the shop with a
24-inch fluke. Nick turned him on to
Berkley Gulp! and he returned with a broken rod and the big flatfish. Small cut baits
and products such as Berkley Gulp! or
Fishbites really can’t be beat.
Over in Wildwood, the Royal Flush has
been catching a little bit of everything on
all three trips. Between the morning and
afternoon trips, there have been plenty of
croakers, snapper bluefish, porgies, and
small sea bass. Patrons aboard the evening
trips have been filling up on croakers and
kingfish. Three trips are scheduled to sail
from 8 AM - 12 PM, 1 PM - 5 PM, and 7
PM -11 PM daily.
There were no fish checked in this
week, but we did have lots of great reports,
noted Dave and Tammie from Avalon
Hodge Podge. One patron stopped in with
a report of a 42-inch striper on mackerel; he
was fishing late at night from one of the
local backwater docks. Quite a few anglers
also shared excellent reports from the offshore grounds. The glow-in-the-dark jigs
made by Olde Salt Tackle have been hot
23
recently! Dave and Tammie would also like
to remind everyone that they are now
stocking marine supplies, so feel free to
stop in to get your year-end winterization
supplies.
The great team over at Fin-Atics Bait
and Tackle in Ocean City had plenty of
great fishing information to pass along this
week. Offshore action has been good for
those fishing at the Wilmington, Spencer,
and Lindenkohl canyons. White and blue
marlin, dolphin, and some yellowfin tuna
were reported recently. Big bluefin tuna
could be found at the Lobster Claw and the
inside lumps. The Great Egg, Ocean City,
and Atlantic City reefs continue to provide
boaters with good numbers of sea bass,
some nice-sized fluke, and even a few ling.
Closer to home, anglers continue to find
tons of spike weakfish in about 18 to 19 feet
of water just off of the Ferris Wheel. Along
the beachfront, spot, kingfish, croakers, and
weakfish are keeping land-based anglers
busy, while striped bass can be found
prowling the nearby bridges and banks during the late-night tides. Backwater fluke
seem to be heading to the inlets and the area
crabbing has been nothing short of excellent.
“The spot are hanging around and I just
received a report that Chris caught a 28-inch
weakfish down at the dock last night using
live peanut bunker,” stated Captain Andy
from RipTide Bait and Tackle in
Brigantine. Fred stopped by with a 9.5pound flounder that he caught in front of
Harrah’s Casino. Action has been good just
off of Harrah’s, but the key is to get out
there before the boat traffic shuts the bite
down. Captain Andy added, “I also have
reports of keeper-sized flounder off the
cove.”
The local surfcasters have been catching
a nice mixture of fish by the south end jetty.
Spot, kingfish, bluefish, and weakfish have
been keeping things interesting. There
haven’t been any monster fish, but the
action down at the rock pile is tough to beat.
Make sure to mark your calendars for
September 13, 2008 as The RipTide
Surfcasters will be holding their first annual
ASAC sanctioned surf fishing tournament.
“There is tons of bait around now!”
exclaimed Ray from Absecon Bay
Sportsmen Center. Peanut bunker, mullet,
spot, and small snappers can be found just
about everywhere. Most of the reported
catches in the backwaters were on the small
side; however, there have been some huge
brown sharks and quite a few respectable
flatfish taken recently. Over the holiday
weekend, an 8.9-pound flounder was
checked in along with a few other 5 to 6pound specimens. Weakfish action has been
steadily improving, with some 14 to 18inch fish showing up this week. During the
night tides, short striped bass are taking
24
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As we head into the end of the summer
season, the time has come to wrap up the
print edition of our weekly fishing reports.
Not to worry, even though the printed
reports will be ending, you can still find the
same information-packed fishing reports,
along with tons of other great fishing information, at Noreast.com. Our great weekly
fishing reports are only a click away! ◆
plugs along the meadow and live-lined spot
from the area bridges. Tackle-busting brown
sharks have also made a showing in the
local backwaters. A 110-pound brownie was
reported from the Cross Tides area, while a
125-pound monster was pulled from Broad
Creek. Ray ended our conversation with
word that oceanfront anglers have been nailing croakers in 25 to 40 feet of water.
CENTRAL
NEW JERSEY
New Moon
September 30
From Point Pleasant and Point
Pleasant Beach to Little Egg
Harbor including Manahawkin
Bay, Little Egg Harbor, Great Bay
and Estuaries
First Quarter
September 7
Tides and Currents
Full Moon
September 15
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
By Robert Lee
email: CentralNJ@noreast.com
WEDS.
THURS.
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Last Quarter
September 22
MON.
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TUES.
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Manahawkin Bridge High & Low Tides
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The fluke season is winding down to
the last week and anglers are working the
www.noreast.com
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reefs and ocean lumps to get the last of
the action. There are plenty of keepers out
there at the tires and the Garden State
Reef but the drifting conditions need to be
favorable. Anglers that do enjoy favorable
drifts are catching around eight keepers
and twenty throwbacks per trip. The best
baits have been any fresh strip bait like
bluefish, fluke or sea robin tipped with a
couple of spearing or a Gulp grub or
shrimp. There have been a few keepers
caught around the inlet and channels in
Barnegat but most of the action is from
small fish. The bay is full of short fluke
and everyone fishing for weakfish is
enjoying the action but it would be nice to
bring a few home for dinner. The surf has
been holding a number of keeper fluke
around the Brant Beach area. Surf anglers
are casting fluke rigs tipped with a squid
strip and a minnow and finding keepers.
The hot color has been pink and a slow
retrieve is working best. The sad part is
the fluke fishing is going to get red-hot
during the month of September and it will
be all fillet, oops, I mean catch and
release. Hopefully next year will bring a
longer season even if we keep the size
limit and back off the keepers to six.
Bluefin tuna were putting on a show out
at the Claw last week but the action
slowed down a little. The anglers that
were tired of battling those monster tuna
probably needed a little break anyway.
The canyons are holding good numbers of
marlin but the tuna bite slowed down.
Usually when the tuna don’t bite well on
the troll it is a sign that the overnight
chunking will soon be making headlines.
Weakfish are plentiful in the clear waters
of the Barnegat Bay. They are responding
well to grass shrimp along with a host of
other fish. Anglers are enjoying steady
action from kingfish, small blues, porgies
and blowfish.
Snappers are all over the bay according to The Dock Outfitters in Seaside
Heights. Customers taking out the rental
boats are catching between one and three
dozen crabs along with plenty of snappers
and kingfish. The snappers are easy to
catch using a bobber and a piece of spearing. The kings, along with a host of other
fish, will respond well to grass shrimp or
clam chum. You can enjoy crabbing while
taking advantage of the fine table fish
being caught. Fluke are being caught in
the bay and from the sand but there aren’t
many keepers around.
Fluke fishing is doing well out in the
deeper areas of the ocean according to
Bob Misak over at Barnegat Light Bait
and Tackle. Don Golden fished off the
Coast Guard Station and caught eight nice
fluke up to 23 inches. The Tires are producing fluke as well. Lee Stocker brought
in a 10-pound flatty he caught in 82 feet
of water. The tuna fishing is still very productive with anglers scoring big bluefins
daily. Brian Griek brought in a 30-pound
tuna and many fish were reported in the
100 to 200-pound class. The big fluke of
the week actually came out of the inlet in
front of the lighthouse. The big doormat
took a live snapper blue and weighed
13.50 pounds. Two other fluke that
topped ten pounds came into the store just
before the big one. Anglers were battling
bluefish off the jetty on Saturday night.
“Bluefin tuna were
putting on a show.”
The weakfish were also out there going
nuts on the schools of spearing. Weakfish
are also in the bay taking grass shrimp
and jigs. Limit catches are common and
there are plenty of kingfish mixed in also.
Bob fished with Christian Quinn Sr. and
Jr. and they slammed the kings using clam
chum. The anglers also had a few triggerfish in the slick. Now is the time to grab a
few chum logs and load the cooler with a
nice mixed bag of fish. The surf has a few
bass but it is mostly blues and kingfish
right now. The beach at Loveladies is the
best bet for blues right now. Anglers were
working on the weakfish off the jetty at
night using jigs and catching one keeper
after the other. Blackfish are just as they
were last week. Bob fished with his son
and nephew and they caught ten-keeper
tog and kept two for the table. The tog are
easy to catch right now so grab some
crabs and get a nice one. There are plenty
of 8-pound tog swimming around in those
rocks.
Now is the time for your Barnegat Bay
Grand Slam according to Captain Steve
Purul on the Reel Fantasea. Jay
Simmons, Ernie Rosenburg and Wayne
Salvi teamed up for two grand slams. In
addition to the striper, weakfish, fluke and
blue slam they caught blackfish, kings
and sea bass. The biggest weakfish measured 23 inches, the biggest fluke measured 22 inches. The bass was just short at
26 inches and the blue was a respectable
25 inches. The next morning the Green
Briar Fishing club enjoyed a steady bite
of smaller weakfish and some blackfish
and porgies. Mike Gries Sr. and Jr.
enjoyed slamming the blues from 2 to 5www.noreast.com
pounds on light tackle. They also caught a
bunch of undersized fluke. The Brent
Burger party enjoyed the bluefish action
as well, then caught some nice weakfish
up to 23 inches. They also had plenty of
action jigging Gulp for a bunch of short
fluke. Captain Steve has September 12th,
19th, and 26th open if you would like to
enjoy the hot action going on right now.
He can be reached at 609-290-1217.
There is plenty of action going on off
the surf according to The Fisherman’s
Headquarters in Ship Bottom. The big
news is the possible junior state record
kingfish that was caught. Samantha and
Eddie Spencer caught four kings and one
of them weighed in at 1.80 pounds which
may qualify for the junior record.
Grandma Shelly pulled a 2.50-pound
fluke out of the same area. Eddie,
Samantha, Todd, Daryle, Ken, Rochelle
and Gail Spencer caught 11 fluke, 58 spot
and 12 cocktail blues from the Beach
Haven surf on Saturday. Todd and Ken
Spencer caught 24 sea bass, two fluke and
80 spot from the rocks in Barnegat Light.
The Spencer family has been very busy
unhooking fish this holiday weekend to
say the least. Steve Stratos from Long
Island caught three keeper fluke and some
small blues from the Brant Beach jetty.
Steve used squid strips on a fluke rig with
pink bucktails. Jim T. from Bridgewater,
NJ fished out at the Mud Hole and caught
16 quality ling. One angler caught a 20pound monkfish and another boated a
mahi. Anglers are catching keeper fluke
from the mid-island beaches on a regular
basis. Anglers are casting weighted baits
and making a slow retrieve back. The best
baits have been spearing, mullet, squid
and Gulps.
This report will be the last printed version of the season. To check in on my
weekly report after this week, please visit
the noreast.com web site. I will keep you
posted on the action into October. I will try
and get you zeroed in on the hottest striper
areas once they start biting. I will try not to
depress anyone with all the catch and
release fluke action, I promise. ◆
Belf ord Bait & Ta ckle
BAIT & Supplies
Commercial & Recreational
We Carry The Highest
Quality Tackle!
901 Port Monmouth Road, Belford, NJ 07718
(732) 787-3053
25
NORTHERN
NEW JERSEY
Shark River/Manasquan
New Moon
September 30
From all of Raritan Bay, Sandy
Hook, South to Manasquan River
and Brielle Park
First Quarter
September 7
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Full Moon
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3 8 ' C . R . T. I I
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BOOKING 2008 CHARTERS
Manasquan Inlet High & Low Tides
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STRIPERS, BLUES, FLUKE & BOTTOM SPECIES
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South Amboy High & Low Tides
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Sea Bright High & Low Tides
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It’s hard to believe that there is only one
week left in the New Jersey fluke fishing
season for 2008. When I compare last season’s reports with this season’s reports, I do
not think there were as many large fluke
caught this year that were over eight pounds.
The increase in the fluke’s minimum size
limit for 2008 really made it hard for anglers
to land keepers. Throughout the season, one
theme was consistently communicated by
tackle shops owners and charter boat captains and that was everyone was frustrated
by this year’s minimum size limit.
Bluefish action has been really good the
last couple weeks at the Mud Buoy. There
has been big numbers of bluefish in this area
and they’ve been good size fish. Charter
boats and party boats have been catching big
numbers of fish by chumming and drifting
bunker chunks. These bluefish have been
ranging up to 15 pounds.
Sea bass fishing has been good at a number of different areas spread throughout
northern New Jersey. Some of the more pro-
Hi
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ductive locations have been Sandy Hook
Reef, Shrewsbury Rocks, Rattlesnake and
the Sea Girt Reef.
When I called Crabby’s, Chris reported
that more bluefish action is developing in the
back of Raritan. More and more surface
feeding action is building as two to fourpound bluefish chase baitfish on the surface.
These bluefish are a great size for light tackle action. Casting small metal spoons and
poppers is the way to go after these fish. He
said that fluking has slowed down a bit from
where it was a week or two ago. Ambrose
Channel which was the hot area for the last
couple weeks is now yielding mostly short
fluke. There have been some reports of
weakfish being caught far in the back of the
bay near the South Amboy sailboats. Lots of
snappers, crabs and triggerfish are hanging
around the local Keyport dock. Crabby’s is
located on Front Street in Keyport. You can
contact Chris at the store by calling
(732)335-9311.
Peter of Atlantic Highlands Bait and
Tackle confirmed the report that the great
Special Weekday Rates • 1-15 Pass.
732.672.2802 • 732-291-1525
CAPT. MICK TRZASKA
PA R K S E A S P O R T F I S H I N G
FLUKE • STRIPERS • BLUES • BOTTOM FISH
7:30AM OPEN/RES.
Call Capt. Justin (732) 693-5900
www.ParkSeaFishing.com
fluking of a couple weeks ago at Ambrose
Channel has now turned to mostly short
fluke with very few keepers. Bluefish are
scattered throughout Sandy Hook Bay. They
can be easily found because they’re up on
the surface chasing baitfish on a daily basis.
There have been some weakfish reports
coming in from the Navesink River near
buoy 18 and 20. Anglers are using sandworms, Fin-s-fish and Gulp baits to catch
these fish. Stripers are once again providing
action at the Sandy Hook Rip for anglers
drifting sandwoms in the evening and night
hours. The harbor is teaming with snapper
blues and blue claw crabs. Good sea bass
action continues on the Sandy Hook Reef,
Rattlesnake and the Shrewsbury Rocks.
Anglers are catching. Atlantic Highlands
Bait and Tackle is located just to the left of
Atlantic Highlands Marina. You can contact
the shop by calling 732-291-4500.
Alan at TNA Tackle and Hunting also
reported that fluking has been up and down
this week. He said there really hasn’t been
any one area that was especially productive
26
820 Broadway • Bayonne, NJ 07002
(201) 339-2628(BOAT)
www.noreast.com
DAILY 5AM - 7PM
STRIPED BASS SPECIALISTS
RARITAN/SANDY HOOK BAY INFO
Bait & Tackle, Freshwater & Saltwater,
Live Bait, Custom Striper Rigs
229 WEST FRONT ST. • KEYPORT • 732-335-9311
2 Blocks from Keyport Municipal Pier & Bulkhead
www.fishbox.tv/crabbys
FRESH BUNKER
609-668-5877
www.trueworldtackle.net
SAND WORMS
SAND EELS • LIVE EELS • BUNKER SPOONS
BLUE - FLUKE - BOTTOM - TUNA
SHARK FISHING EVERY WEDNESDAY
BELMAR MARINE BASIN • RT 35
www.nanseajfishing.com
WWW.CHARTERBOATCRT.COM
Family Owned & Operated on the Jersey Shore
NAN SEA J
50' CUSTOM SPORTFISH • 1-2
20 PASSENGERS
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
Capt. Anthony
848-992-7594
Ken’s Landing - Point Pleasant Beach
TUES.
3.5
1.3
4.2
1.2
34’ King Cat Catamaran
ANGELA ROSE II
Capt. Wayne
732-785-0045
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Long Branch Fishing Pier High & Low Tides
0
5.1
0.3
4.5
28’ Chesapeake Classic
ANGELA ROSE
September 15
By Richard Pannone
email: NorthernNJ@noreast.com
WEDS.
www. AngelaRoseCharters.com
www.noreast.com
27
CROSSBAY BAIT & TACKLE
Trophy Pages
Josh the "Chicken Bass King" headed to the Rockaway Reef
with the Reef Donkey and friends. The crew came back with
fluke up to 5 pounds, plus this 4.2-pound sea bass.
28
SUPER HAWK
Here is Bree Himmelstein holding a 19.5 lb.bass that she caught while on a half day SEA
BASS trip. What a surprise she had!
CAPT. BOB V
Gary White and his dad shared a great day of
fluke fishing aboard the Capt. Bob V out of
Mattituck.
CROSSBAY BAIT & TACKLE
Here is 13-year-old Lucy Mendolia with a 7pound fluke caught by the Marine Parkway
Bridge on 8/1/08. The fish was weighed in a
Crossbay B&T in Howard Beach.
www.noreast.com
MOLNAR’S LANDING
Tom Patchell fishing with his grandson
Matthew Obrien, 6-years-old, captured these
nice fluke of 6.75 lbs. & 5 lbs., 12 ounces in the
ocean - good job Matt!
MORICHES INLET
Here is Noreast Field Editor Tony Salerno's son John
Salerno happily holding up a beautiful 6-pound sea bass
along with Tony's buddie Mike Barone holding up a pair
of keeper fluke caught outside Moriches Inlet this past
Sunday, August 31st.
SHINNECOCK
Happy Birthday Noah! Noah Woychuk holds up
the 9-pound fluke he caught off the Cheese
House. Noah was fishing with his dad to celebrate
his 8th birthday when the fluke took his spearing
in 55 feet of water.
SILLY LILY FISHING STATION
Eddie D. Presso caught this Moriches doormat
while fishing in the bay with Dave and Mike. They
sailed out of the Silly Lily Fishing Station on 8/23.
MARILYN JEAN CHARTERS
Jules and George caught these great flatties on the
Marilyn Jean. Jules' fish checked in at 9 pounds, while
George's weighed 6.5! Beautiful fish.
www.noreast.com
29
Sleep in
then fish
out at the
Manasquan
Inlet
Raritan Bay
“WE CAN’T CONTROL OPEC-BUT WE CAN HELP WITH YOUR GAS!”
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS BAIT & TACKLE & BOAT RENTALS
16’ Carolina Skiff w/15hp 4-stroke Yamaha & 6 Gallons of Gas 6am to 4pm - That’s 10 Hours of Fishing! Only $95.00 per day plus receive a $10.00 discount coupon towards your next boat rental
Upon Completion Of The Day’s Boat Rental, Receive A $25.00 Gas Credit Card - Details At The Store.
Complete Line of Saltwater Equipment “ATM On Site” Fresh & Frozen Bait • Ice • Beverages • Snacks and Most Important, Local Knowledge
12 SIMON LAKE DRIVE • ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ 07716 • Phone - 732-291-4500 • Fax - 732-291-3414
this week. Bluefish are active throughout
Sandy Hook Bay. The bluefish are roaming
around the area chasing baitfish. Anglers
can find the bluefish easily by looking for
breaking fish or diving birds. There have
been some reports of bluefish invading the
Sandy Hook surf this week. TNA Tackle
and Hunting is located on Route 36 north in
Middletown.
When I called Scott’s Bait and Tackle, I
spoke to Scott and he reported that the area
around the inlet is active with a wide range
of species of fish. Kingfish are biting
throughout the area for anglers using small
hooks baited with sea worms or clam.
Porgies and triggerfish are also biting
around Shark River Inlet. Bluefish have
been charging into the surf occasionally during the week chasing baitfish. If you’re
looking for bluefish offshore, then the Mud
Buoy is the place to look for them. The bluefish action at the Mud Buoy has been very
consistent for about two weeks now.
Anglers are catching these fish during the
day but the night action has been much
more consistent. There is still good fluke
and sea bass catches coming in from the
deep rough bottom areas in the 50 foot
depth range. There are some stripers being
caught at the Shrewsbury Rocks at night by
anglers who drift eels. Scott said that the
river is alive with tons of baitfish and snappers. Scott’s Bait and Tackle is located in
Bradley Beach on Main Street. You can contact the shop by calling (732)988-6450.
When I called the Fisherman’s Den
Bobby reported that bluefish fishing is
going hot and heavy at the Mud Buoy. The
party boats in the area are bringing back
nightly catches of bluefish up to 14 pounds
while chumming with bunker chum. The
daytime bluefish action is good but not nearly as dependable as the night action. Fluke
and sea bass are still biting well in the ocean
around hard structure. Some of these fluke
are running up to eight pounds. Anglers
fishing depths of 50 feet and greater have
been making the best catches of keepers and
an occasional doormat. Fisherman’s Den is
located just outside the Belmar Marina
located on Shark River. You can contact the
shop by calling 732-681-5005.
Captain Mark from Long Shot Charters
called in to report that he had several productive fluke and bluefish trips this week.
While fishing deep water areas surrounded
by either hard structure or ledges, his customers boated fluke up to seven pounds and
NEW YORK
BIGHT
First Quarter
September 7
Tides and Currents
Full Moon
September 15
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0 5:21am Lo
5.8 11:47am Hi
0.3 5:54pm Lo
5.1
4.7
0.7
5.2
1
12:51am
6:35am
1:19pm
7:34pm
Blues are everywhere, weaks are in the
Reach, bass are starting to percolate and
30
Last Quarter
September 22
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Rockaway Inlet High & Low Tides
0.3 12:02am Hi
5.6 5:57am Lo
0.7 12:32pm Hi
6:40pm Lo
732-899-5760
WWW.GATESATTHEINLET.COM
sea bass up to four pounds. During his bluefish trips, he found solid action while fishing
bunker chunks in a bunker chum slick. His
catch consisted of bluefish up to 15 pounds.
If you’d like to contact Long Shot Charters
about a future trip, you can contact them at
(732)450-0813 or (732)977-2533.
Captain Mick from CRT II Charters
reported that he boated plenty of fluke this
week but landing fish over the minimum
size limit was still tough. The captain mixed
in a bit of sea bass fishing in the area of the
Sandy Hook Reef. Captain Mick said that
he is still offering a weekday special discounted price. Upon the completion of the
fluke season, the captain said he will sail in
search of bluefish and sea bass. He is also
beginning to book fall striper trips for
October and November. CRT II Charters
can be reached by calling 732-291-1525.
This is the last weekly print copy of
Nor’ east Saltwater magazine for this season. However, starting next week, you can
find this weekly column online at our website at www.noreast.com. I’ll keep you
posted on what’s happening in our region at
least through the end of October. Noreast
Saltwater will publish its monthly edition in
mid-October. ◆
ANGLER II
2 TRIPS DAILY
8AM - 1PM & 2PM-7PM
FREE Dockside Parking!
ANGLER II sails from: Capt. Luna’s Marina
158-35 Cross Bay Blvd., Howard Beach,
(718) 659-8181
www.theangler.com
By Greg Hazley
email: NYBight@noreast.com
4:46am
11:03am
5:12pm
11:16pm
5 Ocean Avenue
Point Pleasant Beach
+ P r i v a t e C h a r t e r s Av a i l a b l e
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
THURS.
Overnight - Weekly
Howard Beach
New Moon
September 30
West of the Debs Inlet and North
of Sandy Hook, Including New
York Harbor.
WEDS.
Motel and Bait & Tackle
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
4.4
1
5.1
1.3
1:41am
7:25am
2:08pm
8:39pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
4.2
1.4
4.9
1.5
2:34am
8:33am
3:01pm
9:45pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
TUES.
4
1.5
4.8
1.4
3:32am
9:43am
3:58pm
10:41pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
4
1.5
4.9
1.2
the party boats and their clients are excited
that the porgy limit jumped up to 45 on
Labor Day, 9/1, just as the dinner-plate size
www.noreast.com
www.noreast.com
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fish have really been on the bite. The
striper action was picking up a bit as the
calendar turned, but albies haven’t made a
& Tackle
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strong showing yet in New York Bight
waters. Early September, indeed.
Brian at Biggie’s Bait & Tackle in
Staten Island said the bluefish were cooperating all week in local waters. Plenty of
cocktail and mid-sized blues are feeding on
small baitfish like peanut bunker and
spearing. “Guys are having some fun tossing metals, shads
and topwaters,” he
said. Great Kills
and Oakwood were
producing well for
the blues. Some
larger fish are starting to be taken at night in the Great Kills
area and Princes Bay. There aren’t too
many striped bass around yet. Spike weakfish of about 20 inches are being taken in
the Reach Channel by buoy 20 and in the
Ambrose Channel by the islands, he said.
There are tons of porgies on the local rockpiles and even more snappers in the area.
For blue claws, the south shore has been
the best bet. No albies yet, but everyone’s
watching.
Paul at Bernie’s Fishing Tackle in
Brooklyn said the weather, fishing and
business were all good last week. “The
fluke fishing was good to the end,” he said.
Angler Lou Cazzetta brought in a 10pound, seven-ounce doormat fluke on
Sunday, 8/31, caught off Atlantic
Highlands. Closer to home by the jetty, Joe
Lankford was fishing with a bucktail for
stripers on Aug. 25 when he hauled in two
nice fluke of 8.5 and seven pounds.
Paul said a lot of big bluefish in the
eight-pound range are being taken right
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inside of Sheepshead Bay behind the boat
docks. “They’re definitely not cocktails,”
he said. Snappers are also all over the bay.
Paul said striper action is on the slow
side but anglers are catching some keepersize fish at night. “They’re out there,” he
said of the bass. “It’s been like that all year;
it seems like you can find one if you want
to.” Albie rumors
are coming in from
the south and west,
but nothing solid
has been reported.
The bottom fishing’s been good
with a lot of nice sea bass on the east reef.
Fish are coming up a little bit bigger in the
deeper water, especially over the Sandy
Hook reef. Good porgies are being taken
there, too.
Stretch at Stella Maris Bait & Tackle in
Brooklyn said the bluefishing’s been good
off the beaches and boats. If you find blues
under birds, most of them are small. But if
you catch them loaded up around a bait,
the blues are tending to be a little bigger, he
said. Porgy fishing has been good, and the
fluke action was steady up to the end of the
season, although keepers were tough to
come by the last week. Anglers are catching a few weakfish right outside of Mill
Basin at night on sandworms, he said. The
striped bass action is starting to pick up at
night on eels over by the Marine Park
Bridge and Verrazano Bridge.
Dolores at Smitty’s Fishing Station
said her rental boats came back with some
nice bluefish after a hot bite on Sunday
morning, 8/31. One angler came in with
“Bluefishing has been good
off the beaches & boats.”
Shimano
Penn
Newell
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“One of the Largest Rod & Reel Selections in the Tri-State Area.”
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PORGIES & SEA BASS
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4044 HYLAN BLVD, STATEN ISLAND, NY 10308
EVERYTHING FOR THE FISHERMEN BY FISHERMEN!
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(718) 356-0055
- Full Day & Night Open Boat Fishing -
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- Sunset Moonlight Cruises - Private Fishing Charters -
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Sailing from City Island, NY
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Custom Rods • Rod Building Components • Wholesale & Retail • Live Killies, Live Eels, Fresh Bunker & Frozen Baits
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3035 Emmons Ave.
2 Blocks WEST of old location, opposite side of street.
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SUPER STRIKE
31
FISHING HEADQUARTERS
Stella Maris COMPLETE
SINCE 1947 • www.stellamarisbaitshop.com
Bait & Tackle
2702 Emmons Ave., Brooklyn Fresh & Frozen Bait • Live Eels & Killies
(718) 646-9754
Custom-Made Rods
Shakespeare Ugly Sticks
Fresh Bunker Daily • Surf & Offshore Tackle
Block Ice • Reel Repair • Charts
OPEN 7 DAYS 5 AM - 8 PM
two keeper fluke. Smitty’s is only open on
Saturday’s and Sunday’s from this point
on.
Dick over at Michael’s Bait & Tackle
in Staten Island reported that snappers are
all over the place from one to three pounds
on average. There’s also a “scattering” of
weakfish in the Reach Channel — not a
crazy amount, but there are fish in the
three-to-four pound range being taken with
some regularity. In the areas of South
Beach, the Verrazano Bridge and
Hoffmann Island, big bluefish up to 14
pounds have been on the bite. The shop
weighed in a 9.8-pound fluke caught nearly underneath the Verrazano. Anglers also
brought in a five and a couple of sevens on
Sunday, 8/31. Plenty of porgies are being
taken, evidenced by the flats of sandworms
the shop went through over the weekend.
Dick said they can’t keep snapper poppers
on the shelf, either. Blue claws are being
taken “all over the place.”
Capt. Greg of the Ocean Eagle V sailing from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn said
the big porgies really turned on the bite
from Friday, 8/29, through Sunday, 8/31.
“Some beautiful, big porgies were really
coming in steady, along with some keeper
sea bass in the mix,” he said. One to twopound fish were on a steady bite. Greg said
the porgy fishing has definitely improved
over the last week or so since the last moon
after a tough June and July for keepersized fish. Action has been steady, but days
of smaller fish will still happen.
Capt. Steven Ventura of Sea Queen VII
www.AtlantisPrincess.com
out of Sheepshead Bay said the night fishing picked up a lot in the last week.
Anglers aboard drifting sandworms are
getting plenty of short bass, but the weekend averaged about seven or eight keepers
each night. Some nice two-pound porgies
have also been taken at night, he said.
Steven said Sea Queen is planning an
upcoming chunking trip because of last
year’s successful trip about this time drifting bunker chunks. On the day trips, plenty of porgies are coming up with some sea
bass in the mix. The boat has been
focused on the East Reef and wound up
the fluke season on a high note with some
good keepers on Sunday and a few on
Monday.
Capt. Tony Santella of Marilyn Jean
out of said fluking ended with a bang as
the sea bass action picked up nicely over
the last week. Plenty of keeper sea bass up
to four pounds were taken over the weekend with a few keeper fluke in the mix.
After the weather cleared a bit on Sunday,
8/31, afternoon, the noon trip hit the
Rockaway Reef and found some nice sea
bass with a few porgies and fluke. The
Thursday, 8/28, night bass trip saw 50
stripers hit the deck topping out at 18
pounds, as well as a few bluefish.
Sandworms were the ticket there.
Thursday during the day was a great day
for sea bass with all anglers taking home
filets and a few fish over four pounds.
Tony said big porgies have started to
show. MJ switched Tuesday to two halfday bottom fishing trips for a couple of
BOTTOM FISHING
THURS., FRI., SAT. & SUN.
8AM TO 3PM
Call
180 Mansion Ave., SI, NY
(718) 966-2845
NIGHT STRIPERS & BLUES!
Fri. & Sat., 7pm-Midnight
weeks. Tony said the little boat has been
banging up the bluefish. “Every day
we’re beating them up,” he said.
Josh at Crossbay Bait & Tackle in
Howard Beach said bluefish, snappers
and striped bass are being taken by
anglers at the North Channel Bridge. He
said weakfish late at night and early in the
morning are on the bite by the radar pier
and over by Canarsie. Weaks up to 20
inches are also being taken by the bridge
as they chase peanut bunker. Anglers are
going through plenty of sandworms chasing them. From the high school down to
the reef, sea bass and porgies are biting
well, he said, and kingfish are being taken
on the beaches.
Paul over at Great Kills Bait & Tackle
in Staten Island said there are a lot of sea
bass past Sandy Hook along the wrecks
and rock piles. “You’ll have no trouble
getting your limit of keeper fish if you put
your time in,” he said. Cocktail blues are
being taken up and down the beaches with
some larger fish in the 10 to 12-pound
range on the bite at night. Paul said a few
bass have been taken at night along the
beaches in Great Kills Harbor. “They’re
sporatic but it’s a good sign the water is
cooling down a bit,” he said. Snapper
fishing, porgies and crabbing have all
been decent in local waters.
This will be the last column this year
in the printed edition of the magazine.
Head over to noreast.com for the same
weekly coverage through October for the
fall season. Tight lines! ◆
Marine Basin
Orion
Light Tackle Chunking & Trolling NY Bight
Day/Night/Bass/Blues/Fluke/Bottom
1/2 & Full Day • Bait & Tackle Included
(212) 529-1049 Sightseeing Available
www.fishnewyorkcharters.com
There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.
~Washington Irving
32
www.noreast.com
DEBS/JONES
INLET
New Moon
September 30
First Quarter
September 7
Covering Debs Inlet to the
Amityville Cut,
Including Jones Inlet.
Tides and Currents
Full Moon
September 15
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
By Karim Farid
email: DebsJones@noreast.com
WEDS.
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
TUES.
BOAT & MOTOR RENTALS
Debs Inlet Tides and Currents
4:36am
10:57am
5:02pm
11:10pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0
4.8
0.3
4.2
5:11am
11:41am
5:44pm
11:56pm
2:44am
4:25am
6:03am
9:06am
10:44am
12:17pm
3:12pm
4:51pm
6:40pm
9:28pm
10:57pm
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
-2.7 12:27am
0
3:24am
5:00am
3.3 6:48am
4.2 9:52am
11:28am
-2.7 1:03pm
0.2 3:56pm
5:33pm
2.6 7:34pm
3.7 10:16pm
11:43pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.3
4.6
0.6
3.9
5:47am
12:26pm
6:30pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
0.6
4.3
0.9
12:45am
6:25am
1:13pm
7:24pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.6
0.9
4.2
1.1
1:35am
7:15am
2:02pm
8:29pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.4
1.2
4
1.3
BAIT • TACKLE • GAS • DIESEL
2:28am
8:23am
2:55pm
9:35pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.3
1.3
4
1.2
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
1.6
2.8
3:26am
9:33am
3:52pm
10:31pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
3.3
1.3
4
1
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
1.6
2.8
Jones Inlet Tides and Currents
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
1:10am
-2.5 4:06am
0.2 5:36am
7:36am
3.1 10:40am
4
12:13pm
1:50pm
-2.4 4:44pm
0.5 6:19pm
8:31pm
2.3 11:06pm
3.4
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
12:32am
-2.3 1:55am
0.5 4:54am
6:14am
2.9 8:29am
3.8 11:29am
1:00pm
-2.2 2:39pm
0.8 5:40pm
7:13pm
2
9:29pm
11:57pm
The crew over at Causeway Bait &
Tackle is watching the fluke season go
out with a bang. Areas such as the
Hempstead and Atlantic Beach Reefs continue to produce keeper fish daily. Further
out, both the McAlister Grounds, and the
Cholera Banks, are holding their fare
share of fish as well. The catch has been
made up primarily of keeper-sized fish,
with some real doormats mixed in. On
Thursday, August 28th, Steve Cycan
bagged a nice 8-pound, 6-ounce flatty. On
Saturday, Larry Mannino worked the
waters south of Jones Inlet, and came up
with a 7-pound, 8-ounce fluke. Both of
these are fantastic fish, but the ‘Catch of
the week’ undeniably goes to Tom
Schwender, who hooked a huge 13pounder. Nice catch Tom!
Scotty’s Fishing Station, Inc. is also
seeing the results of the tail-end of a fantastic fluke season. A seemingly neverending string of fluke are being hooked in
between 50 and 60 feet of water, off of the
Jones Beach Needle. The bigger fish are
being taken on bigger baits, so if you
missed that doormat this year, make sure
to keep this in mind for next season. Sea
bass and porgies were spotted in the State
Channel earlier in the week, and the
action produced plenty of keeper-sized
fish. Sea bass and porgy are also being
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
3.2
-2
0.8
2.7
3.7
-2
0.9
1.8
1:22am
2:45am
5:51am
7:04am
9:24am
12:19pm
1:49pm
3:33pm
6:43pm
8:18pm
10:26pm
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
3
FISHING STATION, INC
www.scottysmarina.com
12:50am
2:15am
-1.8 3:42am
1
6:55am
8:12am
2.5 10:20am
3.5 1:12pm
2:42pm
-1.9 4:32pm
1
7:44pm
9:24pm
11:21pm
1:52am
3:13am
4:45am
-1.7 7:55am
1
9:22am
11:15am
2.4 2:12pm
3.5 3:39pm
5:31pm
-2 8:37pm
1
10:20pm
-1.8
1
2.4
3.5
-2.1
0.8
taken off of local docks, on a mix of
clams and squid.
Bay Park Fishing Station, Inc. has
been receiving reports from end-of-theseason anglers, who have been cashing in
on the non-stop fluke bite. Anglers
Ronnie, Jim, George, and Jimmy were
aboard the Nemo earlier this week, working the Cholera Banks with Spro bucktails. The group hooked into 9 fluke over
5 pounds, with their biggest fish weighing
in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces. On Tuesday,
Chris LaMastro was out fishing with
anglers George and Mike, and bagged 7
keeper fluke to 7 pounds. The fish were
taken off the Cholera Banks, on a mix of
Peruvian spearing and squid. On
Thursday, Chris was back out with
George, working the same area, using the
same bait, and they limited out on fluke to
7.65 pounds. Towards the end of the
week, anglers working the Atlantic Beach
Reef bagged keeper fluke to 5 pounds.
Atlantic Bait & Tackle is reporting on
the return of the bluefish. Anglers have
been using a mix of baits and jigs around
the Cholera Banks, and coming up with
some nice-sized blues. The bite is coming
off of clams, bunker, and live-lined snapper, as well as tins and spoons. Porgies
and sea bass are being hooked by the
Jones Beach Piers, with enough keepers
to make the fishing worthwhile. Weakfish
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MARINE & FISHING STATIONS
516-432-4665
72 Bayside Drive
Point Lookout, NY 11569
DISCOUNT
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Kwak’s TACKLE SHOP
(516) 221-6913
2949 Merrick Road, Bellmore, NY
(3/4 Mile West of Wantagh Parkway)
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143 BAYSIDE DRIVE, PT. LOOKOUT, NY
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516-766-3110
Visit our website for fishing reports, weather, tide, On Line Store and much more
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Fishing All Species In Season
INSHORE & OFFSHORE
Capt. Rick Cohen
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for the most up-to-date
fishing reports!
33
Point Lookout
SUPER HAWK
Capt. Steve 516-795-6355
www.superhawkfishing.com
were spotted in Reynolds Channel earlier
in the week, in approximately 18 feet of
water. The heaviest action is coming off
of sandworms on 3x3 rigs. Striped bass
are being taken off of local bridges, on a
mix of clams and poppers. The action
tends to be best on the outgoing tide, during early morning hours.
Captain Rick Cohen of My Bonni
Charters had a couple of productive fishing trips this week. On Saturday, Rick
was out with the father-son team of John
and John, working local reefs for some
last-minute fluke action. The anglers
hooked up with 6 fish to 4 pounds, on a
combo of squid and spearing. The catch
was also made up of 2 large sea bass, and
a 6-pound bluefish. The next day Rick
was out with some friends, setting up
drifts around the Hempstead Reef. The
crew had another mixed bag catch, consisting of keeper fluke, sea bass, porgy,
and cocktail bluefish. With the fluke season closing on September 1st, My Bonni
Charters has switched gears, and is now
targeting sea bass, porgy, and bluefish.
Weekend dates are still available, so
make sure to call Captain Rick Cohen at
(516)-319-6266 for your next fishing
trip.
The Super Hawk will be sailing twice
daily, on half-day sea bass trips. The boat
leaves dock at 7am, returning at 12pm,
and again at 1pm, returning at 5:30pm.
The fishing has been excellent, with a
mixed-bag catch of sea bass, porgy, triggerfish, bluefish, and a few striped bass.
The Super Hawk is scheduled to sail on
overnight Canyon tuna trips, starting on
September 18th, until the end of October.
If you plan on fishing for tuna this year,
then make sure to get your reservations in
while there is still room. There is an 18passenger limit, so reservations are a
must. The Princess Marie has been
Half Day Sea Bass Every Day
7AM-12 Noon & 1PM-5:30PM
Canyon Tuna - 18 Pass. Limit
Call For dates
returning to dock with lots of happy
anglers. The boat is currently running
special 3/4-day sea bass charters, which
will leave dock at 8am. Full-day sea
bass charters are scheduled for September
5th as well as September 12th, with
more dates to come. For a full schedule of
trips, rates, or reservations call
(516) 795-6355, or visit their website,
http://www.superhawkfishing.com.
Team Bass Boy is advising anglers to
be on the lookout for baitfish. Large bluefish have been showing up beneath the
schools of spearing and peanut bunker
that are trapped in the back bays and the
canals. Live-lined peanut bunker has been
triggering the most action, but if you run
out of bait you can switch over to a 3ounce tin, which has also been productive. Sea bass and porgies are showing up
in large numbers around the cement block
in Reynolds Channel. The catch is a mix
of short and keeper-sized fish, with the
heaviest bite coming off of clams. Larger
sea bass and porgies can be found on the
outside, around local wrecks and reefs.
Although crabbing has slowed down a little, some nice blue claws are showing up
in the canals and off of docks.
Kwak’s Bait & Tackle is reporting on
the end-of-the-season fluke bite that continues to produce keeper fish in our area.
Anglers have been looking for schools of
squid, and working the waters beneath
them for fluke to 7 pounds. Bluefish are
starting to show up on the outside, to the
east beneath the butterfish. Bluefish are
also being taken on the inside, off of local
docks and bridges.
Mixed in with the bluefish you will
find striped bass, with a few keepers here
and there. The best action tends to be
around the outgoing tide, so make sure to
check the tide charts for your area when
planning your fishing trip. Weakfish are
PRINCESS MARIE
GIANT SEA BASS SPECIALS
CALL FOR DATES
being hooked off the 3rd Wantagh Bridge,
and they are taking live-lined snapper.
Sea Isle Sports Center, Inc. has been
hearing about the heavy sea bass and
porgy action that’s producing keepersized fish around the Meadowbrook, and
Wantagh Bridges. Mixed in with the sea
bass you can expect to find some schoolie
striped bass, with a few keepers showing
up at the end of some lines. If you’re targeting striped bass, make sure that you
work the outgoing tide, during the
overnight and early morning hours. You
should also lay down a heavy chum slick
to help attract the fish. Bluefish are beginning to show up all throughout the inside,
beneath the birds and the baitfish.
West End Bait saw a few keeper
striped bass come in during the first half
of the week. The action was on the outside and to the east, underneath the pods
of bunker. The fish weighed in the midteens, and were taken on clams and
bunker chunks. The action on sea bass
and porgies continues to be productive on
the outside, around local wrecks and
reefs. The Hempstead Reef has been producing fish to 3 pounds, with the bite
coming mostly off of clams. Sea bass are
also being hooked on the inside, so make
sure to work the bay, around the bridges
and pilings, before heading out to deeper
waters.
With the fluke season now officially
closed, anglers are switching gears, and
beginning to look ahead to the fall striper
run that is already being hinted at in back
bays and canals.
Nor’east Saltwater is also switching
gears, and beginning next week we will
be moving to an on-line format. Although
this will be our last weekly print issue, we
will continue to post fishing reports at our
website, http://www.noreast.com. Good
luck anglers! ◆
Freeport
34
www.noreast.com
First Quarter
September 30
FIRE ISLAND
INLET
First Quarter
September 7
Covering Smith Point to
Amityville Cut.
Full Moon
September 15
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Last Quarter
September 22
By Glenn Kleinhans
email: FireIsland@noreast.com
WEDS.
1:02am
3:48am
4:23am
7:15am
9:54am
10:25am
1:34pm
4:16pm
4:49pm
7:52pm
10:16pm
10:38pm
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
THURS.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Fire Island Inlet Tides and Currents
1:44am Slack
-2.5 4:28am Ebb
0 4:58am Lo
8:00am Slack
2.5 10:40am Fld
3 11:09am Hi
2:20pm Slack
-2.5 5:00pm Ebb
0.2 5:31pm Lo
8:46pm Slack
2 11:04pm Fld
2.7 11:24pm Hi
2:27am Slack
-2.3 5:10am Ebb
0.2 5:34am Lo
8:48am Slack
2.4 11:28am Fld
2.9 11:54am Hi
3:07pm Slack
-2.2 5:48pm Ebb
0.4 6:17pm Lo
9:43pm Slack
1.8 11:54pm Fld
2.5
12:13am Hi
-2.1 3:12am Slack
0.4 5:58am Ebb
6:12am Lo
2.2 9:41am Slack
2.7 12:17pm Fld
12:41pm Hi
-2 3:56pm Slack
0.6 6:44pm Ebb
7:11pm Lo
1.5 10:41pm Slack
September is here and that is both
good and bad news for local anglers as the
fluke season may close even though the
fishing is great while the beginning of the
fall bass migration draws near. This will
be the last printed article of the season so
please continue to read the weekly reports
from noreast.com for all the fishing
reports for the area.
Fluke fishing was overall very impressive this season despite the tough regulations and we can only hope that the “powers that be” see things for what they are
and amend the regulation and/or extend
the season. Anglers, you can do your part
by contacting your local officials to let
them know where you stand on the issue.
Bass fishing is getting ready to take off as
the water begins to cool and there are
plenty of big bluefish and some nice sized
weakfish throughout the bay from the
Lighthouse to the inlet. Crabbing remains
strong and snappers are everywhere at the
local docks.
Wallyworld Sportsfishing in Bay
Shore reports that the offshore bite is
great right now. This past week the private charter boat had a trip to the Canyon
and had perfect conditions. The boat left
the dock at 9 AM and had lines in the
water by 1 PM. The first fish landed was
a nice white marlin that was promptly
released and then they ran into several
schools of skippies. Towards dusk they
started chunking around the Dip and had
a steady pick of small fish with twelve
being keepers. Late in the night they
hooked into a large swordfish that became
2.3 12:45am
1:03am
-1.8 4:02am
0.6 6:55am
7:02am
2.1 10:36am
2.7 1:07pm
1:30pm
-1.8 4:50pm
0.7 7:47pm
8:16pm
11:38pm
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
1.4 1:38am Fld
2.2 1:56am Hi
4:59am Slack
-1.7 7:59am Ebb
0.7 8:10am Lo
11:32am Slack
2 2:00pm Fld
2.6 2:23pm Hi
5:49pm Slack
-1.8 8:48pm Ebb
0.8 9:22pm Lo
SUPER
SPEEDY EXPRESS
Sailing From Captree 7 Days A Week
2 TRIPS DAILY
7am - 11am & 12 Noon - 4pm
WEAKS & BAY BLUES
Every Night 7-11pm
$3 Discount Coupon on All Trips
Reserve Your Spot Now
Call Capt. Speedy Hubert
631-969-3793
www.speedyexpressboat.com
Located On Right Side Of Dock
TUES.
1.3 12:33am Slack
2.1 2:40am Fld
2:54am Hi
-1.6 6:02am Slack
0.8 8:59am Ebb
9:20am Lo
1.9 12:27pm Slack
2.5 3:00pm Fld
3:20pm Hi
-1.8 6:48pm Slack
0.7 9:41pm Ebb
10:18pm Lo
1.2
2.1
-1.6
0.8
1.9
2.6
-1.9
0.6
tangled in the chum pot and was cut loose.
On the way back in the morning they
spotted several whales and porpoises,
which put smiles on everyone’s faces and
was the perfect ending to a great trip. To
book your private charter on the 50’
Viking for all your inshore and offshore
desires give captain Wally a call at 6661969.
Aboard Tradewinds the ocean fluke
fishing continues to be outstanding with
many fares limiting out this past week.
Regardless of the keeper rate the boat is
having non-stop action on fluke with over
five hundred fish per trip, at least, coming
over the rails. On Saturday, Mary Lou
Lopes had a 10-pound doormat and her
mother scored a 9-pounder. For the day
the boat had thirty-five keepers and over
five hundred fish. Friday the boat had
over eighty keepers up to 8 pounds on the
full day ocean fluke trip. The crew wants
everyone to know that the fluke season
should be extended and you can go to
their website to see a copy of a letter to
send to your local elected officials urging
them to keep the season open. They also
do private charters for all your private
party needs.
Over on the Laura Lee the 6 PM
evening trips are catching a wide variety
of fish with consistent action throughout
making for a great time on the water.
They are hitting fluke, weakfish, porgies,
blackfish, bluefish, striped bass and triggerfish on these trips. That’s quite a variety! The daytime fluke trips are averaging
anywhere from three hundred to five hundred fish keeping around thirty per trip.
www.noreast.com
J&J SPORTS
Patchogue Fishing Center
Rods Built
& Reels Repaired
-Licenses-
Live Bait
Fresh & Saltwater
-Member NYFTTA-
265 W. Main Street, Patchogue
631-6
654-2
2311 Fax: 631-4
475-2
2506
E-m
mail ReelDeals@earthlink.net
Chasing Tails
j
Bait & Tackle
• Large Selection of Saltwater Tackle
• Inshore & Offshore Live & Frozen Baits
• Marine Supplies • Tohatsu Motors
Mon. - Sat. 6AM-9PM • Sun. 6AM-6PM
1506 Montauk Hwy. • Oakdale, NY
631-563-FISH (3474)
WILLIE K
Bait &
Tackle
ALL LIVE & FROZEN BAIT • NYFTTA MEMBER
FULL LINE OF SALTWATER TACKLE
20 Ackerson Street, Bay Shore • 631-665-7414
35
PARKWOOD OUTFITTERS
Long Island’s Largest Fly Fishing Store
Fresh & Saltwater Flies • Rods • Reels
Fly Fishing School • Fly Tying Classes • Waders
Boots • Books • CD’s • Gifts & Gift Certificates
Open 7 Days • 10am - 6pm
4105 Sunrise Hwy-Bohemia, NY 11716
(631) 563-1323
Next to the Connetquot River
Captree
L AURA LEE
SAILING EVERY DAY
7AM-12:30PM & 1PM-5:30PM
LEFT SIDE OF DOCK
631-6
661-1
1867 • 631-6
669-3
3937
www.captree.com
CAPTREE PRINCESS
Captree State Park
SEA BASS - MON, TUE, WED & FRI
FLUKE - THURS, SAT & SUN
STRIPERS EVERY NIGHT
SAILING TIME
ACCORDING TO TIDE
Sea Bass & Porgies
2 TRIPS DAILY
8AM - 1:30PM & 2PM - 6PM
Our Current Schedule
Call Capt. Rob. 631-859-8799
or 631-404-6817
www.captreeprincess.com
Stripers, Blues &
Weaks - Every Night
7PM - 11PM
Bay Shore
WALLY WORLD SPORTFISHING
FLUKE
TUNA • BAY TO CANYON • ½ DAY TO OVERNIGHT
Fish • Cruise • Party Aboard a 50' Viking
that will make you feel like a KING.
TO
Leaves from Bay Shore • Call for 2008 Bookings • www.WallyWorldFishing.com
Capt.Wally Werner
631-666-1969 • Capt. Alex Werner 631-766-2813
BOB’S BAIT & TACKLE
ROD & REEL REPAIR • LIVE & FROZEN BAIT • FRESH BUNKER • CRABBING SUPPLIES
HAND-TIED FLIES & BUCKTAILS • CUSTOM-TIED HOOKS & RIGS MADE TO ORDER
CUSTOM RODS • 4 Wilson Ave., Amity Harbor • (631) 842-7573
Most of the pool fish are in the 6 to 8pound range. Sea bass and porgies continue to fill the coolers at the local reefs. As
fall approaches make sure you head on
down to one of Captree’s finest boats to
catch that big bass.
Captain Rob of the Captree Princess
reports that the fluke bite is great and they
hope the season is extended because there
are plenty of big doormats in the water
waiting to be caught. This past week the
boat had over three hundred fluke hit the
decks with sixty keepers up to 8 pounds.
They are also hitting plenty of keeper sea
bass as well. The night bass, blues and
weakfish trips are seeing plenty of summer tiderunners come up and some big
bluefish too. The bass bite has picked up
and that should be the case throughout the
next two months, as the start of the fall
bass run gets ready to kick off.
Kurt over at Willie K in Bay Shore
reports the surf fishing was pretty good
all week with fresh clams doing damage
on schoolie bass, weakfish and bluefish.
As for fluke shop local Jim L. landed a
nice 4.2-pound ocean fluke this week on a
squid and spearing combo. In the back
bays there are plenty of small weakfish
feeding on spearing and jigs early in the
morning and just before dark. Some of
those weakfish are in the 20-inch-range.
At the local docks snappers are everywhere and the crabbing is doing pretty
good. As the fall bass run approaches
make sure you stop in to say hi to Kurt.
The shop is fully stocked for all your
angling needs.
Justin from Parkwood Outfitters in
Bohemia reports that on the north shore
there are Spanish mackerel running with
big pods of bluefish in shallow water
right now. The Smithtown Bay area east
towards Port Jefferson Harbor are good
spots to check out. There is plenty of bait
around with some nice adult bunker pods
reported and peanut bunker and spearing
still in the back bays. So far there are no
reports of albacore and the bonita have
been spotty at best as well. That should
change soon though so make sure you
Find BOB’s Custom Tackle, Rods
& More Online At...
www.amityharboroutfitters.com
YOUR ONE STOP INSHORE/OFFSHORE CUSTOM TACKLE SHOP
BABYLON FISHING STATION
GAS – DIESEL – BAIT – TACKLE
631.669-4503 Fax
Fax 631.669-1867
All Inshore – Offshore Baits • Live – Fresh – Frozen
STORE HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 6AM to 9PM
Cubes – Block – Crushed Ice
North of Babylon Town Dock, 23 Post Pl.,Babylon, NY
36
www.noreast.com
Sat. & Sun. 5AM to 9PM March 21st to Dec. 15th
have all the fly gear in order for
the fall run. The shop has everything you need so go check them
out on the westbound service
road of Sunrise Highway in
Bohemia.
Over at Bob’s Bait and
Tackle I heard that the ocean
fluke fishing remains strong in
40-60 feet of water southeast of
the inlet. Squid or whole squid
with spearing are good choices
with live snappers taking some
bigger fish. At the inlet there are
some nice weakfish hitting
clams and sandworms with
schoolie bass coming up as well.
Kingfish and blowfish are at the
docks and close to the bridge.
Bass fishing should pick up Willy K sent us this great photo of 8-year-old Joseph Oliveri
soon and the shop has all the holding a 9.90-lb. fluke that he caught on squid and spearing in
live bait you need for that cow. FI Inlet. The smallest angler caught the biggest fish!
Risa B
MORICHES
INLET
New Moon
September 30
Smith Point to
Quantuck Canal.
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
By Tony Salerno
email: Moriches@noreast.com
WEDS.
3:41am
10:07am
4:07pm
10:20pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
4:16am
10:51am
4:49pm
11:06pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Moriches Inlet High & Low Tides
0.2
3.2
0.4
2.7
4:52am
11:36am
5:35pm
11:55pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.4 5:30am Lo
3 12:23pm Hi
0.6 6:29pm Lo
2.5
Well the 2008 fluke season is now in the
history books and for the record, this premature closure is purely repulsive.
September has always been a banner month
for jumbo fluke along the entire south
shore, which usually carries well into
October. The start of the fall ocean run
along the shoreline of Moriches has started
to materialize towards the end of this week
with plenty of super action and big fish
when the proper drifting conditions existed
and now that the doors are closed for the
season, it will be inevitable that many
impressive flatties will come as by catch
from anglers targeting other species such as
sea bass, bluefish, stripers and reef
dwelling critters.
The ocean clan found plenty of fat fish
west of the inlet between 60 and 80 feet of
water south of the Smiths Point Pavilion.
The key element is to have a good solid
drift; otherwise you would be saying what
0.6 12:45am Hi
3 6:20am Lo
0.7 1:12pm Hi
7:34pm Lo
2.4
0.8
2.9
0.8
1:38am
7:28am
2:05pm
8:40pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
Full Moon
September 15
Sailing from Center Yacht Club
631.603.1622
222 Old Neck Road
risabfishing@optonline.net
Center Moriches, NY
www.RisaBFishingCharters.com
TUES.
2.3
0.8
2.8
0.8
2:36am
8:38am
3:02pm
9:36pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
Center Moriches
Sailing from Senix Marina, Center Moriches
Spacious 47’ Buddy Davis • Fast & Comfortable
2.3
0.8
2.9
0.7
the heck is this reporter talking about.
Thank goodness striper action has been on
the steady as of late, particularly along the
backside of the inlet. Kingfish continue to
rule the roost in the bay, particularly in The
Narrows with quite a few big kings making
it to the coolers this week. Triggerfish continue to be living happy at the rock jetties
and buoy chains while the artificial reef and
the Dredge Hole are the center stage for sea
bass and porgies for those looking to fill a
cooler. Crabs and snapper fishing has just
been primo at the docks,
Chet Wilcox of B&B Bait and Tackle in
Center Moriches reports fluking has been
better in the bay this week with more keepers in the mix. During the week, Frank
Daley fished the West Cut to put a 5.68pound flattie in the box. As for fluke action
in the ocean, the 80-foot depths, west of the
Smith Point Pavilion, is stacked with fish.
Bass fishing is on the upswing with the
night tides definitely having the edge on
www.noreast.com
Capt. Bob Brown
U.S.C.G Licensed Master
Specializing in Shark and Tuna FIshing
1 - 4 person charters in a 28 Ft.
Carolina Classic Sportfisherman
September 22
FRI.
Fishing Charters
First Quarter
September 7
Last Quarter
THURS.
0
3.3
0.2
3
J & J in Patchogue reports
weakfish are in the bay around
the green cans numbers 32-34
on Spro bucktails and squid.
Shop regular Steve had a bunch
and kept one at 22 inches. Fluke
are outside in 40-60 feet of
water and Jean A. hit a nice 8.1pound fluke and had seven other
fish up to 27 inches as well.
Nice going Jean! Bluefish continue to roam the bay and inlet
area and can easily be found if
you spot some birds picking at
the water. There are still some
pods of peanut bunker in the
river and it won’t be long before
the bait leaves the back bays and
creeks to signal the start of the
bass migration. Crabs and snappers are holding strong at the
local docks as well. ◆
“Seeker” Sportfishing
www.SeekerSportfishing.co
FLUKE • SHARK • TUNA • CANYON
Full & Half Days • 1-6 Pass. Limit
Reasonable Rates
CAPT. ED OR CAPT. CASEY
(917) 807-2955 (631) 926-8100
GATEWAY TO FIRE ISLAND NAT’L SEASHORE
SMITH POINT BAIT & TACKLE
Live Killies • Live Eels • All Baits in Season
Full Line of Fresh & Saltwater Tackle
396 Wm. Floyd Pkwy., Shirley, NY 1 Mile South of Sunrise Hwy.
(631) 281-3766
Boat & Motor Rentals
Sailboat & Kayak
Rentals
Bait & Tackle
Launch Ramp
Full Service Marina
www.sillylily.com
(631) 878-0247
Sr. Citizen Discount
Monday-Friday
FOOT OF ADELAIDE AVE., EAST MORICHES
37
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Or give us a call at:
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38
eels. Kingfish will become many anglers
friends until the arrival of tog season. Fish
to 3 pounds are devouring worms, clams
and squid all over the bay; however, The
Narrows ensure the action, particularly
between buoys 6 and 8 at the change of
tide. Crabs and snappers continue at the
local docks.
Captain Kevin Osterbury of Euphoria
Charters is back from vacation and is
anticipating what he does best, wreck fish.
Therefore if you want to get into some wild
bottom fishing or diving adventures this
fall, give Captain Kevin a call at (631) 8784179.
Captain Jan Jacobs of Fretless Fishing
Charters reports a great week of fluke and
sea bass fishing. Thursday through Friday
were absolutely the best days as rods were
constantly bending with fluke to 6 pounds
and sea bass to three pounds. Warren and
Bonnie enjoyed non-stop action on
Thursday with some nice bluefish mix in to
keep things interesting. Anyone looking to
cash in on the fall sea bass action should
give Jan a call at (516) 729-2582.
Craig over at Smiths Point Bait and
Tackle reports the fishing is insane this
week. Indeed fluke season ended on a high
note as Mike and Charlie from the shop had
7 keepers to 5.8 pounds fishing west of the
inlet in 65 feet of water. On Saturday, Mike
Malone decided to fish the same area for 3
keepers while Pat Ryan shot over to the
Dredge Hole for sea bass and fluke to 5.8
pounds. While striper action continues to
build, the bottom fishing for kingfish, sea
bass and porgies have been nothing short of
spectacular in The Narrows.
Captain Steve of the charter boat Fishon
Charters reports the offshore scene has
been a bit on the side this week. However,
the captain has been finding plenty of big
ling and keeper cod keeping the gangs
happy this week. With the fall season
quickly approaching, you may want to get
in on the fall bite and one of the best ways
of doing so is to give Captain Steve a call at
(631) 889-5291 and book a great trip.
Capt. Fred Russo of the open boat Rosie
reports basically a good week with fluke
with the exception of Monday and
Thursday. Otherwise the boat has been seeing 42 to 75 keepers a day. On Friday,
Howie Fey had his limit of flatties.
Saturday saw 400 fish come over the rails;
unfortunately, only 12 stuck around for dinner. Sunday’s venture was in search of big
fish and Captain James did not disappoint.
35 jumbos hit the filet table including Brian
the Landscaper’s 11.7-pound monster flattie and Han So Lee’s 6.74-pound sea bass.
Please note that the boat will be taking a
break for a couple of weeks and returning
www.noreast.com
back to action for some serious ocean bottom and night striper fishing starting back
again on September 15th.
Captain Dennis Caracciolo of D & C
Charters Inc. had a busy and productive
week of fishing. On Tuesday the Celeste
Briana charter enjoyed fluke to 4 pounds
and sea bass to 3 pounds. Thursday saw
Adam Levis’ group with 30 quality sea bass
and a handful of triggerfish. Saturday saw
the Bill Elliot group load up on fluke west
of the inlet in 80 feet of water with fish to 5
pounds. On Sunday’s trip the Walter
Conklin group chose to do some light tackle fishing and was rewarded with fluke to 4
pounds and plenty of school size bass.
Dennis asked me to remind readers that he
still has openings for the upcoming fall season if anyone wants to get in on this action.
Give him a call at (631) 786-7871.
Doug over at Silly Lily Fishing Station
in East Moriches reports plenty of fluke all
over the bay with a better keeper ratio this
week. Peanut bunker and pink color Storm
Shads were the ticket. During the week
Howard Woda fished buoy 15 and the West
Cut for his limit of fluke to 4.8 pounds.
Kingfish remains the best in recent memory over at The Narrows, with all you want
of the feisty critters. Worms, clams and
squid are the ticket between buoys 6 and 8
with fish to 3 pounds. Snappers and crabs
are on fire and both of quality at all the
coves and docks.
Bob over at Mr. B’s Bait and Tackle
reports action continues well for boaters
and shore bound casters this week with
fluke season closing on a real high note.
Shore bound enthusiasts continue to blast
away at snappers, crabs and kingfish.
Bass have showed strong signs of revitalizing this week. In fact the action has been
extremely consistent at the backside of
the inlet during the day, while the action
for the larger bass has been best at night
on live eels directly in the inlet. Fresh
clams have been working best during the
day, while live eels work best at night.
Please keep in mind that Bob is well
stocked with plenty of fresh clams and
live eels to keep you in the action.
weekly print copy of Nor’east Saltwater
column online at www.noreast.com.
Editor’s note: Unfortunately, Tony will
not be writing the Moriches report for us
any longer due to personal reasons. We
want to thank Tony for the years of wonderful reports that he has provided to our
magazine. I personally will miss editing his
column each week and I am sure that you
will miss him too. Thanks Tony! ◆
New Moon
SHINNECOCK
INLET
September 30
First Quarter
September 7
From Quantuck Canal to
Heady Creek.
HASKELL’S
BAIT & TACKLE
New Shinnecock Store Serving Inshore, Offshore & Surf Anglers
Penn Gold Label - Shimano Top Shelf
Van Staal - Lamiglas - Altenkirch Rods
+ All Live, Fresh & Frozen Baits
540 Montauk Hwy., East Quogue 11942
FOR MORE INFO CALL 631-653-6119
Full Moon
September 15
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
By Mike Wright
email: Shinnecock@noreast.com
WEDS.
12:03am
2:46am
3:44am
7:12am
9:34am
10:13am
12:35pm
3:14pm
4:10pm
7:49pm
9:56pm
10:26pm
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Shinnecock Inlet High & Low Tides
12:45am Slack
-2.5 3:26am Ebb
0 4:19am Lo
7:57am Slack
2.7 10:20am Fld
3.3 10:57am Hi
1:21pm Slack
-2.5 3:58pm Ebb
0.2 4:52pm Lo
8:43pm Slack
2.2 10:44pm Fld
3 11:12pm Hi
1:28am Slack
-2.3 4:08am Ebb
0.2 4:55am Lo
8:45am Slack
2.6 11:08am Fld
3.2 11:42am Hi
2:08pm Slack
-2.2 4:46pm Ebb
0.4 5:38pm Lo
9:40pm Slack
1.9 11:34pm Fld
2.7
12:01am Hi
-2.1 2:13am Slack
0.4 4:56am Ebb
5:33am Lo
2.4 9:38am Slack
3 11:57am Fld
12:29pm Hi
-2 2:57pm Slack
0.6 5:42pm Ebb
6:32pm Lo
1.7 10:38pm Slack
Well, that’s all folks. The 2008 fluke
fishing season has gone quietly into history. Rumors of the DEC rethinking the
season ending and perhaps granting
anglers an extension do not appear to
have been in the cards, unless they’re
going to pull a NMFS-like re-opening,
which seems unlikely.
The season on the East End, at least,
ended with more of the action that has
many anglers saying it was the best fluke
fishing ever and feeding the complaints
about the closure. Most trips over the
final weekend found hungry fluke in
large numbers and sufficiently large sizes
to put plenty of keepers in coolers and
kept anglers smiling.
The main bite continued to be in the
ocean but even the boats that remained
inside Shinnecock Bay found snapping
fish and good numbers of keepers.
Doormats continued to be very common
and the Big Willy Wall at Molnar’s
Landing finished up its busiest year ever
with a flurry of additions, including a 12pound, 14-ounce jumbo. Another 12pounder came over the rails of the
Shinnecock Star on Saturday and several
fish in the 8-, 9-, and 10-pound range
came to the net on boats all over the area.
Boats also continued to report massive
schools of squid lingering outside the
2.5 12:25am
12:51am
-1.8 3:03am
0.6 5:53am
6:23am
2.2 10:33am
3 12:47pm
1:18pm
-1.8 3:51pm
0.7 6:45pm
7:37pm
11:35pm
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
1.5 1:18am Fld
2.4 1:44am Hi
4:00am Slack
-1.7 6:57am Ebb
0.8 7:31am Lo
11:29am Slack
2.1 1:40pm Fld
2.9 2:11pm Hi
4:50pm Slack
-1.8 7:46pm Ebb
0.9 8:43pm Lo
TUES.
A Complete Small Boat Sportfishing Marine Facility
LIVE EELS & KILLIES
Come By Land or Come By Sea
Full Service at Molnar’s Landing
1.4 12:30am Slack
2.3 2:20am Fld
2:42am Hi
-1.6 5:03am Slack
0.9 7:57am Ebb
8:41am Lo
2 12:24pm Slack
2.8 2:40pm Fld
3:08pm Hi
-1.8 5:49pm Slack
0.8 8:39pm Ebb
9:39pm Lo
All Inshore & Offshore Bait & Tackle
1.3
2.3
-1.6
0.9
2
2.9
631-728-
-1.9
0.7
inlet in just 50 feet of water (Hey,
Shinnecock charter captains, how about
some night squid fishing trips?)
So now anglers must start thinking
about what to do next. Thankfully fall is
close by and the big runs are starting to
take shape. Striper fishing has been fairly
slow around Shinnecock for a couple of
weeks now but a few anglers have begun
to find signs of the frenzied fall fishing
shaping up. A few keeper stripers came
out of the surf this week and some fish
have been crashing bait along the edges
of the East Cut in the early mornings. The
scuba divers swimming along the rocks
are starting to see more fish setting up.
There are hordes of bluefish around,
of course, making for reliable action
morning, noon and night from the surf or
on boats.
Clouds of bay anchovies (a.k.a. rain
minnows or white bait) have started
massing in the bay and around the inlet
jetties. Some bonito and false albacore
have popped up here and there and
should start blitzing the inlet fairway
pretty soon, making for fast action for
flyrodders and light tackle angers both on
boats and working the rocks.
Sea bass fishing will be on the menu
for most charter and party boat captains
in the next few weeks and from the number and sizes of fish being reported as
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39
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FISHING CHARTERS
Sailing from Jackson’s Marina, Shinnecock
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Fishing All Species in Season
Call Capt. Mike Davies 631-375-3132
Email: Mike@JeanMarieFishingCharters.com
Visit us online:
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WRECK FISHING
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East Quogue
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40
incidental catches by fluke fishermen
On Monday Jim Strauss and his famiThere are high hopes for this season ly were aboard the Peace for a short fluke
(which may be a good thing since the trip and managed to put five keeper fluke
limits are going to be slashed next year). on ice in just three hours of fishing and
Nikki and Reid Freedman dropped a pair released dozens of fish that were within
of nice sea bass on the scales at East End an inch or two of the keeper limit. On
Bait and Tackle last Thursday, tipping Tuesday boat regular Joe Amella was
the needle to 3.5 and 5 pounds. They got aboard for some mixed bag fishing. Capt.
their fish on fluke baits out by the sea Jim put them on five keeper fluke to
buoy. Triggerfish can still be had around about 4 pounds and then did some
the rocks and buoy chains.
trolling along the surf line for stripers,
But this week it was still the fluke which produced a few fish but no keepfishing that was on everyone’s agenda, ers.
and the fish didn’t disappoint. Aboard the
Capt. Jim took the boat outside the
Shinnecock Star
inlet in search of
anglers
found
bass and bluefish.
lots of big fish in
What they found
the waters just
instead was a pair
outside the inlet.
of fat green bonito
Fishing continthat went on ice to
ued to be good
add to the bag of
with
almost
tasty fillets heading
everyone getting
home. On Saturday
at least a couple
Charles Krypell
of keepers and
and his family got
the pool fish topa pair of keeper
ping 7 pounds on
stripers
tossing
most
days. Dante, Benito, Fabian, 10-year-old Luis &
rubber shads in the
Saturday’s trip Ceaser with some nice Shinnecock Bay bass
surfline just east of
saw the biggest & fluke caught late August on the Peace of
the inlet and then
fish of the year, a Mind.
topped off the day
12-pounder and a pair of other fish over 7 with three jumbo fluke that weight 4.5,
pounds. After taking a couple days off to 5.5 and 6.5 pounds. On Sunday Randi
regroup from the summer madness Capt. Wiston and his kids Jon and Gabrielle
John will have the Star back on the water had a phenomenal day of fluking in the
by the time you read this, making daily ocean putting 10 keepers up to 5 pounds
trips to the nearshore wrecks for sea bass, on ice in a half-day of fishing as well as
porgies and ling with a bit of bluefish and catching some short stripers and a few
striped bass fishing. The boat will sail bluefish for good measure.
from Soleau’s Wharf on Dune Road in
Capt. Jim said the boat is open for
Hampton Bays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. dur- charter on most days in the coming week
ing the week and twice a day on week- and he’ll do whatever kind of fishing is
ends, leaving at 7 a.m. and noon. Call requested. Sea bass on the reef and blue728-4563 for more info and reservations. fish and bass fishing in the inlet should
Matteo Pietrera and his dad, Pasquale, be pretty reliable for the next several
caught their limit of fluke between 4.5 weeks. The Peace docks at Oaklands
and 6.5 pounds using bucktails near the Restaurant and Marina. Call 516-848sea buoy which they weighed in at East 8578 to book a trip aboard this well outEnd Bait and Tackle on Montauk fitted sportfish.
Highway in Hampton Bays on Thursday.
Congratulations to Robert Antonio for
Capt. Jim Delano of the charter boat winning the four offshore rods through
Peace of Mind said that the great fluking the raffle at East End Bait and Tackle that
almost makes it more painful to have the benefited the Big Brothers and Big
season close down so early, while tons of Sisters of Long Island.
big fish that would certainly have charA special note to readers: This is the last
ters booking for weeks to come sit out- weekly print copy of Nor’ east Saltwater
side the inlet eager to bite.
magazine for this season. However, start“I thought they were going to throw us ing next week, you can find this weekly
a bone because of all the new data,” Capt. column online at www.noreast.com.
Jim said. “An extra two weeks would be Noreast will publish monthly beginning in
nice. We’ve got mortgages to pay.”
the middle of October. ◆
www.noreast.com
save for Someday Came full page
MONTAUK
POINT
New Moon
September 30
First Quarter
September 7
From Gardiners Bay
to Montauk.
Tides and Currents
Full Moon
September 15
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
By Ben Treadwell
email: Montauk@noreast.com
WEDS.
1:00am
3:19am
3:53am
6:32am
10:04am
10:46am
1:18pm
3:43pm
4:31pm
7:05pm
10:30pm
10:45pm
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
1:42am Slack
-1.8 4:01am Ebb
0.1 4:25am Lo
7:12am Slack
2.6 10:45am Fld
3.1 11:22am Hi
1:59pm Slack
-1.9 4:27pm Ebb
0.4 5:11pm Lo
7:51pm Slack
2.3 11:13pm Fld
2.6 11:15pm Hi
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Montauk Inlet Tides & Currents
2:27am Slack
-1.6 4:46am Ebb
0.3 4:59am Lo
7:55am Slack
2.3 11:29am Fld
2.9 11:58am Hi
2:44pm Slack
-1.7 5:15pm Ebb
0.6 5:54pm Lo
8:41pm Slack
2 11:50pm Hi
2.4
12:01am Fld
-1.4 3:17am Slack
0.5 5:36am Ebb
5:38am Lo
2.1 8:44am Slack
2.8 12:18pm Fld
12:39pm Hi
-1.5 3:36pm Slack
0.9 6:07pm Ebb
6:44pm Lo
2.2 9:38pm Slack
As fluke season comes to a close it is
always important to keep a record of
where the fish were caught during the
season so that next year you can head
back to the same spots around the same
time and hopefully have the same luck.
This season landed many anglers some
nice big fluke and
plenty of fun to go
along with it. The
fluke fishing was
great for the short
time that it lasted.
The early end to the
season has many
captains praying for
a great fall of bottom fishing and some
even better bass and blue action. Reports
show that the boats are all going bottom
fishing for the remainder of this warm
weather until it cools off enough to jig
and drag live bait for some big fall bass
action. As far as the action from this past
week, here are the reports.
I spoke to George over at Tight Lines
1.7 12:31am
12:55am
-1.2 4:15am
0.8 6:23am
6:31am
1.8 9:41am
2.6 1:13pm
1:28pm
-1.4 4:35pm
1.1 7:06pm
7:53pm
10:41pm
Hi
Fld
Slack
Lo
Ebb
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
2 1:24am Hi
1.5 1:56am Fld
5:19am Slack
0.9 7:18am Lo
-1.1 7:32am Ebb
10:45am Slack
1.6 2:15pm Fld
2.4 2:40pm Hi
5:38pm Slack
-1.3 8:08pm Ebb
1.3 9:35pm Lo
11:44pm Slack
1.9 2:34am Hi
1.4 3:02am Fld
6:24am Slack
1.1 8:29am Lo
-1 8:34am Ebb
11:50am Slack
1.5 3:19pm Fld
2.3 4:22pm Hi
6:40pm Slack
-1.3 9:07pm Ebb
1.3 10:42pm Lo
– Capt. Barry Kohlus –
Charter Fishing in Montauk
“Full Time” Since 1961
1.3
-1.1
1.6
2.3
-1.4
1.1
BOOK NOW FOR 2008!
FOR RESERVATIONS & INFO
CALL
(631) 668-5
5405
www.montauksportfishing.com
Tuna
Striper Cod Fluke
Sea Bass
Tilefish Bluefish Pollock Blackfish Porgy
646.251.5101
Flyin g Cl oud
www.montaukflyingcloud.com
46+Years Experience Fishing Montauk
PORGIES-7AM
Capt. Fred & Capt. Neil
Call 800-474-9541 or 631-668-2026
JOHNNY MARLIN DOCK
OPEN BOAT
MONTAUK’S FAMOUS
LAZYBONES
SEA BASS & PORGIES
STRIPERS & BLUES SOON!
CALL FOR DETAILS
8AM TO NOON & 1PM TO 5PM
CAPT. MIKE SAYS “BRING YOUR LUNCH, CATCH YOUR DINNER”
631-668-5671
www.montauksportfishing.com/lazybones.html
Capt. Harvey Smith
Cell
646-879-7964
www.soakerfishing.com
Sailing from West Lake Fishing Lodge • Bottom Fishing Specialists
Half & Full Day • Inshore • Offshore • Charter Boat 1-6 Passengers
STRIPED BASS, BLUEFISH AND FLUKE COMBO TRIPS
VENTURE
1.9
1.4
“There are some big blues
and bass in the rips out
by Montauk.”
Fishing Charters
— Call Capt. Jake —
631-668-2818 or 631-668-5852
TUES.
Bait and Tackle and he reported another
great week of fishing to end off this busy
summer season. There were plenty of
porgies still around everywhere. As far as
fun for the family, snappers invaded
every dock and beach in the surrounding
area. The fluke season came to an end
with there being plenty of nice fish in the
harbor and out on
the Southside at
M o n t a u k .
Weakfish started
to show up in the
early morning at
buoy 16 to around
the 5-pound mark.
And lastly, there
are some big blues and bass in the rips out
by Montauk.
After speaking to Joan at Westlake
Fishing Lodge, she reported a good end
to a big fluke season. Anglers all week
caught their limit of fish to just over 6
pounds. The big bass bite is just starting
to begin with Alexandra Fiss landing a
nice 40-pound bass this week while fish-
Soaker
MIXED BAG: 2 TRIPS DAILY
8AM-12 Noon & 1PM-5PM
NIGHT BASS WITH LIVE EELS
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Montauk's Friendliest
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Sailing From Snug Harbor Marina
Call 631-329-0015 or 631-681-8873
www.CaptKeith.org
41
ing on the Lady Maureen. Michael
Lotito landed a 5-pound sea bass this
week as well proving that the bottom fishing is still amazing. There are some giant
porgies out there too. Fishing in the area
is overall doing well.
Gone Fishing Marina gave me a general report of great fishing today. The end
of fluke fishing season was amazing this
time because of the early close. There
were still plenty of big fish out there to be
landed. The bottom fishing could not get
any better with porgies reaching the 3pound mark almost on every trip. Bass
fishing is doing well as the water temperatures begin to drop off as we enter the
fall season. As far as the offshore scene,
there have been reports of a few yellowfin
being caught but it remained very quiet
this week. The southside and just a little
further east in the rips produced the best
fishing inshore.
I spoke to Captain Neil from the
Flying Cloud who was not too happy
about the early end to the fluke season but
reported that the last week was very productive. On Monday morning Sean Hartic
landed a nice 15-pound bluefish for the
edible pool and in the afternoon Nicholas
Dwosin, who is just 14 years old, landed
Steve Semko holding a 38-pound bass
caught on a live eel during the July new
moon on the Caprice.
a 6-pound fluke. On Wednesday Patty
Dunton and son Joey both had their limit
of fluke as well as the pool with a 5-pound
fluke. Sunday brought out anglers Joe
Tosinski and Michael Berg who had fish
to 9.25 pounds and took the pool honors.
The bottom fishing remained very good
and they are planning to start bottom fishing full time for porgies and sea bass.
Captain Bob from the Ebb Tide reported that he also is not happy with the early
end this year but is planning on fishing the
bottom for the rest of the year. There are
plenty of porgies and sea bass to land as
well as fluke. Although anglers will not be
able to take the fish home, they are always
allowed a Kodak moment and back over
the side. As far as this past week’s action,
Bob reports on Monday Kay Dee
Kowaltzyk landed a nice 6.5-pound fluke.
During Tuesday’s trip the pool was won
by Anne Marie Bender with a 5.5-pound
fluke. Wednesday brought out angler
Stephen Turney who landed a 5-pound
fluke for the honors.
On Friday Anthony Montella and Jim
Forde landed pool fish to 6.25 pounds.
Sunday’s trips had out Danny Vossa and
Vivica Johnson who had big fish to just
over 10 pounds showing a very productive end to the season. As far as the night
bass trips were concerned this week
Nicole Auclair landed a 21-pound striped
bass and Dylan Chaisson on the same trip
landed a 30-pound bass but unfortunately
was not in the pool.
After receiving an email from Kathy
on the Lazy Bones she wants to let everyone know that they will be going for sea
bass and porgies as of September 2nd and
then for striped bass on or about the 13th
of September. As far as the fishing this
past week she reported that Monday
morning saw 14 keepers with the pool
going to Tony P. with his fluke at 6
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Trips Limited to 22 Pass.
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M ONTAUK ’ S
F RIENDLIEST M ARINA
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M ONTAUK ’ S T OP C HARTER B OAT S • C ALL O UR B OOKING S ERVICE
pounds. The afternoon trip saw quite a
few sea bass and porgies mixed in but
pool honors went to Timmy the Turtle
with a 5-pounder. Tuesday morning had
20 keepers and a 7.25-pound fluke for the
pool by Bob Canzoneri and Chris Gray
limited out. A-Team Bob had a nice fish at
7 pounds and T.C.G. had one at 6.5
pounds. The afternoon trip yielded 22
keepers and Jeff Carpenter had the pool
with his fish at 7 pounds. Chris Gray had
8 keepers for the day retaining his limit
with fish up to 6 pounds. Wednesday
morning had 24 keepers come over the
rails and first time angler Millie Harrison
had the pool with her nice fish at 7
pounds. The afternoon trip had 12 keepers
and the pool was won by Donald Klenke
with a fish at 5 pounds. Thursday morning
had 14 keepers and T.C.G. managed to
win the pool with his fish at 7.4 pounds
and Vinny Vanacore was not far behind
with his fish at 7 pounds. The afternoon
trip had 7 keepers and Jeff Carpenter once
again won the pool with a fish at 6.75
pounds and 14-year-old Chris Fiorillo had
one at 6.5 pounds. Friday morning had 13
keepers and the pool winner was Joe
Casablanca with his fish at 6.5 pounds.
The afternoon trip was slow with only 5
keepers but Chris Gray won with his fish
at 5 pounds. Saturday was very picky and
slow. The morning pool was won by
Jimmy the lifeguard Janicek with a 6pound fluke. Sunday morning turned out
to be a good with 17 keepers and the pool
was won by Gary Edlund with his fish
weighing in at 5 pounds. Kathy hopes you
all had a safe Labor Day weekend and
looks forward to a great fall of fishing.
Now that the summer is coming to an
end and Labor Day is over, it is time to
start thinking about breaking out the bigger rods and putting the light tackle aside
for the bass are going to be hungry and
biting more and more each day. Light
tackle fishing is fun but a 50-pound bass
on a small fluke rod can bring some
anglers to their knees hoping not to lose
it. Always ask your local tackle shop
what to use before heading out, because
they do know best.
weekly print copy of Nor’ east Saltwater
column online at www.noreast.com.
Noreast will publish the first monthly of
this season around the middle of October.
Keep your eyes open for it at your favorite
tackle shop!
Until next week, tight lines. ◆
for the most up-to-date
fishing reports
Let Me Put
You In This
Picture.
NOVEMBER RAIN
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Our Restaurant
EAST LAKE DRIVE • MONTAUK, NY
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www.noreast.com
43
Open 7 Days
NORTH FORK
& PECONICS
New Moon
LIVE BAIT: FRESH & FROZEN
Tides and Currents
Full Moon
September 15
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
By Allen Singer
email: NorthFork@noreast.com
12:38am
1:23am
2:58am
6:46am
7:22am
10:06am
12:59pm
1:41pm
3:22pm
7:26pm
7:55pm
10:32pm
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
THURS.
2.8 1:22am
2:05am
-4.3 3:40am
0.4 7:31am
8:02am
3.7 10:47am
3.2 1:44pm
2:22pm
-4.4 4:06pm
0.4 8:17pm
8:41pm
3.3 11:15pm
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Last Quarter
September 22
SAT.
SUN.
FRI.
Plum Gut Tides & Currents
2.6 2:09am
2:50am
-3.8 4:25am
0.5 8:20am
8:45am
3.4 11:31am
3.1 2:33pm
3:07pm
-4 4:54pm
0.5 9:11pm
9:31pm
2.9
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
2.4 12:03am
3:01am
-3.3 3:40am
0.7 5:15am
9:14am
3 9:34am
2.9 12:20pm
3:26pm
-3.6 3:59pm
0.7 5:46pm
10:08pm
10:28pm
Porgies, porgies, porgies! It’s porgy
time on the North Fork! We are blessed
with the biggest specimens, the perfect
habitat, and HUGE schools of scup that
are just waiting for your offering! Prime
Time 3 is sailing OPEN, DAILY, departing Orient-by-the-Sea Marina at 8:00
AM. Captain Mike asks that you please
call ahead, to ensure a space at the rail,
and suggests that you bring a camera, a
cooler, and some sunblock. A nice mix of
sea bass, bluefish, and stripers accompanies the scup most days. Visit
www.primetime3.com or call (631) 4843273.
Captain Dave Brennan has been capitalizing on the FANTASTIC porgy fishery
we have. Now that the limit for his customers is 45 fish (effective September 1)
the fares have been filling coolers! A sixpound fluke took the pool on Sunday,
which was a fitting end to a decent fluke
season. The summer flounder got off to a
slow start this year, but were still biting
when the season closed. Captain Dave of
the Peconic Star II, says that bluefish are
generally a signal to move, but sea bass
are a regular bycatch.
Steve at WEGO Fishing B&T echoes
that “It’s porgy time!” In the sound, in the
bay, even at Truman’s Beach for the
shorebound angler. Sea bass and porgies
are at the ruins, but the very biggest
humpbacks are found at Fisher’s Island!
Bluefish are literally a “can’t miss”
44
Ample Parking
Cars/Trailers
First Quarter
September 7
Mattituck Inlet, Plum Gut, The
Race & Peconic Bay.
WEDS.
Ice – Snacks –
Soda
September 30
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
Fld
Hi
Slack
Ebb
Lo
Slack
2.5 12:57am Fld
2.2 4:01am Hi
4:38am Slack
-2.9 6:10am Ebb
0.8 10:11am Lo
10:31am Slack
2.6 1:15pm Fld
2.8 4:24pm Hi
4:58pm Slack
-3.2 6:45pm Ebb
0.7 11:05pm Lo
11:31pm Slack
TUES.
MON.
2.2 1:58am Fld
2.1 5:06am Hi
5:42am Slack
-2.5 7:11am Ebb
0.9 11:09am Lo
11:35am Slack
2.3 2:17pm Fld
2.7 5:23pm Hi
6:01pm Slack
-3 7:47pm Ebb
0.8
2 12:01am Lo
2.1 12:34am Slack
3:04am Fld
-2.4 6:08am Hi
1 6:47am Slack
8:13am Ebb
2.2 12:06pm Lo
2.7 12:40pm Slack
3:21pm Fld
-3 6:20pm Hi
7:03pm Slack
8:46pm Ebb
Rod & Reel Repairs
NEW ITEMS COMING IN EVERY WEEK!
“Quit Wishin’, Go Fishin”
631-765-3918
61850 MAIN RD. (RT. 25) • SOUTHOLD
0.7
2
2.1
-2.5
0.9
2.3
2.7
-3.2
proposition now! Dragging or drifting a
bait in the Gut, the Race, the Rip or the
Sluiceway will result in bent rods in short
order. During the daytime, it is difficult to
get to the bass, because of the hungry
blues ...but at night it’s another story!
Henry has some new dark-colored bucktails that seemingly work wonders, and
you will have to stop by the shop to glean
any more information!
“It was one helluva week! ”
Captain Bill Russo called to let me
know about his activities this week. On
Tuesday, Harry and Debi Triola capitalized on the fantastic bluefish and porgy
fishing by booking a combination trip.
After warming up on alligator blues at
Pigeon Rip, they switched to bottom fishing at Little Gull Island. Dennis Cataldo,
from the New York Sportfishing
Federation (a.k.a. “the Federation”)
brought a group aboard from Little
Flower Home, in Port Washington, and
Troop
2876
G.S.A.
from
Selden/Centereach for an all-day porgy
trip. There were squeals of delight, as
many of the fares caught their “first-ever”
fish! Check the pictures on the Northeast
website, they’re precious! On Saturday,
the Peconic Ironworks, or Riverhead,
chartered for blues! Joe Parascandola
www.noreast.com
STORE HOURS: 5AM-6PM DAILY
CAPT. MARTY’S FISHING STATION
16' & 18' ALUMINUM BOATS & OUTBOARD MOTORS
PORGIES
1st Avenue & King Street, New Suffolk
BAIT • TACKLE • ICE • BEER
(631) 734-6852
took big fish honors with a 12-pounder!
They finished with porgies of all sizes
from Gardiners. On Sunday, it was the
annual “Dick Hurley, family and friends,
mixed bag trip.” They bailed blues until
everyone’s arms were sore, and then
switched to porgies at Gull Island. Audrey
Wigley was hi-hook with 10 bluefish!
From a Bachelor Party to a Seal-Watching
Cruise, Captain Russo has done it all, and
well. See for yourself why most customers come back year after year, or why
experienced mates choose Orient Star
when THEY charter! You could do far
worse than to call Captain Russo at (516)
785-6149.
“It was one helluva week” said
Captain Bob Ceglowski. His Mattituckbased operation had a veritable slaughter
this week, with both bass and bluefish hitting the deck in incredible numbers! On
Wednesday, for example, 62 anglers layed
their rods down at 1 PM and begged the
captain to go home. No small wonder, the
deck was filled with over 400 fish! This
scene repeated itself on Thursday, and
again on Friday and Saturday! Each day
there were more 20+ pound bass in the
mix! On Sunday, Paul Kolakowski limited on bass and blues, taking the pool with
his 2-pound striper. Regulars “Pete Sr.”
and “Pete Jr.” from Northport Fence
paved the deck with their stripers and
blues! The best is yet to come! The
Captain Bob V sails OPEN, DAILY,
departing Mattituck Inlet at 8:00 AM in
search of Mattituck Monsters. Don’t forget the special trips scheduled for
Open 7 Days 6-6
Boat Rentals on
Peconic River
Greenport
FISHERMAN’S DELI
Full Day
Porgies
Largemouth Bass & Pickeral
Fresh & Saltwater
Fishing Tackle & Bait
Nita & George Devlin
Ice Cold Beer & Soda
Sailing at 7:30 AM
Free Parking • 1st Class Service
1st Class Crew • 1st Class Boat, Clean & Fast
CAPT. DAVE BRENNAN
631-289-6899
September 4/11/18/25 with live eels and a
strict limit of 18 anglers (on a 75-foot
boat, licensed for 115 passengers.)
Reservations on these special 4 PM trips
are a must! Call Captain Bob directly at
(631) 298-5522. Be sure to see his website at www.captbobfishingfleet.com!
It was a busy Labor Day weekend at
Captain Marty’s Fishing Station says
Phil. “Porgies to 17 inches, with limits the
norm” he adds. Undersize weakfish and
snappers keep the kids happy, but 2008
has been a terrible year for blue claw
crabs. In addition to the popular skiffs,
Captain Marty’s also rents both single and
tandem kayaks by the hour, or by the day.
I suggest that you rent individual kayaks,
and by the day, as time on the water really goes fast!
Captain Phil Kess did some maintenance this week, but managed to get out
with a group from Adchem Corporation
this past Thursday. Although their halfday excursion was supposed to be about
bluefish and bass, a 7-pound fluke bit a
diamond jig to become part of the catch!
Captain Phil says that he has some prime
blackfish dates open, and that there are
still some opportunities for night stripers.
Call him directly at (516) 316-6967 for
Sailing From the
Railroad Dock In
Greenport
information about chartering Fishy
Business.
`This column would not be complete
without some lyrics from our resident
poet, Captain George Grosselfinger.
The Darkness prevailed on this windless night. Russel Rasch, fishing with dad,
was in for a fight.
The cow headed North (without stopping) as she crossed the Sound. Russ settled for the night’s biggest, a bass about
30 pounds. (8/27)
2nd Chance Charters with Captain
George Grosselfinger (631) 765-8711 (a
word to the wise.)
If you’re reading this from a magazine,
the bad news is this is the last weekly that
you will be seeing for a while. There
WILL be a monthly issue for October,
though. The GOOD news, is that the
COLUMN will remain weekly, on the
Noreast website: www.noreast.com. The
advantage of maintaining a website dedicated to fishing in our area, is that the
news is much fresher than a weekly publication can possibly hope for. You will
always find the most up-to-the-minute
information there, as well as hundreds of
collected years of experience to answer a
specific question. ◆
noreast.com New York Posted Reports - Nort Fork & Peconics
Date posted:
Posted by:
Report location:
Fishing method:
Breakfast Specials
Homemade Salads
Hot & Cold Sandwiches
September 1, 2008 8:06 PM
primetime3
New York > North Fork > FULL THROTTLE PORGIES PRIMETIME3
Boat
September 1, 2008 - OPEN BOAT PORGY, the
long awaited day in which we are allowed to possess 45 porgies finally arrived! Today we had full
throttle porgy fishing in which many fares whaled
on the scup till their coolers were crowned. We will
fish for porgies every day and it looks like fishing
will be super for the remainder of the season with
size and quantity. There is a bycatch of sea bass,
bluefish, stripers and the out of season fluke (boo
hoo.) Pool fish today went to regular patron, Duane,
who caught a 5-pound bluefish. Many large and
jumbo scup were taken in the 2-3lb. class, as well.
Capt. Mike & Jenny Boccio, primetime3
www.noreast.com
631-727-4291
1315 W. Main (Rt. 25) Riverhead, NY 11901
Mattituck
CAPT. BOB V
Bluefish • Striped Bass
Porgy Combo
Sailing 8AM Daily
SECOND TRIP SATURDAY: Blues & Bass
4PM - 9PM
CAPTAIN BOB IV CHARTER AVAILABLE
WWW.CAPTBOBFISHINGFLEET.COM
631-298-5522
Orient Point
BLACK ROCK SPORTFISHING CHARTERS
38’ HATTERAS YACHT
FULL/HALF DAYS AND NIGHT BASS TRIPS
Bait & Custom Rods Provided
Capt. Sloan
H 516-819-5731
www.OrientPointFishing.com
WARREN’S TACKLE CENTER
Live & Frozen Bait
+ Complete Line of Tackle
OPEN 7 DAYS
Main Road (Route 25) Aquebogue, NY
Call 631-722-4898 Fax 631-722-5314
2nd Chance
1-3
Pass
TROPHY STRIPED BASS SPECIALIST
1 PASS/$320
2 PASS/$470
3 PASS/$570
LIGHT TACKLE
CASTING • EELING • BUCKTAILING
CAPT. GEORGE GROSSELFINGER
CELL (631) 495-2995
FISH GUARANTEED
•
CGROSSELFINGER@OPTONLINE.NET
Over 30 Years
Full-Time
Charter Services Experience
Full Day
1-20 Passengers
Night Bass Trips
1-8 Passengers
Capt.
Richard
Jensen
(631)
477-2337
www.noreast.com
45
NORTH
SHORE
New Moon
September 30
First Quarter
September 7
Covering Long Island Sound
From Bayville
to Wading River.
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Full Moon
September 15
By Chuck Barbato
email: NorthShore@noreast.com
WEDS.
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
2:06am
8:21am
2:24pm
8:53pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
7.2
0.2
7.7
0.1
2:49am
9:03am
3:08pm
9:38pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2:00am
8:09am
2:18pm
8:41pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
7.2
0.2
7.6
0.1
2:43am
8:51am
3:02pm
9:26pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
Eatons Neck High & Low Tides
6.8
0.6
7.5
0.5
3:34am
9:48am
3:54pm
10:27pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.5
0.9
7.2
0.9
4:23am
10:37am
4:44pm
11:20pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.3 5:17am Hi
1.4 11:31am Lo
7 5:38pm Hi
1.2
MON.
6.1 12:16am Lo
1.7 6:14am Hi
6.9 12:29pm Lo
6:35pm Hi
TUES.
1.5
6.1
1.9
6.9
1:13am
7:12am
1:27pm
7:32pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
1.5
6.3
1.9
7
1.5
6
1.9
6.9
1:01am
7:06am
1:15pm
7:26pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
1.5
6.2
1.9
7
1.4
5.7
1.8
6.5
1:06am
7:12am
1:20pm
7:32pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
1.4
5.9
1.8
6.6
SWAINE’S
BAIT & TACKLE
534 NORTH COUNTRY RD.
ST. JAMES, NY 11780
All Baits
in Season
(631) 584-5613
Nissequogue River High & Low Tides
6.8
0.6
7.4
0.5
3:28am
9:36am
3:48pm
10:15pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.4
0.9
7.2
0.9
4:17am
10:25am
4:38pm
11:08pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.2 5:11am Hi
1.4 11:19am Lo
7 5:32pm Hi
1.2
6 12:04am Lo
1.7 6:08am Hi
6.9 12:17pm Lo
6:29pm Hi
Port Jefferson High & Low Tides
2:06am
8:14am
2:24pm
8:46pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.8
0.2
7.2
0.1
2:49am
8:56am
3:08pm
9:31pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.4
0.6
7
0.5
3:34am
9:41am
3:54pm
10:20pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.1
0.9
6.8
0.9
4:23am
10:30am
4:44pm
11:13pm
It’s hard to believe that by the time this
issue goes to print, most students will
have started school. The summer really
blew by in a flash and I hope that many of
you anglers had a great one. It should be
noted that starting in the next issue, the
North Shore edition, along with all of the
other reporting areas, will be brought to
you via our website, noreast.com. There
will be no more weekly hard copy magazines that you now find in your local tackle or bait shop for the remainder of the
season exclusive of our normal monthly
issues beginning in October.
Tom from Oyster Bay Marine Supply
reported that Ron Jespargard duped a
5.75-pound fluke inside of Oyster Bay on
Monday. On Wednesday, Tom ventured
out and caught a nice mixed bag of sorts,
first, by nailing a couple of 2.5-pound sea
bass, some short fluke and porgies. The
next day saw Pierre Marchais limited out
on big porgies to 1.5 pounds off Centre
Island. On Friday, Captain Ralph
Novotny duped a 25-inch, 6.75-pound
fluke on his first drop at Buoy 15. He also
bagged sea bass to 2 pounds and big porgies to 1.75 pounds. By the weekend, the
decent fluke bite at Buoy 15 all but disappeared. Tom wanted to once again
announce the upcoming 23rd Oyster Bay
Bluefish Tournament penned in for
September 14th. It’s a grand old time with
thousands of dollars in gift certificates to
46
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
5.9 5:17am Hi
1.3 11:24am Lo
6.6 5:38pm Hi
1.2
5.7 12:09am Lo
1.6 6:14am Hi
6.5 12:22pm Lo
6:35pm Hi
be given away. Please call Tom at (516)
922-8010 to find out more about this prestigious tournament. The lost fishing rod in
last week’s edition is still at large, however, there has been a correction as to what
type of rod it was. The lost rod at Buoy 15
last week was a Star rod with a Penn
320GTI and not a Shakespeare rod as was
previously reported.
Captain Herb Hahn of Cold Spring
Charters is back in action after being out
a few weeks due to surgery. On Saturday,
he entertained Peter and his two sons for
a day of jigging bluefish and big porgies.
Captain Herb is gearing up for the Fall
run and by the looks of things with all the
bait in the area, it’s going to be a good
one. Call Herbie at (631) 367 – 4806 to
book a trip in the Fall.
Rich from The Camp Site in
Huntington Station spoke of fantastic diamond jigging in the Eatons Neck
Triangle. The fast and furious action
occurred in mid-afternoon and lasted
until dusk. The blues are feeding on the
plethora of bait in the area; anchovies,
white bait and big shiners. One of the
store regulars, Sam DiNapoli, stopped by
with a keeper fluke that he caught off
Eatons Neck. Sean McDonaugh had
another good week of fluking in the
Triangle. Sean used primarily live bait for
his success. Porgies were taken in limit
proportions around Marshall Fields. 20
feet, held the highest numbers of fish.
www.noreast.com
119 E. Main Street, Smithtown, NY 11787
Tel 631-656-9227 • Fax 631 656-9232
Kings Park
Fishing 35 Years with Bass to 58 1/2 lbs.
Sunrise Charters
BLUES & PORGIES
22' Grady-White
$80 Per Person • 2-4 Passengers
All Bait & Tackle Included With Fare
Capt. Gary Nilsen • 631-741-9547
www.sunrisefishingcharters.com
Port Jefferson
OSPREY IV
OPEN BOAT FISHING
FROM PORT JEFFERSON
(2) T rips W eekdays
7:00AM & 4:30PM
(3) T rips W eekends
7:00AM, 12:00 PM & 4:30PM
- Charters Also Available -
CAPT. STEW 631-331-4153
WWW.OSPREYFISHING.COM
Ken Swaine of Swaine’s Bait and
Tackle in St. James said that Jack Ader
stopped by the shop with a report that he
fished the Stony Brook Harbor side of
Long Beach and caught snapper after
snapper using snapper poppers. He put
on a diamond jig and started catching
snapper blues. The word on fluke this
week was a bigger showing of short fish.
A lot of fluke were caught but the keepers
were far and few between. Porgies, howNY . NJ . CT . RI • September 3, 2008
ROCKY POINT
Port Jefferson
C E LT I C Q U E S T
Open Boat Daily for Great
Family Fishing & Private
Charters up to 70 Passengers
Reservations Suggested
Call Ahead
Includes • all bait
• rods & reels
• custom rigs & tackle
• reservations Required
WWW.CELTICQUESTFISHING.COM
We accept Visa & Mastercard
SUPER STRIKE
(631) 271-4969
Route 110, Corner of W. 16th St.,Huntington Station, NY
ever, picked up the slack and Ken saw
customers successes up to 14 inches. Hot
spots included the Artificial Reef in
Smithtown Bay, Old Field Point and
Cranes Neck. Bass are on the slow side
with schoolies up to 24 inches on sand
worms and small bombers but Ken feels
that it’ll pick up in the next few weeks,
especially in Stony Brook Harbor.
John from Suffolk Sportsman said that
bluefishing in the Short Beach area was a
“can’t miss” proposition as well as the
fast action on snappers in the river.
Porgies still remained strong off Cranes
Neck and stripers started showing at Buoy
9, near Mount Sinai and inside of Stony
Brook Harbor. There was a nice showing
of keeper stripers that were chunked at the
Middle Grounds.
Captain Barb from Luv2fish Charters
reported a lot of bluefish this week. Blues,
from small to alligator-size chomped on
chunks and jigs. Porgies were set up on the
shoals and Captain Barb took full advantage of them. This week, saw a bigger body
of small fluke than in past weeks but it is a
mute point since the season is now officially closed. Captain Barb didn’t see any signs
of bonita but in all fairness, the water was
churned up a bit and made it difficult to see
them if they were going through. On the
bait scene, Captain Barb said that peanut
bunker are in heavy but on the small size,
killies are huge and in the next week, shiners will be large enough to seine and stock
up for next year.
Captain Des O’Sullivan of the Celtic
Quest reported that “Middle Ground
Madness” was in full force this week.
Bail jobs came in the variety of bluefish
and porgies with some nice sea bass
mixed in. Besides all of the limits which
are too many to list, the highlights of the
week included porgies to 18 inches, 3
pounds, bluefish to 10 pounds and all the
rod bending on big blues that you can
muster.
Custom Rods & Components
631-744-8330
53D Broadway, Rocky Point, NY
–WWW.FISHINGSTOP.COM–
“The Surf Fisherman’s Home Away From Home”
Long Island’s Most Complete Fly and Surf Fishing Outfitter
Open 7 Days • Discounts for TU Members!
BAIT • TACKLE • REPAIRS
(631).928.3926
“CAMP-SITE” SPORTS SHOP
Tsunami
FISHING STOP
Custom Made Tackle for Fishermen by Fishermen
Captain Stew of the Osprey IV reported another excellent week of fishing on
the Osprey IV as limit after limit was the
rule rather than the exception on big bluefish and porgies. The only way to describe
it is to jump on the boat and experience it
for yourself! It’s one thing reading about
it, it’s another to actually “live it”!
Mark from Rocky Point Fishing Stop
reported that the best bet this week was
bluefish, bluefish and more bluefish.
Deep water, shallow water, it didn’t matter as bluefish from 2 to 13 pounds were
taken both on cut bait or artificial lures.
The alligators blues were chunked near
the Middle Grounds and smaller fish were
also jigged near the beach and off Buoy
11. Fluking dropped off in size this week
as many fish ranged between 16 to 18
inches. Small keeper bass were taken at
night off the beach by using sand worms
and bunker chunks.
John from Miller Place Bait and
Tackle reported that young Anthony
Anzalone duped another 32-inch striper
off a local beach at night by using a black
bomber. Porgies put a lot of smiles on
both boaters and longstickers faces as
they continue to chew on a very consistent basis. Fluking showed good action
for the last days of the season but 90 percent of the fluke netted were shorts and
the season for fluke is history. Bluefish
made daily afternoon raids along the
beaches and some nice stripers were
chunked out in the Middle Grounds in the
early part of the week.
To conclude for this week, please note
that on October 11th, the Noreast.com
Striped Bass Bash will be held on October
11th. The heaviest bass can net you
$5,000 in prize money. Besides an awesome dinner and party after the contest,
there will be two Calcutta’s of $100 and
$150 that will amount to a 100% payout.
Please call 1-866-810-2246 or visit
www.noreast.com for more info. ◆
www.noreast.com
MILLER PLACE BAIT & TACKLE
OPEN 7 DAYS - 6AM TO 7PM
• LIVE, FRESH & FROZEN BAITS
• FULL LINE OF TACKLE & CUSTOM RODS
• ROD & REEL REPAIR + COMPONENTS
834 ROUTE 25A
MILLER PLACE
CALL JOHN 631-849-5430
Mount Sinai Harbor
Ralph's Fishing Station,
New 2007 Grady White Gulfstream,
1 to 4 Passengers, Families Welcome
Long Island Sound & Skinny Water Fishing Adventures
www.luv2fishcharters.com
(631) 736-00470 or (516) 635-99456
Full/half day charters
Reservations suggested
"Skinny Water" 1 person max
Capt. Barbara
Smithtown
NORTH SHORE LIGHT TACKLE CHARTERS
1-4 ANGLERS • HALF OR FULL DAY
SPECIALIZING IN LIGHT TACKLE ADVENTURES
FOR STRIPED BASS, BLUEFISH & FLUKE
TOP QUALITY SPINNING, BAIT-CAST & FLY FISHING EQUIPMENT
CAPT. SCOTT MICCICHE
U.S.C.G. LICENSED
& INSURED
631-704-2542
SMITHTOWN BAY
& LONG ISLAND SOUND
Cold Spring Harbor
Cold Spring Charters
Capt. Herb Hahn • 23 Years Experience
FISHING FOR ALL
SPECIES IN SEASON
30' SISU • Six Passenger • Diesel Power
FULL
OR
HALF DAYS
Bait & Equipment Furnished • Fly Fishing
Special Night Bass Trips
CALL FOR INFO
www.coldspringcharters.com
coldspringcharters@hotmail.com
631-367-4806
516-641-3401
www.noreast.com
47
WESTERN
SOUND
New Moon
September 30
Covering Rye to Glen Cove,
Including Surrounding Rivers
and Bays.
First Quarter
September 7
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Full Moon
September 15
2:32am
8:47am
2:42pm
9:22pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
7.6
0.4
7.9
0.3
3:10am
9:15am
3:16pm
10:04pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
SAT.
SUN.
City Island High & Low Tides
7.2
0.8
7.6
0.7
3:50am
9:38am
3:54pm
10:51pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
6.9
1.2
7.4
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Mamaroneck High & Low Tides
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Party boat captains are pumped up as
the porgy limit for their clients ticked up
to 45 fish this week. Some nice “platesized” fish are being taken in local waters
and hitting the coolers as September
begins with a bang. Porgy anglers are also
hauling up some nice sea bass and even a
few weakfish and squid in the area.
Bluefish are also keeping anglers busy all
over the sound with scrappy cocktails
slashing at topwater plugs and a few lunkers falling to chunks. But the bass bite hasn’t picked up yet amid the hot weather.
And as for the albies, well, keep reading.
Big John over at Jack’s Bait & Tackle
in City Island said a beautiful Labor Day
weekend had everybody out fishing and
moving through the shop. He said a lot of
bluefish were caught locally on bunker by
the Execution Lighthouse and inside most
of the local harbors throughout the weekend. A lot of cocktail blues were the norm
with some big ones mixed in by the
Throgs Neck Bridge, Rye and Stepping
Stone Lighthouse. “Where there weren’t
blues, there were plenty of nice, big porSpecial Weekday
Charters Available
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gies,” he said, noting a lot of skiffs from
the shop and local anglers “banged up” the
scup around Pea Island, Huckleberry
Island, Sands Point, Prospect Point and
around New Rochelle. Any kind of structure along with sandworms, clams or
bloodworms will
do the trick. The
last day of fluke
season on 9/1 saw
most anglers go out
to get their last
licks in on the
fluke, he said, with
a decent number of five to seven-pounders
mixed in with a lot of throwbacks. “It’s a
shame it’s closing early, but the guys went
out with a bang,” he said. “We’re looking
forward to the best fishing which comes
over the next few months.” Schoolie bass
are being taken along the shores with
bunker and sandworms with the occasional lunker jigged up off deeper structure.
Capt. Chris Cullen of the Island
Current Fleet sailing from City Island
said “really phenomenal bottom fishing on
the porgy front” was the story over the last
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week. “Pretty much every trip, anglers had
no trouble hitting the 10-fish limit, and
now that the limit is up to 45, that should
be some nice incentive for people to come
out,” he said. Chris said he’s been focusing on 30 to 55 feet of water primarily
fishing wrecks, reefs and rockpiles on the
New York and Connecticut sides. Some
nice sea bass have been a welcome bycatch and even a few weakfish were in the
mix. Angler Kelly L., from upstate, hit a
nice weak on 8/25 to take the pool. Island
Current is running special east end
“goliath” porgy and sea bass trips on Sept.
3, 11, and 24 with an early departure at
5am. Chris said he’s
sailing every day for
bluefish and stripers,
but that action hasn’t
nearly been as consistent as the bottom
fishing. “One day you
go out and kill them,
the next day it’s like a desert,” he said of
the bass and blues. “That’s true for the
evenings as well.” Both boats hammered
the blues on the night trips on 8/26 with
pool fish hitting 13 pounds.
Capt. Kevin Reynolds of Snowgoose II
sailing from western Connecticut said he
had a solid week as the fluke season
wrapped up. He said angler Brett took the
pool fish on the last day of the season, 9/1,
topping five pounds. Kevin said fluke
anglers caught some squid during the
week on fluke rigs, a nice surprise that
“Porgies are being caught
at a pretty strong clip.”
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September 22
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hadn’t happened before. Angler Roman
Daworski was the high hook on Sunday,
8/31, with a 4.5-pound fluke. “Every day
last week the pool winner was around five
pounds,” he said. Kevin said bluefish continue to be in the mix. Snowgoose is
switching over to porgies on 9/3 and will
focus on the scup through the end of the
season. Tuesdays are off-days now for the
boat. Kevin said anglers have been picking up porgies and some sea bass on fluke
rigs, so he’s looking forward to the
change.
Capt. John Luchka of Long Run
Fishing Charters out of New Rochelle
had a group of Alabama anglers from Fort
Monmouth out on Thursday, 8/28, for bass
and blues in the Rye and Port Chester area.
The top striper topped out at 27 inches on
chunks with some mid-sized bluefish in
the six to eight-pound range also taken.
On Friday, 8/29, John made a long hourand-a-half run east off of Crane’s Neck
looking for albies. He found them but they
had lockjaw. John said the fish came up
eight or nine times and his clients threw
everything — flies, small metals, slug-gos
– but couldn’t get them to eat. He rounded
out that day working west off Lloyds and
Cold Spring Harbor with some nice topwater blues action. John said he’s sorry to
see the fluke season over, but said it was
“okay, but not great” overall, especially
with the much-criticized minimum length.
“Hopefully these water temps drop so
we can get on some bass,” he said, adding
he hopes to get on the bonita and albies
before they’re gone.
Capt. Steven Jagoda of Molly Rose
Fishing Charters was upbeat about some
big porgies taken over the last week.
“Plate-sized” porgies, two pounds and better running 13 to 15 inches were on the
menu for Molly Rose anglers fishing off
Oak Neck and Rocky Point. Some nice
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bluefish from seven to 12 pounds holding
in the first 20 feet of the water column
over deep water were taken off Captain’s
Island over the weekend. Steven said the
fluke season ended with “a fizzle – lots of
shorts.” He noted that everyone is anxiously awaiting the migration of the big
alligator bluefish as well as the start of the
blackfish season.
Diane at Duffy’s Quality Tackle in
Glenwood Landing, N.Y., reported some
decent bluefish action around the area but
she said most anglers were focused on
snappers during the week. She said striped
bass are starting to show, mostly from
anglers targeting bluefish who happened
to haul in a linesider. Diane said porgy
fishing is still very good with worms and
clams doing most of the damage, and
plenty of short fluke were taken in the
final days of the season.
Peter Cheng at New First Fishing &
Tackle in Flushing said porgies are being
caught at a pretty strong clip on the north
shore. He said bluefish are still running in
the shallow waters of Little Neck Bay, but
bass have been slow on the bite over the
last week.
John at Fisherman Depot in College
Point, N.Y., said the bluefish and porgy
anglers have been doing well in local
waters, but the striped bass haven’t come
around too well yet. “As the fluke fishing
comes to an end, the bluefish have come
around, but the bass aren’t there yet,” he
said. Anglers heading south of New Jersey
are doing well jigging up some large
bluefin in the 100-pound class, as well as
a few smaller yellowfin, he said.
This will be the last weekly column
this year in the printed edition of the magazine. Head over to noreast.com for the
same weekly coverage through October
for the fall season. Noreast will publish
monthly starting mid-Oct. Tight lines! ◆
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Updated With 30,000+
Words Weekly
49
Stratford Bait & Tackle
WESTERN
CONNECTICUT
New Moon
September 30
First Quarter
September 7
Covering Greenwich
to New Haven.
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Full Moon
September 15
By Rob Caluori
email: WesternCT@noreast.com
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Stratford Housatonic River High & Low Tides
WEDS.
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50
DEBORAH ANN IV
FISHING CHARTERS
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Capt. Bryan H. Hocking
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water at Compo Beach. Total cost, which
includes lunch and a light breakfast and
refreshments throughout the day, will be
$150. Capt. Rick Dayhuff and Capt. Matt
Gifford ventured out with a group from
First Reserve Bank in Greenwich for their
annual fishing event and they were not
disappointed. Despite the fact that the
bonding and beverages seemed to be the
priority, the group managed a bunch of
bluefish to 8 pounds and a few bass just
shy of keepers on swim baits and
Stillwater plugs. Ed Byron while sailboat
racing earlier in the week, did report that
he sailed right through a small school of
bonefish about one mile south of
Bridgeport Harbor. And John Jinishian
reported that he too has seen signs of
bonefish breaking water at Cockenoe
Island.
Pete Miller of
Pete’s Place in
Stamford was raving about the fantastic
fishing conditions that were occurring in
his region and believe it or not, he was not
talking about striped bass. It seems that
porgies have rolled in big time at Sound
Reef, the Cows, and East Branch and
everyone is taking their limits. These fish
also have some big shoulders according
to Joe Horvath who not only caught his
limit at the Cows, using clams as bait, but
his fish measured 19 inches and weighed
3 pounds. Phil Vincoli also fished the
Cows with the same results using the
same bait. Bill Kovak also limited out on
porgies at the Cows, while. Paul
McFarland heard the news about the porgies and he too headed over to the Cows
and took his limit of fish. Miller was out
there at Sound Reef as well and he managed a bass that measured 32 inches, as
well as more 4-8-pound bluefish than he
cared to count. All the fish were caught
with Miller alternating between jigging
6 12:09am Lo
1.7 6:10am Hi
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Stamford High & Low Tides
Over 30 Years Fishing Long Island Sound
“Bring Your Lunch, Catch Your Dinner”
All Bait & Tackle Provided
Harbour Square Marina, Stamford, CT
New Haven Harbor Entrance High & Low Tides
As if on cue, just as the WICC Greatest
Bluefish on Earth Tournament ends, the
big bluefish decide to roll on in. Anglers
in western Connecticut will find that this
latest change in the water temperature has
spiked some energy in the bait runs and
along with it has come the schools of big
bluefish, some smaller bass, and a constant run of 2-pound porgies. There has
also been some sea bass in the mix and an
occasional weakfish is being taken as
well.
At Stratford B&T in Stratford, all
Chris Fulton could talk about was how
12-year-old Nick Nemergut was leading
the WICC affair right up until the final
hours of the contest. While Nemergut did
not win the big prize, his 15.54-pound
bluefish did net him $1,000, which was a
pretty good haul for the youngster who
caught his fish in Milford Harbor while
fishing with a bunker head. Alex Perry
took the port prize at Fulton’s shop with a
12.56-pound chopper that was caught
close to shore in Bridgeport Harbor. This
fish was taken on a bunker chunk.
In other news, Keith Cavoto took his
daughter, Erin, out for a day of fishing in
the Housatonic River. The duo used
bombers and swimmers for non-stop
action with schoolie bass and cocktail
bluefish. Chris Schmedlin also made it a
family affair. He was fishing with his son,
Mike, at the mouth of the Housatonic
River. The two anglers used sandworms
Stamford
2:06am
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7:56pm
6.2 5:13am Hi
1.4 11:24am Lo
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Chris Fulton
Owner
Reel & Rod Repair
Bait & Tackle, Custom Rods
Specializing in Saltwater Plugs
Specializing in Saltwater Fly Fishing
Fresh & Saltwater Fly Tying Materials
1.1
4.8
1.4
5.4
Saugatuck River Entrance High & Low Tides
Hi
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10761/2 Stratford Avenue
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 377-8091
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as bait and took their limit of porgies,
which averaged 2 pounds apiece.
Nick Massaro of Fisherman’s World
on Norwalk spoke of the WICC tournament and the fact that his shop had a
fourth place finisher in the competition
with Bryan Thivierge catching a 15.77pound bluefish. The fish has been one of
the top catches right up until the final
hours of the tournament when the winning fish were caught. David Colby
fished the tournament and instead of
catching bluefish he caught two bass, a
34.6 and a 24.9-pound striper. Both fish
were caught at Buoy 29C with bunker
chunks. Brian St. George had success
with the bass too and he caught a 29.0pound striper on a bunker chunk while
fishing at Norwalk Island. David Smith
did get some bluefish and his catch came
from shore in Norwalk Harbor. In offshore news, Joe Isadora was trolling west
of the Dip and hit it big with a 70-pound
yellowfin, a 150-pound white marlin, one
big eye tuna and a wahoo. Not a bad haul.
Brad Burke and John Iossa teamed up for
a trolling trip south of Middle Ground
where Iossa caught his first yelllowfin
ever, a 65-pound fish.
At Westport Outfitters in Norwalk,
Eric Johnson said that two fall dates have
been set to learn from the legend, Lou
Tabory. The introductory/intermediate
class will be held on Oct. 18 and the
advanced class on Oct. 25. Both classes
will begin promptly at 6:00 a.m. in the
www.noreast.com
www. debannfishing.com
203-792-2277
and live bait. Capt. Mike Black had a
charter out in Stamford waters and he hit
the mother lode with 37 bass caught.
Black was fishing in skinny water of
about three feet. However, of all those fish
only three of the striped bass were keepers.
At Rudy’s Tackle Barn in Greenwich,
Joe Paese’s team reported that there is a
ton of bunker in Mamaroneck Harbor
every morning and with them are the
bluefish and some bass. Porgies are also
making a big showing at Island Beach,
Hen and Chickens as well as Todds Point.
Fishing at Scotch Caps in 12 feet of water
will yield anglers as many 6 to 8-pound
bluefish as their arms will allow, while
Captains Island is a virtual smorgasbord
of fish with bluefish, schoolie bass and
porgies all holding in this area. The key to
catching fish at this location is the time of
day an angler makes the attempt. Early
mornings and later evening will bring the
bass and bluefish, while daytime fishing
will result in a good porgy catch.
Mike Noyes of Sportsman’s Den in
Cos Cob had news about the youngsters
taking advantage of the snappers that have
virtually inundated the Byram River, Cos
Cob Harbor and the surrounding inlets.
Jan Socic had his 6-year-old son,
Christopher, fishing the Bush Holley
House area with his snapper rig and the
youngster just cleaned up on these little
fighters using pieces of squid to get them
to jump all over his hook. Capt. Enzo
Southbury
EASTERN
CONNECTICUT
New Moon
September 30
First Quarter
September 7
Covering New Haven
to Stonington.
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Full Moon
September 15
By Roland St. Denis
email: EasternCT@noreast.com
WEDS.
Last Quarter
September 22
THURS.
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
Connecticut River High & Low Tides
1:21am
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1
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0.9
2.6
1.1
3.3
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.1 5:40am Hi
1 11:50am Lo
2.7 5:52pm Hi
0.7
2.1
0.9
2.7
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
1.9 5:18am Hi
0.9 11:42am Lo
2.4 5:30pm Hi
0.6
1.9
0.8
2.4
Thames River High & Low Tides
1:41am
8:04am
2:05pm
8:55pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.4
0.7
2.9
0.7
2:33am
8:58am
2:58pm
9:52pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.2
0.8
2.8
0.7
3:33am
9:55am
3:56pm
10:49pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.1
0.9
2.7
0.8
4:38am
10:53am
4:55pm
11:45pm
0.4 12:32am Hi
2.8 7:07am Lo
0.4 12:54pm Hi
7:53pm Lo
2.3
0.4
2.8
0.4
1:19am
7:56am
1:43pm
8:47pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.1
0.6
2.6
0.6
2:11am
8:50am
2:36pm
9:44pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2
0.7
2.5
0.6
3:11am
9:47am
3:34pm
10:41pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
1.9
0.8
2.4
0.7
4:16am
10:45am
4:33pm
11:37pm
Stonington, Fishers Island Sound High & Low Tides
5:49am Lo
11:59am Hi
6:29pm Lo
0.4 12:22am Hi
3.4 6:34am Lo
0.4 12:44pm Hi
7:20pm Lo
2.7
0.5
3.3
0.5
1:09am
7:23am
1:33pm
8:14pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.5
0.7
3
0.7
2:01am
8:17am
2:26pm
9:11pm
Although we are in a time period most
would consider the “dog days,” eastern
Long Island Sound continues to show signs
of a steady ramp up for the fabled fall run.
In Westbrook, Mark Beers of Block
Island Outfitters checked in this week following his min-vacation spent with friends
fishing for bluefin tuna off the Cape. Mark
reported the tuna (in the 100-lb.-class)
were active, feeding, and hitting whatever
offerings Mark and crew provided. He also
spotted some makos basking on top and
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.3
0.8
2.9
0.7
3:01am
9:14am
3:24pm
10:08pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.2
0.9
2.8
0.8
4:06am
10:12am
4:23pm
11:04pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.2
1
2.8
0.7
5:08am
11:09am
5:20pm
11:54pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.2
0.9
2.8
0.6
more whales than you could imagine. All
fish were caught approximately 22 miles
off the Chatham shoreline. Glad you had
some fun Mark, you certainly deserve it.
Regarding the local bite, Mark
described the bassing to be sporadic. Many
of the local haunts, such as Southwest
Reef, Duck Island, and Six-Mile Reefs are
still yielding fish, but most are of the medium-sized (20-pounders) variety. It appears
with the lack of rain and increasing water
temps in the area, the bass have sought
deeper, cooler water.
www.noreast.com
BL AC K PEARL II
• 45 FT. TWIN DIESEL•
• FULL ELECTRONICS•
• 25 PERSON CAPACITY•
Blues - Bass - Fluke - Blackfish
Tuna - Shark
Capt. Robert Barnes
203-509-0409
Thomas Pietrini; VP.
203-232-1826
MIJOY 747
PORGIES: 2 TRIPS MON-FRI
Noank, Mystic River High & Low Tides
6:22am Lo
12:09pm Hi
7:02pm Lo
Uncil had James Leva and his son, 8-yearold Michael, out fishing, along with 11year-old Christian Uncil. The group
fished the Byram River with the youngsters catching four snappers apiece. Now
15-year-old Joseph Stenley has just a few
more years on these other youngsters and
his experience was evident because he
fished Cos Cob Harbor with bunker
chunks and caught an 18-inch bluefish
and a 24-inch striper, which was a far cry
from snagging snappers.
Report Note: Readers should be aware
that this will be the last weekly printed
report for the paper magazine. Reports
will continue to be available on-line on
the web site through October. Noreast will
publish their monthly issue in mid-Oct. ◆
6AM & 1PM
BLUES & BASS: SAT & SUN
6AM & 1PM
860-443-0663
www.VisitConnecticut.com/MiJoy
No Reservations
The bluefish are everywhere, and
locals, including surfcasters, are slaughtering these yellow-eyed devils using a variety of tactics. All the nearby reefs, as well
as shoreline spots such as Salt Island and
West Beach are holding scores of these
fish.
Fluking has been decent in terms of the
action, but once again poor in terms of the
keeper-to-short ratio.
For those looking for keeper sea bass,
give Gardiner’s a shot.
In Madison, Captain Morgan’s Bait
51
HEL-CAT II
New England’s Largest Party Boat
Restaurant & Tackle on Board
STRIPERS & BLUES:
9AM - 3PM
DAILY
ALLIGATOR LEDGE NIGHT TRIPS
9/6 & 9/20 6PM - 3AM
WWW.HELCAT.COM
and Tackle reports a strong bluefish bite,
as evidenced by the 2nd place finisher of
the WICC tournament. There are scores of
varying sized choppers around nearby
islands and reefs, as well as along the
shoreline.
Bassing has been decent, but not great,
with a lot of small to medium sized fish
lurking around the local haunts. Fluking
has been decent as there are keepers to be
taken in deeper water for those with a bit of
patience.
Cary from J&B Tackle in Niantic had a
nice report covering both inshore and offshore waters.
Offshore, the chunk bite is picking up at
night, while the daytime fishing has been
“OK.” There is still a decent marlin bite at
the Canyons, with a few big eye’s mixed in
as well. The albacore fishing has been slow
leading up to this weekend. Sharking has
been consistent, but not red hot and the
bluefin bite has been on and off south of
Block Island.
The inshore scene has been dominated
by the bluefish; many of which are large.
Trolling during the slack tide and 3-waying
bucktails with moving water has produced
outstanding results, especially at the Race.
Bassing has been sporadic with a lot of
OPEN BOAT FISHING
1 1 0 Pa s s . C u s t o m B u i l t !
860-535-2066
or
860-535-3200
HEL-CAT DOCK
181 THAMES ST., GROTON, CT 06340
WWW.HELCAT.COM
shorts and occasional larger fish. Fluking
is winding up and although folks are getting into some keepers, the theme has
remained the same with regard to the high
percentage of shorts. For those in search of
doormats, give Black Point and Two Tree a
shot in deeper water (70-80 feet).
River’s End Bait and Tackle provided
the following species-by-species report:
Striped Bass- It was a downslide this
week as bass were scarcer than the previous week. There was a bit more activity in
a few places but the overall upswing was
not there. Six Mile Reef and Long Sand
Shoal had a few good mornings with live
bait and the Watch Hill Reefs have also
picked up with some surface action. The
Race and Plum Gut have a few bass if the
blues will let them have a bite. There’s
plenty of bait around, adult bunker are
spread out from Branford to Niantic and
the beaches are full of silversides. The
reefs have small butterfish. The only thing
missing is peanut bunker, any sightings?
Bluefish: What we lack in bass has been
filled in by bluefish and then some. The
Race and Plum Gut are back in the old
days with a good population of choppers
from 4 to 10 pounds. The mouth of the
Connecticut River also has some blues
SEA OTTER FISHING FLEET
SEA OTTER V
PORGIES!
FRI, SAT, SUN 8AM-2:00PM
MONDAY STRIPERS & BLUES
Sailing Out Of Groton, CT
( 860 ) 7 3 9- 1 882
52
running around and spreading out to the
adjacent beaches.
Snapper Blues: They’re averaging 6”
now and growing. Fishing for them has
been OK and the 10 fish limit isn’t hard
to reach. There’s plenty of silversides
hugging the shoreline and attracting
snappers. Good reports have come from
The DEP Piers, the Causeway and
Blackhall River.
Fluke: The Fat Lady is in the wings
awaiting her solo. This Monday was the
last day of fluke fishing for Connecticut
and NY waters. Rhode Island has no
closed season. If you trailer to RI you are
covered but you cannot come into
Connecticut or NY waters with fluke
including fillets after Monday, September
1st.
The fluking was heating up this week
for doormats. Since the weekend we
weighed in a 10, 12, and 13-pounder.
Reports from Block Island have picked up
again but it looks like the fluke are starting
to get ready for the migration. You don’t
have to travel too far, 2 of those fish were
caught locally.
Porgies: Some slammer sizes. Good to
very good reports from Hatchett’s and
Bartlett’s and most rock piles.
Blackfish- Also coming to an end for a
month. This Sunday, August 31st was the
last day of the summer season. It reopens
on October 1st.
Blue Crabs: Numbers still aren’t there
but the sizes are good. We have occasionally heard of a good catch but buckets of
over a dozen are rare. The coves in the
lower River are still the best bet.
Bonito/False Albacore: Reports of
bonito were few this week and most came
from the RI South Shore. No albie reports
yet.
On the charter front, Pat Renna ran two
trips this week, both consisting of little
tykes wanting to do battle with the mighty
striped bass. Although most of the fish
were small to medium-sized, there were
enough bigger fish in the mix to leave
these young lads with a memory they’ll
never forget.
Pat described the bait population as
incredibly healthy, especially near some
of the deep water reefs and cuts, such as
9AM-3PM
NIGHT BASS W/LIVE EELS!
FRI, SAT 6PM-MIDNIGHT BY RESERVATION
OTHER WEEKDAY TRIPS AVAIL. FOR GROUPS 10 OR OVER
www.noreast.com
SEA OTTER IV
Now Booking
2008 Charters
Aboard the
SEA OTTER IV
Capt. Joel Lizza
Available from Montauk,
NY or Groton, CT!
www.seaotterfishing.com
Plum Gut. There is a huge population of
butterfish near Black Point, plenty of
bunker and shad in the rivers, lots of juvenile bunker along and just off the reefs,
and plenty of legal-sized porgy to 3-way.
This week, the bait schools were so thick
that Pat changed up his strategy of fishing
the reefs and worked his tubes and spoons
in structureless spots holding large quantities bait. This is where he tallied a vast
majority of his catches. As they say, follow the bait and you’ll find your fish!
Great job, Pat.
Lastly, Brad Glas of the Hel-Cat II
Party Boat said the fishing was very good
this week and there were a couple of surprises as well.
The fishing remains good to very good
with an occasional down turn caused by
something very local, like the day that a
school of 200-pound tuna showed up in the
Race and started shacking the blues. Of
course the blues went into the duck and
cover mode for the rest of the day. Besides
that rather interesting experience, the fishing has been great!
We’re still whacking away at some bass
when we can get past the vociferous bluefish. Every day, we sail at 9AM and return
at 3PM; commonly known as our
“Banker’s Hours Special.” There are two
Alligator Ledge Night Trips scheduled for
the 6th and 20th of September. Those two
trips sail at 6PM. If you’re planning to take
Rhode Island
RHODE
ISLAND
New Moon
September 30
Covering the Rhode Island
Coast to Providence Harbor,
Including Block Island.
First Quarter
September 7
Tides and Currents
Sept. 3 to Sept. 9
Full Moon
September 15
By Mike Plaia
email: RhodeIsland@noreast.com
WEDS.
one of those trips, Captain Glas highly
advises you to call ahead to ensure there is
enough room on the boat. These trips fill
up quick, so please plan accordingly.
The fish of the week award goes to
Tony Wabalas of Tariffville, Connecticut.
Tony took this week’s honors with an 18pound striped bass. His free trip is on its
way to him in the mail.
Please be advised this is the last week of
the printed version of Nor’east Saltwater
Magazine. I will continue to provide
reports online until the end of the season.
Please take the time to visit
www.noreast.com for those reports as well.
Until next time my friends, tight lines to
you all! ◆
THURS.
Last Quarter
September 22
FRI.
SAT.
SUN.
MON.
TUES.
Point Judith Harbor of Refuge High & Low Tides
4:32am
10:47am
5:06pm
11:04pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0
3.7
0.2
3.1
5:04am
11:31am
5:41pm
11:48pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.1 5:36am Lo
3.5 12:17pm Hi
0.3 6:19pm Lo
2.9
4:07am
10:50am
4:41pm
11:07pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0
3.1
0.2
2.7
4:39am
11:34am
5:16pm
11:51pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.1 5:11am Lo
3 12:20pm Hi
0.4 5:54pm Lo
2.4
4:11am
10:37am
4:45pm
10:54pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0
3.8
0.3
3.3
4:43am
11:21am
5:20pm
11:38pm
Lo
Hi
Lo
Hi
0.2 12:35am Hi
3.2 6:13am Lo
0.5 1:09pm Hi
7:02pm Lo
2.6
0.3
3
0.6
1:30am
6:57am
2:05pm
7:58pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.3
0.4
2.9
0.6
2:32am
7:51am
3:06pm
9:14pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.3
0.5
2.8
0.7
3:35am
9:00am
4:05pm
10:50pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.3
0.6
2.9
0.6
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
1.9
0.7
2.4
0.9
3:38am
8:35am
4:08pm
10:25pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2
0.8
2.4
0.8
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.4
0.9
2.9
1.2
3:25am
8:39am
3:55pm
10:29pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.5
1
3
1
Great Salt Pond High & Low Tides
0.3 12:38am Hi
2.7 5:48am Lo
0.6 1:12pm Hi
6:37pm Lo
2.2
0.4
2.5
0.8
1:33am
6:32am
2:08pm
7:33pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2
0.6
2.4
0.9
2:35am
7:26am
3:09pm
8:49pm
Narragansett Pier High & Low Tides
0.2 5:15am Lo
3.6 12:07pm Hi
0.6 5:58pm Lo
3
0.4 12:25am Hi
3.4 5:52am Lo
0.8 12:59pm Hi
6:41pm Lo
The overnight temperatures this week
have put a little bit of fall in the air and the
fishing is definitely trending toward fall.
The fluke fishing on the west side of the
bay has fallen off a cliff. The fish are definitely getting ready to move out. There
are bonito and little tunny along the south
shore beaches, and the striped bass fishing
has taken a definite uptick. Bluefish are
everywhere, even if you don’t want them,
and the sea bass fishing is continuing to
improve. The dogfish have moved back
onto Cox’s Ledge, basically shutting
down the codfishing.
This will be the last printed weekly
report of the season as the magazine will
move to a monthly basis after this issue.
2.7
0.6
3.1
1
1:20am
6:36am
1:55pm
7:37pm
Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2.5
0.7
3
1.1
2:22am
7:30am
2:56pm
8:53pm
However, the reports will continue for the
rest of the season and you’ll be able to
find them on the Noreast.com website.
I ran the Makomania out between the
Harbor of Refuge and the hooter buoy a
few miles to the south on both Wednesday
and Thursday, looking for the elusive
fluke. Wednesday three anglers only managed to put four keepers in the boat along
with four decent sea bass. Thursday was
even slower with two anglers only managing one keeper-sized fluke and one sea
bass. The only consolation on Thursday
was that we had a lot of just short 19-inch
fluke which at least kept things interesting. On Friday, I decided to pass on the
flatfish and made the run down to Cox’s
Ledge, only to discover that the doggies
www.noreast.com
had moved onto the west side of the Ledge
where I usually fish. After a quick run
over to the east side we found that the doggies over there weren’t quite as bad and
we managed to put about 20 fish in the
boat, filling a 162-quart cooler. Most of
the keeper fish were in the 5 to 6-pound
range with a couple of fish in the 20pound class and one true 30-pounder. I
talked to some friends who fished out
there on Sunday and the dogfish have
completely overrun the ledge. They only
managed four fish on Sunday, and they
were all taken on jigs.
Over at Breachway Bait and Tackle
they did weigh in one 8.5-pound fluke this
weekend, but they said that the fluke fishing in general is starting to fall off. The
fish that are being caught are out in deeper water in the 60 to 70-foot range. The
striped bass fishing has picked up in the
breachways, especially at night for the
guys fishing live eels. There are plenty of
scup around and some sea bass are mixed
in with them. The bonito and little tunny
are in front of the breachways and down
along the beaches. There are loads of
snapper-sized bluefish and little stripers
up in the pond.
Paul at Weekapaug Bait and Tackle
tells me that the striped bass fishing has
picked up both in the breachways and
along the south shore beaches. Fishing is
better at night with less bother from the
bluefish. There are bluefish all over the
area with many fish going over the 10pound mark.
The fluke fishing slowed down this
week, by a lot. There are still plenty of
scup and some sea bass on all the rocky
spots. A few tautog have been caught by
the scup fishermen, but no one has been
targeting them.
53
Port of Galilee
The
FRANCES FLEET
Sailing from the Port of Galilee
Catch a Good Time!
SEA BASS/FLUKE: Daily at 7AM
STRIPED BASS:
Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun Evenings
PORGY FISHING: Daily 8AM
Call For Reservations (401) 783-4988
www.francesfleet.com
Tuna Season
is Here!
(Overnight,
2&3 day trips
available. Call
for Details!)
Wakefield, RI
MAKOMANIA SPORTFISHING
30’ Blackwatch - Inshore/Offshore
For 1 to 4 Passengers
Sailing from Wakefield, RI
Capt. Mike 401-667-0641
John at J&B Tackle East says that the
offshore fishing has been slow. There are
some blue sharks in the Mud Hole and a
few makos out at the horns in the 70degree water. There are some schoolie
bluefin tuna around but they are widely
scattered and difficult to find. Inshore, the
bass fishing around the south end of Block
Island has picked up in the last few days.
The fluke fishing along the south shore
has slowed down while the scup fishing
has improved. There are some sea bass
mixed in with the scup and there are plenty of alligator bluefish around. There are
peanut bunker and snapper bluefish in the
Great Salt Pond and Potter’s Pond.
Over at Snug Harbor Marina they
confirm that the bluefin tuna are very scattered. Only two of their customers found
them last week. One boat found a few
schools about 2 miles south of Southeast
Light on Block Island and the other found
the fish a little south of the Fairway Buoy.
The shark fishing is decent with mostly
blue sharks and a few small makos making up the catch. Inshore, the fluke fishing
has really slowed down. The few good
catches that they have seen this week
came from the east side of the bay and the
east side of Block Island. The striped bass
fishing has picked up at Southwest Ledge
with live eels producing fish both day and
night. There are plenty of bluefish right
outside the Harbor of Refuge.
Captain Frank at the Frances Fleet
tells me that the seven in the morning
fluke boat, which fishes to the east, has
still been doing well on big fluke with a
load of jumbo sea bass in the mix. Some
hubcap sized scup as well as the ever present bluefish have also been adding to the
catch. Pool fish this week were in the 8 to
9-pound range. The eight in the morning
fluke boat, which fished the west side of
the bay and down the coast to
Charlestown, has switched over to pursu-
2 1/2-Day Tuna Safaris
Call For Details
54
www.noreast.com
ing the wily scup. I can tell you from firsthand experience that there are plenty of
big scup as well as sea bass in the area, so
if scup is your thing, you can look forward
to a great September with the higher bag
limits.
The recent tuna fishing trip was a big
success. There were loads of small yellowfin caught as well as a 200-pound bigeye and several swordfish won the battle
of the tackle during the night. Tanya tells
me that there is plenty of room on the
upcoming tuna trips for those of you who
want to get in on the action. The night
striped bass fishing really took off late in
the week when most of the fares on the
boat limited out with two striped bass
each. Biggest fish each night has been running close to 40 pounds. Frank also asked
me to remind everyone that the night bluefish trips are over for the season, but the
striped bass trips will continue well into
the fall. Codfish trips will start again in the
fall at a date yet to be determined. Watch
these reports or call the office to find out
when they will sail once a date is picked.
Craig at Erickson’s Bait and Tackle
reports that fishing in the bay is generally
very slow, and to find fish you have to find
the deeper water and fish it on a moving
tide. There are still some fluke in 60 to 70
feet of water off of Point Judith and over at
Block Island. The fluke fishing in the bay
is very slow. There is some decent fishing
for scup and sea bass up in the bay as well
as down around the Jamestown and
Newport Bridges as well as around The
Beavertail. While the striped bass fishing
has been slow in the bay, the fishing has
picked up around Block Island. There are
plenty of bluefish from snapper-sized to
alligators all over the bay.
At Sam’s Bait and Tackle over in
Riverside, they say that the local fishing
for striped bass is spotty at best. There are
plenty of bluefish around. The fluke fishing is still pretty very good locally. Sea
bass fishing has picked up this week and
the tremendous scup fishing is continuing.
Offshore, a late week expedition to the
canyons, where they fished between the
Middle Grounds and the Dip produced
four yellowfin tuna, two albacore a small
mako and a released blue marlin. On the
way back in they spotted some bluefin
tuna breaking water south of Jenny’s Horn.
Kevin at Edward’s Bait and Tackle
reports that the striped bass fishing around
Newport and Brenton Reef remains pretty
good. Fluke fishing is still good out front
in the deeper water and jumbo scup are on
just about every rock you can find.
Bluefish of all sizes are everywhere. ◆

Volume 19 Number 22 September 3, 2008

Transcription

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