Bob Dylan did not write “the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,” here on the East End — it was probably in a brownstone apartment in Greenwich Village — but if the Nobel laureate has been in these environs over the past 10 days or so, he most certainly would have been inspired to pen that familiar refrain, as the gusty winds have been unrelenting of late, thwarting many a planned fishing trip.

The answer, in terms of fishing, was that little has been done of late.

The bushel of green crabs I secured two weeks ago and stored in my old lobster crate at my slip in anticipation of some early season blackfishing have yet to be used. Lucky for them. One of these days I hope to utilize them when the winds abate.

It has been frustrating to stay tied to the dock. The winds have been a true curse, but I was determined to get a few hours on the water on Friday morning, as a very brief weather window was forecast before gusts up to 30 knots were predicted around the noon hour. It was time to finally fish.

Rather than taking my boat out, I decided to play it safe and take a half-day trip for striped bass and bluefish out of Montauk. The boat of choice was the Lazybones, where six-ounce diamond jigs are utilized exclusively — my favorite way to pursue stripers from a boat.

Driving past East Hampton High School on the way to the dock, I noticed the outside temperature was 31 degrees. It felt like fall for sure, or even early winter. Upon arriving in Montauk, though, the temperature was a rather balmy 44 degrees, due mainly to the still-warm waters of the nearby Atlantic that surround the historical port. Not bad. While there was a rather stiff breeze out of the southwest, it was not enough to dissuade a full boat of anglers who were also frustrated by the many consecutive days of too much wind.

“We have the ebb tide all morning and the fishing has been good at the Pollock Rip when we can get out,” explained Capt. Michael Vegessi, the owner of the popular boat for the past 34 years, speaking of a significant rise and fall in the bottom located about a mile east of the Montauk Lighthouse. “We got out briefly on Wednesday morning with a light crowd, and the fishing was excellent with many keeper-sized bass thrown back. The fish are feeding heavily on large sand eels and whitebait.”

After a 30-minute ride, Vegessi eased off on the throttle and a scan of the fish finder clearly showed large schools of bait and striped bass stacked before and beyond the rip line. In addition, several large schools of hungry false albacore could be seen nearby thrashing about on the surface chasing smaller prey. The sea was teeming with life. 

At the sound of the horn, all 30 anglers aboard simultaneously launched their shiny metallic jigs in unison into the turbulent tide, and it only took a few seconds before the first bass was hooked up and successfully landed. A few minutes later, just about everyone aboard was fighting a fish, either a bass or feisty cocktail-size bluefish. It was a great start to the trip. Except for me.

Another blast of the horn and it was time to make another drift into the stiff three-knot tide to repeat the action.

“Try another diamond jig,” said the seasoned captain, urging me to replace my heavier Bridgeport-style jig with a skinnier and lighter lure that most of the other fares were using successfully. It was like being lectured by one of my old college professors, who knew much more than me. I acknowledged his command.

Vegessi knows his stuff. I quickly caught a plucky 29-inch striped bass shortly into the next drift. I was off the hook, so to speak, and dinner was secured. A simple lesson was made clear: Always obey the captain.

The fishing continued at a rather solid pace for the next three hours. Some drifts were better than others, and some other fish also inhaled our jigs, including false albacore, porgy, sea bass, sea robins, and even a smooth dogfish. It was a real mixed bag and smiles were in abundance on both the starboard and port sides of the boat. All were grateful to be where they were that morning, despite the stiffening breeze.

“I hope we have a good run of bass this fall,” Vegessi said in the pilothouse on the return to Montauk Harbor. “Ever since Sandy five years ago, for some reason the stripers have bypassed Montauk on the migration south. The bass fishing has stopped by mid-October, so I hope things finally change this fall. Time will tell. So far, so good.”

And perhaps the answer to that will be found blowing in the wind.

One thing that the wind has not stopped is the excellent run of striped bass taking place from Georgica all the way eastward to Napeague. “I’ve been selling diamond jigs like crazy; they are the hot lure right now,” said Sebastian Gorgone of Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton. “The key is to fish them low and slow on the retrieve. It’s the best fall action I’ve seen in five years. Lots of nice fish, too.”

Gorgone was equally enthralled about the annual Halloween run of squid underway at the commercial dock in Three Mile Harbor as well as at the jetty entrance. “The action has been excellent on squid jigs,” he added. “People are filling up buckets of them.” As for blackfish fans, anglers are chomping at the bit for a chance to get out when the conditions calm down. 

Over at the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, the owner, Harvey Bennett, also raved about the excellent bass bite happening just down the road from his shop, “even in the wind,” he said. “Fish a skinny lure like a diamond jig and you’re almost guaranteed dinner. It’s been that good.”

Bennett also confirmed that false albacore remain thick in Gardiner’s Bay, as well on the east side of Gardiner’s Island. “The water is still very warm,” he said. “They should be hanging around for a while more.” He agreed with Gorgone that squid were “thick in Three Mile Harbor.”

Bennett also expressed thanks to those who recently donated used baseball equipment and school supplies for underprivileged children in the Dominican Republic. “The outpouring of support has been tremendous,” he said. He plans to ship another box or two of the wares to the country shortly, and it’s not too late to donate more, he said. 

Back on the surf scene, there was a change on the leaderboard in the hotly contested Montauk Locals Surfcasting Striped Bass Tournament, as Nick Apostolides landed a solid 41-pound bass late last week. It was the largest striper landed by the dedicated angler. The contest continues until the end of November. 

—

We welcome your fishing tips, 

observations, and photographs at 

[email protected]. You can find the 

“On the Water” column on Twitter at 

@ehstarfishing.

Everyone who fishes has his or her share of fish stories. Some are impossible to believe, while some are clearly embellished and need to be taken with a grain of salt, along with a wry smile of doubt. But some are actually the honest truth, no matter how far-fetched they may sound.

It was sunny and windy on the afternoon of Oct. 17 when Joe McDonald and Phillip Schnell decided to do some striped bass fishing from the ocean beach in Montauk. But instead of landing a striper, the two local anglers crossed paths with a thresher shark so close to shore they could hardly believe it themselves. 

A strong outgoing tide that day produced a low tide that trapped the shark in shallow water, most likely while feeding on a school of bunker and hickory shad between the beach and an offshore sandbar. They took out their fishing gear, affixed with a diamond jig, and quickly landed the shark. 

“We were shocked to see the fish in such shallow water and it probably took only about three minutes to land it,” explained McDonald, who works as a mate on the Lazybones, a half-day open boat out of Montauk, where he also serves as the backup captain. “It was a surreal experience.”

With help from a few other people on the beach, the shark was lifted and trucked over to the Montauk Marine Basin, where McDonald docks his humorously named 19-foot boat, Gefilte Fish. A forklift was needed to get the thresher to the weigh scale on the dock. When it was finally secured, the shark weighed in at a whopping 469 pounds.

“That’s a big shark, but threshers do come in close to feed, as there is plenty of bait around,” said Harvey Bennett, owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, who has witnessed such an event several times in the past. “When sharks get trapped like that between an offshore bar and the beach, they usually drown and/or get sand in their gills and choke. . . . They need to move constantly or they die. That’s what likely happened here.”

No matter the circumstances, McDonald and Schnell will always have a special fish story to tell over and over. And they have photos to back up their claim for any doubters.

The ruby-crowned kinglet is as small as my nose

The golden-crown one as big as your toes

These two little birds fly a few hundred miles or more

To stay here or south until the great thaw

The black-capped chickadee is just as tiny

It hangs with the nuthatches, which are whiney

They both stay on, they face the weather

Birds of a feather, they group together

The teeny warblers are not so bold

In the winter they flee from the cold

They form great flocks of thousands or more

They fly all night, then stop for a bite

The red, red cardinal is part of the mob

It stays through the cold with nary a sob

The blue jay, yet another flock member

Is here all year, doesn’t leave come November

The yellow-rumped warbler can often be found

In low brush and brambles, just hanging around

Seeds and small berries keep them warm

You may see several, but never a swarm

Robins, blackbirds, most go down

A few of each will stay in town

Song sparrows have flown away

White-throats? Flew in today

Fish crows leave come the first cold gale

You won’t find one on a limb or a swale

The common crows are not so picky

They get by cause they’re so tricky

The woodpeckers also hang around

With their beaks make a drum-roll sound

Drill for insects in the trees

Both the hairies and the downeys

The water birds come and go

Canada geese, swans white as snow

Mallards swim in shallow quarters

Coots and loons in deeper waters

The great horned owls, the first to nest

The snowy owls in pure white vests

There’s the whinny of a gray screech owl

And a long-eared owl makes a certain yowl

A red-tailed hawk lets out a cry

A rough-legged hovers quite nearby

A Cooper’s hawk eyes its dinner

The turkey struts, none the thinner

A turkey vulture glides by

Making circles in the sky

You can hardly miss the seagull

And best of all, our own bald eagle

Chipmunks stay snug and warm

Sleep away each winter storm

Snowbirds without a single feather

All go south to escape the weather

As winter’s cold wind blows and blows

Fireplaces warm the nose and toes

If we were born with wings, not knees

We’d better stand each winter’s freeze 

—

Larry Penny can be reached via email at [email protected].

It’s not a national holiday, but Tumbleweed Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, passed by us a few weeks ago. 

I’m sure many locals here celebrated. The crowds of summer are gone. Most significant is that the best time of the year in our towns and waterways is now upon us. The calm is readily apparent and much appreciated.

Foremost, to my mind, the simple chore of securing a parking spot is now easier when running into town to pick up the morning paper and the obligatory cup of hot coffee. While the internet is handy and quick, I still want to catch up on current events with a hard copy of the daily paper firmly in my grasp. Old habits die hard.

Newsprint is special. Every morning provides me with an opportunity to take in its unique and distinctive smell and appreciate the still-solidifying ink born from the large printing press upon which it was produced a few hours earlier. Black ink smudges my hands as I peruse the paper, habitually licking a finger to help turn each page for the latest news or score. This ritual is comforting in so many ways. A laptop offers none of this.

I’m old school and I don’t think that’s ever going to significantly change. Bob Dylan may have said that the times they are a-changing, but in so many ways, not for me. Sorry Bob.

The other day, on a warm, late summer afternoon, I strolled down to Long Beach on Noyac Bay to take in the elongated slant of the setting sun over the pristine surroundings of Jessup’s Neck, located about a mile to the west. Comprising nearly 200 acres, Jessup’s is a pristine nature preserve.

A gentle breath of the last gasp of a northwest wind touched my face. It felt refreshing and was therapeutic in so many ways. Looking skyward, it was a time to exhale and enjoy the peaceful surroundings around me.

The bay was still warm for swimming and I waded into the crystal-clear water beyond my knees as I have done for over 50 years. In a matter of seconds, several small blowfish, born probably less than two months ago, nibbled on my toes, as hermit crabs scurried about. It took me to my youth and the wonderful memories of similar times on that very same beach.

Farther out, groups of baby spearing sprayed about and broke the surface of the placid water, probably chased by marauding snappers, also known as bluefish. Schools of mullet and kingfish darted in and out from the shoreline behind me, while a solid pack of menhaden could be seen gently swimming to the east, leaving behind an oily slick in their wake. The waters were alive with the young of the year.

About 100 feet down the beach I noticed a young couple and their two children entering the water with a small minnow net. There were squeals of delight from the kids on their first pull of the 10-foot net. It was a bountiful catch and consisted of a number of recently hatched fish, including kingfish, sea robins, fluke, porgy, weakfish, and even a lizardfish, the first time I’ve ever seen one. Nursery school was in session.

Quickly throwing the catch back into the water, the kids did a few more pulls of the net before their parents signaled that dinner awaited them back at home. Grabbing their flip-flops after rolling up the net, they smiled and waved goodbye. The joy on their faces melted with the slowly setting sun.

Simple times for the simple days of late summer. It never gets old. And I’m glad it has not changed.

“Fishing for big kingfish and porgies remains hot in Three Mile Harbor,” said a jubilant Sebastian Gorgone of Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton. “Great late-summer action. Just drop a chum pot over and you will catch your dinner real quick.” Gorgone noted that bunker schools were also thick in Gardiner’s Bay, with some bluefish chasing them. In addition, sea bass fishing remains strong east of Gardiner’s in deeper water.

“The waters are still very warm and there is a lot of bait around, so I think we’ll have good fishing for the next few months,” he said of the 72-degree water near the private island. 

Capt. Rob Aaronson of the charter boat Oh Brother! out of Montauk agrees with Gorgone. “The fall is shaping up to be great with tons of bait in the area to keep the fishing steady,” he said. The veteran skipper reports that striped bass and jumbo-size sea bass and porgie have made up the majority of his charters’ recent hauls. “Some fluke are mixed in, too,” he added. Note that the recreational fluke season comes to an end on Sept. 30.

Capt. David Blinken, a seasoned, light-tackle and fly-fishing guide of North Flats Guiding out of East Hampton, who is back on board his craft after rupturing his Achilles’ tendon back in late spring, has also been enthused by the recent activity.

“There is an amazing amount of bait, largely sand eels, off of Montauk and an incredible amount of whales are feasting on them,” he said on Monday. “Lots of striped bass are hanging around the whales, too.” Blinken warned that while witnessing whales on the feed is a special moment, boaters need to keep a safe distance from the large mammals.

“You don’t want to be on a boat in a school of feeding whales when one surfaces at 20 miles an hour,” he said while recalling a recent YouTube video of a New Jersey center console boat being capsized by a finback whale chasing prey. “Folks need to be much smarter and give whales a wide berth. It’s the law, too.”

Back on the fishing scene, Blinken said that bass and blues can be found in good numbers, but the full onslaught of false albacore has yet to develop. “There are a few albies scattered just about everywhere, but no real concentration of them yet,” he added. “That should change soon.”

That old salt Harvey Bennett, the longtime owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, said that fishing is on the upswing in the quadrant of which he has served for nearly 40 years.

“Great fishing going on so many fronts,” he said with a straight face before showing a nod of concern and frustration over how his beloved Oakland Raiders lost to the Denver Broncos on a last-second field goal on Sunday afternoon.

“I love the Raiders, and that loss hurt,” he said in a soft voice. “I will need a few days to recuperate.”

Gathering himself, Bennett said that porgies and kingfish abound and that more false albacore have shown their faces in greater frequency after the recent ocean heave.

“Albie action has been on the upswing,” he said. “And there are tons of snappers around as well.”

Surfcasters took some time off from the effects of Hurricane Florence and its resulting heavy swells, before it made landfall on the Southeast coast last week. But those who ply the frothy ocean suds have their game face on in the calming seas as the Montauk Surf Fishing Classic takes place starting tomorrow. 

The event ends at noon on Sunday, and the popular tourney features cash and tackle prizes for the three largest striped bass, bluefish, and released striped bass. The entry fee is $15 and applications can be picked up at Paulie’s Tackle Shop, as well as at the New York State Parks headquarters in Montauk. 

You have to be in it to win it, as they say. That tried and true saying will never change either.

We welcome your fishing tips, observations, and photographs at [email protected]. You can find the “On the Water” column on Twitter at @ehstarfishing.

The autumnal equinox has come and gone, just like that! Prepare for early evenings and late mornings. The birds were hip to equinoxes before the modern humans. Their intellects don’t obfuscate their primary objective. They are already on their way south. The winter birds — white-throated sparrows, juncos, and the like — may be here in a few days. I have yet to see one. Some flocks of Canada geese from the north have already left us, and the sea ducks, loons, and grebes have yet to show up. At least they haven’t yet come to my neighborhood at the edge of Noyac Bay.

We still see an osprey or two flying around. All of the young have fledged, and a few made practice nests, it seems, on utility poles before leaving. The cormorants at the end of the fish trap on Long Beach are still hanging out. They don’t seem to be feeding, but maybe there are so many fish in the water that they finish feeding early, then perch and socialize for the rest of the day while digesting their fill.

By all reports there have been a lot of fish in the bays this year. As in the last couple of years, bunkers are especially prevalent. So far, no big fish kills have taken place as they have in Long Island bays during the last several years. Cross your fingers. Terry Sullivan has been checking out the local waters several days a week as he does every year, year round. 

For the past three weeks he has been watching a mass of menhaden, also peanut bunkers, in Otter Pond in Sag Harbor. If you drive by, you are liable to spot two great egrets and a great blue heron standing straight up on the northern shore within inches of one another. And there is usually a cormorant or two. If you stop and look closely, you may witness what Terry has been observing these days: killer mallards. 

Who would imagine that the mostly herbivorous mallards would stoop to eating baby menhaden? But that seems to be the case in Otter Pond. Yes, there are sea ducks, scoters, eiders and the like, and loons, that regularly feed on small fish when available, but mallards? It just goes to show that in nature very little goes to waste. It’s not the birds and other vertebrates that are causing the Pacific Ocean’s “plastic gyre” that is said to be as big as the State of Texas. 

Fortunately, the bunkers swarming in Otter Pond have yet to draw down the oxygen to dangerous levels. 

This is also the season when the salamanders, toads, frogs, and other hibernating amphibians begin to hole up. The arboreal spring peepers that have been with us helping to keep the mosquito population in check since April will also be hibernating shortly. If you go into the wild areas with ponds that they frequent, you will often hear them uttering weak peeps. I wonder if they are signaling that it’s time to go under so that the other lollygagging peepers will take notice.

Those beautiful wood warblers that sparkle when they arrive in May from the South, have dropped their brightly colored feathers for duller ones. The males no longer have to impress the females and come to look more like them in the nonbreeding season. The only singing bird that I occasionally hear in my environs these days is the Carolina wren. For some unknown reason, the males of this species will from time to time utter their repetitious phrases even in the dead of winter.

Whether it is a fluke or attributable to global warming, this was the most difficult summer heat and humidity-wise that I have experienced in my 82 years. I am actually happy to see it go, and look forward to the blooming of the fall asters and goldenrods, the gaily colored leaves still clinging to the hardwood trees before they fall to the ground, and the flight of the monarchs as they flutter south.

Watch out for chiggers and ticks and drive carefully. The squirrels and chipmunks are busy crossing streets looking for acorns to stock their winter larders.

Larry Penny can be reached via email at [email protected].

It’s been almost two months since I last filled my boat up with diesel fuel. I hold about 85 gallons in each of two tanks below deck, and given the high price of fuel this year, I’ve consciously slowed down my cruising speed when heading out for a day of fishing or lobstering. The other day, I finally filled up with 131 gallons, and at $4.30 a gallon, my wallet is significantly lighter.

My Nova Scotia-built craft is bulky and heavy, and is powered by a 370-horsepower Yanmar engine. It’s no high-powered speedboat. It’s a commercial craft — practical, not fancy — designed to tackle deep ocean swells and lug lobster traps. It has a head, but I have not used it in years. 

In the past, I would normally cruise at about 15 knots. But I’ve noticed I burn much less fuel when I throttle down to 13 knots. A two-knot difference does not sound like much, but my rudimentary math skills have shown that I’m burning about 15 percent less fuel. Given that it now probably takes about five minutes more to reach my favorite fishing ground, I think it’s a pretty good trade-off.

My cousin Paul out in Indianapolis has a totally different viewpoint on this matter. He is a speed demon and a genius with engines. He also wants to come for a visit to make my boat faster. Much faster. 

Let me explain.

You see, my cousin was involved with professional Indy car racing for over four decades, starting as a mechanic before forming his own team and racecars under his initials, PDM Racing. 

He lives only a few miles from the famed Indianapolis Speedway where the Indy 500 race is held every Memorial Day weekend. Paul has worked directly with famous drivers of the likes of Tom Sneva, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Rahal, Tony Bettenhausen, Sam Hornish, and many other giants of the sport. He even held his wedding reception in the Pennzoil suite at the Indy Speedway. We’re talking hard core here.

No doubt about it, Paul lives and breathes the lure and appeal of a highly engineered machine that travels over 230 miles an hour on an oval course. He is the original rocket man.

I’m not sure about his plans for my boat though. Sure, I’d love to go at a higher speed. But at what cost? And just how fast are we talking here?

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I have no aptitude for anything mechanical or technical. None. On my best day, I may be lucky enough to change a busted windshield wiper on my car. It’s really embarrassing, but I freely acknowledge my shortcomings. For obvious reasons, some of my best friends are mechanics.

My cousin plans to visit in a couple of weeks. In a few email exchanges, he was serious and convinced that he could get my boat to Indy-car speed. I’m a bit concerned.

“Your boat goes too slow,” he recently wrote, without ever having stepped foot on it. “We can get it to go so much faster. Don’t forget, speed is your friend.” Speed is your friend? Try explaining that to a stern-faced New York State trooper the next time you get pulled over.

I have a hard time seeing a Saturn V rocket booster secured to the top of my main cabin, but I’ll listen to what he may suggest. Perhaps he’ll bring along Mario Andretti, who, by the way, did a fair amount of racing at the old track in Bridgehampton, where my cousin hung out a lot. Frankly, buying a new boat could be the easy answer in my view. But I doubt he’d go for that.

In the meantime, I will continue to chug along at lawn tractor speed. I’m afraid my days of speed are behind me. I long ago lost the hair that I might feel the wind blow through. And I’m not certain I’m ready to install seatbelts and wear goggles and a helmet when I go on my boat.

However, I really look forward to my cousin’s visit, and I do hope he follows the speed limit when he drives out here.

Speaking of fast, the explosive-swimming false albacore have finally arrived in large schools off Montauk and other locales to the delight, and relief, of many anglers.

“They showed up in big numbers late last week and the action has been great,” said Capt. David Blinken of North Flats Guiding out of East Hampton. “It should continue for a while as there is a lot of bait around.”

The old salt Harvey Bennett, owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, agrees. “The fall run is on,” he exclaimed. “False albacore are just about everywhere you look and there are lots of striped bass in the 24-to-26-inch range showing up in the ocean wash with a few bluefish. Some keeper bass are around and the action should get even better. And don’t forget that porgies are still thick and big in the bays, and blowfish and snappers can still be had, too.”

Bennett, who is also an avid Indy racecar fan, is in agreement with my cousin that fast is better than slow when you own a boat. “Listen to your cousin,” Bennett said. “He knows what he’s talking about.” 

“Albies, albies, and albies,” repeated Sebastian Gorgone of Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle Shop in East Hampton, about the schools of the fish that showed up in local waters and around Montauk Point. “They’ve come on thick and it’s great to see.” Gorgone was equally enthused about striped bass on the sandy ocean beaches. “A decent number of keepers are being landed.” 

For those fluke fanatics out there, Sunday will be your last lick to retain the tasty flatfish, as the recreational season comes to an end.

“We haven’t had the best of conditions in September, but there were some nice big fish taken,” said Kathy Vegessi, the shoreside support mate of the open boat Lazybones out of Montauk. As proof, Vegessi showed her expertise last week when she landed an eight-pound fish. The apple did not fall far from the tree as her daughter, Rebecca, reeled in a similar size flattie on the same trip. Fluke will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the Vegessi women have stowed their rods away until next year following the upcoming closure.

On Monday, the Bones will commence its twice-daily trips diamond jigging for stripers and blues at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Bruno-hulled boat does a steady 12 knots when under power. My kind of speed.

We welcome your fishing tips, observations, and photographs at [email protected]. You can find the “On the Water” column on Twitter at @ehstarfishing.

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. After a week of rain and wind, the sight of the sun was a welcome relief. It was a glorious morning to take in the chill of the early fall season and do a local fishing trip. 

It had been too long since I last dropped a line into the water to catch some dinner. In fact, it was mid-August when I went on an offshore trip for codfish. Many dinners were secured and since appreciated.

The six weeks since my last fishing exploits had flown by.  

On Saturday, it was time to untie the dock lines and head westward for a 20-minute cruise to Jessup’s Neck to sling a four-ounce diamond jig for some bluefish. 

Bluefish get a bit of a bad rap. I don’t get it. Small blues, when promptly bled and iced down, make excellent table fare. Oily fleshed, they are also particularly well suited for smoking. Even large-size blues are just fine when prepared this way. One of my fishing partners is an expert when it comes to this, and I’m more than happy to provide him with some fillets for his smoker, no matter the size.

That morning, the only thing noticeable on the flat, calm surface of the water were the wakes from the two South Ferry boats crossing in opposite directions between North Haven and Shelter Island. The murky, brown water of summer had been replaced by water that was now gin-clear in Shelter Island Sound. It was nice to see.

Nearing buoy 17, at the northern tip of Jessup’s, I noticed a rip line. But the tide was still ebbing strongly out of Little Peconic Bay and the blues, for whatever reason, have only fed on the incoming tide this season. My timing was poor.

A small center console boat was nearby on the drift, but was focused on porgies. The two anglers were doing well on the large, silver-sided fish. 

“Good fishing,” one of them shouted over to me,” as he reeled in another fish. “We only got here 30 minutes ago and we have picked up a dozen.” Alas, I neglected to take along any clams or squid, so porgies were off the menu. It was blues or bust.

Not surprisingly, the screen of my fish finder did not pick up any recordings of my intended prey. Not a good sign. And after two hours of repeated drifts, I had only picked up two sea robins and a snagged porgy. Not willing to wait for the turn of the tide, I decided to call it a day, as did the anglers on the center console, who had dinner in hand. Still, it was a special morning to be finally out on the water.

I will make another trip next week for some blues. But I will make certain to read my tide chart more carefully before heading out. And I’ll take some bait, too.

As far as other fish are concerned, “The false albacore are everywhere,” remarked Sebastian Gorgone of Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton. Gorgone said that the fast-swimming fish can be caught on flies or light tackle, with the ever-popular Deadly Dick tin being particularly successful.

“Snappers and porgies are also around,” he added. “And striped bass are being taken from the ocean beaches.”

Capt. Paul Dixon, a light-tackle guide of To the Point Charters, concurs with Gorgone on the excellent run of false albacore. “The albie action has been really good,” he said. However, the veteran captain warned that it’s best to fish during the weekdays to avoid the crowd of boats chasing the fish on Saturday and Sunday. 

Harvey Bennett of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett also noted the abundance of false albacore. “Gardiner’s Bay is full of them and there are plenty off of Montauk, too.” Bennett was also enthused by an uptick in the action for striped bass of late. “Bass were biting well a bit east of Gurney’s with a number of fish over 33 inches taken in recent days.” Bennett said the porgy fishing remains top-notch and that snappers remain in good supply at just about any dock or bulkhead.

In his continuing quest to secure new and used baseball equipment for underprivileged children in the Dominican Republic, Bennett has widened his search to include school and art supplies, as well as shoes and shirts. “There is truly a shortage of basic supplies down there,” he said. “The education system is not well funded and items that we take for granted here are desperately needed there.” Donations can be dropped off at his shop on Montauk Highway.

Out at Montauk, Paul Apostolides of Paulie’s Tackle Shop was also encouraged by the strong showing of false albacore. “The jetties at the entrance to Montauk Harbor has been a hot spot of late,” he said. As per striped bass, Apostolides said the action has been a bit picky, but he hopes for a strong fall run. “The waters are warm and there is plenty of bait around, so we shall see.” 

We welcome your fishing tips, observations, and photographs at [email protected]. You can find the “On the Water” column on Twitter at @ehstarfishing.

There is a raging battle going on throughout Long Island’s two non-city counties, Nassau and Suffolk. It splits the inhabitants into two camps, environmentalists and pro-developers. 

One day’s reading of Newsday or watching News 12 highlights that battle. Two of the hottest spots of contention in Nassau are the Hub, that area surrounding the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, and the Garvies Point development project in Glen Cove. In Suffolk County, people are worked up about the Heartland Town Square project at the former Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, the Hub development in the area surrounding the Ronkonkoma train station, the Huntington Station redevelopment, the Hills, a luxury development in East Quogue, and many more. 

Most of these highly contested developments not only have hundreds of domiciles — condos, work-force units, and modest-income apartments — but extensive commercial areas, as well. The so-called second and third railroad lines out to Ronkonkoma are halfway through installation. They will feed central Suffolk the way the umbilical tube feeds the fetus until birth.

Some of you may remember the plan to build a super highway along the Ronkonkoma moraine between central Southampton Town and East Hampton Town out to the beginning of Napeague. In fact, there were two plans championed by the New York State governor at that time. Both were met with formidable opposition, Halt the Highway One and Halt the Highway Two. The land through which this multi-lane highway would travel has since been put into preservation or developed.

It’s bad enough now, but if you have driven in Nassau County or western Suffolk during the daytime recently you would get an idea of what it would be like if during the non-winter months on the South Fork you had two major thoroughfares connecting Montauk with Hampton Bays — two times as much traffic.

It is not just traffic increases that environmentalists here are concerned about, it’s the amount of potable water that is available, the already contaminated underground water that feeds the surface waters, the noise, the lights, the air befouled with ozone and carbon dioxide. New York State and the counties keep publishing plans to accommodate this increased development. In the case of the 1,000-plus unit Heartland development and commercial center, the septic waste and other water uses generated by such a development would generate some 450,000 gallons of wastewater each day. The developers say they plan to take care of that problem and connect Heartland to the Southwest Sewer District. In fact, the Suffolk County Legislature, the ultimate controller of septic flow, is slated to take up that very topic in the near future.

But don’t be blind to what’s happening on the South Fork, the groundwater supply for which is threatened with wide-scale contamination. Different consulting companies as well as town planners are too often quick to say we can minimize any would-be deleterious impacts of development by the use of new septic systems. Of course these will cut down the amount of nitrogenous wastes entering the groundwater, then the ponds and tidal creeks, but the groundwater is already contaminated with a bunch of chemicals that, taken together, are harmful.

On the South Fork, we don’t have the luxury of a third, deeper aquifer that central Suffolk has to draw from in the future. We only have two underground freshwater layers, the upper glacial and the magothy, below it.

And much of those two are already sullied, as we see now in the hamlet of Wainscott.

Recently, the Sand Land sand and gravel pit on Middle Line Highway just east of Millstone Road in Noyac has been heavily scrutinized by the Suffolk County Health Department, which found elevated levels of a number of chemical contaminants. That facility has been ordered to cease mining operations, but if it weren’t for the Noyac Civic Council, a group of unpaid concerned citizens, that facility would probably still be ablaze with activity.

In East Hampton Town, the Wainscott sand and gravel pit a few hundred feet north of Georgica Pond on the north side of Montauk Highway used to have a pond in its center, at times as large as 10 acres or more. On the 2010 Suffolk County Tax Map for East Hampton, the page for the sandpit parcels shows an outline of that pond, which no longer exists. The Wainscott hamlet study to be aired this evening by the town’s consultant has suggested some ways to develop that formidable piece of property in the immediate watershed of Georgica Pond. It would seem to me that first the property has to be examined in detail just as the Noyac sandpit has been recently.

Since the New York State Departtment of Environmental Conservation has exclusive jurisdiction over such sand and gravel mines, it has to step up as well, as it did begrudgingly in the Noyac sandpit matter. In a recent conversation with Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., he agreed that towns have to have a bigger say in managing sandpits within their jurisdiction and said that there is a movement afoot in the Legislature to make that happen.

If the majority of Wainscott homeowners, having recently discovered fire-retardant pollutants in their well water and now hooking up to Suffolk County Water Authority water, had their say, it is my belief that they would almost unanimously opt for an open space preservation, nondevelopment solution.

Larry Penny can be reached via email at [email protected].

On Friday morning I had to make a trip to Riverhead and the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new driver’s license. Not only was it set to expire shortly, but the picture of me on the front was at least 25 years old. Looking at the card, I saw I had no wrinkles on my face and that I actually had a pretty full head of hair that extended just below my ears. I was not exactly a hippie, mind you, but I did look young. Needless to say, the photograph does not resemble the me of today.

I was not looking forward to this trip at all. Does anyone wake up with a smile and an extra bounce in his step knowing that he will likely spend a few hours at the D.M.V.? I didn’t think so.

Nearing the dreaded facility, which is housed in a small, nondescript shopping strip on Old Country Road, I drove past Edward’s Sporting Goods, a store that has been in business under the same family since 1954 selling a wide assortment of wares, including fishing tackle, outerwear, guns and ammunition for hunters, as well as just about any kind of sports and athletic gear. A distressing sign was taped to the front glass door of the well-worn building announcing that a sale was underway as the shop was closing its doors for good. 

While I was not a frequent customer of the establishment, I admired that it had the stamina to remain in business for over half a century, a great accomplishment by any standard. I was saddened to see another mom-and-pop store close. No doubt, big box stores and the internet have had a huge influence on how we shop today. Stores of the Edward’s ilk are increasingly rare.

The upcoming closure also reminded me of all the boat liveries and bait and tackle shops that have also shut down and faded away from the shorefront. It has been sad to see. Only about 30 years ago, there were nearly 20 such businesses in and around Moriches Bay. Today, only two remain.

Closer to the East End, it’s a similar story. Gone are the likes of Altenkirch’s Tackle Shop, which was a fixture for decades along the Shinnecock Canal. Sag Harbor for years had two liveries — Bayview and Remkus — that offered skiffs for rent. Others were located in Southampton, Northwest Harbor, Shelter Island, Three Mile Harbor, and Noyac Bay. The North Fork, too, had over a dozen such businesses catering to fishermen and their families at its high point, including the Port of Egypt fishing station in Southold, which offered more than 50 boats for let. 

The long-gone Promised Land fishing station on Napeague was the legendary launch pad for those who pursued large winter flounder (recalled fondly as snowshoes due to their large size) in nearby Tobaccolot and Gardiner’s Bay. Some weekend days saw well over 100 boats plying those locales. Catches were beyond plentiful. But that’s all in the past.

“My best friend’s parents owned the Promised Land station and it was a great place to hang out as a kid,” recalled Harvey Bennett, the longtime owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, one of the few tackle and bait stores that remain. “There were all kinds of fish around back in those days, but the flounder fishing was epic. We thought it would never end. But I doubt anyone has even tried for snowshoe flounder in well over 15 years.”

The fishery, like the businesses that were built around it, is long gone.

For the most part, I disagree with the old proverb that the more things change the more they stay the same. Stores like Edward’s are a dying breed and are not likely to be replaced. Things do change. And not always for the better.

Unfortunately, I also suspect that the long lines at the D.M.V. will never get shorter.

This past weekend saw a long line of boats parade out of Montauk Harbor in pursuit of false albacore, which remain plentiful in many areas, including Block Island Sound, Gardiner’s Bay, and near Montauk Point. Boaters also took advantage of the excellent run of striped bass taking place in the various rips off the lighthouse.

“Fishing for albies has been excellent of late,” said Bennett. “And casters are also getting them good off the Montauk Harbor jetties.” Bennett added that striped bass showed up in large numbers in the ocean wash from East Hampton to Amagansett over the weekend, while blowfish remain plentiful in Three Mile Harbor. “Get the blowfish while you can,” he said. “They will be pushing out soon.”

Interested in fishing or hunting fowl with Bennett on his boat? The licensed guide and captain has resumed his fall charter business chasing either prey. “Now is the time to get on the water,” he said. “Some great hunting going on, too.” No doubt Bennett will have his arsenal of old-time Bonac stories and tales at the ready if the action slows down. 

Capt. Mark Ryckman of the party boat Montauk Star reports that the mixed-bag action for porgies, sea bass, and codfish has been solid near Block Island, following the closure of the fluke season on Sept. 30. “Fishing has been really good,” he said. “Lots of nice sea bass around if you can get away from the giant-sized porgies. And there are a few cod mixed in.” The all-day boat departs at 5 a.m. from the Star Island Yacht Club.

The day before the fluke season ended, Mike Rivera, fishing on the Montauk Star, reeled in a monster 15.5-pound, 34-inch fluke. “We believe it was the largest brought into the harbor and all of Long Island this 2018 fluke season,” Captain Ryckman wrote.

“Not many boat reports, but if you want to catch false albacore, they are all over the place,” said Ken Morse at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor. “And there has been some good action on stripers near Indian Wells in Amagansett.”

Morse added that anglers are getting ready for the start of the fall blackfish season. The fishery opens today in Long Island Sound, and commences on Monday in the remainder of New York.

“I sold a lot of green crabs this weekend, so people are getting ready for them,” Morse said of popular bait that is a favorite of the toothy fish. “The waters are very warm, so people should fish shallow water if they want to score.”

We welcome your fishing tips, observations, and photographs at [email protected]. You can find the “On the Water” column on Twitter at @ehstarfishing.

Even though the calendar says it’s September, last Thursday morning dawned hot and incredibly humid. Like many days this summer, it was downright tropical. Despite a 10-knot breeze out of the southwest, beads of sweat had formed on the back of my neck as I started up the diesel engine on my boat. The early morning sun was strong. It definitely felt more like the end of July. 

While cooler weather was scheduled to start on Friday, stronger winds out of the northeast were predicted for the next several days. The forecast necessitated retrieving my lobster traps for the season. The older I get, the less excited I am about rough seas.

My gear had been in the water since March and lobster management area 6, the section where I set my traps in the northeastern end of Long Island Sound, was set to close on Saturday and would not reopen until Nov. 26. Given the windy forecast, it was time to call it a season, haul the traps to dry land, and undertake some much-needed repairs.

Steering northeast toward the traps in the strong late-summer sunshine, I had time to reflect on the season on the one-hour run. With the sun off my starboard side, Gardiner’s Bay had a slight chop on it in the following sea. Passing the Finest Kind, a dragger on the tow out of Three Mile Harbor, I noticed my water temperature gauge claimed it was 75 degrees in the middle of the bay. Very warm.

Taking a quick glance at my logbook, I also saw that the water temperature was a brisk 42 degrees when I first put my traps in almost six months earlier. Needless to say, I yearned to relive those chilly days as I took a swig of the warm Gatorade from my supply bag. 

Throttling back on the engine as I neared my first trap, I saw that my now-faded and seaweed-encrusted orange buoys were the only ones still in the water. Others, mostly recreational folks, had already pulled out their traps. Noncommercial lobster permit holders can fish up to five traps per person for a nominal yearly $10 fee to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Each license holder can retain six lobsters per day. Given the high price of the tasty crustaceans in the retail market, it’s not a bad deal.

The first six traps I pulled up were blanks, with the exception of a few spider crabs and a female lobster bearing eggs, which was immediately released. Live long and prosper, I say. 

A few more eggers came up in the next few traps, and finally a few keepers. Lobster dinner was once again secured. The very last trap pulled contained two beautiful hard-shelled lobsters, a fitting way to end the season. It was now time to head back to port into the stiffening breeze.

All in all, the season was a good one. Due to commitments of work and travel on land, it had been nine years since I had been on the water to set out my traps. It felt really great, and it was also nice to be back on a regular diet of lobster.

As for the fishing scene, both commercial and recreational skippers were keeping a wary eye on several tropical disturbances that were churning in the suddenly active Atlantic basin. Building long-period swells have been hitting the ocean beaches for several days and have thrown a wrench in plans to pursue blue water gamefish far offshore, and to chase some species closer to the beach.

“Everyone is talking about hurricanes right now,” said Harvey Bennett, the veteran owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett. “Hey, it’s prime time for them. It’s nothing new. It happens every September.”

The 68-year-old Bennett has witnessed more than his fair share of hurricanes in his life. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a big one come to the East End,” he said. “All I know is don’t underestimate Mother Nature. She can pack a real mean punch. She means business.”

As for fishing, Bennett remarked that fishing for porgies and sea bass has been solid and that a nice slug of striped bass showed up underneath the Montauk Lighthouse when the easterly winds came up. He added that snappers, blowfish, and kingfish are also thick in many locations.

“Depending on how close a hurricane comes to us, it’s bound to mix up the fishing scene for better or worse, depending on the fish.” 

“If you chum, they will come,” said Sebastian Gorgone of Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton, referring to adding scent, usually ground up clams or bunker, to the water to entice the abundant kingfish to a baited hook. They are being captured near Sammy’s Beach and other spots on the bayside. “I did some scuba diving the other day and smashed a few slipper shells, and immediately a dozen or so kingfish rushed in to eat the scraps. Some blowfish also showed up too.”

Gorgone also confirmed the run of striped bass at the Point, but hoped that after the passage of the rough weather, false albacore will finally appear on the scene.

“Everyone is waiting on the albies,” he said.

“Action has pretty much remained the same, but who knows what the weather will do to the fishing if we get a close call with any of the storms out there,” said Ken Morse of Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor. “Due to the high surf, action will be minimal for a few days. But there are plenty of weakfish, porgies, and kingfish in the bays.”

We welcome your fishing tips, observations, and photographs at [email protected]. You can find the “On the Water” column on Twitter at @ehstarfishing.