Big Surf, Big Bass
If they could have seen the mayhem on the rocks Saturday morning up at the Lighthouse, the striped bass would surely have thought they were winning their battle with surfcasters.
The surf, spawned by the storm that spun off the coast beginning Friday, was big and especially threatening on the rocks under the Montauk Lighthouse. So threatening, in fact, that the casters' usual rock perches were submerged and the casting was being done, nervously, from the "top platform," as they call the highest level of rocks in front of the Light, placed there two years ago for erosion control.
The top platform, behind which stretches a chain-link fence to keep people off the Lighthouse's Turtle Hill, is 15 to 20 feet above sea level, even at high tide. Even so, Saturday's surf was big enough to make for some harrowing fishing.
Wary Casters
Joe Gaviola has been applying hot packs to his back since Saturday morning, and is walking in bent posture. He had started the morning to the west near "the bluffs." Gannets were everywhere, he said, diving on the herring that were mixed up in the blankets of white water. But soon he saw the surfcasters, including his brother, Dennis, and Paul Melnyk, migrating toward the Lighthouse. He followed. A wary line of casters had formed along the top platform and were catching fish.
Mr. Gaviola said he took a position next to Mr. Melnyk and began to cast. "I made two casts, then a wave came that picked me and Paul up and slammed me against the fence, and Paul landed with his head in my lap. It tore my lure bag off, my [neoprene] helmet, and my hat."
Undaunted, or nearly so, Mr. Gaviola and his companion continued to fish, along with several other casters who had likewise picked themselves up after a drubbing.
Ravenous Bass
On the first cast after regaining his composure, he caught a 20-pound striper which tore off to the north with the flooding tide. He was forced to follow his catch down to beach to land it. He returned in pain to his spot on the top platform to hook into another bass of about the same size. Again, he had to climb down off the rocks and walk north along the beach to a place where he could make a stand. Mr. Melnyk landed a 33-pounder the same way.
Fishermen who were there said the bass bit all through the flood tide, slack tide, and into the ebb. It was then it got even more dangerous, as hooked fish had to be retrieved via well-timed clambering down the face of the rock escarpment between waves.
Twenty and 30-pound fish were caught on Saturday morning, but the leader board in the Montauk locals tournament of bass-fishing surfcasting has remained unchanged for over two weeks now.
When weather permitted, bass fishing from boats continued to excel. Rob Aaronson, captain of the Oh Brother boat out of Montauk, reported bass being caught by his anglers using most every means available, including eels, bunker, and diamond jigs. It's been a busy season in the charter boat business. The legs and knees of its captains are tired of navigating the rolling docks. You can tell by the limp.
Altenkirch Precision Outfitters shop of Hampton Bays reports excellent bass-from-boats fishing up that way. A shop outing on Tuesday resulted in 35 fish up to 30 pounds, and "Doctor Stan," the shop's fly-fishing guru, took 25 smaller fish from the beach the same day, first employing his surfcasting rod, then his lighter spinning rod, and finally his fly rod. At night, bass are being caught in the Shinnecock Inlet using "snakes," as eels are affectionately known, and live herring. This coming season Alten kirch's will have a charter boat for inshore charters.