A Break in Fishing Doldrums
When boating or sailing, there are times as the season moves along that doing the same thing over and over becomes downright boring. The same is true for the pursuit of fish. I simply get burned out when chasing the same species day after day.
I usually partake in a steady diet of fluke and sea bass, mixed with a sprinkling of striped bass and bluefish. The fishing is usually very reliable. But after a certain number of trips, I get bored. The challenge is just not there. A change in the game plan is greatly needed to recharge the enthusiasm.
Thankfully, that happened on Saturday at Montauk, as my annual offshore trip for codfish was on the docket. The trip came at the perfect time to help break the fishing doldrums.
We departed promptly at 6 a.m. on the charter boat Breakaway, a 42-foot Torres with a much-appreciated air-conditioned main cabin that made the two-hour ride in rather choppy seas a pleasure. I was even able to get a few nods of sleep in one of the forward bunks.
Setting up on the drift in the southwesterly breeze with freshly shucked skimmer clam baits, our offerings were met instantly by large, hungry black sea bass. It rarely took more than a second or two before a fish was on the hook. The bite was intense.
In short order, we captured our limit of three fish per person for the four-man crew (note that the limit increases to seven fish per person on Sept. 1). When not being instantly inhaled by sea bass, our hooks were lucky enough to land three keeper codfish (cod must be at least 22 inches in order to be retained) on our first drop.
Filled in our quest for sea bass, it was time to focus solely on cod, our main quarry. After steering eastward into the deeper, and hopefully cooler, waters that codfish prefer, the first few drops produced a few small red hake that were quickly released. Being patient, we all knew it would take time to find the right spot. And we did.
We ended up with about 18 cod up to 15 pounds — a very successful trip in any book. Most important, it was great to fish for something different with nary a single boat in sight. The blahs were cured.
“Lots of porgies around everywhere,” exclaimed Harvey Bennett of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett. “It’s sometimes even hard to get away from them.” Bennett said that fluke fishing is holding up on the bayside as well as from the ocean beach. “And with the recent east wind, the striped bass fishing turned on,” he added. “Plus, snappers are keeping the kids entertained, too.”
Speaking of kids, last Thursday, the East Hampton Sportsmen’s Alliance held its fifth annual Take-a-Kid-Fishing trip out of Montauk aboard the Miss Montauk II. The sunset fishing excursion focused on sea bass and porgies for the 40 or so kids who were fortunate enough to fish for free. And at the conclusion of their adventure, they were not disappointed.
“The kids had a ball,” said Terry O’Riordan, director of the alliance and a main coordinator of the popular excursion. “Everyone went home with fish and there were big smiles all around the boat.” A number of raffles and prizes, including several custom-made fishing rods, were handed out by the end of the trip. Nothing better than seeing a kid with a big smile holding a fish at the end of his or her line.
“Fluke fishing has been good, but it is more about quality than quantity,” said Kathy Vegessi of the Lazybones out in Montauk. “The size of the fish has been impressive and we are also seeing a lot of sea bass in the catch as well.” The ’Bones had fluke up to 11 pounds in recent days.
“Fishing has been good when the weather allows,” said Ken Morse at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor. “Porgies, weakfish, and kingfish are in the bays, and bluefish can be had on diamond jigs on the incoming tide at Jessup’s Neck.”
On the commercial side, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced that the commercial black sea bass fishery will reopen on Monday, five days earlier than expected. The commercial fishery was closed on July 28 due to projected landings approaching the total allowed for the quota period covering July 1 through Aug. 31, but rough weather resulted in much lower landings during the last open week of fishing. Approximately 10,000 pounds remain available for harvest through Aug. 31.
“We look forward to a productive season as we continue to seek federal regulatory changes to create additional and equitable opportunities for New York’s commercial fishing community,” said Basil Seggos, commissioner of the D.E.C. Only time will tell if that comes to fruition for the overly abundant fish.
We welcome your fishing tips, observations, and photographs at [email protected]. You can find the “On the Water” column on Twitter at @ehstarfishing.