Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

Hands down, dawn is my favorite part of the day. No matter the season, I love to get up early and take it all in. 

With a hot cup of black coffee in hand, watching the different palettes of color change before your eyes as the sun slowly makes its way above the water in the eastern horizon gives you a different picture every day. Life is usually peaceful and beautiful at that early hour, no matter the weather.

But the recent stretch of very warm temperatures punctuated by dense, tropical humidity with little airflow also illustrated a painting that’s much more abstract. In short, you know it’s just plain uncomfortable outside as you peer from the window inside the coolness of your air-conditioned living room. It’s really not an inviting or pretty picture.

Last week, I should have paid closer heed to those signs. After playing two hours of tennis in the blazing midday sun and suffering through some rather intense leg cramps as a result of severe dehydration while trying to sleep that night, I decided I would go on my boat early the next morning to check and rebait the lobster traps before the sun had gained its full grip on the water and terra firma. Spoiler alert: It was a bad decision.

As expected, the morning dawned hot and humid with nary a wisp of wind. It was dead calm. Even with the added jolt of caffeine from my coffee, it was almost hard to take a breath of air as I untied the boat from the dock while the angry orange glow of the sun rose above the thick haze that hung lazily over Northwest Harbor. It was difficult to move about in the dense conditions.

The one-hour ride to the lobster grounds over the smooth-as-glass water was uneventful, but the sweat began to grow quickly on my brow when I pulled up the first lobster trap by hand. The second trap proved problematic, as it was deeply wedged between some rocks below. Some maneuvering of the boat in the strong incoming tide ultimately pried it loose, but the repeated strain on my arms and back caused the rest of my body to quickly overheat and begin to break down. 

I usually wear a weightlifting belt to provide added support to my increasingly delicate lower back. However, for whatever reason I forgot to strap it across my lower abdomen that morning. A very dumb decision in hindsight, as it only exacerbated my discomfort. Getting older does not always make one smarter.

After pulling up the remaining 13 traps, I was sweating profusely and was,  admittedly, totally exhausted. Encased in my oilskin bibs and size-16 heavy rubber boots, my white cotton shirt was completely drenched in perspiration. Not only that, I had become dizzy and nauseated and had developed a strong headache. If I were a cooked turkey, my red plastic pop-up timer would have been fully extended. I was well done. I felt awful.

Drinking a few bottles of water on the ride back did not improve my condition. My partner that morning on board to help rebait traps also felt woozy. In my blurry mind, at least I had company. But heat exhaustion had clearly set in. It was a rather helpless feeling.

I don’t recall how many lobsters we caught that morning. It’s kind of fuzzy, looking back. Probably 10 or so. All I knew is that it took three days for me to regain my strength and return to normal. 

While I love the summer months, I have to admit that I’m also anxiously awaiting September and some much-anticipated cooler weather. At my age, I learned a pretty good lesson that day. The body has its limits.

Speaking of overheated, the fishing remains solid out in Montauk.

Large striped bass continue to make their presence felt on live baits and on the troll in the rips east of the Montauk Lighthouse, while sea bass, porgy, and fluke continue to be on the chew in their usual summertime haunts. 

“Striped bass and bottom fishing remains red hot,” said Capt. Rob Aaronson of the charter boat Oh Brother! Far offshore, blue-water anglers are also doing well with yellowfin, bigeye, and mahi mahi making up most of the catch, while a few white marlin have also been caught and released. 

Farther west, Harvey Bennett, the owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, was giddy with excitement about the local fishing scene, too. “Fishing has been excellent all around,” he said on Monday morning after stepping out of his well-aged, lime green Volkswagen Beetle, known affectionately as the “Fish Bug.” 

“Fluke fishing at Napeague and even from the surf in Amagansett has been really good of late,” he said. “Lots of bass around too, and porgies and sea bass are plentiful in Gardiner’s Bay and Block Island Sound.” Bennett added that kingfish, along with porgies, can be had off the dock in Fort Pond Bay in Montauk, while bluefish abound along the bayside. 

“Some false albacore are around, too,” he added before unfurling his equally-aged American flag outside his storefront. “And don’t forget that the snappers are getting bigger for the kids and are around just about every dock and bulkhead.”

Bennett also showcased some recently donated baseball gloves, as he continues his yearlong quest to secure new and used baseball equipment for underprivileged children in the Dominican Republic. “I will take anything, I’m not choosy at all,” he said. “The kids down there appreciate just about anything they will receive. Keep on checking that closet, attic, garage, or basement.”

At Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton, Sebastian Gorgone was encouraged by the fluke bite. “Lots of good action on fluke from Napeague to Gardiner’s, but it sometimes can be tough trying to avoid all of the porgies that are around. Other than that, stripers are in the wash along the ocean beaches and the snappers are getting bigger by the day for the kids.”

“Hordes of every type of bait you can think of are around,” said Capt. Paul Dixon of To the Point charters in East Hampton, a light-tackle expert. “There are lots of different sizes of bluefish around, plus mackerel and some striped bass. I’m hearing reports of some bonito around, but I have not seen them myself.”

“Small bluefish are thick on the flood tide at Jessup’s Neck,” said Ken Morse at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor. “Lots of times they are on top so any surface lure will work. Otherwise a diamond jig does the trick.” Morse said that small striped bass are mixed in with the blues. “And porgies and weakfish have been consistent at Buoy 16 in Noyac Bay,” he added. “Fishing has been pretty hot.”

No need to explain what hot means to me. 

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