Fishing With Friends
I can be a loner at times. As such, I sometimes enjoy the solitude of fishing by myself when the mood strikes. There are those moments in life when it’s nice to be away from the problems that may be swirling around in your world, or the world in general. Whether it’s casting for stripers on an empty ocean beach in November or sitting lazily on the stern of your boat for a long drift for fluke near the Cedar Point Lighthouse, I cherish those days greatly when it’s clearly time to de-fog the brain and hit the reset button to gain some inner peace. Catching anything is a side issue at that point too. If the fish cooperate, that’s fine. All the better. But if my pail remains empty at the end of the trip, that’s okay, too. It’s all part of a day on the water and taking all of it in.
But I most certainly love to fish with other people, including some of my closest friends. That too is equally therapeutic. Each of them comes from varying professions — accounting, finance, insurance, education, construction, bartending — a real cross-section of just about anyone you may see in a hardware store on the weekend. It is a great mix and we all get along well.
And this past weekend, for the 17th year in a row, our core group fished in the Montauk Mercury Grand Slam. Compared to some of the high-stakes offshore tournaments and large pots of cash involved, this tourney is more low-key and has a nice local flair to it. Fishing is done close to Montauk and focuses on our four most popular inshore species — striped bass, bluefish, sea bass, and fluke. It’s a lot of fun, and we have plenty of laughs. The charter boat Breakaway has been our vessel of choice for the event all these years, and we’ve had a decent amount of success too.
However, sadly, nearly four years ago we lost the “leader” of our group, who organized all of our fishing charters, to a sudden illness. Wayne Clinch was a remarkable man who retired a few years prior to his premature passing, after a career in the world of corporate insurance in Manhattan, to a newly rebuilt house a stone’s throw away from the fishing docks in Montauk Harbor with his wife, Carolyn. An avid fisherman his whole life, his arsenal of tackle and custom-made fishing rods could put most tackle shops to shame. You name the species, and Clinch most likely had the exact rod, lure, rig, or hook to match the hatch, as they say.
Set in his ways, with a wicked, dry sense of humor, Clinch also possessed a heart of gold and was pied piper of our group, the one who would always set the tone for every trip on the water. No matter the outcome at the end of the day, we all would have a great time, sharing the same bad movie lines or retelling old jokes that never seem to tire. It actually hurt at times to smile due to the constant laughter. Good fishing or not, it would always be an immensely enjoyable trip.
And while our fishing adventures since his passing continue to be a fine mixture of fun, laughs, and success, there remains a noticeable void on the cockpit deck several years later. The jokes and sharp barbs traded these days remain humorous to us in the midship cabin, but we all feel the difference since his passing and we continue to adjust to it. It has not been easy, and I’m just not sure that it will fully heal or change. It’s just not quite the same.
It’s in these times, though, that I most appreciate being with those who together share the same passion for being on the water and who value true friendship. Losing a beloved friend, spouse, or relative is never easy. It takes time. But in so many instances, my fellow fishing colleagues all know it’s sometimes better to be with others than to walk alone.
As for the Grand Slam event itself, lots of nice fish were weighed in over the weekend in the various categories. At its conclusion, James Katfaras and his crew captured the recreational division and the grand prize of a Mercury 150 horsepower outboard engine. Trying hard every year, Capt. Charles Etzel and his crew of the Keeper came away with the win in the commercial/charter boat division and a tidy cash prize.
As for our group, we had some nice action on all of the targeted species both days. One of them not on the weigh-in list was a thresher shark. On Sunday afternoon, just about a mile or so south of Gurney’s, a large thresher shark over 200 pounds paid us a visit. Taking off with a small bucktail fished hard on the bottom, it quickly made off like a speeding locomotive heading south. There was nothing to do but laugh, as the light spinning gear was no match for the enraged shark. But all of us on board enjoyed the spectacle of four acrobatic leaps out of the water by the feisty, whip-tailed predator. It was quite a sight to behold on a beautiful sunny day.
No threshers were reported on the Montauk half-day open boat Lazy Bones, but fluke fishing has been solid of late. “We had a few fish over 10 pounds and the fishing has been very good,” said a smiling Kathy Vegessi. Some nice sea bass are also in the mix, she added.
Good sportsmanship was also on display on the Bones. Vegessi relayed that on a Saturday morning’s trip, 10-year-old Will Quackenbush captured not only the pool winnings with a five-pound fluke, but also the monthly Wayne Clinch Take a Kid Fishing award of a rod and reel, and a full tackle box of fishing lures and gear. However, having captured the award and prize last July, young Quackenbush displayed true honor by voluntarily giving his newly won equipment to a 5-year-old fellow angler, Hudson Hayduk, who was fishing near the rail with him. Vegessi said the moment was priceless and unforgettable. It’s also a great gesture that Wayne would have been very proud to see.
Over at the Tackle Shop in Amagansett, Harvey Bennett proclaimed that the snappers are in full force. “While still on the small side, it’s a great opportunity to introduce children to fishing catching baby bluefish,” he said. Bigger fish, striped bass, can also be taken from the ocean surf from Atlantic Avenue to Main Beach in East Hampton. “Fishing bait, either clams or bunker, is the way to get them, but bucktails and tins will work too,” added Bennett. Those focused on fluke can find nice- size ones at the Napeague and Accabonac Harbor areas. And porgies still reside around Gardiner’s Island, but shorebound anglers can also catch them at the big dock on the west side of Fort Pond Bay in Montauk.
Skinny water action for those fishing flies and light tackle has also been productive lately. “Fishing is still holding up well, mostly on the flood tide on the flats, both in Gardiner’s and Shinnecock Bays,” said Capt. Merritt White of Skiff Guide charters, based out of East Hampton. “Best action has been using crab flies and flathead bonefish jigs in tan and pink.”
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