Good Action In The Surf

The gannets were diving into the surf for the first time on Sunday morning, and so were the big bass. As a result, the leader board in the Montauk Locals surfcasting tournament for striped bass has changed.

Bob Jones remains in first place with a fish caught on Oct. 10, and Fred Kaulkstein's 34-pound, eight-ounce bass remains in second.

A 33-pound striper taken from the surf on the backside of the blow Sunday by Dennis Gaviola has taken over the three spot much to Steve Carmen's dismay. Mr. Carmen had pulled a 31-pound bass out of the surf just 15 minutes earlier during the same blitz Sunday morning between the Lighthouse bluffs and the spot called Jones's.

Gannets Diving

Dennis Gaviola's brother Joe, despite hours spent perched on various rocks around Montauk and Shagwong Points, remains out of the running, to his brother's great satisfaction. He said that Sunday, for the first time, nature offered the kind of late fall signs that add up to big fish. "It didn't last long, but the gannets were in the surf and big bait was being pushed in."

Dave Marcley, another locals competitor, caught a 27-pounder on his first cast. Mr. Marcley, who said his arms got tired after reeling in a number of big fish, offered Dennis Gaviola his rock midway through the flurry. It was shortly afterward that Mr. Gaviola hooked the third- place fish.

Joe Gaviola said that about 10 bass weighing in the 20-pound range, and three weighing over 30 pounds were landed during the Sunday morning session.

Steve Kraemer of Montauk reports great striper action at Shagwong Point as well. He boasted a 30-pounder on eight-pound test line over the weekend.

Slow Going

The good surf action has just about replaced the season-long production in Gardiner's Bay. Harvey Bennett of the Tackle Shop in Springs reports slow going during one of his "cast and blast" sessions last week. It's how he refers to his combination bass fishing and coot (scoter) shooting outings he enjoys this time of year. The shooting was good, the casting was "didn't raise any," Mr. Bennett said.

He added that bass were still being found at Plum Gut, and flounder could be had by dropping a line off the docks in Three Mile Harbor.

The Lazy Bones party boat, which sails from between Tuma's and Salivar's Dock in Montauk, continues to have very good luck with bass. The Bones runs two trips per day and Kathy Vegessi, first mate, reports anglers reeling in 15 keeper bass (over 28 inches) in the morning, and 13 during the afternoon trip.

Tuna Vanish

The day before, it was 10 keepers in the a.m. and 16 in the afternoon. Fishermen were using diamond jigs for the most part, with some drifting live eels. The Bones has been fishing in the rips off Montauk as well as Shagwong Points.

The search for offshore tuna among sport fishermen has just about ceased. Between regulations and mysterious migratory patterns, local tuna boats have not faired well.

John DeLuca, otherwise known as Johnny Marlin, said the water was still pretty warm offshore, but that a recent trip for tuna found only blue sharks. One of them was near world-record size, he said, well over 300 pounds. Mr. DeLuca said he and his crew decided not to bait the big blue because the waste (few people eat blue sharks) would not be worth a possible record.