On the Water: Repeat Offender on the Line

Despite launching my boat for the season back on March 13, an overly aggressive early date, this spring’s copiously rainy and windy weather left very few opportunities to wet a line and finally put some fresh fish on the table. 

For two solid months, the boat sat idle. Last year’s supply of frozen fillets of blackfish, cod, and sea bass are long gone, save for a few vacuum-sealed packs of frozen bay scallops caught during one of my last trips in December from Northwest Harbor. Not a bad option for supper, mind you, but it was time to take advantage of the weather window and finally make that first trip of the season. It was time.

At dawn on Friday morning, there was the unmistakable and distinct smell of lilacs and early summer in the air that swirled over Sag Harbor Cove. Perfect. But, a flashback to my first fishing trip last year ran through my mind as a broken hydraulic steering hose aborted my long-anticipated outing no more than 40 feet from the dock. Definitely not the start anyone wants or expects for their maiden trip of the season. But thanks to dead-calm air and a quick tow back to my slip from an early-arriving mechanic at the marina, I was fortunate not to collide with any of those newly launched and freshly waxed boats whose owners are clearly in a much higher tax bracket than I. It could have been worse. Much worse. 

Engine started, warm, and everything in working order, a nice 30-minute cruise to the early season fluke grounds in Southold Bay on the western side of Shelter Island was in order. Better known as the Greenlawns, the fluke hot spot’s name is clearly defined by the lush and expansive green lawns spanning several acres shared by two majestic old Victorian houses. A lawn-cutter’s dream. 

Riding through the wake of the Shelter Island South Ferry boat Mashomack — fully loaded with cars and pickup trucks on their way for work over on the North Haven side — was a pleasant reminder for me to appreciate and savor my serene surroundings. Certainly a much better start to the day than my inaugural trip last season. 

Upon arrival, there were already about a half-dozen pleasure crafts on the grounds. Most were fluking, but the Viking Star, via a long, three-hour ride from Montauk, was getting ready to set anchor on a lump of rocks closer to shore to fish for porgies, which had been running up to found pounds in the area when the season opened on May 1. Before long, various party and charter boats from Orient, Greenport, and even Shinnecock showed up on the scene. It got rather crowded very quickly. 

With a nice outgoing tide, the drifting conditions were good, but the fluke had not set their alarms. Several drifts produced nothing but a few sea robins over the first two hours. The action was similar on the other boats. To make matters worse, the westerly wind increased dramatically in short order. Gusts to over 20 miles per hour picked up the speed of the drift and conditions quickly became a bit uncomfortable. 

Deciding to make one last drift, we quickly caught two short fluke on hooks baited with fresh squid strips. An encouraging sign. My colleague on board, Ray Sperling, a mechanic for the Hampton Jitney for nearly three decades, announced that he had another fish on. Not taking any line and with no visible bounce in the rod, this was something different. And then up came a very large, old chowder clam. But this was no ordinary clam that was snagged on the outside of its shell. Nope. This clam actually ingested the fluke hook and steadfastly refused to open up. The clam had clammed up.

But what was that other piece of aged monofilament sticking out from its shell? It clearly did not match the fresh, clear leader material attached to the fluke hook. Despite an earnest attempt to extract the hook from the overly stubborn clam, it was all for naught. Surgery would have to be performed. Finding an old clam knife inside the cabin, we eventually pried open the aged mollusk. Lo and behold, another surprise. A rusted porgy hook and rig was also lodged deep inside our hungry quahog. The clam was a repeat offender. 

Muttering several times that we had “never seen that before,” we regained our focus on fishing and shortly culled our first keeper fluke of the season, a nice 21-inch fish, before returning to port. There would be a fresh fish dinner after all, plus some freshly chopped clam to be added to Sunday’s linguine and clam sauce supper.    

In other areas, action has perked up on many fronts as angler participation strengthens. Striped bass activity in the bays continues to improve as water temperatures hover in the 62-to-64-degree range, warmer than usual for this time of the year by several degrees.

The local creeks and coves have a good supply of small striped bass. Larger bass, up to 35 pounds, have been caught at night in the South Ferry area. Once the sun is up, gator-size bluefish can be found aplenty, some of them pushing upward of 15 pounds. If you prefer them smaller, cocktail blues can be taken on plugs and swimmers from the shoreline at Long Beach in the early morning or evening.

“There has also been some good action on weakfish up to nine pounds at Robins Island,” added Ken Morse, purveyor of bait and tackle at the Tight Lines shop in Sag Harbor. “Fluke fishing has been okay, but not great. And porgy fishing has been a bit inconsistent compared to other seasons so far.” Morse also reported that it was a very quiet week on the ocean beaches, save for some blues and a few bass for casters at Shinnecock Inlet. 

Big porgies have invaded Cherry Harbor. Harvey Bennett of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett was anxious to report that platter-size porgies have checked into their traditional spring residence off the windmill. “Fishing has been fantastic the past few days with some of them pushing four pounds. Porgy rigs have been flying out of the shop.” Fresh clams and sandworms have been the ticket for instant success.  

Bennett noted that large bluefish up to 15 pounds have been roaming near the Gerard Drive shoreline in Springs, while on the opposite side, small bass can be picked inside Accabonac Harbor. He added that kingfish made a surprising early season arrival in Three Mile Harbor and that more blowfish are showing up in catches too. Bennett was also highly enthused about the freshwater angling taking place in Montauk’s Fort Pond — walleye up to six pounds and smallmouth bass fishing has been top-notch on a variety of baits and lures, including swimmers and earthworms. 

On the ocean beaches, he reported, action has been very consistent, with striped bass in the 24-to-28-inch range from Main Beach in East Hampton out to White Sands. Action was also productive in Montauk from Gurney’s out east to Ditch Plain. Many shorts, but a few keepers have been noted. 

Kathy Vegessi, wife of Capt. Michael Vegessi and the Lazy Bones’ shoreside support, described the recent fluke action on the north and south side as steady, with three fish over eight pounds taken over the first week of the season. “It’s been a pretty decent start so far with enough fish bending the rods,” she said. Vegessi said that more throwbacks are being seen, as the state raised the minimum size from 18 to 19 inches for 2017. Some bluefish have also been taken, plus a few black sea bass, which must be safely returned, as the season does not open until June 27. 

As if on cue, striped bass action showed a sharp upswing in Montauk, as well, with the warming waters. Capt. Michael Potts of the charter boat Blue Fin IV reported good action on Sunday for a variety of mixed-size fish up to 20 pounds on trolled parachutes in the local rips off the Point. Bluefish were also in the mix.