Last Christmas, Terie gave me a Netflix subscription.
I was initially enthused. Tennis buddies at East Hampton Indoor Tennis had also encouraged me to start using the popular streaming service. But, truth be told, I've yet to follow through; in nine months of paying for Netflix I haven't watched one thing. I seem to always gravitate to the same old shows and movies I've seen time and time again.
Case in point, "Jaws" was on AMC last week. I've probably seen it at least 100 times, including when it made its debut on the big screen at the East Hampton Cinema on June 20, 1975. I know the entire script word for word.
"How many times have you seen this movie?" Terie said, scowling, as I lay on the living room couch.
My eyes were glued to the screen once again watching Captain Quint doing battle with a 25-foot mechanical great white shark that was called "Bruce" by film crew members, in reference to Steven Spielberg's lawyer, Bruce Ramer. Lawyer Bruce must have been a true shark in court.
The movie has a strong local connection for me: In the book by Peter Benchley, Captain Quint, the old-school salty and boisterous fisherman, was theoretically based on Capt. Frank Mundus of Montauk.
Mundus, also known as the Monster Man, made his name and fame hunting down large sharks including, in 1986, a 3,427-pound great white caught about 28 miles south of Montauk with his mate Donnie Braddick. While great whites are now federally protected, it stands as the world record.
I still recall hearing the reports of the catch that afternoon on WLNG in Sag Harbor. It was breaking news. Hordes of people drove out to Montauk to see the behemoth when it was returned to port and weighed using a large crane. The huge shark made headlines worldwide.
Roy Scheider, who played Chief Martin Brody in the iconic film, lived for many years in Sagaponack. And Spielberg himself has had firm roots here, living with his family off Georgica Pond for many decades. His grandson worked as a mate last summer aboard the Lazybones, the popular half-day fishing boat out of Montauk.
Now that the National Hockey League season starts in a few days, my attention will be totally focused on a sport I just can't get enough of. So much for Netflix.
On the local fishing scene, it's deja vu all over again. Other than a day or two, "The constant east wind has made fishing tough," Capt. Jake Nessel of the Ebb Tide II out of Montauk said when I caught up with him on Saturday afternoon in the main cabin. "It's really frustrating." The open boat will continue to focus on fluke until the season closes on Oct. 15. After that, Nessel will target striped bass, sea bass, and blackfish for the remainder of the year.
"Man, this wind has got to stop at some point," Sebastian Gorgone, the owner of Mrs. Sam's Bait and Tackle in East Hampton, said on Sunday afternoon. "When the wind lets up, there are fish around."
Gorgone said that striped bass are being caught in Three Mile Harbor and that a nice slug of bass were caught around Albert's Landing in Amagansett on the easterly blow.
"And false albacore have been seen scattered about," he added. "But again, the weather has not been cooperating for many to get out."
Over at the Montauk Star, Capt. Mark Ryckman on Saturday took his fares out in rather nautical conditions for a fine catch of fluke. "The conditions today were tough, however it was still very good fishing providing many limits around," he said. Anglers are allowed three fluke over 19.5 inches per day.
Fingers crossed for better weather. It has to happen at some point.
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