Despite keeping fishing notes in my logbook since 1975, I can’t precisely determine the exact date I first met Vincent (Butch) Maher, but I do know it happened at some point in May of 1986, according to my haphazard writings, when I climbed aboard the Lazybones. Most important, I still recall that trip.
The Lazybones, better known as the Bones, is a popular half-day party boat that has set sail out of Montauk for nearly five decades. Under the stewardship of Capt. Michael Vegessi, the family-friendly boat has been enjoyed by many. Its motto — “Bring your lunch. Catch your dinner” — still rings true.
I can’t begin to guess how many times I’ve sailed upon her deck with a rod and reel in hand. I’ve caught everything from flounder and fluke to sundials, weakfish, sea bass, porgy, bergalls, ling, blackfish, false albacore, bluefish, and striped bass. I also caught my fair share of skates and sea robins. And I even managed to snag a starfish or two along the way.
Back then on that bright spring morning in 1986, Vegessi anchored us up for flounder in Fort Pond Bay, a scant two miles west of the Montauk Inlet.
The fishing for the fatty flatties back then was excellent and the catching was easy. Sadly, the winter flounder fishery has literally floundered and disappeared since then. It’s something I dearly miss.
That day in May was the first time I met Maher. He had started work as the first mate for Vegessi, and proceeded to work on the Bones for nearly 20 years.
While I remember catching a few flounder on that trip, more significant is that it started a friendship and close bond with Maher that would last for 40 years. He was the finest kind, as folks around here would commonly say.
Raised in Port Washington, Maher ultimately gravitated to Montauk not long after graduating from high school. He loved to fish, but he had an equal passion to hang 10 on his surfboard at Ditch Plain. He was clearly born to be on the water.
Maher totally embraced the rather offbeat, bohemian beach lifestyle of Montauk well before it became a robust, pricey tourist destination. Slight and slender in stature, he was incredibly agile and strong.
He could also eat mountains of food, whether it was morning, noon, or night, yet he never gained a pound. He burned calories like nobody else.
Maher embraced Montauk, and Montauk returned his love. Everyone who crossed paths with him admired his passion for all things water combined with his smile and mild demeanor.
As well, he was usually the life of the party. Maher was the one who got it going. He was never shy. He loved life and he was never bashful about dancing, especially to songs from the 1960s. He even attended the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The man could always rock.
But Maher had other interests as well. He was a regular golf partner of mine at Montauk Downs for many years. Capt. Jake Nessel of the Ebb Tide II was a regular, as was Capt. Bill Urvalek, the skipper of the charter boat Karen Sue and of the Viking Fleet. Stan Dacuk was another who played with us.
Maher also made it a ritual to join a year-end sojourn each December to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to golf with about a dozen other Montauk fishing captains letting off steam after a season of hard work. While I was always invited, I never committed to going on those trips. My bad.
That said, the laughs and lousy golf shots we both shared at Montauk Downs over the years are forever etched in my mind. The cold beer we enjoyed at the end of our round usually soothed the pain of the 18 holes we played poorly. Good times, better memories.
“Butch had a great personality and worked very well with the fares on board,” said Vegessi. “He was a fantastic mate and never ran out of stories to tell. People loved being with him on the boat and on land. He was hard-working and larger than life.”
I caught my largest fluke on the Bones some 30 years ago, about three miles south of the Lighthouse. As always, Maher was ready at the net to help land my 10-pounder. I was ecstatic. It was the fish of a lifetime for me. The grainy photo of my fish in hand still hangs in my bedroom to this day.
Maher would ultimately share Thanksgiving dinner at my mother’s house over several years. He became family over time.
After a long day working on the water, Maher also savored his favorite libations. The margaritas (with a floater of Grand Marnier) that Joe Gonzalez served from behind the bar at Dave’s Grill, a few short steps from where the Bones was berthed, were a favorite.
He loved hanging out at the Montauket on the east side of Fort Pond Bay, where the longtime bartender, Steve (Puck) Dolan, served up his favorite Mount Gay rum and tonic with a squeeze of lime.
Sadly, on Feb. 11, I saw a Facebook posting by my friend Pat Mundus that Maher had passed away at the age of 77. The news hit me hard. While we had not seen each other in several years, it gave me pause to reflect on how much his friendship had meant to me over time. Good friends are hard to find.
Maher’s ashes will be dispersed from the Hangar Dock in Fort Pond Bay, ironically only a few hundred yards from where I first met him. It’s a most fitting and proper location. The likely date of this ceremony will be on May 18, but details are still being finalized. Stay tuned.
Fair winds and following seas to a dear friend. Hit ’em straight on the golf course, catch that big fish, and continue to ride the curvy waves of the surf.
—
Fishing tips, observations, and photographs can be sent to [email protected].