After being in Manhattan last Thursday morning for another root canal procedure, I greatly looked forward to my return trip to Bridgehampton later that afternoon on the Long Island Rail Road.
Let me explain. The main reason for my smile, along with the fact that the tooth discomfort was finally put in remission, was that the marine forecast for Friday was for light winds.
That was most welcome news, and I was planning to take the Rock Water out for blackfish. I was in good spirits, despite sitting in that dreaded dental chair that knows me all too well, and I needed a break.
That morning, I was joined on board by Al Daniels, he of the family that has resided here on the East End for 13 generations. Daniels has known all things fishing for nearly eight decades. My wife, Terie, was also ready to catch her dinner.
For the record, Terie is hard-core with a rod and reel. She especially loves the challenge of catching the cagey and elusive blackfish, and has no issue whatsoever cutting and baiting up green crabs (even with a recent manicure).
After a ride of more than an hour to the north side of Gull Island, the outgoing tide was still running strong when we arrived.
Anchoring up on the right piece of bottom was a tricky challenge. Surprisingly, only two other boats were in the area on that crystal clear morning.
"Okay, let's go fishing," I said to my crew of two, once I had settled on a prime upcrop of rocky bottom where blackfish hide and feed. "Try an eight-ounce sinker to start, but we may have to go heavier."
Sure enough, we all quickly upgraded to 12 ounces of lead to hold bottom, and even that was a challenge. The rather stiff breeze from the north did not help.
The first 15 minutes were quiet, but Daniels then quickly landed a nice sea bass and a large triggerfish. Not exactly what we were focused on, but certainly an interesting start as the tide began to slowly recede.
At that point, the blackfish homed in on our baits and they were hungry. Very hungry. The bite was on. For the next three hours, we bailed one fish after another. It only took a matter of seconds before a bite was felt or fish landed.
The keeper-to-short ratio was impressive, and we quickly lost count of the keepers we returned to the still rather warm 62-degree water. All of us also caught several doubleheaders on our two-hook rigs. It was an epic blackfish bonanza.
As a reminder, anglers can retain three fish per day over 16 inches in Long Island Sound. Elsewhere, it's four fish.
"That was a great fishing, but we have a long ride home," I said to my companions, even though the bite remained intense. "Let's leave some for next time. It's time to pull up the anchor."
The fish we caught on Friday were not large. All fell between the 16-to-19-inch range. Larger blackfish will soon show up as the waters continue to chill. The only issue now is finding days when the winds allow us to leave the dock.
"That was some of the best fishing I've seen," Daniels said on our ride back to Sag Harbor. "That was a lot of fun."
I could not have agreed more. But, let's be honest, anything is better than a root canal.
Elsewhere, Montauk should probably be renamed Striped Bass City. "It's the best striper run I've seen in the last 20 years in Montauk," proclaimed Capt. Tom LaSala of the charter boat Hammer Time out of Montauk. "The bass are gorging on everything. On one trip we caught about 150 bass in an hour." LaSala also said on another excursion that his fares landed their full limit on only two drifts.
I was invited by my good friend Robert Cooley to join him and other colleagues on Saturday for an excursion for blackfish on the Hammer Time. Due to other commitments, I had to politely decline.
The charter that day headed off to the northeast to the coastline of Watch Hill, R.I., where the fishing started off strong but died off later in the morning. The crew then sailed back to the nearby waters of Montauk to take advantage of the run of striped bass.
Don't turn your back on sea bass and codfish. They too are running well for anglers fishing east of Montauk.
"We got out on our first wreck trip of the year and put an excellent day together," said Capt. Steven Forsberg Jr. of the Viking Five Star out of Montauk. "We started on some deeper wrecks and didn't see much sea bass but had a nice showing of cod up to 20 pounds with a couple guys getting their limit. We also had a load of big ling and a few big scup. Later in the day we got to shallower water and found plenty of sea bass to load everyone up before calling it a day."
Forsberg sets sail every Wednesday through December on these 30-to-50-mile wreck trips. Other trips on the charter boat are also scheduled during this time frame. The schedule is at vikingfleet.com; reservations fill up quickly and spots are limited.
"Blackfish are biting strongly from Plum to Fishers Island," reported Ken Morse, the proprietor of Tight Lines Tackle in Southampton and Sag Harbor. "I had one angler weigh in a fish that was 12 pounds. There are lots of shorts, but the action has been good for many."
Morse added that striped bass are running well along the ocean-facing beaches.