Last week I headed to the North Fork to pick up 1,000 oyster spat from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Center at the southeast tip of Great Hog Neck in Southold. For many years, I’ve raised oysters to maturation from my dock on North Haven, and it was time to replenish my stock.
Enter Kim Tetrault. Tetrault lives and breathes all things oysters. He is the longtime chief oyster guru at the marine center, a collection of shanty-like buildings that are scattered on the windswept sandy grounds where he lovingly tends to oysters and spat that’s given out annually to nearly 400 families on both forks.
“Let’s get going and get your oysters,” he said, as we walked down to a humble building abutting the jigsaw puzzle of floating docks on the narrow inlet that adjoins the broad complex. “The spat you receive were spawned in January and have done well so far.”
Several volunteers also scurried about the facility, including a husband and wife team who were culling out their share of oysters, which, for a $150 yearly membership fee, also includes monthly seminars led by Tetrault. It’s a great deal.
When Tetrault, who relocated to the North Fork from East Hampton with his wife a few years ago, is not growing and distributing oysters, he also performs in a music band most appropriately named Shuck and Jive.
Sifting the bivalves through several plastic mesh strainers that increased in size, Tetrault ultimately handed me a bag that contained about two cups of young oysters. Most were much smaller than a dime, but by next summer, some will already be large enough to be enjoyed at the dining table.
I appreciate the effort, dedication, and passion he has for oysters. He truly is the oyster king.
As for those wetting a line for fish, the action has been good in many locales.
“Bait keeps pushing into Montauk Harbor, with predators gathering behind them,” remarked Chris Albronda at the Montauk Anglers Club on East Lake Drive. “The variety of baitfish in the harbor is absolutely astonishing. Our normal summer visitors have entered the harbor including mullet, threadfin shad, peanut bunker, spearing, and more. The amount of striped bass in the harbor, with no anglers on them, is also mind-blowing.”
Albronda said that it was “an extraordinary week of fishing in Montauk, inshore and offshore.” He noted that inshore reports highlighted some solid fishing for fluke with numerous fish up to nine pounds landed. Sea bass have cooperated as well.
“To the east, the striped bass and bluefish have been very cooperative,” he added. “In that same area, on the highest piece, are dusky and sandbar sharks. Drifting in these areas with light tackle while having a shark rod out has been very productive too.”
Offshore, Albronda said that the “bluefin tuna action doesn’t get much better, with reports reminiscent of an age long ago in the ’70s when fishing offshore was solid like this every day.”
He explained that many recreational boats are catching and releasing well over eight to 10 fish per day, while professional and charter boats are releasing upward of 20 to 30 fish per day. Nomad streaker jigs in chartreuse, pink glow, and fusilier have been the hot lures of late.
Over at Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton, the owner, Sebastian Gorgone, said that snappers are keeping kids happy, with fish along various docks and bulkheads. As well, porgies, spots, kingfish, and huge cownose rays up to 25 pounds are keeping rods bent near Gerard Drive in Springs and other local beaches.
“It’s summertime fishing,” he said. “And the crabbing for blue-claw crabs has also been excellent in the inner coves, creeks, and harbors. It’s been a great summer season so far.”
Farther to the west, Ken Morse, the proprietor of Tight Lines Tackle in Southampton at 260 Hampton Road and at 53 Bay Street in Sag Harbor, said that the “Peconics are loaded with weakfish ranging in size from two to six pounds.” He added that bluefish can be had at Jessup’s Neck and that porgy fishing is great in the usual haunts.
Morse echoes that the bluefin tuna bite south and east of Montauk has been epic. “The fishing has been spectacular and the bluefins are only about 10 miles off the Point,” he said. “It’s been crazy. Everybody has been catching them. They have been getting them on the troll and on jigs. If you love tuna, now is the time to get them.”
Finally, the East Hampton Sportsmen’s Alliance is holding its annual take-a-kid-fishing trip on Saturday aboard the Viking Star from 1 to 5 p.m. They’ll be targeting fluke, porgies, and sea bass. The family-friendly trip out of Montauk is free for kids 12 and under. The cost for those 13 and older and for adults is $70. Sign-up is with Bill O’Leary at 917-532-7297.
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Fishing tips, observations, and photos can be sent to [email protected].