captmike28
Well-Known Angler
Yesterday’s 4-person split charter was supposed to be a Montauk Fluke trip, but the persistent W/NW wind forced a change in plans. So, instead I ran the crew out to the Sound for a shot at our reliable Sea Bass fishing.
The last few trips out there found excellent action while anchored over one of my favorite pieces. However, the first hour on the grounds this time only yielded about 5 smallish keepers and a steady stream of Scup. So, I knew a change was needed and pulled the anchor and began drifting a little to the west of my normal drops. This paid off with a consistent bite and keepers began to come over the rail at the rate of 1 or 2 each pass. The seas got a little uncomfortable with a wind vs. tide situation but the determined crew hung in there and in the next 90 minutes we managed to hit our full boat limit of tasty biscuits to 3#.
We were going to do a few drifts in the Gut but after battling the nasty short chop for Sea Bass the crew opted for heading back into the bay in search of Weakfish. Unfortunately, the Scup continued to be a problem in a couple of the usual haunts, so I cleaned the sizeable catch, and we head back to the dock with some nice full bags of fillet and a lot of smiles.
Today I had a 3-man group of very long-term friends who have been doing an annual half day outing on the North Fork for the past 60 years! The wind was even stronger than yesterday so fishing the Sound would not have been a good or safe choice. Instead, we headed west into the bay and set up shop in the lee of Shelter I. Chum pot down and Porgies start flying over the rail! After bending the rods for a couple of hours the guys wanted to close out the morning with a change of pace, so we decided to give the Weakfishing another try in a new location. Sure enough the fish were there in pretty big numbers and quite hungry. I found a successful drift line and for the next hour we were entertained with 2 to 3 fish on each drift. Most fish were sub legal schoolies but we did manage to cull 2 keepers to 19” from the bunch.
Heading back to my Sea Bass drops for the next couple of weeks until Tog season opens so now is the time to fill your freezer before the focus shifts to “All Tog, All the time”!
Capt Mike
516-317-5423
The last few trips out there found excellent action while anchored over one of my favorite pieces. However, the first hour on the grounds this time only yielded about 5 smallish keepers and a steady stream of Scup. So, I knew a change was needed and pulled the anchor and began drifting a little to the west of my normal drops. This paid off with a consistent bite and keepers began to come over the rail at the rate of 1 or 2 each pass. The seas got a little uncomfortable with a wind vs. tide situation but the determined crew hung in there and in the next 90 minutes we managed to hit our full boat limit of tasty biscuits to 3#.
We were going to do a few drifts in the Gut but after battling the nasty short chop for Sea Bass the crew opted for heading back into the bay in search of Weakfish. Unfortunately, the Scup continued to be a problem in a couple of the usual haunts, so I cleaned the sizeable catch, and we head back to the dock with some nice full bags of fillet and a lot of smiles.
Today I had a 3-man group of very long-term friends who have been doing an annual half day outing on the North Fork for the past 60 years! The wind was even stronger than yesterday so fishing the Sound would not have been a good or safe choice. Instead, we headed west into the bay and set up shop in the lee of Shelter I. Chum pot down and Porgies start flying over the rail! After bending the rods for a couple of hours the guys wanted to close out the morning with a change of pace, so we decided to give the Weakfishing another try in a new location. Sure enough the fish were there in pretty big numbers and quite hungry. I found a successful drift line and for the next hour we were entertained with 2 to 3 fish on each drift. Most fish were sub legal schoolies but we did manage to cull 2 keepers to 19” from the bunch.
Heading back to my Sea Bass drops for the next couple of weeks until Tog season opens so now is the time to fill your freezer before the focus shifts to “All Tog, All the time”!
Capt Mike
516-317-5423
