Montauk Sportfishing Report 6/8/09 - The Hull Truth

CaptGeneKelly · 06-08-2009, 07:40 AM

6/8/09
I have to compliment whoever is in charge of weather scheduling. The last two weeks it was crappy all week, but very nice on the weekend. Usually it’s the other way around.
When the fluke season opened up, nobody cared about the new regs because the fishing was so good and it wasn’t necessary to keep a ruler handy. If a fish wasn’t 5 or 6 pounds, throw it back. Now the situation is different. There are plenty of fluke being caught, but keepers are getting scarce. You can still catch a limit of eaters, but you have to work at pretty hard. Most of the boats are fishing east and north of the Point. A lot of doggies in the deeper water of the south side probably has something to do with that.
Striped bass fishing is as steady as it gets, with lots of fish being caught, most of them keepers. The charterboats have been coming back with their limits without much problem, with a lot of the fish they are bringing back in the fifteen to twenty pound range, with occasional fish of thirty pounds or so. Bluefish are around, some days more than others, but not really a problem.
A couple of charterboats have gone out for sharks, and have caught some blues. Forty fathoms seems like a sure thing, but they are probably closer in than that as well. The water temps are between fifty-five and sixty degrees, so it won’t be a surprise if someone catches a thresher this week, if enough boats get out.
The recession in the charter business seems to be going away. Now it’s starting to seem more like a depression, with most boats getting out on Saturday, maybe three-quarters of the boats getting out on Sunday and only a handful getting out during the week. The cars parked in back of the head boats indicates the same for them.
Last week I mentioned that the Concerned Citizens of Montauk had gotten a lot of biodegradable balloons for the Blessing of the Fleet next week. Well, I got an e-mail from the head balloon monitor letting me know that the balloons aren’t biodegradable enough. I guess word will get out by the weekend whether the town will cave in again or let it slide.
Next weekend is 6th Annual Montauk Harbor and Jazz Festival Weekend. It starts on Friday with the Annual Harbor Festival "Old Timers Dinner" at the Montauk Yacht Club at 7:00 pm, where eight renowned Montauk Fisherman will be honored. Tickets are $35.00 and available at the Montauk Chamber. For more info call 631-668-2428 or e-mail at info@montaukchamber.com.
If you would like to get these reports sent to you directly, drop me a line at captaingene@montauksportfishing.com and I’ll put you on the list.