6/30/08
The Montauk Marine Basin had their shark tournament over the weekend, and no shark huggers showed up to show their displeasure. There were eighty boats entered, and I guess they didn't think that was enough to cause the sharks to go extinct.
The main body of the blue sharks has apparently moved out to the east, with the most I heard of being released on a boat was around a dozen, with most having less action than that. Friday a blue shark of 322 pounds was winning, but on Saturday the threshers took over. The results are as follows;
1st place - FUGGED ABOUT IT - 465 lbs thresher
2nd place - VISTA - 376 lbs thresher
3rd place - FIESTA - 333 lbs thresher
1st place mako - DIGGIN IT II - 324 lbs
2nd place mako - FISH N CHICKS - 208 lbs
3rd place mako - ULTIMATE - 178 lbs
There are still some schoolie bluefins being seen and occasionally caught, mostly on the east side of the Butterfish Hole. But it wasn't a schoolie that engulfed the WEGO's kite bait on Friday. They fought a 600-700 pounder for a couple of hours before breaking it off.
Inshore the fishing is up and down . Saturday the bass fishing was great with the charter boats having a fairly easy time getting their limit. Sunday was a different story, with plenty of action but with smaller fish and a half limit more the norm. Fluking is pretty much the same with lots of shorts interspersed with small nests of keepers, some as gig as ten pounds.
Sea bass are a little rare. Some nice ones are mixed in with the fluke, but if you go looking for them you wind up with doggies, and even when the doggie action isn't enough to chase you, the sea bass just aren't thick enough.
I stopped by one of the charter boats on Saturday when I saw the captain in the engine room. I asked how the fish were treating him and he said "the fishing is better than the business" I guess the guys that own their house and boat free and clear will be alright, but I'd hate to be in the business with a mortgage and boat payment to make.
New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced that he is suing the feds over the fluke regs. He's trying to get standardized regs up and down the coast instead of what we have now wherein we have a limit of four fluke at 20.5 inches whereas Jersey has a limit of eight fish at eighteen inches. For more info go to http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2008/june/june23b_08.html
Capt Gene Kelly
Tropical Fishing Adventures
http://www.tropicalfishing.com
800 280 5565
631 668 2019
fax 631 668 2040
