4/18/2011

Nobody has fished since early last week, but the codfishing is still great. By the end of
March, it looked like it was all over and the number of boats fishing dropped markedly. I
guess the lack of pressure made all the difference. The few boats that were able to get in
trips since the exodus have done very well.

New York has declared a two year moratorium on the Salt Water License, and it will be
replaced by a free Salt Water Registry. That registry has not yet been done, but it is in the
works. NOAA's agreement with New York remains in place, meaning anglers will not
need to register with the National Saltwater Angler Registry if they're in compliance with
the new state registration requirement. NOAA expects that New York State will be able
to modify its agreement with NOAA to send its new registry data, and therefore retain its
exempted state designation.

The new fluke regs are in and it will be 3 fluke at 20-1/2 inches from May 1 to Sept 30.
But it looks like we are going to take a hit on the seabass regs, which are not yet set.

There is a new tournament slated for September out of the Star Island Yacht Club. It is
sponsored by Star Island, White Water Marine and Contender boats and is open only to
outboards. There are two divisions, offshore and inshore and the winners are determined
by a point system. It will be held September 8 - 11, with the fishing taking place on
Friday and Saturday. There have been a number of attempts in the past for a tournament
such as this that have never gone anywhere, but with Star Island’s success in tournaments,
I expect this one to be a winner.

Regular pump it your self at Marshalls is $4.25. Diesel at the Marine Basin is $3.79, but
that has to be taken with a teaspoon of salt because there is very little turnover in the
tanks this time of year and that price is probably based on a delivery a month or more ago.

If you would like to receive these reports directly, drop me a line at
captgene@montauksportfishing.com