Late October in Montauk
 

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Every year a pick four days to visit Montauk. For better or worse, it is
almost like throwing a dart blindfolded. Every other year...it has
landed on some pretty slow fishing. As noted above...so slow this year I found
myself taking pictures of snails.

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I fished Montauk with a skeleton crew from Oct 25th thru October 28th.

I departed from Connecticut at midnight to arrive at the Montauk
Lighthouse around 3:30 am. The lot was nearly empty...not a good sign,
but jammed on my gear and fished the northside. Had a few bumps and
was rewarded by landing one 26 inch fish just before the sun lifted.

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This was my first year fishing with a wetsuit. If there was any trip I
didn't need it...it was this one. The surf was so flat, but i tried to make
the best of it. There were many rocks I was able to get my feet on that I
would normally not have opportunity too because of the crowds...or bigger surf.

That afternnoon, I fished some water in the upper bays and the night
tides again on the north side for nothing, and the following morning I did
a repeat of my path the previous morning for zilch. Then headed to the
southside, and fished with a fellow whose name I think is Rick. There was a
glimmer of hope as we watched a small blitz form just out of casting
distance, but it never got close enough for us to benefit.

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Even the gulls were bored.

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I had heard that the fishing was slow, so a day before I left I booked
surf guide, Bill Wetzel. It was sort of an impromptu reaction to his reply
to a Montauk query thread I posted on another site. A few years ago I tried to get a trip
with him but he was booked. Luckly, he had an opening this time around.

We struggled finding fish, which was a confirmation on how slow
things really were, but it was so worth it. Bill is such a wealth of
knowledge, and he brought me to spots that I never heard or read about. Now I
have a few more potential tricks up my sleeve for future outings. For an
out of towner...or occasional visitor, I would recommend booking with him. We covered
so much ground in a short period, some of which could only be accessed with an oversand
permit. It was interesting because it was like having someone to help you
scout out spots, and even if it didn't translate to a bounty of fish during the
charter. It certainly served as very current and useful information for the remainder of the trip.
As a huge bonus, it is always great to have a seasoned veteran guide you
in your technique and approach. He definitely gave me plenty of things to work on.

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That morning we hit a rip at 5am that gave us each one fish. We hit the
north the south and the west. Montauk is Bill's playground, I was impressed with how
much enthusiasm he has for guiding. He was kind in answering my naive questions.
We hit several spots and I landed one more fish deep in the south side.

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That evening I retraced our steps. I walked to a location that mostly beach
buggies drive to. It was a two mile hike on the beach.
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the sun dropped and I managed a couple of bumps and one fish. Early
signs of Hurricane Sandy were starting to form. The wind picked up and
the temps started to drop. I hiked back...got some grub and crashed out.
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Continued...

I was exhausted, but got up at 3am the next morning and hit the point.
The wind and water picked up quite a bit. There was much buzz in the
days building to the storm. Hopes that the storm might activate some fish.

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Sure enough there were fish there, but almost all schoolies. I quickly
hooked up with some 18 inch fish and noticed others around me with the
same.

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It didn't take long after sunrise before everyone cleared out. Ghostland
status was restored.

I took a long hike on the southside for nothing...except to watch the
spectacle. My 2.5 oz bucktails were too light for the whitewater.
I was crawling them, but still could not find bottom.


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I got home Sunday afternoon...with my hometown in a frenzy. I got in
line with others to fill up cans of fuel for the melee predicted with the
arrival of Hurricane Sandy. She did not disappoint. Within 24 hours she
knocked out 100% of the power in my town and bounced this tree of my
house. I spend the next four days as a lumberjack...I hope this season is
not over. I still think I have some more fish to catch.

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Puppet nice to see you on this site man!

Awesome pics as always
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Nice job telling the story and annotating the pictures.:uhuh:

Great job!! Thanks!!

Puppet - welcome to S-B - nice story

sorry about the tree on your house man.

pics are always great man, too bad the fishing was epicly slow.

for those that dont know Puppet is a long time poster on the edge forum, all around nice guy, that fishes hard, and stays quiet, always does a few trips a year to the "better spots" and takes some amazing photos to go along with his posts. glad you ventured over here

Thoroughly enjoyed as always
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

thanks for sharing

Nice. Photos are very, very nice. Hope you and yours have power now.

Very nice. Good read with a cup of coffee.Went out for a bit this AM. 32 degrees. 1 fish 16 in. Love those aqua skin gloves.Thanks for the great post

Thanks for the kind words Chef.

The tree falling was more of a nuisance than anything. I just have a
couple of holes in my roof and some cosmetic damage. It is
understandably a low priority for the insurance company and
we are waiting to get an appointment with the adjuster. They
said 3 weeks. Looks like my temporary roof patch might have to
weather the winter.

The good news...is a dangerous tree is down and I have some
nice firewood. I might save some of the 25 foot trunk and make
some furniture out of it ....or save it for a day that I have time to
turn some plugs. Someone told me the tree is a variation of a
cherry. Perhaps If I do make some plugs I might make some
needles and finish them natural.

Even though Montauk was slow, I am happy that I still found a
couple fish...even if they were micro. When montauk is wide open...its
hard to pull away from the action to explore. So, the slow periods are
nice to get eyes on some fresh water....perhaps I found
a couple of new retreats for when it gets crazy up there.


Thanks!
We were lucky to only be out for 6 days....but I have
friends just over the border in NY that are still out.

Since tree did damage to the house the cost to remove the tree would have been covered by insurance. My parents had the same situation happen last October and I spent 5 days cutting up trees for them. They told the insurance agent I did the work but they paid for tree removal anyway to the tune of $4000. You might mention this to the agent you might at least get a new saw out of the deal.

That would be sweet...a new saw and perhaps a new fishing rod!
I actually spent 4 days myself on this one and still have 25 feet
of the trunk left. It doesn't look like a ton of work but it is...especially
cutting it up for firewood. I hope they do not short change me on the
damage...I do not have any experience with claims.

A buddy of mine had a tree come down during one of the strong storms this summer in CT. It impacted a retaining wall holding up the turnaround in his driveway and the insurance company (well respected) told him the policy only covers removing the part of the tree that impacted the structure. Still a costly removal job that you would be able to get some insurance compensation for. Might be worth calling them to let them know what you are willing to do and how much you think it would cost you. Opportunity cost is a real thing!

4 days for that tree...you are going to need a bigger saw...please visit your friendly Stihl dealer. My parents were honest with the adjustor, I think the pay based on the diameter of the tree. I had five trees up to that size but had two saws and an energetic nephew.......

hahaha....yeah...well you got me there....I am not skilled with
a chainsaw. Never used one before a couple years ago, and taught
myself how to use it. I might have about a total of 40 hours under
my belt...so I am slow and cautious. Can't stand on a rock in the surf with one leg.

Agreed there. No need to be "skilled" with something so many people seriously hurt themselves with. Every time I pick one up, I seem to find a point where I realize I am too comfortable with it, and its one of those, "Man, if that had been an inch to the right I would have been fooked" kinda things.

If your gonna use one do it the safe way. Buy chaps,helmet with face sheild ,toe guards an ear protection.If it starts cuttin hard sharpen chain.My chaps an toe guards have kept me out of the hospital a couple times.You never know whats inside a tree your cutting. Lightning does some strange things to them an trees will twist on you.

I just bought some chaps...but I had already did most of the work. I
never considered the face sheild or the toe guards. I will check
them out. The thing is, I rarely use the thing....but at the same
time, safety is nothing to skimp on.

In terms of the chain dulling out. I read that a good indicator of a
dull chain is..... if the chips are sawdust when the bar oil level is
correct. Are there any other indicators?....and how often do you
sharpen when cutting hardwood?

great pics and story, thanks
Glad the tree only caused minimal damage, a little to the right and it looked like it would have been much worse.

If she starts cuttin at an angle instead of straight across you need to sharpen the chain. It's not all that hard to do either.I cut into a good peice of maple that left the top half of the bar showing. Lock the chain stop an use a good file. only takes a bit. you'll get about 3 or 4 times before you need to do the rakers. They clean the chips out. at that point put on your 2nd chain an have ist one sharpened.I have a spare bar that i flip each time my chain gets taken to the shop to have the rakers doneand 3 chains. One thats for stumpin an gettin in the dirt when needed.Usually the oldest chain for this.If your saw has an end protector be carefull on big cuts plus get or make a few wedges so you can free the saw if she gets bound by the tree moving.