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.
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.
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.
Even the gulls were bored.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Continued...
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