FishTales

Dramatic top water hits in the surf; Trilling high C’s on stage at Lincoln Center

Oct. 6, 2011: My definition of a good day: 730am; keeper stripers in a North Bar bass blitz in Montauk.  730pm; curtain up on Anna Netrebko singing lead soprano in a Donizetti classic at Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera.

Rosh Hoshanah Blitz: Charlie R scores a keeper

Reacting to a fish call from Big Brother Frank, reporting that Montauk finally lit up with bass and blues, I hustled out east for a mid-week lightening round of fishing with Tenacious Billy S., who is rapidly showing signs as the equal of any degenerate, eh, I mean dedicated, surfcasting rat. The “Rosh Hoshanah Blitz”, highly anticipated the weekend before, was virtually a non-event, except for a few diligent anglers like Charlie R., the Mickey Mantle of south shore surfcasting, who scored some bluefish and a healthy schoolie for his table from Montauk’s north side.  Frank put a brunch-time keeper in his cooler at Jones Reef on Wednesday so Billy and I were quick to join him for the tail end of the afternoon feed. We didn’t fare quite as successfully, but did manage two good sized bluefish from Turtle Cove at sundown. Even though our boots were in the water at 445pm, we were a tad late for a tea-time north side blitz that produced child-size bass on the beach from a picket-fence line of surfcasters stretching from Scott’s Cove near the lighthouse to Clark’s Cove to the west.  Reports also confirmed that “all big fish” were caught at the Stepping Stones, Oyster Pond Cove, and Shagwong, further west.

Highly encouraged by the amount of fish caught, their size and the stiff NNW wind that promised to keep pushing the tiny rain bait and feeding bass into our faces, we returned to the scene of the crime at first light.  Billy and I had afternoon obligations so we knew ours was a hit and run proposition: get them early, or go home skunked.

Our truck reached the North Bar as the sun broke the horizon over our right shoulders, revealing squawking, diving birds that told the tale: major striper blitz.  Billy threw a shorty Hopkins, I threw a white and red Polaris popper, Frank threw a blue swimmer. Everything–and everyone–caught fish.

Major Montauk Bass Blitz: Big Brother Frank on the North Bar

All the hits were dramatic, top water explosions. My lure got slammed within a single crank of the reel, accompanied by a vicious tail slap. The feel of the previous night’s fighting-dog bluefish was still fresh, so I knew immediately from the difference that I was on a muscular keeper bass. It was combat fishing conditions, with hard running water, wind-blown fish lines and anglers stacked on top of each other. There was no chance to savor the fight, so I horsed my 31-inch fatty onto the beach and extracted the lure that the fish inhaled half way down its throat.

Pair of Keepers: Hit and run stripers at sunrise

Billy had already deposited his 29-inch bass in the cooler and was now fast on a short.  Frank had one throwback schoolie and then the action died as quickly as it started.  The fish moved offshore to the west.  A quick look at the south side revealed another blitz in the making at Brown’s Rock beyond Turtle Cove.  But it was time for Billy and me to hit the road.

Later that evening at the Met, Anna Netrebko trilled her final high C‘s before the axe man cut off her pretty head. Then A-Rod whiffed at a 3^rd strike in the Bronx, sending the Yankees to defeat in game 5 of the American League’s first round championship playoffs. Meanwhile, I was still grinning with memories of the morning’s mayhem in Montauk–and looking forward to the weekend prospects for the lesser known, but up-and-coming, Yom Kippur Blitz of 2011.

From Montauk to the Met: My idea of a great day

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