Big Blues, A Megafluke

Large ocean waves and a dearth of tuna off in deep water kept anglers close to shore during the week with very productive results. Boaters fishing in Block Island Sound, Gardiner's Bay, and Sag Harbor should be getting sore from reeling in big bluefish, striped bass, fluke, weakfish, black sea bass, and porgies.

Ken Morse from the Bay View Seafood and tackle shop in Sag Harbor said the fluke fishing "is holding up pretty damn well," and he added a chauvinistic note: "Gardiner's Island is not outproducing Sag Harbor."

Mr. Morse also claimed bragging rights in the weakfish department. He said that buoy 16 was the spot for weaks for those who got there by 5 a.m. Buoy 17, on the other hand, was the place for bluefish in the early morning and in the evening.

Gorilla Gusto

Someone who bought bait at Bay View lost his rod and reel over the side when a big fish, probably one of the gorilla blues that have been reported in Sag Harbor and Gardiner's Bay, took the bait with gusto. Mr. Morse also reported good porgy fishing in and around Sag Harbor.

Freida Reichert of the Diamond Cove in Montauk concurred with Mr. Morse's porgy report although her fishermen were angling much farther to the east. She said porgies and black sea bass had begun to make their stronger late-summer appearance.

Bonito And Falsies

Striped bass action was great around Montauk Point. She said that "bunker chunking" was "most rewarding," by which she meant that free-spooling fat chunks of cut-up menhaden hook baits into the rips of Montauk Point attracted bass in the 30-inch-long range.

Trolling for bass was also productive, she said, in one case very productive with a white bucktail and green pork rind combination. Ken and Ronnie Heinz caught a 42-inch bass using the bucktail and rind on Sunday aboard the Ronnie H.

Schools of bonito and false albacore have been swimming around Gardiner's Bay and Block Island Sound, David Blinken of North Flats Guiding of East Hampton reported from the water on Tuesday by cellular phone.

Get Thee To Cherry Harbor

He said that, over the weekend, bonito were in Fort Pond Bay, feeding on spearing. He recommended that fly fishermen and those with light spinning tackle get themselves to the waters of Cherry Harbor, Gardiner's Island, to have at the bluefish - mostly cocktail size, but with big ones mixed in. Later on Tuesday Mr. Blinken reported in again with the news that "tons of false albacore were in Fort Pond Bay and all the way to the Montauk Lighthouse about a mile and a half offshore.

Harvey Bennett of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett said anglers should visit Promised Land by the old fish factory on Napeague. Bluefish, some large, and bonito were feeding on peanut bunker there.

Biathlete

He said on Tuesday that for the past few days the bonito had baitfish pushed up against the shore near the Devon Yacht Club and also along the beach by Cranberry Hole Road. At Albert's Landing there were so many bluefish pushed up against the jetty that Mr. Bennett said he decided to beach his boat and cast from the shore.

A megafluke was caught aboard the Lazy Bones party boat out of Montauk on Monday by Mark Melrose of Barnes Landing. The 12-pound flat fish won Mr. Melrose the Lazy Bones pool. He then jumped off the boat, drove to Ditch Plain, and surfed a few waves - a true East End double header.

RUSSELL DRUMM