The current hurricane season brings a humbling reminder that, despite our advanced technologies, much in nature remains unpredictable. Back in the month of May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which includes the National Weather Service, forecasted an above-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season with 13 to 18 named storms, five to nine hurricanes, and two to five major hurricanes.
It was obviously not good news, and, as always, I took the forecast seriously.
We’ve witnessed hurricanes’ massive destruction all too often in recent years, especially down to the south in Florida, North Carolina, as well as the wide expanse of the Gulf Coast from Texas eastward to Alabama. Remember Hurricane Katrina that resulted in the death of nearly 1,400 people in New Orleans in 2005?
We here on the East End continue to keep our fingers crossed that we can avert the worst of Mother Nature’s wrath, but at some point the “big one” will happen here.
The hurricane season spans from June 1 to Nov. 30, so we are still not out of the woods. Despite the lack of activity thus far, one would be wise to take heed for the next two months.
Beyond Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the last major occurrence here was when we faced the fury that was Hurricane Bob, a Category 2 storm that ultimately made landfall just to the east of us in Rhode Island on Aug. 19, 1991. It caused widespread damage and power outages across Long Island and New England before weakening to a tropical storm and making a final landfall in Maine.
Hurricane Bob brought sustained winds of 75 to 100 miles per hour, peak gusts up to 125 m.p.h., and significant storm surges, resulting in approximately $1.5 billion in damage and 15 direct deaths. Despite the extensive damage it wrought on the East End, it could have been much worse.
Because it passed a few miles to the east of us, we experienced conditions on the “weak” side of the powerful hurricane. Still, after its departure, I had no electricity for seven days. I still remember the smell of defrosted fish and bait from my freezer.
In late August, the weather service updated and stuck to its rather dire prediction of many more hurricanes to form over the next few weeks. The forecast was influenced by favorable conditions like warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures and weak wind shear coming off the west coast of Africa.
So far, other than Hurricane Gabrielle, which passed well to the east of Bermuda last week, the hurricane season has remained mainly quiet, and I’m thankful for that.
Since we just passed the historical peak of the hurricane season a week ago, it’s likely we here on the East End will have dodged another bullet. But, as always, it’s best to keep your guard up.
Despite the advancements in weather technology and predictions, Mother Nature ultimately rules all.
On the fishing front, anglers are certainly not complaining. The rather calm and benign ocean seas have been a huge positive for anglers.
False albacore aficionados continue to rejoice in the abundance of this fish in waters in and near Montauk. It’s been an amazing run.
“The albie fishing is the best it’s been in years,” said Capt. Tim O’Rourke of Montauk Point Fly Fishing charters. He expects the action to last for several weeks as the waters continue to cool down.
As for the albies’ larger cousins, yellowfin and bigeye tuna, catches of late have been excellent as well. One commercial fisherman, Rudy Bonicelli, a longtime friend, has done extremely well on his stout 46-foot Wesmac, called Ragnar. In the last few days, he has hoisted a multitude of tuna, including a mammoth 258-pound bigeye at the Montauk Anglers Club on East Lake Drive.
Other fishermen are running offshore and scoring well during the daytime hours dunking chunks of sliced-up bunker and butterfish in their chum slick when on the drift for tuna.
Fluke anglers also take note. There is less than a month left until the season closes on Oct. 15. Fishing has been consistent in the local rips and eddies in and around Montauk and Block Island as the fluke migrate offshore. Much success depends on the tide and drift. The less the wind and current, the more the action will suffer.
Turning back to the inner waterways, Sebastian Gorgone, who mans the helm at Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton, was greatly enthused about the early fall action nearby.
“Oh man, there’s a lot to be caught out there,” he said on Sunday afternoon. “Blowfish and snappers are running well, plus striped bass and hickory shad are in the ocean surf. Porgies too are here in their usual haunts.”
Fishing tips, observations, and photographs can be sent to [email protected].