Up until Sunday evening, everything last week was all about the U.S. Golf Open at Shinnecock Hills. No offense to anglers, but many on the East End, like yours truly, were fixated watching a white ball the size of a fishing bobber be whacked about. It was fun stuff. Fishing took a temporary back seat.
Another hot topic of discussion was the traffic the tournament brought. Some Montauk party and charter boats even had to delay their morning departures from the dock. Their fares were tardy after trying to navigate their way east in heavier-than-normal congestion on Montauk Highway. Throngs of people traveled to the iconic links-like course via foot, car, bus, train, bicycle, boat, helicopter, and of course, private jet.
Yes, that was Rory McIlroy’s Gulfstream G650 luxury jet that was parked at East Hampton Airport. The gleaming $60 million aircraft can carry upward of 19 passengers and fly 7,500 nautical miles without fueling up. Golf clearly has its rewards.
Besides being one of the finest golfers in the world, McIlroy loves to fish.
I attended the first three practice rounds at the Open, before I had to make an unexpected trip to Manhattan to address a medical issue. Still, it was enjoyable to watch the rest of the spectacle on TV.
Beyond the fantastic golf, NBC featured many great segments about the East End that included some picturesque aerial footage. I even caught a glimpse of our house on North Haven. I was also impressed that the lead commentator, Dan Hicks, mentioned the fantastic striped bass bite going on at Montauk. Hicks did his homework. The fishing continues to be excellent.
The U.S. Open will return to Shinnecock again in 2036. No doubt, the traffic will still be an issue. But hopefully the bass will still be biting too.
“Striper fishing is red hot,” confirmed Capt. Savio Mizzi of Fishooker Charters, a light-tackle guide who sails out of Westlake Marina in Montauk. “We’ve seen fish caught and released to 50 pounds. It really is epic fishing.”
Note that plenty of striped bass and bluefish are also running equally well in Plum Gut and the Race. Drifting three-way bucktail rigs or slinging diamond jigs has been the key to success during daylight hours.
Inshore sinker bouncers focused on fluke and sea bass continue to see mixed results. The recent windy weather has not helped the cause, but the fishing rebounded a bit just in time for Father’s Day.
“The weather was great this weekend and the fishing perked up,” said Sebastian Gorgone at Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton. “Fluke fishing improved and the porgy bite was much better, which was great to see. Montauk is solid for striped bass and blues, and there are some really huge stripers being caught at night here in the bays.”
Farther, much farther, offshore, the fishing has been solid. Capt. Steven Forsberg Sr. of the Viking Starship returned on Sunday after spending four days searching for various denizens of the deep for his fares.
“Fishing started out slow, but as the wind eased off, fishing got better and better,” he said. “By the end of the first day, all coolers were full of tilefish, hake, cusk, and a few pollack.”
On the second day, Forsberg hit a deepwater wreck and fishing was fantastic. “Every drop was solid double-headers of pollack,” he beamed. The savvy skipper then moved to the tilefish grounds and had steady action with golden and blueline tilefish, along with a smattering of pollack, cusk, and hake.
“We fished sunrise to sunset the first two days,” Forsberg added. “The mates cut fish from the end of the first day and all the way back to the dock. We ended up calling it a trip and didn’t fish the last day to beat the bad weather and have a nicer ride home. It was a very successful trip, and we are looking forward to the next one.”
Brian Martin took the tilefish pool with a 35-pound specimen, while Mike Bunch took the edible pool with a 68-pound bluefin tuna.
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