It’s a bummer. While summer is not technically over, Labor Day, for many, heralds the end of the season. Where did the time go?
Late last week, that question came up among the five members of our daily morning coffee klatch at Goldberg’s in Sag Harbor. One of the early risers in our group operates a large pool service company and he nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, we’ve already closed up a bunch of pools,” he said late last week. “But there are quite a few people that want to keep them up and running to Thanksgiving and beyond, because they want to look at water and not a pool cover. Everyone is different.”
Pools notwithstanding, I personally have braced for the change in season for quite a while. My first awakening was when I saw a massive aisle of Halloween candy on display back on July 18 in a supermarket in Stoneham, Mass.
I wasn’t the only one startled. A middle-aged man entered the opposite end of the aisle and let out a loud, audible gasp. “You’ve got to be kidding,” he said while shaking his head. I smiled and nodded in agreement.
Two weeks later, various pumpkin-spiced products appeared at Stop and Shop in Hampton Bays. I’m a big fan of pumpkins, but this flavoring fad has permeated into way too many foods and beverages.
Pumpkin-spiced Spam? Kraft pumpkin mac and cheese, anyone? It’s a hard pass for me. Too much is too much.
That said, Costco has beautiful artificial Christmas trees on display in Riverhead. I guess I should start looking for a Valentine’s Day card soon.
The turning of the calendar is also good news. My hummingbird feeder has come alive in recent days as the tiny birds are gathering nutrition and strength for their upcoming migration to Mexico and Central America.
Fishing too is beginning to turn the page.
“False albacores have shown up in recent days in the Accabonac area,” confirmed Capt. Harvey Bennett, the former owner of the Tackle Shop in Amagansett. The feisty speedsters of the tuna clan are an extremely popular fish for catch-and-release action for light-tackle anglers.
“Some years they come in early and sometimes it’s not until later in September,” Bennett explained. “But this season it seems they are pretty much on schedule. Hopefully they’ll hang around until late October, depending on the weather.”
Mahimahi, a warm-water fish, have come in unusually close to shore this season and will hang around for a few more weeks. Catches have been made at the windmills southeast of Block Island and in sight of the Montauk Lighthouse. Bonito, which have been rather scarce in recent years, have been regularly landed of late.
“It’s been a rather weird season so far,” observed Bennett. “Every season is different. That’s what makes fishing such a challenge. History does not always repeat itself.”
Ken Morse, the proprietor of Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor and Southampton, was all geared up for the Labor Day weekend. “Hopefully the weather will cooperate, and the anglers will get some good days in,” he said. “Porgy fishing has been good in the bays, while fluke action has picked up in the ocean. Tuna can be had offshore, but not terribly far from the beach. Plus, I’ve heard some rumors that false albacore have begun to show up.”
Blue-claw crabs have been under the radar this year too. There was a good early run this spring, but catches slowed down, with a good number of juvenile specimens taking over. That however, has changed lately.
“I’ve heard of some much better crabbing in the creeks and coves,” added Morse. “Few things are better than blue-claws for dinner.”
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