Fishing

They have been around for a very long time. Well before even dinosaurs roamed and roared about the planet.

Charter and party boat captains, eager to get back to their livehoold and get clients back on the water, finally got the chance to do so this week.

I was completely baffled. For over 10 minutes on Sunday morning, the screen of the fish finder to the left of my helm seat clearly showed the contours of the sandy bottom 45 feet below. However, the markings of any life, fish that is, were totally absent from view. From the look of things, apparently nobody was home.

“When the wind is in the east, it’s for neither man nor beast. When the wind is in the north, the old folk should not venture forth. When the wind is in the south, it blows the bait in the fishes’ mouth. When the wind is in the west, it is of all the winds the best.”

Despite below normal water temperatures, things are starting to open up on the fishing front at least, especially in areas west of Montauk.

Meteorological wishes notwithstanding, it has not been a surprise to see our local water temperatures drop. On a jaunt to my lobster traps last weekend, I saw 47-degree water at Cedar Point to the entrance of Gardiner’s Bay, a 3-degree drop from a week earlier.

Marinas and boatyards, which had been deemed non-essential under the governor's New York on PAUSE executive order, have been allowed to open, giving people happy to social-distance with fishing gear in hand reason to celebrate.

As of this week, spring officially arrives. While it’s pretty clear we will be dealing with the effects of the virus for the foreseeable future, I’m putting forth in solitude, preparing my boat for the season and launching my lobster traps into the still-cold waters.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s commissioner announced on Friday the detection of a coccidian parasite in a sample of bay scallops collected from the Peconic Bays, which is believed to have contributed to the massive die-off discovered in the fall of 2019.

Tight Lines Tackle on Bay Street in Sag Harbor is jammed from the roof to the floorboard with just about every kind of tackle, apparel, and bait imaginable. You name it, you will likely find it.

The timing was perfect. Last Thursday’s full moon, backed by a strong wind, finally brought in a great low tide. It had been at least nine months since I’d witnessed one of such magnitude. Its significance also prompted me to head over to one of my favorite sand flats to dig up some steamer clams.

They seem like national holidays these days. I’m not referring to National Fruitcake Toss Day or National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day (yes, they do really exist); I’m talking about Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For better or worse, these two days are marked on many a household calendar, and just about every consumer has latched on to them with great enthusiasm.