Fishing

It was an unusual season on the water by all accounts. When the boat was first launched in mid-March, the pandemic was already beginning to have a firm grip on New York and Long Island. It was a scary and uncertain time. In many ways, it still is.

The fishing season is winding down, but the fishing for blackfish and sea bass remains strong and the bite is still good for striped bass from the ocean shoreline.

After about an hour steaming off in my boat to the northeast on Gardiner's Bay, the fish finder machine in my cabin painted a perfect picture of the bottom I was looking for. With the anchor set on the incoming tide, I was positioned on top of a tight cluster of broken rubble and small boulders in about 40 feet of water. It looked fishy.

Their fishing trip in Gardiner's Bay on Monday may not have yielded the blackfish they were after, but Aidan McCormack and Mark Deckman came away with quite a tale to tell.

Monday morning dawned bright with a stiff, northwesterly wind on the bay as I lifted the bedroom shades. I squinted as I tried to focus on my surroundings from the second floor. It was a little after 7, and not a single boat was in view. It was a sad sight to see but not a total surprise.

With two dredges and a culling board laid across the stern of my boat, it was time to see if the upcoming season would be boom, bust, or perhaps something in between. Sadly, it did not take long to see that the hope for a bountiful harvest of scallops would very much mimic the unfortunate events that have unfolded in the black cloud that is 2020.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has reclassified two areas in East Hampton waters to restrict the harvesting of shellfish.

Blackfish, also known as tautog, are perhaps the most challenging of fish to catch in our local waters, and quite a few good fishermen are not ashamed to admit that they have never mastered the knack of catching the elusive, bait-stealing fish.

Anglers last week saw an influx of migrating striped bass mixed in with bluefish and false albacore that has brought back pleasurable memories of the productive fall run of years past. "It's insane action at times," said Capt. Michael Vegessi of the Montauk party boat the Lazybones.

I really don't have any excuses, but it's been well over a month since I have picked up a fishing rod. I'm not quite sure of the reason, but other than pulling my lobster and crab traps out of the water for the season shortly after Labor Day, I had not even untied my dock lines. My boat, and my body, have sat idle for too long.

Since 1921, the Ryder family lived in the white farmhouse next to a small pond on North Haven that has been known in local lore as Ryder's Pond. This week, the Village of North Haven held a name dedication ceremony to officially designate name the pond for the family.

On the fishing front, the gusty winds have made it a challenge for many anglers, whether fishing from boat or shore. So The Star's fishing columnist took his motorcycle for a ride to the North Fork, where he got the fishing report from the boats tying up at the Orient by the Sea Marina.