Blowfish are one of the tastiest local fish in our warming waters as we jump from spring to summer. They are one of the cheapest fish at the markets, too.
Blowfish are one of the tastiest local fish in our warming waters as we jump from spring to summer. They are one of the cheapest fish at the markets, too.
I was supposed to take my boat to check my lobster traps. It had been about 10 days. I also planned to do some diamond jigging for striped bass in Plum Gut. None of it happened.
The striped bass showed up en masse for their annual residency off Montauk on May 1. It was a true sign that spring had sprung for those who wet a line for the highly prized linesiders.
The dawn chorus of birdsong is different depending on your habitat, your location, and the time of year. Songbird migration will peak by mid-May. As songbirds migrate overhead during the night, they blanket the sleeping country with sound, calling to each other to keep their flocks together and tight. When they land, they sing us awake.
It’s been sad to watch the demise of our local inshore lobster fishery. I’ve seen a clear downward spiral that’s been especially acute in the past five years.
The recent closure of the only tackle shop in downtown Montauk was a blow for fishermen, but all is not lost for those who wet a hook and line in Montauk. The Montauk Anglers Club, right near the Montauk inlet on East Lake Drive, is looking to fill the void left by the departure of Paulie’s by adding more tackle, bait, lures, gear, and services to its already well-stocked marine and tackle store.
The question was whether I should stay in port on April 9 or put out my lobster traps for the season. Sounds simple, yes? But it wasn’t. Hear me out.
Hundreds of anglers were saddened to learn last week that Paulie’s Tackle Shop, operating in downtown Montauk for over 20 years, had closed its doors forever.
Odds are, you’re not going to see an American bittern, despite its large size. Frankly, the American bittern doesn’t want to be seen; it chose invisibility as its superpower. Still, this is the best time of year to try; make the experience at least as much about the journey as the destination.
When the ball drops marking the beginning of the new year, for some, a silent gun goes off and an invisible race begins. They’re the bird listers, and their goal is to find as many different species of birds as they can over the next year.
Coyote sightings on the North Fork this autumn and a month ago in Bridgehampton are not surprising to those who study this wide-ranging mammal. Coyotes have never bred in Suffolk County, but with one-off sightings increasing in frequency, the question isn’t if they will breed here but when.
When darkness closed out the Audubon Montauk Christmas Bird Count and the species were tallied, participants agreed that the good weather might have played a role in the total: 134 were found, the highest in a decade.
Copyright © 1996-2024 The East Hampton Star. All rights reserved.