Over the past 30 years or more, the fishing scene here in Sag Harbor, and many other local areas, has dramatically changed. There are far fewer folks fishing from their boats or from shore.
Sure, in the summer there are a few porgies around, there are still small weakfish in Noyac Bay, and bluefish can usually be found in the rip at the tip of Jessup’s Neck eagerly biting on diamond jigs, especially on the incoming tide. Even a blowfish or two can be had.
But that’s pretty much it. Not exactly exciting. As for fluke, I haven’t caught a keeper here in years. It’s a fishery I dearly miss.
I’ve lived on the water on the east side of North Haven for over six decades. This year I’ve probably seen around five boats fishing all season from my vantage point on Shelter Island Sound. And that’s very sad and disturbing. It’s a downward trend that I’ve witnessed year after year.
Today, fancy boats and gleaming mega-sized yachts now rule the local waters. As I type this, the yacht Marguerite, a bit over 200 feet long, is anchored up about a half mile in front of us. At night, she’s lit up like a Christmas tree. With a crew of 17, she is available for charter for nearly $500,000 per week, plus expenses. Ouch!
Truth be told, she is actually pretty small considering some of the other crafts that have berthed up here of late. And I highly doubt that anyone aboard her pristine teak deck is dropping a line to catch a porgy for dinner. Branzino, also known as European sea bass, is more likely to be served aboard a boat like that.
The highly touted golden girl of Mediterranean-caught fish, which is frequently featured on many high-priced restaurant menus, is now primarily farm-raised. It’s the same with tilapia, salmon, and swai, among many others.
The branzino on most restaurant menus was most likely raised in Connecticut or another domestic pond. But image and marketing are everything.
Growing up out here, on a typical sunny Saturday I could see dozens of boats dunking a baited hook to catch some dinner. They would literally bump together waiting for their next bite.
Back then, fish was the dish for many. Boats over 40 feet in length were an anomaly. But not anymore. Such a craft is now merely a dinghy.
The Sag Harbor area was also once home to three fishing and bait stations that rented skiffs to those who wanted to fish. It was a bustling business back then. Everyone wanted to fish and go clamming.
Long Wharf at the north end of Sag Harbor was also a boisterous and very popular spot for shore-bound anglers. Dozens of anglers would fish elbow-to-elbow starting in the spring for flounder. I fished there all the time.
Anglers would also eagerly drop a baited hook from atop the bridge to North Haven. Few today know what a flounder looks like.
Even here in our development of North Haven Manor, we used to have a rickety community dock that during the summer would be lined with kids and adults fishing for snappers, porgy, blowfish, kingfish, and eels among other species. It was a daily community party.
For us young lads, it was also our central hangout. It’s where we grew up and bonded. It was the same for our parents too. Simple times, indeed.
We were probably only 10 years old, but I still vividly recall fishing with Mary Ellen Schwenk on a sunny day on that dock. The Schwenk family lived two houses down the beach from us, about 200 feet away, not very far from where Jimmy Buffett and Richard Gere lived for many decades. Buffett loved to fish, as for Gere, not so much.
We were both fishing for snappers with a simplistic bamboo rod, red-and-white floating bobber, and cotton string, when she suddenly latched into an eel that was at least three feet long. It was huge. I remember this as if it happened just yesterday.
Mary Ellen was ultimately able to lift the eel onto the dock, but we were unable to unhook it. Eels are extremely slimy and squirmy. It was chaos for two young kids. As we were the only two on the dock, we ultimately screamed for help.
A minute or two later, Mary Ellen’s father, Ralph, ran down the beach and came to our rescue. He promptly unhooked the eel and returned it to the water. He offered to rebait our hooks, but we both declined. We had gone through enough drama. I just wanted to go home. But we did return to fish off that dock the very next day.
As the 2025 saltwater fishing season continues, don’t forget to make sure that your New York Recreational Marine Fishing Registration is still valid. It’s free and required for all anglers 16 years and older. You can register online or by calling 866-933-2257.
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Fishing tips, observations, and photographs can be sent to [email protected].