"We used to catch "dogfish" but not as they are known today. They had whiskers and teeth."
[Any guys on the LI forum remember catching fish like that? Can anyone help with an ID?]
Blowfish:
"I wish I had known in the 60's that they were so good to eat. We didn't know back then, they were a nuisance to us, so we always threw them back. "
Weakfish, how to catch them:
"Years ago, in the 1980's, the most productive lure for the weakfish was called a "Salty Dog". It was a ledhead with a rubber end. The best color was pink, we also used white and yellow. "
"We used to go to a secret location near Babylon for bait. One throw of the cast net and you would have plenty of peanut bunker. We would only get a few at a time and keep them alive in a bucket. Live peanut bunker were deadly for weakies. I lost my first weakfish from a pier because I didn't know they had such a soft mouth, I found out quick! My biggest weakfish was between 4-5lbs. They weren't huge back then, but there were a lot of them. "
The big bass that got away...
"We were fishing near FI inlet one day, on the inside, by the CG station. We got skunked, and were feeling beat.
As we were moving the boat, I saw a 25 pound bass swimming in the water, about 2 feet down. I yelled at my friend to turn the boat around, as the bass seemed to be swimming slow.
As we got closer, we could see in the clear water a line was attached to a fishing rod, and the bass was pulling it. We realized that bass had pulled that rod out of a boat when the owner wasn't paying attention!
I took the gaff and tried to catch the line. We came so close! I had the line up in my hands, and we were maneuvering to where the bass was. My friend was real excited, he kept barking instructions at me as he maneuvered the boat. There was a wave that came by, and at that moment the bass got off the hook, I dropped the line as I went to reach for the bass, only inches away. :eek:
With a flip of its tail that bass said goodbye to us! I succeeded in losing both the bass and the rod. :embarassed: Boy was my friend mad, he was yelling and screaming. It was both our faults, and he eventually got over it. We remained friends and fished together until I moved to upstate NY. "
The history of Fire Island is a long and complicated one, beginning with its Native American settlements. Local indigenous peoples harvested shellfish and finfish including migrating whales, traditions that were shared and passed on to new European immigrants who settled in Bay Shore, Moriches, and other shoreline communities.
To protect regional commerce the newly formed federal government authorized the construction of the island’s first lighthouse in 1826, which was later replaced in 1857 by the current structure. In addition several life saving stations were also constructed. Nearby, David Sammis built a chowder house east of the Fire Island Lighthouse, later expanding it into the Surf Hotel.
Eventually the Surf Hotel would accommodate 400 guests, until it burned down in 1917. In 1908, New York State also created a park, the Fire Island Park, where Robert Moses Park now stands. Shortly thereafter out-of-town residents began building modest and elaborate summer cottages along the barrier beach, made possible by convenient train and ferry service to the scenic beaches. Local residents worked as ferry operators, hotel staff, store owners and other seasonal positions.
The oldest communities are Cherry Grove (1795) which began as a traditional fishing post, Kismet (1855), Fire Island Pines (1868), Ocean Beach (1908), and Saltaire (1910). To learn more about Ocean Beach, click here. This article is from the Fire Island Tide.
Families and groups regularly summered at the seashore, until 1954, when the creation of the Robert Moses Causeway led to day trip visitors to the island’s western end.
In 1954, a permanent bridge to Smith Point County Park was completed on the eastern end of Fire Island. To help prevent further development, the federal government designated Fire Island National Seashore (FINS) in 1964, shortly after a state proposal to extend Ocean Parkway failed.
The establishment of the Seashore was supported by Fire Island residents and homeowners, still concerned that an expansion of the parkway would wipe out the existing communities on the barrier island. Its enabling legislation called for the conservation of wildlife while also permitting “hunting, fishing, and shellfishing on lands and waters.” Its 2006 management plan also calls for the park to “address mutual interests in the quality of life of community residents, including matters such as compatible economic development and resource and environmental protection” while also adhering to the underlying principles that NPS policies “must ensure that conservation will be predominant when there is a conflict between the protection of resources and their use.”
Living on Fire Island
With the creation of the Robert Moses Causeway, some Long Island families built permanent year round homes on Fire Island, particularly in the western part of the island.
According to the 2000 census there were approximately 500 people who lived on the barrier beach. There are no paved roads through the interior of the island. Motorized off-road vehicle use is restricted, and the number of permits is specified by Fire Island National Seashore driving regulation. During the summer season, cars are prohibited, with transportation and delivery services provided by local ferries. Before Memorial Day and after Labor Day most communities allow residents to obtain beach driving permits. Local school age children attend classes in Bay Shore.
According to a recent cultural resource survey, Lonelyville is one of the island’s oldest and most private settlements. It started as a fishing village in the 1880s, established by the Fire Island Fishing Company, and a major pier and railhead were built. Originally, the rail was to extend across the entire bay. While this never happened, boats transported fish to the mainland. All of this was destroyed in the 1938 Hurricane.
Lonelyville also began to develop as a summer resort in the early 20th century when lots went up for sale. But the community grew slowly, composed of only 23 houses in the 1950s. Today, most homes are vintage beach cottages, some dating back to the 1900s.
Working on Great South Bay
For hundreds of years, fishers have harvested various species of finfish and shellfish, for subsistence, commercial, and recreational use. During the 19th century and early 20th century, Great South Bay was one of the largest shellfishing producing regions in the country.
However there have been historical changes in the bay that have greatly reduced the fisher’s ability to earn a living and also impacted the estuary’s health. They include the 1938 hurricane which covered oyster and clam beds, the closing of inlets which changed the bay’s water quality, water pollution including runoff from fertilizers and other pollutants, bulkheading, and land development. In recent years baymen have faced numerous local, state, and federal regulations which have severely impacted their way of life.
Contemporary Issues
Since the establishment of the park there has been tension between baymen, homeowners, and park officials over the management of natural and cultural resources. Controversies over beach replenishment, inlet openings, hunting, and harvesting practices are just some of the issues unique to Fire Island National Seashore and their neighbors.
Unlike other National Parks, FINS must work with dozens of communities, town, state, and other federal agencies to accomplish its goals. Often their goals conflict with traditional and historical uses, such as vector control, deer management, or beach access to year-round residents.
At FINS, only recreational hunting, fishing, and shellfishing are authorized, although, historically, commercial harvests have taken place before and after establishment of the Seashore. More recently FINS has banned horseshoe crab harvesting by area baymen in its surrounding waters. To learn more about the Fire Island National Seashore and its current management plan click here.
12-13-2009, 08:40 PM
DarkSkies
Sunday madness! :kooky:
I just finished Mike Flannery and Dan Auriemma's stories, in case anyone wanted to go back a few pages and read them.
I'm still waiting for some more info about Dan, maybe I can fill it in if his relatives get back to me. Enjoy, guys and girls. :HappyWave:
12-15-2009, 01:00 PM
BassBuddah
Enjoyed that. Dark you write exceptionally well, great thread. :clapping:
The big bass that got away...
"We were fishing near FI inlet one day, on the inside, by the CG station. We got skunked, and were feeling beat.
As we were moving the boat, I saw a 25 pound bass swimming in the water, about 2 feet down. I yelled at my friend to turn the boat around, as the bass seemed to be swimming slow.
As we got closer, we could see in the clear water a line was attached to a fishing rod, and the bass was pulling it. We realized that bass had pulled that rod out of a boat when the owner wasn't paying attention!
I took the gaff and tried to catch the line. We came so close! I had the line up in my hands, and we were maneuvering to where the bass was. My friend was real excited, he kept barking instructions at me as he maneuvered the boat. There was a wave that came by, and at that moment the bass got off the hook, I dropped the line as I went to reach for the bass, only inches away. :eek:
With a flip of its tail that bass said goodbye to us! I succeeded in losing both the bass and the rod. :embarassed: Boy was my friend mad, he was yelling and screaming. It was both our faults, and he eventually got over it. We remained friends and fished together until I moved to upstate NY. "
This sounds like something I would do, great stories, thanks for posting up.
12-22-2009, 08:20 AM
DarkSkies
LI party boat fishing in the 1960s and 1970s
As related by Finchaser:
Codfish in LI and Mass:
"We used to drive up to Captree Inlet, and Montauk, to go on cod trips up there. When the bite was on, we went wherever we heard it was best to catch fish. We were young and didn't care about anything else but fishing. We had great times.
We would drive to the parking lot at Captree or Montauk, and sleep in our station wagons. They were the "beach buggies" of the 60's and 70's, where we kept all out gear and sleeping stuff.
We would bundle up and sleep through the night to get a coveted seat on the stern for the morning roll-out. The mates would come by and knock on the car windows to wake us up as they came to work in the early AM.
There was no griping or moaning about the cold. We did it because we loved to fish."
"Years ago, in the 1980's, the most productive lure for the weakfish was called a "Salty Dog". It was a ledhead with a rubber end. The best color was pink, we also used white and yellow. "
I think they were called bait tails. There was one older one called the Tri-fin Whiptail. I believe the generic ones were called bait tails. Attachment 9506
I have known Mike for awhile now. We used to swap fishin stories when he came to visit his daughter in NJ.
I was really interested in a lot of his stories because he was fishin before and after the Striped bass Moratorium, and remembers how things were. That's a unique perspective a lot of younger anglers don't have, and I appreciate being able to listen to Mike, and his recollections. :HappyWave: http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...1&d=1260741905 Mike Flannery....Story and background
Mike moved to Babylon, LI in his early 30's. He married his wife Selma prior to that, when he was 22, and they have been married for 45 years.
They had 2 daughters, one of whom was a Valedictorian at Babylon High school. Mike has worked at hard physical labor his whole life. Around the time he got married, he got a job with the Suffolk County water authority. He dug holes for water mains and hydrants, a physically demanding job.
I believe he did some fresh water fishin when he was a kid. He started fishing the salt when he was around 30, and has been saltwater fishing for about 36 years. He's 67 now. http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...1&d=1260746718
Mike Flannery is gone....
I just got the call from his daughter. I saw him last week, noticed some drastic changes in his health. He was a strong tough guy, with a body conditioned to withstand pain and punishment from years of digging ditches and physical labor to give his children a better life than he had.
He had been diagnosed with cancer. I knew that a few months ago, and initially there was some hope for him to beat it. At first they were fighting it with some treatment. When they didn't offer him chemo, he knew something was terribly wrong.
Last week he told me he was dying. It was tough to hear this guy who used to tower over other people tell me he knew he was dying, and what can you do. :don't know why:
He suffered tremendously this past week with the pain. Finally, God, in his mercy, took him this morning.
My deepest condolences to his family. I'm having a little trouble typing these words.
Mike, I know you're in a better place now. I hope to be fishin with ya someday. I have to believe that's possible, to move on from this. See ya on the other side, Mike. :(
02-08-2010, 02:55 PM
7deadlyplugs
3 Attachment(s)
Hey very sorry to hear about Mike Flannery.
I posted the pic of Al Bentsen on another thread and wanted to post it here. I wish I could have met him, and the eels he rigged are something I hope to be trying to do this year by myself. Al caught many cows to his credit. :thumbsup:
He caught this 51.8lb slob at Point lookout in 1973. Attachment 9753
02-14-2010, 12:57 AM
DarkSkies
2 Attachment(s)
Tom Lo Verso and Reels Unlimited
I met Tom today at the Freeport LI show. What first caught my eye was his hat. That hat is a shrine to the history of fishing, and he wears it every chance he gets.
Tom was nice enough to let me interview him as he reminisced about the old days of fishing. The man has years of experience, I could have listened to him for hours. :fishing:
