Took the ride to mecca this weekend. They are not catching big fish regularly from the surf yet. It's mainly schoolies and blues, with an occasional 20 thrown in. Water out front is still pretty cold. Amazing place.
Thought I would put up some pics to keep the memories green. Anyone else with Montauk pics, show what ya got.
I thought of starting another thread, then saw this one. Moderators, you can move this if necessary. I don't have a camera right now, but fished Montauk yesterday, and thought I might share my experiences and memories here for those who have never been, or are thinking about going.
For all you veterans out there, might wanna pass over this, too detailed and boring. I did try to separate it out into different segments so people could choose which detailed, boring part they want to check out.
Love beauty, the incredible ruggedness, the cool people I met (they say no one talks to each other up there, but I had no problem meeeting and talkin to lots of people. Must be easier talking to others when the fishin ain't that great.). These, plus some of the incredible fishing stories others shared with me, make me want to come back.
There are no guarantees in fishing. There are even less guarantees at Montauk. The legendary great days, and legends who have fished there, make Montauk a fishing and tourist destination for those all over the world.
It it truly, the end at the end. The end of the road. The Point past which all sea life flows and ebbs. It is wild, beautiful, and full of the beauty of God and nature. Oh, and sometimes it's also known for great fishin.
So here's my story. Warn you ahead of time it's going to be long, drank a few cups of coffee before starting today. Skip what diesn't interest ya, read what ya want - for all the googs out there who want to learn, we were all googs once.
We all love fishin, that's the common thread that draws us together, all age groups, all walks of life, fishing is the great equalizer. And Montauk is the place that humbles other fishing experiences.
When I got there, S side was dead. Went to N side, also dead, no surfcasters were catching. Then within 1/2 hr things started to look promising on the N side, bait and predators blitzing just offshore.
There were less boats out there, and some of them had some talent, knew how to work a school of fish. In particular, these 2 boats with green and white were on the schools as soon as possible, and did a nice job working them figuring out the direction the fish were headed, and setting up to drift into them. Even with all that, I didn't see a lot of boaters hooking up where I was.
Kept surveying the birds and fish. At one point they were moving closer, to within 100 yards of shore, and there were about 4 separate pods erupting over the N area. Figurred it was time to suit up, got excited. As I was walking out to them, I could see the action had died completely, fish never came in close enough. Guys started coming off the beach. I met a few sharpies who were there all day, fished hard, and didn't have one fish.
Meanwhile, in the parking lot I met a guy who got 2 on a storm shad. I met lots of people, all of them cool and helpful, more in another thread.
I decided to work the S side, and work my way N, where the guy got the storm shad fish. The sandy beach wasn't producing, so I worked my way into the legendary rips. Very tough to fish, but schoolies were there. I started throwing a 12" needle, big fish want big bait, but there were no big fish at that time. Got one small bass on a bucktail/pork combo, then lost another bucktail to the rocks. Other guys were there bucktailing, every few minutes someone lost one, had to re-tie.
My experienced friend told me to fish bucktails around 1z, but I found 1/2 oz and 3/4 oz would have been better. Only problem was you couldn't get enough distance with the lighter ones, and heavier bucktails hang up while you're keeping them in the strike zone.
Also tried a pink fin-s on jighead, got one tap on that, and then lost the jig later to the rocks. Tough fishin.
A guy I had been talking to in the parking lot came out, and I made some room. I knew he was hardcore when I saw him carrying a bucket of eels.
Where we were only had small fish, and there were a bunch of amigos who were keeping shorts, and playing dumb about the size. I persuaded them to throw one back, but I knew from talking them in Spanish that they come there every chance they get, and keep shorts when they can get away with it. (Calll made to DEC).
I also realized we weren't doing the fish any good tossing the shorts down 20' on the rocks back to the water, so the "eel dude" and I decided to fish together, and move N with the incoming tide.
It was cool meeting him. I fish alone a lot, but a new place at night is a good idea to have a friend along. You can both look out if one gets in trouble in the water. As it was, I slipped when we were wading, fell in once. There is almost no flat bottom on the N side - all rocks.
Because of this, I understand why those guys skish, to get to deeper and more productive water. I developed a new respect for them when we decided to move out onto outlying rocks to find better water.
I fish jetties all the time in NJ/NY, but my experiences were nothing like this. Fishing these rocks made me realize how lucky we guys on NJ have it. We can fish at eye level when it's calm, or a few feet up during rough water, which makes all the difference in the world on stormy nights with cold water.
We decided to fish some outlying rocks about 30' out. I beat him to the biggest rock, but it evened out b/c mine was a little further out and more exposed to the rollers.
Did I mention rollers? We were getting pounded by the swell from the East, maybe from the latest hurricane. I have no problems fishing rough and white water, that's where the bass live. The issue here was the incoming tide and the rising water over the rocks we were on. Would have preferred the outgoing, but that would be later in the night.
We fished that area hard because I felt the fish should be coming in to feed there. Over an hour, only one tap.
We were still lookin for a place for him to drown his eels. It occured to us later, after learning the n side is mostly boulder fields, that we shoudl have been on the s side throwing those eels, or found a secure spot at the rocks in the rips, that would have been ideal. Live and learn.
We ended up taking a break fo eat, went back out again to the n side. One clue to the quality of the fishin is that most of the other people we saw were hanging out, partying, or half-sleeping. Maybe they were waiting for the outgoing.
I know the outgoing is better, maybe we should have waited for that. I had to get home for work in the am, so I took off. He stayed to crash a few hours, was going to fish the outgoing for an hour before he left. Hope he stuck a fish, we were really tryin.
In all, I had a great time. No great catches other than a small schoolie, but learning to do new things is what keeps us alive and motivated.
Mastering the area you fish in is good. Transferring that knowledge to another area to challenge yourself to succeed is better.
I will always remember night fishin at Montauk. Can't wait to go again.
A Goog's experiences with the water and wet conditions:
Bring several sets of dry clothes. Not the greatest feeling walking around with wet balls.
Wetsuiiters have it different but even they have spare clothes for the hang time in between.
Be prepared to fall when you're out on the rocks. The current is strong and you will eventually to swimming.
Have stragegic rocks planned to jump to as the tide comes in or goes out. This is important if you have others near you and you will naturally want to compete for the best rocks.
Lots of characters there. Just like the ebb and flow of the tides, and the different fish we catch, you never know who you'll meet up there. Some cool people I ran into:
LILCO Joe
Willy Young
Some of the LIBBA guys
Many regular LI fishermen who fish locally but take the drive to mecca when the bite is hot.
Some guys from England, others from Canada....this is the time of year when fishermen all over the world visit Montauk.
Coming from Jersey, it's a killer. Some things I learned:
"Traffic Moving Well" is something you really want to hear on the news reports....the LIE is a bear to drive during peak hours, Southern State is not much better.....
The last 30 miles through the resort and upperclass towns are hell...Wainscott, the Hamptons,,,,etc,,,
Do not speed over the posted limit. They target tourists and fishermen for the revenue not the safety.
When you see the turnoff for Shelter Island, you may want to take it if traffic is bad. It will save up to 1/2 hour off your drive, most importantly you will avoid the stop and go......
Going to Montauk, especially if you live far, is best if planned strategically, and done during the most off peak hours you can manage, and NEVER on a holiday weekend......
The GWB, and other bridges that funnel folks into the New England area can be a nightmare at peak periods, coming or going.
Also keep changing radio channels for construction reports.....I have sat in slow two lane traffic for as much a 1 1/2 hours to go or return through the gritty streets of the Bronx and the GWB area.
dude, great report, when are you finishing the rest of the posts? i gotta go to montauk, hope i can make it this year, anyone want to car-pool and split gas?
What the hell is a googan? I saw it written on someone's bucket. Now saw it here. Looked it up here under "fishing terms" but not listed yet. Maybe I can be filled in? Maybe I'm one and don't know it.
Great pics fishlipper. Haven't been to Montauk in a while. Read the reports on Montauk from a couple weeks ago. Do you know how the fishing is lately up there?
googan is a new guy who doesn't know any better. Sometimes, with hard work and practice, pitting your time in, you can graduate from a googan to a surf rat, and then a sharpie.
Senior Member
Montauk memories
I did try to separate it out into different segments so people could choose which detailed, boring part they want to check out.
). These, plus some of the incredible fishing stories others shared with me, make me want to come back.
more in another thread.
but it evened out b/c mine was a little further out and more exposed to the rollers.
Montauk memories - Survival guide for Googs
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