Why are there no fish in Montauk right now?

[pescador29]

Montauk is far and a lot of gas. I am catching fish where I live near Brooklyn.

[surfstix1963]

We used to go out every year for our anniversary in Sept.

10 years ago the surf seemed to be mobbed with bait and the surf fishing was much better.

we recently saw the last 5 years the bite getting later every year so we have gone as late as Nov.

I like it after Columbus day and the hotel rates drop the bait is staying off the beach.I generally diamond jig & the amount of fish when out on the boats are incredible sometimes

The other issue in Montauk is everyone seems to focus on the lighthouse which is mainly a nighttime bite. when everything quiets down the bait hides.
the fish look for the bait there are many places that are producing steady action but no one looks for them drive around and get familiar with Montauk all sides of it

their are so many little spots. the locals are not going to tell you where they are catching forget about it.

many overlook the sand beaches they provide better daytime action I have had bad boat days too and then you find out the fish were on the beach all day.

Things Happen It may be the Mecca but its no different then anywhere else if your just putting a day in you better be pretty damn lucky.

You need to put your time in there just like anywhere else. theres more to Montauk then the lighthouse.

[mick2360]

Well said^^^^. Forget the lighthouse and Turtle Cove unless it is deeeeeep into the night. Even this time of the year and with a good tide, there is plenty of room then. I favor the sand beaches during the daytime and the rockier areas at night. Put in your time, the fish will be there.....most of the time. If you don't catch, you have still fished some fabulous water. Better than raking leaves.....

[surfstix1963]

Thanks Mick I hate raking leaves too lmao

[stripercrazy]

Put in your time, the fish will be there.....most of the time. If you don't catch, you have still fished some fabulous water. Better than raking leaves.....

No offense meant but I feel that phrase is a little over used. Friends of mine have been hitting it up regularly. Very little bass action, even at night, until this Weds when it finally blew open. So the fish are around now with some regularity, 5 weeks later then they showed up last year. And I know about the two 40+ bass on Paulie's site.The thing is, there were 400 guys up there fishing that weekend and that's the best that came out of it.

The boat action has been good, the the surf action has sucked. Are YOU catching fish of any size at Montauk right now (before Weds) If you were to call that a hot bite, or even any kind of bite at all with 400 guys fishing, imo that would be delusional. Just my 2 cents, of course.

[nitestrikes]

Montauk report yesterday from another site, any questions?

"Fished montauk today. I don't know whats going on, but montauk has been DEAD. From the town beaches , to ditch plains, to caswells, to camp hero,scotts,the weed bowl,north bar,stepping stones,shagwong,fort pond bay,and nappeuge.... saw a few schoolies, i caught a few blues today. Thats it"

[finchaser]

Bass are on the decline this is how the crash started last time and there are millions more guy's fishing for them now. Dr. Lubchenco with Nobama's blessing , closing down almost ever thing else has all head boats pursuing them in the spring and fall. We need new regulations ASAP.

[RJC]

Bass are on the decline this is how the crash started last time and there are millions more guy's fishing for them now. Dr. Lubchenco with Nobama's blessing , closing down almost ever thing else has all head boats pursuing them in the spring and fall. We need new regulations ASAP.

finchaser Striped bass are not endangered. The red flag number for us to become concerned is 37.5 million. The species is currently in excess of 60 million. A moritorium was declared in 1985 when the coastal assessment hit a mere 5 million striped bass. ASFMC was created to turn that number around. in 1996 by use of a coast wide approach and lengh limit enforcement the stock estimate was declared fully recovered at 40 million fish.

The striped bass assessment committee is meeting in 2 weeks to make decisions on striped bass technical committee recommendations for management of the species. One of the most important decisions that will be made will be a to implement harvest restrictions on known striped bass spawning grounds in the Albamarle Sound/Roanoke River, Chesapeake Bay tributaries and the hudson River by 50% or more. A move in that direction in the Hudson River will derectly impact recreational fishing on the Hudson from March to June, 2012. It won't affect head boat or commercial fishing because there hasn't been any of that kind of activity in the freshwater tidal portion of the Hudson River north of Bear Mountian in 4 decades.

Trying to make headboats the enemy is a waste of time and effort. They are not the enemy and their customers are folks like us.

Trying to tie the can to Obama's tail on fishing issues is pure pie in the sky political smearing. I don't like him or his policies, but I exercise my comments on his record on a political forum and not a fishing forum.

I am what you would call a conservative, old white man who hasn't voted democrat since I voted an absentee ballot for John F. Kennedy in November, 1960. I was sitting in the belly of a US Navy LPH Carrier off the coast of Siagon, RVN while there was a SVN Paratroops coup attempt going on. My Marine battalion was the Assualt BLT for Fleet Marine Force, Pacific at the time. The SVN Navy and Marines put the coup down in a week, so we didn't have to go in and kick paratrooper *** that week. The dems haven't put up anyone qualified since JFK. JMHO.

[mick2360]

SC, NO offense taken. I drive five hours to hit M. My perspective is much different than that of an Island guy who gets to fish there at his whim; my bad, I should have made that clear. There are times when I make the drive down for the weekend and catch little but blues. I sleep a little and then hit the rock beaches at night. These can be long shifts. But I learned from watching the night guys and my rate of hook ups have improved. Just trying to give my perspective.

When I'm lucky, I get to M five times in the fall. I'm no expert but I work at it, apply what I've been told and learned on my own and once in awhile, one trip out of my five, I get lucky and get into some lights out fishing. I'll never weigh a fish at Paulies. What happens on the rocks stays on the rocks (he don't need my photos, I buy enough plugs there. Do I need 'em? Not really. It's an illness.).
Reports or not, I'm heading down next weekend and praying to the bass Gods for a good trip.

[SharkHart]

No offense meant but I feel that phrase is a little over used. Friends of mine have been hitting it up regularly. Very little bass action, even at night, until this Weds when it finally blew open. So the fish are around now with some regularity, 5 weeks later then they showed up last year. And I know about the two 40+ bass on Paulie's site.The thing is, there were 400 guys up there fishing that weekend and that's the best that came out of it.

The boat action has been good, the the surf action has sucked. Are YOU catching fish of any size at Montauk right now (before Weds) If you were to call that a hot bite, or even any kind of bite at all with 400 guys fishing, imo that would be delusional. Just my 2 cents, of course.

Thats exactly right it was a very poor start to the surf seaosn and on the internet guys love to split hairs and if oneeeee bass is caught among 400 guys love to come on and say oohh nooo the run is ON 1 sey twosey were caught at night.

When i asked this question about 2 weeeks ago if anyone knew of a bite Mick u implied you were nailing lots fish and i should make my own reports, but im callign shennigans cause truthfully it sounds like you offering your opinion and you haven't been up there. A surf club i know of got one bass between 8 guys last week, the way i see it is a saved 400 miles until it gets better, Like Joe Friday would say .....Just the facts!

[mick2360]

Sharkhart, I posted in the last week in September that I fish Montauk in October and November. Re-read the post.

Shoot me a PM. I'll be there next weekend hoping to 'make my own report', always happy to meet someone from this site for a tide or a cup of coffee.

I guess what I want to say is that Bass are migratory and reports are what happened to someone else yesterday. I'm going to take my chances.

[DarkSkies]

I'm glad to see that we can all have different opinions without fighting.

Shark and Mick, I've fished with both of ya's and neither seems to know the meaning of the word quit when you're out there.... I think if you met each other on the beach, you would probably realize that you are more compulsive when out there, than a lot of guys. I think that you would both get along, and you seem to have the same dedication, the only difference being that Mick can't fish as much because of work and family..... You both have the tendency to fish till you're ready to drop. In my book, that makes for a dedicated fisherman, and someone who's likely to get a fish when others might not.