Montauk has been a bust so far a real dud for the surf action. Got a few last night but nothing spectacular.
Senior Member
Montauk has been a bust so far a real dud for the surf action. Got a few last night but nothing spectacular.
Senior Member
Montauk bite has been very poor this fall
Report from another website for yesterday:
"nice day lousy fishing
Weather-wise it was the day we have been waiting for. Trolled chutes and diamond jigged all day and only 3 bluefish to show for it.Wow this is about as bad as I have seen Montauk at this time of the year. I guess they are all at Captree, and they are killing a mess of them!"
Administrator
Thought I would bring this thread to the top and add to it when I get a chance.
I'll have to check my logs...but the shift in the action and contraction of the seasons at Montauk, has been significant.
Let's wind the clock back for a few years, 10-15.
Back then, I remember the following pattern......(generally speaking)
Montauk/LI Sound
I. Spring Run....
1. By the middle of May, the spawners from Chesapeake and Delaware (usually) were done, and moving northward.
After a brief stint along NNJ beaches, there was usually some action along the SS of LI...in addition to the mouth of the Hudson and NY Bight area (Hudson Fish)....before the Chesapeake and Delaware fish stopped off at Montauk for a month or two....
Sometimes it seemed longer because of the sheer volume of the total biomass....
2. The Hudson fish eventually moved up the E River and would make stops n the LI sound, along the way to Massachusetts, depending on bait availibility.
The chief complaint by many was that the LI Sound Spring fish would move quickly as there were not enough bunker to hold them.
Recent Changes-
3. Bunker availibility - As mentioned, in previous years the lack of bunker was often blamed for a poor Western Sound Spring run....In the past few years, bunker have been "saved" and seem to be everywhere.....
The chief lament by many anglers now..... is "bunker everywhere but no fish on em".
4. In the past 2 years, the presence of bunker has exploded exponentially. It is hard to go out at night and not run into bunker somewhere.....the big blues can often be found in the highest concentrations of bunker....yet bass are strangely absent, or availible in one out of every 100 bunker pods....
A reasonable thinking angler, who fishes a lot, would surely have to notice the disparity here....plenty of food, and still the bass have not been found in numbers in (some of) their usual secondary historic migrational hangouts?
Yet...there are plenty of bluefish and other predators (sharks, rays, etc).
5. For Montauk...the Spring run has never been about bunker....it was a stop on the migrational highway because of its strategic location...and other forage....whitebait...spearing, rainfish....sandeels, squid, porgies, baby fluke, etc. were usually the draws that would hold the Spring bass there for awhile.......
6. Shrinking Seasons -
Last year, 2014, if I am recalling correctly......
The Montauk 2014 Spring run was relatively short...about 6 weeks....
The 2014 Montauk Fall run didn't get into gear until the 3rd week of Oct 2014....a few friends religiously going there started reporting greater catches of bass from the surf then...as did Bill Wetzel and Zeno, I believe....
That run was short-lived, as many of those fish moved S to the Moriches area....and held there for a few weeks.....
7. 2015 Montauk Spring Run-
Many of the old timers will tell you the first great action of larger fish would traditionally start to show up in Montauk by the 3rd week of May...this year we blamed the cold Winter for the delays in fish showing up in several areas Coastwide.
According to my notes....the main body of larger fish didn't show up at Montauk until the week of July 1st...
As I type these words...the main body has left already.....The night boats are now shifting to Block Island to sustain the action....and in many cases are admitting it has slowed down
So..in essence...the bulk of the 2015 Spring run at Montauk lasted a little less than 4 weeks in total...
Less than 4 weeks...compared to the robustness 10-15 years ago of a bite that would begin in May...and last until at least July...
I hope folks reading this can see for themselves the contraction of the Season there.....
This is also confirmed by many Capts and seasoned anglers.....
and is cause for concern......
Just to be clear, there are still big fish available at Montauk, for those who understand tides, and willing to put their time in at low light periods...
but in the past week the numbers dwindled significantly.....
Boaters fishing the right tides in low light can troll some decent bass in the Rips.
There are still big bass being caught in the Block Island area....
Surfcasters still catch fish to 40# during the Summer..
The same for kayakers who are able to get out and fish the Rips.....
** What I'm referring to here, are the majority of bass, during the migrations, and why the period they are at Montauk, is now so contracted, compared to the past......
Just ask the Capts fishing out of nearby Orient Point how they have done this Spring...and in many cases you will see there were less folks fishing out of Orient at night...because the fish just weren't there in usual numbers....despite a great variety of forage available..
Eventually, at the end of the season, I'll add some of these notes to the
StripersAndAnglers yearly coastwide fish stock asssessment shown here:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/showthread.php?7784-StripersandAnglers-yearly-coastwide-fish-stock-assessment-state-of-the-fishery
**(Again, this is what I remember.....if anyone else has anything else or different that they can add...please feel free...) thanks for reading......
Administrator
Orient Point - The significance of Orient Point as the North Fork of LI, and a strategic stop in the LI Sound for migrational bass, cannot be understated.
The rips and rock piles in that area offer tremendous feeding opportunities for bigger bass....
There are times during late Sping and Summer periods that bass can be found there for months at a time....
This year, for some reason thus far....the bass could not be found at Orient in any great numbers...
**Let me qualify that....
There are still a few boats that have been targeting them. and doing OK.....
But the majority of boats that target bass at night, have been targeting fluke and scup this year....and sea bass when the season is open.....
To see for yourselves.......Ask any Capt who has consistently fished for large bass there at night..in the past...and why he is not fishing for bass now at night..for an honest assessment....if you want further clarification......
To me, this is great cause for concern........
I have fished and explored the areas along that part of the North shore.....it really is a fantastic gathering place for all kinds of forage.........
As far back as I can remember, it has always been an oasis in the desert, to find striped bass.....
This year, 2015, that has not consistently been the case, so far....and it troubles me.......
If anyone else has further thoughts, feel free to add to this, thanks....
Senior Member
Heard they are still catching bass at the porgy hump. does anyone know where that is? Close to the Point or somewhere else?
Senior Member
The porgy hump is about 2-3 miles to the east. A football sized piece of structure where small fish hold and so do the bass. Hope that helps.
Came across this an honest montauk fishing report. from the viking fleet:
Night Striped Bass
Capt Carl reports a very slow night on the Viking Star. We had some weak tides and slow drifts, making fishing tough. We only ended up with 1 bass and a few blues for the night.
Administrator
Time for an Orient Point update here...Originally Posted by DarkSkies
Since I posted the above, there has been an increase in the action...
The first week of August....some of the boats started catching bass at Orient...are now targeting them and doing well.
The significance of Orient Point, and my earlier concern, still stands.
This is not a secondary area. It's a strategic stop on the striped bass migrational highway every year.
Usually, bass start showing up in numbers and sizes in May and June.
You could certainly make the argument that because of the cold winter, things have been "later" this year.
I buy into that, to an extent.
Here we have the months of June and July, with no (significant) showings of bass at Orient...until the first week of August....
If you know and understand that area, you would remember the outstanding catches they usually get during the June and July months....
This year, for the most part, there were not enough numbers of bass for the party and charter boats to go out there and justify looking for them during those months...
Folks who read this, need to remember striped bass and the M&M theory discussed elsewhere in these forums.
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...of-the-fishery
If they were not stacked up at Orient Point, a place as strategically important as Montauk.....
Think of the possible explanations......
For the most part, it logically points to a reduced biomass.....
Don't take my word for it....
Ask the Capts out there who make a good living from targeting bass, when they are there.....and ask them why they didn't show up until the first week of August this year......when they were moving through the Sound on the Eastward migration in June...and had already reached the Canal and other points on the NS of MA during June/July........
Quick update on the Montauk Bite....
More bass have been caught as I'm posting this.......You have to realize a large % of those catches come from Block Island and other areas that are in relatively deeper water....
There's nothing wrong with that....
And truthfully speaking, even the boats who are steaming to Block every night....are having inconsistent results....
However in recent days the amount of bunker and other forage fish..... loading up in the shallower areas around Montauk has been noted...
If the bass numbers were truly as strong as some claim....there would be many more fish inshore feeding on these forage fish.....instead of just being found on the lumps and deeper rockpiles.....Food for thought....
Thanks for reading....
And for your comments as well.....
Senior Member
Spot on I agree this is a magic hours report the viking posted this afternoon. Considering we are coming off the full moon the fishing should be much better. Oh how it sucks sometimes to be older and remember the good old days.
"Captain Carl reports a tough sunset trip. We only had a couple of bass for the night. The pool winner was William Gati from Queens, NY with a 27lb striped bass."
Senior Member
A bud of mine was out there over the holiday weekend. They caught some nice stripers. Then it got slow. Yesterday he drove there again and got stripers to 15lbs. He said not real blitszing but good fishing in the morning. So it seems thats the way it is now. 2 days good, 3 days not so good, lather, rinse, repeat.
Senior Member
Wecome to reality 2015. About 10 years ago the first week of Sept was time to go. You could set your watch by it. I actually think the spotty fishing is better for some of us because it keeps a lot of guys home.
Senior Member
Report from the foxsealady.
Bass N Still slow. But signs are improving. Bait, Birds plentiful . Some better marks. Hopefully as they migrate through they will stop and chow down for a while at the point.
Senior Member
Thought this was interesting similar comments from the boat and surf guys this morning in a discussion
boat-
montauk Bass- Yes for the past 3 years Bass fishing in October from a boat has been very poor.The only fish being caught now maybe at the SW ledge on a troll?..There have been bunker schools whales and bass out of fire island inlet to the east of the lighthouse?.Sharpies a catching from the beach and boat?..The body of fish skipped 2 inlets and ended up there ?.crazy stuff but this has been the pattern for the past 3 years..
surf-
All over this afternoon. Napeague, Hither Hills, the point and back again.
Didn't see a fish anywhere.
OGB
They are almost wiped out again
Pay attention to what history has taught us or be prepared to relive it again
Senior Member
Bill Wetzel talks Montauk October 21,2015
White Water Monty 2.00 (WWM)
Future Long Islander (ASAP)
Senior Member
Thanks for posting that. Heard he is like a expert. Anyone know how much he charges for a guided trip up there? thanks
Senior Member
Gill nettters in Montauk banged most of the fish.No bass around.blues have become small compared to last week jigging.The fish that are in the surf you are going to work your *** off for it's just not what it used to be they are wiped out...History has repeated itself.
Cranky Old Bassturd.
OGB
Bill promoting his services rumor has it he has stated to his close friends for all intensive purposes its over fish are gone from there
Pay attention to what history has taught us or be prepared to relive it again
Senior Member
Sat Oct 24
Night Striped Bass
Captain Carl reports another dismal night of striped bass fishing. We had no bites and no fish brought onboard.
^^^ Wow just wow for the longest time I thought fishing montauk for night striped bass was a lock. Guess not. That really sucks.
Senior Member
2015 has to go down as one of the worst years ever for fishing Montauk. I'm happy to hear Bill is finding bass. I have found some but it is an insane amount of work. Definitely not a normal fall. I have been fishing further west. Much more consistent.
Senior Member
I never thought I would see this. viking is done with stripers for the season.
"Night striped bass Full Moon Special
Captain Carl reports a very slow night of striped bass. We had no bites which meant no bass. Unfortunately we are done striped bass fishing for the season. Keep an eye on our website for added trips for the end of the year."
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