Nor`east Saltwater

It’s Time To
Go Catch
Some Cod!
2
NoreastSaltwater
WINTER 2012
THE JOURNAL OF NORTHEAST SPORTFISHING
Features
14.
22.
25.
PUBLISHER & PRESIDENT
George R. Scocca
TARPON PARADISE/ROD AND A RUCKSACK
COSTA RICA
BY GUY ELSON
If there ever was a feature written that puts you square into the
middle of some of the greatest exotic fishing around, this is it.
Join Guy on some of the most intense fishing that exists in
Costa Rica. Start with monster tarpon and then take your pick
for other species.
CODFISHING ON LONG ISLAND
BY JOEY BUD RUSSO
Codfish bring steady hot fishing for Long Island, beginning with
January’s freeze. You just can’t miss this feature written by one of
the most avid winter anglers around. Save all Joey’s tips for sure
cod-pounding action on some of the coldest days of the year.
JOIN THE PARTY
BY CAPTAIN ZAC GROSSMAN
Downsizing your fishing craft can save you some dollars while
also enabling you to get into lots more fish. Bob gives you his
perspective on the advantages this holds when pursuing striped
bass as well as other game fish.
Departments
4. Editor’s Waypoint
By Sal Amendolia
12. Surf Side
By John Skinner
8. For Your Information
By Rob Pavlick
29. Treasure Trove
By Chris Grech
6. Salt Lines
By Chris Spies
10. Salt On The Fly
By Anthony Alessi
Cover Story
16. Trophy Pages
By Steve Byrne
30. Nor’east Galley
By Sal Amendolia
The fishing season hasn’t skipped a beat, as anglers
have seen a great mixed bag of a bottom bite. We
even had a great run of mackeral come through. The
20-pound cod on our cover was taken by Bobby “cod”
on the aplty named Codfather. There are a lot of cod
being caught from Long Island to Rhode Island, so pick
your boat and your day and get in on this great fishery!
What Winter?
www.noreast.com
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sal Amendolia
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Barbara Scocca
V.P. OF MARKETING
Rob Pavlick
ACCOUNT COORDINATOR
Nicole Sinning
PROOFREADER
Linda A. Avignone
WEBMASTER
James Sullivan
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS:
Chuck Barbato
Bob Creeden
Chris Grech
Mike Wright
John Skinner
Karim Farid
Steve Byrne
Rob Caluori
Anthony Alessi
Richard Pannone
Frank Ruczynski
Mike Plaia
Greg Hazley
Richard DeMarte
Tony Salerno
Chris Spies
Nor’east Media, LLC
525 West Jericho Tpke.
Smithtown, NY 11787-5020
Phone: 631.863.0170
Nor’east Saltwater is published
monthly May through October, and
bi-monthly Nov. through April. by
Nor’east Media, LLC, 525 W.
Jericho Turnpike., Smithtown, NY
11787. Nor’east Saltwater, Volume
23, Number 01 ©2012 Allcoast
Media, LLC. The design and contents of this publication may not be
reproduced in any manner without
the written consent of the publisher.
NoreastSaltwater
3
Editor’s Waypoint
STORIES AND INSIGHT FROM OUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
GOT BAIT?
Live – Fresh – Frozen Baits
OPEN 7 DAYS
www.bayparkfishing.com
516.766.3110
Bay Park Fishing Station • 480A Rena Road, Oceanside, NY
SPORTSMAN’S OUTFITTER SINCE 1950
HEADQUARTERS FOR ALL
YOUR FISHING NEEDS
LARGEST SELECTION OF
FISHING TACKLE IN THE STATE!
3 GREAT LOCATIONS
Rt. 17 S. Ramsey
9-9:30 p.m., Sun. ‘til 6pm 201.327.8141
Roxbury Mall 281 Rt. 10 East, Succasunna
9-9:30, Sun. 10:00-6pm 973.584.7799
Rt. 17 N. Paramus
9-9:30 p.m., inc. Sat. 201.261.5000
www.ramseyoutdoor.com
4
NoreastSaltwater
A
By Sal Amendolia
[email protected]
BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!
dmittedly, it is getting more difficult each year for saltwater recreational
anglers to keep their chins up. When you see the barrage of fishery
reductions and fishing regulation uncertainties, it makes you wonder
what the heck is happening to the recreational fishing industry. With the
shortened or eliminated seasons, increased size limits, reduced bag limits, all
mandated by seemingly inept fisheries management using inaccurate and
flawed data, it is a wonder that any of us, who love to fish, can sleep at night.
If you put yourselves in the shoes of the people who depend on recreational
fishing for their livelihood, it is even more of a wonder how they keep their
businesses going. Bait and tackle shops, party and charter boats, fishing
equipment manufacturers, boat and boating equipment manufacturers, fishing publications, hotels, restaurants, et al, nobody is left unscathed. Read on
and I’ll tell you a few ways that recreational anglers can help to improve this
situation, no matter what adversities we may face.
Years ago, fishing was a simple sport and whenever you felt like catching
some fish, there were seasons open for lots of species that you could fish for.
Today, you must thoroughly check the fishing regulations to ensure that there
is “one” fishing season open for you to enjoy since what we can fish for is so
limited, especially in the winter. I’m sure we are all perplexed as to why the
sport we love is undergoing such massive and unexplainable attacks from our
current fishery regulators when the recreational fishing industry brings in millions of dollars in government revenue and provides thousands of much needed jobs. One way we can try and improve this horrible situation is to take a
look at how and why the very people who make the decisions that are hurting
the industry get where they are in the first place. We need to take every
opportunity to change it whenever we can by whatever method presents
itself. In some cases, we can make these changes at the voting booth every
couple of years, so make sure you do your research well and in 2012, vote for
whoever supports common sense fisheries management and your right to
legally fish wherever you choose.
Another thing you can do is observe and abide by current fishing seasons
and regulations no matter how harsh or unfair they may seem and report any
violators who blatantly ignore them. These violators are stealing “your” fish
and causing much of the problem, it is that plain and simple. To report these
poachers, contact the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) via
their 24/7 fast response number at 877-457-5680. If you have a problem justifying what I am suggesting, ask yourself if those of us who obey fishing regulations are impacted by those who do not. The answer is that we clearly are and
most recently, the 2012 tightened blackfish regulations support this. I believe
that if we can police ourselves and help the DEC eliminate, or at least reduce,
the number of violators taking untold amounts of illegally harvested or undersized fish, ultimately, those of us who obey the existing laws are bound to
benefit.
I wish you all a wonderful, healthy and prosperous 2012 and some great
fishing as well.
Sal Amendolia
Editor-in-Chief
WINTER 2012
Check out our website at www.vikingfleet.com
for our complete fall schedule.
2011/2012 WINTER
LOCAL COD TRIPS
Sailing DAILY in Jan, Feb, and March!
Departure Time: 3am
Return Time: 3pm
Fare: $120 per adult, $70 per child
Bait: supplied free of charge
2012 ULTRA LIMITED
LOCAL COD SPECIALS
Sailing: Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun during the months of January, February and March
Departure Time: 1am
Return Time: 3pm
Fare: $170 per adult, $90 per child
Bait: supplied free of charge
In celebration of our 75 Years of Fishing and as a gesture of
appreciation for our loyal Viking Cod Fishermen, we are offering
a special Viking Cod Loyalty Rewards Program; sail on five
Viking Local Cod Trips and your sixth trip is free.
www.noreast.com
5
OYSTER BAY
MARINE SUPPLY
Salt Lines
DISCUSSIONS FROM NOREAST.COM
www.noreast.com/discussion
FOR ALL OF YOUR BOATING NEEDS!
RAIN GEAR
P300
HIGHLINER
JACKET
W/HOOD
P400
HIGHLINER
REVERSIBLE
BIB PANT
$74.95 EACH $139.95 PER SET
Colors: Green, Yellow
Sizes: Sm, Med, Large, XLarge, XXLarge,
*XXXLarge, *XXXXLarge *add $9 per piece
RAIN GEAR
BRIGG 40
HOODED
JACKET
HERCULES 16
REVERSIBLE
BIB PANT
$88.95 EACH $169.95 PER SET
Colors: Orange, Green
Sizes: Sm, Med, Large, XLarge, XXLarge,
*XXXLarge, *XXXXLarge *add $15 per piece
SALE ENDS 2/29/12
294 SOUTH STREET, OYSTER BAY
516.922.8010
WINTER HOURS: TUES. – SAT. 9:30AM-5:30PM
6
NoreastSaltwater
HERRING DODGER
fine with 5 or 6. I also use a small diamond jig on the bottom. If you are
afraid of getting snagged on the bottom take the hook off the jig.
crabman1130
member
People do it all sorts of ways. I like to
just attach it to the barrel swivel with
a split ring. It has good action when
jigging.
likeitreallyis
member
I made my dodgers from thin aluminum sheet metal. Try attaching the
dodger on only one side, let it “flutter” up and down. Out of boredom I
tied my own herring rigs to match the
small spearing they are feeding on
(still). Don’t jig like you’re bluefishing.
Very slow up and down, barely moving. Think like a shrimp or cold bait
very slow.
Casting out with the dodger will also
bring them in closer to your dock so
cast out once in awhile. I use a 2-oz
flukeball with a Hopkins attached with
the hook removed for the weight.
Also if you’re using that glow stick,
attach a hook as close to possible to it
as they will hit the glow stick. Push the
tube over the loop and get the hook
on the bottom of it.
likeitreallyis
member
I was hoping someone could post the
proper way of rigging a Herring
Dodger.
mm46
member
Did some herring fishing last night and
got out fished by everyone around me
(this has to be more frustrating than
being skunked). People were loading
up around me and I caught only 2.
Thought I had the perfect rig, glow in
the dark sabiki rig, Luhr Jensen herring dodger and even a little glow
stick at the bottom. Doing the regular
jigging motion that everyone else was
doing and that has worked for me in
the past. I think my problem might
have been that I tied my main line to
the top of the dodger, and then tied
the sabiki to the bottom of the
dodger, all inline. But I see likeitreallyis does it differently. I’ll have to give
that a try. And most guys had dodgers
that looked like heavy duty foil with a
kind of rainbow shimmer to them.
Perhaps the foil dodgers work better
than the metal kind because of less
water resistance? Anyone know
where can I find the foil dodgers?
acrylic
member
I use an old pie tin or tin from takeout.
I cut it into a fish shape, fold the very
top over and punch a small hole in it.
I attach it to the top like Bob does. I
don’t think you need 15 hooks. I do
Location of where you were is important. Some of these guys been fishing
the same spots and some spots catch
more fish. Get there early and try to
get as close as you can to the spot that
was catching the most. Also the small
sabiki rigs, I think #2, with a little
white flash seemed to be working the
best.
We use the bottom of any tin pan cut
it out add it to the top of rig like
likeitreallyis did. Have 2-oz lead on
bottom. Sometimes very slow lift
works best, sometimes fast. Slow and
easy always works for me.
stpaul7
member
WINTER 2012
ISLAND CURRENT FLEET
All Caught on the
Island Current!
WINTER CODFISH
3AM Snug Harbor, RI
Open Boat
January Thru April
Winter Location: Snug Harbor Marina
PRIVATE CODFISH CHARTERS
6 to 20
Passengers &
Limited Load Trips!
Book tickets in advance by calling ZERVE at
212.209.3370. Visit our website at
www.islandcurrent.com.
Call Capt Chris at 917.417.7557.
NOW BOOKING FOR 2012
PRIVATE CHARTERS AVAILABLE OUT OF
CITY ISLAND, NY ON ALL FOUR BOATS DAY OR NIGHT
ISLAND CURRENT ............................(21 Passenger)
ISLAND CURRENT II ........................(49 Passenger)
ISLAND CURRENT IV ........................(75 Passenger)
ISLAND CURRENT III ........................(110 Passenger)
CALL CAPTAIN CHRIS AT 917.417.7557 OR VISIT WWW.ISLANDCURRENT.COM
www.noreast.com
NoreastSaltwater
7
For Your Information
IMPORTANT NEWS ON THE FISHING FRONT
www.noreast.com/fyi.cfm
PENN • SHIMANO • SEEKER & MORE
• OPEN 7 DAYS •
• FRESH BUNKER & ICE •
NEW YORK SPORTFISHING
FEDERATION FORUM & AUCTION
New Renovated & Expanded
Call us to Register
GUNS/CAMPING/AIRGUNS/ARCHERY
516.678.5554
434 Sunrise Hwy., Rockville Centre • Open 7 Days
The Annual New York Sportfishing
Federation Forum & Auction will be
held at the Freeport Recreation
Center on February 17, 18 & 19. Now
in its 30th year, the Freeport Show is
the “can’t miss” sportfishing event of
the year for New York. Celebrate over
30 years as the collective voice of the
marine sportfishing district at the
30th Annual “Freeport Show.” Doors
open from 2p-6p on February 17th,
8a-6p on February 18th and 9a-2:30p
on February 19th (followed by the
annual auction on Sunday afternoon;
open to the public). Admission is $10,
$8 for kids and seniors, and children
under 12 are free. Location is 130 E.
Merrick Road in Freeport, less than
half a mile west of Exit M9W off the
Meadowbrook. Noreast will have a
booth at this show. Be sure to check in
at the Noreast booth to be entered
into a special drawing for Noreast
members. For more info visit
www.nysf.org
ASA EASTERN & OUTDOOR SHOW
SCHEDULES
631.594.3069
8
NoreastSaltwater
The Eastern Fishing & Outdoor
Exposition in Worcester, MA is
February 10-12, 2012. The Greater
Philadelphia Outdoor Sportshow in
Oaks, PA is February 16-19, 2012. The
World Fishing & Outdoor Exposition
in Suffern, NY is March 1-4, 2012. The
Saltwater Fishing Expo in Somerset,
NJ is March 16-18, 2012. Noreast will
have a booth at the Somerset Show
so please stop by and say hello. In
addition, Noreast members that check
in will be entered into a special drawing. So don’t forget to stop by. For
more information on these shows
please visit www.sportshows.com
9TH ANNUAL NEW ENGLAND
SALTWATER FISHING SHOW
The New England Saltwater Fishing
Show produced by the Rhode Island
Saltwater Angler’s Association will be
held at the Rhode Island Convention
Center in Providence, RI March 9-11
2012. The show will feature tackle,
rod, reel, lure, electronic and guide
vendors. Sunday is family day when all
women and children under the age of
12 get free admission. There will be
non-stop free seminars and a kids
zone with fishing games and a casting
area. Please visit the Noreast sister
site Stripers247.com at their booth
and all members who check in will be
entered into a special drawing. For
more info visit nesaltwatershow.com
CANYON RUNNER 2012
TUNA/SWORDFISH/MARLIN/SHARK
SEMINAR SERIES
This excellent offshore seminar series
will be held at the Hilton Long Island,
598 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, NY.
The seminar will feature topics that
include tracking and finding Big-Eye
and big fish, advanced rigging, tournament winning shark tactics, vertical
jigging, and much more. Learn all you
need to know for sword fishing, tuna
chunking, and experience a Play-ByPlay video training session. For more
info visit www.canyonrunner.com
LONG ISLAND BOAT SHOW
The Long Island Boat Show is February
10th-12th at Nassau Coliseum. Check
out the latest boats and speak to several vendors for all your boating
needs. From marinas, to marine electronics, everything you need to get on
the water will be at this show. Visit
www.nyboatshows.com for more info.
WINTER 2012
• Bulk Ice
• Transients Welcome
• Live Eels
• Inshore/Offshore Baits
• Fully Stocked Tackle Shop
-+,(& -$%, .
'+) , # *, * ( ,
!(* -) ,(
'"% *+
Clam & Chowder House
Fully-Equipped • Latest Electronics • Full Walkaround Deck
Roomy Cockpit • Heated Cabin • Bait & Tackle Provided
Complete Booking Service for 16 of Montauk’s
Most Experienced Charter Boats!
PRIVATE CHARTERS and OPEN BOAT by reservation (limited trips)
Outdoor Patio/Bar • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner
All inshore species in season
20+ yrs. experience fishing local waters &
member of North Fork Captains Association
CALL NOW FOR PRIME DATES
Located at the
South End of
Montauk Harbor
on West Lake Drive
Captain Phil Kess 516-316-6967
Call Chris, Tanya & Ed • 631.668.5600
WWW.WESTLAKE-MARINA.COM
WWW.FISHYBUSINESSCHARTERS.NET
BLUE FIN IV
Now Catching COD
"
!
"
"
Captain Michael Potts • 631.668.9323
"
• 2nd Generation Business. Over 65 Years in Montauk.
$$$ ! #
" !
• Full and Split Charters Available
• Heated Cabin — Roomy Cockpit
www.bluefiniv.com • [email protected]
www.noreast.com
NoreastSaltwater
9
Salt On The Fly
ADVICE & INFORMATION FROM OUR FLY FISHING EDITOR
S
MARINE, BOAT & YACHT INSURANCE
• Very Competitive Rates
• All Major Carriers
• All Major Lines
• Serving L.I. Boaters For 24 Years
• Deal With U.S.C.G.
Lic. Capt./Boat Owner
631.744.1200
631.744.4243
www.shorelineins.com
RANGE EXTENSION TANKS
Safe &
Convenient
GO
FARTHER!
®
RAMSEY, NEW JERSEY
TOLL
FREE:
TEL:
BOATBLADDERS.com
[email protected]
10
NoreastSaltwater
®
By Anthony Alessi
www.noreast.com/saltonthefly.cfm
SEASONAL FRIEND
ome friends are only around at
certain times. We might,
sometimes, refer to such
friends as “fair weather” friends and,
admittedly, this label has negative
connotations. It describes people who
act like your friend only when the
road is smooth and seem to vanish
when the going gets tough. I had a
friend long ago who was only around
at certain times, though I would never
describe him as a fair weather friend.
His appearances did coincide with the
weather, however, or to be more
accurate, the change of seasons. This
was for good reason and we were
both very much in agreement over
the arrangement. Joel was a fishing
nut, you see, and, like me, would
come out of the woodwork at just the
right time each spring and fall to be
present for the beginning of the all
important run of striped bass, bluefish
and, of course, the elusive weakfish.I
met Joel one night during the spring
back in the early eighties while I was
fishing along the break wall on
Caesars’s Bay in Brooklyn. I was targeting weakfish which was a species
that had eluded me to that date. I didn’t have a boat or much knowledge
about where to target these fish from
the shore but armed with a ten foot
surf rod and a few plugs I was confident that I would wear down the
obstacles between me and my quarry
eventually, maybe not that night, but
eventually. Of this I was certain.
As I was flailing the water with cast
after unanswered cast late that night,
a bicyclist stopped and started asking
me the usual questions: “Catch anything?” …”What are you trying for?”. I
was annoyed at first as I usually am
when approached in such a manner
by un-ordained bystanders while fish-
ing. I became even more annoyed as
this particular fellow began to profess
that he was catching great quantities
of very large weakfish regularly lately
and went on to tell me stories that I
found much too hard to believe about
filling garbage pails with fish that
weighed as much as sixteen pounds.
After all, I thought of myself as a pretty good fisherman, a misgiving of
youth, and had yet to land my first of
these elusive tide runners. When I
finally had enough of this stranger’s
malarkey, I pretty much told him so
and was very surprised when he
responded calmly with an on the spot
invitation to join him that very night
on his boat for a sampling of this spectacular fishing. Joel explained that it
would be necessary for me to load his
bicycle into the back of my car and
take him to his house first so he could
gather up his equipment and his outboard engine before going to his boat.
It was already after 10pm and I was
feeling skeptical not only of his selfproclaimed fishing prowess but of his
intentions as well. I did what came
naturally after weighing the situation
carefully…his preposterous stories of
goliath weakfish, the fact that he was
an odd sort and a stranger, the time of
night, the pathetic description of a
tiny wooden sailboat powered by an
old 9 horsepower outboard…I accepted his invitation. There was a chance,
after all, that he wasn’t going to kill
me and dump my body in the bay and
that we might actually catch weakfish.
We did catch weakfish that
night…big weakfish. I took home a 14pound fish and it was one of six fish
we caught in just a few hours that
night. I had changed my mind about
Joel. He was a diehard fisherman by
all measures and a good one too. We
WINTER 2012
fished for weakfish from his boat regularly that spring. Joel spent his summers in upstate New York counseling
at a summer camp for kids so when
spring was over I continued to target
those big weakfish from the rocky
shoreline
behind
Kingsboro
Community College by myself with
some success. I was surprised when
Joel called late that summer to ask if I
was ready to get back out there for
the fall run on his boat. We fished at
least 3 or 4 nights a week from his
dory and caught many big weakfish
and bluefish right into late November
that season.
In December we switched over to
targeting big winter flounder towards
the mouth of the inlet. I remember
when he called me that December to
say that he heard big flounder were to
be had out by the Round House area
but that his outboard was busted and
we would need to put up the mast
and sail out there to fish. Joel asked if
I knew how to sail. I told him I had
never been sailing before. He
explained that maybe it wasn’t such a
great idea since it was going to be
windy and rough that day and he
would need me to handle certain
aspects of the boat. The lure of big
flounder was too much for either of us
though and I found myself out there
in a one piece orange hunting suit
that I wore to try and keep warm and
heavy boots with my feet up on the
starboard gunnels gripping the port
side gunnels with cold, wet, white
knuckled hands wondering what I was
doing out there.
The boat would lean hard to starboard as we tacked our way back in
and I remember watching the one
flounder we caught swimming around
the deck as the old wooden boat took
on water and the bucket that the fish
was sitting in was knocked over. I was
glad to be able to unclench my teeth
when we finally pulled into the slip
that day.
I didn’t hear from Joel the rest of
that winter. Then, in early spring, the
phone rang and a voice said “Are you
ready?” I replied “Let’s go”. Joel’s outboard was fixed and another spring
season of chasing big weakfish began
that night. Joel and I fished together
on his boat each spring and fall for the
next 4 or 5 years. It was always the
same. We never even spoke during
summer and winter but each spring
and fall at the same time as my
thoughts would turn to fishing, Joel
would call and we would be back out
there night after night catching more
weakfish and bluefish than I thought
anyone else could possibly have at the
time. I’m sure if there were any
striped bass to be had we would have
been slaughtering them as well, but
these were the days after the collapse
of that fishery.
Many nights of great fishing on
Jamaica Bay and some fishless ones
too along with a mutual recognition
that we were fanatical about fishing,
fostered a great friendship. Then for
whatever reasons we lost touch. It’s
been 30 years since. I know the weakfish have made a comeback in Jamaica
Bay over the last few years. I hope Joel
is still fishing more than anyone has a
right to somewhere.
1(
:
www.noreast.com
NoreastSaltwater
11
Surf Side
ADVICE ROM OUR SURF FISHING EDITOR
WWW.MJ2FISHING.COM
Full Day Bottom Fishing
7am-3pm
Night Striped Bass
7pm - Midnight
• Up to 6 passengers
• By Reservation
• Full Day and Half Day Fishing
• Private Charters &
Open Boat Available
917.650.3212 ❘ 917.560.8224
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn • marilynjeancharters.com
LAURA LEE
COD FISHING
4EVERYamSAT.,FULL
DAY
SUN. & HOLIDAY
FINEST BAIT, TACKLE & RODS INCLUDED
REGULAR CUSTOMER DISCOUNT
LEFT SIDE OF DOCK
• Call to confirm sailings
• Reservations Suggested
www.captree.com
631.661.1867 • 631.669.3937
631.848.0216
12
NoreastSaltwater
By John Skinner
www.noreast.com/surfside.cfm
Not The Fall Run
We Were Expecting
Wow, some fall run, huh? For many, it
might as well have ended on the
October 29th Nor’easter that brought
snow to western Long Island and
stinging sleet to the East End. To
make matters worse, the fishing wasn’t exactly red hot prior to the storm
either. October had its moments, but
almost all of the good action took
place in the dark
near the inlets.
The North Shore?
It’s incredible to be
out on the North
Fork in a strong
onshore wind in
October or early
November and not
see any gulls working. Up until a few
years ago there
were clouds of
birds in the sky,
and some anglers
complained that
the plentiful bluefish made it hard
to get at the bass.
Two years ago I
landed 74 albies from the beach on
the North Shore. I thought 2010 was
bad because I landed only 26. In 2011
I had a total of three hits and never
landed a single one – and I tried hard.
So what’s going on? I don’t claim to
know, but I have some ideas. Let’s
start with the bass.
As the fall passed us by and the
beaches remained quiet until the season’s clock began running out, many
began to sound alarms that the
striper stocks are in serious trouble.
“There’s no fish. Something needs to
be done!” Statements to that effect.
How short our memories are. Last
year we saw days where the fish
schools stretched from the shore to
miles out and as far as you could see
east and west. There was an exceptionally calm late October 2010 day
where I took my kayak out about a
mile off the beach to play with the
fish schools. There were times on that
trip when I felt as though the ocean
was filled with bass. Not only were
there fish under the birds, my
fishfinder
kept
lighting up in areas
where nothing was
showing. When I’d
drop a diamond jig
on
these
big
blotches it couldn’t
even get to the
bottom. When I
mentioned this to a
frustrated angler
on the beach this
fall the response
was “The netters
caught them all
down south last
winter.” I doubt it.
If you fished the
New Jersey beaches this November,
it’s doubtful you perceived any shortage of bass. What we had in the fall of
2010, they had in the fall of 2011. So
did all of the fish just bypass us at the
end of October? Certainly not from
the perspective of Rhode Island surf
anglers who enjoyed a phenomenal
run of bass and blues feeding on herring in mid- to late-November. It’s all
about perception. If you’re where the
fish are, they can seem to be in great
abundance, if you’re where they’re
not, they can seem extinct. The fish
simply took a deep route past Long
Island last fall resulting in about the
most dismal fall run anyone can
remember. I heard numerous stories
of netters doing very well in about 90
WINTER 2012
feet of water while the anglers on the
beaches starved. A friend who was
fishing 180 feet of water more than
20 miles off the beach in early
November reported catching numerous 5-pound blues on clams on the
bottom. Those were the fish that
should have been driving bait into the
wash. Which brings up the next item
– baitfish.
This past fall, Jersey got the sandeels
that Long Island had in 2009 and
2010, and those were the baitfish
that fueled most of the November
fishing all three years. Peanut
bunker? The last time I saw decent
schools on the North Shore was 2007,
and even those didn’t fuel the type of
fall fishing they usually did because
there just didn’t seem to be enough
bluefish around to drive them. I’ve
always felt that bluefish are important to beach fishing because the
bass are often just not aggressive
enough to drive the bait to the shore.
They seem to do fine without chasing
bait schools because they eat just
about everything and do a good job
of staying fed on crabs, porgies, fluke,
flounder, lizard fish, and so forth.
So there’s no peanut bunker, the
sandeels went south, the herring
were north, and we were stuck in the
middle out of casting range of the
migration route. There’s one other
thing I want to throw out there –
Hurricane Irene and her effect on
water quality. As we all saw on the
news, Irene caused flooding of historic proportions in upstate NY and
Connecticut. The Hudson River and
rivers on the Connecticut side of the
Sound dumped a tremendous
amount of freshwater and silt into
our coastal waters. The Sound was
brown and full of debris for weeks
after the storm, and the water never
cleared completely until early
November. I’m convinced this hurt
the Sound’s false albacore run, and
suspect it had other negative impacts
on our fishery as well.
Make no mistake; my impression is
that stripers are nowhere near as
abundant as they were 10 to 15 years
ago. I found it much easier back then
to put up good numbers every night
as compared to the last several years.
www.noreast.com
What bothers me about this is that I
know I’ve learned a few things since
then that should have increased my
numbers. I often think, “If I knew then
what I know now…” My same impression applies to bluefish. There’s no
way that I think they’re as plentiful
now as 10 to 15 years ago. But now
I’m falling into the trap that I alluded
to earlier – judging the stock from my
experience in a relatively limited area.
While some may debate its accuracy, the most comprehensive data we
have comes from the Atlantic States
Marine
Fisheries
Commission
(ASMFC) stock assessments. When I
look at the abundance plots of both
striped bass and bluefish my honest
reaction is “I suck”. I must be old, stupid, and/or lazy. For me, the very best
years were between 1997 and 2001.
When I look at the abundance plot for
striped bass older than 8 years
(around 15 pounds) it shows greater
abundance these last few years than
in the period around 2000. Even more
surprising for me is that it shows the
bluefish abundance as about 40%
higher than that earlier period. I’m
not lazy. I have logs that show I’m not
fishing any less. Of course I’m older,
but smarter. The stock assessments
simply don’t correlate with my observations. In talking to other Long Island
anglers, I don’t know any who think
there are more fish now than a
decade ago. How could this be? One
possibility is that the assessments are
or were inaccurate. There’s no way for
me to know that. The other possibility
is simply distribution. Just like Jersey
surfcasters had a banner November
while Long Island surfcasters starved,
quality stripers are being caught with
ease in places other than where they
were caught 10 to 15 years ago. If you
troll the fishing Internet message
boards, you’ll see occasional evidence
of this from boat anglers up north
who report unprecedented catches of
big bass in waters where they never
had them before. It leaves open the
possibility that there are indeed a lot
of fish, just not where most of us
are fishing. Hopefully 2012 will bring
us much improved fishing that
will make us forget about the dismal
fall run of 2011.
SNOW
GOOSE II
WWW.SNOWGOOSE2.COM
•
•
Private Charters Also Available
203.255.4522
80’ - Cap 120
“The White and Green Fishing Machine”
COD FISHING
PAY ON BOARD
“Local Waters - Local Knowledge”
1.800.371.FISH
401.789.9250
www.sevenbs.com
Point Judith, RI
NoreastSaltwater
13
Tarpon Paradise
By Guy Elson
A
blurred alarm clock flashed
in my peripheral vision
warning that it was nearly
5am. I rolled into my clothes and
checked that everything that
should be, was in my bag for the
third time. Some quick goodbyes
and then I was out the door and
into a taxi. Boarding my plane at
Heathrow I arrived in Miami several films later. After pacing the
length of Miami Airport for another six hours I finally joined my connecting flight to Costa Rica. On the
decent into San Jose I could see a
sparse scattering of lights twinkling through the forest canopy
and clouds pouring out of the volcanic craters that surround San
Jose. Another short taxi ride from
14
NoreastSaltwater
the airport and I arrived at the
Casa Ridgeway, the Quaker peace
centre in downtown San Jose
where I was to spend the night. I
had been awake for 23 hours by
this point and promptly passed
out.
The next day I spent walking
around San Jose buying last
minute supplies like Deet and sunscreen. That evening I traveled
back out to the airport to pick up
our camera man Andrew. I was full
of nervous energy as the reality of
the trip set in. The following morning we boarded the chicken bus to
Guapiles and Cariari, the two last
outposts of civilization before you
reach the jungle. After bribing the
bus driver to secure our equip-
ment from potential thieves during the trip we disembarked at
Guapiles to be thankfully met by
the lodge owner Memo, who happened to be in town picking up
supplies.
The unpaved road from Guapiles
to the port at Zapote was akin to
riding on a washing machine during full spin cycle but the scenery
was breathtaking. Giant figs that
nested in dense jungle now stood
as solitary reminders as the wilderness had retreated either side of
the road for ranch land. A snake
crossing the road in front of us
reared 5 feet into the air striking at
a passing car before slithering back
into the undergrowth. The air was
heavy and a breeze was rapidly
WINTER 2012
DEBORAH ANN IV
FISHING CHARTERS
OVER 30 YEARS FISHING LONG ISLAND SOUND
CAPT. BRYAN H. HOCKING
36’ Harris Sportfish
CUSTOM SPORTFISHING CHARTERS
Captain Dick and Rick Bellavance
Bring your lunch, Catch your dinner.
Rhode Island Sound
All Bait & Tackle Provided
401.741.5648
Stripers • Fluke • Sea Bass • Cod • Mahi • Shark • Tuna
www.priorityfishingcharters.com
building. The daylight was banished
behind a tidal wave of apocalyptic
electric mauve clouds as we arrived in
Zapote. Local fishermen were swiftly
offloading their catch of prawns as we
loaded our lancha. Slowly motoring
through the dense jungle on a river
hardly twice the width of the boat,
the wildlife began to reveal itself.
Firstly monkeys and a myriad of wild
fowl followed by glimpses of river
crocodiles and the occasional manatee as we joined the main river. As the
embers of our first Caribbean sunset
began to fall, we silently drifted into
the Barra Del Colorado which would
be our camp for the next 6 days.
Day One
We rose at 4.30am, had some coffee and made for our boat. Our guide,
who was conveniently nicknamed
Cap, (as in captain) was waiting for us
and we motored out to the river
mouth. Running the boat up the
beach we strolled along the surf line
casting for snook, but to no avail. Plan
www.noreast.com
WWW.DEBANNFISHING.COM
B was rapidly put into play and we
jumped back into the boat and
motored out over the bar of the river
into the ocean. Here we released our
bucktail jigs (essentially a large fly
with a weighted head) and drifted out
into the ocean. Soon the local boats
that we had met the previous day
unloading prawns at Zapote arrived in
unison and we were able to score
some fresh fish as bait. The hot bait
was an odd slender silvery fish called
a machete, with a pair of fangs
Dracula would be proud of. Without
further delay we deployed our baits
and immediately jumped a tarpon. I
say jumped rather than hooked
because about 90% of our takes
resulted in the lures glancing off the
tarpon’s seemingly hook-proof mouth
and indignantly being spat out on the
first jump.
By lunchtime I had jumped well in
excess of 500 pounds of tarpon and
without a solid hookup. My only consolation was Cap had also failed to
hook any either... we headed in for
• 203.792.2277
lunch. Round two proved very similar
to the morning’s antics with 5 tarpon
jumped and no hookup. As the day
drew to an end, both rods bent double and the drags hummed as the line
paid out. “Hit it... hit it again”. Cap
spoke little English but was very clear
about striking into fish. No jump....
what does that mean? Well, you can
be certain that it’s not a tarpon. Ten
minutes later a pair of beautiful 15
and 20-pound golden jacks came boat
side to conclude our first day fishing
at the Barra.
Day Two
I decided to up the anti a little the
following day by arranging to meet
our guide at 4am to try for snook from
the shore again. Blurry eyed we
chugged off to the beach where we
were met by a sunrise you will only
see in the tropics, the horizon was
ablaze. We spooked a couple of huge
tarpon in the surf but still no snook so
we returned to the bar. No sooner had
we wet our lines, we jumped a tarpon,
NoreastSaltwater
15
LEFT: We had a really good shot of
mackerel this year and Stan was sure
to get in on the action while fishing
aboard the Ocean Eagle.
BOTTOM LEFT: We know . . . it’s not
bass season. Someone should have
told this one that took Chris’s clam
bait aimed at a cod.
BELOW: After a slow start the cod bite
has been steadily picking up. This
nice brace of cod was taken on a
recent trip aboard the Montaukbased Viking Fleet.
16
WINTER 2012
TOP RIGHT: Fares aboard the Island
Current have also been getting in on
the recent cod action out of Rhode
Island. Dave took hig-hoook honors
on this day, posing here with his two
largest.
MIDDLE RIGHT: Now there’s a nice one
for the table! Alonzo did a number on
cod on a recent excursion on the
Hampton Lady. This was his largest
on the day.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Christmas came
early for Gene Pitero, hooking up
with this NYS Record Blackfish of
21.6-pounds! Gene was fishing on
the No-Time, skippered by none
other than Captain Nick Savene.
Congratulations guys!
BOTTOM LEFT: These fish were part of
a “last drop bail job” on the Captree
Princess out of Montauk. There were
over 100 keepers for 14 anglers on
this trip.
17
OUT OF NIANTIC, CT
WE’RE GETTING READY
FOR THE 2012
FISHING SEASON!
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Be sure to check our website often for
special winter events, contests,
and FREE trips!
BLOCK ISLAND COD
NEVER CROWDED,
40 PASSENGER LIMIT
800.382.2824
COD TRIPS BY
RESERVATION ONLY
Saturdays (Sunday Weather Date)
www.BlackHawkSportfishing.com
[email protected]
then another and another. By
lunchtime between my guide and
myself, we had jumped nine tarpon
and faithfully each one had thrown
the hook. I was perplexed, our camera
man was sunburned like a barbecued
chicken breast and we were all famished so we headed in for lunch.
For the afternoon I decided to
change tactics, no more sitting waiting for the takes, I would stand ready
to strike. As we reached our mark, I
cast my lure and assumed the position. I felt a tug and replied with a
whiplash inducing strike. A small,
rather shocked barracuda, came flying
to the surface. Another barracuda and
two catfish later and it felt very much
like the tarpon knew I had adopted a
new approach and had taken precautionary measures. A sudden thud and
the ratchet on my reel screamed as I
set the hook, but no jump! Ten minutes later a large triple tail of 12
pounds was released and a smile
returned to my face. My rod was
almost wrenched from my grip on the
next take as a large tarpon launched
18
NoreastSaltwater
860.535.2066
❘
www.helcat.com
From Hel-Cat Dock at 181 Thames St., Groton, CT
skyward in slow motion. I hit it several times until I was sure the hook was
set. Forty-five minutes later a pristine
silver king of 90 pounds was hauled
into the boat for a photo. After
returning the fish I looked like Peter
Venkman from the film Ghost Buster
after he had been slimed, but I couldn’t be happier.
As I sat down to recuperate my rod
jumped into action again. I set the
hook and a monster tarpon jumped to
our port side. This was a big fish and
an hour-long arm-wrestling match
ensued resulting in us boating a 130pound monster. I was spent but you
couldn’t wipe the grin from my face all
evening.
That evening Memo, the lodge
owner, told me that 15 years ago if
you hooked a tarpon in the Barra you
would only ever get in the head due to
the sheer number of sharks that once
were found here.
Unfortunately, the Chinese demand
for shark fin soup had seen the Barra
become almost devoid of all species
of shark.
Day Three
In contrast to the previous day, the
fishing was quite slow. After jumping
two tarpon in the morning we ventured offshore in search of pelagic
species. As we reached the drop off,
some big yellowfin tuna broke the surface but they seemed unfocused and
almost immediately dispersed. After
an hour’s troll with no takes we headed in. For the afternoon session, I
decided to unpack the fly rod. Over
lunch I was lucky enough to meet with
the Barra’s top fly fishing guide who
tied me some flies and gave me some
pointers, “Strip, strike and hit it again
and again, when he jumps, bow to the
king”.
Armed with this newfound knowledge we headed back out. One cast
and then we let the river do the work
as we drifted out to sea. Suddenly my
fly-line tore north through the water
column as a 60-pound plus tarpon
tail-walked eighty feet from the boat.
I was ecstatic as I set the hook and
began to regain some line.... but
something was wrong. I looked down
WINTER 2012
www.noreast.com
NoreastSaltwater
19
OPEN 7 DAYS
CALL FOR CURRENT HOURS
LEGENDARY ANNUAL
CABIN FEVER
SALE
FEB. 17 – FEB. 26, 2012
*IN-STORE ITEMS 10% TO 30% OFF
www.causewaybaitandtackle.com
516.785.3223
3031 Merrick Road, Wantagh, NY 11793
*CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS APPLY, CALL FOR DETAILS. 516.785.3223.
OFFER NOT VALID ON INTERNET SALES/ITEMS.
NO DISCOUNTS CAN BE COMBINED
L.I. SOUND & SKINNY WATER
FISHING ADVENTURES
Ralph's Fishing Station
Mt. Sinai Harbor
2007 Grady White Gulf Stream
1 to 4 Passengers
Families Welcome
Full/Half Day Charters
Reservations Suggested
Luv2fishcharters.com
631.736.0470 ❘ 516.635.9456
Ralph’s Fishing Station • Mt. Sinai Harbor
20
NoreastSaltwater
finding to my horror that the reel’s
backing had wrapped around the
metal spindle of the handle. A frantic
de-knotting session ensued but it was
too late. The tarpon embarked upon
another series of jumps, while my reel
was jammed. The dreaded crack of my
leader echoed across the river mouth
and my heart sank. We fished into the
evening missing another tarpon on
the fly rod as I was reeling in to pack
up. I guess that day, it just wasn’t
meant to be!
Day Four
Following my defeat on the fly rod,
I decided to return to my spinning
outfit. It seemed everyone was in
agreement that one ounce 7/0 white
bucktails were the lure of choice for
tarpon here; however the previous
day I had been using essentially black
colored flies with success. I decided to
throw caution to the wind and try a
bright red bucktail. At about ten
o’clock that morning I struck into a
freight train of a tarpon, over 7 foot in
length and intent on pulling me overboard. After the initial acrobatic routine (apparently common to all tarpon), I was then subjected to two
hours of being towed kilometer after
kilometer around the river mouth. We
did get it boat-side briefly but just shy
of reach from the gaff. Its strength
was phenomenal and showed no
signs of tiring at any stage during the
fight. Estimated at 190 to 200 pounds
in weight, my 30-pound line was barely able to contain this fish and as he
dragged us into open water, I lost the
advantage of being in shallows of the
river mouth. Five minutes later he
sounded deep and that was the last
we saw of him...bugger! We caught a
few more catfish and jumped another
four tarpon with the hook predictably
being spat out like a mustard sweet by
each fish. I limped back to the lodge,
tail between legs and with a sore arm
and wounded pride. The next day was
our last day and I had to regain some
face amongst my fellow fishermen.
Day Five
With fresh determination we headed out for our fifth and final day.
Plenty of tarpon were rolling as we
reached the river mouth which
installed a childish confidence in me.
We baited our jigs and began drifting.
The first pass produced a missed hit
but halfway through our second drift,
I connected with a very large angry
tarpon. He jumped one way and ran
the other but my determination was
resolute. After a brutal hour long bare
knuckle fight, the 110-pound silver
submarine succumbed and I collapsed
in a happy sweaty mess on the deck of
the boat. I needed a rest so we decided to head out offshore again to try
our luck. Rapalas in position, I began
to sit down only to find myself recoiling back up to strike one of the two
rods being attacked. Cap got his one
in first to unveil a sturdy 15-pound
blackfin tuna. Mine however was still
full of beans and took another ten
minutes before I landed a 20-pound
neon-colored blackfin. Returning
inland for lunch we gave the bar two
drifts. I missed another tarpon on the
fly and Andrew, our camera man, was
snapped off by a large jack.
Following lunch, I asked Cap about
fishing the lagoons for gapote and
snook. He was keen so we motored
slightly inland to a series of several
idyllic forested lagoons. We trolled a
small X-Rap Rapala and cast to overhanging bushes. A troop of monkeys
followed us inquisitively and toucans
called from the forest canopy. Out of
the blue, the small trolled Rapala tore
off but Cap, who was facing the wrong
way, only managed a tentative strike.
At last, a snook was clearly visible
through the glassy tannin stained
water thirty yards to our stern before
diving out of view, leaving our lure
hanging 3 feet under the water’s surface. Well, you can’t catch them all.
As the sun began its decent, we silently snaked through several more
lagoons soaking up the peaceful solitude of the oasis. That night we made
a fire on the beach and pan fried the
tuna while recounting our experiences from the week over a few
beers. There must only be a few
places in the world where you can
realistically jump in excess of 800
pounds of tarpon per day and we had
just experienced it.... this really was
tarpon paradise.
WINTER 2012
80’ OCEAN EAGLE
STELLA MARIS
BAIT & TACKLE
Complete Fishing Headquarters • Since 1947
COD • LING • 7AM
Fresh & Frozen Bait
Live Eels & Killies
Fresh Bunker Daily
Surf & Offshore Tackle
Block Ice
Reel Repair
Charts
Custom-Made Rods – Shakespeare Ugly Stik
CLEAN, COURTEOUS, COMFORTABLE
PIER 5 • SHEEPSHEAD BAY
Free Bait & Rods – Call for dates
718.646.9754
2702 Emmons Ave., Brooklyn • Open 7 Days 6am-7pm
www.stellamarisbaitshop.com
718.258.4126
Canyon Runner 2012
Tuna/Swordfish/Marlin/Shark
Seminar Series
FREE continental breakfast
FREE snacks & coffee • FREE BEER!!
$
%
%
! $
! $
www.tanaku.com
To order tickets call: 732-842-6825
Email: [email protected]
#"
"
"
Alaska’s Finest
Sport Fishing Resort!
GREAT FISHING • 5-STAR SERVICE
AWESOME CUISINE!
!
1(800) 482-6258
Visit our site for more details •
www.noreast.com
$
!
NoreastSaltwater
21
CODFISHING ON LONG ISLAND
The Art of Cold Weather Fishing
BY JOEY BUD RUSSO
Let us start at the beginning. Stuck in the den on a
wintery day is fine after the blackfish season is done,
but by the middle of January we start hearing mutterings of the cod run out of Montauk. The waters off
the southeast side of Block Island come alive with
market-sized cod and baseball-bat-sized ling. The lure
of my cooler being filled with 6 to 12- pound codfish
and a few ling to boot, or if i’m real lucky a tog is too
much to resist. Don’t laugh, even though we’re fishing
basically flat bottom with pebble like rocks dotting
the bottom, there is some structure, whether it be
lost dragger gear or some small pile of wreckage, we
do see an occasional white beard or two.
So are you ready to plan a cod fishing trip?
The easiest way to get in on this fishing action is to
22
NoreastSaltwater
take a trip on one of the head boats out of Montauk.
There are big ones, small ones, wooden and steel versions, with heated cabins and rails, bunks and tables
(where there is usually a good poker game going on).
Lots of the galleys have soups, coffee, soda, food, etc.
And the mates usually can sell you just about everything you’ll need, including all kinds of hooks, sinkers,
jigs, teasers, etc. For about 150 bucks or less, you can
get a reservation for a full day of codfishing which
should include your fare and the pool.
Don’t throw caution to the wind!
You must watch the weather and be very aware of
some important clues that will make your cod fishing
experience a good one. Hard wind out of the east and
south, most of us stay away from. It usually causes the
WINTER 2012
wave heights to increase greatly. The
moon phase is another factor. Full and
new moon tides produce fast moving
current. This in turn makes us have to
use heavy sinkers to hold bottom. It’s
like a domino effect, heavy sinker and
rod equals less feel for the bite. Pay
attention to the aforementioned and
you will have the ideal day, condition
wise.
What to use for bait?
The bait of choice out there is skimmer clam. But some prefer fresh
mackeral, herring, and sand eels.
We’ve found that “fresh” skimmer
work the best especially before first
light.
Let’s talk gear:
Most of the crew uses one heavy
and one or two lighter setups. The
baiting rods are usually rigged two
ways. The first being a 2-hook rig with
small pink teasers. The hooks are
placed 16 and 32 inches above the
sinker. Hook leader is about 10 to 12
inches from the main shock leader.
The other rig is a one hooker placed
about 24 inches above the sinker and
a pink jelly attached to the shank of
the 6/0 to 9/0 hook.
The jigging rod I prefer is a 7’6” old
school slow taper e-glass rod matched
with a 300 series Newell spooled with
50-lb. braid. I love the braid when it
comes to water over 100’. The thinner
diameter of the braid enables the
sinker to get down with speed; the
lack of stretch gives you a better hook
set, especially when using j hooks.
There is nothing like using a 7-foot
G.loomis with a saltist 20-2 speed,
with only 6 ozs. of lead and catching
12-pound cod. The light action allows
you to feel bottom quickly and
enables you to actually play the mono
leader like a yo-yo, feeling every touch
while you’re slacking and tightening
up on your line. The cast up tide and
roll back method works with this light
setup as well.
I don’t know exactly why, except
for the fact I do some great numbers
on the pink stuff and it works for us.
The powder coated pink jigs with a
gulp grub is our favorite combo. The
vikes, a close second and let’s not forwww.noreast.com
get the hammered diamond jigs. Like
with other types of fishing, “match
the hatch”, when it comes to the jigs
too. Sand eels have this pink hue coming from the bottom white belly,
maybe that’s the reason or maybe it’s
the squid, whatever it is, the color for
this January through March fishing
has been pink. I like the bare hook (no
teaser) rig before sun up.
Part of this whole experience is to
find your nitch in the tackle game. We
set –up and make our favorite rigs, go
crazy buying jigs and teasers and then
that day comes. There’s a guy next to
you slaying them on some other color
teaser, jig, or bait, a different setup.
And you’re back at square one. Now
don’t you just love it? All kidding
aside, for us it’s the idea of tying your
own rig. This way, if you do break off
or if you have a monster catch it’s due
to you and nobody else. Don’t
get me wrong, there are some great
store bought rigs out there. Mike at
Peace Token in Woodside, N.Y..
([email protected]) has the jellies and the rigs in all the
hot colors and Seawolfe tackle up in
New Hampshere ([email protected]) have some great cod and
blackfish rigs. Seawolf makes a great
powder coated jig in my favorite color
pink!!!!!!! Check out his codkilla
jig…it’s awesome. As far as our hooks
go, we use octopus 5/0 to 9/0 depending on the size of cod we’re catching.
The jellies are mainly curly tails and
squid types from 4-6” variety.
South shore wreck fishing.
So now that we’ve covered the
Block Island open bottom fishing, let’s
talk about the offshore wreck fishing
on long island’s south shore. With the
target water’s depths ranging from
120’ to 240’, the wreck angler is in a
class by himself. Long rides in rough
seas, long down time in between
drops, hangs, and the constant pecking of your bait by smaller wreck
dwellers are all the things the angler
must endure for his shot at a monster
cod. The smart angler will take advantage of these little bi-catch critters
and use them for bait. Many a cod has
fallen to a fillet of a cunner or a ling.
As a matter of fact, we have caught
30’ BLACKWATCH
Captain Mike
203.512.4280
T-MAN CUSTOM TACKLE:
Striper Tubes • Quick Change Keels
Trolling & Casting Spoons & More
Dealers welcome - see our website
FAST ONLINE DELIVERY • LIGHT TACKLE TROLLING SYSTEM
T-MAN FISHING CHARTERS:
Striped Bass • Bluefish
False Albacore • Blackfish • Scup
OFFERING UNIQUE LIGHT TACKLE
TROLLING INSTRUCTIONAL CHARTERS
Trips Launched from
Waterford/Niantic,
Connecticut
The “PatSea II”
Quiet & Comfortable
Sea Hunt Escape
www.tmancustomtackle.com
860.668.1302
NoreastSaltwater
23
BERNIE’S BAIT & TACKLE
• CUSTOM RODS BUILT •
• HUGE INVENTORY OF SURF LURES •
• FISHING LICENSES •
SERVICING LONG ISLAND
FOR OVER 80 YEARS
48’ EXPRESS SPORTFISHERMEN
INSHORE • OFFSHORE • CANYON
Full Line of Frozen Baits
Frozen Chum
Fresh Bunker • Live Shiners • Live Eels • All Frozen Bait
www.berniesfishing.com
718.646.7600
3035 Emmons Ave • 7 Days a Week
Freshwater Bait
Live Eels & Live Killies
Live & Fresh Baits
Rods & Reels
Fresh & Saltwater Tackle
Day and Night Trips
Inshore and Offshore Tackle
Exculsively Outfitted with
www.whitewatercharters.com
[email protected]
larger cod on such baits.
I’ll give you a tip while wreck fishing. Cut open the stomach on a few of
your cod.
See what they’re eating on the
wreck. Look not only at the species of
fish or crab, but the color and size. On
my most recent trip, I found fry ling in
the stomachs of many of the fish.
They had an orange glow to them. I
snelled a 5/0 hook with an 8” leader
and put a green bead to the hook, a 2”
piece of orange glow tubing and then
another bead, tied about 30 inches
from the sinker. The bait was a fillet of
a cunner (bergal). This was the
result… a 32- pound cod.
Keeping warm
The head is first. Well, I shave my
head bald (yeah, right). I wear one of
those mountain hats from Tibet.
Here’s a trick for you. Take one of your
old sweatshirts and cut the sleeves
off. I use them for a head sock under
my hat, it works great, along with 2
hooded sweats, an Under Armor
crewneck, and an Under Armor cold
24
NoreastSaltwater
631.584.5613
631.899.2950
534 North Country Road, St. James, NY 11780
243 East Montauk Hwy. • Hampton Bays, NY 11946
weather long-sleeve tee. The bottom
half has longjohns, Under Armor coldweather bottoms and a bibbed insulated Carhart pant. The feet have two
pairs of 20-below socks and a pair of
when fishing off the party boats out of
Montauk, or for that matter anywhere we go. Place yourself in a
happy and motivated state of mind.
Be friendly to the anglers on each side
of you. Be aware of what is catching
the fish. The color of the jig, the type
of bait or teaser, the size of weight or
jig, plays an important role in your
angling success. The crew and captain
play an important part in making your
day an enjoyable adventure. I myself
have worked the deck on many head
boats and find that a little kindness
and courtesy goes a long way. Mates
usually work very hard and depend on
the anglers for their tips and patronage. The cleaning of fish is also an
added service that’s not included in
your fare. I often ask the mates to
clean my fish and pay them accordingly. My rule of thumb is a buck or two
for each fish. All in all it’s a relatively
inexpensive day of enjoyment and by
taking care of business all around
you’ll see the difference these simple
rules of the road will make. Tight lines
for now.
“Place yourself in a happy and
motivated state of mind”.
vikes (love my vikes) boots or sometimes a short bass slip-on snow boot.
The most important item in staying
warm and functional, are my gloves. I
have a pair of clc workgloves (with the
finger tips cut off) and a pair of Atlas
Love vinyl gloves. The last few times
we went out, the weather was in the
20’s and I was all good. I even had to
take the Atlas gloves off a few times.
You see the key to enjoying this trip is
not only the fish, but the comfort and
enjoyment of the day out on the
water and at the rail. The last thing
you want, is to be warming up in the
cabin all day long.
Last but not least there are a few
more points I think are very important
WINTER 2012
Join the Party
BY CAPTAIN ZAC GROSSMAN
Readers of Nor’east Saltwater know them as
party boats, but in south Florida and the Keys
they’re called drift boats (although not all of
them actually drift (see below). Ask about a party
boat and you might be steered to one of the gambling ships, but for the readers of this article, I’ll
stick to the term you use most.
Coming down here to escape the ravages of
winter? How will you answer your friends when
they ask what you caught in the state most associated with salt water fishing in the country? The
party boat makes it easy to avoid an embarrassing answer to the question. Finding one is simple,
grab the Yellow Pages and turn to fishing. These
boats run out of every inlet and on the east coast
of Florida, the run is extremely short.
Those that actually drift are the vast majority,
north of the Keys. The proximity of the fishing
grounds (usually 1-3 miles from the beach) makes
it possible for them to run three trips a day;
morning, noon, and evening. If your schedule is
tight, a 4-5 hour trip would still allow you to go
fishing.
www.noreast.com
The goal of the captain is always to have everyone on board catch fish to take home, but that
doesn’t always happen so here is the best tip I
can give you (pardon the pun); tip first. When you
step aboard and get situated find out who the
mate or mates are. Hand over a good tip and say
“I’m not familiar with the techniques here and
don’t want to be a burden. Can you watch over
me and make sure I am doing the right thing?”
This investment should assure you the best of
the loaner equipment, if needed, the freshest of
bait, and the best advice as the mate now really
wants you to catch a mess of fish to clean and/or
win the pool. Even if you know your stuff, this
makes you special to the crew.
These boats tend to target fish in the upper
water column during the day looking for larger
gamefish and the bottom at night for snapper
and grouper (these two are much better in the
Keys). During the day, the most favorite target is
the kingfish, a long and sleek member of the tuna
family with after burner speed and a mouth full
of teeth. They can grow pretty large too.
NoreastSaltwater
25
CAPT. JAMES MONTALBANO
www.montymanfishing.com
631.363.2020
Orient Point, NY
OPEN 7 DAYS • 6AM-6PM
Breakfast Specials • Homemade Salads
Hot & Cold Sandwiches
BOAT RENTALS ON
PECONIC RIVER
LARGEMOUTH BASS
& PICKEREL
FRESH & SALTWATER
FISHING TACKLE & BAIT
Nita & George Devlin
631.727.4291
1315 W. Main (Rt. 25), Riverhead, NY 11901
26
NoreastSaltwater
The standard rigging is a 3-hook rig
made by putting the point of one
hook through the eye of the next.
Sometimes a small egg sinker is
placed on the line or leader first. If
using your own tackle, use rubber
core sinkers as these can be changed
quickly as conditions (tide, wind,
depth of the fish themselves) dictate.
This rig is then placed alongside a
sardine or ballyhoo, so that the hook
tied to the leader is lined up with the
eyes of the bait. Starting with the tail
hook, the points are rotated into the
bait with the final one piercing the
skull. To look at this rig, any experienced angler from up north would
think “tourist rig”, but not so. It kills!
Some people add a skirt in front, I
don’t.
Another version is to use a bucktail
jig with one trailing hook (sometimes
a treble) and impale the bait on this
rig. As the boat drifts along, everyone
fishes on the windward side and feeds
their baits out. Ask the mate how
many feet to let out before reeling in
and starting again. The rest is just like
bluefishing or tuna fishing up north.
Get a speedy runoff and set the hook.
The kingfish is not the only fish likely to respond to this with a hammer
blow strike. The other possibilities are
blackfin tuna, dolphin (mahi-mahi),
amberjack, grouper, the occasional
sailfish, and often the ubiquitous
bonito. These are actually false albacore or little tunny. Down here they
are often thick enough to be considered nuisances, beating more tasty
species to the bait. Anglers who read
Nor’east Saltwater would consider
such a thing wonderful, as this species
even has a following of its own up
north. The bonito here are usually
large, many approaching 20 pounds.
On the other side of the coin, many
people on party boats go without a
single bite, much less a good fish for
their 4-5 hour and $35 investment.
That’s fishing (at least nowadays).
Another fact of life is the tangles.
Most of the pelagic fish are hard to
control at boatside. The more people
on board and the more novices, the
worse it gets. Be willing to cut your
line and get back to fishing rather
than wait.
There is a way to increase your
odds and decrease the level of stress
caused by so many people fishing
together; go on a small, reservation
only, party boat.
They are usually under fifty feet
and take a limited number of passengers (most take 10 or 12). For this,
they charge more. For the same
amount of time it will cost about $60.
These boats move more often, are
faster, and go further if necessary.
Some even troll part of the day if certain fish are around, like wahoo.
I have fished many times with
Captain Mike on the Sweet Emily,
(954) 861-8113, out of Pompano
Beach and found the success ratio significantly increased. Mike will even
stop to pick up live bait for customers
willing to buy it from the marina near
the inlet. It is kept in a live well to be
used only by those anglers. He will set
out a kite on the leeward side of the
boat to fish live baits at the surface.
The odds of catching a sailfish on a
party boat now approach those on
private charters.
If you have the time in your plans
for a full day investment and are
either staying in the Keys or have a car
at your disposal, the odds of success
with snapper are practically guaranteed. Most of the party boats anchor
and chum, targeting those tasty yellowtails and mangroves, but this does
not stop other great fish from joining
in too. The boats do full day trips,
about 7 hours, for $60-65. A real bargain.
The technique (made feasible by
the heavy concentration reef dwellers
in the Keys) causes huge schools to
line up from the surface to the bottom, under and behind the boat as
chum particles sink with the current.
Sometimes the water actually turns
yellow as a school rises into the upper
layers of the slick. Even though these
fish are competing the way school fish
in a chum slick do, they still require a
stealthy bait presentation.
Light tackle is best for them and
sometimes leaders have to get really
light to get the bite. Tiny hooks and
tiny yellow jigs (1/16 to 1/8 oz) tipped
with a piece (yes, a piece) of shrimp or
fish are tied directly to the leader. The
WINTER 2012
rig is fed back into the chum slick in
such a way that the line comes off the
reel leaving a little bit of slack
between the rod tip and the bait. Any
hesitation in the bait’s speed of drift
sends an alarm the fish will not ignore.
Watch your line (there should be a
slight loop of slack). If the line suddenly straightens out (often observed,
rather than felt) that signals the staccato hit. Hit back, unless using a circle
hook. Then just reel. No fish, means
these expert bait thieves mugged you.
Bait up and try again.
Yellowtails and all the other possible players (mangrove, muttons,
grouper, porgies, and more) all fight
very well on light tackle. Note, if
you’re bringing your own tackle don’t
use braid. It will make you very unpopular during tangles and will result in
losing a lot of expensive line to the
quick knives of the mates.
It is easiest to drift baits back into
the chum slick from the stern of the
boat. Getting a spot there depends on
the particular boat’s method for
assigning them. Some believe in first
come, first served while others use
the date you called to reserve a spot.
Another tip is to have each member of
your group (if going with friends) call
up individually as some captains will
only allow one or two from each
group to get a stern spot.
This does not mean that people on
the sides will not do well. These boats
pride themselves on everyone catching fish, so people not on the stern are
usually rigged with heavier egg sinkers
on their lines to keep them in the
lower stream of chum particles and
also out of the way of the stern lines.
For some reason the fish hitting rigs
down near the bottom are not so sensitive to bait movement. Often anglers
are rotated to the stern for a while as
well, if the bite is hot.
The most interesting and effective
technique (especially for those on the
side) is called “sand balling”. On my
last party boat trip in the Keys I fished
aboard the Miss Islamorada which
sails out of Bud ‘n Mary’s Marina.
Reservations taken at (800) 742-7945
or (305) 664-2461. Every time I have
fished on this boat, the mates set up a
bucket of sandball mixture (sand,
www.noreast.com
chum, oatmeal, and probably some
secret ingredient too). If you don’t
want to handle this stuff yourself, then
a mate will do it for you as soon as
available; quicker to do it yourself.
A baited hook is placed into the
middle of a handful of the mixture. It
is then kneaded into a ball about the
size of a hardball. Then enough line is
pulled through the rod’s tip top to
allow several wraps around the sandball. With the bail open, the ball is
hand-tossed overboard away from the
boat. The rapidly sinking ball disintegrates on the way down, creating a
chum slick of its own with the bait in
the middle of a cloud of oily and tasty
(to the fish, that is) particles. Almost
infallible!
On most such trips rods are bent all
around the boat, all day. On my latest
trip, I had the pleasure of meeting and
photographing a “regular”. Her name
is Lyn and she fishes often on this boat
and on the Gulfstream, out of Key
Largo, captained by Chan Warner
(786) 554-7224.
She says the latter is populated by
more hard core anglers and the former by more tourists. She obviously
enjoys the different “feel” of both,
and is equally at home on either.
She also pointed out that on the
Gulfstream, they do a stern rotation
technique. The angler throws in at one
corner of the stern and then slides
over left or right, depending on current direction. Then the next person in
line steps up and throws their bait in.
By the time you reach the other corner you either have a fish on or reel up
and get at the end of this “conga line”
again.
Lyn has caught cobia, tuna, grouper,
shark, kingfish, spanish and cero
mackerel, snappers (yellowtail, vermillion, and mutton), and sailfish on
these party boats. If you see a lady
angler, doing it all herself, and most
likely outfishing those around her, say
hello for me. Better yet, watch what
she is doing so you too can bring fish
to the “party”, and have a story to tell
back home.
If you want to reach the author for
any advice on party boats or private
charters, see his website www.captainzac.com or call at (954) 802-1508.
LONG ISLAND’S OFFSHORE
OUTFITTING HEADQUARTERS
CUSTOM RODS
FISHING CHARTERS
M-F 8am-6pm • Sat. 7am-6pm • Sun. 7 am-4pm
www.whitewateroutfitters.net
631.594.3336
243 East Montauk Hwy. • Hampton Bays, NY 11946
26’ FORTIER DOWNEASTER
SAILING OUT OF SHINNECOCK
Capt. Brad Ries “Fish Today, Brag Tomorrow!”
www.SomedayCameCharters.com
516.635.5588
[email protected]
NoreastSaltwater
27
The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association presents
The 9th Annual
NEW ENGLAND
SALTWATER FISHING
Show ®
March 9 - 11
Rhode Island Convention Center
Providence, RI
LARGEST SALTWATER FISHING
SHOW IN THE NORTHEAST
MARINE ELECTROICS
NEARLY EVERY MAJOR COMPANY WILL BE THERE!
See plugs • lures • rods • reels • fishing charters • guides • clothing
fly fishing • boats • kayaks • outboards • marine equipment • novelties
government agencies • safety equipment • and much more!
MANY COMPANIES OFFERING “SHOW SPECIALS” AND DISCOUNTS!
LOW PRICES
www.nesaltwatershow.com
BOATS & KAYAKS
NONSTOP FREE SEMINARS
ADMISSION:
$10 Adults
TWO SEMINAR AREAS!
by the top seminar speakers in the region!
(12 & younger free)
Register to win a
FREE FISHING CHARTER
SUNDAY IS
with
FAMILY
DAY
All woman & kids
FREE!
Priority Charters
or an 13’ Duke Canoe
The first 100 people each
day will receive a FREE
GAG’S WHIP-IT EEL
Plenty for the whole family!
• Kid’s casting area
• Kids Zone
• Scavenger Hunt on Sunday
Sponsored by
LINES & TACKLE
SHOW HOURS:
Friday: 12 - 9 / Saturday: 9 - 7 / Sunday: 10 - 5
New England Saltwater Fishing Show
$1.00 OFF
regular adult admission with this coupon
U.S. Army Hummer
28
CBS Weather Mobile
NoreastSaltwater
may not be combined with any other coupon or offer
WINTER 2012
The Treasure Trove
THE NOR’EAST’S TAKE ON NEW AND EXISTING PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET
By Chris Grech
[email protected]
Fenix LD20 Flashlight
Whether you choose to chase down your prey by boat or by pounding the surf, every angler needs a quality
flashlight. The Fenix LD20 Flashlight fits the bill by packing a super bright multifunction light in a compact package. This amazing product features 4 light modes that allow you to use the right amount of
light for every situation while conserving your batteries. The best part is that this is all packaged in
a waterproof, aircraft-grade aluminum case that runs on 2AA batteries. No expensive, hard to find
batteries are needed. Dimensions are 6” long, 1” in diameter and a weight of 3 ounces. I have
put the Fenix LD20 Flashlight to the test and I can honestly say that it’s the real deal.
$49.99
www.fenixlight.com
Pelican i1015 Smart Phone Case
More and more of us are using Smart Phones these days. Why not protect your investment? After all, you won’t
be able to call for help with a wet or broken phone. Enter the Pelican i1015 Smartphone Case.
Designed for the iPhone, iPhone 4, iPod Touch and many models of Smart phones, this tough case
will keep your mobile device working in even the worst conditions. It features an external jack,
built-in cable manager, active sport carabineer, easy open latch, custom rubber liner that doubles
as an o-ring seal and stainless steel hardware. The Pelican i1015 is water resistant, crushproof and
dustproof and is available with a clear or solid color lid. The case measures 5.14” x 2.64” x 1.37”
and comes with a lifetime guarantee.
$25.00
http://pelican.com
Loon Outdoors Nip N Sip
The Nip N Sip from Loon Outdoors is like a mullet. I’m not talking about the fish, I’m talking about the hairstyle. Just
like that popular redneck hairstyle that we all secretly wish we had, the Nip N Sip is “Business in
the front and party in the back!” All kidding aside, there are two very important tasks that must
be completed on each fishing outing; cutting line and opening bottles. (Catching fish is also
important.) This handy little tool accomplishes both jobs in style with its stainless steel
cutting blades, built-in bottle opener, extra wide grated pads for grip and eye clearing needle. The Loon Outdoors Nip N Sip allows anglers to cut their
line easily and enjoy a beverage without breaking their teeth or
breaking the bank. Pick one up for yourself and a true friend
today.
$19.95
www.loonoutdoors.com
www.noreast.com
NoreastSaltwater
29
Nor’east Galley
By Sal Amendolia
www.noreast.com/recipes/index.cfm
CATCH ‘EM & COOK ‘EM
Codfish Twice
By the time you read this column, many of you who just
can’t stop fishing, no matter what the temperature, will have
braved the cold and ventured out for some beautiful cold
water codfish. With a little bit of luck and armed with a
bunch of cod fishing tips from Nor’east Saltwater, you
wound up with a few cod in your pail. Filleted by your
trusted mates on the party or charter boat of your choice you
are now ready to prepare and eat some of the best tasting fil-
lets you can get. There are lots of ways to prepare and eat
codfish and I have already given you a few. Since I believe
in employing a variety of methods to prepare your fish, here
are two more for you to enjoy and hopefully save.
CODFISH MIRA MARE
CODFISH WITH CAPER SAUCE
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1.5 to 2 lbs. codfish fillet (market size)
Light olive oil
¼ cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. caper, rinsed
Ingredients
1.5 – 2 lbs. codfish fillets (market size)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Italian flavored breadcrumbs
1 qt. seafood or crab sauce
Pam
To Prepare
Season the fillets with salt and pepper.
Heat your seafood sauce in a pot and hold aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.
Spray an oven pan with Pam.
Pour in some olive oil.
Dredge each side of the fillets in the oil and situate in the
pan.
Sprinkle a generous amount of breadcrumbs on top of the
fillets.
Broil the fillets for 5-7 minutes (no need to turn) or until
white and flaky.
Remove codfish from pan and place in a serving dish.
Pour your sauce over the fillets and serve.
30
NoreastSaltwater
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 tsp. butter
Salt and pepper to taste
To Prepare
In a pan, sauté the fillets in the olive oil, just until they
turn opaque.
Transfer to a plate, cover to keep warm and set aside.
In a bowl, pour the chicken broth, capers and lemon juice
and stir all together.
In the same pan that you sautéed the fillets, add the ingredients that you just mixed in the bowl and bring to a light
boil, stirring constantly and scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and
season the mixture with salt and pepper to your taste.
Pour over the fillets and serve!
WINTER 2012
Freeport Recreation Center
130 E. Merrick Road, Freeport, NY
Fri. 2pm-6pm • Sat. 8am-6pm • Sun. 9am-2:30pm
Seminar
speakers include:
• John Skinner
• Gary Caputi
• Tom Schlichter
• Capt. Bob Rochetta
• Capt. Rich Tenreiro
• Capt. Andy LoCascio
• Capt. Kayak
• Capt. Jerry McGrath
and more!
OVER 50 EXHIBITORS!
INFORMATIVE SEMINARS
BY LOCAL EXPERTS
CHARITY AUCTION SUNDAY
ADMISSION:
ADULTS $10, SENIORS & CHILDREN $8
KIDS UNDER 12 ADMITTED FREE
For more information go to www.nysf.org