Dan's Papers - June 20, 2008 -

The local fishing tournaments started last week. The biggest one on Father's Day weekend was Montauk's Star Island Shark Tournament. The heaviest shark caught by an angler on the Reel Crazy was a 353-pound thresher, which won a $4000 prize for the captain and crew. The Why Knot had a 298-pound thresher ($2500 prize). In the blue shark division, the prize-winning fish caught on the My Mate was 264 pounds ($3000), and second-place Breakaway had a 250-pound blue ($2000). For the mako division, first place went to the boat Predator with a 241 pounder ($5000), second place went to Lady Fin with a 230-pound mako ($2500), and third place went to the boat Blue Fin with a 220-pound mako ($1500).

Last Thursday, the Humane Society of the United States took out a full-page ad on the last page of The East Hampton Star's first section with the headline "Shark Tournaments Are Shameful." The Society feels the tournaments are "cruel spectacles that add to the devastation of shark populations and ocean ecosystems," and they asked local food banks not to accept donations of shark meat from tournaments. What is your opinion?

Paulie A. of Paulie's Tackle Shop, in Montauk, had a striped bass tournament last weekend. Surfcaster George Lang won with a 38.48-pound striper and son Brian Lang, not entered in the tournament, landed a 52.72-pound striper. Anglers on the Viking Star caught loads of keeper-size fluke and porgies last weekend as did clients on the Lazy Bones and Miss Montauk. All fishing people on Montauk party and charter boats had good catches, and Montauk surfcasters landed striped bass weighing up to 50 pounds with live eels.

Harvey Bennett of Amagansett's Tackle Shop weighed in an 11-pound fluke caught at the Ruins in Gardiner's Bay and some sea bass weighing up to four pounds (sweet, white-fleshed fish which are delicious to eat!). Harvey tells me there are many cocktail-sized bluefish around Gardiner's Island.

Capt. Don Kaye, a Shinnecock Bay guide, went outside the inlet and ran into loads of bluefish chasing bait. He also saw a 15-foot basking shark. Scott of East End Bait & Tackle in Hampton Bays weighed in a 45-pound striped bass caught with live bunker near the Ponquogue Bridge. Scott says the fluke bite in the ocean was slow last week, but he did weigh in a 9.5-pound fluke caught off the Castle on live killies.

Ken Morse of Tight Lines Tackle, Sag Harbor, reports weakfish still at Jessups Neck and in the western parts of the Peconic bays, and striped bass are being caught in the north and south Race areas off Robin's Island. There are fluke in the waters off Jessups and some at Cedar Point, and bluefish are being caught at Long Beach during sunrise and sunset hours.

Linda at Jamesport Bait & Tackle weighed in a 23-inch fluke and told me many bluefish are in the north and south Race chasing bunker. Steve of Wego Fishing Station, Southhold, reports many bluefish in all Peconic bays and fluke off the old oyster factory area. Steve also weighed in a 14-pound weakfish.