Dan's Papers - July 4, 2008

Happy Independence Day to all anglers - let's celebrate by liberating our briny relatives from the briny depths (but don't take more than you'll consume). If weather conditions are favorable this weekend, fishing should be as active as it has been these last weeks. Many boats are in coastal waters this holiday so the U.S. Coast Guard and local marine patrols will be checking at random to see if boats comply with federal and state regulations.

Boats smaller than 20 feet are required to have one life jacket for every person onboard, and a horn or whistle to signal your location. Boats larger than 20 feet have the same requirements as smaller boats plus signal flares, a life preserver ring and a fire extinguisher. The Coast Guard advises all boaters to wear life jackets, know the waterway rules, and check expiration dates on all boat safety gear.

NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is suing the federal government over inequitable fishing regulations on summer flounder (fluke) caught in East Coast waters. New York anglers and the recreational fishing industry are discriminated against because New York anglers are limited to fluke of 20.5 inches or more, while Connecticut anglers can catch fluke of 19.5 inches and New Jersey fluke size minimum is 19 inches. The daily fluke limit is: four fish per angler in New York; five fluke in Connecticut; and eight fluke in New Jersey. We all basically fish in the same coastal waters, so the difference in regulations is not aiding the longterm sustainability of the local fluke fishery.

Reports of brown tide in our southern coastal waters from Great South Bay to western Shinnecock Bay have come across my desk since early April. I investigated western Shinnecock waters two weeks ago. I did not see any of the telltale coffee-colored water indicating brown tide. Suffolk County's Bureau of Marine Waters reports the bloom may be receding because of the warm weather, but there is still an elevated concentration of the marine organism which causes brown tide in these bays.

John Skinner, a good writer for Nor'east Saltwater and its online edition noreast.com, recently published A Season on the Edge: Stories from a Surfcaster's Year. The book is full of surfcasting tips for northeast saltwater surfcasters, but the chapter I really enjoyed concerns an offshore shark-fishing trip where he hooked a mako of about 600 to 800 pounds. John fought the shark for more than five hours - and then lost the fish as he attempted to bring it alongside the boat. The book is at local tackle shops.

Scott of East End Bait and Tackle, Hampton Bays, says the fluke bite is really on in the ocean and Shinnecock Bay. Striped bass are being caught at the Ponquogue Bridge with top-water plugs and live bait, and both mako and thresher sharks are showing up offshore around the Cambria wreck.

Ken Morse of Tight Lines Tackle, Sag Harbor, reports Mecox Bay was cut open to the ocean this past week attracting large striped bass just outside the inlet. Anglers are catching the stripers on poppers, and one 42-pound striped bass was caught with a sinker and hook baited with clams. Ken also says there are keeper-sized fluke at the Ruins off Gardiner's Island.

John at Jamesport Bait and Tackle confirms fluking off Gardiner's Island is good, and there are large porgies in the Sound at Mattituck inlet. Off Robins Island in the Peconics, there are reports of weakfish and striped bass hitting on live bunker. Harvey Bennett of Amagansett's Tackle Shop reports "Coffee Bill" caught an 11.5-pound fluke at the Ruins in Gardiner's Bay and another client hooked a 47.5-pound striper there using a live porgy.

Fishing photographer Jack Yee reports a 41-pound striper caught with a live eel at night in the Race off Orient Point. In Montauk, Mark Foschi landed a 46-pound striper at night at the town beach. Capt. Steve Forsberg of the Viking fleet reports good fluking, and Capt. Joel Lizza of the Sea Otter agrees fluking is fine in the ocean off Montauk. West Lake Marine weighed in a big 13.5-pound fluke, and the offshore charter boat Lady Grace brought in a 125-pound mako shark. Tight lines to all!