Go Fish by Rich Firstenberg

Offshore Fishing Heats Up

The fishing is great this summer, so it's time to take the family and friends out on one of the many coastal and inshore party boats, at Shinnecock, Greenport, Orient Point and Montauk. These fleets have been catching loads of fluke, bluefish, striped bass and large sea bass.

Greg Totten's ocean surf catch.

The offshore fishing grounds have also come alive with a lot of action at the "middle grounds" of 375- to 600-foot depths where the water temperature is now around 78 degrees. The Joint Venture caught four yellowfin tuna and seven mahi mahi (dolphin fish-not the mammals). A client on the Montauk charter boat Top Hook caught a 194-pound thresher shark. There are also reports of a blue marlin in the 500-pound range, hooked and released at the western wall of an offshore canyon at least 50 to 60 miles out.

West Lake Marina, Montauk, weighed in six yellowfin tuna of up to 59 pounds. Codfish, a cold water fish usually caught during the winter, are being caught north of Montauk and offshore at Cox's ledge. The party boat Lazy Bones steered their clients to good keeper-size fluke and large sea bass. The charter boat Ebb Tide also had many keeper fluke. Gone Fishin' Marina reports a group came in with several striped bass weighing in at 40 to 52 pounds.

Paulie's Tackle, Montauk, had a surfcaster weigh in a 30.8-pound striper caught at the town beach and Paulie tells us there are bluefish in among the stripers. He also weighed in a 58.5-pound striper caught by a spear fisherman off Montauk Point. Greg Totten, a client of Harvey Bennett's Amagansett Tackle Shop, caught two striped bass with live eels and bucktails surfcasting in the ocean east of Amagansett last Saturday (see picture).

Ken of Tight Lines Tackle, Sag Harbor, says the fluke fishing is excellent in 80-to-100 foot depths at the Ruins in Gardiner's Bay; one client came in with a fluke of 28 inches and a 24-inch black sea bass which Ken estimates at about 25 years old since sea bass only grow about an inch each year. Ken also reports there are still weakfish in the Peconics off Roses Grove, Southampton, being caught on the bottom with sand worms, and porgies up to three pounds off Cedar Point, East Hampton. One of his clients caught 40 yellowfin tuna offshore last week and brought home 12 (he'll eat for months!).

Scott of East End Bait & Tackle, Hampton Bays, tells us offshore fishing has started to pick up. Yellowfin tuna are at the west wall of the Hudson Canyon, and bluefin tuna were caught 28 miles south of the Shinnecock Bay inlet.

The next local shark fishing tournament is Montauk's Star Island Yacht Club mako/thresher challenge on August 8 and 9. Total prize money is $160,000 and entry fee is $600 per boat. Interested captains should call (631) 668-5052.

Boating tips: Boat U.S. recommends taking outdated signal flares (required as safety equipment) and donating them to local sea scout troops to be used in their training programs.

For boating or fishing questions and comments, e-mail me at YeOldeSalt@aol.com

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