Dan's Papers - September 5, 2008

The commercial scup (porgy) fishery came to a halt this summer because the National Marine Fisheries Service set quotas for New York State that were met by the end of July. East Hampton Town councilman Brad Loewen, a commercial fisherman, feels the federal quotas are incorrect because they include catches from small boats and fixed traps. East Hampton Town is considering taking legal action on behalf of the commercial fishermen. Sports fishermen can still catch porgies (10 fish of a minimum of 10.5-inch length) until September 26.

We haven't talked much about shell fishing this summer but shellfish are very important to our local bays and inlets because they act as filtration systems for the water. When clams and scallops are not around, the water quality suffers. The five East End towns, the Nature Conservancy, the Peconic Baykeeper, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Suffolk County, Stony Brook and Long Island universities and the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation are working together to create shellfish spawning areas in local waters. For example, a scallop-seeding program in Orient Harbor has had some success and could be applied throughout the Peconics. (If you boat in the Peconic bays, it is a no-discharge zone so use pump-out stations to clean out discharge holding tanks.)

Local fishing news from the Shinnecock Bay area this week includes a report of eight keeper-sized striped bass caught by one boat fishing on the east side of the Ponquogue bridge on the outgoing tide from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Shinnecock Star last Sunday made three fluke-fishing trips outside the inlet and reports one of the best days ever for fluking. Scott at East End Bait and Tackle, Hampton Bays, says the final week of fluke fishing was great outside the Shinnecock inlet using bucktails. He weighed in a large 12-pound fluke. Sea bass are starting to show up in the ocean just outside the inlet by the sea buoy (minimum size is 12 inches and limit is 25 fish per day). Surfcasters on the ocean beaches are seeing bonita mixing in with the bluefish.

Ken Morse of Tight Lines Tackle, Sag Harbor, weighed in two large fluke (11 and 12 pounds) caught on a boat fishing south of Montauk, and surfcasters have been reeling in striped bass up to 26 pounds on the beaches north and south of Montauk Point.

Linda at Jamesport Bait and Tackle tells us there are bluefish throughout the Peconic Bays and big porgies off Gardiner's Island. Harvey Bennett of Amagansett's Tackle Shop says one of his kayak fishermen was visited by a manatee outside Napeague Harbor. Manatees (sea cows) are mammals usually found in warmer waters from the Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico, so this one was way off course and probably very lonely. Harvey also tells us that Mirry Hwang Capio caught a 40-inch striped bass on a three-ounce Hopkins lure just north of the Montauk Lighthouse at 6 p.m. She also caught a 32-inch striper and a 29-inch bluefish on the incoming tide.

Offshore fishing quieted down last week but Star Island Yacht Club, Montauk, weighed in two big-eye tuna (282 pounds and 182 pounds) caught aboard the Sea Trader. The final week of the fluking season was good for Montauk party boat clients. Surfcasters and boat anglers also had a good week catching bluefish and striped bass. Paulie's Tackle Shop, Montauk, weighed in a 23-pound striped bass caught off the Montauk bluffs and a 28-pound striper caught off the rocks on the south side of Montauk Point. Send fishing questions or news to YeOldeSalt@aol.com