5/28/12

The nice weather we have been having on the weekends evened out on Saturday with a
blowout, but Sunday was great.

Last week I mentioned that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about a mako showing up
earlier this year than normal. Well, one did show up on Sunday in the SEA WIFE’s slick.
It was only a two footer and it wouldn’t eat. Normally you don’t see those little guys until
July or so. Threshers usually show up sooner than makos, and that proved to be the case
on Friday when the HALFBACK released one of around 200 pounds. Both boats also
released a bunch of bluesharks. Nothing about tuna though, but I’m sure they’re out there.

Fluke fishing continues to improve, slowly. LAZYBONES has been coming back with
10-12 keepers per trip with the pool winner ranging from five to close to ten pounds.
There are plenty of “Jersey keepers” as MIKEY MONTAUK says, just not enough NY
keepers.

Porgie fishing is great, but the number of pinhhookers going after them is dropping
because of the price. They are getting eighty cents per pound and after deducting the
twenty-five cents for shipping and the cost of fuel, chum and bait, it doesn’t make much
sense to do it. They are allowed 500 pounds per trip, and that is a lot of ups and downs.
Back in the seventies I made m a living doing that and it seems to me that we were
getting about the same price that they are getting now. As the years passed it eventually
got up to about $2.50 per pound, but then it was shut down for a year and the following
year came back with less than a hundred pounds a day limit. When the fish markets
couldn’t get porgies, they started to get croakers and such from down south to take their
place. The demand for porgies never returned.

The striped bass fishing just keeps on keeping on, with limits of medium sized fish the
norm along with occasional thirty pounders. Trolling and diamond jigs are doing the
trick as long as the tide is moving. There are plenty of little bluefish around to keep
anglers busy during the slow periods.

I’m trying to get a forum up and running. It would only deal with Montauk. If you fish
here, check it out at http://www.montauksportfishing.com/mtkforum.html and contribute.
It won’t work if I’m the only one posting. Let everyone know where you fished, when and
what you caught. Or ask questions.

Of course the fishing in Central America will still be hot through the spring and some of
the lodges that were booked up through the winter months are starting to have some
availability. Give it a thought and check it out at www.tropicalfishing.com

If you would like to get these weekly reports sent to you by e-mail, drop me a line at
reports@montauksportfishing.com and if you need any other information about fishing
in Montauk check out www.montauksportfishing.com

Capt Gene Kelly