Montauk Surf Fishing Report (Capt. Kevin Shea - July 5, 2005)

Well, I finally got my brother Colin caught up with the right surf gear. He's a big fan of fishing the freshwater spots on Montauk, but I finally convinced him to give the surf some time. His birthday was Saturday (July 2nd), so we used the excuse to take a couple of hours over at culloden point.

It was a beautiful evening on Saturday...light winds and plenty of sun. The terns were working pretty hard right in on the beach and rocks. We started with 2 oz blue/white poppers and immediately started getting hits, but no fish. The blues were breaking water and I could see they were smallish.

After 2 hours we had our fill of bluefish and even a few small bass mixed in. The best part of the evening was when I caught a striper AND a blue on ONE POPPER at the same time! I've heard of it happening, but that was a first for me.

Overall, it was a great way to spend time with my brother, as usual. It was also the first time I had been fishing since the birth of my son, Killian (born on 6/21/05). It'll be fun to fish Montauk with him in a few years.

After speaking with other fellas, the bass and blues surf action had been good all weekend in most of the popular spots. If you're headed out to Montauk, and things remain the same, the odds look good for hooking up with some nice fish.

Capt. Kevin Shea
www.fishingmontauk.com

Montauk Inshore and Offshore fishing report (Captain Gene Kelly - July 5, 2005)

Something is wrong with Mother Nature. The old biddy gave us two real nice holiday weekends in a row. I’m getting worried that she is setting us up for something.

Inshore the bass and fluke fishing is spotty at best. Be at the right place at the right time and fish fast and you’ll do OK. Otherwise it’s a struggle. Porgy season opened up the first, but it seems like the only place there is any concentration of them is over by Gardiner’s Island. That doesn’t work out too well for anyone interested in livelining them for the bass, plus they’re pretty large porgies, so you’ll have to find some pretty large bass to eat them.

Off shore the sharking remains good for blue sharks, but less good for the exotics, although a couple of threshers and makos are being taken daily. Shark boats have also been catching some bluefins on the way to their favorite spot, and unlike past years, most of the fish are legals, averaging around twenty-five pounds or so. And the best part is that they are not far out, mostly between the 750 & 800 line. They’re not catching a lot, and they’re not always catching, but it’s a start. You have to be careful when you hear the reports about the bluefins. A captain stating that he caught his limit of bluefins might mean he caught one fish. Hopefully this will improve.

Next week the Montauk Boatman’s and Captain’s Association holds their shark tournament at Star Island. This is a charity event with the proceed going to local youths in the form of scholarships, and the fishing is on Friday and Saturday.

If you would like to have these reports sent to you directly, just drop me a note at CaptGene@MontaukSportfishing.com. And for more information about fishing in Montauk, you can give me a call at 800 377 1197 or check out Montauk Sportfishing

Capt Gene Kelly
Montauk Sportfishing