Monday, July 25, 2005

Montauk Offshore and Inshore Reports (Capt. Gene Kelly - July 25, 2005)

There are no shark tournaments to worry about for a couple of weeks, but the shark fishing is holding up very well. A half dozen or so bluesharks is about the norm with an occasional thresher here and there, which is unusual this late in the season. Also unusual is the lack of makos.

The local bluefins are still here, in fact there everywhere, with some being caught on the inshore grounds. However if you are going to fish for them, you want to run out at least ten miles or so. How you’ll do depends on your luck. Some boats catch and some don’t. It’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. There is no hot spot; they are wherever you find them, and you might even run into a dorado-mahi-dolphin, or whatever you want to call them. But they’re not on the pots yet. I haven’t heard any good news about yellowfins or longfins, although there have been some marlin and wahoo taken out on the edge.

Striped bass fishing is pretty good if you like big fish, but not so good if you want a lot of fish. The charter boats prefer to troll wire while jerking the parachutes, but that is pretty tiring when the action is on the slow side. Single tubes and umbrellas seem to be more popular now.

Porgy fishing is good enough if you are fishing for porgies, but not good enough if you want to load up on a quick couple of dozen and use them as bait for the bass. Seabass are still plagued with the dreaded dogfish, but the fluke fishing seems to be pretty stable now, with some fish all over the place. Generally bigger fish are on the south side but more fish are out in the rips, where you have to cull out the shorts.

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