Montauk Fishing Report - April 17, 2006 (Capt. Gene)
(From Capt. Gene Kelly of MontaukSportFishing.com - first post of the 2006 Montauk fishing season)
I’m back! It’s been a pretty decent winter, both weatherwise, and recently fishingwise, with the cod fishing a bit better then it has been for the past couple of years. We’ll see if it will hold up when more boats start fishing.
You would expect that the boat yards would be hopping with guys getting their rigs ready for the upcoming season, but they’re not. The marinas themselves are launching boats, but not many owners have been around yet. I guess that is a reflection on the kind of early season fishing that we have been getting used to. Last season both the bass and fluke got started pretty slowly, but I think this year will be a little different. I expect the action to be in full swing by the first week of May.
The regulators have not been kind to us - again. It looks like we are going to have a four fluke at eighteen inches this year. There was a bit of a push to have Jersey share some of their quota with us, but, surprise, surprise, they didn’t agree. They’re stuck with eight fish at 16-1/2 inches. Connecticut has six at 17-1/2 inches and Rhode Island has seven at 17-1/2 inches.
It looks like the school bluefins are going to be strictly catch and release, as opposed to catch and have a little sashimi. Right now the limit is one per boat from 47" to 73", and that will be in effect until May 31. After that it looks like we will be getting a bit of a bonus, when it goes to three fish, 47" to 73". Sounds good until you recall the difficulty we’ve had catching legal fish when it was 27".
A little has changed in the harbor since last year.
Capt Billy Campbell, has a new boat, a 42’ Duffy named CHASER. He has been mate and co-captain on the OH BROTHER for the past couple of years and before that was the same on the MY MATE.
If you drive past Uihlein’s, you’ll see the BREAKAWAY for sale, but Rick is staying in business. He has his eye on a boat in Florida, but he has to sell the old boat first. The current BREAKAWAY is a 42’ Bruno, and there are some commercial permits that go with it. If you are interested, Rick’s phone number is 631 668 2751.
There was a for sale sign on the MY MATE for a while as well, but that was just guys being guys.
Capt Art Cortes has spent the winter fishing at Beufort, North Carolina, and will be there through April, so if you want to get in on some early season yellowfins and wahoo, give him a call at his Montauk number 631 668 1305.
It looks like the old Monster Man is coming back again, only this time in August. And, he won’t have the CRICKET with him. That didn’t work out too well last year. Instead you book a trip with him and he goes along for the ride with you on one of the regular charter boats.
If you would like to have these reports sent to you directly, just drop me a note at CaptGene@MontaukSportfishing.com.
Capt Gene Kelly
Montauk Sportfishing
I’m back! It’s been a pretty decent winter, both weatherwise, and recently fishingwise, with the cod fishing a bit better then it has been for the past couple of years. We’ll see if it will hold up when more boats start fishing.
You would expect that the boat yards would be hopping with guys getting their rigs ready for the upcoming season, but they’re not. The marinas themselves are launching boats, but not many owners have been around yet. I guess that is a reflection on the kind of early season fishing that we have been getting used to. Last season both the bass and fluke got started pretty slowly, but I think this year will be a little different. I expect the action to be in full swing by the first week of May.
The regulators have not been kind to us - again. It looks like we are going to have a four fluke at eighteen inches this year. There was a bit of a push to have Jersey share some of their quota with us, but, surprise, surprise, they didn’t agree. They’re stuck with eight fish at 16-1/2 inches. Connecticut has six at 17-1/2 inches and Rhode Island has seven at 17-1/2 inches.
It looks like the school bluefins are going to be strictly catch and release, as opposed to catch and have a little sashimi. Right now the limit is one per boat from 47" to 73", and that will be in effect until May 31. After that it looks like we will be getting a bit of a bonus, when it goes to three fish, 47" to 73". Sounds good until you recall the difficulty we’ve had catching legal fish when it was 27".
A little has changed in the harbor since last year.
Capt Billy Campbell, has a new boat, a 42’ Duffy named CHASER. He has been mate and co-captain on the OH BROTHER for the past couple of years and before that was the same on the MY MATE.
If you drive past Uihlein’s, you’ll see the BREAKAWAY for sale, but Rick is staying in business. He has his eye on a boat in Florida, but he has to sell the old boat first. The current BREAKAWAY is a 42’ Bruno, and there are some commercial permits that go with it. If you are interested, Rick’s phone number is 631 668 2751.
There was a for sale sign on the MY MATE for a while as well, but that was just guys being guys.
Capt Art Cortes has spent the winter fishing at Beufort, North Carolina, and will be there through April, so if you want to get in on some early season yellowfins and wahoo, give him a call at his Montauk number 631 668 1305.
It looks like the old Monster Man is coming back again, only this time in August. And, he won’t have the CRICKET with him. That didn’t work out too well last year. Instead you book a trip with him and he goes along for the ride with you on one of the regular charter boats.
If you would like to have these reports sent to you directly, just drop me a note at CaptGene@MontaukSportfishing.com.
Capt Gene Kelly
Montauk Sportfishing
