Archive for May, 2011
Jones Beach Air Show- A Day on the Bay
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Jones Beach Air Show Combination Fishing Trips
To celebrate the Memorial Day Weekend and the un-official start of summer the boat is going to run combination trips on both days of the Air Show. The boat will be sailing on Saturday 5/28 and Sunday 5/29 with fluke fishing on the menu for the morning and then head down the Great South Bay for the Jones Beach Air Show.
We will be fishing the normal half-day fluke trip before taking a relaxing ride down the bay for the Air Show. All tackle and bait are included as are bottled water and light snacks for the Air Show.
The departure times will be 8am on both days and we will fish till 12pm before setting course for our anchorage with excellent views of the Jones Beach Air Show.
Cost for the trips is $450. Departing from Seaborn Marina in Bay Shore NY at 8am each day.
If you would like to spend a nice day on Great South Bay fluke fishing and then taking in the Jones Beach Air Show please call 631 750-5350 or email charters@maybetonightcharters.com to reserve your group’s trip.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Long Island Fishing- Bluefish and Fluke Fishing Going Good
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Tough Spring with Wind and Rain
The month of May on Long Island typically provides great action with striped bass and bluefish as well as early season fluke. This has proved to be the case once again in 2011 but it is the weather that has been driving local fisherman crazy. Rain, wind and very dense fog have all contributed to making it difficult for folks to get at the great action going on in the Great South Bay and Fire Island Inlet areas.
This past weekend was no exception. On a late afternoon trip Friday I was half way across the bay when I ran into a wall of fog that reduced the visibility to less than a quarter of a mile. Taking advantage of the electronics I made it to the inlet right at the slack water. The fog lifted considerably as the flood current began and the inlet lit up with small bluefish in the 3-5 lb class attacking schools of bait. Had a great time on light spinning gear wearing myself out on them.
I was back on the water Sunday afternoon, and while there was no fog it was not very nice conditions. We had fluke in our sights on this trip. A big east wind was blowing up the bay against the current making for tough drifting. Bucktails and Gulp Alive were the baits of choice and we managed to pick off a mess of fish but none of them made the legal size of 20.5 inches. The best of the day was a 19inch fish caught by my buddy.
Sketchy weather is called for this whole week in the Great South Bay area, but I am confident if you can deal with what the weatherman throws your way you will have a shot at some nice action.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Long Island Fishing Report- Fire Island Inlet and Great South Bay
Posted by: | CommentsI was free this weekend and took the opportunity to give some live bunker a swim around the Fire Island Inlet and surrounding area. Got up in a local creek that has been holding the baitfish before dawn and found it to be relatively quiet. As it began to get light the bait appeared and so did the boat traffic. At one point I counted 10 boats throwing nets and snag hook hoping to fill their live-wells. The traffic put the bait down making it difficult.
Moving out toward the mouth of creek away from the traffic I found a school I was able to get the castnet on and loaded up the livewell in a single shot. I love when that happens. 
Arrived on the grounds just as the ebb was beginning to move. First few drifts over some favorite locations had bluefish biting the live baits in half before any striped bass could even get a look at them. Made a move hoping to get away from the bluefish but in each drop it was more of the same. Hungry blues made short work of the bunker as soon as the boat moved across the structure.
This was the story of the day as time after time I would feel a take and run before the line went slack and I reeled in the remains of what was a live bait. As the tide slowed I released the few bunker that remained in the safety of my live-well back into the bay and wished them well in their journey. I’m not sure just how well they may have fared.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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NYS DEC Announces Recreational Marine Fishing Registry
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NYSDEC
The New York State Dept of Environmental Conservation has announced the No-Fee Recreational Marine Fishing Registry is now available online and ready for NY saltwater anglers to register for FREE. This Registry was created to replace the recently repealed NY Saltwater License to keep New York in compliance with the Federal law requiring all Saltwater anglers to be registered.
To register visit the following link and go through the process, when you reach the point to add Licenses select the Marine Registry. It will come up as No Charge. Simply go through the rest of the prompts to complete the registration. DEC will mail your card.
If you have already gone through the DECALS website before your information will already be stored there. Just confirm all is correct, ESPECIALLY your mailing address.
Link to DECALS Registration
Link to the DEC’s FAQ page on the subject
Very easy process. I completed the entire thing in about 5 minutes. Or you could just fish from a Licensed Party or Charter Boat all the time and be covered!!
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Long Island Fishing Report- Fishing with Good Friends
Posted by: | CommentsI had the chance to fish with two old fishing buddies of mine over this past Mother’s Day weekend. I had Doug Brodsky and Bob Danielson out for an evening session in the Great South Bay for some bucktailing of bluefish and striped bass. I’ve fished with these guys a lot since first meeting them both as members of a local fishing club. In recent years, for one reason or another, we have not been able to get out together like we used to so it was a GREAT time for a little reunion of sorts.
A couple of years back Doug became a partner in Blue Frog Bucktails with the company founder Bruce Froh. We have always fished these bucktails so it was a natural thing when the chance arose that Doug jumped on-board. They are still the only bucktails found aboard the Maybe Tonight.
Blue Frog Bucktails partner Doug Brodsky with a Fire Island Striped Bass
Bob has been VERY involved in the Fisheries management for as long as I have known him. He sits on the Board for New York Sportfishing Federation and is an appointed Councilor for the M.R.A.C advisory panel. To say he is active in this arena would be an understatement.
Bob Danielson with a bucktailed Striped bass
We headed across the bay into a solid 20-25kt breeze. We started the trip back to the east in the bay and found bluefish more than willing almost immediately. White/Green bucktails tipped with 3-4inch pork rind were the ticket. As the tide slacked we ran west back up the bay and fished several more pieces with the same result. Bluefish everywhere, small ones but they put up a good account for themselves on the light tackle being used. We had several occasions where a hooked fish would have a few of his friends following him up to the boat.
As the sun hit the horizon the flood current was moving nicely and we moved west again. First cast Doug lands a striped bass of 29 inches. Then another slightly larger. Finally Bob scored one that went 31 inches. We picked away at the bass until the area began getting over run with boat traffic which seemed to shut the fish down a bit.
With the bite slowing and the wind now HONKIN’ we decided to beat it back to the marina around 10:30pm. My sides were aching from the laughs all night and fish were in the box. What a blast it was being out with my old friends again. Thanks guys, it was TOO much fun!!!
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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2011 Fire Island Shake-Down Cruise
Posted by: | CommentsFINALLY!! After awaiting the arrival of Spring and the 2011 launch of the boat like a little kid on Christmas Eve I had the chance to get back out on the water this weekend. The first run of a new season always brings excitement for me as I can not wait to hear the motors humming and the sound of the hull streaming through the water.
Similar to the early Spring appearance of crocus popping through the ground, the maiden voyage of a new season brings with it a renewal of sort. The promise of the coming season’s fishing and boating excursions is never higher for me than during these initial jaunts. Running the boat past all my favorite fishing locations I can’t help but recall past successes on each spot and wonder how these areas will produce during the upcoming season.
Maybe Tonight’s 2011 shake-down cruise happened this past Friday evening. As is usual I was VERY antsy in the hours leading up to my planned departure. The ride from my home to the marina seemed to be taking twice as long as normal. I caught myself cursing to myself internally at each RED traffic light I encountered.
I cast off the last dockline at 5:30pm and slid her out of the slip and down the fairway toward the Great South Bay. The sun which had been shining brightly all day disappeared as if on queue and the rest of the daylight hours were to be under cloudy, gray skies. No matter, the boat was idling her way to the waters I have missed the past 4 months.
Clearing the marina’s No-Wake zone the throttles were inched forward and the boat climbed up into her plane and it was ON!!! All is well!!!! Steered a course toward the entrance to West Channel southwest of Bay Shore, continuing on past Crazy Charlie marker before angling to the west past the empty Kismet Inn marina. It won’t be that way for much longer.
Confident now that everything was running very well I nudged the motors a bit more, plenty of room to air the motors out as there was no signs of other boats anywhere, and that is what I did. The lee of the Fire Island barrier beach had the water pancake flat now and the Maybe Tonight was buzzing along toward the mouth of Fire Island Inlet.
On arrival at the inlet I found a decent swell producing large rolling waves across the mouth of the inlet itself. It was very obvious that the reports of shoaling in the area were right on. The inlet is going to be very difficult to transit this season, especially when a hard running ebb current goes up against the prevailing southwest winds we see on Long Island’s south shore.
After spending some time just drifting and enjoying being out again, I spent some time half-heartedly casting some bucktails around some pieces. No luck to be had and it mattered little as just being out there actually casting again was enough for me. For THIS trip anyways
As darkness began to settle in it was time to beat it back to the barn. What a BLAST this stuff is!!!!
Good luck to all this coming season, we will see you out there!!!
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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