Archive for September, 2011
Fishing from Fire Island to the Florida Keys
Posted by: | CommentsI am VERY excited about our upcoming visit to the Florida Keys area for the very first time. We will be headquartered in Hawks Cay Resort. The resort looks simply beautiful, sitting right out on the water surrounded by some amazing looking beaches. We have heard some wonderful things about this place which is why we chose it out of the endless supply of destinations in the Keys.
View of Hawks Cay Resort
There are so many things I’ve wanted to try down there but on the top of the list is hand feeding the tarpon at Robbies Marina. There are tons of videos on YouTube showing folks feeding baitfish to the hundreds of tarpon that gather around Robbies dock and I have every intention of adding to that video count. I just can NOT wait to get there.
On the fishing front around the Fire Island area it was a quiet week for me with preparations for our vacation taking precedence but I did manage to get out a couple of times. I fished live eels on Friday night in search of some striped bass in the Fire Island Inlet in a DELUGE. The rain was biblical but the fish gods would only offer up some bluefish who were more than willing to chop the baits in half.
On Sunday evening I was back on the sand at Smith Point Park outer beach. Spent a few hours up to and just after sundown throwing various topwater and swimming plugs on some excellent looking structure but all was quiet on that evening as well.
Temperatures around Long Island have been running pretty warm of late and although there are some fish being caught I believe the water is still just a bit on the warm side to trigger a decent bite. Hopefully by the time we are back next week there will be some weather changes to get these fish on the move.
Keep an eye out here, on the YouTube channel and over on Maybe Tonight Charters Facebook page for updates and videos from the Florida Keys.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Fall Fishing in Fire Island- Striper Action Warms a Bit!!!
Posted by: | CommentsMy fishing trips this past week (9/12 – 9/17) ranged from COLD on Monday and Tuesday and closed out with a nice overnight trip on Friday 9/16. I fished Fire Island Inlet on both Monday and Friday nights and on Tuesday I was on the Suffolk County 4×4 beach at Smith Point County Park.
Monday night I took some live eels for a swim in the Fire Island area. The currents were not what I would have liked but I had some time for a trip and I took it. Fished the inlet and some nearby pieces for the entire flood current with only a single bluefish bite-off to show for it.
On Tuesday I hit the outer beach surf at Smith Point Park in Suffolk County. It was very nice to see the beach had recovered from some severe erosion and was open the entire 7 mile length from the access point to the Moriches Inlet west jetty.
Surf Casting for Stripers at Smith Point Park
Plugged several good looking pieces but had no luck. Positive signs were seen in the means of schools of mullet moving along the surf line but no gamefish were chasing them. That could change very quickly and bears watching.
Friday evening saw me back in Fire Island Inlet for the very top of the flood and the entire ebb current. Arrived at a favorite back bay location around 11pm and made several drifts through the area, donating an eel to a bluefish in the process.
As the incoming current went slack I made a move to the inlet for the start of the outgoing water. Spent a lot of time and made many drifts over various spots of the West Bar outside the inlet and managed to pick two striped bass in the 10lb class.
As the outgoing current really started to pull I moved just inside the inlet and found some fish going three for three on successive drifts. The stripers here went up to 19lbs which is the chubby one shown here.
Fire Island Striped Bass on Live Eels
After finding the three fish on back to back to back drifts I thought I was going to really make a SUPER night of it but as it turned out that 19lb’er was the last of the night. I fished a few other pieces before packing it as the sun first started to appear on the horizon. It was a long night but a FUN one considering it is still so early in the fall season.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Islip Fire Department Annual Striped Bass Contest- Fire Island Fishing Fun
Posted by: | CommentsThe cooler nights are starting to get Long Island Striped Bass anglers in the spirit of the season. As water temps continue to drop the striper fishing in the Fire Island area is going to heat up.
Adding to the fun of the fall striped bass season are the almost weekly contests run on Long Island’s south shore during the fall. The first of these contests every year is the one run by the Islip Fire Department. These guys run a great event and they do a wonderful job of using the proceeds to benefit a local family in their service area.
We have fished this every year of it’s existence and always have a blast. Check them out at www.islipfd.org
Engine Company 2 to host 10th Annual Striped Bass Tournament
REGISTRATION FORM 2011 Saturday, October 8, 2011-
The Islip Fire Department Engine Company No. 2 will be hosting our 10th Annual Striped Bass Tournament on the Great South Bay.Saturday October 8th 2011 from 7:00am-5:00pm.
1st Prize- $1000
2nd thru 5th Prizes include Rod, Reel, Tackle, and Net Set-up
$60 per person includes: Tournament Entry, Tournament Shirt, Raffle Entry, Dinner, Unlimited Beer, Wine and Soda, & Door Prizes
**Registration recieved by September 21st is discounted to $55 per person**
Any person not participating in the tournament may pay $25 per person for Dinner, Beer, Wine & Soda
Weigh-in will be at Nicky’s Clam Bar begining @ Noon
CALCUTTA OPTIONAL – $100 per boat
To speak to a tournament representitive, call us at 631-581-5656 ext. 145 and leave a message or come down on REGISTRATION NIGHT (Friday, October 7th at 5:00pm)
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Long Island Fishing Report- Slow Start to Fire Island Fall Fishing
Posted by: | CommentsWith the cooler nights we have been having around Long Island I setup plans to fish with some buddies hoping to find some early fall striped bass in the Fire Island Inlet. The plan was to fish cut bait on some favorite bottom pieces inside the inlet. Greg over at Burnett’s Bait and Tackle had some BEAUTIFUL baits just delivered. Grabbed a bunch of the fresh bunker and off we went.
On our first drop, the baits were in the water for all of 10 minutes before my cousin’s son Matt rears back on the center rod and set the hook into a runaway train!! This thing ran off 50 yards of line in a blink. After the initial run the battle settled into a give and take and it became clear to me that we were tight to one of the LARGE rays that have been patrolling Fire Island Inlet.
Fire Island Stingray Hooked Up
Everyone on-board took turns pulling on this ray trying to convince it to the boat but it was having none of that as it had my Penn 980 nearly spooled. I decided to haul the anchor and get after this thing hoping to get my new line back on the reel!! We did manage to get on top of the ray and even got a peek at the swivel of the leader but the very stained water prevented us from getting a glimpse before it made another strong run that ended shortly after with the line finally giving way.
As the tide turned I made a short move and was marking a LOT of activity on the piece. Baits down were slammed immediately. After spirited struggles we brought HUGE dogfish alongside the boat. The largest doggies I have ever encountered. We tussled with these guys the rest of the night with my striped friends never making an appearance.
On Saturday morning I was back on the water with Julio and his daughter Andrea for a half day of fluke fishing in the Great South Bay. My arrival at the marina showed the flags were snapping in the wind. Forecasters blew it BIG time on this day.
We fished the incoming water from Fire Island Inlet and many spots all the way back to Ocean Beach. Drift was extremely fast as I had almost 3.5mph at one point with the tide and wind running strong the same direction. The fluke action was tough today by all accounts. We did manage a handful of short fluke, seabass, sea robins and lizardfish but it was a very slow day on the water today.
Fire Island Inlet Fluke Fishing
Despite the boring fishing action, the smile never left Andrea’s face for the entire trip and she really got a kick out of the BUMPY ride back across the bay with the infamous Great South Bay CHOP in FULL Gear for our return to the marina.
I’ll be gearing up for some night time action with the striped bass on live eels by the end of September. If you would like to take a shot at the Fire Island Stripers give me a call (631 750-5350) or drop me an email ( charters@maybetonightcharters.com )
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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