Archive for October, 2011
Fire Island Fishing Report- Stripers Before the Storm
Posted by: | CommentsI had the Borg party, consisting of Mike, Don and their sons Nolan and Brian, aboard last night for a night of drifting live eels in the Fire Island Inlet for striped bass. The forecast had a pending Nor’easter bearing down on Long Island, but we left at midnight under very nice conditions.
As planned, we arrived on the fishing grounds for the very start of the outgoing current. I was marking fish right away but they were not taking our live eels just yet. It took a few drifts over the area with the current building before our first striper was hooked up. Mike started the show by putting the hook too a 15lb fish. Brian was up next with a nice run but he missed the shot.
The gang with some of the catch
As the current, (and WIND) began to build I made a short move to a favorite piece inside. First drift, Don bangs a fish, while he is hooked up Mike sticks another one. Had a double header on for a short bit before Mike’s became un-buttoned.
Little while later, Mike gets another good shot, fish spent the entire fight on the surface and was pretty decent. Turns out to be 24lbs on the Boga.
Mike B and his 24lb Striper
As the current began to fade, and the WIND from the storm began to ramp up we tried a few back bay locations before packing it at 5am. The guys kept 3 fish and released the rest. Thanks Mike, see you for the Spring trip
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
Connect With Me On Facebook
2011 Pete Dahill Memorial Striped Bass Contest Hosted by the Viking Inn Islip New York
Posted by: | CommentsWe fished the 2011 version of the Pete Dahill Memorial Striped Bass Contest this past Saturday (10/22/11). My buddy Bob Highland and I pulled out of the slip just before dawn and headed across the Great South Bay in some sloppy conditions. We broke the Fire Island Inlet at first light and found even more sporty conditions as the big west wind had the ocean very lumpy.
Our hope was to find some of the bunker pods that have been running along the south shore and it we quickly found it was going to be difficult at best. The wind had blown up the chop on top of the swells making it tough to find the bait. We cruised miles to the east first up tight to the beach and then moving off to 40-50ft of water without finding any signs of the bait schools.
Along the way we would mark areas of bait along the bottom where we dropped diamond jigs to work the marks over but had no results. Seems the browned up water may have put the fish off their feeding routine. After spending 3 fruitless hours outside we decided to move back inside and fish the live baits we had aboard on some of our favorite pieces.
The water inside the bay was more a mess than the ocean. The very clouded water combined with the current running against the wind made for less than ideal fishing as it would turn out. We were not able to find any fish at any of our combined favorite honey holes as the ebb current slacked.
As the flood started we repeated the process of working our way from the inlet back into the bay again hitting all our spots while adding in some other lesser known locations with no results for our efforts. Our day ended with the incoming current peaking and combined with the wind blowing the same direction we were moving along at a lightening fast drift of almost 3mph. Not GOOD!!!
We headed back to the contest host location at the Viking Inn in Islip with our tails between our legs. Taking advantage of the wonderful barbeque spread the Viking Inn provided gave us both the opportunity to forget the tough fishing day we had just endured. Hats off to the Viking Inn and it’s volunteers for another excellent event. Not many qualifying fish were entered but it seemed as though noone was really minding at the awards/BBQ ceremony.
The winners were a 33lb Striper taking first place that was reported as being taken to the west of Fire Island. The same boat also had the second place fish of 27lbs. Great day for those guys. They also took the Bluefish category with a 12lb brute. An 18lb striper rounded out the prize list.
The night was rounded out with a bunch of tackle door prizes being raffled off and we were both lucky enough to cash in on one of these. HUGE thanks to Greg over at Burnetts Bait and Tackle in Bay Shore and Frank from Chasing Tails Tackle in Oakdale for their very generous donations to the raffle.
Despite a less than stellar day of striper fishing, I did have a good time as this was the first time Bob and I got to fish together on the same boat. Hopefully it won’t take as long for us to get together again next time.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
Connect With Me On Facebook
Long Island Fishing Report- Foggy, Rainy, Windy Fishing Conditions
Posted by: | CommentsThe Long Island weather this past weekend was challenging to say the least. Thick fog, pouring rains and gale force winds made for less than comfortable fishing conditions in the Fire Island Inlet area. The following is a quick wrap-up of a couple of trips in the mess.
I had Alex and Germaine out for a 1/2 night Striper trip. We departed the marina at 7pm and off into the fog that had visibility down to less than a 1/4 mile. Nice and easy were the key words for the transit across Great South Bay.
We anchored up on the Robert Moses Bridge and it did not take long for the bait to start drawing attention as Germaine nailed his first striped bass ever!! We had other light takes but just could not get the hooks in them.
Germaine's First Striped Bass
A quick move toward the inlet produced a nice bluefish for Alex and once again the guys ran into missing some more short striking fish. I think they were just a bit quick on the trigger. If we could have landed every strike the boat would have been loaded up. 
Alex with a Nice Fire Island Bluefish
Saturday brought Gale warnings being posted with wind gusts being called for up to 45mph. I opted to visit Terminal Tackle in Kings Park to for some restocking of supplies. I took a ride to the bay on the way back from the shop and found it a mess with the big west wind kicking up the chop. I spent the rest of the afternoon pouring sinkers and tying new rigs before giving in to the urge to fish.
Taking Advantage of a BLOWOUT
Cast the lines off the boat at sunset Saturday and noticed the wind was down somewhat from earlier in the day. It was still blowing good just not as bad as it was earlier. Got to Fire Island Inlet for the very last of the ebb but the west wind was blowing the boat back against the current.
Great South Bay Blowing Like Crazy
As the flood started I moved inside and drifted several pieces before finding a single small striper on one of the Great South Bay wrecks. That was it for the night and I ran back across the bay into some of the infamous Great South Bay chop as the wind had come up again.
This weekend brings the Pete Dahill Striped Bass contest hosted by the Viking Inn in Islip and I will be fishing with my buddy Bob Highland looking for the winner. Keep an eye out for a report on this FUN contest.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
Connect With Me On Facebook
Slammer Bluefish on Live Bunker Outside Fire Island Inlet
Posted by: | CommentsI had the chance to sneak out for the afternoon on Monday for a few hours. Headed directly to the Fire Island Inlet area and quickly found the bunker that have been holding in the area for the past week. A quick toss of the castnet had all the bait I’d need for the afternoon.
Started at the mouth of the inlet and found more bunker schools up tight to the beach. Drifted through the area a couple of times with no luck and moved off the beach to find more bunker pods. There were a lot of boats anchored on the West Bar in the mouth of the inlet. I jockeyed my way through them into the clear and drifted west on the outgoing current. The bunker were moving the same direction. One gigantic school after another moving out the inlet.
As the bait schools moved off the West Bar and into the deeper water signs of fish crashing the schools became evident. I spent the rest of the afternoon running from school to school tossing my live bunker into the mix. Some of the schools had fish where some did not. If the fish were on a particular pod it did not take long to know it as the bait would be grabbed soon after hitting the water.
As the sun got lower in the sky the action began to really pickup as schools all around the boat were getting crashed by BIG ANGRY GORRILLA bluefish. These were fish into the teens making a mess of the baits. I had countless hookups only to suffer the usual fate of having them bite through the mono leaders. I managed to get three fish into the boat that were hooked in the front of the mouth and not able to bite off the leader. I fought others for various lengths of time before they closed their mouths cutting themselves off.
As I left for the night I could still hear the wonderful sound of the bait showering in an attempt to flee the choppers. What a rush this type of fishing is. I was BEAT UP, my arms sore and was loving every minute of it. You have got to LOVE the Fall on Long Island waters!!!!
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
Connect With Me On Facebook
Fire Island Striper Fishing- Islip Fire Department Annual Striped Bass Contest
Posted by: | CommentsWe fished the Islip Fire Department Annual Striped Bass contest this past weekend (10/8/11). I had the usual crew aboard and we had some BEAUTIFUL weather for the entire day. The striper fishing was far from hot but there were enough fish around to settle the top 10 spots. One of which I was fortunate enough to grab with a small 16.60 lb striper. That fish was good enough for 10th place. They say even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while right ??
My 16.60lb MONSTER at the Scale
We took advantage of the large amount of bunker that has invaded the Fire Island Inlet and Great South Bay by loading up the livewell with plenty of live baits. As it turned out, that was to be the easy part as we fished them over plenty of my favorite pieces but were only able to find two fish the entire day. My buddy Dennis had a fish right on the line but figuring it would not place the fish was released. It would not have made the board so good move by Dennis on that one.
This About Sums Up How Good the Fishing Was
Speaking with some of my fellow anglers at the awards dinner I found that we had a lot better luck than a lot of folks. Turns out there were only 14 fish that met the qualifying size limit weighed in out of 50+ boats. It was some slow striper fishing despite the massive amounts of bait present the whole day. The bluefish on the other hand made their presence felt at many of the locations we fished. They beat up the baits pretty good.
The winning fish was a sweet 37lb bass followed by a 2nd place 29lb’er. My fishing buddy Bob Highland managed at 22lb fish that took 6th place. His fish also ate a live bunker.
Bob's 22lb Fire Island Striped Bass
The Islip Fire Department does a wonderful job with this contest every year. From the weigh-in to the Dinner/Awards ceremony back at the firehouse, everything is top notch. Plenty of door prizes donated by local tackle shops only adds to the fun. All the proceeds go to a family in need that is selected each year and it always brings you back to earth to hear the reality of life that these families stories bring.
If any of my fellow South Shore fisherman have not tried this contest I’d strongly suggest you add it to your calendar for Columbus Day 2012. You WILL have a great time.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
Connect With Me On Facebook
Warm Weather Blackfishing in the Fire Island Great South Bay Area
Posted by: | CommentsI had the pleasure of having Mike S and his long-time buddy Paul aboard on Friday 10/7 for a half day blackfish trip on the Great South Bay. Two of the nicest guys you’d want to meet, and PATIENT too as it would turn out.
We departed the dock at 8am and headed off across a flat calm bay in search of some tautogs. Mike had advised me before-hand that he was not a lover of the ocean and with that in mind we stuck it out inside the bay.
We fished along several of the Robert Moses Bridge pilings with only minimal results. Small blackfish and seabass was the best we managed there. Made a move to one of the inside wrecks and were only able to manage more of the same. The fishing was VERY slow to put it lightly.
Mike was a GREAT sport despite the SLOW action
With no sign of the blackfishing getting any better we finished off the day at the mouth of Fire Island Inlet swimming some live bunker among the HUGE schools that have moved into the area. Nothing took a liking to our offerings on this day and we pulled the plug on a TOUGH fishing, but otherwise beautiful day on the water.
Paul waiting for the elusive bite of a Great South Bay Blackfish
Mike and Paul it was great having you guys aboard. Thanks very much
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
Connect With Me On Facebook
