Archive for April, 2012
Fire Island Fishing Report- Striped Bass and Bluefish Action
Posted by: | CommentsI snuck out for an evening run on Saturday night with eyes on stripers. Left the dock approximately 7pm and headed across the Great South Bay into a pretty stiff W/SW wind. Seems the 15 – 20+kt winds have been blowing the entire month of April.
I fished several locations back inside the bay but the infamous Fire Island slipgut weed shut that down in a hurry. This stuff seems to get worse each Spring the past few years.
Made a move to the Robert Moses bridge and fished the shadow lines and bridge pilings with bucktails and lead-head/trailer combos for the rest of the night. I managed to find 4 small stripers that combined together may have weighed 16lbs. Bluefish also made their presence known by cleaning biting off the plastic tails directly BEHIND the hook!! Not sure how they do that so consistently.
As the current turned to incoming I anchored up on a dropoff and found some more the bluefish ruling this area.
Overall, while the fish sizes were not what we would all like to see, it was still a decent night action wise despite the relentless winds. It was very good to see the water temps were up 7 degrees this week and that will surely help in the coming days.
We are off and running in the Fire Island area. Add to the stripers and blues the fact that Fluke season opens on 5/1. Only gets better from here
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Fire Island Fishing- A Mixed Bag Today
Posted by: | CommentsDeparted the marina this morning around 10:30am and ran into some pretty decent fog on the Great South Bay. Took it nice and easy going across and thankfully there was not too much other traffic. Arrived at Fire Island Inlet right at the start of the ebb current. The water in the area is CRYSTAL clear this Spring and is actually the clearest I can EVER remember seeing in this area. Very cool to see but the fact of the matter is once the water warms up we’ll get the blooms and we will be back to our normal 2-3ft visibility.
10ft deep and seeing the bottom in gin clear water
Started out on some flats with light plugs and plastics but the slipgut weed was fouling the baits in no time. I made a move just outside the inlet and there was some cleaner water free of the weed. Saw shoals of bait in the rips but only managed to pull one little striper.
With current peaking I anchored up on some pieces inside and doled out the chum. I found several different species except for the one I was looking for. Had a pretty nice fluke take a bait, it was short and the season is closed for them so back he went. Later on a nice blackfish joined in the mix.
Good ol' Chisel Tooth 
This guy was right on the 16-17inch range, of course the season is closed on them as well, back HE went. The usual skates, sea robins and crabs also put in appearances.
Ended Up a Sunny Day on Great South Bay
Interesting day fish wise as it got to the point where I didn’t know what was coming up next but it ended up being beautiful out there once the fog burned off. First sunburn of the 2012 season and loving it!!
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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2012 Long Island Fishing Season Starting Point
Posted by: | CommentsAs the old saying goes, “Ya gotta start somewhere”. So, with that said I started the 2012 Long Island Fishing and Boating season on Saturday 4/7 by getting the boat out of the driveway and back into the water where she’s now ready to chase after those Fire Island striped bass, bluefish, etc.
We’ve been having some wonderful weather around Long Island considering the date on the calendar. Temperatures into the high 60s have been pretty common since early March. Sorry to say that Saturday morning had the thermometer reading 39 when I got outside to get ready for the boat hauler. A decent Northwest breeze was blowing as well making it feel even cooler.
Heading to the Water for the 2012 Fishing Season
Mike from M&L Marine in Patchogue NY was right on time (as usual) for our 9am appointment. In no time at all he had the Maybe Tonight loaded on the trailer and off we went to the Smith Point County Boat Ramp. The launch went smoothly, the motors fired right up and hummed beautifully.
Eased out of the marina and into the channel of the Narrows and then onto Great South Bay. Nice and easy to start making sure the motors were good and warmed up. Jumped the boat up on plane and cruised down the Great South Bay on the way to the slip in Seaborn Marina in Bay Shore.
Thanks to Capt Paul Peluso for the picture of us backing off the trailer
Of course before heading to Seaborn I just had to take a detour down around the Fire Island Inlet area for a little recon. The inlet itself showed signs of the shoaling that has been well documented this winter. It was very obvious that some pieces were going to be high and dry on the lower tidal stages. Running back through West Channel and the flounder fleet we even got to see one of the boats land a nice flattie. It was awesome being back on the water despite the chilly morning and I was very happy with how the boat ran.
It won’t be long now before the moby sized stripers are prowling the local waters and I’m looking forward to being out there when they show.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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