Archive for General Discussion
Fire Island Fishing and Boating Report- AWESOME Weekend on the Water
Posted by: | CommentsWeekends such as this past weekend on Long Island are what boat ownership is all about. The weather was just spectacular for both days, light winds had the Great South Bay and Fire Island Inlet flat calm. Add in the chance to spend both days with GREAT company and it just could not get any better.
On Saturday I had Julio and his beautiful daughter Andrea aboard for a half day fluke fishing trip in the Fire Island area. This was to be Andrea’s first boat trip and I was very excited to be a part of it. We departed the marina at 11am and soon were on the grounds. Andrea had brought along her very own light spinning rod and it did not take long before it was bending to the struggles of a 14inch fluke.
Andrea is all smiles on her first boat trip
We fished inside the bay on various pieces before it became obvious the moon tides and storms of the day before had the water stirred up. We could not present the baits for long without fouling with weed. A move was in order.
We moved just outside the Fire Island Inlet and drifted the cleaner waters picking off more short fluke with some HUGE sea-robins added to the mix. Andrea got a kick out of the ‘robins “barking” at us to let them go.
Later in the trip I spied birds diving to our west and we motored over to investigate and found cocktail bluefish crashing small whitebait. We broke out the light spinning tackle and picked away at 2-3lb bluefish. Andrea got into the mix as well and managed to best her first bluefish. What an experience it was for me to see this little cutie completely enjoying the boat and fish. Thank you Andrea!!! And THANK YOU to Andrea’s Dad Julio for making the trip from New Jersey to fish with me.
Julio HOOKED UP to an ANGRY bluefish
On Sunday my wife and I were back in our favorite anchorage, the cove behind the Sore Thumb in Fire Island Inlet. We joined up with my fishing buddy Capt Bob and his girlfriend Jill once again. And, just like last week, Jill was very kind in letting us “rent” her kayak for some paddling around the cove. We really NEED to get one of these things!!
The amazing weather had boats out in droves and there was plenty of people taking full advantage of the great times to be had on the water. Fishing, swimming, diving, kayaking and all sorts of other beach activities were in full swing and it was a GREAT TIME!!!
Bob's Boat and Mine on the Hook at Sore Thumb
Crowds enjoying the weather
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Beautiful Long Island Fishing and Boating Weekend!!
Posted by: | CommentsWell, all I can say about this past weekend is WOW!!!!! I had the good fortune of spending time on the water each day taking advantage of the spectacular weather. On Thursday record setting heat rolled into Long Island with record breaking temperatures of over 100 degrees all across the area. Friday saw more of the same heat as folks around the area flocked to the ocean front beaches trying to escape the oppressive heat.
My weekend began with a late afternoon trip on Friday. Arriving at the marina at 5:30 pm the thermometer in my truck was still reading 101 degrees!!! The local ferries servicing the Fire Island communities were more crowded than I can ever remember seeing them. Sliding out of the creek and into the open Great South Bay offered immediate relief as, while still VERY warm the breeze from the southwest was significantly cooler.
Our plan for the evening was to fish live baits in search of the summer run weakfish we get in the Fire Island area in the late summer. Snapper poppers fished on the flats were the ticket to quickly getting our limit of live snappers in the well and we were off.
We fished several favorite pieces in and around the mouth of the Fire Island Inlet and while there was plenty of action with the fluke and bluefish we were not able to connect with any weakfish. Moving way back into the bay after dark only produced a few more bluefish and LARGE amounts of the slimy green seaweed that has appeared in the area over the last week or so.
Saturday was family day at one of the popular local anchorages. As we left the house at 8am the temperature was already 90. It was going to be another GREAT day!! My wife and I were joined by my sister-in-law Kim, her husband Chris and there two children as well as friends of ours, Scott and Marie. Our destination was the Sore Thumb cove where we were meeting my fishing buddy Capt Bob. and his girl Jill.
Before the traffic at Sore Thumb in Fire Island Inlet
We arrived early enough to secure one of the nice spots with deep water close to the beach and setup camp for the day. This particular spot is extremely popular and by 12pm it can get very crowded. Boats did show up but I was surprised there was not the traffic jam this location usually sees. Maybe everyone just decided to stay home in the air-conditioning.
Bob had bought Jill and brand new kayak for her birthday and Jill was kind enough to offer rides to all on her new boat. Everyone took a turn paddling around the calm water inside the cove. It took some convincing but then it was my turn. It was a first for me on the ‘yak and I was impressed with how stable the boat was. We had a great time with awesome company.
Kayaking in the Sore Thumb Cove
On Sunday I had the Varone party aboard for a fluke fishing trip. Mr Varone and his son Jake were joined by Jake’s friend Jarrett who arrived from Saltaire on Fire Island via his dad’s beautiful Everglades center console boat. We departed Seaborn Marina at 9am and again were happy to get on the open bay to cool off.
On the Great South Bay
We dropped the fluke rigs in and Jake grabbed the first fish of the day almost immediately. A short fluke around 15 inches. It was then my phone rang. It was my buddy Capt Bob who advised me of the beating he was putting on the striped bass in the ocean on the schools of bunker. Following a survey of the group to confirm they were okay with the ocean we were off.
Just outside the inlet we found several schools of bunker balled up tight and periodically getting flushed by gamefish tearing through them. The boys got a kick out of seeing the schools swimming under the boat and “fighting” the snagged bunker we were fishing for bait. We worked over a few schools for about an hour before it became obvious that the ocean swell was not agreeing with one of the little guys. It was time to get him back inside as Mal de Mar was taking it’s toll on him. Once back inside he was back in action in no time
Thumbs UP!!!!
As we got back inside the flood was just getting rolling and we fed our baits to a bunch of short fluke, sea robins and crabs. Unfortunately there was to be no legal sized fluke on this day. As a bonus a school of small bluefish popped up right in the middle of boat traffic and we managed to hook a couple between boats running them down before calling it a day. I had a great time and Jake and Jarrett were two wonderful kids who were a pure pleasure to have aboard.
At the Dock at Saltaire
My wife and I closed out an excellent weekend with dinner at the Beach Hut at Smith Point County beach. This place is great with free parking after 5pm, a live band nightly and very nice menu all while sitting and looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. Good times!!! Doesn’t get any better than this!!!
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Long Layoff ENDS!! The Maybe Tonight is back in action
Posted by: | CommentsWell it has been WAY too long since I’ve had anything fishing/boating related to speak about. This, unfortunately due to the fact I experienced motor issues two weeks back. I am well aware that “stuff” happens but I have been very fortunate in my boating years and this marks the very first time I’ve had a boat out of order due to mechanical problems. I guess it could be said that I was overdue.
On the way across Great South Bay on June 26th I noticed the port-side motor just did not sound right. As I backed off the throttle the sound became even more evident. A very noticeable clicking/knocking noise. I can only describe it as sounding like a car engine that is VERY low on oil. I knew the oil was still new but double checked and found the level was fine.
My party did fish the rest of the day where they loaded up on short fluke to 19.5 inches. The return trip was a mess as I was forced to limp back across the bay on one motor during a VERY crowded boating weekend. Add in the fact that I had to disappoint 3 other parties slated for that afternoon and the next day. Not my fondest boating memory by any stretch.
Brought the boat to the mechanic and the first take was the powerhead was the issue. I left the boat with them for further investigation but was not feeling too optimistic about how long it would be down for.
On Friday July 8th I received somewhat good news from the yard that the powerhead was fine and the issue was related to the lower unit. With the green light given they replaced the unit over the weekend and gave the boat a good test run. She was given a clean bill of health and I rescued her from the yard on yesterday (July 12) afternoon.
I took a nice easy cruise across the bay and as my confidence in the repair grew I let her run. It was a RUSH having the boat behave as good as the day I got it. I needed to confirm everything further in my mind before having anyone else aboard so I headed out Fire Island Inlet in some sloppy conditions. VERY sloppy actually. Not a problem at all. All systems were GO!!!
Back on the WATER!! Beautiful Feeling
I decided to fish some while I was out and found some of the bunker pods despite the big swell and chop kicked up by a 20kt west wind. Spent some time fishing the live bunker on a bunch of different schools but had no luck. I then headed back inside to fish some pieces in the bay and as I had expected the bluefish made very short work of the live bait.
Had some company in Fire Island Inlet
Once the livewell was emptied I moved way back in the bay with the idea of bucktailing some fluke. This paid off pretty well as I grabbed a nice fluke that went 4lbs on the Boga on the very first drop. From there it was back to business as usual with the normal procession of one short after another. It did not matter to me one bit as I was back aboard the Maybe Tonight and we were FISHING again!!!
Photo of the Maybe Tonight taken by a friend
I would not be going on a limb to say it was a VERY long two week layoff but in the end all turned out as well as it could for a mechanical problem of the magnitude of a lower unit.
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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The Long Island Fishing Season Begins
Posted by: | CommentsThe weather could not be timed any better either as Sunday May 1st marks the opening day for the New York Fluke season. NY State Department of Environmental Conservation has finally announced the regulations on their website which are as follows;
NY Fluke Season Opener
3 fish per angler at 20.5 inches
Open Season of May 1 through September 30
There was much fanfare over the regulations for this season but that is behind us now, the regulations are official and the season is right around the corner. I hope everyone is able to get out there Sunday and have a great day on the water.
As for myself, I have plans for a preliminary peek around the Great South Bay and Fire Island Inlet area tonight hoping to find a few of the stripers and bluefish that are rumored to have already entered this area. I also have the crew rounded up for a more another attempt on Saturday afternoon.
Whether we have fish on these initial trips or not I know it will be GREAT just being back on the water. After the winter we had I will take solace in knowing if they are not around just yet then they are NOT far away
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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Long Island Fishing and Boating Season Beginnings
Posted by: | CommentsAs I have chronicled over on my Facebook Page the 2011 Spring commissioning has had some setbacks as I needed to wait for parts orders that were crossed up and some decent weather that would allow the bottom paint to be applied.
I can tell you that the New York weatherman does NOT own a boat. I am convinced of this fact with the weather we’ve had so far this Spring!! With that said, I was not going to allow him to throw another wrench into the works for the scheduled launch date.
I had the hauler, (Mike from MNL Marine) scheduled for 9am on Saturday morning. I awoke at 7:30am to give myself time to review the checklist making sure all equipment was aboard. It was POURING rain!!!! The phone rang at 8am. It was Mike calling to confirm I was still going. My words to him were “If he was good to go then I was”. Mike told me he’d be there on time
Long Island Fishing Season Gets Underway
Mike arrived 9am on the dot. The rain welcomed him by starting to come down even harder. He had the boat on the trailer in no time at all and with that we were off the the ramp. We were greeted at the ramp with SE winds around 20kts blowing the rain sideways.
Backed the Maybe Tonight down the ramp and drove her off the trailer for the trip to her residence for the next 7 or so months at Seaborn Marina in Bay Shore. Even with the nasty weather it was a GREAT feeling to be back on the Great South Bay after a long winter.
Long Island Fishing Season Beginning
The New York Fluke fishing season kicks off on 5/1 and the Maybe Tonight will be ready to go. If you would like to fish take a peek at the Charters page for details.
I hope everyone has a great and SAFE season this year.
Tight Lines.........
Capt Paul Mandella
captpaul@maybetonightcharters.com
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