October 11, 2019
Dear Fishermen and Friends,
We were blessed this summer with some of the best weather we can remember. We had minimal winds and warm temps. This created an amazing fishery all summer and into the fall. We had epic Bonito fishing. The best in memory. We caught False Albacore almost a month earlier than we expected to and our Striped Bass fishery stayed red hot through the summer.
Well, it seems our weather luck has caught up with us. We have been plagued by wind that has changed direction daily for what seems like a month and we are now in the middle of a three day nor’easter with ferries and flights cancelled. When it blows from the NorthEast, the winds push the cooler offshore waters in and dramatically cool down our coastal waters. In looking at the buoy temps this has already started to happen and we suspect that bait/temps and fish will be all shaken up when this is done. This isn’t necessarily bad news as the bait is likely still in our waters and these fish need a solid feed before they migrate south or push offshore for the winter. Often for Bass, this is great news.
So typically in these reports we tell you what to target and where to go, what we are telling you now is the exact opposite, get out and fish because we have no idea what the end result will be, but we are optimistic that the fishing will be good. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be beautiful so take advantage of the last bit of summer and go find the bonito/albies that have been around or perhaps catch one of the many 30+ inch bass that have been in our fishery. Bottom line is fish need to eat and they don’t often feed in a blow like this, so coming out of it, if they are still here, they will be hungry.
Before the blow, beach fishermen targeting the south shore at night time were doing very well. Lots of Bass were being caught with good size mixed in, and while it was not red hot Great Point still had its moments with albies and bones. Andy Boyton, who fishes hard, landed 5 albies from the beach Tuesday AM just as this wind was getting started and some friends in the boats did equally as well. Sunday and Monday look beautiful, so get out and fish and think good thoughts.
For those of you who want to try your hand at scalloping, do it, because it is fun. That said though, make sure you have your badge, and make sure you know the regulations and make sure you have waders, a belt and the appropriate safety gear. While scalloping thus far has been very good, we have a ton of seed/nubs in our water and MANY people are mistaking illegal scallops for legal, because they are basing it on size. If you ever have a question whether it is legal or not, toss it back, and if you are not sure of the regulations we have included it below, but we HIGHLY recommend watching this video produced by DNR. It is awesome.
Please remember that for a scallop to be legal, it must MUST possess a well defined growth ring. Exception: Bay scallops that have a well defined RAISED annual growth line located less than 10mm from the hinge of the shell, shall be lawful to harvest and possess if the shell height is at least 63.5mm or 2.5.” 1 note: the growth ring must be raised and not just a visual line, this is an indication that it has been through a winter as scallops stop growing in the winter, which is when the raised growth line is created.
Last Note, Many items at the shop are on sale to finish off the season. If there is a rod/reel or some lures you wish you had bought this summer, stop on by now so we can be prepared going into next summer, with great prices on all.
Go wet a line!