I have been contemplating this new blog for quite some time. The only excuse that I can offer for not publishing it sooner is that fishing, life and a couple of new book projects got in the way. Please feel free to blame my neglect to publish squarely on many game fish species that kept me very busy last season. And I guess while we are at the blame game we can cast some culpability in the direction of those darn baitfish that amassed in incredible number all up and down the northeast coast, Long Island included. By the late summer of 2008 there were literally acres and acres of peanut bunker, spearing, anchovies and other forms of micro-bait in residence. Once the various game fish zoned in on this bait buffet they fed with a vengeance. This is a new season but hopefully, 2009 will be a repeat performance.
It would be fair to say that most anglers experienced a reasonbale run of striped bass in 2008. There certainly was numerous large bass caught. Once the sand eels materialized, the bass showed in excellent numbers. The early season saw some fine catch of nice stripers and in my own experience last spring yielded more keeper bass on flies than similar periods in past years. I was even blessed with a few double-digit keeper bass days on my favorite fly patterns. Most other fly anglers I know experienced similar results. The early weakfish bite for some tiderunner sharpies was also quite good. And what can one say about the bluefish other than this season brought back memories of the chopper halcyon days of the 1980s. But the Atlantic bonito only made fleeting appearance, we caught. One never conquers bonito – they can be too fickle a species.
During the fall prime times, all eyes searched the horizon for busting false albacore. Montauk was the fall run gem. It was an unbelievable experience. Little tunny were once again in the “house” along with prolific hordes of their favorite baitfish. And lest we forget, the herring made a fair appearance along the Island’s south shore and the entire northeast coast, with bigger stripers in hot pursuit. That event kept some of us casting flies, plugs and plastics well into December. The herring run is a time when many anglers catch their largest bass of the season so it is always worthy keeping at least one rod strung and at the ready for that eventuality – and perhaps even delay winterizing the boat
I hope that you will enjoy the offerings contained in this blog and may you be blessed with perpetual tight lines! Have a great 2009 season and please come back to visit with us often.
Enjoy and be safe...AP
