Scales and Tales

Fluking continued it's torrid pace along the south shore on Friday and Saturday. Inside Fire Island Inlet, plenty of action kept rods bent on the morning tide. Outside, there are fewer shorts, but the action is still fast-paced and the percentage of keepers is better. Capt. Paul Risi, of the Trade Winds II out of Captree (www.tradewindsfishing.com,) said he has been picking between 150 and 300 shorts on each full day ocean trip, along with 28 to 35 keepers. Most of the action has been south of Fire Island Inlet.

Out in the Moriches, there are still plenty of short fluke in the main east/west channel, especially around buoys 14 and 15. For a better shot at keepers, head one-half mile southeast of the inlet and drift in 35 to 50 feet of water.

With small snappers now roaming both Great South and Moriches Bay, this should be a good time to try using the baby blues for doormat fluke bait. Remember, however, there is a 10 fish limit on blues of all sizes.

Michael Potts, skipper of the Montauk charter boat, Blue Fin IV (www.bluefiniv.com,) has been trolling limits of striped bass on a daily basis, with most fish falling to parachute lures. According to Potts, "there are stripers in most of the rips at Great Eastern, on The Flats and at The Elbow.

Offshore, Potts has been having good luck wtih sharks, a bit south of Block Island. "We've had makos, plus some blue sharks, on each of our past four trips," revealed Potts. "The biggest mako weighed in at 208 pounds. The blue sharks have ranged between 100 and 180 pounds."

I received a phone call from Captain Neil Delanoy this afternoon. The skipper of the Captree open boat, Laura Lee (www.captree.com,) was excited about what he called "the best fluke fishing he has ever seen!" This from a captain with a lot of years on the water.

"We had 812 fluke on the morning trip today, fishing right under the Robert Moses Bridge," said Delanoy. "We kept 15, up to 4.44 lbs. and many people caught and released between 20 and 30 fish. Eight-year old Natasha Daeger caught 32 by herself!'

According to Delanoy, the best action has been on the last of the flood and the first of the ebb. That means the fishing should be best in the morning for this weekend, and in the afternoon next week. If you have been waiting for the perfect time to take the family fishing, this may be it.

As you can see from today’s Newsday cover story, the brown tide is still blooming on Great South Bay. While nobody enjoys fishing in discolored water, sometimes there isn't much choice. Experts note that the brown tide does not seem to harm fin-fish, so you might still catch a few if you try hard enough. Here are a couple of tips to help the cause.

● Fish near inlets. The brown tide is generally less intense where ocean water enters a bay or harbor.
● Fish on rising tides. Again, clean water from the ocean floods into the bay, diluting the tide at least a little bit.
● Use bright- or black-colored lures. Chartreuse, florescent orange, hot pink and pure black are more visible in murky water than white, silver, tan, olive, green or “natural” minnow colors.
● Use big lures to provide a larger, more easily seen, target.
● Choose lures that make a rattling sound when retrieved. If using soft plastics, insert a small, inexpensive, fishing rattle, available from bait and tackle shops or on-line catalogs, into the body of the lure. The clanking sounds emitted as you retrieve will help predator species zero in on the target.
● Fish with real bait. Fresh whole clams and bunker chunks work well for stripers and blues. Live killies or strips of squid attract fluke. School weaks and kingfish will strike sandworms, strips of squid or pieces of clam. A chum pot full of ground clam or bunker can work wonders with porgies, weakfish and even fluke when you fish at anchor.

If you've taken a look at our Newsday cover story about the brown tide on Great South Bay, you might also want check out my recent video clip: Fishing Through The Brown Tide. From www.newsday.com, go to Explore LI and then click on "Outdoors." You'll see the clip toward the bottom of the screen. Hope it helps.

Just got a call from my buddy, Paul Demchuk. Despite the wind this morning, he and fishing partner, Gary Zuhoski, decided to make the run to Hortons Point in search of stripers. The trip paid off big-time as Paul decked his biggest bass ever, a 35-pound cow. Gary also had a keeper. Several more nice bass, plus some hefty blues to 10 pounds, rounded out the morning.

Fishing on another boat, but within shouting distance of his Dad all morning, Demchuk's 15-year old son, Jordan, drilled a 21-pounder with his pal, Rob Pisano.

"All the fish were caught on live eels during outgoing tide," noted the elder Demchuk. "It was a bit rough on the Sound today," he added, "but we stayed out there and gladly took the pounding."

Plenty of action taking place in the Nor'east Fluke Smack Down. Some nice Long Island entries, but a lot of competition from across the Sound and down along the NJ shore. Leaders as of 2:15 p.m. on Sunday are as follows:

Place; Name; Weigh Station; Weight in lbs.:
1. John Schopey, Jack's Shoreline Bait & Tackle, 11.28
2. Walter Morgis, Westlake Fishing Marina, 9.85
3. Joe Fischler, Crabby's B&T, 9.5
4. Jack Castella, Westlake Fishing Marina, 9.35
5. Karen Sorrentino, Captain Morgan's Bait & Tackle, 9.21
6. Patrick Mcendrick, Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle, 8.69
7. Diane Moore, Causeway Bait & Tackle, 8.58
8. John Morelli, Snug Harbor Marina, 8.0
9. Scott Andalome, Captain's Tackle, 7.8
10. Marc Deptula, King Cove Marina, 7.56

A few nice stripers were caught at Horton's Point this morning. Check back later for details.

Slipping through the cracks last week was news of a 15.6-pound fluke caught in the ocean west of Moriches Inlet on Sunday, July 5th. John Yander of Middle Island was the angler. Some might call him lucky, but John's previous best summer flattie weighed a bit over 10 pounds so I figue a bit of skill has to be in play here. The huge doormat took a live killie and squid strip combination in 50 feet of water.

"For a big fish, there were no complications once I lifted it off the bottom," said Yander. "It fought okay, but I've had eight- and 10-pound fish fight harder. John Willis gets the assist for a perfect job with the net."

Yander was back out yesterday, this time working outside Moriches Inlet "toward Westhampton." He reported fast action but tallied only one keeper among 40 shorts.

Day one of the Nor'east Fluke Smack Down complete. Current standings, from www.noreast.com, are as follows:

Place; Name; Weigh Station; Weight in lbs.

1 John Schopey, Jack's Shoreline Bait & Tackle: 11.28
2 Joe Fischler, Crabby's B&T: 9.5
3 Jack Castella, Westlake Fishing Marina: 9.35
4 Patrick Mcendrick, Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle: 8.69
5 diane moore Causeway, Bait & Tackle: 8.58
6 John Morelli, Snug Harbor Marina: 8
7 Eric Hannon, Westlake Fishing Marina: 6.9
8 Bob Reese, East End Bait & Tackle: 6.48
9 Allan Beaudion, Jack's Shoreline Bait & Tackle: 5.8
10 Brian Knight, Causeway Bait & Tackle: 5.62

Had a chance today to catch up with John Montione at J & J Bait and Tackle in Patchogue. He said that blue claw crabs were starting to show pretty well at the docks between West Sayville and Bellport. You'll need to pick through a few to gather a meal, but enough keepers are in the mix. Even better, dock fishermen using two- to three-inch segments of sandworm have been catching tasty kingfish. Most of the kings are just big enough to provide a decent fillet.

I can confirm the at the kings are biting, having seen a few taken on Thursday at Cranbury Dock in Mastic. Snappers are also flooding the eastern portions of Great South Bay, but the tiny bluefish measure only four or five inches long at this point.

Top fluke in Nor'east Smack Down Fluke Mania contest later tonight. Check back.