OUTDOORS: Must start early or sing the blues
Other Columnists
Captain Steven Laura Fallon barked instructions: "Let's get
these lines in the water! The bite will be over by 9:30 a.m.!"
With that, the skipper of the Port Washington charter boat Swedish Princess
set to work. He grabbed the rods, sliced a fresh bunker into several chunks
and, in less time than it takes to hone a hook, had our baits settled on the
bottom.
It didn't take long for the choppers to respond. Within five minutes, the
line out alarm clicker on my reel began to scream - but Fallon cautioned me to
delay setting the hook. A dozen feet of line peeled off the spool before he
shouted, "Now!"
Like an obedient soldier, I drove home the point and the rod took on a bend
that signaled a bluefish of the biggest kind was at the other end. Three
strong runs proved this bruiser no pushover, but the flexible rod eventually
sapped its strength. Shortly, a 15-pound 'gator was in the net awaiting release.
"Big blues follow the bunker into Port Washington Harbor every summer,"
Fallon explained as he faced the blue into the current and allowed the flooding
tide to flow cool, oxygenated water across its gills before releasing his
grip. "Problem is, they eat before the sun grows intense and boat traffic
scatters the baitfish."
The fast morning bite was predictable; similar scenes are under way in most
Long Island Sound harbors this summer as bunker are abundant. Still, it's
surprising so many anglers arrived late to the party. We had anchored over a
mid-harbor channel edge around 7:15 a.m. and, being first on the scene, enjoyed
10 big blues in relative solitude. Eventually, a half-dozen boats would anchor
along the slope as the action digressed from sizzle to fizzle.
"Look to port," Fallon said as the fishing began to falter. "That boat's
over a small, high point. Those guys will start catching as our action fades."
Fallon considers himself a bluefish expert and his self-portrayal seems
accurate. Fishing mostly inside Port Washington Harbor aboard his 23-foot Aqua
Sport center console, he's decked choppers to 22.6 pounds. Like the quarry he
pursues, he is focused and intense. Think Dog the Bounty Hunter goes
bluefishing. With 40 years experience, he easily anticipates how the toothy
predators react to changing conditions.
Between fish, Fallon rattled off several pitfalls to shun when targeting
'teen-size blues.
"Avoid late starts, poorly tied knots and cheap terminal tackle," he said.
"Change baits every 10 minutes and don't strike too soon. Count 'four
Mississippis' before setting the hook."
For chunking blues, Fallon favors a 7-foot, medium-action MBT-84-2M
Lamiglas rod with a Shimano Torium 20 conventional reel and 20-pound
monofilament. His fish-finder rig sports a light egg sinker ahead of a 3-foot,
60-pound test fluorocarbon leader. A 7/0 Gamakatsu octopus-style hook, preceded
by a 4-inch length of 80-pound wire to defeat the chopper's teeth, serves as
the business end. Ahead of the wire, Fallon adds a greenish day-glow bead to
mimic a bunker's eye.
With boat traffic building and the sun climbing, the bluefish bite ended
quickly this morning.
"That's it," Fallon said, retrieving his anchor. "9:30 a.m.; party's over."
As he started the engine, two clickers sounded in the distance. The boat on
the high spot was into the blues.
