Cold snap means check your fall gear

The sudden drop in temperatures late this week should serve as notice to local outdoorsmen that a change of seasons is right around the corner. While the odds are we'll still see warm weather for a few weeks, the fall season has a way of sneaking up and catching anglers, hunters, boaters and hikers off guard.

Consider this cold snap a wake-up shot across the bow. For anglers, that means it's time to double-check your gear and make sure it's up to the rigors of the famed fall run that sees bluefish, stripers, false albacore, porgies and blackfish action reach its zenith for the year. Ensure the line on your reels is fresh, your drag is working properly and your plug bag is filled with an assortment of fresh tins, poppers and plugs. Stop by your local tackle shop to stock up on hooks, sinkers and lures, including doubles of your favorite patterns.

Bow hunters should be practicing regularly by this point, working to make every group as tight as possible. If you haven't already fine-tuned your bow, bring it to an archery shop for a preseason check-up, asking specifically for the bow to be made as silent as possible when the arrow leaves the rest. Now is also the time to wash and pack away your hunting clothes in scent-free storage bags, and make one or two last scouting trips to ensure the heavy weather over the past few weeks hasn't toppled or compromised the tree supporting your favorite hunting stand. Long Island's bow season opens on Oct. 1.

Fishing action is solid

With seas calm and winds moderate, fishing action solidified at most ports over the past week. Stripers remain in force at Montauk and Orient Points, where blues and some false albacore have also been in the mix. There have also been a few good innings with the linesiders in western Long Island Sound where schoolies have been cruising the surf line on flooding tides in search of sand eels. The combination of shallow water and plenty of bait makes this a great time to target the predators with fly rods or lightweight lures such as Bass Assassins and Bomber plugs.

Bottom fishing continues to build, leaving no doubt that fall madness lies just around the corner. Porgies have been red hot out of Orient, Greenport, Montauk, Port Jefferson, Smithtown and Huntington while sea bass and triggerfish have taken up residence on near-shore wrecks and reefs off Shinnecock, Fire Island, Moriches and Jones inlets. School weakfish, kingfish and snappers continue to provide great fun deep inside Jamaica, Great South and Moriches bays and crabbing, especially after dark, is about as good as it gets.

You can legally take 50 blue crabs per day with a minimum size of 4.5 inches from point to point for hard shelled crabs. Soft-shells need be only 3.5 inches to keep. All females bearing eggs must be released.

Montauk Surf Classic

Hosted by The Fisherman and Long Island State Parks, the ever-popular Montauk Surf Fishing classic is slated for Sept. 23 through Sept. 25. Register at Paulie's Bait & Tackle or Johnny's Tackle Shop, both in Montauk, by 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. The entry fee is $15 per angler. Call 631-345-5200, ext. 209, for details.

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