Schlichter: As summer ends, catches are surging
It may still feel like summer outside but the transition to fall is already underway. The first signs are usually understated: a fresh crispness to the night air, extra monarchs on the zinnias in your garden or a sprinkling of yellow leaves among the birch trees near the water.
Experienced anglers can pick up on comparative signs beneath the sea. Consider that snapper blues now measure 8 to 10 inches long. Growing at roughly an inch per week by this point in the season, most will head south before measuring a foot.
A marked increase in porgy and sea bass catches is another sign that has come to pass in recent days, as is the increasing willingness of stripers to mix with blues on the jigging grounds of Long Island Sound. The blitzes of fall are still more than a month away, but the subtle signs all point in autumn's direction.
"The snapper surge has already commenced,'' said John Cacciola at Glen Cove Sports Shop. "The action is hot and the fish are slamming small tins and snapper poppers. If you want to get your kids hooked on fishing, now is the perfect time to give it a try.''
Indeed, the diminutive bluefish have brought smiles to anglers young and old along the South Shore docks, North Shore harbors, Peconic Bay beaches and Shinnecock Canal. Pryibil Beach Pier and Cedar Beach on the North Shore have been especially rewarding and the South Shore docks and Shinnecock Canal have had plenty of blue crabs serving as a bonus.
As fine as snapper fishing has been, mixed bag porgy and sea bass scores have been even better.
"We've been banging jumbos to 20 inches just a mile from the dock," said captain Mike Boccio, of the Orient Point charter vessel Prime Time III. The Greenport-based open boat, Peconic Star, also has hammered the scup close to home while the Captain Bob in Mattituck has run a little further to add teen-sized blues to the menu.
Solid scores also have come from the South Shore reefs, and in mid- and western Long Island Sound, where Rye, City Island, Morgans Beach, Matinecock Point and Oldfield Point are leading the porgy parade.
Bluefish, too, tend to grow more aggressive as summer transitions to fall, and that's already happening at Orient Point, Montauk, Freeport, Point Lookout and The Mud Hole. Solid catches of 6- to 12-pound choppers also have come from the waters east of Huntington in the Eaton's Neck Triangle. That's where James Schneider, skipper of the Huntington open boat, James Joseph, expects the action to be even better in the next several days.
"The outgoing tide this weekend should be just right to stack up the fish for our evening jigging trips," said Schneider ,after spending more than an hour helping his mates cut fillets after Thursday morning's porgy excursion. "I'm expecting some awesome fishing.''
Mark your calendars
The Fisherman Surf Fishing Show, featuring more than 50 surf fishing exhibitors plus continuous seminars, is slated for Sept. 16 at the Huntington Hilton. Admission is $20. Call 631-345-5200, ext. 209 for details.
According to host Rich Johnson, The Fishing Line TV Program will be added to the Video On Demand (VOD) section of all cable systems starting Sept. 16. Visit thefishingline.com for more information.
E-mail: outdoortom
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